The Big Picture: Junk Drawer Rises

[omegawyrm]

Also, Batman is the only interesting DC character, the rest are Demi-gods walking amongst mere mortals, Over-powered fantasy characters that even the Bat himself falls prey too in "Being able to plan for everything" trap.

Yes, I prefer Marvel characters, they have tend to have a Set power, and stick to it.

(note, I'm not massively into comics so I don't have a ton of lore, just working off what I've seen)

Uh, I could be wrong here, but I'm pretty sure DC has a TON of non-powered characters. Wildcat, Green Arrow, Huntress, the entire bat-family, Shining Knight, and Manhunter just off the top of my head. And that's not even counting "suit" characters.

You are correct, there are tons of people that have limited powers and are even entirely human. The "power" difference between the two universes isn't really even existent. In fact the Marvel universe arguable has more powerful characters but they tend to have even more powerful villains/non-heroes. Galactus, The Beyonder, Kubik, Apocalypse, Celestials, Phoenix Force, Infinity Gauntlet, and many others are far more powerful than what is common in the DC universe. That isn't to say there aren't rediciously powerful beings in the DC universe (Spectre, Lucifer, Nekron, Anti-Monitor, and so forth). The problem is in how they are portrayed and who has the spotlight. Superman would be somewhere around Thor's power-level in the Marvel universe I suspect. Just with a bit more utility.

The Big Difference is that Marvel's characters tend to have flaws that limit them more than DC's characters do. Thor, at least in the comics, was limited to a truly human form (with a limp, no less). He wasn't playing at being human, he was human. Whereas Superman just puts on a suit and wears glasses. Spiderman had a truly crappy personal life- he had a complete life of suck where he could do nothing right, not to mention being responsible for his own Uncle's death by not stopping the guy who actually went out and killed him, even though he could have. Batman was a child when his parents got killed. What could he have done to prevent it? I am not saying DC heroes are without personal flaws (although some certainly are, Superman for one), but the Marvel heroes have larger and more limiting ones. That was Stan Lee's big contribution to the genre, that the heroes are more heroic when overcoming personal limitations that actually do limit them in some way.

This person speaks the truth. I suppose I should have expanded upon the statement "...how they are portrayed and who has the spotlight" as it was left rather vague. There are plenty of people within the DC universe that are actually flawed/limited/interesting/well characterized or however you want to put it. Sadly they often aren't in the spotlight. Likewise characters like Superman could be portrayed as having flaws without sacrificing what makes the character who they are. On occasion they are portrayed that way, and incidentally those tend to be the most well received stories whether or not they are canon. It just isn't the case most of the time.

In my original post I merely wanted to point out the "Demi-Gods amongst men" statement wasn't really any different between universes.

The way I would put it is that DC focuses on "characters as symbols" while Marvel focuses on "characters as people", and whichever you prefer really just has to do with what you want to get out of your comic reading. I made the original post to illustrate that it's not the type or quality of characters that are the difference between the two worlds, though I will admit, that I find the symbolism to be one of the big advantages of comics, so I tend to prefer it. And of "characters as people" stories, Top 10 would probably be my favorite.

 

[The Deadpool]

Zangief is generally played more as the gentle giant in the canonical Street Fighter when he isn't fighting.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 and in Street Fighter 2 he was sent in by Russia to stop Bison and the Shadaloo, which is actually heroic.

After SF2 he becomes a popular wrestler and joins the tournament in 4 to show his fans wrestling is just as badass as martial arts. Which is silly, but no villanous...

Not a villain in any way really...

 

[CrazyGirl17]

1. I never played Street Fighter, so I don't care that Zangief is a "bad guy". I'm just amazed at all the cameos!

2. I'm with Bob on this one: at least the Mario games are (mostly) innovative, war shooters and sports games are the same damned thing over and over and over and over again!

3. Django Unchained: it may be controversial, but as a cynical white girl who despises the very notion of slavery, I'd watch it in a heartbeat, as weird as that sounds.

4. As much as I like Batman... I think he might need to take a break from movies/cartoons/games for a while, let's let someone else get the spotlight.

...And that's all I got.

 

[Oskamunda]

NO! THERE CAN NEVER BE ENOUGH BATMAN!!!!!!!!

The reason the market is ever-saturated with Batman content is because NO-ONE has done it right yet...the closest we have ever come is Tim Burton's two attempts at the franchise, the first two seasons of The Animated Series, Arkham Asylum, and Sword of Azrael (in ascending order of Holy-Shit-Now-THAT-Is-Batman-ness...or, HSNTIBn). Until they get it right, the need to see more Batman, Bruce Wayne, and Gotham City will bubble under the surface and keep people buying.

(Notice I did NOT say Robin, Knightwing, or any of those other doozers)

 

[Grimh]

Nobody ever brings up the greatest failing and betrayal of the Modern Warfare franchise.

They.Fucking.Killed.GHOST.

Spoiler: Shine on you beautiful bastard...

[sub]You will be remembered...[/sub]

I just can't bring myself to play another MW game after that...
The pain... It's just too much...
Damn you Infinity Ward... [small]Damn you...[/small]

Gaz was cooler.

.......

That's your opinion and I respect that. But by god, I will sit here and stare at you disapprovingly for having it.

 

[idodo35]

enogh batman?!
uuh... take it darth...

 

[StriderShinryu]

Zangief is generally played more as the gentle giant in the canonical Street Fighter when he isn't fighting.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 and in Street Fighter 2 he was sent in by Russia to stop Bison and the Shadaloo, which is actually heroic.

After SF2 he becomes a popular wrestler and joins the tournament in 4 to show his fans wrestling is just as badass as martial arts. Which is silly, but no villanous...

Not a villain in any way really...

But.. But.. he's from Russia!

Seriously though, totally dead on.

Nit picking would be saying things like his shorts are the wrong shade of red, his chest hair doesn't have the right shape or he's left handed in the trailer but he's right handed in game. That's nit picking.

I somehow doubt the opinion expressed by Bob in this video would be the same if it was a similar situation in a Villains Anonymous type meeting set in a comic book universe movie. You've got Lex Luther, The Joker, Thanos, Loki and Galactus sitting around in a circle with our protagnist .. and the guy who gets the major speaking role in the scene is Batman. Or even, lets say, a more morally ambiguous character like Catwoman. Would it be nitpicking then to say that, just maybe, one of the major actually villainous characters they bothered to put in the scene should probably be the one speaking.. assuming you even accept that Batman or Catwoman should be there in the first place?

 

[Grahav]

The first facebook comments are dead on right about the whole Zangief thing.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

You sir, just mentioned every one of the Beatles best albums. My eternal respect to you.

 

[daxterx2005]

NO! THERE CAN NEVER BE ENOUGH BATMAN!!!!!!!!

QFT

 

[Moeez]

I actually thought that BRAVE looks more like Dreamworks than Pixar. That trailer's humor and tone fits more the Dreamworks staple.

And I haven't liked recent Pixar since...The Incredibles? But that was entirely down on Brad Bird's talent. Wall-E and Up were disappointments, with the first 10 minutes being the only things worth discussing.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Batman is the topic we don't want but deserve.

 

[Mangod]

You are bad guy, but you are not bad guy = You're an antagonist, but you're not a villain.

 

[Disthron]

Didn't the Mario Bros games stay pretty much the same until Mario 64? Also, what came after that until "new" Super Mario on the Wii?

 

[Primus1985]

Enough Batman for awhile? Blasphemy! Dont worry after "Rises" flops the Batman license will go dormant for maybe another ten years if were lucky.

Personally as someone whose is descended from Native American ancestry, and finds the very notion of slavery abhorrent, I cant wait for Django. > Isnt this also directed by the brilliant Quentin Tarantino? Oh yeah Opening day front row im their. This'll be the 5th Qt movie (6 if you count Kill Bill separate) that ive done so with. I was a bit too young when RD, PF and JB came out.

 

[Calcium]

I don't think Moviebob's defense of Mario over Call of Duty was that good. From that example of the Beattles does that mean next-to-no-one on the Escapist can complain about either because they havn't developed a multi-million selling franchise?

What's true is that what's successful is generelly perpetuated - when/if the Call of Duty series starts to sell badly, that's when it will stop, or at least slow down. There are a lot of people that like CoD and there are a lot of people that like Mario and as long as these people exist the series will keep on going. The only gain in anyone complaining about either series is feeling good about themself when someone agrees with them.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

I don't think Moviebob's defense of Mario over Call of Duty was that good. From that example of the Beattles does that mean next-to-no-one on the Escapist can complain about either because they havn't developed a multi-million selling franchise?

What's true is that what's successful is generelly perpetuated - when/if the Call of Duty series starts to sell badly, that's when it will stop, or at least slow down. There are a lot of people that like CoD and there are a lot of people that like Mario and as long as these people exist the series will keep on going. The only gain in anyone complaining about either series is feeling good about themself when someone agrees with them.

This, pretty much.

Personally, I see CoD as just a trend in gaming that will eventually die out. Weren't platformers the go-to game that was really popular back in the days from the NES to the PS1? I rarely see them marketed nowadays, at least not on non-Nintendo platforms, and any that have that kind of element to them usually have a gun attached. People just need to get over their gun fetish and we'll get something else eventually.

 

[Fusioncode9]

Haven't we reached the point where maybe, just maybe, we've seen enough Mario for a while?

Completely agree, 2 NSMB games come out within a few months of each other. At least Call of Duty never had two games a year. If people like Bob would stop being complete fanboys and actually try some games with innovation rather than playing the same Mario game over and over again, maybe we would have more originality in video game market.

What am I saying, asking Bob to stop being a fanboy is like asking the sun to stop shining.

 

[Impluse_101]

I'm kind of wagging my tail happily in hopes for Wreck-it Ralph. '-'
It's something I really really wanna see.

 

[trust Milo]

maybe, just maybe, we've seen enough Mario for a while?

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escape-to-the-movies

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/moviebob

Not that I dislike you, I'm just saying.