Marvel films vs. DC films

[twofisted]

The DC and Mattel discussion on the front page has been turning more into a movie discussion, which gives me an opportunity to throw this out there

Now i know i say it in almost every post i make. I'm a lifelong, die hard DC Comics fan of over 30 years. They're the first comic characters i was exposed to as a child and i've never grown out of them. Most times i love their product and i support them through the rough patches. Just want to preface everything with that before i get into the meat of my post.

Do any of you out there think like i do that DC characters just dont translate well into films?

I've seen many different discussions over the years about how Marvel characters are the flawed archetype...while the DC characters are the paragon archetype. With the exception of a few...Marvel characters are mainly rooted in reality. They're more ground level, Earth bound characters. I know there are exceptions, but by and large thats Marvel in my opinion. Just the fact that they are ground level, earth bound characters makes them more flawed from the get go. Throw in all the human failings that we all have and you end up with a character thats more relatable. I think this is what makes Marvel films so sucessfull.

Being a DC fan dosent prevent me from watching Marvel films. I've seen them all and i pretty much enjoyed them all. But seeing all these films and observed how all the characters in these films are grounded in reality just made me think about why DC has been so slow to put out films of their characters...and its that ground level, earth bound factor thats the problem i think

DC's stable of characters has always been described as a "pantheon of gods". Its tough for any of us to relate to gods. DC has a cast of characters that are so vastly overpowered that its tough to make a film that any of us can relate to. The only sucessfull DC films to come out in recent years is the Dark Knight franchise. But like Marvel characters...Batman is a flawed character rooted in reality at the street level. In that respect Batman is more of a Marvel character than a DC character.

I didnt have a problem with Superman Returns. I took it for what it was...Bryan Singers love letter to Richard Donner. Superman is a tough character to relate to. With all his vast powers, its difficult to put him into a story where he isnt always going to come out on top. Theres never a sense of danger. Superman Returns was pretty much a superhero chick flick. Perhaps that was Singers attempt to depower Superman a bit. He tried to show audiences what a would would be like without Superman and how life went on without him. BUT...Superman is a superhero...you cant have a movie with Superman in it and not even have a punch thrown. He stopped a plane, he picked up a big rock, he found out he has a love child. Not a good showing for Superman

Green Lantern was an ok film. I was more excited by the Oa scenes than anything in the rest of the film. But when you boil GL down to his essence, he's got the most powerfull weapon in the universe. A ring that can do anything you can think up or put your mind to. WHen you have a character that can do anything with his power, its tough to wrap a compelling and relatable story around him.

Those are the handfull of movies DC has put out there. As far as the DC characters yet to be put into films...i think DC has an extremely difficult job ahead of them. I dont think depowering them will help. All that will do is alienate the die hard fans. I dont think making the Flash insecure about his powers, or making Aquaman an alchoholic will help either. I actually dont really know what will help.

Those are just my thoughts. I was wondering if any other DC fans out there have the same feelings. Even tho i would love to see every DC character have a chance at a move and i wish them all huge sucess. i just dont think its going to happen. The only scrap of hope of a new DC film is the Flash, and the last i've heard about that is that there's a "solid script".

[Bigbot84]

I think a DC film of the new Teen Titans would be cool. You have Robin/Nightwing to be your real world connection to the audience, Cyborg to be the tragic hero you can't help but root for, Beast Boy as comedy relief, Starfire and Wonder Girl as the strong characters in a role reversal where women are more powerful than men, and Raven to be what the plot can center around. The Teen Titans used to be analogous to the X-men, I don't see why DC hasn't capitalized on this yet.