Probably one of the oldest debates in geek culture is Marvel vs DC. There are some who are so devoted to one publisher or the other that they cannot imagine the very thought of owning any piece of merch produced by the other, let alone watch any shows or movies… and forget about touching a comic! Now, if you have listened to Geek Watch One for any amount of time, you already know that I am a Marvel Man and Ken is team DC. I am certain that you have heard our arguments supporting each of our stances on this matter. But I have yet to give a full explanation on the matter.
Firstly, I love that Marvel is set in the real world. I know where New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles are. I can find them on a map and can calculate the distance so I can figure out how fast a Quinjet can fly or how fast Quicksilver can run to get from point A to point B. In day to day life that doesn’t matter, but I need the rules in my fictional world to work and be somewhat logical. When you go to the DC universe there’s Gotham City, Metropolis, Star City, Coast City, Central City and a host of other generic sounding burgs that populate that world. Now the other thing is DC also has NYC, Chicago, Seattle, and all of the cities that the real world has, but now you have to shift things around to make these made up cities fit in… it drives me nuts! If I need to think that hard to locate a city, how about giving us a map like Tolkien did so that we’d have an idea how long I’d have to drive to get from Metropolis to Bludhaven!
Secondly, the characters’ problems are all real world with real world consequences. One of the things that I loved about Peter Parker growing up was that just because he was a superhero did not mean that his life was super. He was poor, had a crappy job, and a boss who was a restaurant quality jackass. But, life gave him a somewhat realistic blessing… he always ended up with girlfriends who were way out of his league. Come on, think about it. We all know that one person who somehow ends up with out of their league significant others and we don’t know why! I’m kinda laughing just thinking about it right now!! Look, Matt Murdoch can’t maintain a healthy relationship to save his life, and Tony Stark just has too many issues for us to get into. But you get it, right? Look at Clark Kent… doesn’t he try a little too hard to be the outsider? It feels like a little too after school special for me. Bruce Wayne? Really? I’m an orphan but I’m super rich and don’t want anyone to get too close… I’M BATMAN!!
Thirdly, Marvel’s characters are better developed. Steve Rogers, a WWII soldier who was frozen in suspended animation and now has to face a new world with a 1940’s point of view… a man out of time. Tony Stark, a jerk billionaire genius who is an addict. James Howlett, a secret agent for the Canadian intelligence services who has an identity crisis and a kicked up healing factor. DC gives you the lost son of a dying planet who came here to fight for truth, justice, and the American way. There’s also a rule breaking pilot who is a member of an intergalactic police force… oh, and also Bruce Wayne… I’M BATMAN!!.
I’ll admit, I do dabble into the DC waters from time to time, but even then the characters carry more depth – I’m looking at you Richard Grayson!! But, in general, I am a Marvel fan and will continue to be. I have to say it… until Director Fury actually allows the Hell’s Kitchen Optimist Club to camp out on the helicarrier: MAKE MINE MARVEL!!
