The Difference between DC Comics and Marvel Comics
DC Comics and Marvel Comics are both leaders in their field. However, each has somehow managed to carve out their own niche and reach a different type of reader. Doing so expertly has made them each successful in their own way.
DC Comics, originally named Action Comics, was responsible for really bringing the comic book industry to a great level of public awareness. They did this with their creation of the highly successful superhero that we all know as Superman. Superman first came into being in 1938 and immediately became a raging success with adults and children alike. After seeing how popular this form of media was and how successful Superman was, DC Comics began developing and eventually released other superheroes such as the Green Lantern, the Flash, and Batman.
After seeing the success of DC Comics, many comic book companies tried, with minimal success to achieve the notoriety of DC Comics. That is, until Marvel Comics came along. Creator Stan Lee came in and, using a completely different approach in the development of his superheroes, made Marvel Comics a viable opponent for the untouchable DC Comics.
The superheroes that were boasted by DC Comics were so popular because they led lives that bordered on near perfection. No problem was too big and the problems of daily life seemed to never affect them. This was a fantasy world that many thought was well worth escaping into for the time it took them to read the comic book.
The superheroes that Marvel worked so hard to develop also became very popular, but for a completely opposite reason. Marvel made the extra effort to make sure that the average person could relate to the struggles of each of their newly developed hero’s. Spiderman and the Incredible Hulk are both characters who led normal lives and the reader got a chance to see their daily struggles, most of which the reader could easily relate to.
Another difference between DC Comics and Marvel Comics is the way that the creators have developed each characters flaws, or weaknesses.
DC Comics creators work very hard to be very straightforward with the weaknesses of each of their characters. Superman is the most obvious one. Anyone who has followed the evolution of the Superman character knows that his greatest weakness is in exposure to Kryptonite. Exposure to Kryptonite renders all of his super-powers useless. The Red Sun also reduces his abilities to behave as a superhero. Superman has no internal character flaws. He never doubts himself, or struggles with his destiny as a superhero. Every reader wishes to be this invincible and the comic books created by DC Comics allow the reader a chance to imagine themselves as such for just a time.
Marvel Comics, on the other hand, have built their characters around the internal battles that are fought daily by characters such as Spiderman and the Incredible Hulk. Each has their own form of self-doubt and lack of confidence in their effectiveness as a superhero. Each, at times, finds that these internal battles, affects their ability to work effectively as a superhero. The Marvel superheroes always win in the end, but they also lose a little along the way, before finally becoming victorious. While being a superhero is not a reality, these internal battles are definitely something that the average person struggles with and can relate to, making the marvel comics incredibly successful.
Even though they are rival companies who have managed to create two completely different styles for their comic books, DC Comics and Marvel comics both manage to appeal to the average person and have each carved a unique niche for themselves that manages to appeal to both children and adults.
