Hey readers. This week, I’ll be following a topic that has
half the world (including me) on its toes and in a constant mind tormenting
confusion- which one of the fabulous and
ever awesome comic giants is even more awesome than the other- Marvel or DC?
This ‘Battle of the Awesomes’ has been raging on since the past 80 years and is
unlikely to be ever put to a rest by the huge fan following that both these powerhouses
enjoy.
The two comic houses began as National Publication Alliance
(DC) and Timely Comics (Marvel) and have undergone several changes through
these long years to provide to the young generations a sense of adventure, an
adrenaline rush, an outburst of imagination and action by creating a universe
(actually two) of fantastic superheroes and super villains fighting it out on
the battlefield of our planet. Be it Superman vs. Lex Luthor or Spiderman vs.
Green Goblin, both these comic powerhouses have created characters that have
captured the minds of millions.
The first ‘superhero’ to be created between the two was
Batman. It was introduced to the world in Issue #27 of the Detective Comics
released by DC- the origins of the name of the comic house being in that
series. It took the world by a storm. The sheer awesomeness of Batman with his
BatSuit and his high-tech gadgets including the famous BatMobile which was a
result of his vast fortune, inventive brain and of course the death of his
parents as a child captivated the audience’s minds and opened the doors to the
world of action comics. Marvel although late to the superhero department with
its fantastic Four series in 1961, shook the comic world and threatened to
topple DC from its long-held number one position in the comics industry. By
that time, DC had already introduced various heroes like Flash, Green Lantern
and other members of the Justice League and Marvel was only piggybacking on its
success. Looks like it worked; Marvel in 2013 held a 33.50% share in the comics
market as compared to DC Comic’s 30.33% and it has been so for the past 10
years. As for the art of telling stories to the world, Marvel has certainly
done a better job and is sure to do the same in the upcoming future.
DC has given us characters like Batman and Superman that
have a certain class, a sense of power, an ethereal quality imbibed in them
that portray strength and composure which kind of makes me respect and fear
these characters at the same time. All these characters have a dark side to
them which they are constantly battling on the inside, apart from the evil
lurking in the outside world. This makes the audience believe them to be more human
in spite of the super-human
powers that they possess. But this characteristic of these heroes has been
stretched beyond the comfort zone of the audience by DC and I think that it is
this reason why people now find characters slightly boring and mentally
disturbed (yes, I feel that these guys are always battling their inner demons
and I’ve had enough with their everlasting bipolar nature bordering on mental
instability). Marvel on the other hand focuses more on the cool and awesomeness
quotient of the characters and provides a light but intense character that not
only fights with the monsters raging inside but also dishes it out to the
villains that dare cast an evil eye on the home that we call planet Earth. I
believe that this is the reason that people like to watch more of the
awesomeness of Tony Stark in the iron suit than the ever depressed Superman
lusting after Lois Lane.
 |
| The iconic cover of DC Versus Marvel Limited Edition Issue |
It is not like the topic of Marvel vs. DC has not been
discussed before. In fact the debate became so popular that Marvel and DC collaborated to create a limited edition series know as DC vs. Marvel Comics (issues #2–3
titled Marvel Comics vs. DC)
in which heroes of their respective universes battled it out in a series of
duels and the losing universe would cease to exist. There were 11 primary
battles in which 5 were decided on the basis of a fan vote. Although the final
outcome on the basis of the vote was 3-2 in favor of Marvel comics, the actual
storyline does not show as one side being victorious. As a final effort to
avoid annihilation of any of the universes, the ‘Spectre’ and ‘The Living
Tribunal’ stepped in to mitigate the fight between the ‘brothers’ and created a
new universe known as the Amalgam Universe which consisted of merged versions
of heroes from both universes like Dark Claw (a merged form of Batman and
Wolverine). With the help of Captain America and Batman, the two characters
that were different from their respective universes’ companions, an
inter-dimensional character know as Access restored balance to the two
universes.
Both Marvel and DC have a line of upcoming movies but as
recent ones like Marvel Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers 2 have
shown, it looks like Marvel will again hit the box office jackpot and leave DC
trailing in the dust. With movies like Captain America: Civil War, Ant-Man,
Avengers: Infinity War series as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe which
also consists of the very successful TV series ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’, Marvel
is sure to take the world by a storm. But it is not like DC will keep quiet.
With Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad which are to be
released in March and August next year respectively, already grabbing eyeballs,
DC is sure to make a major impact on the world of comics and give Marvel
Studios a run for its money.
Both Marvel and DC have given to us some exceptional characters-
heroes and villains alike that have not only kept small children playing in
their imaginative world but have shown to all generations the action induced
rush that the world of comics holds. One can be a fan of either of the two
giants and ditch the other but the fact remains; both DC and Marvel are the
reason why today’s generation is hooked onto comics and the world of action
because those books, those movies are a world of their own and open the window
to the most important of all- a world where creativity knows no bounds, where
nothing is impossible, where no dream is too big and no dreamer too small. It
is the world of imagination.
No comments:
Post a Comment