The Marvel vs. DC debate is one that will stand until the end of time. It is a debate that has raged for decades, and continues through every new type of media, most recently movies. The interesting thing about the comic characters transitions to the big screen are that Marvel is succeeding in big ways while DC is doing their best to stay afloat. Wonder Woman is the only film that has received any praise.
There are people on both sides of this argument. Some think that the Marvel films are bad, while the other side feels that the DC are horrendous. It is an ongoing debate that has recent began to catch fire. One person who has the portfolio to weigh in on this debate is Mark Millar. Millar previously worked for both Marvel and DC, writing some of the best comic storylines to date. Some of his characters have even been adapted for the movies. Millar thinks he knows why the Marvel films receive critical and commercial success while the DC films struggle.
Image: Warner Brothers Pictures
In a recent interview with Yahoo, Millar was asked why he thinks Marvel succeeds where DC fails:
“I think it’s really simple, the [DC] characters aren’t cinematic. And I say [that] 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, with the exception of Batman, they aren’t based around their secret identity. They are based around their super power. Whereas the Marvel characters tend to be based around the personality of Matt Murdock or Peter Parker or the individual X-Men, it’s all about the character.
Image: Marvel Studios
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.
People will slam me for this but I think the evidence is there. We’ve seen great directors, great writers and great actors, tonnes of money thrown at them, but these films aren’t working. I think they are all too far away from when they were created. Something feels a little old about them, kids look at these characters and they don’t feel that cool. Even Superman, I love Superman, but he belongs to an America that doesn’t exist anymore. He represents 20th Century America and I think he peaked then.”
Image: Marvel Studios
Although Millar has a pedigree to make statements and claims like this, it is hard to argue with the success of Wonder Woman earlier this year. Can the DCEU recover, bringing future films into a good light with most audiences, not just hardcore DC fans? Only more films can answer that.
The next big DC film hitting theaters will be Aquaman in December. Marvel has three films hitting theaters this year: Black Panther (currently in theaters), Avengers Infinity War (May 4, 2018), and Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 6, 2018).
