DC vs. Marvel movies...are DC characters harder to write for?

[enyawd72]

I'm wondering if this isn't THE major problem holding DC back in the movie dept. I think many if not most of Marvel's characters are more fleshed out and relatable than DC's. You feel like you know them...like they're real people.
With the exception of Batman and Superman, I never felt that same connection to most DC characters. I don't really know who Green Lantern is as a person. Same with Flash, and Aquaman.
I think maybe because their personalities and identities aren't as well established and defined, everybody may view them in a different light, thus making it harder to write consistently for them while meeting everyone's expectations.

[johnnystorm]

I think it's more a case of Marvel controlling the characters a bit more, and DC allowing the movie people to change them carte blanche. I can't imagine a DC JLA film being so close to the comic book as The Avengers was. their seems to be the notion that the Marvel characters are cool as is, but the DC heroes are too childish and need revamped to make them more adult oriented. Also, the marvel films have a lot of humor throughout them, while dc is way too serious about itself.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

DC characters are harder to write for 'cos they're older.... and have their roots back in the Golden Age, when nobody really worried about characterization or continuity. They're more iconic; written not as people, but almost as forces of nature. Hence why they can overlook stuff like young Bruce Wayne being rich, but NOT getting neccessary psychological help as a youth; or the ace reporter Lois Lane not being able to recognize someone once they take their specs off. You let it slide 'cos it's SO ingrained into the characters. Marvel's characters were concieved more as people; the ol' "heroes with problems" template, so it's easier to write them AS people. To flesh out the DC characters you have to start adding a lot more, which creates continuity conflicts, which breaks reality, which necessates another reboot....

Don C.

[enyawd72]

^Good points. I also don't think it helps that some of the characters don't even have specific identities. To some people, Hal Jordan is Green Lantern. To others he's Jon Stewart, or Kyle Raynor, or even Alan Scott. Same with the Flash. I grew up reading the Wally West series, but he was Barry Allen on TV. It all seems so vague and disconnected.

[madmarva]

You all make good points. There is more meat characterwise with the Marvel heroes, specifically in their origins, compared to the DC characters which probably does make it easier to craft a story around.

But, I think Marvel and its producing partners Fox and Sony have taken better care and made more astute choices in whom they selected to write and direct their films.

I don't think the problem with the Green Lantern film was as much confusion about the character from viewers, but more from confusion within the script and by the director. I think it had a lot to do with an unpolished script that had too many hands in it as well as a director who was doing the film more for the paycheck than out of a real desire or inspiration to make the film. I don't think the script was crafted well enough for Martin Campbell to invest in.

Favreau, Whedon, Branagh, Rami, Singer with X-Men, Webb all expressed a believable amount of enthusiasm about the subjects they were working on in interviews I've read or watched and you could see it on the screen in their work in the various Marvel movies. The same can be said about Nolan and Burton with Batman and Donner on Superman. But, I don't think you can say that about Martin Campbell with GL. In all his interviews, he just seemed to be relieved to be out from under the film.

I couldn't tell you who made Catwoman or Jonah Hex. Joel Schumacher has said Warners wanted his films to be more kid friendly and more like the TV series, which explains a whole lot of the silliness his his two Batman films.

[jds1911a1]

Another problem is the "need" to tell an origin story in the first film. The origin story's for some of them are really good but the cram of the origin story along with, basic training, and a convoluted villian plot for Parralax plus the throw away Hector Hammond villian made GL way too rushed. marvel has been smart in it's use of the characters in media outside of comics. Iron man is always tony stark, cap is always steve rogers, and SPiderman was always peter parker. no matter what the story line in the comic. Even when the 90's spiderman cartoon addressed the spider clone ben parker storyline it was after 2 seasons of peter. So that diffuses the issues dc characters have of who GL is or who flash is.

untimately it is the control when marvel lets film people make the decisions the results have been just as lame as recent DC films (ghost rider and FF)

[VintageMike]

Marvel really laid the groudwork in the 60's by giving it's characters personalities and problems. That's why Batman translates well, he has both. As well as nice rogues gallery.
For every Marvel hero you can name both some personality quirk/issue and problem two or three villains that work. No so much with DC.

[Nostalgiabuff]

i think in general, Marvel has just done a much better job of controlling what goes out and marketing their characters. in the seventies the Super Friends ruled Saturday morning cartoons. had DC been able, at that time movies would have been ideal. in this day and age, the youth just does not know the DC characters as well. Marvel is all over. they have had multiple cartoon series going since the 90's. DC had Batman, Superman and the Justice League(which had Batman and Superman in lead roles). the Teen titans cartoon i will not count as it was so juvenile in nature. DC is doing better now, with the GL toon, Young Justice etc. hopefully they will get some talent with enthusiasm for the characters to do something