Comparing the DC and Marvel Universes

For as long as there have been people, there has been competition.  Presidential elections, Coke VS Pepsi, Ash VS Gary and Mustard VS Ketchup. In most product lines and areas of business there are two clear leaders pushing forward, rivaling each other in sales and in popularity. And for comics, it’s pretty clear who those contenders are. Marvel and DC are the oldest comic publishers and have been creating iconic characters and storylines for a couple of decades. However, despite each being about strangely attractive and intelligent people fighting to save their planets and cities from certain destruction in each issue- there are differences amongst the storylines, characters, even the way in which their superheroes are structured is different.  This is not to say that one is better than the other, because like leading contenders in any market- they both tend to be pretty good, just enough difference amongst them to take note of. Like Ketchup and Mustard, different, both equally as good as the other, but their flavors are favored by individuals.  They are not like Coke and Pepsi because fuck that shit, those two are the same and you know it.

To start, the general creation and attributes of each of the characters within each the DC and Marvel universes are different. For the most part, in the Marvel universe it would seem that the majority of characters have heroism thrust upon them- they did not go out looking to get bitten by a radioactive spider, become exposed to gamma radiation, or have some genetic mutation that resulted in them firing laser beams from their eyes or being able to phase through walls. The characters in Marvel tend to be superheroes by consequence as opposed to going out of their way to stop the earth from being destroyed. They find out they have these fantastic abilities and choose to either join a team and fight to save the planet, or take the more cowardly and less heroic route of using their invisibility to spy on attractive people as they are changing.  Like perhaps I would.  They grow into their duties as opposed to train for them in a sense. This is the opposite of DC.

In DC the three most prominent figures are Batman, Superman, and to throw in the one with ovaries, Wonder Woman.  So a multibillionaire, an alien and an Amazonian woman. The thing that all of these characters have in common is the fact that they did not happen onto these things- Bruce Wayne did not just wake up one morning  from being a minimum waged worker to being exposed to some radioactive money and suddenly have the Batcave and Alfred. He’s always had them.  Wonder Woman had always been an Amazon and Superman an alien. These powers, and in the case of Batman, his wealth were not thrust upon these characters, they have always had them and it was the fact that they chose to do good things no matter how inevitable it is that Metropolis or Gotham would be blown to bits in each issue, they still defend them with their natural talents. It is what makes them superheroes. Superman would have been no different on Krypton and it is pretty well established that most Amazonian women tend to be pretty butch.  While there are exceptions- for the most part the superheroes in DC have pretty much had or always known about their powers and it takes little adapting to them. It is what they decide to do with these abilities they just happen to have.

So, that is just one of the differences between the two and what appeals to fans- whether it is someone has heroism thrust upon them, or whether they acknowledge their advantages and choose to do with them what they will. After all, Lex Luthor could have been Metropolis’s Batman. However, in any case one of the other major differences between the two companies is how it is these characters choose to organize the way in which they save the world. The largest name that any one will recognize as being part of Marvel is X-Men, a large organization of mutants with a varying range of superpower abilities, no matter how useful or useless they tend to be ( see, Beak). Then there are the Avengers, The Fantastic Four, the new addition of Runaways- the key element in Marvel being the fact that it would appear to be that their focus and forefront of most of their comics centers on the idea of these individuals coming together and forming a group, bonding over the fact that they are outcasts by society and have a common goal in protecting their world. Even more so that in the Marvel universe, not only is the main cast of characters part of a team- their enemies have banded together as well, for instance the Brotherhood and Hellfire clubs. As well, most of these mutants being abandoned by their families, they find new ones on the team.

DC is decidedly less gung-ho about their outcast titles bringing them together. For the most part DC heroes work solo, or in small units. Sure Batman has Robin and Alfred; Superman has Supergirl and his flying pet; and Aquaman has Aqualad, the Flash has Kid Flash. If you’ve noticed, they have all mostly set themselves up with protégés, people to take their place when and if they die in the line of duty. They are not seeing as anyone else coming in to fill the void in crime battling their death may bring. Now, there is the Justice League and the Teen Titans, but aside from these entities and all of those Green Lanterns (which isn’t so much a team as individuals operating in a system). The point being that in DC those fighting crime act as singular entity for the most part, shouldering the responsibility of keeping their respective cities safe.  Even the criminals they face do not often work together- pretty much most of Batman’s enemies hate one another as well. In fact, in Arkham Asylum the game has Batman working with Joker at one point, instead of say all of Batman’s enemies coming together to stop a common threat to them. But whatever, I guess they haven’t learned.

As a fan of both franchises, I’ll say this- in terms of story and in terms of characters they are both equal in what they are trying to do- which is to give us some good old’ fashion fighting and heroism. But with lasers and people that can be shot and still walk. But in terms of what you are in the mood for. Want some good teamwork? Head on over to Marvel. However if you  would prefer some singular action, with just one character to focus on as opposed to a family, just pick something up from DC.

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