Since the twenty-first century began, movies started getting more fuss than comics. Marvel adapted to the change quicker than DC, and thus got more attention and popularity. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is far more popular than either the DC Extended Universe or the Arrowverse. This is mostly due to Marvel taking the risk of making The Avengers in 2012. It was a big risk–there were a lot of kinda-popular movies to watch first–but it payed off. DC was left in the dust, and it still hasn’t made Justice League, which is the DC equivalent of The Avengers. While it’s true that it was necessary to kill Superman and introduce Wonder Woman, doing the same only a few years earlier would have been more effective. Nonetheless, DC is still immensely popular among fans, and the fight is on:

Which is better–Marvel or DC?

The Movies:

The MCU kicked off with ten blockbuster movies and will continue. Outside of the MCU Marvel made eight X-men films, five Spider-Man films, and Hulk 2003. All of them were successes, though a few do have some issues. Meanwhile, DC made only Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, all of which got pretty bad reviews. DC also made the immensely popular Dark Night trilogy and a countless older Superman and Batman movies outside of the DCEU. Marvel has a huge lead in terms of having a common universe for various heroes, but that doesn’t mean that DC can’t be better than Marvel. However in this case it just isn’t. DC’s movie ratings are just plain bad, especially B v S and Suicide Squad. RIP Superman.

Note: Justice League might change this.

The TV Shows:

DC’s Arrowverse with Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow is great, but it’s not in the DCEU. Marvel’s Agents of Shield, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and so much more are good but really? Arrow and his pals are better. This is just my personal opinion, but then, this whole post is just my opinion.

The Heroes:

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…Superman!!! You’ve probably heard that a lot. And it’s because DC’s heroes are so iconic–more so then Marvel. Marvel’s heroes in the MCU wear colorful costumes (except the X-Men in their boring black jumpsuits…) and are somewhat idealistic. That’s not to say that Marvel characters don’t have a darker side to them, but take any of them and compare it to Batman, and you’ll see what I mean. Marvel tends to keep dark characters like Daredevil and Punisher in the background, never bringing them into the shared universe, thus keeping the MCU suitable for kids–most of the time (I’m looking at you, Deadpool). Meanwhile DC is not afraid to keep the darkness up front, letting it define movies like The Dark Night, and thus making the movies interesting for older viewers, while keeping them PG-13 (I’m not saying that Marvel is for toddlers; only that it is more so than DC). Nonetheless, Marvel has so many good heroes (Bucky, Black Panther, Spidey…) and they are much more popular than DC’s that I’ll make this one a tie.

The Universe:

Marvel assembled it’s heroes in a shared universe in 2012, and has introduced so many new heroes to the Avengers, X-Men, and Guardians of the Galaxy. DC has just started putting together the DCEU, and has two completely different universes that overlap. Marvel is easily better in this category.

The Legacy:

DC’s movies are scraps of what they could have been. On the other hand, Marvel has tons of long-lost teams of superheroes in the comics that they are yet to bring into the MCU. Marvel will always have an edge with the movies, and DC is yet to shine on the silver screen, but the two are head to head with fans.

So who’s better? The billionare playboy, the idealistic super-soldier, the god of thunder and the big green rage monster, or the last son of Krypton, the Caped Crusader, the Amazonian demigod, the Scarlet Speedster and the King of the Seven Seas? That’s for you to decide.