CB2001
Master Member
Okay, there are a lot of comic book movies that I've grown up seeing. And I will admit, I've grown up reading comics as well, as I'm sure a lot of us here will also admit. But when it comes to Facebook, someone asked me a question that I had no choice but to give my opinion on: Why is it that Marvel films are doing better than DC films?
Now, this is my opinion and I know someone is going to disagree with me. But here's the reason why I think Marvel films are doing better than DC films: When I was growing up reading the comics, it was during the 1980s and some of the 1990s. It's in my recent years that I have come to find and embrace older issues and comics. But there was one thing I've noticed when it comes to Marvel in comparison to DC comics, especially in the more recent years: Marvel is still fun, while DC has gotten way too serious. Granted, Marvel does has its occasional dramatic moment, but it never loses its sense of fun and wonder. DC, however, seems to take itself way to serious (I think this is primarily because of the work of Alan Moore and Frank Miller, who basically redefined the superhero genre in comics and made the Dark Knight really dark and showed us the flaws in the superhero concept with Watchmen). Even though Marvel and DC has gone slightly more serious over the years, Marvel still tries to hold on to what makes comics fun (hell, Deadpool is a great example of that. Even though he's a psychotic gun for hire with a great healing factor and an inability to die, he doesn't take himself as seriously as Tony Stark, Captain America, Spider-Man or the X-Men do, reminding readers of a period of time in which superheroes were fun).
Now, looking at the films, the same is true with Marvel films. Let's look at Iron Man 3 for Marvel. Even with its more dramatic situations, most in part to Tony Stark's psychological trauma caused by the events of The Avengers, the film is overall a fun joyride and we get to see how Tony Stark works in a situation with his back against the wall even when his suit doesn't. The same is true with any of the Spider-Man movies: Peter Parker carries the burden of being responsible for his uncle's death, but all the other situations we see in the films are still rather enjoyable, even the more dramatic ones when the odds seem to be against Peter. This is something that goes as far back as the cartoons from the 1970s from my own personal observation.
Okay, now let's look at DC's stuff. They started off being rather fun with their stories when it comes to their films, namely Superman: The Motion Picture in the 1970s and a little bit with Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns during the 1980s. Even the animated shows and movies are enjoyable, even to now. However, thanks to Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder, the two of them have single-handedly made these films even more serious than they needed to be and barely give anything enjoyable in return. I get that for Nolan, by adding realism to The Dark Knight trilogy, he's shows how it could be plausible for Batman to exist in a real world environment. However, by doing so, we lose some of the fun with this character, showing it's much more terrible to be a masked vigilante like Batman and removed almost all of the positive aspects of his contributions to the city he serves. Man of Steel, to me, is just bad at being serious as The Dark Knight films. It was like they were trying to turn a superhero movie into a drama, sucking the life and wonder of the Superman character clean out of the story. As a result, he pseudo-intellectual struggle we see him in at the start of the movie, going through various odd-jobs and trying to maintain a low cover. And then, the struggles of making himself known to the world when Zod and Company come looking for him, and yadda-yadda-yadda, he wins a big battle against the big bag. And it's all forced drama. The only scene that does work, and barely at that, is the scene with the bus crash, where a young Clark Kent is forced to choose between saving everyone on the bus and risk his secret being exposed or to let everyone drown and allow his secret to be safe (which in turn establishes his mentality of putting other people's lives before his, which is a true classic superhero trait). But like I said, it barely works. Everything else is just forced drama that doesn't allow for people to connect or enjoy the film in the same manner as a Marvel film (or even in the same manner as you would enjoy Superman films of the 1970s).
To me, that's why I feel that DC film adaptations aren't doing as well these days and Marvel adaptations are thriving. DC were doing well in the past because the movies were fun, but their insistence of making their work more dramatic is hindering them, leaving Marvel to succeed because of how they balance drama and fun with their films.
Of course, this is just my opinion, and like I said, I know there's going to be a few people here who will disagree with me. And I probably will even get shunned for my opinion, but that is me. I ask that if we continue to discuss this particular topic, all I ask is that we keep it as a discussion.
Now, this is my opinion and I know someone is going to disagree with me. But here's the reason why I think Marvel films are doing better than DC films: When I was growing up reading the comics, it was during the 1980s and some of the 1990s. It's in my recent years that I have come to find and embrace older issues and comics. But there was one thing I've noticed when it comes to Marvel in comparison to DC comics, especially in the more recent years: Marvel is still fun, while DC has gotten way too serious. Granted, Marvel does has its occasional dramatic moment, but it never loses its sense of fun and wonder. DC, however, seems to take itself way to serious (I think this is primarily because of the work of Alan Moore and Frank Miller, who basically redefined the superhero genre in comics and made the Dark Knight really dark and showed us the flaws in the superhero concept with Watchmen). Even though Marvel and DC has gone slightly more serious over the years, Marvel still tries to hold on to what makes comics fun (hell, Deadpool is a great example of that. Even though he's a psychotic gun for hire with a great healing factor and an inability to die, he doesn't take himself as seriously as Tony Stark, Captain America, Spider-Man or the X-Men do, reminding readers of a period of time in which superheroes were fun).
Now, looking at the films, the same is true with Marvel films. Let's look at Iron Man 3 for Marvel. Even with its more dramatic situations, most in part to Tony Stark's psychological trauma caused by the events of The Avengers, the film is overall a fun joyride and we get to see how Tony Stark works in a situation with his back against the wall even when his suit doesn't. The same is true with any of the Spider-Man movies: Peter Parker carries the burden of being responsible for his uncle's death, but all the other situations we see in the films are still rather enjoyable, even the more dramatic ones when the odds seem to be against Peter. This is something that goes as far back as the cartoons from the 1970s from my own personal observation.
Okay, now let's look at DC's stuff. They started off being rather fun with their stories when it comes to their films, namely Superman: The Motion Picture in the 1970s and a little bit with Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns during the 1980s. Even the animated shows and movies are enjoyable, even to now. However, thanks to Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder, the two of them have single-handedly made these films even more serious than they needed to be and barely give anything enjoyable in return. I get that for Nolan, by adding realism to The Dark Knight trilogy, he's shows how it could be plausible for Batman to exist in a real world environment. However, by doing so, we lose some of the fun with this character, showing it's much more terrible to be a masked vigilante like Batman and removed almost all of the positive aspects of his contributions to the city he serves. Man of Steel, to me, is just bad at being serious as The Dark Knight films. It was like they were trying to turn a superhero movie into a drama, sucking the life and wonder of the Superman character clean out of the story. As a result, he pseudo-intellectual struggle we see him in at the start of the movie, going through various odd-jobs and trying to maintain a low cover. And then, the struggles of making himself known to the world when Zod and Company come looking for him, and yadda-yadda-yadda, he wins a big battle against the big bag. And it's all forced drama. The only scene that does work, and barely at that, is the scene with the bus crash, where a young Clark Kent is forced to choose between saving everyone on the bus and risk his secret being exposed or to let everyone drown and allow his secret to be safe (which in turn establishes his mentality of putting other people's lives before his, which is a true classic superhero trait). But like I said, it barely works. Everything else is just forced drama that doesn't allow for people to connect or enjoy the film in the same manner as a Marvel film (or even in the same manner as you would enjoy Superman films of the 1970s).
To me, that's why I feel that DC film adaptations aren't doing as well these days and Marvel adaptations are thriving. DC were doing well in the past because the movies were fun, but their insistence of making their work more dramatic is hindering them, leaving Marvel to succeed because of how they balance drama and fun with their films.
Of course, this is just my opinion, and like I said, I know there's going to be a few people here who will disagree with me. And I probably will even get shunned for my opinion, but that is me. I ask that if we continue to discuss this particular topic, all I ask is that we keep it as a discussion.
