However, this success begs the question, who did better in 2018, was it DC or Marvel? Today, I'm going to answer that question by looking into some crucial areas in the companies and comparing them with one another to see who did better. Note that I will not focus on the financial aspect of those areas so whoever wins, wouldn't necessarily have made the most money. With that out of the way, let's get on with it.
VIDEO GAMES
- DC
In 2018, only two video games based on DC comics and its characters were released. They are, DC unchained for Android and IOS developed and published by FourThirtyThree Inc. and Lego DC Super-Villains for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developed by Traveller's Tales. Lego DC Super-Villains was given a 7.8 out of 10 by IGN and 8.5 out of 10 by Game Informer. The game received "generally favorable" reviews for all platforms except for Xbox One, which received "mixed or average" reviews, according to Metacritic. DC Unchained had got a 4.5 out of 5 rating in PlayStore and is described as another free-to-play mobile brawler that plays itself by Android Police.
- Marvel
Marvel has also released only two video games in 2018, which are: Marvel: Strike Force for Android and IOS published by FoxNext and Marvel's Spider-Man for PlayStation 4 published Sony Interactive Entertainment. Marvel's Spider-Man got a 8.7/10 on IGN and a 9.5/10 on Game Informer. Spider-Man received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator
Metacritic. Marvel Strike Force is a free-to-play turn-based role-playing mobile game the is really fun to play.
Metacritic. Marvel Strike Force is a free-to-play turn-based role-playing mobile game the is really fun to play.
WINNER - MARVEL
This one is really close. Both companies had released two games each and the reviews are somewhat the same. Nevertheless, Marvel's Spider-Man was more well-received by fans than Lego DC Super-Villains and Marvel: Strike Force is more popular than DC unchained giving Marvel the crown on this one. Therefore,
This one is really close. Both companies had released two games each and the reviews are somewhat the same. Nevertheless, Marvel's Spider-Man was more well-received by fans than Lego DC Super-Villains and Marvel: Strike Force is more popular than DC unchained giving Marvel the crown on this one. Therefore,
DC: 0
MARVEL: 1
LIVE-ACTION MOVIES
- DC
DC didn't really do much when it comes to superhero movies this year. The only live-action movie they had released is Aquaman. Regardless, the movie was a huge success, it is now one of the highest grossing superhero movies of all time as well as the highest grossing DC movie ever with over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. Granted, they didn't do much throughout the year, but they made sure to end it with a huge bang.
- Marvel
Where do I start? Marvel has released 5 live-action superhero movies in 2018. They started with the billion-dollar movie, Black Panther in February and went on to release the highest grossing superhero movie of all time in April, Avengers: Infinity War. After that, Deadpool 2 was released by Fox and Ant-Man and the Wasp was released to answer some questions Avengers: Infinity War left us with. The last Marvel live-action movie of the year was released by Sony and it was for a very popular character of the Spider-Man mythos, but only with a twist, Spider-Man is not there. All these subsequent movies didn't gross as much as Avengers: Infinity War or Black Panther, but they were smash hits in their own right.
WINNER- MARVEL
Was this even a competition? DC had only released one live-action movie in 2018 and even though it is the second highest grossing superhero of the year, it is still no match for all the movies Marvel had released. If only they had released more, maybe DC would stand a chance against Marvel's live-action movies. Marvel has been ruling the box office since the release of The Avengers in 2012 and they don't seem to be slowing down now. Probably, DC might stand a chance in 2019, but with the upcoming release of Avengers: Endgame, it seems unlikely that they would win in 2019. So, 2020 then maybe? Either way,
Was this even a competition? DC had only released one live-action movie in 2018 and even though it is the second highest grossing superhero of the year, it is still no match for all the movies Marvel had released. If only they had released more, maybe DC would stand a chance against Marvel's live-action movies. Marvel has been ruling the box office since the release of The Avengers in 2012 and they don't seem to be slowing down now. Probably, DC might stand a chance in 2019, but with the upcoming release of Avengers: Endgame, it seems unlikely that they would win in 2019. So, 2020 then maybe? Either way,
DC: 0
MARVEL: 2
LIVE-ACTION SHOWS
- DC
Apart from animated shows, DC also has alot of live-action tv shows. In 2018, they don't seem to be slowing down at all. With CW shows like The Flash, Arrow, Black Lightning, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl still running strong, DC also has other shows in various networks such as Gotham in Fox, the New live-action Titans in DC's new streaming service, DC Universe and Krypton in Syfy, to mention but a few. These shows are very popular within comic books fans as 7 out of the 10 Most popular superhero tv shows came from DC, including nos. 1 to 4, 6, 7 and 9. They are, (arranged as mentioned above), The Flash, Titans, Supergirl, Arrow, Gotham, Legends of Tomorrow and Black Lightning.
- Marvel
Recently, Marvel seems to be doing very well in the live-action tv shows section in contrast to how they were initially. With the introduction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008, Marvel has tried to cash in on the franchise's success by creating tv shows that are based on the same universe. Those shows include, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, The Runaways and Cloak and Dagger. Other shows outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe that are also quite popular include, but not limited to, Legion and The Gifted, which are set in Fox's X-men Franchise.
WINNER - DC
Marvel has been playing catch-up when it comes to their superhero tv shows and the success of the MCU seems to only be in the movie. Although the shows are doing quite well, they are no match for the CW Arrowverse shows. Even the New DC Universe's dark and gritty show, Titan seems to be doing very well comparably. As mentioned earlier, The Flash, Titans, Supergirl and Arrow are the top 4 most popular shows of 2018. And that is why......
Marvel has been playing catch-up when it comes to their superhero tv shows and the success of the MCU seems to only be in the movie. Although the shows are doing quite well, they are no match for the CW Arrowverse shows. Even the New DC Universe's dark and gritty show, Titan seems to be doing very well comparably. As mentioned earlier, The Flash, Titans, Supergirl and Arrow are the top 4 most popular shows of 2018. And that is why......
DC: 1
MARVEL: 2
ANIMATED SHOWS AND MOVIES
- DC
In 2018, DC had released the following animated movies, Gotham By Gaslight, Batman Ninja, Scooby Doo and Batman: The Brave And the Bold, Suicide Squad: Hell To Pay, Death of Superman, Lego DC Superheroes: The Flash and Teen Titans Go! To Te Movies. The movies, Gotham By Gaslight and Batman Ninja are Elseworlds Batman stories and the both got 80% and made 3.5 million each. Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay and the Death of Superman are the New additions to the DC Animated Movie Universe with the former introducing the Suicide Squad into the universe. While Lego DC Superheroes: The Flash and Teen Titans Go! To The Movies are lighthearted DC animated with the former being the last one to be released in the year and the latter a movie based on the DC TV Show, Teen Titans Go! As for their animated TV shows, Teen Titans Go!, Teen Titans (2003-2006) are part of the top 15 most popular animated shows of 2018 with the latter getting the no. 14 spot and the former getting the no. 9 spot despite the fact that it is no longer running.
- Marvel
Last year, Marvel had only released two animated movies, Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors and Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse. On one hand, Marvel Rising didn't get a lot of buzz so it wasn't very successful. On the other hand, Marvel had released the best Spider-Man movie till date in animated form. The movie is regarded as one of the best superhero movies of all time with a rotten tomato rating of 97%. It has even been nominated for an Oscar for the best animated feature of the year. As for their shows, the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series is still running strong and so is the Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors animated series. But they are not as popular as the series by DC.
WINNER - DC
It's really no surprise here, DC has always reigned supreme when it comes to animation and their success this year proves it once more. Even though Marvel released one of the best animated superhero movie ever, they are still no match for DC's plethora of animated movies and tv shows. Thus,
It's really no surprise here, DC has always reigned supreme when it comes to animation and their success this year proves it once more. Even though Marvel released one of the best animated superhero movie ever, they are still no match for DC's plethora of animated movies and tv shows. Thus,
DC: 2
MARVEL: 2
MARVEL: 2
The next section will break up the tie.
COMIC BOOKS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS
- DC
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Alot of ground-breaking comic book stories were released by DC in 2018. DC had the best-selling comic book of the year with Action Comics #1000. They also had two other comic books in the top 10; Batman #50: The Wedding on no. 3 and The Batman Who Laughs #1 on no. 10. Out of the top 250 best-selling comic book issues of 2018, DC had over 106 comic books in the list. As for their graphic novels, DC had the fifth, eighth and ninth best-selling graphic novels of the year with Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman, Batman: White Knight and Dark Knights: Metal Deluxe respectively. Batman #50 by Tom King, Mikel Janin and various artists was even picked as one of the best comics of the year by IGN.
- Marvel
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Marvel, on the other hand, finally beat Image comics, after the past decade, to have the best-selling graphic novel of 2018 with The Infinity Gauntlet. Unfortunately, it didn't have any other graphic novels in the top 10. As for the best-selling comic books, Marvel didn't have no. 1, but they have 7 out of the top 10 best-selling comic books with Amazing Spider-Man #800, Fantastic Four #1, Amazing Spider-Man #1, Return of Wolverine #1, Amazing Spider-Man #798 and Amazing Spider-Man #799 in nos. 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 respectively. Out of the top 250 best-selling comic books, they also had 128 comic books on the list. Two of their comic books were also picked by IGN as two of the best comic books of 2018. They are, The Mighty Thor by Jason Aaron and Russel Dauterman and Black Panther by Ta-Wehisi Coates and Daniel Acoña.
WINNER - MARVEL
DC comics did very well last year, but Marvel has to take this one. They had more best-selling comic books on the top 10 and top 250 lists. They also beat Image and DC comics to get the best-selling graphic novel of the year. That also had two of their comic books picked by IGN in contrast to the fact that DC had only one. Therefore,
DC comics did very well last year, but Marvel has to take this one. They had more best-selling comic books on the top 10 and top 250 lists. They also beat Image and DC comics to get the best-selling graphic novel of the year. That also had two of their comic books picked by IGN in contrast to the fact that DC had only one. Therefore,
DC: 2
MARVEL: 3
OVERALL WINNER:
MARVEL
In conclusion, both companies have done a lot last year and you would expect more in 2019. Just because DC didn't win this year doesn't mean they won't win next year. Just keep enjoying everything they release for you.
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