No Right Answer: Best Comic Book Universe Ever

[Lunar Templar]

barely making it past the intro here and i already disagree.

once again, Gold Digger ...

(edit)

finished watching, answer is still the same

 

[Kenjitsuka]

Marvel as comics. DC wins with their animated series from the 90's!!!!

 

[Vortigar]

Marvel has the more cohesive overall universe. They've never fully rebooted it and you know the basic backstory of most characters. DC has a lot of vagueries that they've tried to clear up with their latest reboot (what is it five times now already? Crisis, Infinite Crisis, Crisis on Infinite Earths plus the original universe?) but stuff has already turned sour. So Batman has been working for only 6 years, but he's got a 12 year old kid from after the time he became Batman? That f up was quick DC, it only took you 3 months of comics to fall flat on your face there. Marvel simply forgets about the stuff that didn't work and leaves the greatest hits as the back story. The only time that failed is in One More Day.

DC has the better individual stories because their characters are mostly these solid archetypes and thus lend themselves easily toward a more symbolic arc that allows them to put forward more philosophical or poetic points.

As for characters. Marvel has a massive advantage with the X-Men roster here. DC was never able to get a really good team book going, their characters work best alone. They also flunked the Wildstorm integration by smearing Stormwatch and the Wildcats out over different teams. Still, trying to find the best character is tricky, for me the mainline heroes are a given so Supes, Batboy, Spiderbrat and Wolveryuck (God I hate that dude)are not going to be deal breakers they all have their appeal and are awesome when written well. So the difference has to come from the second bench and this is where I hit a snag. It's a toss up whether I like Dr Strange or Wonder Woman more (both greats in their good days but have been lingering around for a long time with nothing of note coming out, current WW is pretty good though). Power Girl or She-Hulk (I really couldn't say)? Iron Fist or Batwoman?

I used to be a massive Marvel fan and overall their universe feels more complete to me but those stories weigh more heavily. In the end you're still meant to read this stuff and DC has the better end of the stick there. So DC wins by a slight margin (I've got more Marvel books at home but currently I'm mostly reading DC).

I don't really care though, I pick and choose the good arcs left and right when word of mouth reaches me across the internet.

Which reminds me, are there collected editions of Damage Control out there? That stuff was brilliant.

 

[RJ 17]

Hmmm, seems at the end of the episode you're instigating a flame-war between two hardcore "nerd" fanbases...isn't that against the Escapist rules?

OT: My vote goes to Marvel mainly because I think, as a whole, the cast of characters is a lot stronger than the cast of characters for DC. That said, I believe DC has the best villians...and by "DC" I mean Batman.

But if for no other reason, DC gave us Aquaman, and that's why they lose this one.

 

[makmende]

Marvel all the way! Characters are more likeable and are not as overpowered and omnipotent as DC characters. Batman and maybe wonderwoman and teen titans are the only enjoyable DC characters. Marvel has x-men, avengers, spider-man and deadpool and all of them have different powers and abilities and personalities ranging from bloodthirsty mercenaries to charismatic scientist and space gods. Most of DC Heroes are bulletproof gods who can fly and punch a planet in half and only their banal weaknesses ( yellow color, fire , kryptonite, getting tied up by a man,weaknes to all natural and unprocessed materials, over reliance on water) is what sets them apart/

 

[Apothecary2]

If I have to pick from the Big 2, I'd go with Marvel. Better characters almost always translates to better story


All publishers in play? Image Comics

Bomb Queen, Chew, Invincible, The Walking Dead, to name just a few

That is not a universe, just a publisher.

 

[Trishbot]

Here's my problem with BOTH Marvel AND DC...

At one point, this was my favorite superhero comic:

Great character, great supporting cast, great villains... and then DC killed him off.

Later, this became my favorite superhero:

Great character, great supporting cast, great stories... and then DC killed HIM off.

Well, then this guy became my new favorite superhero:

Marvel got cold feet about him and killed HIM off...

Then I grew to like this guy:

Then Marvel killed him and replaced him with a dubstep-loving annoying little teenage version that nobody wanted...

Who else have I loved growing up reading comics?

DC erased him from their universe.

Her too.

Sure, X-men characters die and come back all the time... unless you're Jean Grey...

Oh yeah, my second favorite X-men character is also still dead.

I think you get my point...
I stopped being invested in ANY comic universe because every time I get attached to a character, both companies decide to kill 'em off for several years, sometimes permanently, rather than doing something much more sensible like having them just go off, retire for a bit, or do anything other than slamming the door shut on other creators to use unless they pull the eye-rollingly tired "just bring 'em back from the dead" trope that has made all death meaningless in comics (except for all the heroes I apparently like, who mostly all still remain dead...)

 

[Dak_N_Jaxter]

MARVEL.
I like Batman and the Teen Titans show, and as a kid I watched the New Adventures of Lois and Clark, but I'm generally unenthralled by the DC universe.

 

[Rellik San]

Third option;

2000AD, the British fore runner in the world of comics, and whilst granted writers like Abnett, Gaiman and Moore all have done works for the big 2, without 2000AD and without them consistently returning to 2000AD and it's passion for the out there creativity they undoubtedly wouldn't be as popular as they are;

2000AD top reads:

Judge Dredd,
Nikolai Dante,
The Ballad of Halo Jones, (which deffo comes across as a strong pre-cursor to the work Adam Warren would do on the Dirty Pair and later his own Empowered series.)
ABC Warriors,
Strontium Dog,
Slaine,
Sinister Dexter,
Atavar,
Kingdom,

And of course the long running one shot stories known collectively as; Future Shocks.

However for consistent universes, it's established that Dredd, Strontium Dog and ABC Warriors are all in the same universe, not to mention; DREDD BEAT THE MOTHER FUCKING BATMAN DOWN YO!

 

[crazyburnerboy8]

Image (but mostly for Chew) other than that DC because it also has Vertigo as well and they cross over all the time (see new 52 swamp thing)

actually gonna change my vote

VERTIGO

 

[RedDeadFred]

My opinion can't count for as much on this since I haven't read any of the comics but going strictly off of the movies/TV shows I've seen, I'd have to give it to DC. Although it's pretty even and I'm pretty hyped about them right now because of how much I liked the Arrow season finale (seriously that show got a lot better as it went on IMO).

 

[Whodat]

I like Image Comics what with Spawn, Walking Dead, and Invincible; though Dark Horse is a close runner-up because of Hellboy and the old AvP comics.

Spawn has always been my favorite character because of his sheer badassitude, though it does get ridiculous at time (giant robo-gorillas and trash monsters), I feel like it has some genuinely deep moments like the issue where he tries to save the two kids in Alabama and where he saves a family from the KKK.

Walking Dead is also very, very good and depressing, and uplifting, and funny, and so many others.

I just feel that Image's policy is very versatile, and its sub-company's stories are also very popular.

 

[Trishbot]

Then I grew to like this guy:

Then Marvel killed him and replaced him with a dubstep-loving annoying little teenage version that nobody wanted...

Well he's not dead, he's trapped in the Cancer Verse (a plot point Bendis and crew feel like ignoring) but your point still stands

To be fair, yeah, they gave themselves an "out", but every comic that's come out keeps saying he's dead and sacrificed himself, and nobody has explained why Thanos and Star-Lord are running around and got out of the Cancerverse but Richard didn't.

But we'll see. Marvel was hyping up the new Nova as "the next big thing" but his book is selling less than the prior Nova did at the same point. And, yeah, comic book logic of "no body, no death", but history has proven unkind to all my other favorite heroes. It took them nearly 10 years to confirm that Azrael was dead...

 

[Tisiphone1]

Between the two? Marvel, hands down. Of course, I actually like all the cosmic stuff you guys don't seem to. I thought Annihilation was one of the best crossovers in a while.

If any universe is fair game though, think I'm throwing that to Image comics and the Top Cow Universe. My subscriptions to the Marvel books shift around as teams come and go, but there's a line on my pull sheet that just says "All Top Cow".

Then I grew to like this guy

Totally with you. That Nova run was one of the best of any I've ever read and the art was fantastic too. I was sad when it ended. But the good news is Richard Rider isn't Jean Grey (Grrr...), so he should roll back around eventually (I'm still hoping he takes over for the stupid kid).

 

[shieldheart204]

I prefer Marvel, probably because it's slightly more consistent than the D.C. Universe. Also I feel it has more likeable heroes.

Outside Marvel... I say ATOMIC ROBO and Bravest Warriors.

 

[Ian Meier]

This is a tough call to make... both have and always will be the titans of the comic book world. Upon thinking about it's more of how the individual reader deals with this conundrum. I for one prefer character interaction and development, and for that you gotta go with Marvel. Yes, the characters deal with real world problems in addition to having super powers, or creating weapons to defend the world, or to be born with a great gift, but that's what makes the characters so endearing to readers because it harkens to Shakespeare's famous quote, "some are born to greatness, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrusted upon them" and yes DC does have those moments in them, but there is a larger pool of characters to choose from the Marvel universe, and almost all are very satisfying to read about and learn from.
My vote goes to Marvel.
Excelsior!