Marvel Vs. DC: Why Marvel rules
In worlds of capes and crusaders who save humankind, Marvel is beating DC hands down.
DC has had much success with Batman and Superman, but Marvel has countless superheroes that are more recognizable and profitable.
Even Superman and Captain America have argued about this in print; In a crossover comic, Captain America saw the DC universe as a fascist state with no room for free will, yet Superman saw the Marvel universe as failing to protect its inhabitants
Yet consumers themselves seem to prefer the imperfect world over the ideal one.
The reason why Marvel has been slaying DC across mediums including both print and film is due in part to how its stories are formed. Regardless of who they are, its heroes start the same. Something happens to them that leaves them burdened with a superpower and they must learn to live with it.
The most notable example of this is Spider-Man. A poor, orphaned kid living in New York who is constantly bullied ends up in an accident that gives him superhuman powers. He was not born with with his abilities, he acquired them by chance. From his experiences he learns the phrase most readily connected with the series: "with great power comes great responsibility."
Another example of this is not an individual hero, but a group of them, The X-Men. In the Marvel universe, "mutants" are anyone who gains superpowers genetically which usually manifest themselves during adolescence.
Being shunned from society due to how they were born, the X-Men came about as a means of finding familiarity as outcasts and forming a community of mutants.
Captain America falls into this category in his own way. A frail young man in the midst of World War II signs up for an experimental procedure and becomes the pinnacle of human perfection. His body now matches his willpower, and strives to represent the American Dream with his newfound gift.
Of all the Marvel characters created, Spider-Man is one of the characters that best captures the hearts of many children, because it's all about a young kid trying to make sense of his world while trying to be a hero as well.
DC's Superman however, is very much a god amongst mortals. He is living in a world where at any given moment, he can destroy it and no one can stop him, only a deus ex machina like Kryptonite.
Batman's title of "world's greatest detective" gives writers an out to make Batman illogically perfect. He can always escape every situation because he has contingencies within contingencies prepared for any possible scenario.
In addition, much of the DC pantheon are near saints. Batman swears never to kill, and Superman is constantly trying to do the right thing.
Meanwhile, Marvel comics is very much trying out new things and story-lines. Sure some of it fails short, but they are at least willing to experiment.
DC feels more like a relic of the past, trying to cling on to old ideals and stick to their guns. We don't need a league to protect humanity from ourselves, just people to avenge us when the world falls to pieces.