First off, I'll admit that the idea for this editorial was derived from the ruckus over Marvel's The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, though it has seemed to have slowed to a crawl. Also, I have read "Marvel's winning..." this and "DC's winning..." that in the comments section of various articles far too often. There are so many mixed feelings and bias opinions of both. But, who is in fact "winning"? In the following I will break down my thoughts on the Marvel VS DC fan-based feud from what I know about the films, animation, games, and comics. Then, I will determined the "winner".
FILM - Both DC and Marvel have a flawed past whe it comes to films. The likes of the Superman sequals, Batman & Robin, Batman Forever, Supergirl, and most recently Green Lantern come to mind for DC, while for Marvel we have X3, Hulk (Ang Lee's), the FF movies, Ghost Rider, Wolverine: Origins, Daredevil, and Elektra. So, yes, they both have some mediocre (being nice) films. They have also both produced excellent films we all (mostly) love. Superman, Batman, Batman Returns, X-Men (1, 2, & First Class), Iron Man, Captain America, The Avengers, Thor, The Nolan Batman Trilogy (BB, TDK, & TDKR), and The Amazing Spider-Man. While at it, The Avengers and TDKR both did exceptionally well and were well received. They are fantastic in their own ways and I really don't think are even that comparable. Back to topic, the future releases for both companies look exciting as well (granted Marvel is producing more, but not only did they go a route that demands it, they have other companies making their movies as well were as DC has only Warner Bros). With that said, I'd have to say they are even. I can't see a distinctive winner. Conclusion...TIE.
ANIMATION - Once again, the past offers a mix of positive and negative attempts. I'll stick with the positive for this one. Marvel has done well with the animated series of X-Men & Spider-Man, then theres The Spectacular Spider-Man, FF: The World's Greatest Heroes (I liked it anyway), Wolverine and the X-Men, and most recently The Avengers: Earths Greatest Heroes. DC has animated series of Batman, Superman, and the Justice League, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Green Lantern TAS, and my current fav Young Justice. However, their future line ups don't look as promising. Although Ultimate Spider-Man is doing well (the older fans aren't liking it as much) and with GL TAS and Young Justice not returning, we don't have much to look forward to. DC will give us the likes of Beware of the Batman and Teen Titans GO, wich both look to be aimed toward a younger crowd, and Marvel has Hulk and the Agents of SMASH, and Avengers Assemble. I do have high hopes for AA, but feel I will be let down. It is also worth noting that both have produced animated movies that I thought were all pretty damn good. So, who wins this category? I feel that with the shows we will soon have to watch, neither...another TIE.
GAMES - I'm not going into alot of detail here. This really just depends on your taste in games. Recently it could be heavily debated that DC is winning with its Batman Arkham games. However, I feel the Captain America game is actually pretty similar. Marvel has put out more games, but like I said, the Batman Arkham games have sorta set the standard for super hero style games. When you think about Arkham, also remember Ultimate Alliance, Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions, and the Movie games (spidey and cap mainly). Also I am really looking forward to releases from both (Deadpool and Injustice). I want to say this one is a TIE as well.
COMICS - Here, I will go into even less detail. Both are amazing. DC has givin us Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Lobo, Green Lantern, Flash, etc... Marvel has brought us Hulk, X-Men, Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, etc... I am an avid fan of both. As for the current runs, I'd say both are lacking. While I have enjoyed the Death of the Family story (up til the end atleast) and some others (Suicide Squad, etc...) from DC and from Marvel I like the Thunderbolts, Uncanny Avengers and All-New X-Men, both DC's new 52 and Marvel's Marvel NOW have disappointed. Therefore, I will give this one a TIE as well.
They have both done extremely well and they have both made mistakes. So, to conclude (in my opinions), Marvel and DC are both WINNING. Comic books and comic book movies have never been so popular. It is actually COOL to be a comic nerd. No losers here.