Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

[3bitz]

I am a giant fan of both the DC and Marvel Universe. And have been for a very long time. It kinda bothers me though that the DC guys are not making enough strides with their super hero movies. Batman has been reinterpreted and is their staple franchise these days and Superman as well. But there are other heroes that could be looked at for future films. Marvel will be releasing not one,not two,but three giant sized sequels ( Ghostrider,Spider-Man,and The Fantastic Four) this year to DC's none. I am not complaining that marvel is cachinging it up, I'm just wondering when DC's going to catch up. Right now seems to be the perfect generation to unleash movies because the record shows this. But soon super hero movies will fade in Hollywood and DC will be too late.
On another note I am glad to hear about the upcoming effort of a Justice League Movie.They tried having a live action JL tv show before and it didn't get past the pilot episode. I think that with the limited budget the special effects was too much to overcome. I know that Marvel was sucessful at putting together hero movies before, but, putting heroes that are iconic like Flash, Man Hunter,Green Latern(anyone of the GL guys) Wonder woman,Superman is a mean task. Thats why Marvel is just now trying to put the Mighty Avengers together for a movie real soon. But it doesn't mean it can't be done.

[Cebby]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

Because Marvel characters have originality, while DC has Batman. DC isn't really what's going on.

[Quick6]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

You have movies on the only 2 marketable heroes they have, Superman and Batman. Deal with it. At least Batman is awesome.

[Goffs]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

^^ yep the only two characters worth watching IMO...though a wonderwoman movie would be good (get a hot brunette with a rope then you have a potential bondage movie lol)

[SPTO]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

I believe that it's because while Marvel is now somewhat corporate the PTB actually get the comics industry and the whole idea of synergy.

DC on the other hand has been a corporate entity within WB since 1969. The company has been overrun by suits who have no clue how to market comic books outside of the core audience. At least now they seem to have some generally good comics ppl running the show but really DC has been crippled by the crap of Superman 4 and the last 2 Batman Films before the relaunch.

Marvel has a seperate film division with close ties to the comic side of the company which has allowed generally more creative films that are truer to the source material.

To the defense of WB tho, at least they're now trying to get things off the ground with a strong movie side with Batman and Superman. The Flash is going to have a film, Watchmen which while not DC proper is within the company and that film is in production. A JLA film is in the works and I believe a Wonder Woman film would do well.

It's just going to take a lot longer because DC/WB have just NOW started to recognize what movies can do for the company. Remember when Marvel started out they went with baby steps too. I predict within 5 years DC will have a steady output but not nearly the constant stream of films like Marvel has right now.

[Quick6]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

Marvel just flat out has better heroes, hell Spiderman alone is bigger than all of DC's guys combined. DC doesn't even have the 2nd best roster, Image has em beat with Spawn (though the ball was dropped on that terrible Spawn movie). It's sad when DC villains are better than the heroes (sans Batman).

[SPTO]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

Marvel just flat out has better heroes, hell Spiderman alone is bigger than all of DC's guys combined. DC doesn't even have the 2nd best roster, Image has em beat with Spawn (though the ball was dropped on that terrible Spawn movie). It's sad when DC villains are better than the heroes (sans Batman).

Er....well according to the sales from February and it's indicative of the overall trend this is the market share in the industry right now:

Marvel: 51%
DC: 36%
Image: a paltry 2.5%

The Big Two make up 87% of the market share for the top 300 comic books in February!

Hmm let me see if I can find the 2006 numbers...Can't find the market share numbers but there is a report with hard numbers if you're interested.

Also DC villians are better then the heroes? OK um Superman's rogues are nothing to write home about compared to Supes (except Luthor), Flash's rogues have been a joke for years til Geoff Johns had a run with the character and revitilzed his rogues gallery, Green Lantern...don't know too much about his rogues but Sinestro the last time I saw him was basically just an Evil GL.

I could go on and on.

The problem with DC's heroes is that they have feet of clay. The main heroes are way too iconic for the average Joe to relate with. (except Batman tho the last 15 years he was turned into a psychotic freak) Marvel has always been better about humanizing their heroes and making them relatable besides, it's all cyclical 15 years ago DC was the top dog and people were actually worrying about the future of Marvel.

The pendulum has just swung to Marvel's side since oh i'd say 2000. I bet by the end of the decade things will look better for DC.

[jmood88]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

Because Marvel characters have originality, while DC has Batman. DC isn't really what's going on.

Seriously. DC's characters are terrible.

[Shaver]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

DC has heros with merit... Marvel certainly has a more human element to their characters... but you could definately do a lot with DC. I personally think they are afraid to take chances. I'd love a real dark take on Green Arrow. Entourage asside... I think Aquaman is a makable movie. The Question... one of my faves... would be a great movie. The Watchman... which was technically released under the DC logo... is in casting and pre-production (finally!!!).

I think Marvel has missed as often as they've hit in the recent past (Xmen and Spidey = Good --- Hulk and Fantastic Four = Not so much).

[Skerik]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

Weren't they making an Aquaman movie with Keifer Sutherland? I think that was in the planning stages before 24 took off....

Why they haven't made a Green Lantern movie is beyond me, as he's one of my favorite superheros of all time and his backstory is actually really cool. Green Arrow is another great choice who could even be rolled into a Green Lantern / Green Arrow movie like the old crossover comics. They have the Justice League, they have Wonder Woman, the Flash....that old Flash TV series was actually pretty good back in the day.

Just because they don't have characters out the wazoo like Marvel does doesn't mean they don't have good characters. I personally feel like the Marvel Universe is getting a little overcrowded and oversaturated these days, kind of like the sports card collecting hobby is caving in upon itself because there's so much damn stuff out there to collect. More doesn't always mean better.

As for the Watchmen movie, part of me is hoping it never gets made. The graphic novel is amazing and I don't think there's any way they can do it justice on the big screen. Especially after seeing them ruin LXG....

[Shaver]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

Watchmen will be feast or famine. It will either be the best "comic book movie" of all time... or it will be **** on film. There won't be a middle-ground. The most important thing is to not **** it up by trying to take it out of the time and setting of the book. I'm looking forward to it. In fact, I'm using the one still of from Watchmen the '300' preview as my background on my work PC.

[Skerik]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

The more I think about why DC has problems on the movie front, the more it all comes down to villains. The quality of the Marvel heroes vs the DC heroes is debatable, but Marvel absolutely kills DC on the villain front. Look at the only two successful DC movie franchises - Superman and Batman. Superman has Lex Luthor and Batman's cast of villains is possibly the best in all of comics. Outside of those two however....nothing. Green Lantern's nemesis is Sinistro, whom nobody with a casual appreciation for comics has ever heard of. Green Arrow - who's his nemesis? Aquaman? The Black Manta, maybe. Wonder Woman? The Flash? All the villains absolutely suck.

Contrast that with Marvel. Fantastic Four? Dr Doom. Spider-Man has a cast of villains to rival Batman's on the DC side. X-Men? Magneto and the Brotherhood. Even relatively minor heroes like Daredevil have great villains like the Kingpin. But DC is seriously lacking on the "identifiable nemesis" front for almost all of its heroes. That, imo, is why they can't make movies. Because they'd all turn out like the Hulk, or like Ghost Rider, or like Elektra, where the hero is fighting some unknown person or persons that nobody cares about.

[aukevin]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

I think the best bet for a new franchise would be Green Lantern. He does have a great back story and I'd really like to see a movie about him. The only problem for me would be that I'm sure they would start at the beginning of Hal Jordan's story, but that leaves out some really cool characters like Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner. If they could get a franchise out of Jordan it would be awesome to see the rise, fall, and rebirth of him, and that would also give time to bring in Gardner and Rayner. Sinestro would be a cool villain, but there are other cool DC villains that could be used like Deathstroke. I would like to see Alan Scott and John Stewart in the movie as GL's also, but I really don't care for them that much, I just would want the movie to show that Green Lantern is part of a bigger Green Lantern Corp, not just a single hero on Earth.

I wouldn't really be too excited for a Flash movie. I'm sure there are big fans of his, but there's not much interest for me of him outside of a team group.

Green Arrow could be a cool movie because people seem to like the non-superpowered guys, so he'd fit in there. His attitude could really lead to both a gritty and humorous movie.

I still wonder how DC can make a modern Wonder Woman outfit work in a movie. It looks fine in comics because it can be drawn just right in all scenes, but in a live action movie I really think it would look silly. If they could somehow adapt of costume of someone like Black Canary to a WW outfit, it could work. I also would rather see a WW movie made in Themyscira rather than having her fighting crime in a major US city.

As for a JLA movie, that would be great, but I'd rather see one on a team like the Outsiders or Teen Titans. The Outsiders could be a really gritty, tough movie and Teen Titans could be a little more lighthearted, but hopefully they wouldn't make it campy. There are some really awesome characters in both of those teams.

I think there are some good villains out there to use. Superman still can use Brainiac, Zod and company, Darkseid, and Bizarro. Of course Batman has a big and probably the best rouge list as anyone. But some like Solomon Grundy could be used against any hero. Deathstroke is awesome. Intergang is always useful as a tool of a major enemy. But people are right that outside of Supes and Batman, it is hard to get a really identifiable villain to appear. I think that is a real problem because a couple Marvel movies I didn't like suffered from the same thing: Hulk and Elektra. But I think some of DC's B-list villians are just as good for movies as some of Marvel's villains like Kingpin and Sandman.

I think DC's best bet for another franchise would be Green Lantern though. Hal Jordan can bring lots of story elements, you can have both Earth and space adventures, and I personally like movies where there are more than one hero in it with the main character and there are plenty of GL's out there for that.

If they get a Watchman movie out, that would be great. I also think DC has been really successful in the TV market starting with Batman and Superman animated series. Those led to successful series of Justice League, Teen Titans, and Legion of Superheroes. I think Teen Titans and Legion are too kiddy, but they are successful for what they are meant for. Now they are making a animated Death of Superman DVD which will be great. Marvel's 3 recent animated movies that I've seen have been really good and it looks like DC is jumping in on that as well.

[NovaStar]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

I read both DC and Marvel coming up, and I must say by far marvel has the best heroes. You can start from Spidey and work your way down to Conan, Kull etc..DC characters are too square (although that batman begins movie was great.) I remember when Dr. Strange was a made for t.v. movie (I was young but I faintly remember it, this was like back in the late 70's).

To me the only hero that came close to a marvel hero on the DC side was my man, Firestorm(the guy with the hair of fire) he could change the molecular structure of things etc... As stated above, marvel characters have a more human feel to them, and have everyday problems that many could relate to. I think Marvel artists (John Buscema's conan was untouchable) and writers were better.

Man, I miss the old luke cage, Iron fist days and captain marvel(the one where the guy would bang his two bracelets together to turn into captain marvel). DC has nothing that even remotely comes close to the Silver Surfer. Yeah, Marvel heroes are just more engaging and therefore their characters translate to movies better.

[Shaver]

Re: Why is DC so slow to make super hero movies?

I was a huge Firestorm fan. Not sure he plays as well these days... but I had any book with Firestorm in the day. The only problem was they kind of cheekied him out when they took him to cartoon form.

I would love to see a movie on the old Wolfman and Perez "New Teen Titans" books.