Marvel = Better Superheroes but DC = Better Villains

Glamador

New member
I've been doing some thinking about whether I like Marvel or DC comics more than each other. And I've come to the conclusion, that I really don't like too many superheroes or villains in Marvel. I love Spider-Man, he's my favorite superhero, period. And I like the symbiotes, they're my favorite Marvel villains, period. Apart from that I kinda like Iron Man, War Machine, Ghost Rider, and perhaps Deadpool. But I've never been a fan of X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Wasp, S.H.I.E.L.D., the Fantastic 4, or any other Marvel heroes.

On the flip side, there aren't many guys I like in DC either. I adore Batman, my second favorite Superhero and my favorite DC superhero. I also kinda like Green Lantern...sort of. Plus Lobo is awesome. And there are a few here and there that I learned about through the Justice League Unlimited TV show that I kinda liked. None I can name though.

But where it really comes down to me liking DC more than Marvel, it isn't the heroes, b/c as I've explained I'm not too fond of superheroes on either side. Nope, it's the VILLAINS. DC has WAY better villains than Marvel. Of the Marvel villains I can recall, I love the Symbiotes, Doctor Doom, Magneto and...well those are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head. See what I mean? Whereas when I think of DC villains I can think of a dozen or more that I like quite a bit. Ultra Humanite, Lex Luthor, Cheetah, Grundy, and every single Batman villain including the Joker, Two Face, Mr. Freeze, Bane, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Clayface (why hasn't he been in a movie yet?), Ra's Al Ghul, Deadeye, the Penguin, Catwoman, Scarface (why hasn't HE been in a movie yet!?), etc. etc. etc. etc.

So what I'm trying to say is, Marvel villains are forgettable. But DC villains (particularly the Batman rogues gallery) are f*cking awesome. Now don't quote me on those being the ONLY villains and heroes I like from either side, I'm terrible with names and I know there are like, a dozen more guys I like among Marvel and DC, but I can't remember them atm. If some of you decide to list your lists of heroes and villains you like I'm sure I'll see one that I missed in my favorites list.
 
Good points. For the most part, I agree, BUT, Marvel has some bad ass villians that would probably annihilate most DC villians.
 
Marvel and DC both have their uber-villains. DC has like, Darkseid and Doomsday and the Anti-Monitor and Parallax, while Marvel has Galacticus and....and...who else?
 
Marvel have a lot of villains when you start getting into it and finding out about them:

Galactus
Ultron
Loki
Thanos
Mephisto
Dormammu
Kang
Leader
Dr Doom
Magneto
Venom
Doc Ock
Green Goblin
Red Skull
Bullseye

To name but a few ;)
 
Batman has by far the best rogues gallery out of any DC/Marvel hero. As far as 2nd, I'd say either Spider-Man or Flash. Most would pick Spidey because he is more mainstream, but Flash has an awesome rogues gallery...but still a distant 2nd to Batman.
 
Marvel have a lot of villains when you start getting into it and finding out about them:

Galactus
Ultron
Loki
Thanos
Mephisto
Dormammu
Kang
Leader
Dr Doom
Magneto
Venom
Doc Ock
Green Goblin
Red Skull
Bullseye

To name but a few ;)

I thought of a few of those guys when I was making my list. But the point is, even though they exist, they're not that interesting. I never liked the Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus much, I prefer Hobgoblin or Lizard Man or the Scorpion. But even they don't hold a candle to some of the DC villains. Like Granny Goodnes...damn is she scary.

But let's look at some of those you mentioned. Dr Doom, Magneto, Galacticus, and Venom I mentioned. But Kang and Leader? Why them? I'll give you Ultron, Red Skull, and Bullseye. And maybe Mephisto and Loki as well.

It's strange how there are so many parallels between Marvel and DC Comics, but in such different ways. DC is campy in it's heroes and designs, they wear colored undies for god's sake. But Marvel is extremely juvenile when it comes to villains. They're just not interesting, just "bad guys" for the heroes to take down.
 
I always found Marvel's characters to be boring. DC is just so much more fun. And they do have the better villains, too. The Joker, when written properly( See the Killing Joke for a kick ass Joker, Hush Returns for the worst written Joker ever), tops the list of all the villains, with Darkseid coming in a close second. And Libra, the New/Old guy in Final Crisis looks to be pretty bad ass, too. He killed the Martian Manhunter with a flaming spear. Also, Dr. Light has become the ultimate bad guy since Identity Crisis. He's a total dick.

The only notable Marvel villain is Galactus, and he's not even that bad, he's like a neccesary part of the universe or something.
 
Marvel's characters move with the times, they have more updated costumes and are generally younger and more complex. The DC superheroes seem simpler and look more traditional, still following the Cape and Spandex look. I prefer it that way, although after Batman, Marvel's Supreme Power is my favourite comic, and it is very modern and new, with leather suits and real-life crises. Saying that though, it is based on the JLA.
 
I'm going to disagree and say DC has both the better villians and heroes - but Marvel makes a better effort at handling their characters more. They are alway trying to impress the reader by doing new and new things, while DC is happy sticking to a more tradional routines with their heroes. The second reason I don't like Marvel is I always feel like Marvel is trying to hype itself up more then need be, its kind of overwhelming to keep up with the storylines sometimes because of it without feeling . Marvel has always been the easier to access comic though for that reason, you can pick up basically ANY Marvel comic and start reading from there. Marvel does keep itself from getting boring so you can't doubt it for that.

Recently, Action Comics have tried to restore Superman to its classical routes and make stories that feel like theyr did during the silver age, updating the old styles rather then try out new ones. DC has always been a golden oldie type of comic company. The only trouble is their fond of reboots, and in order to follow the major of plots you need to back read some years worth of storieslines to bring you up to speed. Overall, DC is a more comfortable read over Marvel once you've gotten to know it and there is a hero in it for everyone... Even if they do over promote the "Trinity" (Superman, Batman and Wonderwoman). DC likes to have breaks between stories which can get boring sometimes. :-/
 
I noticed when I was reading up on a DC and Marvel characters, that some of their stories seem...totally universe altering. Kind of annoying. I liked Spider-Man and Superman and Batman when they would just stick to their own cities and defend it from whatever villain that randomly attacks it (why is THAT city so important?). But then there's like "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and "World War Hulk" and all these huge stories that totally engulf everything.

The problem I have with that is that it totally removes the illusion that some of these characters could have come about in the real world. Like, all these characters think it's so important to preserve their secret identities b/c the world wouldn't understand them, and yet there are a hundred other freaks just like them. And why does Batman have to run away from the police for being a vigilante when elsewhere there's costumed freaks like Superman running around completely in the public eye?

I liked it better when all the characters were in their own books and didn't have the "DC Universe" etc. where everyone didn't affect the other people. It removed alot of the plausibility of creating new characters when you know that in the same universe there are a bunch of others.

Uh oh...I went on another rant.
 
Marvel has some great villians like Iron Man and Hank Pym and who could forget the Awesomeness of

DR BONG!!!

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MR FISH!!
powerman_cover.jpg


White Rabbit!!!
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and Devil Dinosaur!!??
200px-DevilDinosaur3.jpg


I mean really who is the Joker guy anyway?
 
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The problem I have with that is that it totally removes the illusion that some of these characters could have come about in the real world. Like, all these characters think it's so important to preserve their secret identities b/c the world wouldn't understand them, and yet there are a hundred other freaks just like them. And why does Batman have to run away from the police for being a vigilante when elsewhere there's costumed freaks like Superman running around completely in the public eye?

Okay;

-Superman Vs Police
-Batman Vs Police.

Super is invincible, has many power and Batman is motal, has a boomerang and a car.... Now you know why some heroes in DC get left alone and others have to run. Vigilantes are against the law but would you prefer to face a guy who could break every bone in your body by flicking one finger at you or a guy who could die with one well placed bullet?

Edit;

To Dorn - nothing beats little men that live in your ankles and record every word you say! XD

DC comics - Legion of Superheroes storyline.
 
I noticed when I was reading up on a DC and Marvel characters, that some of their stories seem...totally universe altering. Kind of annoying. I liked Spider-Man and Superman and Batman when they would just stick to their own cities and defend it from whatever villain that randomly attacks it (why is THAT city so important?). But then there's like "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and "World War Hulk" and all these huge stories that totally engulf everything.
t.


Yeah, everything these days is big event based. It seems that really became the thing to do again for the last 5 years or so. They announce event - Secret Invasion, Final Crisis, WWH, Civil War, etc and everything builds to that. Then event/crisis comes, usually is pretty good (DC & Marvel) and then always seems to have the weak ending, IMO. Then the months that follow are from results of so called big event, then new event is announced and repeat.

If the story is good, I'm all for it, but the way DC and Marvel have gotten with the yearly big events is like wrestling it seems. Everything builds towards PPV, then PPV is over, the next episode is already building up to the NEXT ppv. Its what makes them money, same with DC/Marvel. These big events sell tons. So they would be stupid not to keep doing the same thing, as long as it sells.

But I agree with your point, if you are just a casual fan of comics or someone who only reads a few books a month, these big events are annoying.
 
Yeah, everything these days is big event based. It seems that really became the thing to do again for the last 5 years or so. They announce event - Secret Invasion, Final Crisis, WWH, Civil War, etc and everything builds to that. Then event/crisis comes, usually is pretty good (DC & Marvel) and then always seems to have the weak ending, IMO. Then the months that follow are from results of so called big event, then new event is announced and repeat.

If the story is good, I'm all for it, but the way DC and Marvel have gotten with the yearly big events is like wrestling it seems. Everything builds towards PPV, then PPV is over, the next episode is already building up to the NEXT ppv. Its what makes them money, same with DC/Marvel. These big events sell tons. So they would be stupid not to keep doing the same thing, as long as it sells.

But I agree with your point, if you are just a casual fan of comics or someone who only reads a few books a month, these big events are annoying.

The recent series for DC "Death of the New Gods" or whatever it was called was one of those books... Two worlds who are fighting got merged into one - thanks to an event that wasn't mentioned until the last issue from ANOTHER comic. There was a lot of people who didn't like that.
 
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Angel you missed my point before. I was only using bats and supes as examples. Some "heroes" operate in the public limelight with no legal ramifications, but elsewhere others are forced to hide themselves due to police persual. It's a double standard on the part of the law enforcement that boggles med.
 
I always found Marvel's characters to be boring. DC is just so much more fun. And they do have the better villains, too. The Joker, when written properly( See the Killing Joke for a kick ass Joker, Hush Returns for the worst written Joker ever), tops the list of all the villains, with Darkseid coming in a close second. And Libra, the New/Old guy in Final Crisis looks to be pretty bad ass, too. He killed the Martian Manhunter with a flaming spear. Also, Dr. Light has become the ultimate bad guy since Identity Crisis. He's a total dick.

The only notable Marvel villain is Galactus, and he's not even that bad, he's like a neccesary part of the universe or something.

Totally agree ^....DC IMO is better then Marvel, not to mention a lot of Marvel's characters are pretty much DC bite offs or definitely inspired by DC.

I mean, Darkseid-Galactus

Superman-Silver Surfer and Sentry(Spider-man in similar daytime job/crime fighter sense with the clothes covering up etc)

Joker-Goblin

Dr.Fate-Dr.Strange

Flash-Quick Silver

I can go on but you guys get the point.

Not saying Marvel doesn't have some cool characters, I like Wolverine, Magneto and Jean are alright but for the most part I just feel DC's cast is a lot deeper and more appealing honestly. I've read sometimes Marvel fans(some will say) that DC's guys are "too powerful and have no weaknesses and are too perfect" says who? lol that's not true because if it were, then no DC character would ever have any "weaknesses" which obviously isn't the case. With that being said, it's simple both DC and Marvel have human like characters, super powerful characters and godlike characters. Ohh and @ the person who said Marvel villians would crush DC, obviously you're not aware or familiar with DC's villians....lol

But at the end of the day, I'm happier with DC honestly with MK and feel DC has great heroes and villians honestly.:-D
 
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Angel you missed my point before. I was only using bats and supes as examples. Some "heroes" operate in the public limelight with no legal ramifications, but elsewhere others are forced to hide themselves due to police persual. It's a double standard on the part of the law enforcement that boggles med.

Didn't miss the point really. I countered it with a as realistic example of why it happens as I could without trying to go fancey on why.

Also there is the arguement; "the writer decided it should be that way". :-/

But nah... I don't really read Batman or Superman, they tend to get on my nerves a little between them. I prefer the other DC heroes really. Booster Gold, for example, occusionally is a good read. His problem is he tries to be a big hero but always ends up a nobody, more or less even though DC always toys with the idea he is suppose to be something greater.
 
The recent series for DC "Death of the New Gods" or whatever it was called was one of those books... Two worlds who are fighting got merged into one - thanks to an event that wasn't mentioned until the last issue in ANOTHER comic. There was a lot of people who didn't like that.

I like DC more, but one of my problems with it is the apparent lack of communication between writers. I blame Didio. Morrision said in an inteview last week that he came up with Final Crisis when 52 was starting, and that he considers DOTNG and Countdown apocrypha. Boy, that pissed a lot of people off.

Totally agree ^....DC IMO is better then Marvel, not to mention a lot of Marvel's characters are pretty much DC bite offs or definitely inspired by DC.

I mean, Darkseid-Galactus

You make a good point, but I wouldn't be a true comic book fan if I didn't point out that Galactus first appeared four years before Darkseid. No worries though, Kirby created both of them, so you can blame him for any similarities.
 
X-Men = Half of the cast are rewrites of Legion of Super Hero characters.

Often there is anything up to ten years seperating them.
 
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