How The MCU And DCEU Are Borrowing From Each Other

Identifying Which Characters Are Better Suited For TV

Say what you will about the quality of superhero TV shows, but they’ve been very successful to date and built up huge fanbases. At the same time, both DC and Marvel have been smart in identifying which of their characters are best suited to the smaller screen rather than the big one – with The Flash being the notable exception to the rule here. Inhumans is a weird exception, too, because no one wants to watch them in any iteration after those cringe-worthy trailers murdered the characters for the foreseeable future.

While there will be a vocal minority that demand Green Arrow, Punisher, Daredevil, and Iron Fist appear in major tentpoles, their current live-action iterations are working far better where they are than if they were part of the respective film universe. Some of these characters have had their own movies before and it didn’t work out so well, so it only makes sense to try a different approach. After all, do you really think someone like Frank Castle could work within the current tone of the MCU? Or would anyone care about the Atom in the DCEU?

The major difference in how DC and Marvel have approached this decision is in the concept of shared universes, though. Marvel was smarter in establishing that its TV world operates within the same world as its films, while DC TV operates as a completely separate entity. There are pros and cons for each method of course, but it’s nice to see Marvel respecting the comic book roots of keeping everything related and tied together.