It's been a while since I've posted anything. Everyone else has been doing such a good job I've just been enjoying reading. However, recent discussions with friends has prompted me to put my take on the debate here to see how it holds up with my people.
The debate is DC versus Marvel in the realm of Hollywood. My friends have been posing the following question for months now and each time I have to tell them the same answer. So, here goes.
Question:
Why does DC do so well with animated movies and Marvel do so well with live action movies but the reverse is not true?
Answer:
It all comes to down the universes themselves and, most importantly, the main characters.
DC has magnificent, awesome, and powerful characters.
Superman-last son of a dead world with pretty much unbeatable powers and only one, albeit limited, weakness.
Batman-orphaned billionaire with PTSD who flaunts himself a playboy by day but thumps bad guys by night and who can land on a car from 30 stories with no injuries.
Wonder Woman-moody Amazon molded from clay and given life by an Olympian with nearly unbeatable powers and an unimpressive rogues gallery
Aquaman-half-human/half-Atlantean with pretty good powers who can swim underwater without diving gear and can summon the oceans denizens to serve him
Green Lantern-a guy with issues who wields a deadly intergalactic law enforcement weapon and deals with bad guys on earth and space
Flash-super fast and nearly unbeatable, depending on who is under the mask, with a mediocre rogues gallery
Martian Manhunter-another last son of a dead world who is nearly invulnerable and can read minds and shapeshift
These, and the lesser characters, all relate well to the animated format because the universe around them is so fantastic it needs animation to do it proper justice. Metropolis, Gotham City, Central City, Star City, and Coast City are so like our cities but better!
The characters themselves are the ultimate fantasy heroes because they are portrayed as minimally flawed and nearly invincible. That is the great escape, to a world where heroes are near deity in every way.
Marvel has spectacular, amazing, and incredible characters.
Captain America-a regular guy who wanted to fight for his country and got the chance by a genetic experiment that made him a super soldier that is out of place 70 years later but still lives by honor while trying to figure out what normal is
Iron Man-an egocentric, rich, genius, alcoholic, playboy whose own ambitions caused him to be humbled and become a hero who still has many character issues
Thor-yes, a deity, but one whose arrogance gets humbled and finds a purpose defending Earth despite interaction difficulties with mere mortals
Hulk-a nerdy guy who finds himself the victim of an accident that causes sever bodily reorganization with rage and immense power when anger overtakes him
Wolverine-a typical loner who was born with a genetic mutation and put through a horrible experiment that has all left him quite a gruff, tempermental, head case of a hero who tries to do what he believes is right
Spiderman-a geeky kid turned hero by a borderline ethical experiment who has had to balance high school, college, work, and love with the great power/great responsibility conscience thing
These and the lesser characters all work great in live action because their universe is the real world. No need to figure out where made up cities are on the map in relation to their real world counterparts who also exist on that map.
Plus, they all have one common thing: they are relatable because they are flawed and beatable. That what we really want to see, that heroes are just like us but, through whatever circumstance, rise up to be the heroes when needed while still dealing with real life issues.
The basic truth is that we watch animation to escape and we watch live action to relate.
The characters and universe of DC are a true escape, which is why their animated movies are so great. It is also why, with maybe 3 or exceptions, their live action movies are not so great. The difficulty lies in translating fantastic escape to a relatable experiance.
The characters and universe of Marvel are truly relatable, which is why their live action movies are so great. On the flip side, when translating them to animation, the temptation is to make them more than what they are and, thus, the finished animated movies of Marvel leave you feeling like something wasn't quite right.
Now, before you go bashing me one way or another, I am neither a DC or Marvel junkie. I am a comic book junkie. I collect my favorites from both and have all the animated and live action movies and series of both.
This is just my humble take on the original question that many seem to ponder:
Why does DC do so well with animated movies and Marvel do so well with live action movies but the reverse is not true?
Feel free to offer your insight on this question. I look forward to reading your thoughts but, try to keep it clean, please.