# Marvel vs DC. You can only choose one **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-books-manga\ **Created:** [August 5, 2023, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125 "2023-08-05T23:56:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/41 "2023-08-06T12:52:28Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > This made the choice surprisingly easy. I could give a toss about the mainstream DC capes, but the Vertigo stuff like Sandman, Lucifer, Books of Magic, Swamp Thing, Hellblazer and Watchmen kind of compel me to vote DC. That’s half the decision for me–specifically _Sandman_, which is so much better than any other comic I’ve ever read (including other Vertigo titles) that it’s not even close. The other half, though–hot take time–is that if it’s only based on movies, I’m still choosing DC. Why? Because they’re worse. Although I enjoy individual Marvel movies, the way they’ve taken over cinema has not been positive. They’re super-formulaic, and they’ve sucked the oxygen out of the room for a generation of actors, writers, directors, and moviegoers. While other stuff is of course being made, non-Marvel movies have felt at the edges of movies over the past decade or two. If Marvel went away, with its hugely successful superhero movie formula, I wonder what movies would have been made instead. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/42 "2023-08-06T13:00:08Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > If Marvel went away, with its hugely successful superhero movie formula, I wonder what movies would have been made instead. More F&F and MI knockoff movies, I should think. I don’t agree with your overall take - I think it’s a change in the movie industry as a whole, and isn’t on Marvel. If they went away, there wouldn’t suddenly be a rush of arthouse movies. Just more of the same. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/43 "2023-08-06T13:00:45Z")
Vertigo is so stylistically different than everything else DC does, I would consider it a separate company—especially the Sandman universe. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/44 "2023-08-06T13:00:51Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > More F&F and MI knockoff movies, I should think. I don’t agree with your overall take - I think it’s a change in the movie industry as a whole, and isn’t on Marvel. If they went away, there wouldn’t suddenly be a rush of arthouse movies. Just more of the same. Maybe you’re right. I’m just so freaking tired of Marvel. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/45 "2023-08-06T13:36:07Z")
As a kid I liked Superman comic books. I never got into Batman and went nowhere near Marvel. So, DC. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/46 "2023-08-06T14:57:20Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m just so freaking tired of Marvel. I finally got there with the latest TV show (_Secret Invasion_) and the trailer for _The Marvels_. The MCU is at a point where, if it was comic book, they would put it on hiatus and return with a completely different creative team with a much longer leash as far as continuity is concerned. I’m probably out until they give _The Fantastic Four_ another shot. Still, Marvel is head and shoulders above the grim and joyless world of DC which hasn’t been fun since about 1966. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/47 "2023-08-06T15:07:58Z")
I think the success of The Dark Knight/Batman Trilogy with Christian bale gave DC the wrong idea that all their superhero movies had to be dark and brooding. But no one wants a dark and brooding Superman. Or Wonder Woman. Or Aquaman. The first Shazam movie managed to capture some lightness and fun of the comics but even it had a sense of darkness that really held it back from being great as it could have been. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/48 "2023-08-06T15:31:06Z")
I was a DC kid: Legion of Superheroes, Supergirl, Batman when he still had the giant penny in the Batcave - back when DC was fun. But endless reboots and Snyder killed that joy for good. Now it’s Marvel and no looking back. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/49 "2023-08-06T15:35:45Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > They used to pair Green Arrow with Green Lantern for a while as a kind of “odd couple” team. Green Arrow had a bit of a “fuck the man!” attitude and also thought Green Lantern had a stick up his ass. I remember that era! Green Arrow with long hair and a blonde beard, yes? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/50 "2023-08-06T15:40:15Z")
[![](https://mlpnk72yciwc.i.optimole.com/cqhiHLc.IIZS~2ef73/w:600/h:933/q:75/https://bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/gl-85-facsimile-cvr.jpg) ](https://mlpnk72yciwc.i.optimole.com/cqhiHLc.IIZS~2ef73/w:600/h:933/q:75/https://bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/gl-85-facsimile-cvr.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/51 "2023-08-06T15:47:43Z")
I see that a lot of you young 'uns are counting movies in your assessment. I didn’t do that. So I’d now considering that in the equation I’d like to keep my vote the same. Marvel is still better. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/52 "2023-08-06T16:14:33Z")
In both scenarios we geet to keep Dark Horse, Image, IDW, Boom! Studios, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/53 "2023-08-06T17:01:15Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I see that a lot of you young 'uns are counting movies in your assessment. I didn’t do that. The OP asked about “which franchise will disappear forever” and “never be seen again.” The word “franchise” makes me think of movies, and I interpreted it as applying to all media featuring Marvel or DC characters; but it wasn’t clearly defined. Also ambiguous is whether the OP meant that just there would be no new releases, or whether all previous appearances of the characters would disappear (but we’d still remember them), or whether even our memories of them would be wiped out. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/54 "2023-08-06T17:29:33Z")
I bought every single Marvel comic I could find back when they were 12 cents. My favorites were X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Thor (Astonishing Tales) though I bought every other comic. Including Nick Fury and Millie the Model! (I had an embarrassing little crush on Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner. And on both The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.) I eventually outgrew them, I guess, though I always wondered what happened to Reed and Sue’s kid, Franklin. I had a box 3 feet high full of Marvel comics…I thought Superman was corny, dated, and the stories dumb. Batman did nothing for me. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/55 "2023-08-06T17:33:53Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > The OP asked about “which franchise will disappear forever” and “never be seen again.” The word “franchise” makes me think of movies, and I interpreted it as applying to all media featuring Marvel or DC characters; but it wasn’t clearly defined. I thought of all associated media also, but I don’t think much of the movies. The comic books are the art, the movies are just marketing gimmicks that got out of control. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/56 "2023-08-06T17:45:38Z")
Which was hilarious. DC started with all their guys as upper-class white dudes basically fighting crime for kicks. Green Arrow’s origin story started as him falling of his _yacht_, for goodness’s sakes. The former industrialist became a pseudo-hippy because his comic wasn’t selling and DC wanted to appeal to the yutes. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/57 "2023-08-06T20:56:27Z")
I’m 72 and threw away DC within a short time of discovering Marvel with Fantastic Four #8. With some reservations. I thought Spider-Man #1 to be the worst comic in had ever seen. But I came around. I still have a soft spot for the early 1950s Batman, when he was the greatest detective in the world, and not a grim, nighttime psychopath. Of course I include movies with the franchise. Movies _are_ the franchise today. Movies are seen by 100,000,000 people and comics by maybe 50,000. Superman and Batman got all the great media treatments until recently but Marvel started destroying them. (And is running a good thing into the ground, so maybe in ten years I’ll say something different.) If the roles were switched and DC made the fun, watchable stuff and Marvel dreary stuff about psychopaths I would have voted DC. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/58 "2023-08-06T21:15:34Z")
I couldn’t pick “neither,” but I am definitely in the _Trek_ camp. Tripler Live long, and prosper. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/59 "2023-08-06T21:19:59Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Of course I include movies with the franchise. Movies _are_ the franchise today. Movies are seen by 100,000,000 people and comics by maybe 50,000. Superman and Batman got all the great media treatments until recently but Marvel started destroying them. I’m in agreement with you here. For the vast majority of Americans, Thanos wanted the Infinity Stones so he could cut the population of the universe in half. In the comics Thanos wanted to impress Death because he had a crush on her. For a lot of kids who watched Teen Titans on Cartoon Network, Starfire was kind of a fish-out-water who just wanted to make friends and be accepted for who she was. But if those same kids picked up a comic book from that same time she was characterized in part by her hypersexuality. Kind of a big change. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125/60 "2023-08-06T23:35:33Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > I couldn’t pick “neither,” but I am definitely in the _Trek_ camp. Funny enough, both Marvel and DC have done Trek comics at different times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-vs-dc-you-can-only-choose-one/988125.md?page=4)