DC has done a horrible job at franchise management.

[mathew101281]

While Marvel has done a good job of fostering several varied franchises DC is quickly becoming Batman, Justice league and very little else. I feel that part of it stems from the fact that a lot of DC/Warner brothers higher ups don’t have a lot of faith in the franchises they own.

[chief12d]

While Marvel has done a good job of fostering several varied franchises DC is quickly becoming Batman, Justice league and very little else. I feel that part of it stems from the fact that a lot of DC/Warner brothers higher ups don’t have a lot of faith in the franchises they own.

Marvel was forced to invest in secondary franchises like the Avengers and Guardians because in terms of movies they didn’t have access to their big money makers from the comics (Spider-Man, X-Men). The overwhelming success of the Avengers-based MCU brand has bled back into the comics so those secondary franchises are more prominent in marketing and in-universe relevance. DC has all their heavy hitters out the gate so up until recently they didn’t have any reason to broaden their appeal. It’s easy to spam Batman when he has decades of established relevance in pop culture.

But Batman alone can’t build as comprehensive a cinematic universe as the Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and very soon the Fantastic Four and X-Men combined. Between the modern desire for these entertainment juggernauts to produce interconnected movie experiences and current diversity trends/demands in pop culture, DC has no choice but to expand past Batman which they seem to be doing.

Wonder Woman and Aquaman are finally getting their time in the sun. The Suicide Squad, while largely a Harley vehicle, is getting pushed both on the big screen, gaming, and comics. Green Lantern is getting a second chance after a decade of stupidly punishing Hal and the other characters for one bad movie. We got the magic corner of Justice League Dark, Zatanna, and Constantine. Teen heroes like Blue Beetle and Static are getting a chance after years of cult popularity, with the latter potentially setting up a Milestone universe. The JSA are clearly being positioned as the next big thing with an animated movie, a DCEU appearance in Black Adam, and likely spin-offs. Plus they got Stargirl.

It’s impossible to say if all of these pushes will trickle back into comics and other mediums, but an effort is being made on the big/small screen which could result in elevation in other places as synergy becomes more aggressive. There’s no reason why Static can’t anchor a video game or why we can’t get a new animated series based around the JLD. Maybe if their live actions projects succeed we’ll get exactly that.

[Goldrake]

Marvel was forced to invest in secondary franchises like the Avengers and Guardians because in terms of movies they didn’t have access to their big money makers from the comics (Spider-Man, X-Men). The overwhelming success of the Avengers-based MCU brand has bled back into the comics so those secondary franchises are more prominent in marketing and in-universe relevance. DC has all their heavy hitters out the gate so up until recently they didn’t have any reason to broaden their appeal. It’s easy to spam Batman when he has decades of established relevance in pop culture.

But Batman alone can’t build as comprehensive a cinematic universe as the Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and very soon the Fantastic Four and X-Men combined. Between the modern desire for these entertainment juggernauts to produce interconnected movie experiences and current diversity trends/demands in pop culture, DC has no choice but to expand past Batman which they seem to be doing.

Wonder Woman and Aquaman are finally getting their time in the sun. The Suicide Squad, while largely a Harley vehicle, is getting pushed both on the big screen, gaming, and comics. Green Lantern is getting a second chance after a decade of stupidly punishing Hal and the other characters for one bad movie. We got the magic corner of Justice League Dark, Zatanna, and Constantine. Teen heroes like Blue Beetle and Static are getting a chance after years of cult popularity, with the latter potentially setting up a Milestone universe. The JSA are clearly being positioned as the next big thing with an animated movie, a DCEU appearance in Black Adam, and likely spin-offs. Plus they got Stargirl.

It’s impossible to say if all of these pushes will trickle back into comics and other mediums, but an effort is being made on the big/small screen which could result in elevation in other places as synergy becomes more aggressive. There’s no reason why Static can’t anchor a video game or why we can’t get a new animated series based around the JLD. Maybe if their live actions projects succeed we’ll get exactly that.

Depends what we understand as franchise, if its just about movies yeah DC is not relying on Batman alone. But for the rest its relying on Batman. As for marketing and milking success from movies like Aquaman and to a minor extent WW, DC is light years away from Marvel.

[Cat]

Come New 52 they totally messed up 2 of their staple franchises in Teen Titans and JSA, both of which had been capable of multiple books per month previously. It took them a long time to recover, and in JSA's case, it's still yet to happen, showing that DC doesn't care about their lesser franchises in comic form. Meanwhile JSA in flourishing in other media, featuring heavily in a live-action TV show (technically more a mix of Infinity Inc. too but now we're getting anal about it), an upcoming live-action film in Black Adam, and their first ever animated film that released just last week with JSA: World War II.

They're flourishing in multimedia yet DC has floundered for years when it comes to simply putting a book on the shelves.

[Captain Nostalgia]

Definitely on the comic side I find that they've shrunk DC comics into Batman plus Justice League, which makes things boring, that being said...

If that's what sells, than that's what DC has to go with.

On the mutli media side, I don't entirely agree, but I think the onus lies on Warner Brothers for making a lot of bad action garbage movies at a time when Disney/Marvel were working together to put out these great storylines in their movies.

Green Lantern bombed as a result, but DC seems to be pushing forth to expand the Green Lantern franchise with a new TV show and possible movie
We had an Aquaman movie
A Wonder Woman movie
A Captain Marvel movie
A flash tv show
A Black Lightning tv show
A Teen Titans tv show

Apparently a JLD movie is being proposed, though I have little faith in future DC movies with JJ Abrahams in charge.

The problem DC is having is getting the multimedia success to co-ordinate and transfer to the comics. I'm not sure why this is, but Marvel hasn't hit a home run with this either. Despite the success of the Black Panther and Dr. Strange movies, both recent series were cancelled, but COVID probably played a big part to.

[Citizen Kane]

But Batman alone can’t build as comprehensive a cinematic universe as the Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy

You talk as if any of those Marvel characters were as popular then as they are now. I do commend Marvel—they managed to make the largest movie franchise in history without the use of their most iconic characters. But Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern is arguably a much more well-known and iconic lineup, so I don't see how they couldn't be the foundation to a comprehensive cinematic universe. But Warner Bros. has proven incompetent at providing one, and here we are.

[Johnrevenge]

Seems that they should change their name from DC to "Only Batman and screw everything else"

[Rise]

How many times we are going to get threads about "muh marvel is better than dc"?

[Holt]

Most companies aren't run by comic fans, so that's nothing too. It just so happens in this case Marvel struck absolute gold with Kevin Feige, a guy who is both a fan of the comics and an experienced Hollywood player with good business sense. So that has allowed Marvel to flourish in a time where WB's non-Batman properties have been extremely hit or miss. But when they hit, they do hit big; Aquaman and the first Wonder Woman were huge successes, and even Suicide Squad did well at the box office despite being a pile of ****.

[Goldrake]

How many times we are going to get threads about "muh marvel is better than dc"?

because unfortunately its the truth, Marvel's PR is a war machine. At merchandise level DC lacks behind. With exception of few movies, WB movies dont fare well. BOP was a failure despite having one of its most famous characters in that movie.

[Citizen Kane]

BOP was a failure despite having one of its most famous characters in that movie.

I'd argue that beyond the comic book fanbase, no one knew or cared about Harley beyond, "she's that one Batman villain, right?"

[Rise]

because unfortunately its the truth, Marvel's PR is a war machine. At merchandise level DC lacks behind. With exception of few movies, WB movies dont fare well. BOP was a failure despite having one of its most famous characters in that movie.

I mean, DC might have been failing to create a cinematic universe, but nothing Marvel has done come close to DC's successful projects in terms of quality (and I will take quality over quantity anytime).

[Veni]

I'd argue that beyond the comic book fanbase, no one knew or cared about Harley beyond, "she's that one Batman villain, right?"

That and ''girlfriend of the Joker"

[Korath]

You talk as if any of those Marvel characters were as popular then as they are now. I do commend Marvel—they managed to make the largest movie franchise in history without the use of their most iconic characters. But Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern is arguably a much more well-known and iconic lineup, so I don't see how they couldn't be the foundation to a comprehensive cinematic universe. But Warner Bros. has proven incompetent at providing one, and here we are.

To be fair, Warner Bros doesn't produce just DCEU movies. Marvel studio does, it helps tremendously, especially when you're backed by Dysney's bottomless pockets.

[Goldrake]

I mean, DC might have been failing to create a cinematic universe, but nothing Marvel has done come close to DC's successful projects in terms of quality (and I will take quality over quantity anytime).

tell WB if they take quality or BO success.
To the general audience, non comic fanbase, Marvel means successful movies. I am tired trying to explain to people that DC has great characters, to no avail. To them DC movies are some ordeal they endured at the start of DCEU, not even Aquaman or WW changes their opinion, they tell you they are an exception.

I'd argue that beyond the comic book fanbase, no one knew or cared about Harley beyond, "she's that one Batman villain, right?"

Good point - but seems the demo DC targets through HQ did not come through for her. So they should ask the question is she that popular? However one could argue that not even Batman and Superman together in one movie were enough for DC to score a billion BO.