The DC & Marvel Fandom Disparity

Divided We Fall

We need to stop this hate between DC and Marvel (above image is all in good fun).

I realize I used more words with Marvel – but the fact is (and my personal bias acknowledged, but hey, at least I acknowledge it) Marvel Studios has a much stronger footing right now despite DC’s long and rich history, though I have a feeling DC is about to “right the ship” with Geoff Johns, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Marvel currently “holds the belt” for brand and narrative synergy. However, after years of false starts and stumbles, mostly at the Executive level, DC is starting to get it together, and that really excites me, both as a fan of the genre, and as someone who really wants to see what DC has in store. The two studios, and us as fans, can make each other better as long as we stop tearing one another apart.

DC has the richer history. Marvel has the greater trust. This is not to say that DC has to follow Marvel’s proven formula to be successful. In fact I argue going a different route differentiates the two and makes it exciting. But there are obviously things DC (or more so WB) can take away from Marvel’s blueprint. Geoff Johns is a massive step in that direction, and gives me the feeling that everything will be ok, and great things are to come from DC! (Update: As I was drafting this piece, Umberto Gonzalez broke the massive scoop that a follow-up to Man of Steel is in active development at WB – hope and a positive sign of Geoff Johns’ new creative influence over DC!)

Finally, I appeal to all of the fans out there, and to borrow from Doctor Strange’s trailer, “Open Your Mind”. Accept that some things will be the same, and some things will be different. Changes will be made, origins altered. The characters you grew up loving might not look the same on screen as they did on the page. 

But folks, we are living in the “Golden Age” right now for movies some of us have waited our entire lives to actually see on the big screen in all their glory? Why can’t we just get out of each other’s way and enjoy this ride? San Diego Comic-Con has become an annual pop-culture pilgrimage, and not just comic books because of the time we are in. There is so much garbage in the world today, that it is great that every few months we can turn that off, go into the theaters, and see costumed heroes give us a win for a change. 

My plea to everyone, let it all play out. Give it time. Let the studios tell their stories. Show up, and enjoy this. Enjoy the time we are living in. Let’s just be thankful for what we are getting, because it’s awesome and unlike anything before. My greatest fear is that if we don’t, the constantly bandied about “superhero fatigue” will set in much quicker than any of us want, and we, the fans, will have ruined it, and we won’t have just the studios to blame.

Please, I beg of you all, let’s not ruin it for each other.