The Avengers premieres this Friday, May 4 and has already established a ton of momentum via early screener reviews.
For a great spoiler-free review of The Avengers, check out MTV & IFC’s Rick Marshall on Episode #34 of our podcast from earlier this week! If you’re looking forward to this movie, it’s a great segment to check out – and we take great measures to keep it spoiler free!
As if the release of The Avengers wasn’t enough – Saturday is Free Comic Book Day!
It takes a juggernaut to dislodge Star Wars from the peak of Geek Mountain on May 4 (May the Fourth Be With You), and The Avengers have turned into just that.
Dead Men WalkingA Marvel Comic property stealing the spotlight from Star Wars on May 4 is like a Major League Baseball free agent signing dominating the sports news on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s like ABC announcing a Perfect Strangers reunion on the same day the Two and a Half Men series finale airs (that’s gotta be coming soon) (both things) (hopefully). And yes, I realize “Men” just got picked up for a tenth season. I said “realize” not “understand why”.
The Avengers are the most important and valuable superteam in the comic book world. They could represent the gateway that the comic book industry has so desperately been looking for for decades, driving non-comic book fans to their local comic book shops to “dip their toe in the kiddie pool” of the comic book culture.
In their rise to mainstream recognition, The Avengers have surpassed their Marvel-mates The X-Men (whom they go to war with this summer in AvX), and DC Comics’ resident superteam, The Justice League. Here are 3 reasons they whip The Justice League’s collective ass:
1. Team Chemistry
“We don’t need Hal, I can be both.”This one is kinda obvious but too important a factor to overlook. Justice League apologists might say: “The Justice League has a pretty damn good rapport for such a diverse team- there’s a billionaire, a guy from another world, a super-strong unstoppable guy, one super-hot female hero.. they all have their own agendas and how could they possibly be any better..” and then you realize you’ve just described The Avengers as well, who DO have a much better team dynamic.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the fact that over the years, no matter who has written them, Bruce Wayne and Hal Jordan don’t get along. I like that purely due to his strength and moral code, Superman seems to be the de-facto leader but Batman doesn’t fully trust him. I like that their abilities and powers compliment each other, but there’s just something missing.
Here’s a fun exercise: take all of the DC Justice League characters that have had their own feature films (Batman, Superman, Green Lantern). Try to use any combination of the actors who played them and cast a Justice League movie that sounds like it will work. Christian Bale, Henry Cavill and Ryan Reynolds? While it may be decent, that cast has nothing on The Avengers cast. I would have been onboard with a Michael Keaton/Christopher Reeve led Justice League, but that Batman and that Superman were from different decades.
Justice League movie poster by Daniel Morpheus
2. The Team Members are More Likeable
Let’s face it. We all love Batman, but he goes out of his way to make you not like him. Let’s stick with the Justice League for a sec. Superman is an invulnerable alien. Aquaman and Wonder Woman are royalty from other worlds. Green Lantern is a space cop. Out of the core 7, FOUR of them are from other planets/worlds.
Looking now at The Avengers – Thor is from Asgard. That’s it. Bruce Banner is just a dude. Tony Stark is a dude. Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Nick Fury – all just dudes. Natasha Romanoff is a human female; not an Amazon, not an alien, just a gal. For the most part, they’re just humans with either enhanced abilities or technology to support them. In other words, relatable.
There’s a reason that Batman is the only DC Comics character that has worked on the big screen and garnered mainstream appeal – he’s just a rich guy in a suit with a ton of tech. He has no powers, he’s not from another world. We humans can get behind that.
3. The Setting
I’ve always said that Marvel Comics have an inherent advantage over DC with regard to translation to the big screen. That advantage? Their setting.
Think about where Marvel Comics (and movies) take place: New York City, San Francisco, Canada, Afghanistan, Europe. Look at DC Comics: Metropolis, Gotham City, Coast City, Keystone City. One of Green Lantern’s most memorable story arcs involved the complete obliteration of his hometown, Coast City. Did we care? Not really. It’s not a real place, not real people.
One of the cool aspects of the Spider-Man movies up to this point has been the use of New York City as a supporting character. Naturally, we care more when a train full of New Yorkers is in danger, because some of us are New Yorkers, or have family in New York, or have read books about New York, or saw a Pace picante sauce ad about “New York City?!” when we were kids.
Point is, it’s a real place with real people. Nobody gives a crap about Coast City.
Justice League Watchtower. On the moon.Here’s another problem: The Justice League’s base of operations is on the fucking moon. The Avengers operate out of the earthbound Avengers Mansion, or the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier which hovers over earth. Not the moon. Way to alienate the fans even more.
“There’s trouble down on Earth!”
“Ahh hell, let the cops handle it. We’re all the way up here on the moon…and I just put a Tombstone in the oven! It’s movie night!”
“Good call. F ’em. None of their cities are real anyway.”
Howie Decker is the co-creator and editor of UnderScoopFIRE.com. He likes fantasy baseball & taco night. You can read his “Letter from the Editor” here.
I’m with ya on most everything except this:
“There’s a reason that Batman is the only DC Comics character that has worked on the big screen and garnered mainstream appeal”
All I can say is Christopher Reeve Superman. In their respective times, I would bet cash money more kids were looking up to Superman in the 70s than Batman in the 80s/90s/now.
absolutely correct. I did not mean to intend any slight toward the Reeve Superman movies, as I too hold those in high regard. To me, he is the only actor who has made Superman work. Tom Welling made Clark Kent work -but we never got to see him really let loose AS Superman (just the “Red/Blue Blur”) but he had potential.
All valid points. I totally agree. I also prefer the new Avengers cartoon to the Justice League cartoon of a few years back. Not knocking the Justice League at all, but you’re right, the Avengers are just better.
Marvel cartoons > DC Cartoons.
The Justice League will always be superior the Avengers for a couple of reasons: The Avengers you saw in the movie are not the actual founding avengers team, characters like Iron Man and Hawk Eye are played up way to much, They don’t act like real super heros, and they don’t make good roll models like DC heros did.
Rasool,
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if it’s wrong. 🙂 Your reasoning doesn’t make sense. Thor, Iron Man, and The Hulk were all original members of The Avengers. Cap was brought back in issue 4 and has since been seen as a founding member after The Hulk left in issue 2 or 3. What do you mean Iron Man and Hawkeye are played up way too much? What does that even mean? Couldn’t you say the same thing about Superman and Batman? “They don’t act like real super heroes.” Huh? Again, not sure what you’re talking about. Captain America is practically *the* definition of what it means to be a super hero. Iron Man sacrificed himself to save the day in the movie. Thor learned humility in his movie. This not only qualifies them to be great super heroes but also excellent role models!
How?Dc outclasses Marvel when it comes to the animation department.
The DC animated movies are better for sure, but that wasn’t the discussion. Regardless of the medium, the Avengers are a more likable team than the Justice League – and this comes from a guy who was partial to DC for 15 years until I gave Marvel a shot 5 years ago. The creators behind Avengers comics, movies, shows, etc have stepped up and completely left the Justice League in the dust.
Actually i myself was a marvel fan for a lo ng time(spidey iron man and all) but i’ve never really liked avengers. personally i always liked justice league more than avengers though i like solo marvel movies better.there are way too many characters in avengers and i kinda like the JL team and their characters are kinda darker than avengers which i like.you said you were DC biased and i was marvel biased but now i liked DC more. i guess things change as time passes
Correction: DC > Marvel.
Joselie said:
“Correction: DC > Marvel.”
YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT on that. DC characters will always be superior than the Avengers, no matter how much Marvel fanboys love to push and turn facts around
Everything is correct here
DC is lame and the JLA is lame
… there’s a way to make it work, but they’d never do it
Outside of Supe I and II (which were only good cuz they were first and old) you cannot make a entertaining Superman Movie
Their best bet is Flash (Because he has the best villains) but they wont do it
JLA is like a rock group that producers put together to make an album and The Avengers are like a group of kids that liked each others stuff and decided to form a group
And no one cares about their wack ass made up towns
However … Linda Carter >>>>
#appreciation
great call about the rock group – they are thrown together like the Monkees and packaged in an inorganic way, whereas The Avengers are The Beatles – they’d be a group regardless of what the intended outcome is! and yes, Linda Carter..
This kind of blatant ignorance makes me so mad. Have you fools even read the comics at all? The only thing Marvel has got over DC is a enormous budget because they sold their souls to Disney.
Thanks for the feedback! I have been reading Marvel and DC comics for almost 30 years. Until about 6 years ago, I was partial to DC – its characters, its story arcs, its teams. Since then, Marvel has far and away outperformed DC in every arena. I was talking to a comic shop owner yesterday who made a great point- DC has missed so many opportunities whereas Marvel has jumped on them. Wouldn’t DC have “sold its soul” to Disney if they had the chance? I think they’d gladly trade places with them today.
Pretty certain DC sold their souls YEARS before Marvel did. they’ve been owned by Warner Bros for YEARS.
Um and because Jack Kirby’s family gets nothing.
DC treated Siegel, Shuster and especially Jerry Robinson terribly but those disputes were settled mostly in the 1970s. Do you see Jack Kirby credited with the characters he created or co-created? Steve Ditko?
Yet, every Batman and Superman and Wonder Woman film or cartoon has a clear mention of the creator(s), often on its own dedicated credit wipe. If you respect their work, you have to respect that.
Stan Lee has behaved shamefully with respect to the Kirby family, and it’s a good reason not to buy Marvel’s crap until they fix it. That said, yeah, watch the cartoons on Netflix or whatever, but frankly none of the Marvel ones have stood up to the DC ones in my opinion, for these reasons:
1. DC has always had better villains, will always have better villains, and the good actors line up to play the villains in live action. Gene Hackman made Superman I work, not Chris Reeve . Margot Kidder a close second.
2. DC actually uses the best comic plots for their series and animation. The Flash series is based on the Flashpoint premise. Green Lantern: The Animated Series, one of the most beautiful pieces of animation ever, introduces the emotional spectrum of the rings that drives Darkest Night and Brightest Day and does a better job with the Guardians than any version yet. Arrow’s first season was based on Grell’s The Longbow Hunters. If you’re going to invest in visuals, at least use the best plots. The 2009 Wonder Woman animation was her origin story and done very well, with the Greek gods conflicts central. If they do a solo film, it may well be based on the Azzarello New 52 reboot which is also Greek gods running amok in modern dress.
I just can’t think of a comparably good Marvel series or animation. It just doesn’t seem to me that they choose the best plots from the comics. It seems more like shtick.
3. DC always had better art until recently. The best Marvel artists, like the Simonson run on Thor, had already cut their teeth at DC where they got to do what they wanted. That means more variety of animation styles – even LEGO – and more freedom for the visual creators.
4. Humour. DC isn’t afraid to let their characters be silly or have a strictly-for-laughs series like Teen Titans Go! <– which is awesome. Yet to see a Marvel equivalent of that or the DC Nation shorts…
These aren’t facts. These are only opinions.
Our opinions are ours.
To me, Marvel is doing good in the movies, and others, they lose to DC Comics. DC is way better with animated films, characters, comic book plot and storyline. Their dark, moral questioning themes hook the reader, and the deaths shock you, while Marvel characters are almost immortal, and about the good guys winning. I grew up with Marvel and DC, but DC always appealed to me.
And Howie, please fix this. You’re backing up stuff with opinions. #2 is an opinion. Marvel fans never really have straight up facts. They support it because of movies.
-The Presence
DC Comics> Marvel Comics
These aren’t facts. These are only opinions.
Our opinions are ours.
To me, Marvel is doing good in the movies, and others, they lose to DC Comics. DC is way better with animated films, characters, comic book plot and storyline. Their dark, moral questioning themes hook the reader, and the deaths shock you, while Marvel characters are almost immortal, and about the good guys winning. I grew up with Marvel and DC, but DC always appealed to me.
And Howie, please fix this. You’re backing up stuff with opinions. #2 is an opinion. Marvel fans never really have straight up facts. They support it because of movies.
-The Presence
DC Comics> Marvel Comics
Great article Howie! Spot on, I wish it wasn’t because I love the idea of the Justice League, but you are so right. It comes down to it’s easier to relate to most Marvel heroes, the lonely nerd, the 80lb weakling, the put upon and spat upon etc. and that just makes better movies.
@Dex & Eclectik you mention the first 2 Reeves movies and I agree because those 2 movies were all about humanizing Supes.
Thanks Tom – yes, the relatability factor for Marvel is what draws me in, and 10 years ago I was STRICTLY a DC Comics guy. I agree 100% with the Reeve Superman assessment, and humanizing him was what made it awesome, if for no other reason than the two diner scenes!
Great job, Howie. I don’t know how I missed this article but I’m glad I caught it. I think you touched upon another point with your “relatable” argument, and that’s reeling in casual fans. Like myself. I was big into comics when I was kid but haven’t been for years, but I’ve always LOVED movies. As long as it looks good, I’ll go see it. And Marvel movies have just been so much better, with Batman as the only exception. Nothing against Superman, but both of those movies were released before I was born and, while I have seen them, never really got into them.
Of the Justice League characters, only Batman has stuck with me all these years. I’ve seen every movie and just recently finished the Arkham City game, which was amazing. Did I use to safety pin an orange beach towel around my neck and run around the house/neighborhood pretending I was Superman when I was six? Fuck yeah I did. Was The Flash television series (’90-’91) one that I watched religiously every week? Yup. Sure was. But they haven’t transitioned with me into adulthood. I had next-to-no-desire to see The Green Lantern when it came out (finally saw it on HBO about a month ago), and I like Ryan Reynolds. It’s just something about the characters. They’re just not as cool (you say “relatable,” I say “cool.” Kinda like “rampaging force of nature Hulk” versus “ooga booga Hulk”). There really IS just something inherently more appealing to the Avengers, and I think you explained it perfectly. They transfer easier to the big screen, which is the real money maker, and the best way to distribute a product to the masses.
Also, Avengers just made over $200 million in 3 days domestically, and is almost to $650 million worldwide. That’s insane. I’ll be seeing it soon, as long as the lines are shorter and not wrapped around the ENTIRE BUILDING!
Did you ever get to see Avengers yet? Are the lines still to Chula Vista?
Superman is boring as a dog’s ass. Yeah, I said it.
It’s sad that it’s gotten to that, but it’s true. I watched the 1978 Reeve Superman last week – it holds up to a degree, but even that had its moments (reversing the earth’s rotation to turn back time?) Miss Tessmacher!!
In Supes 2 they make the US Army seem like the biggest group of bumbling idiots. Not the best portrayal of the world’s strongest army.
Yet another reason the Marvel movies all work so well on every level. Even though Agent Colson was funny, he wasn’t a bumbling idiot. He and the gov’t operatives he represents (SHIELD) are clandestine and capable. Not bungling idiots like in Superman.
I must agree don’t get me wrong i do love batman (movies & games included) love superman (he was my hero as a child) never got into wonder woman the green lantern the flash is pretty cool tho but my main likeable superheros have always been from marvel i mean come on lets cut all the bullshit & get right down to it let us look at some of the real main superheros from dc & marvel dc has…..
1.batman 2.superman 3.the flash 4.wonder woman 5.green lantern (aqua man is not a superhero he talks to damn fish)
now lets look at marvel…..
1.iron man 2.the hulk 3.thor 4.capt america 5.spiderman 6.wolverine 7.hawkeye 8.fantastic 4 9.silver surfer 10.black widow
hmmmm seems to me like marvel has more big name heros then dc & as you said REAL CITYS REAL PPL i mean coast city??? wtf when i read a comic or watch a movie about superheros i like to see a real place not some made up bs jus my thoughts on it but to me marvel & stan lee know how to draw you into a story better then dc
THANK YOU! Excellent feedback, thank you for the comment. I agree with every point you made. I think we overlook the importance of Marvel books and movies taking place in real cities. I can’t get myself to care about Metropolis or Gotham, let alone Keystone City. Bleh.
DC only reached the high point on Blackest Night. Not to mention that, since most of Marvel’s superheroes are humans, they have more depth. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love JL/JLU, but now that I am watching the Agengers’ cartoon, well… AND DC DOESNT EVEN HAVE ITS OWN MOVIE STUDIO! Most Marvel movie I watched (Spiderman trilogy, Daredevil, Thor, and others) has a sequence involving the comic from which the film is based being turned page by page, and the Marvel logo appearing. Now, on Batman series, Superman series, they have NOTHING that associate them to DC, except the heroes themselves! In the case of the 007 franchise, every film’s intro opens with “Ian Flemming’s 007” or something like this!
Great call. Most of us love these characters because of the comics, and the mvies and shows completely abandon them most of the time. The DC Animated movies have been pretty good about sticking to comic storylines (All Star Superman, Red Hood), but the big screen features have not. Thanks for commenting!
i prefer avengers too its because they are more realistic than JL (thor is exceptional just like batman) avengers is more realistic bec their heroes are human beings that are scientifically enhance.. their story is well build ..
and even though JL is more powerful than them ., it can still erase the fact that avengers heroes are humans who protect the world it motivates human beings to become hero in their own way.. thats why many people love them..
and when we can’t affect the world , you’ll be damned sure we’ll avenge it.
-tony stark
– Val
– Cassandra Cain
– Bruce Wayne
– Dick Grayson
– Tim Drake
– Oliver Queen
-Dan Garret
-Ted Kord
-Michael Jon Carter
-Jaime Reyes
All these names are the names of human super heroes in DC comics.
I can’t believe I just read this article, how could you state these things as facts when they are only opinions, I personally prefer the justice league because of a few reasons: 1. it’s superheroes DO actually work well together and have good chemistry, batman just doesn’t trust superman. 2. It’s a lot grittier and more serious than anything that I’ve ever read from marvel. 3. a lot more iconic villains ( besides iconic they have a lot better ones as well) than marvel. and 4. I love almost all of the characters, their backgrounds and secret identities which unlike iron man’s, is kept secret to protect the people they love. Oh and earlier you said you just can’t relate to “made up cities like gotham city, metropolis, coast city, etc.” but they made up cities so that they would be original and plus people can relate because these cities are a lot like other cities in the world. Also, I’d just like to point out that the Avengers was created in 63′ and the justice league in 60’…so if you wanna get technical.. tell the facts, the avengers were only put together to compete with “Distinguished Competition” as well as the new 52 was just put out last year, and now marvel is doing the exact same thing. I do agree that it would be very hard to do a justice league movie right, and I hope to god that ryan reynolds is never green lantern again, but I think that if they take their time it can be really good, but it shouldn’t be comedic like the avengers which was one big comedy (because Joss Whedon is a hilarious writer and likes to mix serious with comedy, but there was A LOT of comedy in this film..not necessarily a bad thing) but it should be serious and dark almost, because that’s how it should be in my eyes. Just because a superhero is human doesn’t make them relatable, the only thing relatable is that we share the same DNA, I mean if that’s a reason for them being better then it’s not true because other people on here..well a lot of them, have only seen the movies and have never read an avengers comic book so they never knew these characters until they were on the big screen and don’t know a lot about them but what they’ve seen. also wonder woman was created by the gods ( if by different worlds you mean seperated from everyone else, then you are right) but there are avengers that are aliens so it’s not realistic at all, but they aren’t meant to be realistic, they are meant to be superheroes, they’re meant to be layered characters, it doesn’t matter if they’re human or not, all that matters is if they’re good and likeable characters. All in all, I think that the justice league is better but I loved the Avengers movie and have read and own avengers comic books as well as comic books of other avengers, but I personally like the justice league better, I have no problem with anyone liking marvel more, as long as they know their history and aren’t prejudice..and especially don’t state your opinions as facts, I mean..come on.
please tell me how Marvel is copying DC with Marvel NOW? Marvel is NOT rebooting their continuity, the stories all still matter, they are NOT changing anything. there are even series that AREN’T ending, just changing creative teams, some aren’t even changing creative teams (like Wolverine and the X-Men). Yes they are relaunching a bunch of books, but they aren’t rebooting. They are relaunching or launching about 20 new books over the course of 5 months (Oct – Feb).
Matthew – first, thank you for reading and commenting.
As far as stating things as facts when they are only opinions, I guess I would say that I know my readers are grown ups who can distinguish between fact and opinion without it being labeled. Most ‘review’ type articles don’t start off by saying “Now this is just my opinion, but..” – it’s assumed.
To respond to your points:
1. You say the superheroes DO work well together, but then go on to say there are trust issues between the groups’ two most prominent members. Doesn’t seem like a harmonious situation to me.
2. gritty and serious doesn’t = better, it’s a matter of taste. When I read a comic or see a comic-based movie, I don’t need it to be gritty to enjoy it.
3. DC’s villains are certainly better than Marvel’s, I would never argue that – but this post wasn’t “Why the Avengers villains are better than the Justice League’s villains”
4. I’m glad you love all of DC’s characters, I do to. As I say in the post, I preferred DC over Marvel for 20 of my 25 years of comic collecting, but Marvel’s creators have left DC in the dust over the last 5+ years with regard to movies, comic story arcs, merch development, and tv series. The one exception might be video games, but again, this post was not about video games.
Hope this helps clear some things up- but of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion.
I’m glad you read and commented, as our entire site is meant to generate discussion! Thanks again!
” DC’s villains are certainly better than Marvel’s,” generally true. When you read some fanboi stating the opposite, you have to shake your head. Memorable Marvel villains can be listed basically on one hand: Loki (far and away the very best, and Thor and Avengers work mostly because of him), Galactus (the guy really does have to eat planets to survive, give him a break), Green Goblin (tortured split personality)… darn that’s it I ran out. The rest are almost all copies of DC villains. I guess since Tony Stark’s worst enemy is himself, that makes four.
Supervillain teams at DC are always fun: Suicide Squad is popular for a reason. The bickering amongst the villains that line up against the Justice League is fun, too, the Lex Luthor vs. Gorilla Grodd stuff in the JL cartoons for instance. If you really want bickering amongst heroes, there’s the Legion of Super-Heroes, the Green Lantern Corps, Birds of Prey, Teen Titans and of course X-Men and the Fantastic Four…
But notice that Marvel doesn’t have overlap between the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, and the Avengers. This is too bad as the bickering is restricted. Meanwhile there are members in common amongst all the DC teams: Whether it’s Hal Jordan or John Stewart or Guy Gardner, there’s always a JL’er in the Corps. Black Canary is one of the Birds of Prey. Cyborg moves between Teen Titans and JL. Even Superman and Supergirl have been in the LSH.
So the bickering potential is actually greater at DC when all teams are considered, and the Justice League could be Bicker Central with the right lineup, like the Giffen/Dematteis 1990s Justice League on which the last two seasons of the cartoon were based: “One punch!”
Back to villains, the DC villains all seem to have some kind of human psychopathy that is almost recognizable as something real people have. Planet-eating addictions don’t count, but split personalities do. Obsessive relationships like Harley Quinn has with “Mistah J”, superiority complexes like Luthor’s or Grodd’s, Two-Face’s vanity, Catwoman’s adrenaline addiction, even the incredibly twisted Reverse Flash motive of making the Flash be a better hero by being a more vicious nemesis, plus the Joker/Batman twin responses to tragedy that Alan Moore set at the center of the character’s stories.
Then there’s Amanda Waller… someone who probably really exists…
I would recommend to Marvel fanbois doubting any of the above, that they watch “Necessary Evil”, the DC documentary about their own villain lineup. And, of course, for laughs, watch Teen Titans Go! which is the best superhero cartoon since Max Fleischer’s Superman.
Oops I forgot Magneto. So counting Tony Stark that’s a whole hand.
Doctor Doom? Please.
I disagree 100% especially with #2. I don’t find the Avengers to be relateable. Whereas I love Batman and the Flash.
While I will agree that a Justice League movie would never work, when it comes to cartoons, the Avengers will always live in the shadow of the Justice League.
I can’t argue with that, we all have our opinions! Thanks for reading and commenting!
Marvel might have a slight edge when it comes to the movies the put out, but DC by far surpass Marvel with their uber successful live-action tv series both present and past with Wonder Woman, Smallville, Arrow for instance; animated series like Batman and Superman, Batman Beyond, JLA, Young Justice; and not to mention DC’s superiority over Marvel when it comes to the quality of graphic novel and divine character developments. I was an avid Marvel fan for a long time, but just recently switched to DC because I realized that I was rooting for the wrong team.
Yeah it’s easy to dismiss the 1970s Wonder Woman TV series as lame, which in effects and stunt terms it may be, though the risks taken by the stunt people and Lynda Carter herself are nothing to sneer at, given the safety tech was limited.
But to this day full grown women spin around like Lynda Carter did and hum the theme song. I can’t think of another female hero so memorable.
Carter was just so likeable, memorable, confident and convincing as the character that she made lame writing and setting work. She’s a very hard act to follow indeed.
Similarly not even Jim Carrey could match Frank Gorshin’s Riddler from the 1960s Batman series, and Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry barely make the list of Catwomen (best in my opinion being Eartha Kitt, followed by Adrienne Barbeau in the Batman animated series, then Julie Newmar, though Anne Hathaway deserves one more shot at her).
There’s a lot of history of good actors playing the DC characters. One edge Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth had, is, no such history to compare to.
Anyway there’s no “wrong team” and each side comes up with losers (cough Young Justice cough Green Lantern live film cough) and sadly overlooked winners (Wonder Woman animated 2009 feature, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, the Doctor Strange animated feature).
I can certainly list some Marvel stories I’d like to see become extended series or animations: The Thor Godkiller epic, for instance, especially where the three Thors (past, present, future) take a Norse ship to the stars but tragically run out of mead halfway there. Or, any back stories of Asgard or the other Norse realms (there is just one anime of these so far, but it’s a series for sure). Or a series focusing on Magneto from his early history in the death camps to his decision to protect his people, a sort of “Gotham” like prequel to the X-Men confrontations that has 10 years of time to work in. Or a She-Hulk series. Just for the visuals…
man I think u r completely wrong DC heroes are much more iconic and better than marvel’s and JL is better then the avengers first of all JL came first and avengers were made in response to them,secondly DC characters are incredible more popular than marvel characters,Superman,Batman are the most iconic superheroes on earth those who r recognized everywhere around the world,Wonder Woman is the most iconic superheroine and also one of the most iconic superheroes ever,and morever iron man was nothing but a c string superhero before RDJ made it famous,iron man has an extremely weak rogues gallary and RDJ is already pushing 50 lets see if iron man character works after him and what villains will they use,marvel characters needed origin stories co msotly they were b-stringers who the general public did not know much about whereas batman,superman,wonder woman are way more popular,JLis way more popular than avengers and the general audience knows them better,JL has better villains like darkseid,vandal savage,legion of doom,brainiac,ras al ghul and marvel’s thanos is a shitty rip off of darkseid,wait when JL comes it will make more than 2 billion all DC needs to do to beat marvel is to get superman and batman in one movie that is more than enough for marvel who dont have heroes anywhere near that level
Just a fact: At her height in World War II and just after, Wonder Woman sold TEN MILLION COPIES A MONTH. By far the most popular hero ever. Had her creator not died, she might well have prevented the 1950s. 😉 But without him, there was no eloquent spokesperson for the positive influence of comics on youth, or their education potential, and thus we got the Comics Code and a Wonder Woman mooning after Steve Trevor. Sigh.
hmm… marvel characters have become much more enjoyable to watch & relate with. characters like the hulk, ironman, captain america are iconic.
Amen, the Avengers are way cooler, the Justice League just look like a bunch of dorks standing next to them with their gaudy costumes and lame personality (save for Batman, pretty much the only one carrying DC atm).
Not to mention they have a cooler rogues gallery; you have Dr. Doom, Loki, AIM, Masters of Evil, Red Skull, Baron Zemo, Ultron and most of all Thanos who makes Darkseid look like a girl scout.
Thanks for the comment! As you can see, I don’t get much support on this so I appreciate it. One thing I will say though, is DC’s villains might be its strength (besides Batman, and some other titles that are actually putting out good stories). The Joker seems to win every “supervillain” tournament I’ve ever seen on radio or online. He might be the most iconic comic book villain of all time.
The Joker may well be the most iconic comic book *CHARACTER* of all time. Might even beat Batman.
After all, Batman is just too good to be true, but we see characters like The Joker all around us: Bryan Fischer. Ben Carson. Osama bin Laden. Dick Cheney.
But I agree, personally I’ll take Norman Osborne and Dr Doom over most DC villains any day
Too fanboi even to respond to. The villain comment especially. Just wrong.
Best DC villain ever? Gene Hackman Luthor in Superman I? Mia Sara Harley Quinn in the 2002 Birds of Prey series (what a vicious manipulative beeyatch)? Amanda Waller in the Justice League cartoons? Frank Gorshin Riddler in the 1960s Batman series? Heath Ledger Joker maybe? Or Mark Hamill animated Joker from the 90s? Too long a list…
Oh, your are so right!
Avengers Superior, Justice League Inferior.
I like DC and their characters really really do. Love Superman, love Batman, Wonder Woman, all of them. But Marvel always had the most appeal to me. Spidey is my favorite, Wolverine, Cap, even the Punisher are in my top list of coolest heroes and one reason is that I can relate to them better than DC’s heroes. And the cities thing, it may seem stupid the way it was shown in this articule, I agree 100%… My opinion tough. AVengers and Marvel > Justice League and DC. (SPIDEY!)
D.C. > Marvel
Hilarious. Reads like the usual nonsense you get from someone whose only exposure to comics is from the ’90s on. So of course DC and the JLA suck. They have been mishandled since the mid-80s. The Christian Bale Batman is what really sucks. And this new murderous Superman. WB and DC have no clue about what made these characters icons and have turned them into degenerates. Marvel has a huge advantage in films: the people making the movies actually seem to like the characters. But the Avengers have sucked since the ’90s as well. Neither franchise has recovered from all that “grim and gritty” overkill. Such a shame.
I agree about the murderous Superman. They will have to ditch that nonsense.
The “Superman versus the Elite” animated film explored this issue in very great depth, actually, it was a pretty good exploration of this shift in heroic models.
Anyway the best comics now are not from either Marvel or DC, mostly, but from smaller producers. And Heavy Metal always had better stories than either in the 80s and 90s.
Ok I’m going to argue on Bruce banner the Hulk he was raised as a human but some where in his ancestry is the inhuman dna never fully specified from where that was awake by gamma Ray’s. Black widow it really depends on incarnation if it was taragen waves or she’s just expetional human. Yeah most of rest avengers except some extended avengers are humans.
its pretty funny coz those are the reasons why I love justice league.
Imaginary location, so only imaginary people dies
No matter what avengers do they are still humans and can never beat jl. JL has imagination and avengers do not. That is why their superheros are human.
justice leage is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay bettar than the Avengers.and superman cant die