The DCEU is the worst thing that ever happened to superhero movies or at least that’s what some fans would have you believe. Meanwhile, those same fans believe that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the best thing that ever happened to superhero movies. Late to the extended universe party, the DCEU gets shunned as a lesser DC version of the MCU, a wannabe, despite the MCU’s Silver Surfer , Fantastic Four, and X-Men–shaped holes, hordes of continuity errors, bad writing, condescending press events, uninteresting visuals, last-minute production changes, and dozens of other glaring flaws.
Upon closer inspection, however, the DCEU is actually the superior of the modern superhero universes. In just four movies, the DCEU proved itself to be better realized, more memorable, better looking and sharper sounding than the MCU. With Justice League,
The Flash , Aquaman , Shazam , Wonder Woman 2 and a host of other titles yet to come, the DCEU might still crash and burn. Likewise, with Thor: Ragnarok , Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Avengers: Infinity War on the way, there is still hope for the MCU. As it stands, though, the DCEU comes out on top. Here’s why…
FEWER BIG-SCREEN ANTIHEROES
DC has done a great job of bringing antiheroes to the big screen. When you think of superheroes, you probably don’t picture a really skilled hitman, a guilt-ridden pyromaniacal gangster, a guy with a boomerang blade, a sewer-dwelling crocodile-man, and a brainwashed psychiatrist with a murderous streak. Amanda Waller’s Task Force X is a suicide squad of low-rung antiheroic convicts with nothing to lose, and she treats them as such.
This gray area in-between good and evil is where Marvel’s big screen heroes get tripped up. Marvel’s antiheroes include the murderous Punisher, Deadpool (who admittedly isn’t in the MCU, but is still a Marvel property), and, well, that’s about it. Some would include Iron Man on that list, but
Avengers-era Tony Stark is a snarky do-gooder. In Spider-Man: Homecoming , his most recent appearance, the one-time loose cannon is now a slick-talking wise old man with a thing for Aunt May. You’ve lost your edge, Stark.POOR TEAMBUILDING
In Phase 1 of the MCU, Nick Fury showed up out of nowhere to do the recruitment thing for the Avengers Initiative. His criteria for selecting new Avengers are never made clear. He just emerges from the ether, knowing everything he needs to know. Once the team is assembled, he fades into the background as the Avengers argue amongst themselves. You call that leadership?
Back in the DCEU, teams are put together methodically. At the end of Batman v. Superman, Bruce Wayne sets about finding “others like [Wonder Woman],” using the data from Lexcorp as a guide. Likewise, in Suicide Squad , Amanda Waller has the criminal histories of the homicidal miscreants. The explosive injections in their necks ensure that she holds all the cards. Why don’t the Avengers have such safeguards for new recruits? Because they’re heroes? Right.
- MARVEL PLAYS IT SAFE
Marvel kills villains, not heroes. Innocent casualties are kept to absurd minimums. DC does it differently. It takes risks, ramping up the stakes, and killing innocents left and right. Despite Cara Delevingne’s limited acting range, the Enchantress becomes an apocalyptic force. Her trippy magical light show destroys a top secret government facility, levels skyscrapers, cuts an aircraft carrier in half, and racks up a serious kill count.
The character design of the Joker and Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad marked another departure from fans’ expectations. In the comics, Batman’s rule is that he goes out of his way not to kill. In fact, that’s the whole basis of Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke. In Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Batman uses deadly force with abandon. It was a dangerous move. Some fans were put off by the dramatic change to Bruce Wayne’s character and ethos, but it was a risk worth taking.
- TIMELINE WOES
The official MCU timeline is, let’s be real, kind of a joke. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is supposed to be a world-building enterprise. Two key elements of world-building are a sense of space and a sense of time. We need to know where and when the action is happening in the larger framework. Otherwise, a movie might be awesome on its own, but the larger operation fails.
As it stands, believing in the MCU is an act of faith. We’re all told it exists but has anyone actually seen it? Avengers: Infinity War
promises to bring together an insane amount of characters. That said, how will Marvel juggle the dozens of potentially conflicting storylines, not to mention all of those characters? Meanwhile, over at DC, the timeline still makes a reasonable degree of sense.
- LESS CREATIVE FREEDOM
The MCU’s movies are all standard PG-13 fare and so are the DCEU’s. So what’s the difference? In a word, it’s a matter of
maturity. More than two dozen films in, the MCU refuses to grow up. Marvel Entertainment has been rehashing the same formula since 2008. Filmmakers who can’t tow the line get pushed out, along with all the new ideas and fresh spins they could’ve brought with them.
In a September 2017 interview with the Toronto Sun, Patty Jenkins applauded DC for being “super supportive” of her vision. Considering how much behind the scenes drama went down during the making of
Suicide Squad , it’s hard to imagine a less supportive environment than the one that David Ayer endured. We never said the DCEU was perfect, it’s just better than the alternative… for now. Once Black Panther hits theaters, we might change our tune.
Which universe do you think is doing a better job of telling its stories, the MCU or the DCEU? Let us know in the comments!