A war is raging in the United States to see who will become the next president of the United States. However, there are two other wars that will be raging soon.

One war is against The Caped Crusader and The Man of Steel. The other is against America’s Greatest Hero and The Golden Avenger.

Yes, I am talking about the two upcoming movies Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (BvS) and Captain America: Civil War (CACW).

Both movies are doing something that has never been done before in a live action film. They are making full-length feature films of two heroes going head-to-head in an all-out battle.  So automatically, both BvS and CACW are very appealing because of the new approach they are taking.

In this column, I will be comparing both films in certain categories and will ultimately judge which film will most likely be more successful.Do not fret, there will be no spoilers.

 

Heroes Being Featured

 

In one corner, you have BvS in a fight to the death. DC is also introducing the likes of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash in this upcoming film, but Marvel still has the advantage of already having a plethora of characters to work with.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been working on their roster since 2008, and as the title of CACW implies, they intend on using a massive amount of their characters. They will use the likes of Black Panther, Spider-man, Ant-Man, Falcon, Vision and much more.

Essentially, even though BvS is pitting their two most popular superheroes against each other, CACW is going to win this round for having the appeal of numerous superheroes.

 

Comic Book Lore

 

The “Civil War” comic is a massive story arc that spans seven issues. The story in the “Civil War” comic is that after numerous accounts of death and collateral damage being linked back to superheroes, the U.S. government passes a Superhero Registration Act, which essentially requires superheroes to reveal their secret identities.

Iron Man supports the act whereas Captain America is incredibly against it. As illustrated by the trailers for CACW, Iron Man and Captain America both have teams behind them that share the same ideas as they do, and who are ready for war.

BvS follows a similar story line. From the looks of the movie, it will be based on “The Dark Knight Returns” comic, but it will not be a direct adaption. In this comic, Batman is old and has given up crime-fighting, whereas Superman is employed by the U.S. government as a war weapon. Soon Batman puts on the mask again, and begins cleaning a broken Gotham. The government becomes embarrassed that a vigilante is doing what they cannot, so they decide to send in Superman to take down Batman.

Where both films are based off of extremely influential story arcs, I believe BvS is going to pull it off better. BvS will be able to include numerous key story points, where CACW will have to leave key points out because of how extensive the “Civil War” story arc is. This round goes to BvS.

 

The Villains

 

It is necessary to look at the villains of both these films. As we know so far, CACW is to feature two villains: Crossbones and Baron Zemo, both long-time enemies of Cap’s. The addition of Crossbones alone should frighten Captain America fans. 

Despite these powerful foes, they are nothing compared to BvS’s villain.

As shown in the second BvS trailer, the destructive Doomsday is to appear in the movie. Doomsday is pure evil, and Superman fans should be afraid for his arrival as well.

Due to Doomsday’s overwhelming power compared to Crossbones and Baron Zemo, BvS will win this round for having a more threatening villain.

 

Previous Film Success

 

Sadly, the DC Cinematic Universe (DCCU) barely has a history compared to the MCU

Since 2008, Marvel has proven they’re succcess at making movies. Their top three movies alone (“Marvel’s The Avenger,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Iron Man 3”) have each individually brought in more than $1 billion. By looking at this, it is safe to assume people are going to go to CACW because they can expect a good show.

The DCCU only consists of the 2013 movie Man of Steel so far, which grossed $668 million worldwide. Compared to the billions that the MCU has raked in, it is safe to give this round to CACW since its previous film success sets it up for greater success compared to BvS.

 

The Verdict

 

Being 2-2, I went to The Collegian staff for the tie breaker.

After a vote, The Collegian decided that CACW will trump BvS in being the better movie. 

CACW definitely has the overarching advantage of experience compared to BvS.

Overall, I think both BvS and CACW will be great movies but in the end, it looks as if Marvel may keep the lead in the cinematic war over DC.

 

Jordan Bierbrauer is the Opinion Editor for The Collegian and can be reached at [email protected].