DC defenders unconvinced the hype for ‘The Flash’ will have the ‘Iron Man’ effect on casual fans

DC has struggled over the last few decades to match up to the hype and fandom that has been created by their rival Marvel. With the rise of the MCU, many felt that DC’s offerings were a little lackluster in comparison, even with some standout films, but now fans are wondering if the upcoming The Flash film can finally bring the sizzle.

We have had superhero movies in our culture for some time now, but we have been living in a golden age ever since the advent of the MCU which was kickstarted by the first Iron Man film starring Robert Downey Jr. Sure we had had some fun films before that, such as the X-Men franchise and, of course, the wonderful The Dark Knight trilogy by Christopher Nolan, but nothing ever felt as connected as they did in the comics. Not until the MCU that is.

What the MCU did for the superhero genre has been huge, bringing the beloved comic book characters to a much wider audience, so much so that the final Avengers film is the second highest-grossing movie of all time. A lot of this came down to how the Phase One films impacted audiences back in the ’00s and early ’10s, with people falling in love with Downey Jr’s Iron Man and the other classic Marvel heroes brought to life.

Though DC has had some hits, with Wonder Woman and Aquaman both having had their first solo outings become massive box-office hits in their own right, it didn’t really translate as a success for the franchise as a whole. Now the upcoming The Flash film is destined to reset it all, and allow new bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran to bring in their own vision for the studio in the hopes of bringing it up to par with the MCU.

Fans wonder if the upcoming movie will do enough to win over audiences in the same way Iron Man did, or whether it will become another forgettable film for the franchise.

Many feel that no one movie is going to turn things around for DC.

With The Flash being a part of the old guard, many feel like it simply cannot generate new interest.

Whereas Marvel has had consistency, DC has stopped and started with no overarching theme, leaving it feeling a bit of a mess, one that The Flash may clean up, but not fully fix.

This user feels that an ending can’t really build interest.

Then there are the issues surrounding the film’s lead Ezra Miller, that leave a certain sour taste.

Another user pointed out that the original MCU films did not in fact have a huge cultural impact, not until the end of Phase One when they were all joined together in Avengers.

With The Flash serving as more of an ending, it is hard to see how it would attract people to DC in the same way that films such as Iron Man, which was a beginning, did. Viewers don’t really want to join something at the end, so they may just wait until Gunn’s DC is actually in effect before deciding to get on board.