‘Across the Spider-Verse’ producer knows his movie is better than ‘The Flash’ but wants you to be nice about it

It’s no secret that the Marvel and DC fandoms have been feuding for years. The comic book giants have massive fanbases, and each side of the debate is certain they stand in the superior camp. Summer has long been the battlefield for the biggest blockbusters, and after a poor showing for both Marvel and DC at the beginning of the year, fans are desperate for some decent content this summer. For years, rumors of superhero fatigue have been drifting in and out of the cultural zeitgeist, but it seems Marvel has yet again managed to blow past the haters and emerge victorious.

Marvel’s summer is off to a great start. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse hit theaters in early June and the consensus is that it more than lives up to its predecessor. It brought in 120.5 million in its opening weekend, 208.6 million worldwide, and is Sony’s biggest animated launch of all time. While some directors might take this as a sign of their superiority and rub their success in the competition’s faces, Christopher Miller is taking a page from Peter Parker’s book and maintaining a level head. While fans may be mocking DCs lackluster summer showing, the director is taking the high road.

In response to his wholesome call for positive vibes, the Twitter-sphere was incredibly receptive. Fans carried the mantle, agreeing that there was more than enough success to go around. It’s a nice change of pace from the usual drummed-up drama — perfectly encapsulating the inclusivity Spider-Man strove so hard to achieve. Despite the kind words direct from Miller’s keyboard, there are still plenty of reasons for Marvel diehards to feel a little smug about this one.

The Flash — DC’s most hyped-up film of the last year — is quickly approaching. With little more than a week to go, the cast — well, some of the cast — have been making the talk show rounds. Sasha Calle, AKA Supergirl has been putting in overtime to make up for the absence of lead star, Ezra Miller. After a slew of controversies —stemming from Ezra Miller themselves — many fans were expecting a perfect run for the Scarlet Speedster, but the first round of reviews are not the shining beacons of hope most DC fans were expecting. Massive amounts of praise have been heaped on the summer blockbuster, from DC Creative Head James Gunn to Tom Cruise, The Flash has been touted as the best superhero flick ever made for months now. But the early critic reviews have tossed the film — which sits at 73% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing— in the lower percentile of DC performers.

Wider audiences have yet to get their butts in seats to experience The Flash for themselves, so for now, Marvel fans can happily abide by Christopher Miller’s show of solidarity. WB is still failing to recognize Ezra Miller’s accountability in audience reticence, so perhaps a lackluster solo outing for the much-maligned Ezra Miller will encourage the studio to look a little more closely at the big names they attach to projects.