Stylistic differences between DC & Marvel

[Corplos]

Aside from the obvious, being characters & places. What "makes" a DC book? Is there a definite style or prevailing theme that stretches across all DC titles and makes them wholly separate from Marvel?

[jza1218]

Not that I can think of

[Hobowatcher]

Prevailing themes:

DC: Toughen up, boy. Life's not all about hugs and kisses. You have responsibility now, and that leads to greatness.
Marvel: You may be different, or you may have trouble, but we'll help you a long the way. Overcome dire odds and achieve sucess, and that leads to greatness.

[Strict31]

I think in DC, there's a stronger emphasis on the importance of history and tradition. Legacy characters get more play in DC, and nostalgia drives certain titles.

Marvel seems more concerned with being topical and being rooted in the "now" rather than a sense of history or tradition.

[MichaelH]

I think the main difference between the universes is the way that normal people view the heroes. In the DCU the heroes are accepted and liked while in the Marvel universe the heroes are often seen as a threat.

[adamcasey]

Marvel as a sort of house style with their art. The first batch of Young Guns (minus Granov, to some extent) are fairly interchangeable. All have very realistic art (seam lines on costumes) with very thin lines. Then there is the over rendered color (think 'video game interlude' more than 'comic book') where the costumes look painted on.

DC has more traditional 'comic book art' with thicker lines and flatter colors.

[cncoyle]

While there are exceptions, I think the fundamental difference is this: Marvel has flawed, human-centric characters while DC has icons/modern-day mythological characters.

Nothing is wrong with either approach nor is one superior to the other.

[BanMan]

Marvel seems more concerned with being topical and being rooted in the "now" rather than a sense of history or tradition.

I think that second point is definitely definitely debatable. In more recent times, we have Marvel teens on the come up, a new generation of heroes inspired by those of yesteryear (hardly a new concept at Marvel by the way). Then we also have books like Agents of Atlas exploring their old Atlas roots, and just last week Union Jack (a noticeable legacy character) being given a shot at the big time.

Marvel may not have as many young bucks running around as DC (who doesn't have a sidekick these days), but you can't deny that they're making an effort to explore the MU history and whatever legacy characters may have.

Anywho, I think most of the main points have been hit on the head. Not much else besides that.

[nolanjwerner]

Shouldnt we look at individual creators rather then companies? Especially since most of the big names have worked at both companies?

[DiscoVietnam]

Does Marvel still operate with the so-called "Marvel style" of scripting? (That is, not with full scripts?) As Nolan says, I would have thought that any difference would be related to creators, not companies.

For me, DC has far more diversity than Marvel, who just make superhero comics.

[cncoyle]

For me, DC has far more diversity than Marvel, who just make superhero comics.I think that's because DC has Warner Brothers financial backing, allowing other lables like Vertigo or Johnny DC to operate with less worry.

I know a lot of people don't like the idea, but it would be cool if Marvel were bought by a similar Hollywood company like Sony or Paramount.

[BanMan]

Does Marvel still operate with the so-called "Marvel style" of scripting? (That is, not with full scripts?) As Nolan says, I would have thought that any difference would be related to creators, not companies.

For me, DC has far more diversity than Marvel, who just make superhero comics.

Well, yea they are trying to break out of that you know. They just had a Western month, they had a romance month before that I think, now they're developing some horror-themed stories for the Max line. It's not like Marvel isn't trying you know. Depending on the response who knows.

Would be good if they had more Vertigo-esque books. Fables is still a personal fave.

[NeoSamurai]

It's really hard to say now, as Marvel is in a heavy period of deconstruction of its characters.

[nolanjwerner]

Does Marvel still operate with the so-called "Marvel style" of scripting? (That is, not with full scripts?) As Nolan says, I would have thought that any difference would be related to creators, not companies.

For me, DC has far more diversity than Marvel, who just make superhero comics.


As far as I know the Marvel method went out during joe Q's term.

Actually, teh big differences in terms of diverse books aren't from the DCU, they're from vertigo adn the ones lines.

[MoneyMelon]

As far as superhero comics, there's really no difference anymore.

[Eldritch]

I find that DC comics are generally well-written with solid artwork, while more and more Marvel titles seem to rely on shock value and garrish artwork. Obviously, there are excepions to both, but that's how I see it on the whole.

[NeoSamurai]

Marvel makes supervillain comics. DC makes super hero comics.

[MoneyMelon]

Marvel makes supervillain comics. DC makes super hero comics.
:confused:

[MichaelH]

As far as superhero comics, there's really no difference anymore.

I don't think that's true. The Post-IC DCU and the Civil War Marvel universe are polar opposites right now.

[MoneyMelon]

I don't think that's true. The Post-IC DCU and the Civil War Marvel universe are polar opposites right now.
There's a difference in tone for the sake of a specific story, yes. But overall, I don't think there's too much difference anymore. Both have their dark and light characters and the writers switch back and forth between Marvel and DC so often.

[NeoSamurai]

:confused:
As of Civil War 4, Marvel has made Captain America and Iron Man the equivalent of Doctor Doom and Magneto. Reed is slowly approaching the practices of a WWI Nazi scientist as he experiments on villains.

Doom and Magneto are villains who would do anything they can to make the world a better place. Cap and Stark are quickly going into the same boat of "misunderstood" villains.

Deconstruction while not retaining the "heroic" aspects doesn't make them heroes...

[MoneyMelon]

As of Civil War 4, Marvel has made Captain America and Iron Man the equivalent of Doctor Doom and Magneto. Reed is slowly approaching the practices of a WWI Nazi scientist as he experiments on villains.

Doom and Magneto are villains who would do anything they can to make the world a better place. Cap and Stark are quickly going into the same boat of "misunderstood" villains.

Deconstruction while not retaining the "heroic" aspects doesn't make them heroes...
Tony I can see. But Cap? How is he a villain?

[MichaelH]

There's a difference in tone for the sake of a specific story, yes. But overall, I don't think there's too much difference anymore. Both have their dark and light characters and the writers switch back and forth between Marvel and DC so often.

Yes, both have dark and light characters, but I don't think the differences are specific to a story right now. The DCU as a whole has a much lighter feel after Crisis, especially with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. And unless Marvel completely ignores Civil War once it is over, I don't see how the Marvel universe can not be a very dark place for the foreseeable future. The differences aren't as extreme as they used to be in the sixties, but I think they are clearly noticable at the moment.

[NeoSamurai]

Tony I can see. But Cap? How is he a villain?
Maybe not yet, but he is slowly going there with his own ends justify the means approach to fighting pro-registration. He's getting ready to fight real dirty.

[NeoSamurai]

Yes, both have dark and light characters, but I don't think the differences are specific to a story right now. The DCU as a whole has a much lighter feel after Crisis, especially with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. And unless Marvel completely ignores Civil War once it is over, I don't see how the Marvel universe can not be a very dark place for the foreseeable future. The differences aren't as extreme as they used to be in the sixties, but I think they are clearly noticable at the moment.

DC went dark for a good while which was what Infinite Crisis actually fixed. Marvel is now going in the opposite direction.

[MoneyMelon]

Maybe not yet, but he is slowly going there with his own ends justify the means approach to fighting pro-registration. He's getting ready to fight real dirty.
I'd say you could draw a lot of parallels to Batman with that.

[NeoSamurai]

I'd say you could draw a lot of parallels to Batman with that.
Yeah--to an extent. However, Cap's taking political debate to a physical conflict. He's escalating the threat.

Batman is an anti-hero that has high morales and a regard for human life. Cap is symbolic hero and a soldier that will kill if need be. It's easier for Cap to cross the line to become a villain than Batman and Civil War is pushing Cap closer to that line.

[Banana_Oil]

As far as superhero comics, there's really no difference anymore.

I think in general terms the following still apply.

Marvel: Tragedies.
DC: Legacies.

Johnny Storm ain't sending any Christmas cards to Jim Hammond. And Vision ain't asking Golden Age Vision for advice on sh!t. He's got his own problems to deal with.

Marvel: People throw rocks at their heroes.
DC: People throw parades for their heroes.

See Avengers/JLA.

Marvel: The power you get comes with a terrible price.
DC: The price is paid first, and many times not at all.

You may have lost your planet or your parents, but hey neat powers! Or more often, hey neat powers! As opposed to, hey neat powers but now you're a monster, you'll never have a normal life, or most people want to enslave or kill you!

There are of course exceptions. Metamorpho and the Doom Patrol were admitted attempts to make a "Marvel Type" and not all Marvel Heroes have the Tragic Hook. But these are the spirits of the two, and it's uphill work to sell characters who don't fit the mold.

[MoneyMelon]

Yeah--to an extent. However, Cap's taking political debate to a physical conflict. He's escalating the threat.

Batman is an anti-hero that has high morales and a regard for human life. Cap is symbolic hero and a soldier that will kill if need be. It's easier for Cap to cross the line to become a villain than Batman and Civil War is pushing Cap closer to that line.
Batman came pretty close to crossing that line in Infinite Crisis.

And I remember Wonder Woman actually did cross that line.

[Doc Midnight]

I think in general terms the following still apply.

Marvel: Tragedies.
DC: Legacies.

Johnny Storm ain't sending any Christmas cards to Jim Hammond. And Vision ain't asking Golden Age Vision for advice on sh!t. He's got his own problems to deal with.

Marvel: People throw rocks at their heroes.
DC: People throw parades for their heroes.

See Avengers/JLA.

Marvel: The power you get comes with a terrible price.
DC: The price is paid first, and many times not at all.

You may have lost your planet or your parents, but hey neat powers! Or more often, hey neat powers! As opposed to, hey neat powers but now you're a monster, you'll never have a normal life, or most people want to enslave or kill you!

There are of course exceptions. Metamorpho and the Doom Patrol were admitted attempts to make a "Marvel Type" and not all Marvel Heroes have the Tragic Hook. But these are the spirits of the two, and it's uphill work to sell characters who don't fit the mold.

Pretty much expressed perfectly and it still stands today.

Everyone in the Marvel Universe, even new characters, have a tragedy following them wherever they go. Some have better tragedies than others. I've made my cases for Dr. Strange and Iron Man.

Even the Runaways have evil parents they had to break away from. The Young Avengers aren't just Inspired by the Avengers, they are born as a direct result of tragic Avengers related events.

The Titans of today are still pretty much just a standard DC team. Point us towards the menace and we will fight it because we have these neat powers. Yes, Ravager is Deathstroke's kid but that just provides a look and some aggression. She isn't on the run from him in order to prevent him from using her body to house his brain or something.

Sure one company goes for a style darker than the other but there is a reason for that. Every DC character has the chance to "pass the torch" someday. That implies light and hope. Every Marvel Character dreads having to have someone else wear their shoes.

[NeoSamurai]

Batman came pretty close to crossing that line in Infinite Crisis.

And I remember Wonder Woman actually did cross that line.

And Captain America killed tons of terrorists at the start of Brubaker's run. That's not exactly my point. It's not just the life taking (though I did cite that example).

Captain America is approaching the ends justify the means rather than the means justify the ends.

[nolanjwerner]

Dude, if we look at the voices of individual creators, the picture is a lot different.

[MoneyMelon]

And Captain America killed tons of terrorists at the start of Brubaker's run. That's not exactly my point. It's not just the life taking (though I did cite that example).

Captain America is approaching the ends justify the means rather than the means justify the ends.
Maybe I just don't understand. I could see your point if you were talking about Tony, but I don't really see that coming from Cap.

[NeoSamurai]

Maybe I just don't understand. I could see your point if you were talking about Tony, but I don't really see that coming from Cap.
In his own book by Brubaker, I'd agree.

But Civil War Cap = Early Magneto.

Replace Mutants with "Masks" or "SuperPowers" or "SuperPowered" and you may see what I mean.

[Drcharles]

DC bk seem to me to be traditional style superheroics, with a sense of hope to them,
Marvel seeem to be full of doom gloom and outright depressing.......

[MoneyMelon]

In his own book by Brubaker, I'd agree.

But Civil War Cap = Early Magneto.

Replace Mutants with "Masks" or "SuperPowers" or "SuperPowered" and you may see what I mean.
AH! That makes a lot more sense. But do you really see Cap going down that road?

[NeoSamurai]

AH! That makes a lot more sense. But do you really see Cap going down that road?

I'd rather he didn't. My best image of Captain America has to be from the Infinity Gauntlet (I think it was issue 4). All the heroes have fought Thanos and lost, but Cap confidently walks up to Thanos. He just stares into the 7 or 8 foot baddy's eyes knowing he will lose but makes an attempt anyway and punches him.

No fear.
Absolutely confident.
Super Noble.

That's the Cap I grew up with.

Not the cap that resorts to cheap shots and poorly thought out taunts at one of his closest friends and is willing to organize a war with children in it (Bucky never really counted because he was trained) before opening dialogue.

Sadly, I really do see Cap going down that road if Marvel isn't careful.

[Strict31]

I think that second point is definitely definitely debatable. In more recent times, we have Marvel teens on the come up, a new generation of heroes inspired by those of yesteryear (hardly a new concept at Marvel by the way). Then we also have books like Agents of Atlas exploring their old Atlas roots, and just last week Union Jack (a noticeable legacy character) being given a shot at the big time.

Marvel may not have as many young bucks running around as DC (who doesn't have a sidekick these days), but you can't deny that they're making an effort to explore the MU history and whatever legacy characters may have.

Anywho, I think most of the main points have been hit on the head. Not much else besides that.

The difference being, these new efforts at building on legacies in a prominent manner are fairly new. Given time, they may establish the same nostalgic emphasis DC has done over decades. While I was thinking more about JSA than Teen Titans, it as good an example: they even have legacies for the legacy sidekicks. Robin, Wonder Girl. Kid Flash, who took over for the former Kid Flash as Flash...

When Patriot and Wiccan pass their names on to new Young Avengers, then they'll have tapped into that same nostalgic style. I think Marvel has always been more interested in topical stories that tap into what is going on in the real world at the same time, than DC has. Although DC has also made forays, like the Hard-Travelling Heroes.

A very significant number of DC's titles are legacy and/or nostalgia titles. Blue Beetle, Firestorm, Atom, Aquaman, JSA, Uncle Sam, Titans, Outsiders, Trials of Shazam...even the new JLA reads like a primer on DC history.
The emphasis they've placed on legacy, history and nostalgia exceeds marvel's recent forays because it's been fairly consistent over the decades, and have been given a primary focus. USAgent is sort of a legacy character; so was Battlestar/Bucky...War Machine...but they never ever got the same promotion DC provides even to dudes like mr. terrific, who had a recurring role in JLU, or Stargirl (inheritor of two legacies) also on JLU. And by comparison, Runaways and Young As are very recent attempts. They'll need a lot more time as front and center promotions to be representative of a definitive style or hallmark.

[Banana_Oil]

A very significant number of DC's titles are legacy and/or nostalgia titles. Blue Beetle, Firestorm, Atom, Aquaman, JSA, Uncle Sam, Titans, Outsiders, Trials of Shazam...even the new JLA reads like a primer on DC history.

...

And by comparison, Runaways and Young As are very recent attempts. They'll need a lot more time as front and center promotions to be representative of a definitive style or hallmark.

But look at the individuals here. The Runaways are all children of villains. They trust no one. Sister Grimm has to spill her own blood to use her powers. Victor should always wonder if he's programmed for evil. The Young Avengers have spent most of their existence with their idols telling them to quit. Patriot resorted to drugs to keep up with the others. Stature's following the same path that got her dad killed. Wiccan's a gay mutant. Hulkling's been hunted by two empires. These kids are full of Marvel flavor.

Marvel's got heroes inspired by older ones, but by and large they're not palling around with their predecessors talking about how cool their lineage is. The names of Black Panther and Red Wolf have been handed down through the generations, yes, but the title changes hands when somebody dies, and the current ones don't spend much time wondering if they're doing right by granpappy. OK, maybe Union Jack does.

Conversely, most DC heroes aren't complaining about how unfair life is, fretting over how they're gonna pay the heating bill, or hoping their powers don't kill them this week.

[Doc Midnight]

But look at the individuals here. The Runaways are all children of villains. They trust no one. Sister Grimm has to spill her own blood to use her powers. Victor should always wonder if he's programmed for evil. The Young Avengers have spent most of their existence with their idols telling them to quit. Patriot resorted to drugs to keep up with the others. Stature's following the same path that got her dad killed. Wiccan's a gay mutant. Hulkling's been hunted by two empires. These kids are full of Marvel flavor.

Marvel's got heroes inspired by older ones, but by and large they're not palling around with their predecessors talking about how cool their lineage is. The names of Black Panther and Red Wolf have been handed down through the generations, yes, but the title changes hands when somebody dies, and the current ones don't spend much time wondering if they're doing right by granpappy. OK, maybe Union Jack does.

Conversely, most DC heroes aren't complaining about how unfair life is, fretting over how they're gonna pay the heating bill, or hoping their powers don't kill them this week.

And NONE of this has to do with the voices of the creators either. It's the companies and the fans like it that way. Marvel can go to the well with the same formula over and over and it keeps working.

The X-Men aren't just guys who happen to be victims of bigotry. Look at them individually:

Wolverine - An animal in a mans's body
Cyclops - Saddled with the legacy of his mentor/father figure and having to BE a father figure
Emma Frost - Villain turn hero and will forever have trust issues
Hell, The story in Uncanny right now is all about Vulcan being abandoned and covered up.

This is Marvel.

There are no new Avengers stories where then All Winners Squad comes over for Jenga.
I haven't seen any Howling Commandos sending baskets of Cashews.
I bet in the new version of Alpha Flight, Wolverine doesn't comeover and join the Annual Beta Flight/Omega Flight pick up hockey game either.

But Nova is for damn sure meant to be Peter Parker in Space.

Moon Knight is Marvel's Batman but he isn't just a rich playboy fighting crime, he's ____ed up. I mean he's really ____ed up.

No matter who the creator, he's going to have to write Marvel characters in a Marvel style. Morrison is great but when he wrote the X-Men, Emma Frost became more tragic than ever and he made one of these kids have maggot babies and NOW all those damn mutants are in Concentration Camps.

That's the Marvel way.

[Garden Gnome]

This is a great thread as I feel there is a genuine dialog going on and not just a bunch of slogan shouting.

I tend to buy into the Marvel=Tragedy DC=Legacy theme.

My own reading tastes lean towards DC and independants since getting back into comics a year and a half ago, but if I had more $$$ and time I'm sure I'd buy some Marvels too.

[Lorendiac]

I guess when I think about their different styles, first I think about their different approaches toward old stories that have become embarrassments.

With DC, you can get a Frank Admission that they are Rebooting or Massively Retconning their big-name heroes sometimes, throwing a ton of old continuity out the window if they think it has outlived its usefulness. In the mid-1980s, it was: "Yes, that's right, folks! All previous Superman material is being thrown out the window! Likewise for all previous Wonder Woman material! All that corny old stuff about Superman lying through his teeth on a hundred occasions to discourage Lois Lane's suspicions, for instance, never happened! Total Reboot!" (And they've done the same thing to the Legion of Super-Heroes twice since then!)

At Marvel, it's more like: "Here's the Official Line: Our Continuity is Sacred!"

Which translates to things like this: "Yes, the embarrassingly long-winded Clone Saga proved to be a huge waste of time, and we'd rather not talk about it! But we are absolutely positively not Retconning it to get it out of continuity! Sure, we allowed JMS to have Peter meet Ezekiel in 2001 and think how strange and new it was to be fighting alongside an ally with exactly the same powers, but that doesn't mean Ben Reilly has been Removed from Continuity! It just means . . . um, it just means . . . well, the point is that those embarrassing Clone Saga stories are still Officially in Continuity, for better or for worse even if some of our characters seem to have completely forgotten those events most of the time!"

[Calax]

Marvel has a more depressing tone to it (well all comics did for at least three years.) while DC seems to try to tell more uplifiting stories.

[SpaceButler]

I'd rather he didn't. My best image of Captain America has to be from the Infinity Gauntlet (I think it was issue 4). All the heroes have fought Thanos and lost, but Cap confidently walks up to Thanos. He just stares into the 7 or 8 foot baddy's eyes knowing he will lose but makes an attempt anyway and punches him.

No fear.
Absolutely confident.
Super Noble.

That's the Cap I grew up with.

Not the cap that resorts to cheap shots and poorly thought out taunts at one of his closest friends and is willing to organize a war with children in it (Bucky never really counted because he was trained) before opening dialogue.

Sadly, I really do see Cap going down that road if Marvel isn't careful.

I agree. While my favorite version of Cap is Brubaker's current run, which portrays him as a sort of noble realist. Sadly Marvel seems to be going with the Millar version of Cap, who doesn't seem like a good general to his troops at all. Yeah, he would be angry, but in CW4 he is shown as not giving a damn about his troops. That's not Cap. Then again I have always felt Millar's writing is devoid of any human emotion in his character's voices, they all come acrross as "cruel" and "snarky". And when he tries to write moment's of poignancy or genuine emotion they come accross as incredibly forced. Remember the "make a wish kid" moment?

Anyhow, I digress. Marvel seems to be wrecking these characters. I was re reading some recent comics and I was suddenly surprised at how Tony wasn't a bastard before. I cant think of him and Reed as anything but villains right now. And CW Cap is heading that way too, and he might already be that in my eyes if not for my really solid view of Cap from the last couple of years of Brubaker. Marvel, though seems to have turned its heroes into villains.