Thought Exercise: Is Spider-Man more of a DC than a Marvel?

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

Just to be clear, I'm not advocating for a rights swap. That's not happening here. I was just watching Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse on Netflix and this random thought popped into my head. There's at least a few things that make Spider-Man somewhat unique in the Marvel Universe that aren't that unique in the DC Universe. So, I guess this is me just listing them out as a little thought exercise to see if you agree.

Reason #1: He Still Has His Secret Identity

This one's probably the most obvious. Spider-Man, unlike a lot of Marvel heroes, still has his identity hidden from the public. I'm pretty sure this has been pointed out before, but it is something that makes him more like a DC hero in that regard. The majority of Marvel's A-list heroes have their identities out there: The Fantastic Four, almost all of the main X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, etc.), Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor (ever since they ditched Donald Blake years back), Punisher, Black Panther, Luke Cage, Captain Marvel, Hank Pym, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Dr, Strange, and then some. The only real exceptions I can think of to that are Daredevil and Moon Knight. That is, unless Matt's identity is finally out there.

Contrast that with the DC Universe. Batman and the entire Batfamily, Superman, Flash (except when Wally West's identity was public knowledge), at least 3 of Earth's Green Lanterns (Hal, Kyle, and Simon; don't know if Jessica's ID is out there), Captain Marvel/Shazam, Green Arrow, the Question, etc. are all currently maintaining their secret identities. The main exceptions to that, the ones who have their identities out there, are Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the other three (or two) Earth Lanterns, Animal Man, Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, the Doom Patrol, and some of the Titans.

So, the fact that Spider-Man still has his (even though some, including myself, have advocated for his identity being maybe a little bit more open) does make him a bit more DC.

Reason #2: That There are Multiple Prominent Alternate Universe Versions of Him

Marvel does toy around with the multiverse with its other heroes, yes, but not to the extent that DC has in the past. DC kind of invented the Elseworlds game, with Superman and Batman alone having dozens of alternate universe versions of themselves. Superman has everything from All-Star to Red Son to Speeding Bullets to Kingdom Come and then some. And Batman has everything from Gotham by Gaslight to DKR to Batman 66 to Holy Terror Batman to Golden Gates of Gotham Batman to Batman Year 100 to Batman Beyond and more. So, the fact that Peter also has at least a few more multiverse counterparts out there than the other Marvel heroes again makes him more similar to a DC hero.

Reason #3: His Amazing Villains

This may not be universal as an opinion and I don't even subscribe to the notion, but it is an adage that DC has at least somewhat better villains than Marvel. Outside of the Spider-Man rogues gallery, there are at least a few of great Marvel villains that are almost universally known and have been considered iconic for decades: Dr. Doom, Magneto, Galactus, Loki, I could see an argument for Red Skull, Apocalypse, and Thanos. But needless to say, those ranks would be considerably thinned without Spider-Man's villains.

Contrasting that with DC, we see that there's the entire Batman rogues gallery, with Joker, Catwoman, Ra's al Ghul, Two-Face, and the rest. However, even outside of Batman's villains, there's Superman's villains with Lex Luthor and Zod and Mongul and Brainiac and Doomsday. The Flash's villains are considered iconic and well-beloved. Green Lantern has Sinestro at the very least. Aquaman's got Black Manta. Wonder Woman has Cheetah and Ares. Then there's Darkseid, Deathstroke, Black Adam, Vandal Savage, the Anti-Monitor, etc.

So, I don't know. Does the fact that Peter's got one of the best rogues galleries make him more DC-like?

Reason #4: He Has an Elderly Family Member who Raised Him

Aunt May, meet Alfred...and Ma and Pa Kent (from before Flashpoint).

Reason #5: He Has One Main Love Interest

Yeah, he's had other relationships, but Peter's love life has largely focused on Mary Jane Watson. Gwen Stacy in the modern age tends to simply be a memory of trauma and the typical example of a fridged female character instead of a real love interest for Peter. The rest of the Marvel heroes have largely abandoned a lot of their classic Silver Age romantic partners. For a long time, Jane Foster wasn't even seen in Thor comics, even though she's prominent now. Pepper Potts was also largely absent from Iron Man's world for years and only really resurfaced when the MCU came along and then I think disappeared again. I don't even know if Betty Ross is a love interest for Bruce at the moment in the Immortal Hulk title (still behind; need to catch up). The only classic Silver/Bronze Age Marvel pairings that are still relevant are, well, Peter and MJ, Steve and Sharon, and I could see an argument for either Scott and Jean or Jean and Logan.

Contrast that with DC. Lois and Clark are probably the ultimate couple in comics, so much so that their marriage survived a reboot and then reinserted itself into the timeline. Barry and Iris. Hal and Carol (who has only recently disappeared again). Arthur and Mera. Ralph and Sue Dibny. Hawkman and Hawkwoman. Ollie and Dinah. And, yes, all of these heroes have had other love interests. However, most of them at least, have always come back to their main love interest. The only exceptions to this are Wonder Woman and, interestingly enough, Batman, who has had at least a few serious love interests from Silver St. Cloud to Vicki Vale to Julie Madison, but even then, he largely vacillates between Catwoman and Talia.

So, the fact that its largely been about MJ for Peter for, well, decades does move him a little further in the DC direction.

Anyway, this has been fun. Let me know your thoughts.

[Jman27]

He is more relatable than his dc counterparts. But the similarities are uncanny but this shows me that Spider-Man is the most consistent hero I guess for Marvel

[KangMiRae]

I think it just showcases how much better Spider-Man is as a character compared to the rest of the Marvel Universe where he's in line with some of the oldest and greatest superhero charters ever made which happen to be from DC.

I will say though, Spidey's rogues gallery isn't very "DC", as you put it—it's better than almost everyone's. No one from the Marvel Universe has a gallery as great as his, and from DC, only Batman has a gallery as great as his, the rest of DC has some pretty decent galleries, but Batman has the best. In that regard, Batman and Spider-Man are similar in that they're the characters, from their respective publishers, with the best rogues gallery.

[SpiderClops]

Spider-Man is as Marvel as you can get.

[Snoop Dogg]

let's sell him off to dc, SCREW 'IM!!!

[Agent Z]

No. But then again, there isn't much of a difference between Marvel and DC these days if there ever was one.

[kingaliencracker]

Spider-Man is as Marvel as you can get.

You can't make a more accurate statement, so I'll just second this.

[Mister Mets]

Spider-Man is as Marvel as you can get.

Yeah. The main distinguishing feature between Marvel and DC was that the heroes of Marvel have problems in their private lives. Spider-Man exemplifies that more than anyone else.

[blackspidey2099]

Yeah. The main distinguishing feature between Marvel and DC was that the heroes of Marvel have problems in their private lives. Spider-Man exemplifies that more than anyone else.

But is that really true nowadays? I don't think so, and I don't think it has been for a long while. Honestly, I think that's a common but extremely outdated adage, and even as someone who couldn't really care less about the vast majority of DC characters, it's quite unfair to DC.

I kinda agree with OP, Spider-Man fits in more with the popular DC heroes of today than the popular Marvel heroes of today. For me, the major thing about most Marvel heroes is that they're very grounded in a way Spider-Man isn't. A lot of them are either with the military, have corporations behind them, or are very tied to realism. And while Peter faces a lot of real life problems in his personal life, I don't think Spider-Man is a very realistic hero - he's a dude in red and blue spandex swinging through the city like it's a jungle gym, somehow has a secret identity, and overall a lot of his stories just have this tone/sense of whimsy that other Marvel heroes often forgo. It reminds me a lot more DC heroes like Superman and Flash than anyone else at Marvel.

[Tuck]

Spider-Man is as Marvel as you can get.

Yeah, he's pretty much the least DC character at Marvel.

[Snoop Dogg]

In terms of character, the most DC character is Captain America.

In terms of the books, the consistent elements and traits of the books, you can make a case for Spider-Menace being more like a DC flagship.

[Celgress]

Spider-Man is as Marvel as you can get.

This, he is Marvel through and through, IMO.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

I think it just showcases how much better Spider-Man is as a character compared to the rest of the Marvel Universe where he's in line with some of the oldest and greatest superhero charters ever made which happen to be from DC.

I will say though, Spidey's rogues gallery isn't very "DC", as you put it—it's better than almost everyone's. No one from the Marvel Universe has a gallery as great as his, and from DC, only Batman has a gallery as great as his, the rest of DC has some pretty decent galleries, but Batman has the best. In that regard, Batman and Spider-Man are similar in that they're the characters, from their respective publishers, with the best rogues gallery.

Well, personally, I'd actually put Superman's rogues up there as well. Not as well-developed as Spider-Man's or Batman's, but I'd say in the same league. I mean, not to get too off-topic, but Superman counts Lex Luthor, General Zod, Brainiac, Bizarro, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Cyborg Superman, Mongul, Doomsday, Metallo, Parasite, Silver Banshee, and Darkseid among his foes, and there's more than that too. That...is impressive. So, I just sort of made the link that having an impressive rogues gallery made Spider-Man more like Batman and Superman, who just both happen to be DC heroes.

Though, if anything, I think the fact that Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman all have well-developed villains speaks to the reality that, for several decades, those three were basically the holy trinity of superheroes. They were the three most popular superheroes in comics and pop-culture. So, obviously, DC and Marvel respectively wanted to invest more in those specific franchises.

[Snoop Dogg]

superman's rogues gallery is like captain america's where no one ever acknowledges how awesome it is

spider-man's baddie brunch is like flash's where to the eye of the ignorant commoner it's a pack of clowns but to the real brain synapse connoisseurs they're all gods themselves

[KangMiRae]

Well, personally, I'd actually put Superman's rogues up there as well. Not as well-developed as Spider-Man's or Batman's, but I'd say in the same league. I mean, not to get too off-topic, but Superman counts Lex Luthor, General Zod, Brainiac, Bizarro, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Cyborg Superman, Mongul, Doomsday, Metallo, Parasite, Silver Banshee, and Darkseid among his foes, and there's more than that too. That...is impressive. So, I just sort of made the link that having an impressive rogues gallery made Spider-Man more like Batman and Superman, who just both happen to be DC heroes.

Though, if anything, I think the fact that Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman all have well-developed villains speaks to the reality that, for several decades, those three were basically the holy trinity of superheroes. They were the three most popular superheroes in comics and pop-culture. So, obviously, DC and Marvel respectively wanted to invest more in those specific franchises.

I admittedly don't know too much about Superman and his mythos, but I still recognize some of those names so I think I'm inclined to agree with you.

So, I just sort of made the link that having an impressive rogues gallery made Spider-Man more like Batman and Superman, who just both happen to be DC heroes.

Lol, exactly. Spider-Man's just up there with the greats.