DC Coming for the CBM Throne

To start off, being a comic book fan both DC and Marvel over the past 10+ years have been amazing. Seeing these iconic characters brought to the big screen has been unreal. I still can't believe I have been able to witness such fantastic and memorable moments that brought out the fanboy in me and even improve upon what I already thought of these comic book universes.

Past

Now with that being said, I strongly believe that the DC Film Universe is on its way to the top to dethrone the Titan known as the MCU. With Endgame showing the MCU's peak performance and DC slowly rising up with recent successes in Joker and Aquaman

A quick recap shows the genius behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe being Kevin Feige. 23 movies, over 22.5 billion in the box office, strong critical reception all in 11 years. Those stats alone show an incredible achievement for Marvel and it really is deserved as the films paid off. From bringing characters like Guardians of the Galaxy who are D-list all the way up to A-listers and iconic performances from Chris Evans and RDJ for Captain America and Iron Man, respectively. Personally, I only found 2-3 of the films being subpar, Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 2, and Captain Marvel (A Phase 1 movie placed in Phase 3).

The DCEU on the other hand has a lot more complicated history than the MCU which is ironic. It kicked off with rocky start and no roadmap or final goal in mind. Starting with the divisive Man of Steel which is either loved or hated by fans then only went downhill from there with panned entries in BvS, Suicide Squad, and the infamous Justice League. Overall, 8 films, over 5 billion in the box office, and mixed reception altogether over the last 7 years. The kicker here is that with the fallout with Justice League (which was handled terribly, will come back to that later) Warner Bros. cleaned house kicking out Geoff Johns and John Berg who has brought controversy to DC. Then bringing in Walter Hamada who is responsible for producing the successful horror franchise, The Conjuring as well as IT. From there, DC have been on a bit of an uphill battle over the past 2 years that has been paying off well for the studio.

Present (The Covid Universe)

The MCU has finished off an immaculate run of their 3 Phases of film and ready to kick off a new saga and looked to change up the formula with bridging into different TV series' along with their trademark blockbuster films. The plan started with shows focusing on Falcon and Winter Soldier, Scarlet Witch, and Loki then putting out a late entry of Black Widow and introduction of the cosmic universe in the Eternals. It seemed the bar was lowered to set up another epic story.

DC on the other hand are on an uphill incline with stronger films being released and completely changing course. After the fallout of Justice League that is STILL unraveling three years after its release, The route of diversity among their films have worked to an advantage over Marvel. There is a common complaint of a decent amount of MCU movies being relatively "cookie cutter" with just different characters replaced in familiar plots. While the DCEU had more freedom to the directors bringing uniqueness to movies like Aquaman which felt like a big live action anime which I thought fit great and had some amazing visuals. (The water effects still felt hit and miss but could definitely improve in the sequel) Birds of Prey which had a kickass Harley Quinn movie which is underrated with some great choreography in the fight scenes and some great humor that changed the tone of the movie. Then there's Joker which to me is a big step in overthrowing MCU at the throne.

When news first broke that a Joker origin movie is going to be developed by director Todd Philips who has created The Hangover...I got very skeptical. The debate of whether Joker should or shouldn't have an origin story as The Killing Joke is relatively canon for the character where he had no concrete backstory. Then the director with mixed reception on his films...I was proven wrong as this film follows the "multiple choice" backstory as some stuff that happens in the film are questionable because of Joaquin Phoenix's Joker being an unreliable narrator. I understand the criticism of the film for sure but the awards recognition and great box office for an R-rated superhero film opens up the answer for Warner Bros. The opportunity to use this formula on other beloved villains in the DC universe. DC is doing what the MCU can't do which is bringing an R-rated property (with the exception of whatever they do with Deadpool) with the current PG-13 scene in superhero franchises.

I do hope the MCU takes those steps especially looking at the successful X-Men universe R-rated properties have done with 20th Century with Logan and Deadpool. The Netflix shows were great (for the most part) with my personal favorites of Season 1+3 Daredevil and Season 1 of Punisher. Maybe bring the Netflix shows into canon like bringing them into Spider-Man's story as these characters are prominent in his stories.

Future (Light at the End of the Tunnel)

Unfortunately in this Covid-19 climate, everything is on hold with little guarantees on concrete release dates and with theatres being relatively in jeopardy; We need big movies like superhero films to bring audiences back safely which of course should be the #1 priority over anything. The future for both DC and MCU both look bright but I still believe DC will come out on top because they are doing what Marvel isn't/can't.

While there are many comic book fans who know every character and understands all the lore of the universe don't feel any kind of fatigue; The general film audience constantly has to question "How many other movies in this universe do I have to watch before I can watch this grandiose film?" An issue that has been prevelant in the MCU with having to watch EIGHT other Marvel films before being able to watch Avengers Endgame. So having to watch over 16 hours of film to watch the 3 hour finale can be a turnoff to the general audience. This is where the DCEU shines and has an advantage on the MCU.

What DC is on track to accomplish looks like it will put the universe above from Marvel with diverse and unique directors visions that cater to a wider audience. The next 2-3 years of DCEU has been unveiled in a genius and highly successful DC Fandome bringing in millions of viewers in its 48 hour window and success on social media as many of the films trended on Twitter. As a quick rundown, we got a dark and dramatic Batman film from Matt Reeves who has proven to handle a long franchise with Planet of the Apes, an R-rated Suicide Squad film from James Gunn basing off the OG comic run and they have Polka-Dot Man on the team...a man who literally throws polka dots at people...I mean how can you not be on board with that? A Flash movie from Andy Muschetti that has managed to bring back Michael Keaton AND have Ben Affleck in the film both as Batman. Wonder Woman 1984 which hopefully will be released soon as interest is slowly dying due to constant delays. The Rock's Black Adam film finally being unraveled and last but not least, The Snyder cut which may be one of the most important movements in cinema as it started conversations of getting more of the director's vision in other films like the critically panned Suicide Squad from David Ayer. Bringing Zack Snyder's vision to the fans is a great move showing Warner Bros. cares about their fanbase and being put on HBOMax (Their new streaming service) as a 4 hour miniseries is everything the fans could ask for and more. Not to mention the doors this move could open up if it lives up to the hype and brings success to the studio from possibilities of continuing and finishing Zack Snyder's vision of JL2 and JL3, Ben Affleck's long desired Batman film, and the Ayer cut to name a few.

The MCU's future looks to be an evolution of their billion dollar formula in the first three phases. Bringing diverse TV shows, introducing brand new and obscure characters, and maybe exploring some uncharted waters. Branching off smaller characters into shows like Wanda in an odd sitcom with some crazy twists hiding behind the curtain, Falcon and Winter Soldier dealing with the "new" Captain America, and Loki which is not too well known but follows an alternate universe Loki and his travels with the Tesseract. I do believe making a Black Widow movie now is a bit of a stumble and too late because of the character's death in Endgame. I feel like the only things we will learn is Yolanda is the "new" Black Widow and Red Guardian exists in this universe; I have very little hype and eagerness to see the film, I hope I'm wrong though. After 8 years we will FINALLY see the real Mandarin in Shang-Chi which could an awesome martial arts superhero movie. The exploration of the cosmic universe and multiverse in Eternals and Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness could bring a great deal of excitement especially since Sam Raimi is behind Dr. Strange which is fantastic to see. Then a little ways down the road we have sequels for Thor, Captain Marvel, and Black Panther. Of course the question of what happens to the Black Panther property is still unknown but I believe it is obviously no one can replace Boseman and his phenomenal performances in the franchise. Now the BIG opportunity Marvel can't pass up...Spider-Man 3.

At first, it looked like it was going to be another sequel similar to the other two entries in the series. Then Jamie Foxx returned to reprise his role as Electro...then Doctor Strange was added to the cast. With constant talk about the Multiverse and success of "Into the Spiderverse"; The opportunity of bringing in the past two Spider-men being Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield is being rumored to the film. I feel like THIS would be the move that would break not only the internet but also would be an amazing experience in the theatres. I certainly hope this is the direction they are taking to even challenge Keaton being back as Batman.

In conclusion, both Marvel and DC have made great efforts to entertain the audiences and is so great to see many comic book fans' favorite superheroes being imagined on the big screen has been a revolutionary experience. From Infinity War being reimagined for Marvel to a dark gritty R-rated Joker film that never would been attempted ten years ago. DC's future looks much stronger and more concrete with more freedom among directors and no need to watch every other film in the film's universe is a big draw to a wider and more diverse audience. Where we have gone with this genre and seeing constant evolutions to keep it fresh and draw in a bigger audience. The question of how much fuel is left in the tank for the genre has been debated but looking forward, this genre isn't going anywhere.