Is the DCU just too light hearted?

[tunneler]

It seems to me that the DCU is just too light and whimsy. Most of the superheroes like Superman, Batman, Batgirl, Green Lantern Corps, the Teen Titans, the Ravagers, the Earth 2 heroes and Aquaman are boy scout heroes that refuse to kill under any circumstances. I think this is the reason DC always lags behind Marvel in sales. Marvel has heroes who are darker and kill more frequently like Thor, the Inhumans, Wolverine, Psylocke, Rogue, Scarlet Witch. The Illuminati are happily destroying lots of planets right now and their book is selling very well. Shouldn't the DCU be darker and grittier like the Marvel universe as well? Man of Steel showed that Superman was willing to kill so he should be snapping his enemies necks so they don't bother him again. Batman should either kill or cripple his enemies. The Green Lanterns can easily conjure up weapons to kill their enemies, since they have the Guardians' approval to kill from back in the Sinestro Corps War.

[Lee Stone]

Is this for real?
I want to read whatever comics you're reading...

[lancerman]

I think the bigger thing is that DC heroes are portrayed as gods and it takes god like threats to even really faze them. Even Batman whose supposed to be a human has that problem. Their biggest vulnerabilities come from their own personal conflicts (Clark feeling isolated, Bruce being paranoid, Hal being uncommitted and reckless). Marvel's top name superheroes can still get thrashed by an ordinary threat.

[Hilden B. Lade]

This thread is going to end well...

[Pinsir]

The thing is if Marvel was producing comics that were darker or more serious than I would say no, but they aren't so DC has to make up for it.

[Sutekh]

No.

I actually *like* superheroes who don't suck at their jobs, and stop the bad-guys *before* they are hip deep in dead teenagers, blowed up cities, blowed up nations, blowed up planets, blowed up *universes*, etc. Any superhero story that doesn't have words like rape, execution or genocide in it, is going to have better heroes in it, because they *stop that sort of crap from happening.* And that's why groups like the Authority or the Ultimates will always suck. They never stop anything. They showed up afterwards and killed a bunch more people. The best way to stop a massacre is to *stop the massacre,* not to show up after the fact and perform yet another massacre.

Those old Silver Age-y covers where the team seemed to be dying, only to find out that the heroes pulled a fast one on the villains and tricked them into blowing up some robots or something? That's some proactive effective hero-ing, right there! For someone like Batman, that should be a typical Thursday, out-clevering and out-preparing one of his poor-impulse-control villains, followed by headlines about Joker's boner.

Not like these losers today who don't even notice that there's a problem until a city has been blown up and a couple hundred thousand people are dead (and it never matters, because, next month, the city will either be completely rebuilt, or never mentioned again, making it obviously sensationalism for sensationalisms sake, and not anything meaningful or significant...).

I'm reading stories about people with zero percent body fat who can punch planets out of the sky and break six laws of physics (as well making a mockery of the legal system) before breakfast. What 'genius' thought I wanted these stories to be gritty and 'realistic?' I mean, that doesn't even make sense!

[Vanguard-01]

No.

I actually *like* superheroes who don't suck at their jobs, and stop the bad-guys *before* they are hip deep in dead teenagers, blowed up cities, blowed up nations, blowed up planets, blowed up *universes*, etc. Any superhero story that doesn't have words like rape, execution or genocide in it, is going to have better heroes in it, because they *stop that sort of crap from happening.* And that's why groups like the Authority or the Ultimates will always suck. They never stop anything. They showed up afterwards and killed a bunch more people. The best way to stop a massacre is to *stop the massacre,* not to show up after the fact and perform yet another massacre.

Those old Silver Age-y covers where the team seemed to be dying, only to find out that the heroes pulled a fast one on the villains and tricked them into blowing up some robots or something? That's some proactive effective hero-ing, right there! For someone like Batman, that should be a typical Thursday, out-clevering and out-preparing one of his poor-impulse-control villains, followed by headlines about Joker's boner.

Not like these losers today who don't even notice that there's a problem until a city has been blown up and a couple hundred thousand people are dead (and it never matters, because, next month, the city will either be completely rebuilt, or never mentioned again, making it obviously sensationalism for sensationalisms sake, and not anything meaningful or significant...).

I'm reading stories about people with zero percent body fat who can punch planets out of the sky and break six laws of physics (as well making a mockery of the legal system) before breakfast. What 'genius' thought I wanted these stories to be gritty and 'realistic?' I mean, that doesn't even make sense!

This.

Every. Damn. Word. Of this.

[Hamdinger]

No.

I actually *like* superheroes who don't suck at their jobs, and stop the bad-guys *before* they are hip deep in dead teenagers, blowed up cities, blowed up nations, blowed up planets, blowed up *universes*, etc. Any superhero story that doesn't have words like rape, execution or genocide in it, is going to have better heroes in it, because they *stop that sort of crap from happening.* And that's why groups like the Authority or the Ultimates will always suck. They never stop anything. They showed up afterwards and killed a bunch more people. The best way to stop a massacre is to *stop the massacre,* not to show up after the fact and perform yet another massacre.

Those old Silver Age-y covers where the team seemed to be dying, only to find out that the heroes pulled a fast one on the villains and tricked them into blowing up some robots or something? That's some proactive effective hero-ing, right there! For someone like Batman, that should be a typical Thursday, out-clevering and out-preparing one of his poor-impulse-control villains, followed by headlines about Joker's boner.

Not like these losers today who don't even notice that there's a problem until a city has been blown up and a couple hundred thousand people are dead (and it never matters, because, next month, the city will either be completely rebuilt, or never mentioned again, making it obviously sensationalism for sensationalisms sake, and not anything meaningful or significant...).

I'm reading stories about people with zero percent body fat who can punch planets out of the sky and break six laws of physics (as well making a mockery of the legal system) before breakfast. What 'genius' thought I wanted these stories to be gritty and 'realistic?' I mean, that doesn't even make sense!

It's Alan Moore's fault.

[Legato]

No.

I actually *like* superheroes who don't suck at their jobs, and stop the bad-guys *before* they are hip deep in dead teenagers, blowed up cities, blowed up nations, blowed up planets, blowed up *universes*, etc. Any superhero story that doesn't have words like rape, execution or genocide in it, is going to have better heroes in it, because they *stop that sort of crap from happening.* And that's why groups like the Authority or the Ultimates will always suck. They never stop anything. They showed up afterwards and killed a bunch more people. The best way to stop a massacre is to *stop the massacre,* not to show up after the fact and perform yet another massacre.

Those old Silver Age-y covers where the team seemed to be dying, only to find out that the heroes pulled a fast one on the villains and tricked them into blowing up some robots or something? That's some proactive effective hero-ing, right there! For someone like Batman, that should be a typical Thursday, out-clevering and out-preparing one of his poor-impulse-control villains, followed by headlines about Joker's boner.

Not like these losers today who don't even notice that there's a problem until a city has been blown up and a couple hundred thousand people are dead (and it never matters, because, next month, the city will either be completely rebuilt, or never mentioned again, making it obviously sensationalism for sensationalisms sake, and not anything meaningful or significant...).

I'm reading stories about people with zero percent body fat who can punch planets out of the sky and break six laws of physics (as well making a mockery of the legal system) before breakfast. What 'genius' thought I wanted these stories to be gritty and 'realistic?' I mean, that doesn't even make sense!

Now this is a guy who gets comics. And to the person who says that DC is lighthearted. I say either the person is trolling or hasn't picked up a DC comic as of late. Wouldn't be surprised if it's the former

[Pharozonk]

Are we talking about the same DC universe here?

[JackDaw]

Now this is a guy who gets comics. And to the person who says that DC is lighthearted. I say either the person is trolling or hasn't picked up a DC comic as of late. Wouldn't be surprised if it's the former

Or.. a guy who really likes the particular story telling conventions (everybody is good looking, no hero ever really dies, etc) that DC and Marvel use for their particular super hero yarns. "Comics" thankfully are much wider than that!

I actually agree with the OP that the DC/ Marvel conventions severely limit story telling potential. Its why such stuff is now a small portion of my reading…I have to be in the mood for a particular "escapist" type of entertainment.

[Vidocq]

[Vidocq]

Or.. a guy who really likes the particular story telling conventions (everybody is good looking, no hero ever really dies, etc) that DC and Marvel use for their particular super hero yarns. "Comics" thankfully are much wider than that!

I actually agree with the OP that the DC/ Marvel conventions severely limit story telling potential. Its why such stuff is now a small portion of my reading…I have to be in the mood for a particular "escapist" type of entertainment.

Yes, the type of storytelling where heroes heroicly destroy planets, kill and cripple people so that they wouldn't bother them anymore and they are justified because Justice.

There is place for such a childish view of maturity and moral ambiguity in storytelling. Is called the dork age of the 90's, and it's 20 years that way <-.

[Lee Stone]

No.

I actually *like* superheroes who don't suck at their jobs, and stop the bad-guys *before* they are hip deep in dead teenagers, blowed up cities, blowed up nations, blowed up planets, blowed up *universes*, etc. Any superhero story that doesn't have words like rape, execution or genocide in it, is going to have better heroes in it, because they *stop that sort of crap from happening.* And that's why groups like the Authority or the Ultimates will always suck. They never stop anything. They showed up afterwards and killed a bunch more people. The best way to stop a massacre is to *stop the massacre,* not to show up after the fact and perform yet another massacre.

Those old Silver Age-y covers where the team seemed to be dying, only to find out that the heroes pulled a fast one on the villains and tricked them into blowing up some robots or something? That's some proactive effective hero-ing, right there! For someone like Batman, that should be a typical Thursday, out-clevering and out-preparing one of his poor-impulse-control villains, followed by headlines about Joker's boner.

Not like these losers today who don't even notice that there's a problem until a city has been blown up and a couple hundred thousand people are dead (and it never matters, because, next month, the city will either be completely rebuilt, or never mentioned again, making it obviously sensationalism for sensationalisms sake, and not anything meaningful or significant...).

I'm reading stories about people with zero percent body fat who can punch planets out of the sky and break six laws of physics (as well making a mockery of the legal system) before breakfast. What 'genius' thought I wanted these stories to be gritty and 'realistic?' I mean, that doesn't even make sense!

This sounds better.

I like 100 Bullets and a lot of the 90s Vertigo, especially Sandman Mystery Theatre.
Loved Sopranos.
I love Walking Dead.

But those were 'designed' to be realistic or gritty.

They didn't take something they were "ashamed" of liking and twist and warp it into a corrupted image for the sake of justifying they read comics.

[SXVA]

No.

I actually *like* superheroes who don't suck at their jobs, and stop the bad-guys *before* they are hip deep in dead teenagers, blowed up cities, blowed up nations, blowed up planets, blowed up *universes*, etc. Any superhero story that doesn't have words like rape, execution or genocide in it, is going to have better heroes in it, because they *stop that sort of crap from happening.* And that's why groups like the Authority or the Ultimates will always suck. They never stop anything. They showed up afterwards and killed a bunch more people. The best way to stop a massacre is to *stop the massacre,* not to show up after the fact and perform yet another massacre.

Those old Silver Age-y covers where the team seemed to be dying, only to find out that the heroes pulled a fast one on the villains and tricked them into blowing up some robots or something? That's some proactive effective hero-ing, right there! For someone like Batman, that should be a typical Thursday, out-clevering and out-preparing one of his poor-impulse-control villains, followed by headlines about Joker's boner.

Not like these losers today who don't even notice that there's a problem until a city has been blown up and a couple hundred thousand people are dead (and it never matters, because, next month, the city will either be completely rebuilt, or never mentioned again, making it obviously sensationalism for sensationalisms sake, and not anything meaningful or significant...).

I'm reading stories about people with zero percent body fat who can punch planets out of the sky and break six laws of physics (as well making a mockery of the legal system) before breakfast. What 'genius' thought I wanted these stories to be gritty and 'realistic?' I mean, that doesn't even make sense!

*slow clap*

LMAO

Post of the month!!