by Chris Snelgrove
| Published
For DC fans, it's been a tough few years. The DCEU has its fans (Snyder Bros., are you still pretending Rebellious moon Was it good?), but this failed cinematic universe has mostly been kicked in the teeth every year by the MCU. However, fans of heroes like Batman and Superman can take solace in one thing when arguing with Marvel fans: that DC has always had better animation, from groundbreaking TV shows to consistently great animated films. However, war is changing, qualitatively X-Men '97 And so is the hype around it Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man It means Marvel could become the new king of animation.
How the Marvel DC Animation War Began
The rivalry between Marvel and DC cartoon creators arguably reached its peak in the 1990s. Both companies have produced some notable cartoons before (e.g Spider-Man and his amazing friends For Marvel and Super friends to DC), but the nineties gave us X-Men: The Animated Seriesthe legendary animation that eventually led to the excellent X-Men '97. This offer and Spider-Man: The Animated Series It would have helped Marvel's animators dominate the entire decade if not for a little show called Batman: Animation series.
That Batman series built on the momentum of Tim Burton's excellent live-action films, and was popular enough that we got several spin-off films, including Superman: The Animated Series, Justice Leagueand Batman Beyond. All of these series existed in the shared DC Animated Universe, and ironically, the DCAU proved to be a game a lot A more successful cinematic universe than the subsequent DCEU. while marvel He went on to produce some fun stuff over the next few years (including a fan-favorite movie X-Men: Evolution), DC has maintained its reputation as the undisputed masters of animation with shows like Teen Titans and Young Justice Plus a series of great direct-to-video animated films.
How is the Marvel DC comics war going?
Considering that Marvel has spent decades getting its ass kicked by rival DC animation divisions, why do we think the house Stan Lee Built about to take that cartoon crown? For one thing, X-Men '97 He was better than anyone ever He hopes It could quickly establish itself as the best animated superhero show since then Batman: The Animated Series. While we've only seen a trailer so far, Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man It looks to continue Marvel's dominance in animation by telling smart, modern stories using an animation style that dates back to the earliest Web-Head designs.
Although Marvel's animators are starting to feel like themselves, DC's animation is failing to make the impact it once did. For example, the most recent “original” film was a two-part adaptation The guards This didn't resonate with fans, and even the film's biggest defenders will begrudgingly admit that this is yet another meaningless adaptation of Alan Moore's classic comic that fails to capture its original charm. However, the biggest mistake may be in reality Batman: Caped Crusaderan Amazon exclusive that everyone thinks will be a hit.
The show was created by Batman: The Animated Series Created by Bruce Timm and set in the 1930s, it caused a huge stir among critics: Continue Rotten tomatoesthe Caped Crusader received a 94 percent critical rating with critics. Although, it's worth noting that Popcornmeter shows that audiences give the show a 55 percent depreciation, with some fans not liking the major changes the series is making to characters like Harley Quinn and even Bruce Wayne. Others have taken issue with the poor animation, and it's hard to deny that this show isn't as great as Timm's previous work.
Meanwhile, Marvel X-Men '97 It was a huge success across the board, sparking strong rumors of a new, interconnected animated universe that threatened to leave DC's recent animation efforts in the dust entirely. Meanwhile, DC's best animator is back to try and imitate Magic Batman: The Animated Series It fell well below the mark. This is the year that will determine whether the live-action DCU will be a hit with movie fans, but when it comes to animation, audiences already have an old New Year's rallying cry: “Make me Marvel.”
