Werewolf By Night Just Proved Marvel Is STILL Beating DC

Werewolf by Night, Marvel's Special Presentation for Halloween, is yet another example of Marvel beating DC to the punch at every turn. The genre of darker and more horror-based comics is ground that Marvel Studios is just recently beginning to explore in the MCU. With Marvel now regularly producing projects for Disney+, Werewolf by Night could spawn yearly Halloween Specials involving characters like Blade, Moon Knight, Man-Thing, and other horror comic icons before a single DC project can veer its way into the same style of storytelling.

JJ Abrams is currently developing DC's Justice League Dark for HBO Max. The issue here is that Werewolf by Night's story and tone have leapfrogged it, undercutting the uniqueness of certain concepts that overlap between the two properties. This could saturate a darker horror pocket of an already saturated terrain, superhero films, for DC. Several of the characters involved in both projects are very similar in style, look, and narrative. Most of Justice League Dark's key members are so analogous to what is already covered in Werewolf by Night, and particularly to the Midnight Sons team that the MCU seems to be setting up, that the DC project may have to go in a completely new direction.

Werewolf By Night Undermines HBO Max's Justice League Dark

Werewolf-by-Night Gael Garcia Bernal Man-Thing

Marvel has been laying the groundwork for its dark and mystical, supernatural chapter for some time now. Beginning with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Moon Knight, Marvel has since confirmed projects like Blade, Agatha Harkness: Coven of Chaos, and this month's Werewolf By Night. Anyone familiar with the lineup for Justice League Dark, though, can see that Marvel may have yanked the rug from under this project with these releases and announcements. The characters are just too similar. Elsa Bloodstone is a magical heroine living up to the legend of her occult father, much like DC's Zatanna. Ted the Man-Thing is a misunderstood yet monstrous creature of the land akin to DC's Swamp Thing. Even Jack Russell, the Werewolf by Night, loses his heroic and friendly personality when transformed, the same way that Jason Blood does when he turns into Etrigan the Demon.

How Justice League Dark Can Still Succeed After Werewolf By Night

Despite Werewolf By Night robbing Justice League Dark of a unique live-action premiere, DC may still have a path forward. Focusing on the right characters could quell any comparisons to Marvel by avoiding those similarities altogether. Marvel's usual supernatural detective, Moon Knight, avoided most of his investigative attributes during his Disney+ show. This means that leaning strongly on the paranormal detective aspect of John Constantine can immediately separate the projects. In that, DC has many other smaller Justice League Dark characters that can be pulled from: Deadman is an undead circus acrobat, Madam Xanadu is a fortune-teller and Black Orchid is an elemental shape-shifter. Mixing in these lesser-known characters may prevent a team and storyline that are too similar to that of Werewolf by Night.

Ultimately, Justice League Dark may face an uphill battle in cementing itself as unique and impactful with the critically acclaimed Werewolf by Night in the picture. Marvel has been consistent in getting to a subgenre of comics for adaptation before DC has the chance, and that includes Werewolf by Night. This tactic has yet to reach its end and may only get more prevalent as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to unroll its more horror-centric releases.

Next: How Powerful Is Werewolf By Night Compared To Other MCU Characters?