DC vs Marvel: Is The DCEU Playing Catch Up?

Dewayne Edwards Dewayne Edwards
Contributor
August 14th, 2016

Writer for ComiConverse.com, Biggest Superhero Movie Fan, Aspiring Screenwriter, Freelance Writer

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) have now been around for years and fans have had the opportunity to gauge the success of each. Our Dewayne Edwards looks at where the horserace stands following the summer of 2016.

DC vs Marvel: Is The DCEU Playing Catch Up?

With the DCEU getting started with Man of Steel in 2013, there has been a consistency of mixed reviews with all their movies. A lot of the time, fans want to assume that it's biased critics, but if we are to be honest with ourselves, there has to be a reason why there are so many mixed reviews; not just from the critics but from the general movie going audience.

With the last two films, Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad, both released this year, there has been a general consensus with the general movie going audience, saying that the films felt rushed and that some of the characters weren't developed enough to  create any sort of emotional attachment to them. There can be a lot of blame and finger pointing when analyzing the films.

Is it the directors, is it the writers, or just maybe could it be the Warner Bros. approach in general?

Suicide Squad DCEU

Credit: Suicide Squad

As we know, Marvel has had a head start in bringing a lot of the superheroes together on screen and with the concept of a shared universe. Starting with Iron Man in 2008, which was a massive hit, success allowed Marvel to feel confident in starting their own universe of super heroes in an expanded set of film offerings. Their approach was allowing most of the heroes to have their own individual movie, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America to allow us, the audience, to get a better understanding of who they are and of the side characters that are introduced in their movies. This didn't just allow us to get emotionally involved with the character, but it also helped us understand how everything was coming together for the The Avengers, in 2012.

With The Avengers being a massive hit, its success opened the flood gates for other studios to pull out there big hitters and start creating their own expanded universes. Luckily, we have producers, directors and writers who love the characters just as much as we do and are doing a good job at approaching their stories - generally.

But why have the last couple of DC films felt rushed?

Is DC seeing trying to catch up to Marvel's five-year head start?

DC vs Marvel DCEU

Credit: Disney/Marvel

As we have seen, DC is approaching their comic book movie universe differently from Marvel. They're introducing their characters together in the beginning and are going to break them apart individually in future movies. I like this approach since it's going to be different from Marvel's and different is sometimes better. But some have made the prediction that DC is doing this to catch up to Marvel. As we know, movie studios will sometimes react to the public being upset about something in a previous movie. As you may know, Man of Steel 2 is now in the early parts of production. I believe this is a reaction to the complaints of their previous movies, more specifically Suicide Squad, having a faulty plot. The result is that DC is going to make an approach to individual movies to allow the audience to better understand their characters.

If DC is feeling the pressure to catch up to Marvel's long line of movies and characters, I think they should take a breather and take their time. Warner Brothers (WB) should know that they have a huge following and that they can take their time to develop their universe and characters. With the announcement of Man of Steel 2 being moved up to high priority, it shows that WB is listening and are going to take a long-term approach to building their universe.

Even though DC is facing an up-hill battle with critics and some fans, I believe they have a bright future with their movies and we, as fans, have a lot to look forward to. Wonder Woman looks like its going to be amazing and Justice League looks like it's headed in the right direction. I think both DC and comic book movie fans just need to give the creators more time as this universe is being built.

No, we don't have to like all their movies, having your own opinion is a very valuable thing, but appreciating the differences of what the different comic book movie universes have to offer is also should be something all fans take to heart.

Do you think that the DCEU is rushing to try and catch up to Marvel?

What do you think is the best approach they can take to building their own universe?

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

 

Dewayne Edwards is a contributor to ComiConverse. Follow him on Twitter: @ProPizza94

Source: DC Comics

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