Why Do Marvel Movies Perform Better Than DC Films? Popular Comic Writer Mark Millar Has a Theory
Marvel and DC have been rivals in the superhero business since the time when they were solely into comic book publishing. It has been a heated rivalry then, but now, with Marvel basically locking in the superhero movie genre, a prominent comic author explains why DC is always playing catch up when it comes to the big screen.
In a recent interview with Yahoo! Movies, Mark Millar spoke about having black superheroes and leads in comic books as a way forward for the industry. Along the way, he proposed his own theory on why DC Comics is having some trouble getting on the same level as Marvel in the movies.
"I think it's really simple the characters aren't cinematic and I say this as a massive DC fan who much prefers their characters to Marvel's," Millar said, adding that aside from Batman, the other DC heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman are defined more by their superpowers than their secret identities.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Marvel characters show more of their personality outside of their superhero work, Millar added. It's the same for Batman, in DC's case — Bruce Wayne, for all his wealth and gadgets, is someone fans can worry about.
"But someone like Green Lantern, he has this ring that allows him to create 3D physical manifestations and green plasma with the thoughts in his head but he's allergic to the color yellow! How do you make a movie with that?" Millar asked, as quoted by Comicbook, which points out that although Green Lantern has not been averse to the color yellow for a while now, the rest is still spot on.
"We've seen great directors, great writers and great actors, tonnes of money thrown at them, but these films aren't working," Millar added, proposing that these characters were all stuck in the time when they were created in the 1950s or so.
"Even Superman, I love Superman, but he belongs to an America that doesn't exist anymore. He represents 20th Century America and I think he peaked then," the writer noted.
