The Main Man Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Just as the thread title asks. What are the differences between DC and Marvel comics? This can range from characters to settings to storytelling to themes and beyond. It can range throughout their histories of course, but let's try to find what rings true the most. Opinions may of course vary. To get it started, DC's major characters predominantly seem to have started in the '30s and '40s. Superheroes were brand new and time had yet to tell how to write them. Most of Marvel's major characters, on the other hand, started in the '60s and '70s. Superheroes had been around the block by now; creators like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby now had a better idea of what made them tick as well as what could stand reexamination. I could say much more, but I'd rather the discussion just begin. So let's get to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? One of the major thematic differences between the two comic companies was touched on in the JLA/ Avengers crossover series from some years ago. DC superheroes in general are highly respected, almost worshipped, by the broader public, and more often than not trusted by authorities. They're held up as role models, have fan clubs, publicize charity events, and the like. OTOH Marvel heroes, especially mutants but all stripes of them to some extent, are subject to public mistrust and suspicion. Most people seem ready to turn hostile toward them at the slightest provocation. Government usually views superheroes as loose cannons who need to be constantly supervised and constrained at best, captured or eliminated as threats at worst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. MID-Nite Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? My typical take....in DC Comics...the villains have to find ways to beat the heroes...as they are so powerful. In Marvel comics, the heroes need to find ways to beat the villains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Main Man Posted December 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? My typical take....in DC Comics...the villains have to find ways to beat the heroes...as they are so powerful. In Marvel comics' date=' the heroes need to find ways to beat the villains.[/quote'] I never thought of that before. Nice observation. To stir the pot, Marvel tries to set itself on modern Earth and tries to be pop culture savvy. DC isn't so concerned with the real world and has a common "old-fashioned" sensibility about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asperion Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? The way that i have always seen things between them is that dc is idyllic (black/white view) while marvel is more realistic. In dc you always know the good and the evil by the way they dress and act (bats the exception) while in marvel there is more shades of gray. just because someone is acting either good or evil does not mean that is the way they really are. the govt leason on the team might actually be trying to destry the team from within. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? Marvel tends to be more violent. Problems are solved by punching the bad guys. DC tends to be less violent. Problems are solved by out thinking the bad guys. The Senses-Shattering Slugfest is more a Marvel than a DC phenomenon, although DC has them. DC tends to have a wider range of styles within their universe, from High Weirdness (Dial H, some versions of the Doom Patrol...) to light and somewhat goofy. Unfortunately the latter seems to be out of fashion at the moment. There's street level grimdark (the Bat books), Big Cosmic (Legion of Superheroes, Green Lantern) and all kinds of things in between. Marvel tends to have the X-Men and everybody else. On the other hand, Spider-Man and Daredevil are just as street-level as Batman some of the time. More so for Daredevil, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st barbara Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? Marvel tends to be more violent. Problems are solved by punching the bad guys. DC tends to be less violent. Problems are solved by out thinking the bad guys. The Senses-Shattering Slugfest is more a Marvel than a DC phenomenon, although DC has them. Calling it a "Senses Shattering Slugfest" is a very Marvel description. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinecone Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? A Very long time ago...I described it as "Dc is gods walk the earth, Marvel is Rambo has a Laser..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? Calling it a "Senses Shattering Slugfest" is a very Marvel description. Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyber624 Posted December 15, 2012 Report Share Posted December 15, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? DC seems to have more "Villains obsessed with the Hero" types than Marvel does, with villains actively trying to plot to destroy the heroes. While Marvel does have its rivalries most of the villains operate on the basis of hoping the Heroes don't show up to thwart their evil plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? DC seems to have more villains as evil/twisted reflections of the heroes than Marvel does: Sinestro, Prof. Zoom, Bizarro, Black Adam, the Crime Syndicate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? DC seems to have more villains as evil/twisted reflections of the heroes than Marvel does: Sinestro' date=' Prof. Zoom, Bizarro, Black Adam, the Crime Syndicate.[/quote'] the Joker CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. MID-Nite Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? A Very long time ago...I described it as "Dc is gods walk the earth' date=' Marvel is Rambo has a Laser..."[/quote'] Yeap...The Justice League itself is bascially a modern day pantheon of gods...all the main characters associated with them...Supes...Wonder Woman...Flash...even Batman by some writers...are essentially gods. Green Lantern has the most powerful weapon in the universe etc. Every character being the UBER example of their archetype. Goes back to my original statement...in DC...the bad guys need to figure out how to take care of the heroes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahuna's bro Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? dc the heroes mostly cooperate marvel the heroes fight each other as much as fightncrooks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrestlinggeek Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? Given recent events, something that stands out in my mind is that DC does continuity-wide reboots when they are not needed, and Marvel doesn't do them when they are needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starblaze Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? A comic book reviewer that I like to watch at times summed it up like this. DC has heroes that you look up to, Marvel has heroes that you can relate to. Marvel has always been more adult to me than DC because their characters are more human than DC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? In addition to othre observations here, for me it's always been about Spectacle. DC heroes are much more colorful and spectacular, their powers are more literally fantastic. In the costumes threads I've talked about heroes using logos and signature looks. DC heroes typically embrace this, where Marvel characters shun it. Marvel wants a more 'realistic' tone and that becomes more evident as we go along. Compare Superman and Captain America. Look at how their looks have evolved in the past two years. Superman has gone on to even more fantastic Kryptonian armor while Cap is trying to emulate real Earth soldiers more and more. It's a great example of the costumes vs uniforms discussion. Powers wise, DC is visually much brighter. Just compare the sheer number of characters in each company with flight, for example. DC has more energy projectors, too. Very flashy. Speaking of which, look at the difference between the premiere speedsters in each company. Every Flash runs hundreds of thousands of times faster than Pietro, no exaggeration. It's the difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound. No Marvel brick has ever moved an entire planet, even in the Silver Age, but a handful of DC characters have. This is not to say either one is inherently better, of course, it's just the general flavor difference I get when comparing the two universes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? DC have the legendary characters. Marvel has the legendary continuity. DC characters are larger then life. Marvel has created a world where those with superpowers exist together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? DC Heroes are recognized by the public as heroes. Even Batman. They cooperate with the authorities and are often called in to save the days. Marvel Heroes with a few exceptions like The Avengers, Captain America, and the Fantastic Four are often view with suspicion. The Government doesn't trust them and that's why you've got SHIELD in the Marvel Universe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? Every character in DC is exactly like Superman in all respects. Every character in Marvel is exactly like Wolverine in all respects. And nothing has changed at either company since 1963.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? eh, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? Every character in DC is exactly like Superman in all respects. Every character in Marvel is exactly like Wolverine in all respects. And nothing has changed at either company since 1963.... lol I do think there is something to be gleamed by the amount of copying between companies. Marvel has created multiple clones of Superman, one of the JLA, one of the Legion of Superheroes. I'm sure there are others. How many copies of Marvel characters has DC made? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? Typical DC characters - Catwoman, Tim Drake. Typical Marvel characters - Doctor Strange, Thor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted December 16, 2012 Report Share Posted December 16, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? How many copies of Marvel characters has DC made? Lots, but usually one-offs or satirical. One serious example. Most of the Inferior Five's opponents were based on Marvel characters. The Scarlet Skier was a more modern satirical example, as was his employer, Mr Nebula, the planetary decorator. One of the coolest examples was the pseudo-crossover between The Invaders (Marvel) and The Freedom Fighters (DC). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix240 Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Re: DC and Marvel: What Makes Them Different? In addition to othre observations here, for me it's always been about Spectacle. DC heroes are much more colorful and spectacular, their powers are more literally fantastic. In the costumes threads I've talked about heroes using logos and signature looks. DC heroes typically embrace this, where Marvel characters shun it. Marvel wants a more 'realistic' tone and that becomes more evident as we go along. Compare Superman and Captain America. Look at how their looks have evolved in the past two years. Superman has gone on to even more fantastic Kryptonian armor while Cap is trying to emulate real Earth soldiers more and more. It's a great example of the costumes vs uniforms discussion. Powers wise, DC is visually much brighter. Just compare the sheer number of characters in each company with flight, for example. DC has more energy projectors, too. Very flashy. Speaking of which, look at the difference between the premiere speedsters in each company. Every Flash runs hundreds of thousands of times faster than Pietro, no exaggeration. It's the difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound. No Marvel brick has ever moved an entire planet, even in the Silver Age, but a handful of DC characters have. This is not to say either one is inherently better, of course, it's just the general flavor difference I get when comparing the two universes. Nicely put. Would you say the Champions Universe feels closer to the DC Universe or the Marvel Universe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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