With the onslaught of superhero films these days, fans and movie goers are given a plethora of choices to choose from. But, if we will determine the superior between the choices of "funny" or "serious" film, the award goes to the former, and that is what Marvel upholds as its president Kevin Feige exclaimed that the studio would not venture a dark-themed film. Likewise, Feige elaborated that his Marvel Cinematic Universe will always add a humor on its films.
The news came from a reddit user/student covering a post-Ultron screening and Q&A Kevin Feige recently participated at the University of Southern California. The exec was asked whether the MCU will ever adopt a darker tone. However, the report is all secondhand and no video or a direct quote was made by Feige. "There will be no giant dark turns in the MCU where it then continues to head in that direction. The humor is in the DNA of the movies, there are no plans to change that," according to the reddit user. In addition, the user later clarified and added that Feige means the movies will never drop the humor entirely, no matter how serious or dramatic things may get.
As much as that is promising, it is obviously implied that the "darker" one was attributed to Marvel's rival DC and its parent company Warner Bros. The two have been banging over all media and literature platforms since the last decade. Starting from comics, cinema, TV series, and now the online streaming, which has already been established as a customary. And in terms of their superhero characters, Marvel and DC are having counterparts to battle each other's figures.
For instance, Marvel is known for its Avengers, and DC is catching up with its Justice League. In the movie and the universe platform, there is no doubt that MCU leads the game. Now in its "Phase 2," its "Avengers" franchise is a global box office hit. The said franchise (with "Avengers: Age of Ultron" being the current) is the latest in Marvel's "Phase Two", which refers to the second round of interconnected superhero films. This also includes last year's hit "Guardians of the Galaxy," which garnered more than $770M worldwide with only a $200 million budget.
Next would be "Ant-Man" to premiere this year. Then it would be followed by "Phase 3," which includes "Captain America: Civil War" next year, a "Spider-Man" reboot in 2017, a "Thor 3: Ragnarok" in 2018 and a couple of new "Avengers" films the following year.
Meanwhile, rival DC Comics is not so prevailing on this game. Aside from a scarce number of films that have hit, the DC Universe is not organized, unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, the Warner Bros-owned studio's successful films include Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy and 2013's "Man of Steel." Although DC will not be competing this year, its much anticipated "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" will be vying for moviegoers' dollars next year. And to make the studio competitive, The Guardian reports that the film will be the springboard for other characters in the DC Universe. Aside from the Batman-Superman stand-off, "Green Lantern" will also be scheduled to reboot after its disappointing debut in 2011.
Moreover, the two are also rivalling on putting women as a lead. It was reported that female superheroes Supergirl, Catwoman, and Elektra will be going back in "Captain Marvel." On the other hand, after Michelle MacLaren's departure as Wonder Woman, DC has just hired Patty Jenkins to rescue the role.
Their competition doesn't end there though as the two have found a way to best each other again in TV shows and online streaming. Marvel has the Avengers-linked shows "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" and "Agent Carter" on ABC while DC has apparently made a successful opportunity in "Gotham," "Arrow," and "The Flash." Additionally, the former has the "Daredevil" in the media streaming service Netflix. The Charlie Cox-starred show has even been green-lit for season two.
Furthermore, it's very clear as day that Marvel wins this game. But the question here is, what is the factor that has made Marvel to garner every remaining dollar in everyone's pocket? Both of the studios have lovable superheroes and astounding CGI effects, regardless of the narrative anyway. Going back to our lead, this points to the logic that a funny film is more marketable than a serious film.
As a matter of fact, David Hughes from the Comic Book Movies has a fair share of two cents to support this logic. "It's the fun factor," he said. "What other outfit would take an unheard-of comic book like 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and turn it into a huge box-office draw? The Marvel movies are fun, they don't make you feel bad, they are worth seeing on the big screen - which is a great thing for cinema in general. The fun was was sorely missing from Man of Steel," Hughes exclaimed.
So there. But remember that, sometimes "funny" films are not that so good, while "serious" films can have something to offer anyway, and vice-versa. Are you pro Marvel or DC?
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