An Opinion On Why Marvel Succeeded In Movies and DC Still Struggles

Oh how I hate myself for this one but it has to be said!

DC and Marvel fans have bickered back and forth about who is better for what seems to be a lifetime. Each has their strong points and their failures when it comes to television and movie universe. It pains me to admit that Marvel for years has owned the movie theaters worldwide and with the biggest superhero movie released to date hitting theaters last week it only makes it that much harder to admit. .I am here to tell it like it is and why DC is not considered a juggernaut in the movie industry.

There are several issues here as to why. Let’s start with the obvious. Previous to the MCU Marvel licensed out properties  starting in 1993 (X-Men to 20th Century Fox).  2005 began the rights of characters returning back to Marvel starting with Black Panther followed by Iron Man then Thor and Black Widow this was the beginning of a Marvel rise to power.  Another reason for success is Marvel being  a lighthearted adventure that everyone can enjoy because Disney’s targeted audience is 6 to 99 and everything in between. The age group who grew up in the nineties one of the high points of Marvels stories and characters as the world was introduced to Venom, Deadpool, X-Force, Carnage, and many other characters saw their own fame grow. Lee, McFarlane, and Liefeld were names everyone knew around this time period.  Not to mention the numerous cartoons after school and on weekends. This brings me to the point of this generation reliving their past through the movies of today. The Nineties kids are now having kids of their own and Disney has a whole new audience to entice through the magic of film. Aside from the rated R movies such as Deadpool and Logan which both saw success, most parents felt comfortable taking their kids to a PG13 comedy action film.  Ten years is a long time to build on this.

So what went wrong with DC? Bottom line nothing. DC films although had their issues, most of their stories were good. Problem was no one could look past what Marvel did. Every DC film to hit was shot down because it was not Donner’s Superman, Adam West’s Batman, or there was no Marvel in the title. The films were darker more adult-oriented less kid-friendly. I believe DC has never truly been for younger kids. Sure you could make Batman campy and goofy and even smile which pissed people off when Justice League came out and we saw how well that worked out. DC fans are also harder to please. Everyone expects more out of the DC Universe even I did. Although they were a mess at times there were some great moments in all the DC films. DC, however, learned from their mistakes and we got a more lighthearted Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam out of it and all three films enjoyed success, but again they still were not quite kid friendly thus showing at the box office that even though they were hits they just couldn’t hit it over the billion mark except with Aquaman.

So Mike why you hating? I’m not, DC is still my first love and I would never say Marvel is better than DC. Marvel is just better at targeting a younger audience and making films that even non-comic geeks can enjoy. DC just needs better storytelling and to stay true to their adult audience. You don’t have to make over a billion to enjoy success. I will say this enjoy it, for now, Endgame is Marvels Swan Song and the last of a 10 year run of build up. Although there will be more Marvel films as time goes on nothing will top the 10-year mountain that Marvel has enjoyed. It’s easier to learn from your mistakes than it is to retell an already epic storyline such as the Avengers. Could you truly see anyone else sporting the Iron man mantel other than RDJ? Sony is reclaiming Spider-Man after Far From Home. This is the moment where DC should step up and take the mountain from Marvel. Let’s just hope they learned from their mistakes.

Marvel Fans enjoy the 10 years, and Critics stop believing that every comic movie has to be lighthearted and funny to be good.  Example: I went into Hellboy expecting it to be horrible because critics bashed it to hell. It actually wasn’t as bad as it was made out to be and stayed true to the comic which if some of these movie critics actually picked up a comic and read it would realize that staying true can be better than comic relief. Fans need to realize Donner, Burton had their success and their shoes can never be filled because they were already filled in the 80s and 90s. When the comparison to marvel stops and people actually take the time to see DC for what it is, they might just finally get the praise that they deserve.

DCEU time to shine!