A Tale of Two Studios

The year is 2018. Marvel Studios has just released the third film in the critically acclaimed Avengers series, Avengers: Infinity War. It smashed all-time box office records, and audiences can’t stop talking about its surprise ending. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become the most profitable film franchise of all time. It beat out other silver screen behemoths such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, and even James Bond. Meanwhile, Marvel’s only other rival in the superhero arms race, DC Studios, is stumbling in an effort to keep up. Its roster of heroes cannot stick the landing with audiences. Wonder Woman was a glimmer of hope, but one shiny apple does not make a bunch when the rest stink.

But it wasn’t always this way. Just ten years ago, you’d think that DC would’ve come out on top. Marvel was struggling, reeling from disappointing releases such as Spider-Man 3, Fantastic Four, and X-Men: The Last Stand. Fans were losing hope in Marvel — I would know, I was one of them. So what changed? Rather, when did Marvel start to pull ahead of DC? Two movies, Marvel’s Iron Man and DC’s The Dark Knight, provide some insight into this question. What about these two movies explains why Marvel and DC are in the positions they are today?

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is one of the top grossing films of all time, and rightfully so. I can still remember going to the midnight premiere in fifth grade. Tim Burton’s Batman was my favorite movie up to that point. Batman Begins, also directed by Nolan, was a perfect reimagining of the caped crusader. So, when the sequel to Batman Begins was released, you know I was pumped. The movie shattered my high expectations. I truly believed that if there was one superhero that could actually exist, Batman would be that superhero. That is a testament to Nolan’s skill as a writer and director. He made Batman believable.

It would be improper — no, irresponsible — to discuss The Dark Knight without at least mentioning Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker. Jack Nicholson was the last actor to play the notorious villain in a major motion picture, and many thought his performance could not be topped. The guy from Brokeback Mountain? No way he could even hold a candle to Nicholson’s Joker! That sentiment was reasonable before The Dark Knight’s release, but any doubt was blown to bits by Ledger’s haunting portrayal. Following the vein of realism, Ledger’s Joker was a guerilla terrorist, a fluid villain, seemingly uncatchable. Ledger’s death and posthumous Oscar only solidified his role as not only one of the greatest manifestations of the Joker, but as one of the greatest performances in recent cinema.

Meanwhile, Marvel was putting out the fires of its most recent cinematic catastrophes. It needed to take a risk on a fresh face, as Spider-Man and the Hulk were starting to get tired. Enter Iron Man. A lesser known hero, played by an actor that everyone thought had come and gone, directed by the guy whose claim to fame at the time was Elf. Superhero movies were getting darker and grittier. Why choose the guy whom everyone associated with Will Ferrell in tights? Why choose the actor whose arrest record and rehab history hung over his acting career? Additionally, Iron Man and Batman are basically the same: super-rich and empowered by their expensive gadgets. How did this movie work out so well for Marvel?

Focusing on character of Iron Man brought something new to the screen, while at the same time satisfying the need for superhero realism. One could credit Iron Man’s director, Jon Favreau, for bringing some of that charm from his older movies into this film. One could credit Robert Downey Jr. for giving a stellar performance, for truly becoming Tony Stark. All of these elements are reasons why Iron Man worked. Iron Man stuck to its guns, and it payed off. Audiences wanted realism, so we got Tony Stark: billionaire, genius, all-around smartass, but a character that is ultimately noble and extremely lovable. He wasn’t a superhero by traditional standards. Tony Stark’s superpower was his mind, no radioactive radioactive spiders or special mutations necessary.

While there are striking similarities between Iron Man and The Dark Knight, the differences between them are critical. Iron Man took the realistic approach, but only to an extent. Tony Stark is, at face value, a smart rich dude who wears his superpowers. Batman has this same advantage. The key difference is that Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark is much more enjoyable to watch than Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne. Tony Stark is wildly clever, sincere, and always has a funny quip up his metallic sleeve. Bruce Wayne is brooding, moody, and haunted by his past. Bale’s portrayal of “Bruce Wayne in public” as the airheaded, billionaire playboy has hints of Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, but he goes right back to brooding when behind closed doors. When audiences wanted gritty superhero movies, the angsty Bruce Wayne fit the bill, but it was unsustainable in the long run. By the final movie in the Nolan trilogy, we’re satisfied to see Bruce Wayne hang up his cape and cowl and let the less-jaded new guy take up the mantle.

Going forward, Marvel followed the Iron Man formula. With the whole world knowing Tony Stark’s secret identity, new problems had to emerge. With that simple “good versus evil” recipe, Marvel brought to life an entire universe of comic book heroes and villains. The movies, while rife with riveting conflict, never strayed into melodramatics. The films focused on developing sympathetic characters that audiences wanted to see succeed, challenge after challenge, movie after movie. On the other hand, DC decided to follow the formula that worked so well for The Dark Knight. It focused on making superheroes hardened by the heavy problems they dealt with. Watchmen, a film with mixed reviews, was released shortly after The Dark Knight. It contained even darker, more “adult” characters and themes. This pattern continued with Man of Steel, The Dark Knight Rises, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. By Batman v Superman, their attempts at more dramatic superhero stories seemed forced. They were trying too hard to be “edgy.” The final result of these different strategies can be summed up by the reactions of audiences in two “big moments” of two later films.

First, (Spoiler Alert) consider the death of Superman in Superman v Batman. Sacrificing himself for the greater good, Superman is pierced through the chest with a Kryptonite-tipped spear by a villain whose name is literally Doomsday. For every reason, this scene should be huge. But when the Man of Steel gets killed off, the “big moment” fell flat. Superman’s death should be shocking. He’s Superman, for crying out loud. His death should create shockwaves that register on the Richter scale, and audiences should leave the theater in a haze, asking themselves, “How the hell are they going to top that?” Unfortunately, we felt no shockwaves because his character didn’t demand it. His backstory was shoehorned in as a result of DC playing catch-up to Marvel’s well-established universe. Without sufficient character development, and thus no reasons to relate to or care about Superman’s death, I left that film with indifference. The scene failed to affect other audiences, too. Most of the internet was too busy making “Why’d you say Martha?!” memes to even mention the fallen Kryptonian.

Now compare that with the reaction of audiences to the “big moment” in Avengers: Infinity War. The big battle scene has just happened. It seems the Avengers have finally taken down the main villain. This time, the unstoppable bad guy is the one getting pierced through the chest. Then, Infinity War’s villain, Thanos, lifts his hand and snaps his fingers. In a flash, half of Marvel’s most beloved, well-established characters disintegrate. A movie with such an epic musical score becomes eerily silent. One by one, celebrated characters just fall away in clouds of dust. Cue shockwaves. Having seen it in the theaters, I can attest to the scene’s effect. The whole audience was in silent disbelief. That is how you do the “big moment.” That is how to bring darkness to a saga. We all walked out of the theater asking ourselves, “How the hell are they going to top that?”

While Marvel is racing ahead, each new movie an addition to their established universe, DC is stuck and must take a new course. Movies like Justice League and Aquaman are trying to cover lost ground. They replicate Marvel’s style by being lighter in tone and relying less on realism. But, let’s not forget how we got here. It can all be traced back to creative decisions made in Iron Man and The Dark Knight. These two set the tone for the movies that followed. Iron Man took the lighthearted and less realistic, but more relatable, approach. The Dark Knight relied on realism and drama. Marvel’s less dramatic approach was more sustainable. People quickly tired of the heaviness, or attempts at heaviness, of DC movies. It will be interesting to see how each studio goes forward, how their strategies will evolve. For now, Marvel looks like it will remain top dog. But who knows? Maybe DC’s risks will pay off like Marvel’s did. Maybe Aquaman, the hero most commonly known for his ability to talk to fish, is just the hero that DC’s reputation needs.

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