Before any further progress is made to this article's point, some clarification is required; MCU stands for Marvel Cinematic Universe. The universe that's been crafted by the Marvel studios movies (and TV shows) made since Iron Man (2008). It's also important to note that Marvel studios doesn't own movie rights to Fantastic Four or X-Men, it's only recently that they made a deal with Sony to have Spider-Man included as we saw in Captain America 3: Civil War (2015) and then in his own movie Spider-Man Homecoming (2017). So only Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is in the MCU. DCU will stand for the cinematic universe that's only recently been crafted by DC films (owned by Warner Bros, studios) with the movie Man of Steel ().
It was hard to project the true impressiveness of comic book characters on screen until recently. Before, superhero movies/tv shows were at best corny productions for children. And at worst, straight terrible pieces of media. Only now that movie technology is able to portray these iconic figures and their amazing abilities with stunning detail are superheroes are in the zeitgeist. One could argue that superhero movies/tv shows have to prove that they're serious works of art.
In this article we'll explore the movie worlds of Marvel and D.C. First off in terms of continuity, Marvel is leading. Though it started off with standalone movies to serve as the origins of the relevant hero, they were Easter eggs connecting them together, until they all appeared in the same movie The Avengers (2012) from there it went to mentioning each other and events in their movies, to full-blown cameos. It is made clear that the heroes of the Marvel universe know each other. Man of Steel (2013) is the start of the current DC cinematic universe, and even with plans for its sequel Dawn of Justice (2016) there are no hints that Batman or Wonder Woman would appear. There were several chances to even subtly mention one of them, like passively saying Gotham.
Whereas Marvel takes the time to give their heavy hitters (Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, etc.) their own origin movies then adding smaller characters with easier to explain backstories; it seems DC wants to throw them all in at once and explain their stories along the way. While superheroes fans will already know their stories, one must keep in mind that these movies are really made to make non comic book reading people want to buy comic books. With that in mind it's strange to have that many iconic heroes introduced in the same movie. Imagine if The Avengers movie came out without one of the prior movies, like Thor (2011). How weird would that movie have been if Thor and by extension Loki, hadn’t been introduced before, or Captain America, Iron Man? The upcoming movie Justice League (2017) is essentially doing that. Not to say that they each merit a standalone movie, as Wonder Woman already got hers, and most people know Batman’s backstory.
But certainly Aquaman merits his own movie as he will serve as the entry point for Atlantis, the underwater city where he’s from. That isn’t something that you can quickly gloss over, nor Flash’s backstory. DCU has to give sufficient explanation for these characters, what motivates them, emotional blueprints, and also have them figure out how to operate well enough as a team to beat the villain. Not to say it’s impossible, but it seems like a lot to do, but according to different sources the movie is set to be 2 hours and 50 minutes so perhaps they will do all of what I listed.
Still, the direction that DCU is going in with their characters is troubling. Batman, widely known for not killing or using guns was shown doing both those things in Dawn of Justice. If DCU was willing to change such a major thing about one of the most iconic characters, it’s troubling to think about what they might do to the rest of them. The direction of the movies they create, art-wise, are also strange. It feels like DC is trying to make movies that aren’t “superhero movies” but Avant Garde films that feature superheroes. And if it counts for anything, quality and quantity. Marvel has on average released two movies a year since 2008, whereas 2017 is the only year that two DC movies will be released: Wonder Woman and Justice League. In addition the movies they’ve released, save Wonder Woman, have had less than stellar reviews by audiences and critics, especially in comparison to MCU movies. Hopefully the Justice League movie does well, otherwise Wonder Woman will be the only prospect DCU has to offer. And as a fan of both Marvel and DC I hope that isn't the case.
