HOME | DD

Description
Just to make this clear, I am not a DC fanboy who is pissed at Marvel for getting all the attention, who thinks that Superman vs Batman is so much better and Captain America: Civil War is going to such. I am a huge Marvel fan, and I'd take it over DC anyday. I am excited for both films, and am looking forward to seeing what both have to offer.

The problem, however, is that I knew from seeing the reaction to the Superman vs Batman trailer that anything that Marvel would put out would not get the same sort of criticism. I've seen both trailers, and both of them strike the same tone to me. A palpable sense of tension and dread, but balanced with images of a fun comic book spectacle. I don't see the problem with either trailer. Yet Superman vs Batman gets criticized for being too "Grim" and "Dark" while Civil War is praised for being "Intense."

It kind of goes back to a larger issue that I feel is affecting the Marvel movies, in that it has started to develop a bit of a blind fanboyish mentality with their work. Now, I get this feeling. I can understand it can come from many different sources. I myself was once a fan where Marvel could do no wrong, while DC could do no right. I can understand emotionally tying yourself to a particular mythos or fandom, and it succeeding bolsters your own self esteem. It's comforting to feel a part of something larger or taking part in a wider community. And it's distressing if you feel it is coming under an unjust attack, as it it's not just an attack on something you love, but you yourself in a way. And I can understand wanting something to be a certain way, and not being satisfied when the work that you admire doesn't follow your expectations. I do understand these factors.

But that being said, sometimes these sort of feelings can be expressed in the wrong way. Superman as a characters tends to get criticized if his works don't live up to some imaginary, nebulous ideal. They should just "be" a certain way, and create a certain impact upon the audience and society as a whole, and anything that doesn't live up to that is somehow "wrong." Some fans on the other hand feel that the attention towards anything else threatens the fandom that they prefer, as if it somehow "steals" attention away from the thing they love. Or they have an idea in their head as how the movie "should" be and if it doesn't live up to that it's a dismal failure.

So I kind of feel that there is a lot of unfair criticisms levied at works like Superman vs Batman, or the Fox X-Men films, where works such as the Marvel films get a pass, or have their issues excused, despite the fact that they do the same thing. Superman vs Batman's tone and color pallet is no different than Civil War or Age of Ultron before it, yet it's the former film that is derided while the later films are celebrated. X-Men Days of Future Past gets criticized for "changing the story" or "not having real X-Men in it," where something like Captain America: The Winter Soldier can radically change practically every aspect of the story and not get the same criticism. And the X-Men films can be retroactively be regarded as "awful," or the Superman films made into pure, undiluted golden mana from the heavens, without an honest evaluation of how they actually hold up, done mainly to support or diminish a current work, depending upon what the person is aiming for.

Will Superman vs Batman be good? I don't know. It could suck, or it could be awesome. I'll wait to see it for myself. X-Men First Class looked awful to me, but when I saw it it turned out to be a great film. On the other hand, Age of Ultron and the recent Spectre looked cool in the trailers, but I ended up not really liking them all that much after I saw them in theatres. All I'm saying it- wait to see the product for itself. You wanna comment on the trailers, that's fine. But don't arbitrarily judge a work before you see it, or twist the facts to suit your narrative if you don't like the fact that people are praising a work you want to see fail.

Description
Just to make this clear, I am not a DC fanboy who is pissed at Marvel for getting all the attention, who thinks that Superman vs Batman is so much better and Captain America: Civil War is going to such. I am a huge Marvel fan, and I'd take it over DC anyday. I am excited for both films, and am looking forward to seeing what both have to offer.

The problem, however, is that I knew from seeing the reaction to the Superman vs Batman trailer that anything that Marvel would put out would not get the same sort of criticism. I've seen both trailers, and both of them strike the same tone to me. A palpable sense of tension and dread, but balanced with images of a fun comic book spectacle. I don't see the problem with either trailer. Yet Superman vs Batman gets criticized for being too "Grim" and "Dark" while Civil War is praised for being "Intense."

It kind of goes back to a larger issue that I feel is affecting the Marvel movies, in that it has started to develop a bit of a blind fanboyish mentality with their work. Now, I get this feeling. I can understand it can come from many different sources. I myself was once a fan where Marvel could do no wrong, while DC could do no right. I can understand emotionally tying yourself to a particular mythos or fandom, and it succeeding bolsters your own self esteem. It's comforting to feel a part of something larger or taking part in a wider community. And it's distressing if you feel it is coming under an unjust attack, as it it's not just an attack on something you love, but you yourself in a way. And I can understand wanting something to be a certain way, and not being satisfied when the work that you admire doesn't follow your expectations. I do understand these factors.

But that being said, sometimes these sort of feelings can be expressed in the wrong way. Superman as a characters tends to get criticized if his works don't live up to some imaginary, nebulous ideal. They should just "be" a certain way, and create a certain impact upon the audience and society as a whole, and anything that doesn't live up to that is somehow "wrong." Some fans on the other hand feel that the attention towards anything else threatens the fandom that they prefer, as if it somehow "steals" attention away from the thing they love. Or they have an idea in their head as how the movie "should" be and if it doesn't live up to that it's a dismal failure.

So I kind of feel that there is a lot of unfair criticisms levied at works like Superman vs Batman, or the Fox X-Men films, where works such as the Marvel films get a pass, or have their issues excused, despite the fact that they do the same thing. Superman vs Batman's tone and color pallet is no different than Civil War or Age of Ultron before it, yet it's the former film that is derided while the later films are celebrated. X-Men Days of Future Past gets criticized for "changing the story" or "not having real X-Men in it," where something like Captain America: The Winter Soldier can radically change practically every aspect of the story and not get the same criticism. And the X-Men films can be retroactively be regarded as "awful," or the Superman films made into pure, undiluted golden mana from the heavens, without an honest evaluation of how they actually hold up, done mainly to support or diminish a current work, depending upon what the person is aiming for.

Will Superman vs Batman be good? I don't know. It could suck, or it could be awesome. I'll wait to see it for myself. X-Men First Class looked awful to me, but when I saw it it turned out to be a great film. On the other hand, Age of Ultron and the recent Spectre looked cool in the trailers, but I ended up not really liking them all that much after I saw them in theatres. All I'm saying it- wait to see the product for itself. You wanna comment on the trailers, that's fine. But don't arbitrarily judge a work before you see it, or twist the facts to suit your narrative if you don't like the fact that people are praising a work you want to see fail.