So I'm currently reading Marvel Civil War. I'm quite enjoying it, and I am very interested in the premise. But what is striking me most about it is the difference between the A listers here and the A listers in DC.
These Marvel guys just seem to be at a lower level. They aren't examples or inspirations like DC's guys are. They seem more ordinary. I think that's why I'm a DC girl.
Captain America is so tied up with America I don't relate to him.
Iron Man is a rich, egotistical pillock.
Spider-Man is interesting. He always has been. He's the ordinary guy done good through his powers - he's got a lot in common with Superman, with his efforts to always do the right thing.
Thor is epic enough all right.
She-Hulk is a lawyer by day and has no secret ID. She's dead cool and all, but she doesn't seem A list.
T'Challa - now he's A list. I recently read some Black Panther trades and I adore Wakanda.
The X-Men are all angst and misery and oppression.
Dardevil, although famous and powerful and all, is a street crime fighter. Batman is a street crime fighter but Batman also works in the big leagues and has a wonderful extended family.
The young avengers - Wiccan and Hulkling and that, seem so D list.
Cloak and Dagger I do adore, but let's be honest, they will never be icons.
Captain Marvel I just don't like as a character.
Black Cat I love, but again she's not A-list, although from what I've read of her she is a great character and someone to aspire to be. I just like her.
Hawkeye is a less fun version of Oliver Queen. Younger and without the extended family.
I don't think there is a master detective in Marvel. Who would be the Wonder Woman analogue?
I like the Marvel books I'm getting, but DC is still the best for me.
These Marvel guys just seem to be at a lower level. They aren't examples or inspirations like DC's guys are. They seem more ordinary. I think that's why I'm a DC girl.
Captain America is so tied up with America I don't relate to him.
Iron Man is a rich, egotistical pillock.
Spider-Man is interesting. He always has been. He's the ordinary guy done good through his powers - he's got a lot in common with Superman, with his efforts to always do the right thing.
Thor is epic enough all right.
She-Hulk is a lawyer by day and has no secret ID. She's dead cool and all, but she doesn't seem A list.
T'Challa - now he's A list. I recently read some Black Panther trades and I adore Wakanda.
The X-Men are all angst and misery and oppression.
Dardevil, although famous and powerful and all, is a street crime fighter. Batman is a street crime fighter but Batman also works in the big leagues and has a wonderful extended family.
The young avengers - Wiccan and Hulkling and that, seem so D list.
Cloak and Dagger I do adore, but let's be honest, they will never be icons.
Captain Marvel I just don't like as a character.
Black Cat I love, but again she's not A-list, although from what I've read of her she is a great character and someone to aspire to be. I just like her.
Hawkeye is a less fun version of Oliver Queen. Younger and without the extended family.
I don't think there is a master detective in Marvel. Who would be the Wonder Woman analogue?
I like the Marvel books I'm getting, but DC is still the best for me.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI'm a Marvel fan, and don't know as much about the DCU, but I suspect you may be right about Marvel characters maybe being generally less powerful.
I pretty much just read X-Men, and the occasional Avengers storyline where the X-Men are also involved, but I know there are other series involving more cosmic-scale characters, like the Silver Surfer. I know that in his series (and maybe also the Fantastic Four?) there's a nigh-omnipotent baddie named Galactus, a huge being who needs to devour whole planets to sustain himself.
(I'm not entirely sure if the "lower level" you think Marvel characters occupy refers to power or moral stature. I guess I'm going with raw power in this comment, because I don't know enough about the wider Marvel universe, or the DC universe, to compare their moral underpinnings.)
There's also Doctor Strange, who is basically a wizard. I've only seen him a few times, but the impression I get is that he's very powerful, definitely A-list, and is the Marvel universe's designated Big Gun for anything involving magic.
The Scarlet Witch is another powerful magic-using character; she can rearrange the entire universe if she puts her mind to it.
There's also Jean Grey/Phoenix, though Jean Grey is dead and the Phoenix Force is (maybe?) dormant. Anyway, even when she's dead, Jean is a Big Deal in the Marvel universe, as people pretty much expect her to be resurrected and at full power at any point. I think she could definitely go toe-to-toe with Superman or Wonder Woman.
There are also other gods besides Thor. There's Ares, who is the Greek god of war, and there's Hercules, who is a demigod if not a god.
I'm not sure who you're referring to when you mention Captain Marvel - is it Carol Danvers, who used to be called Ms. Marvel, or is it a dude? Because Ms. Marvel is probably who I'd pick as Marvel's Wonder Woman figure, though she may not be as powerful as WW.
Not sure if Marvel has a super-detective like Batman. Daredevil might fit, and maybe also the Punisher, though he is much more of an antihero than Batman is.