Marvel V DC

Marvel and DC are two of the most famous global comic book brands and they have now extended their entertainment into films.

My discussion in this article is on the impact of Marvel and DC to the global and local contexts into many various micro and macro level areas.

Many of Sri Lankan fans like myself have not exposed to the comic books but I can guarantee are big fans of the films.

Recently since 2016 and 2017 Comic-con event has been organised in Sri Lanka, exposing fans into many dimensions like reading comic books, cosplaying, buying merchandise and showing homage through art or other medias.

DC Comics is owned by Warner Bros. It was founded in 1934. It's headquarters is located in Burbank, California, United States.

Marvel Comics is owned by Marvel Entertainment, LLC. It was founded on 1939. It's headquarters is located in New York, United States.

DC Comics and it's major, longtime competitor Marvel comics (acquired in 2009 by the Walt Disney company, Time Warner's [ Warner Bros.] main competitor) together shared 70% of the american comic book market in 2016.

In August 2016, Marvel held a 30.78% share of the comics market, compared to it's competitor DC Comics 39.27% share.

Since like many Sri Lankans, I prefer to discuss the cinematic universe because like many I've always been a cinephile.

The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are american media franchises used centered on superheroes and comic books published by there name.

MCU is a shared universe that is centered on a series of superhero films, independently produced by Marvel studios and based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. DCEU is also a shared universe that is centered on a series of superhero films, distributed by Warner bros. pictures, based on characters that appear in publications by DC Comics.

After the release of The Avengers in May 2012, Tom Russo of Boston.com noted that aside from the occasional "novelty" such as Aliens vs. Predator (2004), the idea of a shared universe was virtually unheard of in Hollywood. Since that time, the shared universe model created by Marvel Studios has begun to be replicated by other film studios that held rights to other comic book characters. In April 2014, Tuna Amobi, a media analyst for Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services, stated that in the previous three to five years, Hollywood studios began planning "mega franchises" for years to come, opposed to working one blockbuster at a time. Amobi added, "A lot of these superhero characters were just being left there to gather dust. Disney has proved that this [approach and genre] can be a gold mine." However, with additional studios now "playing the mega franchise game", Doug Creutz, media analyst for Cowen and Company, feels the allure will eventually die for audiences: "If Marvel's going to make two or three films a year, and Warner Brothers is going to do at least a film every year, and Sony's going to do a film every year, and Fox [is] going to do a film every year, can everyone do well in that scenario? I'm not sure they can.

The above is a market and economic perception of the relevant Marvel and DC film's impact to the film industry.

Culturally and socially there is a strong fan following globally for both franchises and I believe it can be evident in Sri Lanka due to the love for these films in the local context. And even independent global filmmakers also attempt to penetrate the film through superhero genre's. Even bollywood and russian films have extended into this genre.

Overall this two battle among the franchises have been able to transform an industry impacting globally changing economic, social and cultural paradigms.

References

Images

·         Marvel Comics (2017). Format: (Jpg.). Available at : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/MarvelLogo.svg (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

·         DC Comics (2017). Format: (Jpg.). Available at : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/DC_Comics_logo.svg (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

·         DC Films (2017). Format: (Jpg.). Available at : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a3/DC_Films_logo.jpg (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

·         Marvel Cinematic Universe (2017). Format: (Jpg.). Available at : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0c/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe_logo.png     (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

Websites

·         Wikipedia.com, Article title - Marvel Comics. [Online] Available at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Comics#Market_share (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

·         Wikipedia.com, Article title - DC Comics. [Online] Available at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Comics  (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

·         Wikipedia.com, Article title - DC Films. [Online] Available at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Extended_Universe  (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)

·         Marvel Cinematic Universe (2017). [Online] Available at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe#Cultural_impact (Accessed date : 9/3/2017)