Being a comic book movie fan nowadays is the best. Aside from hundreds of comics, we get 5-6 amazing movies, and about a dozen shows and cartoons based on our favorite comic book stories every year. If you’re even a teensy bit interested in the fate of your beloved fictional characters, you know there’s a “Great Wall” dividing the fans: DC or Marvel. You gotta choose. There’s no way in hell a person could like both franchises. That’s just preposterous and, quite frankly, sounds insane, when you say that “out loud” on the internet.
However, if you’re a sane person, like me, you understand that the franchise war will only make things better for the real fans, who just want to enjoy the geeky movies. But, honestly, DC, or rather Warner Bros., have been off their game since the Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Sure, the Man of Steel was quite good, Wonder Woman was great, but everything else, including the controversial Justice League, was very rushed and poorly edited garbage (but still nowhere near as bad as FOX’s Fan4stic).
So, will DC be able to turn the tides? What would it take to dethrone Marvel? Let’s try to figure these questions out. Here are 7 ways how DC can still surpass Marvel!
1. The World of Magic
DC’s lore is incredibly rich in magical heroes, villains, artifacts, entire worlds, and civilizations: from John Constantine to Trigon, from Justice League Dark to ancient Gods of Olympus, from Atlantis to Themyscira. While Marvel too has its fair share of magics, they’re still hesitating. And what better time to strike than now? Shazam! movie is almost upon us, and I sincerely hope it will help unlock the arcane door.
2. Infinite Space
Yes, I know the Green Lantern Corps movie is in development, but DC and Warners are literally sitting on a gold mine! DC’s cosmic arcs are light years ahead of Marvel’s puny adventures. So why, oh why, are they not developing three or more space-related movies simultaneously. I hear James Gunn is free, so snag that dude and start the show!
3. Time Is Running Out
Both DC and Marvel stories have heroes either traveling through time or they’re just stand-alone Elsword adventures in certain eras like the brilliant steam-punk graphic novel Gotham by Gaslight or the futuristic Batman Beyond. Snap out of it, execs, we want this!
4. The Multiverse Theory
Speaking of other worlds, DC is a master, or rather a “master” of juggling different timelines and alternate Earths. Okay, yes, the comic book writers were kinda screwed (still are, but no matter) because they had to keep the last XX years of certain characters and their development in mind while also trying to give them a part of themselves. When it comes to the movies, however, it’s like a blank slate. Of course, you can’t just make Superman kill Zod, his greatest enemy, in the first movie… or can you? This is not comic book arcs that last for years and get intertwined with a billion other titles. It’s a cinematic universe, just like the one Marvel has. The only reason why a certain hero or villain would be spared depends on their contract. It kinda breaks the tension of will-they-won’t-they kill each other, but what can you do. So please, DC, go all-in, it’s just another universe you can later destroy!
5. Marvel Heroes Will Disappear (sooner or later)
Regarding the contracts, this is also a big issue for Marvel right now, since RDJ, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt and the rest of the guardians, as well as many other major characters, will soon be retired, leaving Marvel in the testing phase again (for the most part). But in 10 years they’ve figured out what to do and how to do it when it comes to promoting their future heroes. After Avengers 4, when it’s all said and done, it won’t be as easy for Marvel to get people to see something like Squirrel Girl or the Eternals. Those are simply not household names yet. And it’s the perfect window for DC to come over and give us their tasty projects!
6. Post-Flash Point Expansion
In comics, Flashpoint event was incredibly important, it basically rebooted the entire DC universe. So when we found out that the solo Flash movie will be called “Flashpoint”, speculations started spreading. And then a year later when we saw the Justice League, it was clear as day that DC needs this reboot. Everybody wins, especially the fans.
7. Cooperation With Indie Publishers
And lastly, I just wanted to remind everyone that, technically, Dark Horse Comics and their vast library of characters can also play a role in popularizing DC movies. Now, I’m not sure about the legal side of it, but if Marvel were able to free Spider-Man from SONY’s dirty claws, DC can also figure out a deal with, say, Mike Mignola, to have Hellboy and BPRD as a part of the DC universe. Wouldn’t that be amazing?
Give me your thought on whether you think DC will be able to at least be as good as Marvel, or will they forever be a #2.
