For years comic fans have been divided between Marvel Comics and DC Comics, but it is time we look at the facts and decide which one is actually superior. 

There are several fundamental differences between the two comic companies that must be compared. 

Location 

Most of the Marvel comics and movies are centered around New York City, with the exception being “Thor: The Dark World,” which takes place in Europe and “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which is set in space. 

Everything in the Marvel universe ends up back in New York in one way or another. After Captain America was frozen in ice for nearly 70 years, he woke up in New York. Stark Tower was built in New York, and so Loki brought his arm to the city in his attempt to take over.  Even in “Avengers: End Game,” the band of heroes end up back in New York for a period of time. 

When it comes to DC Comics, their locations are far more spread out across the United States. 

Gotham City, loosely inspired by Chicago, is actually in New Jersey. Additionally, Coast City – where Green Lantern takes place – is on the southern coast of California. Superman’s Smallville is in Kansas while Metropolis is located in southern Illinois. From the Flash, Central City is located in the Northwest corner of Missouri. 

Crossovers 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for its crossovers and collaborations. 

Since the first “Iron Man” film was released in 2008, the idea of bringing all the Avengers together in a single film was the goal, just like in the comics. Given the fact that most of their stories took place around the same city it was much easier to bring the characters together. 

DC Comics have their fair share of crossovers as well, particularly within the Arrowverse. Partnered with the CW network, DC Comics has been able to create their own television universe that all began with their show, “Arrow,” which made its debut in 2012. 

After “Arrow,” was proven to be a success, several spin-offs were created. The first being, “The Flash,” starring Grant Gustin as Barry Allen. After “The Flash,” there was “Supergirl,” starring Melissa Benoist as Kara Zor-El.  Then there was “DC Legends of Tomorrow,” where many of the supporting heroes from the Arrowverse came together in their own show where they traveled through time to correct various moments through the world’s history. 

Additionally, DC Comics attempted to pull off their own superhero crossover on the big screen with “The Justice League,” that included Batman, Superman, Wonderwoman, the Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg. 

Comparatively, “The Justice League,” couldn’t even compare to “The Avengers.” 

In 2012 when “The Avengers” made their debut on the big screen the movie made over $200 million just opening weekend in the United States, reported CNN. 

DC Comics must have expected to receive the same type of success with “The Justice League,” because their production budget was set at $300 million. Unfortunately, the movie was considered a flop among many fans and only brought in $94 million opening weekend in the U.S. 

Independent hero movies 

While DC has struggled to bring in much success with blockbuster crossovers, they’ve had some success with their standalone hero movies. 

The most notable fan favorite DC movies being “the Dark Knight” series. “The Dark Knight” series has the dark gritty tone of Batman, relatable problems, a relatable hero, a perfect portrayal of the Joker by Heath Ledger, fantastic director Christopher Nolan, brilliant origin story of Two-face and the perfect actor to take the role as Batman, Christian Bale. 

Even in the face of “Iron Man”, “The Avengers”, “Spider-Man” and other Marvel blockbusters, “Batman: The Dark Knight” is still regarded as one of the best superhero films of all time. 

DC has seen other successes in “Man of Steel,” staring Henry Cavill, “Suicide Squad,” “The Lego Batman Movie” and “Wonder Woman” (2017), starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. 

Marvel has seen great successes with most of its standalone hero films from “Iron Man,” to “Captain America: The First Avenger,” to “Thor” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and everything in between.  

The only flop Marvel has experienced in recent years is, “Captain Marvel” which isn’t even a real flop. The movie still brought it a ton of revenue in the box office making $153 million in North America opening weekend. 

The controversy of “Captain Marvel” being a flop comes from the audience reviews. Audience members did not seem to enjoy the movie as much as they might have anticipated giving it a 45% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Relatability 

Let’s face it, most of DC’s superheroes are not that relatable. Wonder Woman is a literal God, Aquaman lives in Atlantis and Superman is an alien. There is a slim chance of viewers being able to relate to heroes like this. 

Marvel’s heroes on the other hand show the story of an individual becoming the best version of himself. 

Take Captain America for example. He began as Steve Rodgers, a poor kid from Brooklyn, who was determined to do his part in protecting his country. There was nothing special about him, he was just a man who just wanted to do the right thing.

Additionally, Marvel heroes have flaws. The best example of this being Spider-Man who was created with the purpose of being a relatable hero because of his flaws and being such a young kid. 

“Nothing ever turns out 100% OK; he’s got a lot of problems, and he does things wrong, and I can relate to that,” Stan Lee told the Chicago Tribune on why Spider-Man is one of his favorite superheroes. 

After comparing plot locations, crossover films/TV shows, standalone movies and character relatability, which comic company is the best?