DC vs. Marvel?

[Echo3Niner]

Frankly, the two companies borrow from each other, not just in storylines but in creative talent, so much that many of the differences have faded. It's all really a matter of which one is going what direction THIS cycle. I grew up more on Marvel in the 70s, and then shifted to DC in the 80s, and then...well, in the late 90s I dropped comics. Now I tend to zip back and forth trying to find the type of stories I like.

 

I agree with this to a point (I completely agree about the talent shifting back and forth); but not from an ambiance/editorial feel perspective.

 

I get the sense DC, with it's make believe cities, and kinda corn-ball stories; is almost a little more Alice in Wonderland...  I keep wondering if the heroes are going to wake up at some point and realize they were dreaming all this time (would explain why they keep rebooting the universe so much, cause you know, the heroes wake up a little, then start dreaming over again...)

 

Marvel, using real cities, and often real headlines, just seems more real, from a feel perspective.

 

I think this is an editorial style, and even though the talent shifts back and forth, I think they have to work within the editorial context of the universe they're working in...

 

Just my thoughts.

[Hermit]

Well, no worries, it's perfectly legal to agree to disagree, even on the internet.  

 

I actually don't think DC is really anymore 'cornball' than Marvel really. Both companies have fictional settings, talking apes, and the like. And Marvel relies so much on their version of NYC that, I honestly don't give them much credit for 'real cities' because it's all about their version of the Big Apple in 90% of what they put out. 

 

But Marvel started the 'humans in masks' trend against DC's original take on 'legends in human form' and both are now stuck to some degree with those reputations IMO. Frankly, it strikes me a little of comparing Star Trek vs Star Wars...both have their fans, and their preferred tropes, but you can have some pretty kick ass adventures in either one and a lot of the material is interchangeable if you file the serial numbers off

[Christopher R Taylor]

DC started in a very good direction when they did Crisis on Infinite Earths, it allowed them a reboot while keeping the continuity they liked, but they threw that all away in short order.

[TheQuestionMan]

I just wish they used it more for Character and Other continuity changes.

 

JM2C

 

QM

[Greywind]

They did. They found new ways to eff up continuity based off Crisis.

[Echo3Niner]

I actually don't think DC is really anymore 'cornball' than Marvel really.

 

I should have said "cornball heroes and character types", more so than stories.  It just seems to me that the majority of DC characters are "other worldly", whether aliens, or Amazonians, or whatever.  Where Marvel seems to have more based on Altered Humans and Mutated Humans, with less (note I said less, not none) of their main heroes being "out of towners".

 

DC has a lot of their main crop of heroes having come here from somewhere else (other planet, sequestered culture, other dimension, etc.).  Most of Marvel's main crop of heroes are or were normal humans, then something extraordinary happened to them (whether altered thru some freak accident or due to mutant genes).

 

So, Marvel is a little more relate-able than DC, in my opinion.  "That could happen to me."  vs. "I wish I was from somewhere else..."

 

That's what I was really going for.

 

Though:

 

Marvel's perils were more real world.  Characters would be jailed, break up with lovers, have loved ones die, be framed for crimes they didn't commit, be considered a menace and hunted by the government.

 

DC's characters would be transformed into plants, trees, snow, beams of light, turned into the opposite sex, and have to face extra-dimensional beings with vast powers. 

 

I agree with this too, when you talk about stories.  So, cornball heroes, character types AND stories.

Edited October 4, 2014 by Echo3Niner

[Andrew_A]

DC all the way. Especially the magical periods of 1938 to 1951 and 1959 to 1969.

 

My problem with Marvel is that, since the 1970s, everyone writes like some variation of Stan Lee. To me, that's boring. To be honest, if everyone in the industry started writing like John Broome or Gardner Fox, I'd be a huge Marvel fan. I just don't like the idea of slavishly copying other writers.

[Cassandra]

Marvel Superheroes tended to have more "realistic" powers then DC, especially during the Silver/Bronze Age.  No one is surprised that Superman can fly faster then the speed of light, while Spider-Man could manage about 60" MPH while swinging on his web line.  

 

Further more Marvel characters had a lot of restrictions on their powers.  Namor would have 60 STR while hydrated, which does down to 55 STR when dried out.  Thor originally had to keep holding his Hammer otherwise he would return to his Dr. Donald Blake form.  Dazzler's light powers were depended on the amount of sound that was available.

 

DC characters tended to have a fatal weakness that would leave them dying and helpless.  Superman with his Kryptonite, Aquaman a lack of water, Green Lantern the color yellow (or wood).  Wonder Woman having her bracelets chained together by a man.

 

Marvel's perils were more real world.  Characters would be jailed, break up with lovers, have loved ones die, be framed for crimes they didn't commit, be considered a menace and hunted by the government.

 

DC's characters would be transformed into plants, trees, snow, beams of light, turned into the opposite sex, and have to face extra-dimensional beings with vast powers.  

[Old Man]

Well, no worries, it's perfectly legal to agree to disagree, even on the internet.

WRONG!!!

 

 

I actually don't think DC is really anymore 'cornball' than Marvel really. Both companies have fictional settings, talking apes, and the like.

I feel that the 'cornball' perception stems from very early Golden Age stuff, and the Adam West Batman, where DC was just more prevalent. By the time Marvel came around comics had already started edging a bit more toward the 'realism' end of the spectrum.

[Greywind]

Marvel came around before the Adam West Batman.

[culhwch]

DC all the way.  My current collection is around 70% DC, 15% Marvel, and 15% everything else (which is mostly Dynamite & IDW).  The only Marvel titles I'm currently reading are  All-New Invaders and Spider-Man 2099 (although I did pick up the new female Thor for a try-out).  Whearas I'm getting about half of DC's output. 

 

I lost interest in Marvel in the 90s -- the stories just weren't what I wanted to read. 

[Hyper-Man]

The better question is "which company has the better comedy character?"
Ambush Bug vs. Deadpool

[bubba smith]

to answer hyper-man

DC

[zslane]

But I was actually offended by Superman and Wonder Woman doing the horizontal mambo in a cornfield.

I think I know where you're coming from. I presume you were offended that the writers so egregiously violated the established characterization and personal histories of those two icons; in effect saying "F*** you" to long-time fans. I felt essentially the same way about the J.J. Abrams Trek films.

 

But this leads to an interesting question: to what extent should the characterizations of fictional people be protected from such egregious mishandling? At what point does a cultural icon become disqualified from reboots, re-envisionings, and wild adaptations? And who gets to decide what is okay and what is not okay for a character? The rights holders? The fans? The fans have a say in the form of their buying choices, but are we perhaps taking the notion of "cultural ownership" too far when we allow ourselves to become personally offended by such things?

[Christopher R Taylor]

You can't really generalize, because DC and Marvel have gone through a lot of phases and changes, so you can't say they're all one way or another.

[bigdamnhero]

I voted Marvel, but I've gone back & forth over the years. Was definitely a Marvel fanboy growing up; read plenty of both in college; quite reading comics at all for many years; got back into Marvel for awhile, but then Civil War and related atrocities drove me away; started reading and enjoying more DC titles, and even enjoyed the New 52 for about the first 12-18 months until I got really bored with them. The last DC title I was reading was Batgirl, and with Gail Simone leaving the book I expect I'll be dropping it too. Now I'm back to reading a few Marvel titles: the new Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye being my current faves. I read more Indie comics (Astro City, Saga, etc) these days than both the big houses combined.

 

DC's main weakness is the lack of continuity and their tendency to destroy the universe every few years or so. 

OTOH, one of Marvel's weaknesses is their universe sometimes teeters under the weight of so much continuity. When you have things like Civil War and the Clone Saga moldering in your backstory, the occasional reboot doesn't sound so bad. I understand DC's desire to wipe the slate clean every few years - the problems are they do it too often, and they tend to do it poorly.

 

Someone on here (Cassandra?) once described DC heroes as, "gods with off switches," and Marvel heroes as, "people with superpowers." I definitely identify more with the latter.

This!

 

I've always liked the idea behind Marvel more, that there are people behind the masks who are occasionally fallible and make mistakes. Marvel is far more adept than DC at telling "human stories". At it's best, Marvel can be poignant and clever. At it's worst, it's garbage. At it's best, DC is over the top theatre. At it's worst, it's still garbage..

This too!

[Christopher R Taylor]

Marvel definitely could use a reboot after some of the atrocities they've committed (Civil War, Clone Saga, Fall of the Mutants).

 

Mostly I like stuff like Astro City, which was worth its weight in leaf gold the first years and still is quite good.

[assault]

I'm definitely DC, if only because I read it first when I was a kid. My first encounter with Marvel was a promotion with (IIRC) an ice cream company using images of Marvel characters when I was a wee lad. I didn't know who the characters were, so it didn't work for me.

 

I have, of course, read a lot of Marvel since, including the cool 60s stuff, and a lot of good stuff since then.

 

That said, I went to my Friendly Local Comics Store today, and bought a graphic novel reprint of early 80s New Teen Titans, plus the latest issues of Earth-2 and World's Finest. All DC.

 

I like the Earth-2 related stories. They don't suffer as much from crossover-itis as the main universe titles. Oh, sure, there's a "five years later" concept threatening in the wings, but the universe is mainly free standing.

 

And the characters are cool. Apparently Kara Zor-El (the Earth-2 version, aka Power Girl) knew the new Superman (Val-Zod) when they were kids on Krypton. Excuse me, Val-WHO?

 

And there's the new Batman, Jimmy Olsen, Red Tornado, Aquawoman and a whole bunch of neat characters, including the original protagonists - Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, Hawkwoman, Dr Fate.... Cool. Unless/until they mess it up. Which they will.