The “Marvel vs. DC” debate is as time-honored (and can escalate just as quickly) as the Beatles vs. Rolling Stones one, and is pretty much the exact same age. For 50 years those who feel passionately about any one of these has been tirelessly able to spout their feelings, flaunt some statistical data and just plain wax nostalgic about to whom they are loyal. In recent years, thanks to huge and multiple successes on the silver screen, the Marvel fan (that’d be me, BTW) has had his or her workload considerably lightened. The box office receipts speak for themselves. That said, Christopher Nolan’s revered Dark Knight trilogy tosses one heck of a monkey wrench into the argument. (Some would suggest that it is not a monkey wrench but instead an Oscar – namely Heath Ledger’s posthumous one.)
One “Dark Knight” film even cracked the Top 10 worldwide grosses of all time, according to Box Office Mojo. “The Dark Knight Rises,” the final installment with Christian Bale under the cowl, comes in at #10, the only DC offering to make the cut. Marvel is in their twice, once for Iron Man (“Iron Man 3” at #5, with a take of $1.215 billion in total box office receipts) and, obviously, for its juggernaut “The Avengers” (#3). Now, again, this is all just the take, and not a commentary on critical acclaim. That said, two of the three did garner understandable acclaim, while reviews were mixed on “Iron Man 3.”
The argument of which comic book company has had a better time of it on the silver screen is technically a fairly short one. Beyond the Benjamins, just bring up “Superman 3,” starring Richard Pryor. If that ain’t enough, cue up Clooney’s “Batman,” which is less about Clooney than it is Alicia Silverstone’s “Batgirl,” a sorely miscast Arnold Schwarzenegger as “Mr. Freeze” and a Bane that looked like he’d fit better in a “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” flick. Fact is, Marvel began bringing its A-game with the Sam Raimi-directed “Spiderman,” starring Toby Maguire, and they’ve been non-stop ever since. ‘Nuff said, right?
I think so, but arguments can indeed be made. First off, the aforementioned Nolan trilogy. As far as gritty realism, performances with such exquisite depth they get the Academy’s attention, and more, it doesn’t get much better than this. A Marvel project has yet to plumb these depths, brushing up against it largely by happenstance when allowing Robert Downey Jr. to ad-lib as billionaire playboy Tony Stark. Furthermore, DC’s (and Zack Snyder’s) “Man of Steel” got a bit of a bum rap, thanks in large part to the film’s editor. Henry Cavill makes for a brooding, less fidgety Clark Kent, and one simply cannot go wrong with Amy Adams, even if it was apparently beneath her to don a black wig to play Lois Lane. But the slap-dash editing took away from the final product in a big way. Even so, DC can potentially catch up to Marvel, despite its having the lackluster roster.
Oh, you think it doesn’t? How seriously can one take a Green Lantern movie anyway? He might be the worst superhero in the history of them, although, admittedly there is a popularity there, even while Hawkman is considerably more interesting. I give the casting director credit for going with Ryan Reynolds for such a divinely absurd superhero, yet Reynolds’ Deadpool for Marvel (and, more specifically, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) bests any single moment he had wrapped in tights for the misguided Lantern “launch.” Hey, at least he got Blake Lively outta the debacle.
Green Lantern‘s worldwide total was $219,851,172, with The Hollywood Reporter stating that Green Lantern needed to make approximately $500 million to be considered financially solid. Talk about falling short. Reynolds’ trademark snark elevated a few moments, but the flick can only be brought up in a Marvel vs. DC debate if the pro-Marvel speaker is referring to “Howard The Duck” as underrated.
On the small screen, the argument gets even more interesting. While “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” boasted huge ratings for its premiere episode, it immediately became plagued by criticism for being plodding and lacking in action. Meantime, “Arrow” continues an extraordinary uptick in quality, popularity, and ratings, plus launched a “Flash” series (coming in the Fall).Even on television Superman never shined more brightly, first with George Reeves being “faster than a speeding bullet” and all that, and ultimately with “Smallville,” the long-running and simply indispensable series focused on Clark’s teen years.
The argument truly boils down to one thing and one thing only, and it’s not “The Justice League” versus “The Avengers;” it’s the fact that no Marvel hero has ever had a dog version of himself. No Spidey-dog or Daredog. A single “Krypto” reference and all of DC’s cred is gone. Yeah, it’s that easy.
Article By: Vinnie Penn
