Let’s have an honest conversation about the DCEU v the MCU, my guys
“ok but you’re obviously biased for dc and -”
my dude, I never said I wasn’t? I’m way, very much so, 110% biased for DC -but let’s not pretend that everyone isn’t coming into these movies with very much their own biases so ?????
“oh please, i’m so sick of DC fans saying there’s a marvel bias. There is no conspiracy - ”
ok, let me just say that I do not think there is some master plan conspiracy in the general public/amongst critics that wants to bring down DC. that being said - i’m about sick and fucking tired of people accusing DC fans of not being able to think clearly about comics movies but not recognizing their own biases that they’re bringing in.
Before the MCU - how many people knew about Iron Man? Captain America? THOR? The MCU got to start almost with a clean slate and shape those characters as they pleased, which meant that they had a lot less blowback to deal with. Compare that to Batman and Superman, which are both such a large part of the American cultural landscape, which have had dozens of different movies and tv shows and other properties, so of course EVERYONE has an opinion. And everyone thinks they’re fucking right. AND EVERYONE BRINGS THOSE OPINIONS TO THEIR VIEWING. and of course it influences how they’re going to think and feel and react to what they consider someone else’s vision.
“hey, i’m not biased - i love the DCAU. i wish they’d make the movies just like those since - ”
bro, if you wanna watch the DCAU, watch the DCAU. watch the shit out of it because it’s fucking amazing. then come back and watch the DCEU movies and recognize them as their own thing, with their own feel and their own universe, with creators that have their own vision SEPARATE FROM THE DCAU.
“well you can’t deny that marvel makes better movies because -”
really, my guy? marvel makes more money and has made a handful of movies that are great (lookin at you, Guardians of the Galaxy and Iron Man 1) - and a hell of a lot that are mediocre. Tell me the last marvel movie that said anything about ANYTHING????
“movies don’t always have to mean something - they can just be fun. i don’t understand why - “
my duuuuuuuude - I KNOW. I KNOW MOVIES CAN BE FUN. Comics are fun! I get it - there’s something inherently ridiculous about a bunch of grownups running around in COSTUMES punching people FOR JUSTICE. I GET IT.
But comics - YES, THOSE LARGER THAN LIFE STORIES ABOUT COSTUMED PEOPLE PUNCHING PEOPLE FOR JUSTICE - can be more than fun, too. In fact - they often are. Each time the movies come close to making a commentary on the very real issues that would come up in the real world - mainly, issues of power and might and morality - Marvel pulls back at the last moment. A commentary on SHIELD? NOPE! It was actually HYDRA - who are literal, fucking NAZIS - so don’t fret, no need to worry about if these characters really are the good guys. ALWAYS. I mean, shit, created a mega intelligent but ultimately destructive robot out of a desire to do good? WOOPS, lmao, my b sorry guiz, dont worry tho - I’ll just make another one to defeat my first robot.
And even if Civil War manages not to pull back the punch (AND I REALLY HOPE IT IS AWESOME BECAUSE BLACK PANTHER GUYS) - like they actually make that movie about power and justice, and they actually explore what it means to be “good” and a “hero” and what makes it all worthwhile and just - they’ll have taken 12 movies for that little bit of storytelling payoff, which the DCEU tackled - with seriousness and gravitas - in 2.
“don’t be bitter just because the MCU is commercially and critically successful tho -”
Ok fam - they’re that successful because they never try to be all that ambitious. They give the general public exactly what they think of comic book capes. This is not necessarily a dig on Marvel cuz, I mean, Marvel comics are SUPER creative and visionary. This is the comics company that gave us Kamala Khan, the fucking Vision and his family drama times and MADE HAWKEYE INTERESTING (WHAT UP KATE BISHOP).
But the the movies are the opposite of risk taking. Because PLEASE tell me why marvel’s gonna put out FIFTEEN movies with white dude leads before it puts out one with a non-white guy. and PLEASE tell me why we have an Ant-Man sequel before we get a Captain Marvel movie?
If the MCU was actually leveraging its prowess to tell stories that said something insightful or by introducing characters that often don’t get play on a major stage - I’d be less bitter. But instead of using its success to be innovative, it takes the unambitious road of having people in costume making quips and proving that might makes right.
BVS - and the DCEU at large - is going for something grander. It’s not just giving us heroes who are larger than life - it’s asking us to think about what those heroes might mean in context.
But no - by all means - keep sucking down your movies that are shot like fucking multi-cam sitcoms, with their formulaic storytelling and nearly interchangeable leads who go around doing whatever the fuck they want because they’re good, they’re always good - didn’t you get the memo?
