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Wonder Woman (2017)

I big fan of both companies too. I am kind of glad to see DC is taking their movies in a different direction than Marvel. Just having a movie universe come out after Marvel's makes it look like they are copying Marvel, which they probably are, but at least by going for such a different tone and look they are able to differentiate themselves a bit. Plus it will give them a chance to draw in the people who don't like it the fact the MCU is so bright and upbeat.
 
JD said:
I big fan of both companies too. I am kind of glad to see DC is taking their movies in a different direction than Marvel. Just having a movie universe come out after Marvel's makes it look like they are copying Marvel, which they probably are, but at least by going for such a different tone and look they are able to differentiate themselves a bit. Plus it will give them a chance to draw in the people who don't like it the fact the MCU is so bright and upbeat.
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The Irony is that for a long time in the comics the situations were reversed, as with a few notable exceptions DC Comics were generally the more upbeat positive ones, while Marvel always had the more down-to-earth, angsty storylines.
 
Greg Cox said:
Exactly. I've never understood the "Marvel vs. DC" thing. As a fan, why can't I enjoy both? Wanting to see WONDER WOMAN doesn't mean I have to stop wanting to see DOCTOR STRANGE or whatever. They're not rival sports teams or political parties. :)
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Agreed. I don't deny I have a huge preference for DC, having grown up mostly with their comics as a kid, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying quite a few of the Marvel movies over the years. And in fact I think their Daredevil and Jessica Jones series have managed to top even those.

In my mind what makes a good movie or TV series isn't the fact it's got DC or Marvel over the title. It just comes down to the superhero itself and how well executed the story is.
 
And of course, the Marvel or DC label doesn't guarantee equal quality in every medium. In the '90s and '00s, DC television animation was the best of the best, while DC live-action movies were generally a mess aside from Nolan's Batman. And Marvel's been killing it in movies in the '10s, but their TV animation has really gone downhill since the Disney acquisition.
 
And I'm old enough to remember when Marvel seemed positively jinxed when it came to the big screen. DC hit it big with first SUPERMAN (Christopher Reeve), then BATMAN (Michael Keaton), but Marvel couldn't seem to get a decent movie made if their lives depended on it. James Cameron's SPIDER-MAN was mired in litigation forever, the 1990 CAPTAIN AMERICA movie went straight to video, and need I mention Roger Corman's FANTASTIC FOUR?

At the time, Marvel seemed to be a severe disadvantage, movie-wise, because they weren't owned by a huge media conglomerate like Warner Bros. and therefore had to farm their characters out to whatever studio was willing to pay for the rights . . ...

How times have changed.
 
We can talk about each company's relative successes and failures all day long, but I don't base my preference on such matters. I simply think Marvel has better characters, period, crappy cartoons and movie bombs notwithstanding. The most compelling character DC has ever had is Batman, and even he has had his moments of goofy non-relevance. Marvel made its bones on giving its readers compelling characters and situations, and the fact that the movie world has finally got its act together and managed to bring those characters fully to life on screen is just icing on the cake. Do I watch DC movies and shows? Sure. I even have favorite DC characters, but even my favorite DCers will never reach the esteem I hold my favorite Marvel characters in.
 
I will grant you the Marvel characters often tend to come across as more interesting and complex... but for me it's the more mythic and larger than life stature of the DC characters that I've always responded to the most.

The idea of superheroes being these almost godlike beings you look up to in wonder and amazement (even the human ones like Batman), versus being just people with ordinary problems who happen to have superpowers, just appeals to me a lot more for whatever reason.
 
Yeah, I strongly prefer DC. Down-to-Earth heroes don't interest me as much when it comes to superheroes.
 
JD said:
Plus it will give them a chance to draw in the people who don't like it the fact the MCU is so bright and upbeat.
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I don't know anyone who dislikes Marvel's movies because they are "bright and upbeat". I know plenty of people who are getting tired of Marvel's movies because they are increasingly stale, overly jokey, safe cookie cutter films.
 
I've seen people complaining that they want to Marvel movies to be darker and more serious, which does seem to be the way DC is going. Suicide Squad does seem to have a fair amount of humor, but even that seems to be a darker type of humor than we've been getting from Marvel.
 
The Lensman said:
I don't know anyone who dislikes Marvel's movies because they are "bright and upbeat". I know plenty of people who are getting tired of Marvel's movies because they are increasingly stale, overly jokey, safe cookie cutter films.
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Yes, the primary complaint is that they are assembly-line products & the tie-ins. Even Avengers suffered a bit from the tie-ins, because they seemed to think I knew who a bunch of the characters were, or how they tied into the film universe, which I didn't, because I'm not going to go watch a stupid Thor movie.

JD said:
I've seen people complaining that they want to Marvel movies to be darker and more serious, which does seem to be the way DC is going. Suicide Squad does seem to have a fair amount of humor, but even that seems to be a darker type of humor than we've been getting from Marvel.
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I'm OK with the dark DC route, tho I prefer more whimsy in my movies. They need at least ...20% more whimsy.
 
Yeah many of the Marvel movies do have a factory-made feel to them unfortunately, especially when it comes to the mostly forgettable sequels. Although I did really like Winter Soldier, and thankfully it looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of that weightier and more grounded style in the future.

Obviously it's still early, but so far I really love the serious and more mythic approach DC is taking as well. It may not be the approach you'd normally associate with the DC universe, but it still makes the movies stand out and feel unique after so many years of the same basic style. And something like Suicide Squad feels more unexpected and off-kilter than even Guardians or Ant-Man did with Marvel, so hopefully we'll be seeing even more of that.
 
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The Lensman said:
I know plenty of people who are getting tired of Marvel's movies because they are increasingly stale, overly jokey, safe cookie cutter films.
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I have some sympathy for that. Also, there is too much of a 'commercial for the next film' feel underlying the films, too.
 
Marvel thinks it's doing Mythic.

Read Marvels sometime... But Batman and Superman are somehow too huge because of NOTHING DC has done recently.
 
M.A.C.O. said:
I did have a chuckle when you referenced Supergirl and Batgirl as being derivatives of their male counterparts ... I'd say it's not so disproportionate though. Characters like Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Black Canary, Starfire, Katana, Zatanna and Raven
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I'd say Harley is derivative of the Joker (also her predecessor Harlequin, who I think was Joker's daughter).

davejames said:
so far I really love the serious and more mythic approach DC is taking as well. It may not be the approach you'd normally associate with the DC universe, but it still makes the movies stand out and feel unique after so many years of the same basic style. And something like Suicide Squad feels more unexpected and off-kilter than even Guardians or Ant-Man did with Marvel
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Yes, I think these DC movies are almost gothy in their approach, which as a closet goth I appreciate. But I have serious doubts about how commercial this approach is. They will have to be very careful to balance humour and exciting action against the emo weirdness.
 
That Harlequin once had a Joker-themed identity called Joker's Daughter, but she was actually Two-Face's daughter.
 
eyeresist said:
I'd say Harley is derivative of the Joker (also her predecessor Harlequin, who I think was Joker's daughter).
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Those were very different characters. Harlequin/Duela Dent was introduced as a foil for Robin and initially pretended to be the daughter of several different Batman villains. She never really interacted much with the actual Joker. Harley Quinn seems to have been inspired more by the various sexy henchwomen in the '66 Batman TV series, though she evolved into something much more.
 
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