Marvel vs. DC - The Super Hero Movie Wars

It’s no secret to anyone out there that super hero films are on the rise as far as popularity goes.  Hell, they’ve been kicking butt and taking names for more than a decade now, but the last few years have really shown that if you put a well-known (or even marginally known) super hero into a film, it will likely make hundreds-of-millions of dollars and be a box office success.  This wasn’t always the case, of course, and there have been more than a few complete fails along the way.  Marvel/Disney has dominated this super hero movie war thus far with huge titles such as Iron Man and The Avengers.  But with the Warner Bros./DC release of Man of Steel this last week, things may be changing.  And though many had issues with the new incarnation of Superman, if WB looks to compete with Disney on a serious level, they need to do exactly what they’ve been doing with their successful franchises - aim them at mature audiences.

When you go to the theater to watch a Marvel flick, you generally expect to be entertained with a bit of story, a bit of witty dialogue and a healthy amount of action.  This is pretty much the formula for super hero films right now.  Marvel/Disney, with the help of a few great actors and a few talented directors, has managed to capture most of the super hero market using this formula.  The majority of their films still fall within the B- to B+ range as far as excellence goes, but there are a few outstanding titles to carry the rest of the franchises, so there’s little to worry about.

DC has tried to imitate this model, but has been unsuccessful in that regard.  Anyone who saw the 2011 incarnation of Green Lantern knows that the popcorn action approach does not always turn out for the best.  Without an instantly likeable main character (such as Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark) or an amazingly talented director (such as Joss Whedon at the helm of The Avengers), you’re not going to get the fanboys and critics to appreciate one film long enough for you to put out more and continue to franchise your universe.  Thus the DC world has suffered and so has Warner Bros.

And so Marvel/Disney, in their infinite wisdom (or rather due to Kevin Feige’s genius) started up their shot at dominating super hero films with Iron Man.  Take one recognizable character who most people don’t know too much about, add one amazingly charming actor and you have a recipe for success.  When Marvel decided to release Captain America, Thor and the Incredible Hulk, they already had a brand new base of fans ready to jump on board and see if these other characters were as interesting as Iron Man was.  The general consensus (and one that I have to agree with) is that the follow-up movies just weren’t as good as Iron Man.  Even Iron Man 2 didn’t receive the greatest reviews, despite the presence of RDJ.  Had Marvel/Disney’s breakthrough into the super hero genre finally fell flat?  Were the popcorn movies no longer enough to appease us?  They had a solution to that as well, in the form of The Avengers and their sharp decision to bring Joss Whedon onboard to direct.  Take one team movie, add one cultish fan-favorite director, create a ton of spell-binding action and you have billions of dollars in revenue.

This is a pattern that Warner Bros. would desperately like to duplicate.  They have a wealth of DC characters in their hands and that means no shortage of potentially great stories and franchises.  But can they copy the Marvel pattern and come out with a significant market share in the genre?  Not by doing the same popcorn approach.  Unless they spearhead their efforts with a massively popular debut such as Iron Man had, they won’t be able to follow up with B- films that will actually draw more viewers than criticism.  Thus, Man of Steel.

Man of Steel is starting the new franchise attack from WB, but it is not the origin of the company’s success.  When Christopher Nolan made the latest Dark Knight trilogy, the dark and introspective, yet still action-filled approach hit a note with fans.  Many of these fans were the same folks that watched every Marvel/Disney film, but there were many (myself included) that fell in love with Nolan’s work because it went beyond the popcorn approach.  Warner Bros. produced a super hero film that appealed to more mature and discerning audiences.  Personally, I never spent a dime to see half of what Marvel has put out, because I know they’ll essentially be the same type of films and they don’t feature characters that I’m particularly attached to.  I’ll wait for DVD or Netflix, thanks.

This changed when I went and saw Man of Steel recently.  With Nolan backing up Zack Snyder, I knew that, even though I literally hated Superman as a character, I might actually like this film.  And I was not disappointed in the least.  They brought much of what made Dark Knight stylistically successful to Man of Steel, creating a more existential look at being a super hero.  They also brought the heavy-hitting action scenes comparable to what made Avengers so visually compelling.  This formula, though some complained about Nolan’s influence on Man of Steel, will turn out to be the crucial determining factor in whether Warner Bros. and DC will burst onto the scene in the next few years.  They’ve found a way to combat Marvel’s success - make a darker and more mature film.

Thought the critics have attacked Man of Steel, the viewers are making it known that they disagree with what those critics have to say.  Every time I read a review of Man of Steel that is negative, I find that it’s followed by dozens (sometimes hundreds and hundreds) of comments from very angry people that loved the film.  People are being incredibly vocal about how they feel and that is perhaps the most encouraging thing to me.  I want to see more Dark Knight/Man of Steel-styled films.  I’m not a DC fan by any stretch, but I’ll line-up to see Wonder Woman, The Flash and even Aquaman if it means I’ll be getting the same quality of story and directing that Warner Bros. has brought to the table thus far.

And so the super hero genre wars begin in earnest.  Man of Steel 2 and Justice League are already approved and I’d put money on the fact that we’ll see another three to five DC characters getting the green light on their own films before the year is up.  This is something Warner Bros. has desperately wanted to do and now they have not only the chance, but the right formula.  Sure, critics and fanboys may get a bit upset about the way WB is treating the source material, but give it another 10 years and most new fans of Superman and other DC characters will know only what the movies show them - human beings with extraordinary powers that have to deal with those powers in sometimes unpleasant ways.  No more the dominance of the popcorn approach, as WB is changing the market and, in my firm opinion, they are doing it for the better.

Disney/Marvel logo courtesy of buzzsugar.com

Warner Bros/DC logo courtesy of collider.com