Marvel vs DC

[Dannyalcatraz]

Definitely some truth to that.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

The biggest difference in my eyes is who the characters see when they look in the mirror. Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, Dick Grayson, Arthur Curry et. al. are all most themselves in their heroic personas. Their secret identities are their real masks. Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, T'Challa, and even Steve Rogers are people before they are heroes. Their heroic identities are part of their lives, but not their whole lives.

A lot of the best writers of those character speak of them by their first names, however. Especially Clark, but even Bruce. The whole thing in Batman Beyond where he thinks of himself as Batman, and similar moments in some comments, is a total failure to write the character, IMO. It robs Bruce of any growth over the entire course of his life, and is just there to poke at the reader and give them something to go “oooooo” at.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

IDK- becoming Batman is growth of a sort. Not healthy, perhaps but there definitely is evolution from helpless (wealthy) orphan to the world’s greatest detective, one of DC’s most formidable martial artists, and all-around doomsday-prepped vigilante.

The fact that he’s kind of on the path to being a Nietzschean monster hunter makes him sort of an anti-hero in the making, but DC pretty much CANNOT do that story arc as canon is beside the point.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

So, let's not 'edition war' over our favourite billion dollar multinationals. But I wanted to zoom in on a particular difference I've seen repeated over and over for years.

"DC characters are more epic. Marvel characters are more relatable."

It's a comparison which is repeatedly used. Is that actually true though? What do you think?

Superman more epic than Thor?

Flash more epic than Quicksilver?

Hawkeye more relatable than Green Arrow?

Darkseid more epic than Thanos?

Scarlet Witch more relatable than Zatanna?

Generally, I feel like they have very similar characters (of course they do -- they spent decades copying each other).

I wonder if it's literally down to Marvel's biggest property is Spiderman (relatable) while DC's is Superman* (epic). Is that why the comparison keeps getting used?



*Well, Batman I guess. But he's not epic.

Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Maybe?

Why is the comparison used? Generally speaking, Marvel Heroes deal with "earth threats" or "planet sized threats". There are some exceptions...like the Infinity Gauntlet storyline (or Infinity War for the MCU), and various Silver Surfer or Fantastic Four stories, or the Dark Phoenix Saga. But usually, it's "Galactus is going to eat the earth!", or "Rhino is on a rampage in Manhattan!", or maybe "The Skrull have infiltrated most of the governments in the world!".

With DC...that's more of a "day in, day out" type of story line, from what I gather; full disclosure, I'm not a huge DC fan...I know only a bit here and there. After Batman and maybe Green Arrow, you kinda jump straight into Heroes/Villains that can manipulate time and space like you manipulate your toothbrush; without much effort or thought. I mean, Dr. Manhatten, Dr. Fate, Superman, Brainiac, Darkseid... they're not just saving/ threatening "earth". They are working on a solar system at the SMALLEST scale, and "all realities and time...everywhere...!" at the top.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[Imaculata]

I used to work not too far from the building where the Quinjet crash landed in the first AVENGERS movie. Hell, one of those huge beasts from the movie nearly sideswipes the building I used to work in on Park Avenue.

I have similar feelings about the Dutch comic Franka, which often takes place in the Netherlands, and accurately portrays real locations. Many of the female sleuth's adventures take place in and around Amsterdam, and the artist drew real locations that I used to visit on a weekly basis during my student years.

While the events in the comic are of course entirely fictional, I like imagining the artist of the comic sitting in the very same location where I'm walking and drawing his comicbook panels. The artist especially had a passion for drawing these huge establishing shots of locations, full of detail.

Having a comic be set in a real location gives it an extra layer of realism and relatability. Especially if you're closely familiar with the location.

 

[turnip_farmer]

For me, not so much.

The thing with heroes the power of DC's main stable is... with power that high, their emotional lives are not terribly relatable. Their lives as people becomes alien to us.

Now, the world being plausible is an aspect of this - if the world just generally says, "Yay! You're the bestofthebest! We loves you always!" all the time, that will set us up for an emotional experience we can't really understand very well.

I've recently been reading the Neil Gaiman Miracleman comics. Miracleman, which was of course based on DC comics, really played up the unrelatability, such that by the end of the books (the Alan Moore ones, that is), he has completely shed his humanity and become this alien figure. Gaiman's continuation of the story deals with this by not actually featuring Miracleman very much. It's all about what it's like for ordinary people living in the shade of Olympus.

Shame this series was never finished.

 

[billd91]

I've recently been reading the Neil Gaiman Miracleman comics. Miracleman, which was of course based on DC comics, really played up the unrelatability, such that by the end of the books (the Alan Moore ones, that is), he has completely shed his humanity and become this alien figure. Gaiman's continuation of the story deals with this by not actually featuring Miracleman very much. It's all about what it's like for ordinary people living in the shade of Olympus.

Shame this series was never finished.

Yeah, unrelatability is kind of a thing for Moore.
But with respect to Gaiman's continuation, Marvel did something kind of similar with the limited series Marvels - focusing on the perspective of a normal guy on the superhero things going on around him in the Marvel universe.

 

[Morrus]

I have similar feelings about the Dutch comic Franka, which often takes place in the Netherlands, and accurately portrays real locations. Many of the female sleuth's adventures take place in and around Amsterdam, and the artist drew real locations that I used to visit on a weekly basis during my student years.

While the events in the comic are of course entirely fictional, I like imagining the artist of the comic sitting in the very same location where I'm walking and drawing his comicbook panels. The artist especially had a passion for drawing these huge establishing shots of locations, full of detail.

Having a comic be set in a real location gives it an extra layer of realism and relatability. Especially if you're closely familiar with the location.

That is a gorgeous piece. I feel like I'm there!

 

[ART!]

Miracleman, which was of course based on DC comics

This is actually not true at all.

The creation of the "SHAZAM!" Captain Marvel character was definitely inspired by the popularity of Superman, a DC character.

The history of that Captain Marvel - and it's relation to Marvel Man, a name which was changed to Miracleman for the Alan Moore, etc. comics - is long and complicated, but per your comment: DC effectively had nothing to do with the character (except for filing suits against Fawcett Publications for 15 years or so, arguing that CM was too much like Superman - sour grapes, since for most of that time CM was more popular than Superman) until the '70s (maybe the very late '60s?).

 

[billd91]

This is actually not true at all.

The creation of the "SHAZAM!" Captain Marvel character was definitely inspired by the popularity of Superman, a DC character.

The history of that Captain Marvel - and it's relation to Marvel Man, a name which was changed to Miracleman for the Alan Moore, etc. comics - is long and complicated, but per your comment: DC effectively had nothing to do with the character (except for filing suits against Fawcett Publications for 15 years or so, arguing that CM was too much like Superman - sour grapes, since for most of that time CM was more popular than Superman) until the '70s (maybe the very late '60s?).

It wasn't just sour grapes - some of the court testimony indicated that at least some Fawcett personnel had been instructed to copy Superman strips in the Captain Marvel ones.