Incredible Hulk

Marvel and DC, two rival comic companies with fans similar to those of the Twilight “Edward vs. Jacob” debate: The true fanatics will choose sides while many will just sit back and enjoy both.  The same can be said about their movies.  Marvel has some of the biggest franchising plans the film industry has ever seen.  With the Incredible Hulk Series, Iron Man, and X-Men which all have sequels in either production or pre-production as well as plans for movies about Thor and Captain America.  Now Marvel is using a brilliant strategy of cross-marketing.  Many have heard of the Captain America shield appearing in Iron Man and other various hints including scenes, usually in the credits, where plans of “forming a team” are discussed.  These plans refer to the mega cross-over that brings together the entire Marvel-Movie-Universe.  The plans for the upcoming Avengers movie.  The Avengers are pretty much the Marvel equivalent of the Justice League.  Where the characters and storylines from all the branches of the selected franchises are fused into one mega-movie where all the superheroes team up.  So things must be going great for Marvel, right?  Well they are, except things aren’t going too well for their rivals, DC.

DC has the current Batman series consisting of “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”.  They also have the one Superman movie which was not all it was worked up to be, considering the fact that there wasn’t even a villain fight, just a mountain of Kryptonite.  They’ve had individual films like Watchmen but that probably won’t create a franchise as the source material was only a short limited series.  They also have “plans” for films about Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and other household superhero names.  But these are all just plans.  Still just pre-planning, brain storm stage ideas that are in no way an indication of these films happening any time soon. 

Superhero movies have been proven to be successful both financially and critically with hits like “Spiderman” and “The Dark Knight” doing very well in both areas.  And even after Disney’s acquisition of Marvel, I don’t see any signs of them slowing down.  So my question is “Why is it that with perfectly good source material and a history of good movies (The Superman franchise of the 70s and 80s), why is it that now, at the height of the genre, is DC being outdone by rivals Marvel?”