9 Reasons Why DC Really Is Better Than Marvel

Yep, we're actually doing this.

by Ewan Paterson
DC Comics/Francis Manapul

Are you a Marvel, or are you a DC? It's a question that's reverberated around the medium for decades, with comics fans the world over setting up shop at either the House of Ideas or at their Burbank-bound rival.

Then there are those - like this writer for instance - who have perfected the art of sitting on the fence. And why not? Both Marvel and DC have their own merits and flaws, with the former having pioneered the concept of flawed heroes existing in a world not all that dissimilar to our own, and the latter having created a truly fantastical universe that, for good or bad, lends itself well to the hyperbole of the medium itself.

Both DC and Marvel have presided over some truly amazing creations, storylines, and inter-medium exploits over the years, and with the Big Two being able to boast a bonafide bonanza of iconic characters, it's always felt as though they've been on an equal footing.

Now though? That kind of competition just doesn't exist, and while erring on one side of any debate would intimate a sense relief, or clarity, on this author's behalf, Marvel's comparative lack of strength is... disconcerting, to say the very least.

Now, when it comes to comics, DC are the better publisher, and have been for a while.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.