Since the release of Iron Man in 2008, Marvel has taken over the superhero movie industry. Its ability to make older comic book stories into major movies have led their characters to become household names. There are massive amounts of fans impatiently waiting for the next big movie to be released.
In the last decade, we have all heard the age old “DC Comics are better, but Marvel knows how to make movies” argument from everyone. This is credited to DC’s lackluster performance in the box office. Its movies often just don’t meet the expectations of moviegoers and fall short when compared to Marvel’s work.
However, DC does have the upper leg on Marvel when it comes to television. The CW has produced some amazing DC Comics television shows. With the release of Arrow in 2012, CW has built the ArrowVerse, a universe for DC shows on CW, that has led to multiple other shows. The Flash was added in 2014, Supergirl in 2015 and Legends of Tomorrow in 2016. The four shows work quite similarly to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They are all stand alone shows that take place in the same universe, but every year they have crossover events, like the Avengers movies. These shows have a strong fanbase that has lead Arrow into its seventh season this fall.
Marvel has tried to get into television with shows like Agents of Shield and its shows on Netflix. Agents of Shield has become a disappointment to a lot of Marvel fans. The show was made as an extension of the MCU after The Avengers because of the backlash from the death of Agent Coulson. While the first two season had compelling stories about government control and rebuilding after Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the rest of the season led arcs that had little to do with the MCU. The third can be explained away with the use of the helicarrier in Avengers: Age of Ultron but the show went completely off the rails after that. The plotline of seasons four and five made no sense in the MCU, beloved characters were pushed to the side and the lost its voice.
The Netflix original series were OK and only OK. Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist are all standalone characters with their own shows. But they come together in The Defenders. The shows have nothing too special and they don’t have the following that shows in the ArrowVerse have.
DC Comics might not have the best movies, but its production of TV shows have exceeded that of Marvel. It has found formulas that work, and it’s created shows that work in their own universes. The shows in the ArrowVerse have a great balance of stand alone plots and working in tandem with the bigger story. That is what is lacking from Agents of Shield and The Defenders. Agents of Shield and The Defenders are both apart of the MCU, but their plots make no sense with the MCU movies.
Zula Baterdene is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Let Zula know by tweeting emailing her at zb338617@ohio.edu.
