Marvel Studios and Warner Bros. have been battling it out in the superhero genre, and it is no different in 2022, with releases like Thor: Love and Thunder and The Batman. Yet, fans from either spectrum continue to debate who triumphs as the best between the MCU and the DCEU, considering factors like comic accuracy, lore, and storytelling execution.
With the MCU rolling many TV shows and movies like Ms. Marvel and Doctor Strange 2, this universe has been expanding its mythos regarding the multiverse and cosmic in Phase Four, which is far better than the DCEU's disjointed and standalone depiction of their righteous superheroes. Hence, some fans have gone on Reddit to give more reason to argue Marvel's superiority against DC Comics in the never-ending fight to decide which one is the best company.
Multiple Succesful Characters
Redditor CorruptedEvil commented, "Marvel has done a much better job at marketing all their characters while DC focuses almost exclusively on Batman and Superman" and made a valid observation. Although DC has recently emphasized superheroes like Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, they do not come as close as the number of characters Marvel has successfully featured and developed.
Marvel has an admirable accomplishment creating plenty of successful comics, movies, and series of multiple characters, even expanding their recent projects on lesser-known heroes like Ms. Marvel or Moon Knight. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are iconic superheroes, and nobody can deny it, but it seems that DC got stuck in their same popular names and hasn't taken the same risk to invest in newer heroes.
Relatable Superheroes
Redditor TheKingsPeace shared, "I find Marvel and its storylines more compelling than DC. As I said the character's problems and issues are more relatable," and provided great examples, "The discrimination issues of X men, Black panthers geopolitical issues and even the high school problems of Spider-Man."
Some readers are looking for escapism, but others are looking for a realistic, relatable story where superheroes seem real and plausible. For instance, Kamala Khan's relatable traits about superhero fandom are something that many MCU fans can resonate with, whether AvengerCon or YouTube videos reenacting Battle of Earth. This relatability allows the fans to easily connect with these characters and see the humane side that makes them far more than just being a superhero.
Complex Villains
User frustratedbuddhist pointed out how Marvel makes their villains more believable than DC and added "We can understand why they took the road they took - and even if we don’t agree with their methods, we can sometimes find sympathy for them."
Many Marvel villains achieve tridimensionality, and their backstory makes readers root for them, sympathize, or validate their arguments. Hence, it deviates from the formulaic take of a villain's world domination scenario and provides a more nuanced and complex villainous arc. For instance, Thanos' concerns about overpopulation prompted him to wipe the universe to alleviate this burden, while Wanda Maximoff broke fans' hearts because she just wanted to be with her twins.
Awesome Teams
Redditor Ebelglorg said, "I just love the teams more. I love the Fantastic Four, The Avengers, The X-Men all for different reasons," and many agreed. Marvel teams have become iconic in pop culture, and most people, fans or not, can recognize them anywhere.
The same cannot be said about DC teams, who have not become as popular even with the Justice League. The X-Men films particularly played a major part in introducing multiple characters working together, which was the first to show that superhero team-up films can work. When it comes to awesome and unforgettable superpower groups, Marvel has the upper hand.
Underpowered Heroes
For Redditor valetudo020, he simply stated, "I just can't get behind all-powerful beings or billionaires...What can I say? I like my heroes underpowered and outmatched." Marvel has amazing heroes that are extraordinary because they don't have any specific superpower, and they can still beat any enemy.
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Hawkeye and Black Widow are great examples. Their underpowered persona that matches up to the other Avenger members is admirable, and a reason to love Marvel more for portraying how great and necessary a normal person can be on the battlefield.
Character Development
IvorySwings pointed out, "I prefer Marvel because they are more character-focused...They typically have more character development happening and stories are more character-driven... DC's stuff tends to be more plot-focused," which was a quite accurate observation.
Sometimes, it is more entertaining and valuable to see a beloved character have an interesting and profound development, and the best character arcs in the Thor series, among other superheroes and villains, prove this. Loki started as a villain but slowly developed into an anti-hero, which earned him his own series to undergo on the multiverse chaos. It is interesting to have a captivating plot, but the character arcs give continuity to Marvel movies and drive audiences to see their superheroes again in another film to see how they have evolved.
Parody
This deleted user liked Marvel over DC because of "Parody characters with humour, but can be serious at the same time," which cannot be better exemplified than Deadpool. He has this antihero persona that made him hilarious but was also handled so seriously that it never felt as dull or cheap.
According to this user, Marvel is the best in making fun of their own superheroes, which could be perceived as true by many. Lately, Marvel's superheroes have not been afraid of being clumsy, inappropriate, naïve, foolish, or any other attribute that is heroic material, which only makes them win over many fans' hearts.
Multiverse
JosephFurguson commented, "I feel that Marvel's storyline is more fluid and less rigid than DC's... All these events could happen somewhere in the Marvel Multiverse. With DC, I never get the feeling that storylines could go in more than one direction." Though Spider-Man: No Way Home may have fixed parts of the situation regarding the unstable multiverse, it continued in Doctor Strange 2 to further conceptualize it.
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Marvel has embraced its multiverse by now, and it's not afraid to explore all the possibilities that could happen if one little thing changed. The movies and series are exploiting the multiverse more than ever, and it is fun for audiences to testify to the chaos provoked, and the many outcomes that can happen if they messed with it.
Better Writers
Redditor YonasWithTheSauce said that the MCU does better than the DCEU "not because Marvel has better heroes, but better writers, I promise DC could have been just as successful if they had better writers and started off making their cinematic universe first."
However, what-ifs do not count as valid arguments, and Marvel wins on having the most successful cinematic universe. The Redditor explained that the company has better writers that work with more freedom, allowing them to be more creative and take risks in delivering a Marvel character's story. Such was the case with Thor: Ragnarok, revamping his image with a more comedic tone, which improved Thor's character arc with more substance and energy.
Cinematic Universe's Record Breaking Box Office
RangerRed02 said, "When it comes to movies, there is no competition, and I think it all comes down to track record. The movie side is basically where Marvel dominates everyone... Marvel Studios has consistently pleased audiences for a decade now, breaking record after record at the box office," and spoke the truth.
There may be a debate on whether Marvel or DC comic books are better, but when it comes to movies and series, there is not much to argue about. It is not only the multiple heroes and incredible writers that make Marvel better than DC but how the combination of all of its traits has made it an unbeatable monster at the box office, with Avengers: Endgame as the second-highest grossing movie of all time (via Box Office Mojo).