Marvel & DC: Can They Coexist? - Editorial
Ever since the Suicide Squad and Batman v. Superman trailers came out at SDCC (with absolutely nothing from Marvel), people have been up-in-arms and suddenly the once-promising MCU is being criticized for crimes that it would never have been panned for a year ago. Meanwhile, Marvel fanboys (including myself) are continuing their sustained hate campaign against anything DC-related.
Today, I’d like to ask the question: is it even possible for DC and Marvel to coexist? Does one always have to trump the other? Can there be peace in the galaxy? Now, I will say: in this article I may be slightly biased. I’m a hardcore Marvel fanboy, and we’re ALWAYS biased. But at the same time, though I’m hardcore, I’m not an immediate hater of DC. I enjoy CW’s The Flash and Arrow. I thought Man of Steel wasn’t the worst thing in the world. And Smallville is always going to be lodged deep in my heart somewhere.
But let’s get back to the original topic. A few weeks ago, I watched a video from Beyond the Trailer on YouTube regarding what they called “Marvel’s mess and how to fix it.”
Instantly I was on guard, and I posted many uncharacteristically raging comments toward this video in the comments below. And of course, instantly the even-more-raging replies rained right on in. People lectured me on how Marvel IS in a mess, and how compared to DC it is child’s play, a series of Brady Bunch kiddie movies that no one will care about when BVS and Suicide Squad come out.
I hadn’t even made a reference to DC, but instantly it was the topic of debate. The question was no longer “Is Marvel a Mess?” but instead “Is DC Better Than Marvel’s Mess?”
And there were a LOT of people stacked against me.
This year hasn’t been the best in the world for Marvel Studios. Age of Ultron brought in a good amount of money, but the fact that it didn’t beat the first film hurt their pride a bit, and the fact that fans were extremely divided on its quality hurt it even more. Then, Ant-Man came out and fans were divided on THAT as well, with the money racking in solidly but not astonishingly. And suddenly, all over the internet, Marvel is no longer the rock-solid, Godlike brand of heaven that it once was. Suddenly people are panning its film plots, lack of diversity, lack of consequences, etc. All of the things I just mentioned were problems that existed before this year, but people didn’t care about them until now. But this issue, combined with the fact that DC has given us a dazzling trailer for both Suicide Squad AND Batman V. Superman, has created a massive crack in the Marvel brand that people feel they must drive a nail into.
Now, I feel that this is something Marvel can recover from very easily. I feel that Civil War will be the fix for all of the ‘problems’ we’ve seen this year and I also feel that Marvel has been in worse spots and recovered. But that is article for another time…today I want to dare to wonder: why do DC fans feel like they must build the coffin for the Marvel brand if they want their own fandom to last? What about vice-versa?
I mean, can’t we have both?
That question is more complicated than it seems. The easy answer would be yes! And I still think that’s a possibility. But at the same time, cinema catches onto themes and trends, and all of Hollywood is (it would seem) forced to follow or be left behind because of fans comparing the current trend to the previous. Right now, cinema seems to be moving toward a darker path. We have Deadpool set to be a massive success in theaters, Suicide Squad pumping everyone up, and Batman v. Superman already being assumed to make over a billion dollars. It would seem now that the trend is to get gritty, go dark, and forget about that whole ‘family-friendly’ thing. And it would also seem that that’s a path Marvel isn’t willing to venture onto. I admire them for that. But it could very well mean that they might be left behind…right?
Let’s go back to the 2000s. The thing about cinema trends is that they runs in cycles, and that’s why I’m making the case that we did this whole ‘gritty and dark’ thing before. Think about it…in the time just before Iron Man came out in 2008, comic-book movies were mostly doom and gloom. Spider-Man 3, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Transformers, Sin City, Watchmen and of course the Dark Knight films were all examples of successful (mostly) films/franchises that were completely alright with doom, gloom, and darkness. But in 2008, suddenly that all changed. The first Iron Man film was released, and its witty humor and charm and Robert Downey Jr-isms charmed fanboys and mainstream audiences alike. This sparked the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a whole trend of light and fun comic-book movies. They were mostly, of course, Marvel…but some other studios tried to follow the trend as well. Green Lantern is a clear sign that even DC knew they might have to change their ways if they wanted to coexist with the light-heartedness of Marvel. Obviously, they failed immensely. But more clear signs of this trend continued. The Avengers made more money than The Dark Knight Rises (one of the only dark and gritty comic-flicks at the time), X-Men: First Class was successful BECAUSE it was lighter and more fun than its predecessors, and of course Guardians of the Galaxy – which I daresay is the definition of fun and lightheartedness in comic-book-movies – brought in ALL the money.
In 2013, DC tried to reinvigorate the gritty CBM trend, but they failed. Man of Steel didn’t conform to the trend that was current at that time, and it disappointed audiences and critics alike because it was ‘too gloomy’ and ‘too sad’. I would take a gander, here and say that if Man of Steel had been released the year The Dark Knight was, before the MCU had been formed, people might have actually liked it. But instead, it was thrown like a fish-out-of-water into a world that was content with the fun they were having in Hollywood.
Now we’re in 2015. Soon it will be 2016. And the trend of ‘dark’ movies is coming back, cycling in. Audiences aren’t pleased with Age of Ultron because it ‘lacks consequences’ and fanboys aren’t as much in favor of Ant-Man because it ‘is just one big, quipping gag’. It would seem now that if Marvel wants to survive, they need to start making their films darker and with more consequences and better villains. But should they have to do that? It’s just like how Green Lantern was unsuccessfully launched in 2011…DC was trying to cope with conforming to the trend, because they could not do what they had done in previous years so well anymore and expect it to make as much money or good reviews. So they spat out a new and albeit lazy creation, and they conformed to the trend when that wasn't usually how they rolled.
BUT WHY CAN’T WE HAVE BOTH?
Why, in this cycling world of comic-book movies, must Marvel stop doing what they did so well from 2011-2014? Fans loved Guardians of the Galaxy, so why is it that Marvel isn’t allowed to make something like that again *cough* Ant-Man *cough* without fans panning it for being a big joke without consequences? Why does Marvel have to conform to DC’s rules – and why did DC (in 2011) – have to conform to MARVEL’S rules.
Marvel and DC are two very different companies. One is light and the other dark. One is more street-level, the other more planet-level…etc. But why is it that fans insist that their favorite company’s rules apply to the other one?
Imagine living in a utopia in which we have lighthearted, popcorn flick comic-book movies AND we have dark and violent pieces. Imagine a world where the R-rated Deadpool can exist and be loved, but the clean stuff isn’t overshadowed by that either. Imagine having Batman V Superman do well at the box office without people saying that Marvel will have to ‘top it’ if they want to survive.
I’m going to tell you something: the world we live in now CAN be that world. So just open your mind! Marvel and DC CAN coexist as long as both are allowed to do their thing without being compared. Peace out, and no hate!
Thanks for reading. This was my first attempt at an editorial and I had a lot of fun writing it. If you'd like to check out my iTunes podcast which is dedicated to movies and comics, you can listen HERE. This week we'll be discussing the topic of this article: Marvel and DC. Once again, thanks for reading.