A friend was just wondering…Does the DC Comics universe use real-life brand names (Like McDonalds, etc.), like Marvel comics does ; or does it use fake brand names (“Burger Lord” for “Burger King,” etc.)?
In the '80s, they used real brand names (Martian Manhunter was addicted to Oreo cookies in Justice League International), but more often than not, they use fictitious brands now (the official “retcon” is that he craves “Chocos” cookies). Occasionally writers will use names of real bands or movies, like James Robinson often did in Starman, to make lead character Jack Knight seem like more of a “real” person. But then a lot of DCU business and technological references are to LexCorp and Wayne Enterprises and STAR Labs, so it seems less like the “real” world.
Of course in Wildcats, a Wildstorm comic (published by DC, but not set in the official DC Universe), the entire comic centers around the fictitious Halo Corporation, and its efforts to change the world through marketing and branding.
Popular brands, aside from those directly connected to the super-community, like Lexcorp, Wayne Enterprise, and STAR labs, include Soder Cola, Big Belly Burger, and another burger place with an Irish theme. O’Shaugnassey’s or somnething like that.
IIRC, Big Belly Burger is more p[opular in Metropolis, while the Irish one draws a bigger share in Gotham.
One episode of the Batman animated series (the episode where the Penguin tracks down Batman’s mechanic) mentions a car company named Central Motors, which is presumably a fictionalized version of General Motors.
In Starman, there’s a big billboard advertising Chesterfield cigarettes…a genuine brand. In fact, that billboard was important as a plot resolution in one of the stories (I won’t spoil it for those who have yet to get the pleasure of reading Starman.)
Also in Starman, since the hero deals in collectibles, the items he sells are often real-world items, brand names included.
Speaking of Metropolis, Gotham City, and fake brand names:
It’s obvious that Metropolis is supposed to be New York City.
Is Gotham City supposed to mimic a real-life city, too? Chicago, perhaps?
New York.
Not that either of them IS New York (which exists in the DCU and has at least one superteam based out of it), they’re just based on it.
Mr. Blue Sky explaned it perfectly in another thread. Metropolis is the good parts of New York, while Gotham City is the bad parts.