Whenever you have a space dominated by two powerful factions, people are naturally going to take sides. Coke versus Pepsi, Apple versus Microsoft, Red Vines versus Twizzlers . . . people are always eager to declare themselves part of “Team [Blank]” and will defend their choices like knights of the realm. The Marvel vs. DC debate has raged for decades inside the walls of comic book shops, but the struggle burst onto the mainstream in previously unimaginable ways when DC revived Batman from his Joel Schumacher-induced exile with 2005’s Batman Begins and Marvel gingerly took its first steps towards a cinematic universe with 2008’s Iron Man.
Since then, both sides have seen their triumphs and failures magnified as even their most C-List heroes have people flocking to theaters (“Paul Rudd is Ant-Man” is a real thing that exists) and superheroics have gone from niche obsession to the pinnacle of pop culture mainstream–attracting the type of accomplished A-List talent (Oscars winners like Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lawrence, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Brie Larson) who would have viewed putting on a cape and cowl as career death 20 years before. Now that we all can agree that we have at least some investment in the fortunes of Marvel and DC Entertainment, let’s explore where each one stands currently and where each one is poised to go from here.
Universe Creation
Marvel: 2008
DC: 2013
We know what you’re thinking, “Didn’t they just say Batman Begins came out in 2005?” Yes, and that’s precisely why we’re looking at–currently–a very one-sided movie battle in Marvel’s favor. Although the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy (2005’s Batman Begins, 2008’s The Dark Knight, and 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises) were critically-acclaimed, wildly successful, instantly iconic, and even earned a posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger, they also painted DC and Warner Bros. into a giant, bat-shaped corner. Nolan crafted a very reality-based world for Bruce Wayne, one that was impossible to use as a springboard to introduce orphaned aliens, ring-powered space cops, and Amazonian princesses from ancient myth. So DC had a monster hit that they couldn’t capitalize on for further cinematic growth. So they had to wait until the Superman reboot Man of Steel in 2013 to begin laying some groundwork. By then, Marvel had already had two Iron Man installments, successful solo runs for Captain America and Thor, and had already built up to The Avengers.
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