Marvel vs DC: A difference in the media and why that's perfectly fine

(Full disclosure, I'm a bigger fan of Marvel than DC in most respects)

I grew up watching the 90's X-Men cartoon most Saturday mornings and playing X-Men during recess at school. I also grew up watching the astounding Batman Cartoon (Kevin Conroy is Batman and they should just put his voice over every Batman ever). I remember the tragedy of Batman and Robin...(I'm not gonna link it, eat it). Near the end of my high school years was when Comic Book movies really started to hit their something.. The Spider-Man trilogy had just finished and the X-Men trilogy also ended. Daredevil and Fantastic Four had bombed enough to end their movie runs as did Punisher and Ghost Rider (though 3 of those got sequels). Between 2000-2010 Marvel released around 13 films (not counting the current Marvel Cinematic Universe). In that same time, DC released 4 live action films...Superman Returns and the Christopher Nolan Batman Trilogy. But the differences don't stop there. Most of Marvel's movies (excluding X-Men) did their best to keep to the iconic costumes of their characters and retained the fantastic elements (which sometimes didn't work i.e. Ghost Rider, Daredevil). Superman Returns did the same thing. Classic Superman look, Classic Superman villain, classic Superman everything. It obviously didn't sell very well or do well with the fans, probably due to lack of action. Ironic coming from a hero that first appeared in Action Comics. Batman, on the other hand, sought instead to ground itself in a gritty realism, which worked very much to its advantage. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight are some of the best films of that Decade and cemented Heath Ledger (rest his soul) as one of the best actors of his day. It also has been the foundation for the current feel of DC in general.

Marvel and DC both had mixed reception on video games. Both had several side scrolling beat'em ups (which you can't really go wrong there) during the NES, SNES, and Genesis era. But at the turn of the consoles to 3D platforms such as the N64 or the Playstation 1&2, things began to get dicey. Marvel had some huge successes with the Marvel vs Capcom series and Spider-Man 2. The Ultimate Alliance games did quite well as well. DC...well...can any of you name any great DC games on the PS1&2 or N64 or Gamecube or Xbox? DC did experiment with Netherrealm Studios to make Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe and while that particular collaboration didn't go so well, it did offer a glimpse of things to come.

This decade of the 2000's had a lot of experimentation going on and only now, within the past 3-4 years are we really seeing the payoff and don't expect to see the end of it anytime soon.

The video game arena has mostly been abandoned by Marvel. The last notable game was Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, which was released only 6 months after Marvel vs Capcom 3. This, at least my understanding is, was mostly Capcom's fault and that (the flooding of the fighting game market) is another topic. However, DC has repented severely for their mistakes from the last decade. The Arkham games (Asylum, City, Origins, and most recently Knight) have been some of the highest selling games this decade (although, not without some bumps).  Netherrealm Studios found new ground for it's a main franchise Mortal Kombat when the series rebooted. This gave the studio a shot in the arm and allowed them to make Injustice: Gods Among Us, a DC fighting game. This game received good reviews across the board and, instead of releasing a whole new $60 game to patch up the old one and add new characters, took advantage of current technology and allowed for DLC for new characters (which...is a mixed bag of nuts). DC has made the effort to put it's name back in the video game market.

In regards to the movies, Marvel has essentially stayed with the same idea it had last decade, just with more fervor. Keep true to the comics in as many ways as possible. However, they also decided that maybe they should get better directors and increase the budget. They also decided to do what the comics do themselves, collaborate with different writers so that the movies intertwine and mingle with one another. They keep their movies very lighthearted and able to reach a wide audience. This works for them. This is also why don't see a lot of solo Hulk movies. Hulk isn't really a comedy character by himself, and he is alone most of the time. Every other character can get a few laughs in there every once and awhile. I'm not going to talk about the X-men or Fantastic 4 movies since they still aren't owned by Marvel/Disney, but X-men, after Days of Future Past, seem to be following suit whereas FF hasn't, but we'll see.

DC, on the other hand...they ditched the whole kit and caboodle. They started over from scratch with Man of Steel, a Christopher Nolan inspired Superman movie. Most fans didn't seem to like very much, myself among them (See my post). However...The Batman v Superman movie trailers...they're making me rethink my stance on DC movies. The only thing that is really holding DC back is the confidence that Marvel has. Marvel is so confident that you'll like their movies they've released two a year for the past couple years and they're so confident that they're bumping it up to three in a few years. DC...Man of Steel was released 2013...Batman v Superman...2016. They are now feeling more confident that they're willing to meet Marvel at the two movies a year mark beginning next year, but that's a lot of ground to make up. The dark atmosphere  of the current DC cinematic universe also fits with this other media outlets. Injustice was made by the guys who made Mortal Kombat, one of the darker, more gritty fighting games ever made.

That's how things are now. It wasn't always this way. DC has a history of being the more campy, bright, hopeful version of the two rivaling comic book companies. Need Proof? Here. I really don't need much more than that. Even in the comics, DC was always full of hope while Marvel had a set of heroes whose whole schtick was that they were hated simply for being what they were, mutants. It's okay for a brand or franchise to rebrand themselves, even if it's the polar opposite.