In a perfect world, both Marvel Studios and DC Films would release movies that are equally enjoyable, each exploring rich thematic territory and taking a different stylistic approach to their storytelling to give audiences a sweeping selection of options when they watch mega-budget superhero films. And in discussing a “perfect world” scenario, we might as well throw in the idea that in that situation, fans would react in a level-headed and reasonable fashion to the fact that not everyone shares their opinion about those movies. But we live in a world in which a vocal subset of fans react as if the end of the world has arrived when critics don’t like a movie they’ve been looking forward to for years, and one in which some people refuse to accept the idea that they can appreciate movies from multiple studios at once. There’s a “line in the sand” mentality that’s become more fortified than ever this year, so instead of attempting to convince people that it’s perfectly acceptable to enjoy films from different studios, I’ll lean into the divisiveness, throw tact to the wind and tell it like it is: Marvel Studios absolutely dominated DC Films last year.
To be clear, I don’t mean financial domination. But just for kicks, let’s break down the box office numbers real quick before we get into the meat of this article. Combined, DC’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad made $1.61 billion. Captain America: Civil War made $1.1 billion by itself, and adding the $657 million Doctor Strange has made since its release in November brings Marvel Studios’ combined total to $1.81 billion for 2016. So even if you’re just looking at this as a numbers game (which, why would you, unless you’re a studio executive or a stockholder?), Marvel still “won” in 2016.
I’m much more interested in the creative side of the equation. I’m talking about how one studio made two movies last year that told their stories in coherent fashion, and one made two jumbled messes that don’t hold up to the most basic scrutiny. Sure, DC Films is fighting an uphill battle — but it’s the studio’s own fault for being in this position in the first place. It’s no secret that Warner Bros. hasn’t been doing so hot lately, so in a desperate maneuver for big hits (and perhaps some sort of ego-driven statement about doing things differently than his competitors), the studio’s president decided to haphazardly introduce all of the DC heroes in one movie before giving them their real team-up movie and then spinning them off into individual films. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, he decided to introduce a separate team of villains/antiheroes in an entirely different movie, but instead of letting his filmmakers work how they wanted to, he and his executives reportedly meddled so much that the films became the new gold standard of what a “made by committee” movie looks and feels like.
All films are subjective, and everyone is obviously encouraged to have their own opinions about movies. But there are some aspects of a film that can be objectively judged by their effectiveness, and when it comes to the fundamental communication of information from the filmmakers to the audience, DC Films blew it last year. This isn’t to say that Marvel has been perfect, because they haven’t. Zemo’s plan in Civil War is nearly as convoluted as Lex Luthor’s in BvS. But the biggest difference between the two, at least as I see it, comes down to characterization. We understand why the Marvel characters react to situations the way they do. It’s in line with their personalities from the comics, and more importantly (and this is crucial), the filmmakers give us enough insight into their characters in the text of the films themselves that we don’t have to solely rely on outside comic knowledge to justify their decisions. The same can’t quite be said of the DC characters, at least in the two movies from 2016. Zack Snyder’s take on Superman is not the same Superman we know from the comics, and that’s fine; a new interpretation is welcome, but when you combine that with objectively shoddy storytelling, it’s easy to see why Batman v Superman doesn’t work for a lot of people. And while it’s possible David Ayer may have been able to make a great Suicide Squad movie if given a reasonable schedule and left to his own devices, that’s not what happened. The behind-the-scenes troubles of that film have been heavily publicized, so there’s no use in beating a dead horse by bringing them up again.
2016 was a divisive year in this country, and the comic book movie fandom community didn’t escape that divisiveness. I’ll continue to push for the idea of fans putting down their pitchforks, taking a step back, and looking at these films as individual pieces of storytelling rather than being excited about the idea of simply seeing some of their favorite comic book characters on screen (regardless of the overall quality of the films in which those characters appear), but the chasm has grown so large that at times it’s felt like a lost cause. So instead of pleading for a logical response to these films, I couldn’t help but take the opportunity to point out that just about any way you look at it — regardless of complaints about critics’ imagined bias favoring one over the other — the truth might hurt, but on the big screen, Marvel straight up kicked DC’s ass last year.
