The Simple Step That Will Make DC Movies As Great As Marvel Movies

"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind) 11/06/2015 at 21:40 • Filed to: DC Comics

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While re-watching episodes from Batman the Animated Series , I quickly realized that the origin stories of the villains were a majority of the episodes. Now looking back, the same could be said about the movies (and comics of course). I always felt like DC had better baddies while Marvel had heroes that were easier to relate to because they had mortal vulnerabilities.

The atmosphere and emotions especially in the Mr. Freeze and Clayface episodes are works of art. The Ventriloquist and Scarface interaction would be great to see done on film. Plus I could watch Harlequin and Joker/Poison Ivy for hours.

The upcoming Suicide Squad seems as if it will try to rush out backstories. I hear that Jared Leto’s Joker will just be flashback scenes to flesh out the Harlequin backstory (and be 50% of the first act probably). But I think villains are the right way to go, this was just too many to start with though.

Imagine the hero appearing in the third act to stop the character you have grown to understand without any introduction. The first time the villain interacts with the hero is the first time we interact with them. The hero is just this mysterious, unstoppable force. DC heroes have alternate identities as their costumes while their uniform is their true self. Why movies love to show Batman/Superman pretending to be Bruce/Clark is beyond me. Just a quick thought before I go back to my childhood.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Wobbles the Mind 11/06/2015 at 21:45

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Um. Ok.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > Wobbles the Mind 11/06/2015 at 21:54

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The thing that makes Marvel’s movies great and DC’s not is Marvel is aware of how silly most everything in them is, and they embrace it and run with it. DC’s recent output feels like they are ashamed of this, and try to hide it behind a bunch of gritty “realism” that doesn’t work.

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > Wobbles the Mind 11/06/2015 at 21:56

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Batman the animated series ruled because of Mark Hamil.

Sam > Wobbles the Mind 11/06/2015 at 22:42

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DC should just stick to making TV series like Daredevil, Arrow, and The Flash. A 22 episode series gives a lot more time to develop characters and story instead of a 2.5hr movie.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Wobbles the Mind 11/06/2015 at 23:18

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CB > Sam 11/06/2015 at 23:40

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Daredevil is Marvel. Just thought you should know.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > CB 11/06/2015 at 23:50

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It’s different though, sort of, it feels more like and seems to be done more in the style of DC.

Sam > CB 11/07/2015 at 00:26

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It is? Huh, it seemed far too gritty to be Marvel.

Wobbles the Mind > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 11/07/2015 at 00:35

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Perhaps not every villain...though the William Tockman origin is a great, sad story. Temple Fugate sucked. (I may have names wrong, I’m not actually a comic person).

dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter > My X-type is too a real Jaguar 11/07/2015 at 00:41

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And Kevin Conroy! And the art direction. And the fact that I was ten at the time.

dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter > PanchoVilleneuve ST 11/07/2015 at 00:52

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I think part of the problem is that DC’s heroes (by and large) were created way before Marvel’s, at a time when their ridiculous origins weren’t quite as big a problem to explain. Superman’s powers make no sense, whatsoever. There’s no rationale behind them. It’s like they were made up by grade school boys. “Something something radiation, I shoot lasers out of my eyes.”

Marvel started as a reaction to DC, and so came out after a lot of things (like nuclear energy) were better understood, so the characters have generally more plausible stories/powers. And if you look at the Marvel films that have failed, a lot of them failed because the characters weren’t at all grounded.

I think that’s part of why the Hulk movies haven’t really worked as origin stories. Because the Hulk’s origin story (and frankly the Hulk, period) is kind of ridiculous.

That being said, the fact that the Thor movies have worked as well as they have is pretty amazing.

dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter > Wobbles the Mind 11/07/2015 at 01:00

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I think Ivy would have been a fun Batman villainess. And I think I agree to some degree about the characters being themselves more than their secret identities. Although, the Marvel movies really haven’t dwelt on the whole secret identity thing. I think the only one of the Avengers who has something approaching a secret identity is Hawkeye and maybe/sorta Banner. Everyone knows Stark is Iron Man. Everyone knows that Captain America is Rogers. Thor is quite literally Thor. And I don’t recall any of the X-men wearing masks in the movies, even wolverine, who definitely wears a mask in the comics.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter 11/07/2015 at 01:19

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Marvel’s heroes have origins that are just as ridiculous, but the the thing that made them great is their whole “superheroes with problems” angle. They’re people first, godlike costumed crimefighters second.