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Thread: Marvel or DC?
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2006-06-12, 11:36 PM (ISO 8601)
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Marvel or DC?
I'm curious as to which is read more by the folks of this thread, and why.
Personally, I favor Marvel. I read a few DC books, (Batman/Superman and Teen Titans, plus the occasional off series.) but I much prefer Marvel. Why? The Marvel Universe comes off as more real to me.
Everything seems hunky dorry in the DC universe, because short of some major villain, Superman and the Justice League can just fly in and end all the little wars. The heroes almost never seem to face any personal problems. Aliens come and go with impunity, and earth based heroes are counted on to portect the entire galaxy. Also, their crossovers seem a little silly to me. Identity Crisis was good, as it covered a major exploitation of villains by heroes, but Infinite Crisis just seems like a rehashing of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Must every DC attempt to fix their continuity problems involve so much work? Finally, Superman. Great character, but he makes everything and everyone else absolutely useless.
Marvel, on the other hand, puts efforts into their works that I don't find in DC. Mutants are harassed, out of fear and prejudice. Some people want to kill them because they're different, while other's want to kill them for their body parts. The government has no idea what to do, and reacts in twenty diffferent ways to everything. The characters are well balanced, with even the main powers, such as the Pheonix and Magneto, having limitations and mortality. Some people are invulnerable, some people are psychic, others make themselves cold, while still more make themselves hot. There's no one collection of amazing powers the way there is in superman.
Finally, their crossover series actually mean something. They aren't merely ways to retcon continuity, and each impacts the entire universe. A quick comparison if I may? Warning: Possible Spoilers!
Identity Crisis- Supers deal withmorals of brainwashing their villains to protect identities.
VS.
Secret War-Supers deal with morals of engaging terrorists at their own level, including acts of mass destruction to send messages.
Infinite Crisis-Supers deal with attempts to manipulate them into fighting each other.
VS.
Civil War-Supers deal with a public turned against them, the result of a single villain blowing up Stamford. Some think they should all give in and register, other's see the inherent danger in all that. Much depends on individual power level, but even some heavy hitters such as Captain America will be going against it.
House of M I left out, as it dealt mostly with the fate of Wanda Maximoff, Magneto's daughter and former Avenger. It had the lasting impact of removing the vast majority of the mutant population as well as affecting a few people's lives, but was not truly a global event.
So that's the topics folks. Debate, discuss, and please, keep it civil eh?Basilisk 6Pilot of the Thing
I'm not evil. My morals just aren't the same as society's.
On a one man quest to beat the Star Wars Universe, using nothing but simple, plain, ordinary logic. Score so far: Me 593 SWU 450
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2006-06-13, 12:28 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
both have benefits both have down sides
i loved the toned down superman in the animated serise but msot of the time he's too freaking ridiculous for anything but ridicule and sarcasim
love batman, but he always is a joke next to the Justice league
Flash...is just a rape of physics...and that i cannot stand
house of M was absurd, and we all know its lasting effects will be retconed and fixed (just like xorneto)
frankly it pisses me off whenever any omic book resorts to "REALITY IS ALTeRED AND REWRITTEN!!!!!" instead of doing the honorable thing and doing a reboot, or finding some way to work within continuity. any time you need to frag with reality (be it mutant powers, or superboy punching it till it rolls over and begs btw that is incredibly nonsequitor) and lets not forget the blow to Marvel's credability that is Gean Gray's "undying"... once was cute, because they had a damn good explanation for it, twice iffy but acceptable.... what is it a dozen times now? i'm amazed anyone really even bothers to notice, her death is treated like she just went off to buy coffee at the local 7-11...not here RIGHT now but give her a few minutes.
so since they have less of the mindless stuff i have to side with Marvel,
sadly there are characters which are just good
buisness man Luthor was great (animated is my favorite portrayal)
Batman and most of his characters are good, until frank miller made him a kidnaping rat eating sociopath.
magneto is the best...though the whole Xorn-magneto-xorn thing tries my patients...but its a better excuse then just letting Magneto chanel hitler so whatever.
point to Marvel...though i still miss classic stand alone issues myself
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2006-06-13, 12:56 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
Screw 'em both, it's all about Marble Comics ;D
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2006-06-13, 02:41 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
While I read a lot of Marvel Comics, I find a lot more of my "essential reads" that I look forward to the most is DC.
I find that MArvel focuses on humour a lot more than DC which isn't bad precisely, but a lot of the semi-funny books don't have much else going for them that makes it warrant a read, so it'd need to be VERY funny.
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2006-06-13, 09:42 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
Marvel, because Superman is a complete twink and Spiderman and most of the mutants are pure distilled awesome. (Going by the "Ultimate" series, anyway; old copies of Spiderman are more corny than the DC stuff being published at the time.)
Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos.
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2006-06-13, 11:16 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
I find that the Marvel heroes/heroines focus both on the good and the bad of their powers or lives and as such a much more interesting read. However, the heroes from the DC Comics make good movies (such as Batman Begins).
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2006-06-13, 11:27 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
I like marvel alot better. The characters are more human. DC had alot of trouble getting out of the silver age and still regress at times while marvel changes more rapidly.
I, for one, enjoyed it when spiderman got the new robotic costume. It showed that things can change for the better.
Remember when superman got all "electric"? that lasted like two days. Not to mention his death can't even stay. His death was an amazing thing, it showed that he wasn't invinsable and was human like everyon else. But once they brought him back, that was lost.
Also the avengers are awesome. I think that Vision is awesome and that Iron Man (Tony Stark) does the whole millionare playboy a million times better than Bruce Waine.
I realy love Dr. Strange as well.
Not to mention that Marvel Comics has the Epic Villians: Appocolips, Galactus, Onslaught, Shuma Gorath, Thanos (the f-ing infinity gauntlet!), Dormammu, Maddam Web, Mephisto, the list goes on with the big guns
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2006-06-13, 12:02 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
Marvel anyday. The only thing about DC I find I like is Batman, and even then they seem to like trying to screw him about.
Marvel gives us all the neato characters, like Doctor Doom, Spiderman, the X Men, The Fantastic Four. And as has been said, they are all shown to be human.
Besides, Marvel had all the cool cartoons and movies.
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2006-06-13, 12:27 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
Same here. I like Batman, but the X-Men are just so much awesome-er (is that a word?). That, and Marvel has Picard and Gandalf on their side.
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2006-06-13, 12:28 PM (ISO 8601)DeathQuakerGuest in the Playground
Re: Marvel or DC?
Although I was seriously cheesed off by Infinite Crisis and moreso that they decided to renumber Wonder Woman again while Superman and Batman get their old numbering back (meaning I will not buy it anymore).... I in general slightly prefer DC to Marvel.
This has nothing to do with anything other than the fact when I decide to pick up a DC title I have never read before or only read infrequently, I find myself much more able to piece together what is going on without having to consult fellow comic geeks/the Internet/other comics. Marvel comics in general drive me crazy because if I don't manage to get into the beginning of a story arc, I have no freaking clue what's going on or even, usually, who half the characters are (even if I may have read the title a few months past). Therefore, I've never really gotten into collecting Marvel comics because the few I pick up fail to pull me into the story, despite the fact that the characters and art are generally cool.
Otherwise, I find that Marvel's overall universe design is better, but DC writes their characters better and with more depth ("depth" as opposed to ridiculously unbelievable amounts of emo-trauma). (People who cite DC's characters as "vanilla" only prove the point that they actually don't read any DC comics.)
I've also found that Marvel seems to handle their major characters very strongly overall, whereas DC's not-as-mainstream characters are actually much better written than the "big guys."
So over all they end up balancing out.
For the record, the only comic I regularly collect at the moment is "Birds of Prey." This is not because it's a DC comic (in fact, since Infinite Crisis, despite the fact it's a DC comic) but because it is damn freaking good. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes martial arts action, excellent team-based storylines, clear and deep character development, and stories where the heroes have to deal with dark realities and choices. Enjoying watching beautiful, intelligent women kick butt is a plus. :)
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2006-06-13, 12:47 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
The older I get, the more and more I like DC material over Marvel. In my mind, Marvel has always been about razzle dazzle, they haven't strayed from it one step and I applaud them for keeping true to the their vision. DC, having been around longer, kept trying to change with the times, until the silver age when they finally started to get their act together. From about the middle of that age onward, DC has been a shop of substance and character.
Now, being young, we are almost always attracted to the Razzle Dazzle over Substance and Character. Heck, I was a marvel zombie for many years, bemoaning the drab artistic styles and wordy pages of DC comics over the fast paced and dynamic Marvel ones.
I probably began to see what DC had to offer not through the pages of their comics, but what they put on the screen (both large and small) when I saw Batman(1989) and I began watching Batman:TAS and got to see the Batman character as something other than campy 60's TV re-runs and a Superfriend. When I realized that I was enjoying episodes like "Appoinment in Crime Ally" as much as the showpieces like "The Laughing Fish," my Marvel zombie-tude melted away.
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy a well crafted Marvel tale (The first 1602 series was spectacular) but more and more, I'm picking up DC books to line my shelf these days.Let the Yaggle Gakkle-ing begin.
Beware! Beware!
All children of the 'ground
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2006-06-13, 03:19 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
DC. Marvel feels too much like a chaotic jungle; DC is more...archetypical?
Also, while the whole mutant thing was interesting at first, it got really, really old as far as I'm concerned.Saga of Soul: Not your Typical Magical Girl Story.
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2006-06-13, 03:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
I'll choose the third option thats more underground.
Your Fighter wants to Learn Reaving Strike...Which Move would you delete?
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2006-06-13, 05:01 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
Originally Posted by Foeofthelance
Marvel universe is much more coherent and the characters seem more real. Mind you the best Marvel is mostly from the eighties. The fairly recent stuff has been awful, but Joss Whedon's new take is excellent. If you guys have been put off by the new and odd stuff, check out the ones by Joss Whedon. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised (and this from somebody who thinks Joss is overrated and Firefly is just bad. The man can do Marvel).
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2006-06-13, 05:32 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
Personally, I think DC's too stuck in the past. I think that eventually (read- relatively soon, in my opinion) the Ultimate Marvel universe will supersede the 616 Marvel universe, because quite frankly the kids that are just hopping on board comic-dom are put off by the sheer immensity of backstory for every character within both the major comic companies; not to mention that pretty much every character has evolved so far beyond their orignal ideas to the point of being indistinguishable (I mean, BAtman's had 6 protege's in his career and Siperman is living in Stark Freaking Towers, and the whole Cosmic Spider thing...). Marvel is realising this and updating for the newer generation. I think DC is too archetypal, and is too happy to keep it that way.
DC are, in my opinion, sitting on their laurels too much.
My vote goes to (Ultimate) Marvel
Although, saying that, I do love Batman and some SupermanBrilliant Howler Avatar by Mephibosheth! HAIL! (I owe him a Divine Rank)&&&& Daveth
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2006-06-13, 08:44 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
DC, because of Superman. Superman is the best!
I know that's not a coherent argument. I promise I'll stop by and explain why Superman is the best comic book character I have ever read.
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2006-06-13, 10:02 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC
I'm going to go with DC.
I know there's the argument that Marvels more real, but to me Marvels always seemed so…Well...soap-opera really.
Don't get me wrong Marvels awesome, Magneto is by far my favorite comic book Character out of both worlds, but here are a few reasons I prefer DC. (for my purposes I'm going to stick with superman, otherwise this is going to go on for pages)
case1superman: Just a beautiful, well thought out peice: A super being arriveing from space, escaping his planet that was doomed by his own peoples Obsession with perfection and control. He doesn't, however, become a complete orphan. He embraces his new world as it embraces him (showing us that it doesn't matter what you are or where your from, what matters is that you love and accept where you are, and who you are now.*awww* A lovely thought.)
The fact that he can be destroyed/weakened only by his original home (Kryptonite, from Krypton) seems, in some way, very poetic to me. He is balanced by the very thing that made him great on earth: his own planet.
case2 Lex Luther: A great villain. He shows smarts, he shows that superpowers aren't the end all be all.
The embodiment of greed, jealousy, unjust anger, Luther reminds us of our human flaws, because he really is just that: Pure Human. Totally Mortal.
Maybe that's why he's such a popular villain. He's the little bit in all of us that just loathes those that are "higher" than us, the rebel that's gonna bring that little smartass down. And the fact that he, a complete mortal, is superman’s biggest threat means a lot more to me than if he were just some pumped up villain on steroids. Again, just beautiful well crafted ideas.
Case3 Lois Lane: Probably one the strongest Female character's out there. She doesn't need superpowers to kick some ass. She's a bloody super-mortal! The one Clark Kent see's as his equal, the only person who can intimidate The Superman! She doesn't really get caught up in that "wallow in self pity crap" as some female characters with superpowers do (I have to point out that even though I love X-men, that's my real beef with them. Some of those super heroines…jeeze. *shakes head* fricken get over it already! You've got bloody superpowers, I don't want your angst!)
However at the same time she's totally still a woman: She loves, she wins and fails. She feels, there is so much more to her than just "the damsel in distress". She's a Shaman that hasn't quite figured everything out for herself. If that's not real I don't know what is.
As a side note it should be recognized that Superman Should never have been brought back to life after he died. this was never part of the original plan (I hope), and was foolishly caused by idiot rabid fans who couldn't recognize that good things must come to a conclusion for them to remain good things.
As for the Justice league…psh. Baaaad Idea. Superman was meant to stand alone.
pheww... I don't think I forgot anything.
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2006-06-13, 10:03 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
Originally Posted by King Steward
I think the only Marvel comics I've ever read are some very early Spiderman compilations. Cohesiveness, realism, more "human" characters, yeah maybe, but that's not what I read comic books for. I much prefer DC's gloriously epic archetypes.Now if you don\'t mind, I am somewhat preoccupied telling the laws of physics to shut up and sit down.
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2006-06-13, 10:30 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
i like my superman semi-mortal honestly...takes some of the fun out if he can "defeat anything as long as he dons't hold back" well then, there's no real drama is there? superman just stops holding back enough to kick whatever ass needs to be kicked. i like him alot but i don't like the absurd he can destroy the universe power level he seems to be constantly inflated to. so i like some of the post crisis ones before he was inflated agian, and the animated series alot. however as good as he is lets not forget the down sides and crazy **** assosicated with him that makes some people prefer marvel
1) justice league...bunch of cry babies and morons really
2) super friends...same **** as justice league but now everyone's on stupid pills
3) masonry vision
4) time travel by flying around the earth really fast
5) altering reality by punching it
6) insane comics from the 50s and 60s, where jimmy, lana, lois always get powers/marry apes/ try to kill superman
7) Kyrpto the superdog...the super monkey, the super cat, the super platapus
8) supergirl dating a horse (i wish i mae that up)
((actually i think they claim the rebirth of superman was planed from the start...unlike gene Gray)).
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2006-06-14, 01:18 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
Originally Posted by Artisan
(Marvel's great, but they have too many crappy crossovers and crazy stories that you can get really mixed up with. Two people were writing new material for Captain America and he ended up being at two places at the same time.)
(Superman needed to die and stay dead instead of Superboy, because he's a damn powergamer.)Avatar by Threeshades!
- Hey, now, let's keep things professional. I'm not one of those disgusting biophiliacs.
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2006-06-14, 03:01 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC
Originally Posted by Caillach
I agree with most of what you said, except for too:
1)Bringing Superman back was DEFINITELY part of the original idea. And, I think most people had it figured out when he died.
2)Personally, I think the JLA is freaking awesome. Possibly my favorite series - and it MAKES SENSE that the heroes would team up to protect the world.Saga of Soul: Not your Typical Magical Girl Story.
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2006-06-14, 04:27 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
Yeah I can't really see Superman dying and not having him brought back. That'd be like Batman dying- I just somehow don't see it happening as it's such a big comic-seller.
Plus at the time, "returning from the dead" storylines weren't really overdone (in the DC universe at least).
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2006-06-14, 09:04 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
undieing is overdone in any comic
absolutly no one in comics ever stays dead savebuckyUncle benandJason Todd
oh i forgot the greatest nail in superman's grave
cross over with the Quicks Bunny
and you complain Marvel had confusing cross overs!?
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2006-06-14, 06:45 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC
Originally Posted by sun_tzu
It is a lazy lazy way to "shock" people, but Marvel is just as guilty when it come to this "bring back to life" thing.
As for the JLA well...
It's probably just my opinion but I really think that each hero should be in seprate worlds. Where's the wonder of Batman when he's placed next to Superman? And the whole idea of Superhero's makeing their own little "institution" thingy, well it sort of makes them less cool. They have to follow orders,They never bother with small crimes (cept Batman), they sorta become... ya know.."the man."
I've never really liked the whole Crossover idea mainly because the stories, and the main ideas each hero's original comics are lost in the termoil of too many hero's syndrome. If done well the Character dynamics are entertaining, and can hold some meaning, but the real idea of what each story was meant to represent isn't as strong. You loose the feeling of the original comics.
as for the whole "alternate reality thing" DC aint the only ones who do it.
"What If Thor and the Avengers Fought the Gods?"
Anybody remeber that one? What a load of tripe that was.
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2006-06-14, 07:22 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC
Originally Posted by Caillach
The introduction in question is loaded with information as to how the decision to kill him was made and how the story was fleshed out, but the important paragraph is this one:
Oh, of course he would survive - we weren't stupid! None of us wanted to write ourselves out of a job. Or worse, be labelled the people who really did end the Neverending Battle. We were storytellers. We had a story to tell. And it had an ending - right from the beginning!
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2006-06-14, 10:02 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2006
Re: Marvel or DC?
yes but the whatif things end right there...
DC introduced Hypertime which means that plot and histories are impossible to follow and there is no causality because things that really didn't happen can have an effect on the future or stuff like that.
an interesting idea for a sci-fi novel or series but just mucks up superheroism
i agree the DC packed full of heros things sucks, i think it started out intended to be self contained titles and later was merged into one universe. Batman should definitly be aloen in his own verse....
good question for batman though, is he 'the man" or does he fight for "justice" is he law or is he 'justice" if there was someone falsly imprisioned that he did not personally know, but he knew they were falsly imprisoned would he bother to help them as much as he bothers to fight crime??
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2006-06-14, 11:55 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
DC, but mainly because of the Vertigo line.
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2006-06-15, 12:14 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
I go with Marvel, the characters seem more like real people facing real
situations (sometimes). However, there are some very cool characters in DC (Green Latern, Dr. Fate, and Batman), although it seems as though Batman is going through a "god-like" phase right now. Or at least on the boards he is, with the excuse for his victory against this or that being "he could outwit so and so with enough planning time."
Bottom Line: Marvel for the win.Put on your tight pants cause here comes the future
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2006-06-15, 05:37 AM (ISO 8601)
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2006-06-15, 06:28 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Marvel or DC?
Vertigo and ultimate marvel get my pick.
But I've never read any superman comics or batman comics, so I'm probably not the best judge ;).