DC versus Marvel

by Charlie Albuery and Hugh Summers

Marvel Comics
(source: ditko-fever.com)



DC Comics
(source: shirtoid.com)

Since superhero comic books became popular in the 1960s, two  main companies have been vying for the attention of the masses. This is one of the most climactic battles in history, going down alongside such epic conflicts as Roundheads vs. Cavaliers, Red vs. Blue and, of course, Kramer vs. Kramer.
We are about to lay out the main points of the (clearly one-sided) argument, for you, the readers of this blog to make the decision for yourselves.
I, your friendly neighbourhood comic-book blogger, Charlie Albuery, am fighting for Marvel and my friend (although not for the next hour or so while we write this), Hugh Summers, is on the side of the (clearly inferior) DC Comics franchise.

Round 1 – Iconic Characters
Marvel – As a child, who didn’t want to be Spiderman? I know I did. The fact is, Marvel comics characters have permeated pop culture and become role-models and icons for generations of children. From Captain America, the living embodiment of patriotism, to Iron Man, the billionaire playboy with a heart of gold, Marvel’s characters span everything that we love about icons.
DC- Well, I don’t know about Charlie, but I myself was more of a Batman kid, with the Batman Begins film being released when I was seven, with a Batman who was dark and serious. Let’s be honest, Batman is far cooler to a small boy than a radioactive youth who lives with his aunt and flies around the New York skyline in tight red lycra shooting webs from his wrists. 

Round 2 – Villains
DC- The first thing to consider when deliberating between Marvel and DC villains is that DC villains have much, much deeper backgrounds than those of the Marvel villains. Superman has Lex Luther, an evil genius/ politician who’s out to rule the world. Now Batman has the Joker, a crazed psychopath who escapes from the most secure mental asylum in the world. I mean, he put a razor inside his mouth and carved a smiley face into his cheeks; all Spiderman has is a guy dressed as a goblin on a hover board and a robotic octopus.
Marvel-Awww, how quaint, a prisoner and clever Boris Johnson. Great. What super villains are really all about are POWERS: a mutant with control over all metal, an alien who has the ability to literally mould reality to his will, and, of course, Galactus, who can eat universes as if they were M&Ms. Those are real villains, real dangers. Also, for the record, the Green Goblin sometimes has an energy sword that is basically a lightsabre, I WIN.
Round 3 – Teams
Marvel- I was looking forward to this one; Marvel has, of course, the most iconic super-team in all of everything, ever. The Avengers had a blockbuster film this year, the third highest grossing film ever, by the way (behind Avatar and Titanic), and let’s look at the contents of The Avengers:
The Hulk – giant green rage monster;
Thor – god. That is all;
Captain America – genetically engineered super-soldier;
Iron Man – genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.
And what does DC have? A man who dresses as a bat, a guy named after a lantern, Usain Bolt in lycra and a merman (well, I better not start a fight with him IN THE OCEAN).
DC- Well, of course, Marvel has the Avengers which are, well, dysfunctional, I mean, they barely get along. Unlike DC’s Justice League, who control the land, sea and sky and act like one big happy family chilling out at Superman’s ice palace. So how about we take a look at the Justice League in a bit more detail:
Wonder Woman- one of the most impressive, powerful and most attractive super heroes of all time.
Aqua man- Charlie can make fun of Aqua Man all he wants, the globe is two thirds water, making him one of the most effective superheroes on earth.
Batman- a billionaire who physically dominates Tony Stark; he is one of the coolest and most inspiring super heroes of all.
The Flash- he runs approaching the speed of light! So one can’t blame him for wearing a more, well, aerodynamic piece of apparel.
Green Lantern- Charlie may be insulting him, in this article, when I know for a fact that, at this instant, as we are writing this article, Charlie is drinking from his green lantern mug! Also, he can fly through space, shoot energy and create hard structures made of this energy. So he can effectively create anything he wants!
(NB-Everyone knows Aqua Man sucks and Green Lantern is literally vulnerable TO THE COLOUR YELLOW-- Charlie)

Round 4 – Franchises
DC- Let us begin, starting with Superman. There have already been a number of Superman films including another one which is due to come out soon. Then, there is Green Lantern which we all know has had a film come out recently starring Ryan Reynolds. And now, for the grand finale, the Batman franchise, probably the best movie franchise in comic book history! What one must also consider is that the only reason Batman: the Dark Knight isn’t the higher up the box office tables than The Avengers is because it made it here all by itself, unlike The Avengers which have had an extremely large build-up of the Iron Man films, the frankly terrible Hulk films, the Captain America film and the Thor film; I believe DC should be commended for its success as it is the smaller franchise.
Marvel –It is foolish to suggest that The Dark Knight had any chance of beating The Avengers; the fact is that The Avengers has a far wider appeal, anyone can enjoy it. Hence its position on the in the box office rankings. Number 1 opening weekend box office and number 3 all-time box office positions speak for themselves. Also, seriously, when was the last time you saw a kid in an Aqua Man Halloween costume? Yes, I was drinking out of a Green Lantern mug but there’s a life-size Captain America shield on my wall and a drawer full of Marvel Comics in my desk; the Marvel franchise dominates the universe --- well my universe, anyway.

Comments

  1. Interesting... I am no comic follower, unfortunately, I didn't become aware of them until television shows like The Big Bang Theory and film such as the ones mentioned above... Overall, however, I must say that although DC does have Batman, who (sorry Charlie) is a SMIDGEN cooler than Iron Man, I would have to say that Marvel would have to come out on top. Sorry Hugh!

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  2. Get out. Batman is not cooler than Iron Man. Batman does his whole save Gotham City thing (not the world, like Iron man does) but he's fairly boring in comparison with Stark's one-liners which are always hilarious. Batman is far too serious, Iron Man is cooler and Marvel is always better. And I reckon Iron Man would win in a fight.

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    1. Admittedly, when it comes to film portrayal, Robert Downey Jr does have the edge over Christian Bale, and the technology Iron Man uses is effortlessly awesome. However, I hope all can see these points:

      1. Alfred is better than Iron Man's... secretary?!? Sir Michael Caine vs Gwyneth Paltrow - no contest.

      2. Bruce Wayne has more of a background story than Iron Man, with more depth than Tony Stark.

      3. Iron Man has the suit, I admit. But Batman has the suit AND the Batmobile.

      4. Batman villains are more interesting/psyochotic.

      Don't get me wrong, I love Iron Man. I just think Batman is that tad cooler.

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    2. Prepare for itemized rebuttles

      1-Pepper Pots is not the Alfred equivalent, he had Jarvis, Jarvis is basically Alfred BUT A ROBOT, pepper is the Rachel Dawes equivalent

      2-Have you read demon in a bottle? It details Tony Stark's rise and fall during his struggles with alcohol and he ends up as a weapons dealer before pulling himself back from the edge

      3-Iron man has the Quinjet and the Helicarrier

      4-I'll give you that one, Iron Man's arch nemesis is a chinese man called 'The Manderin' with the power of being oriental

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    3. (disagreeing with Charlie's 4) And Loki. I think you're forgetting that Iron Man faced a god.

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    4. 1. Tony Stark actually had a Butler called "Edwin Jarvis". After Jarvis passed away, Tony made an AI of Jarvis and named it... well, "JARVIS". They seemed to have skipped that part in the movie. Also, Tony later builds a suit just for Pepper and she becomes "Rescue". So if anything she's the Cat Woman equivalent.

      2. Assuming it's just the films alone, they do explain Tony's background story. You see the before and after of Tony Stark, how he got the idea of having an Arc Reactor inside his own chest, and then the idea for a suit powered by the reactor. And later on in the second movie, it explains what his father was like and what his father was working towards all his life. Even more so in the Captain America movie.

      3. I'm sorry Charlie, but Iron Man does not have Quinjet and the Helicarrier. Shield does. Iron Man... he has a suit! What more is there to say about that? Iron Man's suit can fly, he can take the suit off without having to touch it, and from the Avengers movie, it can just track Tony's location and suit him up. Now that's a load more awesome than some Bat suit and Bat Mobile... Although the Bat Mobile is still VERY awesome, I'd prefer to have the Iron Man suit. I mean... Have you seen Iron Man 2? The Suit can be folded into a portable briefcase and can be put on with ease.

      4. Okay, Iron Man's villains may have been a little boring so far seeing as they ALL develop their own suits and fail miserably... But the main point of the Iron Man movies is to show how awesome Tony is. It shows how clever and the potential Tony has. Plus, the technology in it... Epic.

      Also, on a side note, if we're gonna be comparing actors, Tony Stark is played by Robert Downey Jr... Who also plays Sherlock Holmes... Now come on, you don't get much more God-like than that... Also, Thor is a Demi-God. And Loki is adopted. He's not even Asgardian.

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    5. Although, in the films, starks one liners are awesome, Stark doesn't actually have that many funny bits in the comics. Peter Parker however, is known to have an endless supply of jokes and puns.
      Marvel is still better, though.

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  3. Really hate to intrude and reveal my well concealed geek-ness, however I feel I must since I like superheroes. So here it goes:

    When you read a Marvel comic or see a Marvel film its like a Disney movie you know there will be some ups and downs but everything will be okay. When I saw the latest Batman film I honestly didn't know how it could turn out. This is because DC are edgier and don't play it safe. I still believe Watchmen (DC) is the ultimate superhero film since it goes deeper than just beating up an eccentric villain who didn't think to buy a gun. Marvel would never produce something like this since there's too much good dialogue, not enough catchphrases or explosions, oh and some good guys die. Marvel plays it too safe, they only have one decent character "The Punisher" and they refuse to reboot him because he's not child friendly. Marvel even go to the extent of making Wolverine seem tame.

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