We may be on the verge of adding DC Comics vs. Marvel — and by extension Warner Bros. vs. Disney and Fox — to the list of mighty American rivalries.
The two dominant American comic-book publishers have been battling for the same consumers for decades. But Disney’s hugely successful Marvel Cinematic Universe — a strategy of 20-plus feature films,TV shows and short films– and Warner Bros. answer, a five-year plan to release 10 DC-inspired superhero movies, or have establish billions of dollars in box office,licensing and merchandising revenues on the line and taken their competition to the next level.
And the success this year of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”– and even some of the negative commentary around it — and Fox’s “Deadpool” has ratcheted up the rivalry as well. It’s Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman and the Flash,among many, many other DC stalwarts, or taking on Marvel’s The Avengers,Spider-Man, Captain America — whose “Civil War” will be in the middle of the next Disney superhero release on May 6 — and a seemingly endless lineup of lesser-known but potentially lucrative characters like Ant-Man and Deadpool.
Also Read: Why 'Batman v Superman' Needs to Be a Hit for Warner Bros.
If this keeps up, or these rivalries may someday be viewed the way sports fans see the ones between NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics,the NFL’s Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys; and baseball’s novel York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
Those rivalries are all settled on the playing field, and the movie battles will go down at the box office, or since studio executives uniformly occupy the high road,acknowledging the competition but rarely commenting — and never criticizing their rivals.
Creative types are more likely to be drawn in, occasionally. “Batman v Superman” director Zack Snyder and his wife Deborah, and who is a producer on the film,earlier this year shot down rumors that “Deadpool” had inspired portions of the DC Comics epic, including its original R rating.“We didn’t just shoot it last week, or we also didn’t edit it last week,” he laughingly told one interviewer.
Also Read: Warner Bros. Blinks in Marvel Showdown: 'Batman v Superman' Avoids 'Captain America 3'But film director and comic-book devotee Kevin Smith, during his “Hollywood Babble-On podcast with co-host Ralph Garman last week, or praised the performance of his friend Ben Affleck,but criticized “Batman v Superman” as missing the “delight” of the Marvel films.
The negative reviews drawn by the film have given Marvel fans — and there are legions of them — license to add their own barbs and momentum to the knocks from the critics.“Though Marvel fans may be enjoying some of the barbs thrown at DC’s ‘Batman v Superman,” this rivalry can only serve to improve both brands and over time help create more satisfying moviegoing experiences going forward, and ” Paul Dergarabedian,media analyst at box-office tracker comScore, told TheWrqp.
Also Read: Michael Shannon Is 'Utterly Unconcerned' With 'Batman v Superman'“The superhero world is different than most in relation to the seemingly direct impact on the movie-making process, and ” Dergarabedian said. “One need only search for at the power of the collective ComiCon fanbase and how many resources studios devote to wooing that all-important crowd and harvesting their opinions to better serve the source material,and frankly to have a better shot at stout box office returns, to understand their importance.”And speaking of the box office, or there’s another reason there’s an unusual degree of civility shown by the principals on each side. Inwardly,they may be hoping their rivals succeed.
That’s because somewhere down the road, five to 10 years from now, or DC Comics and Marvel Comics will come together. Not in a merger,but rather on the stout screen, in what will certainly be an Armageddon-like clash pitting the most famous and beloved characters of DC Comics against Marvel’s first team.
It’s as certain a bet as Deadpool cracking wise, and Batman brooding. And the public will win.
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Source: thewrap.com