Author Spotlight
Ben Henschel
One irrelevantly useless thing I can do is list all twenty movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe without any sign of difficulty. There’s no special memorization tactic, either — all I’ve got to do is think: well, there’s “Iron Man,” that was my staple in Kindergarten. “Thor,” that’d be the summer going into third grade, and can’t forget about “The Avengers,” which is basically synonymous with my memory of 4th grade.
I roll off all twenty with memories in mind. I remember where I was when I saw them, however many times I did (6 times in theaters for “Avengers”) and the feeling coming out of each one. I remember staring out the window knowing I’d have to wait an entire year to see what comes next.
A still of Thanos from the “Avengers: Infinity War” trailer. *photo courtesy of MCT Campus
They’re ingrained in every bit of my upbringing, and it’s religion for me (sorry, Methodism).
When you’ve been with characters for over ten years (like I have) and their stories have settled deep into feelings of nostalgia and better childhood memories — it takes a lot to ruin them. Thankfully, Marvel hasn’t even come close to doing so, instead masterfully crafting quality films about unique and ridiculous characters ever since its inception in 2008.
I can’t say anything close to the same for movies belonging to the DC Comics Extended Universe. They’re almost all bad. They’re comically bad.
Yet the question “DC or Marvel” still gets thrown around a lot. For a Marvel guy like me, it’s like asking whether a hug or a slap in the face is more appealing.
Humanity considers itself evolved and advanced, but we’re still asking stupid questions like this. It’s simple, people. Coffee’s great because it wakes you up. You look before you switch lanes so you don’t get in a crash. You wear a corsage to each school dance because — it’s tradition?
You like Marvel movies more because they’re better. For those of you that aren’t convinced, let me explain.
Comparing any DC movie, like “Justice League,” to an MCU movie is a huge waste of time. They’re almost impossible to put on the same scale, with DC’s uniquely senseless tones and distinctive lack of narrative.
Several characters from both the MCU and DCEU.
For starters, “Justice League’s” villain was entirely computer-generated imagery (CGI), and had the depth of a State Line pothole after a few inches of rain. By the end, I knew that he wanted to take over worlds with his weird alien minions — a bland and overused trope at this point — but found no compelling reason as to why. It didn’t help that Superman was the most obvious and flailing plot save I’d ever seen, swooping in last minute to save the world and making Batman and the rest of his super-friends look as powerless as the script.
Also, Google “Superman Justice League mustache” to see just how goofy the effects in this movie really look (and notice the poor editing on Superman’s upper lip in this clip).
One of the mainstays of the MCU is that each movie flows directly into the next, or at least connects in some way. In each “Avengers” installment, a huge smorgasbord of characters is blended perfectly and creatively. “Justice League” was DC’s attempt at “The Avengers,” but it resulted in a 40% Rotten Tomatoes score — just a bit shy of “The Avengers’” meager 92% — and a lot of disappointed fans.
Why? They made Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, The Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman teaming up look lame.
The MCU does things differently. The closest the MCU gets to DC’s lackadaisical cinematic display is in “Thor: The Dark World.” Not because it’s a bad movie, but because it’s a fine one. That’s what bad is for the MCU. It has a massively underdeveloped villain and a shaky motivation for said villain, but that’s about it.
It’s funny from start to finish, and the plot, minus the villain’s backstory, never lags — and it lines up fan favorites across the board that are sure to please.
Plus, Natalie Portman’s in it. Even though her character is picked on ubiquitously by Marvel fans, it’s Natalie Portman, dude.
And we haven’t even talked about any of the the MCU’s finer points — there are enough of them to where it’s almost excessive. I’ll give DC credit where it’s due for a stellar origin story in “Wonder Woman,” and a solid “Aquaman” film that left me excited for the franchise’s future.
But did DC popularize putting clues to the next movie’s plot after the credits of the film, not just at the film’s standard ending? Marvel has done it ever since 2008.
Did they spend over six years developing the main antagonist of two movies that culminate over ten years of cinematic narrative? Marvel did with meme-magnet Thanos to set up last year’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and its next, most hyped installment, “Avengers: Endgame.”
Did they hide the main plot device of those movies throughout each film since 2011 without telling you until much later that they were there? Marvel did with all but one of the six Infinity Stones that Thanos sacrifices everything for in “Infinity War.”
And does DC have anything that rivals the sheer perfection of this scene of Chris Hemsworth being the most bad*ss version of Thor I could ever ask for (cut to 2:55 in the video to see what I’m talking about)?
No’s all around? Yeah, Marvel’s better.
…
Watch the trailer for “Avengers: Endgame,” which broke and now holds the world record for most views of a video in 24 hours with 289 million. The previous record holder was the “Avengers: Infinity War” trailer with 230 million. “Endgame” arrives at theaters on April 26.
Watch the trailer for “Captain Marvel,” which hits theaters March 8.
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