Marvel vs. DC Films

After seeing Ironman and the Incredible Hulk this summer, I was inspired to look into a few origins of comic book movies.  That research evolved into a Marvel vs. DC debate with myself.  Being a fan of comic book movies, and comic books themselves, I decided to develop the debate into a review of sorts and share my findings and opinons with others.  Ironically, there was a short commentary on NPR this morning about this very subject.  If you are interested, I would suggest you check it out. 

There have been Marvel/DC debates for years among comic books fans.  That discussion has now carried over into the film world.  Over the past few years, some of the most successful movies have been adaptations from the pages of Marvel and DC.  Ironman, a Marvel adaptation and also the highest grossing movie in 2008 thus far, has already made over $500 million worldwide. 

Since 1951, approximately 44 adaptations have been released in theaters and with the super-hero trend in recent years, there are more to come.  I have compiled a list of the movies in development based off of information from Wikipedia.  I was able to confirm some of the data by cross-referencing with IMDB (Internet Movie Database), however, it is impossible to tell how accurate any of this information is.

Marvel

DC

This summer has already seen the release of two Marvel films (Ironman and The Incredible Hulk) and DC’s first flick of the year, The Dark Knight, is sure to be a success.  In addition to the ‘main’ comic rivals, there are a few films registering in the box office that are based off of the stories from other publishers.  Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is based off a character from the pages of Dark Horse and Wanted, starring Angeline Jolie, is loosely based on a series written by Mark Millar. 

The debate between Marvel and DC will sadly not be settled by the films the comics produce.  Each company has their own strengths and weaknesses as far as the films go, however, Marvel, in my opinion, comes out on top.  They have many more marketable heroes and their stories seem to reach more people.  That being said, my personal favorite is actually the DC hero, Batman.  He isn’t a ‘super’ hero.  He is simply a bad-ass detective trying to make things right while battling his own internal demons. 

If you are interested in boning up on your comic book movies, here are a few films you might want to catch.

• Superman (1978) - the original directed by Richard Donner, and in my opinion, still the best version of this good-hearted alien.
• Supergirl (1984) - not a ‘good’ movie by any means, but kind of fun to watch because it’s so bad.
• Batman (1989) - I like this version because of Jack’s Joker, but also because it’s directed by Tim Burton.  It’s a must see for all of the Batman fans.
• Batman Begins (2005) - Christian Bale’s Batman is the best.  I can’t imagine how we ever did it without him.
• Howard the Duck (1986) - Horrible movie, but where else can you see an alien duck walk hand-in-hand with Lea Thompson and her 80s hair?
• X-Men (2000) - This film exceeded all my hopes.  I would also suggest the sequels for the die-hard fans who can overlook some of the lesser qualities of those films.
• Spiderman (2002) - Wow.  If you haven’t seen this, where have you been?  It’s on TNT every other weekend.

Besides the upcoming release of The Dark Knight, I am looking forward to the set-up that Marvel is doing for the Avengers and hopefully, the DC release of the Justice League.  Also being a fan of Wolverine, I am interested in the X-men Origins movie.  Most of all, I just hope this trend of quality films continues to be produced from these companies.