Well, there are a few rivalries that really do feel like they will be lasting forever-Coke or Pepsi, Yankees and Red Sox, and Marvel vs. DC. These two comics competitors have tried to outdo each other for years now, and it has been translated into their shared universes. While the DCEU has tried to play catch up with Suicide Squad and Justice League, the MCU remained at the top. Comic book writer, Mark Millar, had this to say:
“I think it’s really simple the characters aren’t cinematic, and I say this as a massive DC fan who much prefers their characters to Marvel’s. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are some of my favorites, but I think these characters, except Batman, they aren’t based around their secret identity they are based around their super power. Whereas the Marvel characters tend to be based on the personality of Matt Murdock or Peter Parker or the individual X-Men, it’s all about the character.”
It seems like the focus here is that the characters in Marvel are more human and relatable. This surely does help the audiences feel much more connected to the TV shows and movies. The heroes of DC are simple and focused on saving the day alone with the exception of, Batman.
The Dark Knight is rooted in his deep pain, and he struggles with letting his alter ego taking over and also holds himself to a moral code. When Stan Lee created the characters from in Marvel comics, he had focused on creating flawed characters. The X-Men had been ostracized from the world, but the Justice League is a team to whom the world is thankful.
Mark Millar also added this:
“DC, outside of Batman, is not about the character. With Batman, you can understand him, and you can worry about him but someone like Green Lantern, he has this ring that allows him to create 3D physical manifestations and green plasma with the thoughts in his head but he’s allergic to the color yellow! How do you make a movie with that? In 1952 that made perfect sense but now the audience have no idea what that’s all about.”
Marvel’s Black Panther is now running in theaters, and the DCEU’s next movie is Aquaman which will release on December 21, 2018.