OL wrote:Bluecast wrote: I'm no comics nerd so I will be flamed for this from Mitts maybe. Outside of Superman & Batman who gives a fuck about the rest in DC? Marvel has more interesting characters.
Absolutely spoken like someone who knows nothing about DC (and, for that matter, Marvel) beyond the movies that have been made.
I haven't read any comics for a number of years now, but last I left off, DC was doing an incredible job of reinvigorating old characters without necessarily betraying their roots. Previously super-obscure ones like Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Guy Gardner, Ralph Dibny, and The Question are some of my absolute favorites now because of this.
Ironically, I've always perceived that Marvel is the more money-grubbing of the two (ironic because DC is owned by Warner Bros, so you'd think it was the other way around), while DC is more willing to stick to a certain "tradition" as far as superhero comics are concerned. Marvel thrives on controversy, shock value, and "pop" appeal, while DC tends to champion faithfulness to their characters' origins (they're guilty of shock value and attempts at mainstream appeal as well, but nowhere even near the efforts Marvel regularly goes to).
It's a very thin line to consider, but you could say that while DC adapts to the times, Marvel outright changes to fit the times.
This comparison is a little extreme, but as videogames develpers go, you could almost consider Marvel to be Capcom, while DC would be more along the lines of Falcom (not taking into account the size difference between the two, of course). It's not quite to that extreme, but that's the kind of difference I see between Marvel and DC. That's the difference in attitude and philosophy toward their medium that we're looking at.
And like Mitts said, DC doesn't mess with the fact that most of their superheroes are, essentially, God-like. Marvel has always tried to appeal to people with the "hey look, they're regular people like you!" approach to superhero characterization, while DC is essentially dealing with completely unrealistic Greek God-styled heroes, which makes it harder for some people to swallow.
Just my own personal preference, but a superhero grappling with alcoholism or a rocky marriage is far less interesting to me than a universe-patrolling law-enforcement army, or a character who moves so fast that he fears eventually getting stuck between miliseconds.
When it comes to superheroes, I'll take the fantastical over the mundane any day.
I was waiting for a nerd rant and I got what I wanted. Thank you.
