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DC Comics Vs. Marvel Comics

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Dreohboy

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I've recently been spending time running through DC Universe Online, and I've been loving it. But for the life of me I'm not vested in the Universe as much as I would be if it were Marvel's universe. Why?

What do I prefer more about the Marvel Universe?


I was listening to a podcast tonight to hear what they thought of DC Universe Online and one of the guys on the podcast mentioned how the TEAMS in Marvel comics were so much better than the teams in DC.

Justice League...popular, yes.

But compare that to the Xmen, Fantastic Four, The Avengers...well, I guess you could say the Avengers resemble the Justice league, but the Fantastic Four and Xmen comics never felt like groups of individual heroes coming together for a common good.

The Xmen and the Fantastic Four always came across as disfunctional families to me. More grounded.

Maybe that's it. Daredevil, Wolverine and Spiderman have always been my favorite super heroes. Perhaps it's because they felt more grounded in reality than similar heroes in the DC Universe.

Batman...the one guy I WANT to like in the DC Universe, still seems kinda greater than though even as a regular man. Very hard, stoic, and all business.

Opinions?
 
This might get ugly, lol.

People seem to either love one side or the other, and this'll devolve into debates over the writing quality of either comic house versus the other.

I dig what you're saying though, and agree; love the dysfunctional family quality of the X-teams.
 
Magnus said:
This might get ugly, lol.
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Not from real COMIC BOOK GAF peeps though. It's really just a matter of preference and runs/stories that resonated with the reader.

In the end, writers and pencillers/inkers are what really matters. I've been more of a DC guy lately but shit if I didn't cream my pants when I saw this in the comic shop yesterday :
fosZd.jpg

FINALLY THE AVENGERS BY BUSIEK/PEREZ RUN IN COLLECTED FORM!!!!

Jack Kirby blessed the big two with his art, proof that both are worthy of our fanboyish love.

Grant Morrison > ALL also.
 
I have been more of a Marvel man my entire life, but I do love much about DC as well. They both have their merits and demerits.

Tamanon said:
I'd say DC has a clear advantage in individual heroes and especially in villains.
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Marvel has Doctor Doom. Marvel wins for villains. I don't care how awesome Lex Luthor, Darkseid, and Joker are. Doom is the greatest comic villain, period.
 
I like both of their universes. There was a time that I was definitely a Marvel fan, but now I would say I'm pretty even between liking both universes. While Marvel has a slight edge in the teams category, I still think it's pretty close. The Teen Titans and the Justice Society are both pretty awesome, after all.

I do think DC heroes tend to have better rogue's galleries, though. Spider-Man is the only Marvel hero who really stands out in that regard, and Flash and Batman still beat him handily there.
 
Mistouze said:
In the end, writers and pencillers/inkers are what really matters. I've been more of a DC guy lately but shit if I didn't cream my pants when I saw this in the comic shop yesterday :
fosZd.jpg

FINALLY THE AVENGERS BY BUSIEK/PEREZ RUN IN COLLECTED FORM!!!!
Click to expand...
I have their entire run in individual issues, and many signed by Perez himself, but I will have to grab that collection just so I don't have to drag out the long boxes when I want to read that totally badass Ultron story they did during their run. Of course, that was later, so it might not be in that set. Is it?


KuwabaraTheMan said:
I like both of their universes. There was a time that I was definitely a Marvel fan, but now I would say I'm pretty even between liking both universes. While Marvel has a slight edge in the teams category, I still think it's pretty close. The Teen Titans and the Justice Society are both pretty awesome, after all.

I do think DC heroes tend to have better rogue's galleries, though. Spider-Man is the only Marvel hero who really stands out in that regard, and Flash and Batman still beat him handily there.
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Batman does have the greatest rogues gallery for a single character, with Spider Man being just behind him. But as a whole I do find the Marvel villains to be better, or more my speed. I still want another JLA/Avengers elseworlds story with the villains teaming up to just destroy everything. That one pic of Darkseid with the Infinity Gauntlet was just too much of a tease to NOT do something with it eventually.
 
OK...going back and thinking about some of the DC stuff from when I was in high school.

If I remember correctly the George Perez (I think that was his name) penciled TEEN TITANS comic was a very good mag at that time.

There were three artist back then who I thought were head and shoulders above the rest, and only one of those was for DC at the time (this was before the John Lee era).

George Perez, John Byrne and ...who was that other guy at Marvel...???

IMHO those guys did bodies better than anybody.

LOL...kinda went off topic in my own thread. :D
 
Perez is god. When he is on, he is ON! But he does have some moments of mediocrity. Some of my favorite work of his was Hulk: Future Imperfect.

But no one, NO ONE, does team books or the group shot a tenth as good as Perez.
dc-marvel-george-perez-00.jpg
 
It's the colors.

DC in my eyes has always been full of greys, earth tones, muted colors.
Marvel was always bright, approachable, and larger than life.

I don't favor either one over the other, but that's how I've always seen it.
 
PhoncipleBone said:
I have been more of a Marvel man my entire life, but I do love much about DC as well. They both have their merits and demerits.


Marvel has Doctor Doom. Marvel wins for villains. I don't care how awesome Lex Luthor, Darkseid, and Joker are. Doom is the greatest comic villain, period.
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Magneto shits on Doom.
 
wenis said:
It's the colors.

DC in my eyes has always been full of greys, earth tones, muted colors.
Marvel was always bright, approachable, and larger than life.

I don't favor either one over the other, but that's how I've always seen it.
Click to expand...

.. really ?

01_DC_Comics.jpg


I think Burton and Nolan have blinded you
 
Tamanon said:
I'd say DC has a clear advantage in individual heroes and especially in villains.
Click to expand...

Yeah, when I always think of Marvel, I imagine a hero-in-group, and with DC, is mostly the opposite.
 
I think I am more familiar with DC Universe than Marvel, but I am an equal opportunity admirer for what both have to offer.
 
wenis said:
It's the colors.

DC in my eyes has always been full of greys, earth tones, muted colors.
Marvel was always bright, approachable, and larger than life.

I don't favor either one over the other, but that's how I've always seen it.
Click to expand...

This but I still always favored Marvel. When I was a kid, X-men was the greatest thing ever and then I spent a summer getting into Spidey thanks to a local library. As a kid, marvel always had this real world but magical quality to it that I loved. That it seemed like it really could happen.
 
DC and Marvel do the same shit. They are the same. The both do great things and horrible bullshit. DC is not more idealized and light and Marvel is not dark and grounded or vice versa or whatever made up description people are spouting lately. People who say otherwise are just people who have clearly not read enough of either side.

Anyway, I will just say, I follow writers and artists, I don't side with companies. It helps that they move around so often.
 
PhoncipleBone said:
I will give Magneto credit that he is smart enough NOT to mess with Doom. Magneto is probably second to Doom for best Marvel villain in my book.
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Magneto is a great character, but he's far more interesting when he isn't a villain in my mind. Comparing him to Doom is pretty difficult, though. They're pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum as far as antagonists go.

Crewnh said:
DC and Marvel do the same shit. DC is not more idealized and light and Marvel is not dark and grounded or vice versa or whatever made up description people are spouting lately. People who say otherwise are just people who have clearly not read enough of either side.
Click to expand...

I think the conception of DC as being more idealized and Marvel being more grounded was certainly true 30+ years ago, but it really hasn't been that way for awhile. As in, not since New Teen Titans.
 
PhoncipleBone said:
I will give Magneto credit that he is smart enough NOT to mess with Doom. Magneto is probably second to Doom for best Marvel villain in my book.
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How does Doom have the advantage when Magneto has control over all metal objects? Doom would be ripped to pieces wouldn't he?
 
3dmodeler said:
How does Doom have the advantage when Magneto has control over all metal objects? Doom would be ripped to pieces wouldn't he?
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Doom is kinda like the supervillain equivalent to Batman. He's extremely smart and ALWAYS prepared. He has plans A-Z for everything and at the end of every scenario or encounter dealing with him, you can almost guarantee it was a doombot/doomposter.
 
SalsaShark said:
.. really ?
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Yeah really. Sure they have their moments when certain artists pop up (until they jump ship to Marvel), but I know at least for as long as I've been reading comics I've always noticed this trend in a lot of DC comics being darker color wise.
 
wenis said:
Yeah really. Sure they have their moments when certain artists pop up (until they jump ship to Marvel), but I know at least for as long as I've been reading comics I've always noticed this trend in a lot of DC comics being darker color wise.
Click to expand...


I guess your brightness setting is turned down too low.
 
KuwabaraTheMan said:
Magneto is a great character, but he's far more interesting when he isn't a villain in my mind. Comparing him to Doom is pretty difficult, though. They're pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum as far as antagonists go.
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Doom goes both directions as well, and just like Magneto, that is what makes him so intriguing. They are the most interesting Marvel villains because they play both sides when it suits their needs. They are two of the most complex characters in comics.

The Take Out Bandit said:
I enjoy them both. Grow up.

Holy shit @ Perez pin up. :O

I wish I actively liked his style, rather than merely appreciating his mastery of the craft and technique.
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I was first exposed to Perez with "Infinity Gauntlet" and was not that impressed. As I grew older and got better at my own artwork, I came to realize just how incredible he is. As I get older, I love his style more and more. Perhaps it is just jealousy.

I still remember reading interviews in Wizard magazine with Alex Ross and his long process of painting over Perez's pencils for the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" cover. The first interview as he was starting the painting, Ross was ecstatic and grateful for the honor and opportunity to paint over Perez's work. Cut to a few months later and he is a lil over halfway done and he begins questioning his sanity when he thought he would be able to actual match the sheer amount of detail in Perez's work.
cris.jpg

INSANE HI RES VERSION

The original pencils
CrisisPosterKey2.jpg


I think the final tally was 562 characters in the picture.
 
wenis said:
Yeah really. Sure they have their moments when certain artists pop up (until they jump ship to Marvel), but I know at least for as long as I've been reading comics I've always noticed this trend in a lot of DC comics being darker color wise.
Click to expand...

Penciler/Inker =/= Colorist

A lot of modern colorists work between companies, and with digital coloring techniques now color in comics can be used the same way its used in cinema to establish a tone or mood. Going before the computer coloring. . . It's a tie.
 
Tokubetsu said:
Doom is kinda like the supervillain equivalent to Batman. He's extremely smart and ALWAYS prepared. He has plans A-Z for everything and at the end of every scenario or encounter dealing with him, you can almost guarantee it was a doombot/doomposter.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I like how Stan Lee put it about him: Here is a guy that wants to rule the world, and the scary thing is that he would be good at it.

Most badass moment for Doom was Secret Wars: putting Galactus down so he could steal some of his technology so he could fight The Beyonder. The Beyonder wins for a moment, then starts to dissect Doom on a cellular level. Even while being ripped apart cell by cell, Doom STILL defeats the Beyonder to become a godlike being.
 
PhoncipleBone said:
I have been more of a Marvel man my entire life, but I do love much about DC as well. They both have their merits and demerits.


Marvel has Doctor Doom. Marvel wins for villains. I don't care how awesome Lex Luthor, Darkseid, and Joker are. Doom is the greatest comic villain, period.
Click to expand...
Don't forget Magneto, Master of Magnet. He welcomes you to die
 
PhoncipleBone said:
Read above. Magneto is second to Doom in the Marvel universe. Even Magneto knows not to fuck with Doom.
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I think Molecule Man can overwhelm both Doom and Magneto, however.
 
Well the reason the X-men and the F4 feel like better team books is that the characters were more or less always built around that dynamic. Avengers and JL were not. This is not to say that it doesn't work I'm just saying its not neccessarily apples and apples.
 
PhoncipleBone said:
I have their entire run in individual issues, and many signed by Perez himself, but I will have to grab that collection just so I don't have to drag out the long boxes when I want to read that totally badass Ultron story they did during their run. Of course, that was later, so it might not be in that set. Is it?
Click to expand...
I don't think Ultron Imperative is in it. Didn't get the time to read the books I got from the comic shop yesterday, I'll get back to you when I'm home. That arc was the bomb.
EDIT : But I can tell you they included the Iron Man episodes which were also written by Busiek that crossed over with the Avengers for the "Live Kree Or Die" storyline. Drunk Miss Marvel <3.

Really discovered The Avengers with this run an oh boy was it great. Discovering the art and Georges Perez and the storytelling of Busiek (who really crams a lot of backstory in an enjoyabl way) was a FUCKING TREAT :D

And dont get me started on JLA/AVENGERS, that book is made out of love. Learning about Perez having health problem makes me sad. I thought gods where invicible, shit. After Blackest Night, I have some hope Ivan Reis (with the help of Joe Prado) can step up to "take his place".
 
Mistouze said:
I don't think Ultron Imperative is in it. Didn't get the time to read the books I got from the comic shop yesterday, I'll get back to you when I'm home. That arc was the bomb.

Really discovered The Avengers with this run an oh boy was it great. Discovering the art and Georges Perez and the storytelling of Busiek (who really crams a lot of backstory in an enjoyabl way) was a FUCKING TREAT :D

And dont get me started on JLA/AVENGERS, that book is made out of love. Learning about Perez having health problem makes me sad. I thought gods where invicible, shit. After Blackest Night, I have some hope Ivan Reis (with the help of Joe Prado) can step up to "take his place".
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Reis has gotten better over the last couple of years. His work on Blackest Night was quite incredible. And also nice to find more love for JLA/Avengers. I appreciated the fact that in the entire thing they found a way to make both camps happy and never have one universe cooler or more badass than the other. They balanced it well.

Although, they at least acknowledged that Batman knew Cap would most likely win in a fight. That showed the superior intellect on Batman's part. He knew not to fuck with Cap just by a few glancing blows.
aj0206.jpg

tumblrlaz77nndvn1qbmcov.png


And that they were the only two to figure out what was going on. Shit, by the end even Superman knew to take orders from Cap.
 
When I was growing up, I always liked Marvel heroes better because they felt 'deeper'...that is, they had flaws and blemishes. Spider-Man was a socially awkward kid trying to figure out how to do the hero thing, Iron-man was a drunken bastard, F4 were a dysfunctional family.

On the other hand, DC heroes seemed too silver-agey to me. They were GOOD and they fought EVIL. Superman was the all-american boy, and Lantern was the intergalactic hero cop, and Wonder Woman was the heroic princess learning what it is to be american (or something like that). Only Batman seemed flawed/darker than the others.

It was sort of like Marvel heroes were people with super-powers, and DC heroes were Icons.

Since then, DC has come a LONG way in humanizing their heroes, and have created very, very interesting characters. I really don't think the Justice League cartoon would have worked quite as well without the characters having...well, character. Though it's unfair, I'd say compare Justice League with the old Super Friends to get the feeling I'm trying to describe.


So, yeah, growing up, I was far more a Marvel fan. Now, I guess my favorites are still in the Marvel camp, but I'm liking DC stories equally.
 
Spike said:
If I said I liked them both equally the universe wouldn't implode would it?
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It would still exist. The only way it would implode is if you honestly said that the Image and Valiant universes were superior to either Marvel or DC.
 
I like both companies. I tend to actively follow Marvel more though. That whole relateable vs iconic thing. The iconic approach that DC favors wears thin on me in extended doses.

Especially when you're presented with a character with no sense of humor or personality like Hal Jordan.
 
Valiant comics during Jim Shooter's run as EIC.
Fuck acclaim.

Also, Marvel because of shadowcat.
 
xir said:
Valiant comics during Jim Shooter's run as EIC.
Fuck acclaim.

Also, Marvel because of shadowcat.
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Valiant up through Unity was quite fucking awesome. I also liked the Malev War in Magnus after he left.

Funny story: About the time Sean Chen was drawing Iron Man during the Heroes Return time at Marvel, I pissed him off at a convention. I took some Iron Man issues for him to sign, then ended it by pulling out his first issues of work with Rai and the Future Force. He looked really pissed off and embarrassed that I asked him to sign them. He was really nice and talkative until I got to those. Then it was just silence and weird stares. Shame he is afraid of them, because I liked his work even back then.
 
AMUSIX said:
When I was growing up, I always liked Marvel heroes better because they felt 'deeper'...that is, they had flaws and blemishes. Spider-Man was a socially awkward kid trying to figure out how to do the hero thing, Iron-man was a drunken bastard, F4 were a dysfunctional family.

On the other hand, DC heroes seemed too silver-agey to me. They were GOOD and they fought EVIL. Superman was the all-american boy, and Lantern was the intergalactic hero cop, and Wonder Woman was the heroic princess learning what it is to be american (or something like that). Only Batman seemed flawed/darker than the others.

It was sort of like Marvel heroes were people with super-powers, and DC heroes were Icons.

Since then, DC has come a LONG way in humanizing their heroes, and have created very, very interesting characters. I really don't think the Justice League cartoon would have worked quite as well without the characters having...well, character. Though it's unfair, I'd say compare Justice League with the old Super Friends to get the feeling I'm trying to describe.


So, yeah, growing up, I was far more a Marvel fan. Now, I guess my favorites are still in the Marvel camp, but I'm liking DC stories equally.
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Yep. Also throw in that Marvel storylines have touches of the real world, ie..New York vs. Metropolis which helps add to the characters lives and an interaction with the reader.

Also because Marvel didnt insult a readers intelligence by putting a pair of glasses on a character to change to his "secret identity". ;)
 
I really like both alot, but i would have to say that my pull list has swung more to the DC stuff as of late, I don't find characters inferior to another in either "universe".

They're all good characters, for me it depends on the creators, and right now my taste lies on the DC side

I guess maybe the biggest thing that stops people from getting into the DCU characters are that the continuity is so muddled, and that the world hasn't been kept as orderly

Still, I got love for both sides
 
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