Geek Chorus – May 7 2015
Let me get this out of the way up front: I’m a Marvel guy. But I’m not a partisan. Just because I prefer Marvel doesn’t mean I hate DC, and I don’t wish them any ill. That being said, when it comes to movies, Marvel is killing it, while DC is flailing wildly.
Even if you’re not a fan of Marvel movies (and by “Marvel,” I mean Marvel Studios, not just any movie based on Marvel characters), you have to respect what they’ve been able to pull off with their shared cinematic universe. It’s completely unprecedented, and I think the only reason it worked was that their approach was really smart. They introduced the world slowly, starting with a relatively mundane concept — a rich genius builds a suit of power armor — and gradually layered on the fantastic elements until they’ve reached a point where they can do just about anything, and the general, non-comic-reading public will go with it. Marvel has established itself as a brand so successfully, that even a concept as goofy as Guardians of the Galaxy can be a huge hit.
Now that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been so successful, it’s not surprising that DC would want to follow suit. And because Marvel has paved the way, I don’t think that DC necessarily has to build up their universe as gradually as Marvel did. But even so, their strategy seems like a big mess. When Batman v Superman was first announced, it sounded like an interesting way to build on what they’d started with Man of Steel. But then they added Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and other characters, and it’s beginning to look like a stealth Justice League movie. Then there’s Suicide Squad, which features a large team full of villains, including the Joker. Not only is that a lot of characters to introduce all at once, but it seems like the concept loses something if they aren’t established as villains first.
Then there’s the issue of tone. Historically, DC has been known as the lighter of the Big Two, and Marvel was a little grittier. But on the screen, those roles have been reversed. While Marvel movies feature a healthy dose of humor, DC seems to be going as dark and grim as possible. Man of Steel was oddly dark for a Superman movie, and Batman v Superman looks to be doubling down on that. Even the promotional shots that have been released of Aquaman and Wonder Woman have had a muted, monochromatic color scheme. Darkness in a movie isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and I would expect a Batman movie to lean toward the grim. But it’s an odd choice for a whole superhero series. There was even a rumor that an official “no jokes” policy had been instituted at Warner Brothers for the entire DC franchise.
It seems to me like Warner Brothers is sitting on a gold mine of potential, and just doesn’t know what to do with it. I get the feeling that no one among the top decision-makers has any actual affection for or interest in comics. They know that people love these characters and these stories, but they don’t know why. They only know what the box office tells them, so they see that the super-serious Dark Knight trilogy made a ton of money, while the campy Green Lantern movie tanked, and they conclude that darkness = success. It never occurs to them that maybe Green Lantern simply sucked.
What do you think? I’d be interested to hear how DC fans feel about the WB/DC approach. If I were a DC guy, I think I’d be pretty frustrated.
Overall it always appeared to me that Marvel was better in movies, while DC was better in any form of series. That especially applies to the animated verse.
So while the films are very good, they can not keep that up indefinitely. And I think they are well aware of that.
Most marvel series have issues getting 2 full seasons (2×26 episodes) of continuity together.
While DC manages to get a continuity going from Superman/Batman/Static Shock: TAS, to Justice League, to Justice League Unlimited (each them beat one marvel series in number of episodes and content).
Oh, I forgot to talk about the two companies’ track record for TV series! You’re right, that DC has had a lot more success with its TV series, especially when it comes to animation. Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League, and Young Justice were all pretty great, and now Arrow and Flash are both doing well, and seem to be a hit with fans (I haven’t seen either of them, but I hear good things).
Marvel has had a couple of successes lately with Daredevil and Agent Carter. Agents of SHIELD has gotten a lot better since its first season, but it’s still not a fantastic show, and a lot of movie fans are frustrated by how loosely coupled it is from the cinematic universe (though that could be changing). But their animated series have ranged from merely mediocre to terrible.
So I agree that DC has the upper hand on TV, which just makes their struggle on the big screen all the more confusing.
“So I agree that DC has the upper hand on TV, which just makes their struggle on the big screen all the more confusing.”
An old saying goes “the candle that burns twice as bright, burns half as long”.
Marvel Characters burn brighter but can’t sustain that very long. That makes them good for a few movies, but not so good for a series.
DC characters don’t burn as bright. That makes them more likely to sustain a series. But less able to pull of a movie.
Do you really think it’s about the characters, though? I think it’s more about how they’re handled. I think both companies have huge universes full of characters that could make great movies or TV shows. But for some reason, DC has had a really hard time making good movies (outside of Batman), and until recently, Marvel has seemed to more or less ignore television.
Smallville probably deserves a mention as well. I don’t know how successful Arkham has been, but I heard pretty good things about it.