Marvel and DC are the two titans of the comics industry. They’ve been in the
business since the 1930s, and their impressive roster of titles and heroes has
naturally led to endless argument about which is better. One of the biggest
lynchpins in the argument is which company is more original. In other words,
which has ripped off the most from the other? It’s a classic battle, like Coke vs
Pepsi, and much like the Cola Wars, this comics rivalry has seen both sides dip
into each other’s ideas. The argument has raged on for decades, and there are
lots of examples where Marvel has ripped off DC, and DC has ripped off
Marvel. While this list isn’t here to settle the score, it’s going to give you a peek
into the convoluted and convenient history of the companies’ inspirations.
Here are most of the parallel characters between the addictive yet non-
threatening rivals of the comic world, DC and Marvel.
Watch here :
1. MARVEL: BLACK CAT FROM CATWOMAN
It made a lot of sense when DC comics took the term cat burglar to its
super powered logical conclusion in 1940 with Cat woman. She’s
Batman’s long-running anti-hero will-they- won’t-they love interest, with
an ambiguous morality and cat-themed look. She stands in marked
contrast to the more villainous of Batman’s rogues, with a hard
backstory and a penchant for jewel-theft over anarchy. In 1979, Marvel
introduced Spider-Man to Black Cat, and she would become his morally
ambiguous cat-themed on-and- off love interest with a penchant for
burglary. She is also an acrobatic martial artist with disguises, stealth,
and trickery that make her a carbon copy of Cat woman — down to the
femme fatale attitude She does have some bad-luck powers, but like
Bumblebee, it’s not enough to set her out of Cat woman’s feline
shadow. In 2004 their storylines converged even more, both becoming
crime bosses at the same time.
2. DC: AQUAMAN FROM NAMOR THE SUBMARINER
There are only two classic heroes whose domain is the entire ocean.
Namor the Submariner, debuting in 1939 in Marvel Comics #1, started as
an antihero, an agent of chaos. He has gills, an incredible swimming
ability, super strength, speed, and stamina — he can also control water
and telepathically connect to all marine life. Early in his run he
threatened to sink Manhattan under a tidal wave. Those are also the
powers of the Atlantean king of DC comics: Aquaman. Aquaman is also
an outsider with a troubled relationship with the surface world,
superhuman speed and strength, especially underwater, and the ability
to command ocean life. While he only made his first appearance in 1941,
he did beat Namor to the post of being labeled an Atlantean. Namor’s
home and origins were only identified in 1949.
3. DC: BUMBLEBEE FROM THE WASP
The Wasp is one of the great female heroes of the Marvel Universe: one
of the longest serving Avengers, and their leader after Tony Stark she
even named the Avengers. Janet van Dyne can fly, change size thanks to
Pym Particles, fire bio-electric energy blasts, and control insects like Ant-
Man. However, she’s not the only heroine flying around sporting her
thematic black-and- yellow look. Thirteen years after the Wasp first
appeared in 1963, DC debuted Karen Beecher as Bumblebee in Teen
Titans #45. With a suit that gives her powers identical to the Wasp’s,
including electric shock stingers, she became a member of the teenage
team-up. Later on, she developed the ability to fire off sonic blasts, but
that’s not quite enough to distinguish her from her famous Marvel
predecessor. While the Wasp first appeared in tales to Astonish #44 in
1963, Bumblebee didn’t appear until Teen Titans #45 in 1976. Of course
the costume is similar, as they are both similarly themed, but DC could
maybe go out of their way to carve their own unique bug-woman niche
instead of just saying “But ours is black in colour not the same.
4. MARVEL: DEADPOOL(WADE WILSON) vs DEATHSTROKE(SLADE WILSON)
This one is fairly well-known to comics fans, and actually has a happy
ending, thanks to Marvel taking steps to not only separate their
Liefeildian mutant knock-off (Deadpool) from his muse(Deathstroke),
but fashion an entirely original aspect to comics narrative at the same
time. While Deathstroke, who is a great villain in his own right, appeared
first in The New Teen Titans in 1980, Deadpool didn’t show up for
another decade, when world-famous hack/thief Rob Liefeld introduced
him as a villain in a New Mutants comic at Marvel. When writer Fabian
Nicieza saw the design, he was quoted as saying, this is Deathstroke
from Teen Titans. Well, thankfully Deadpool was re-imagined later as a
fourth-wall- breaking psychotic smart-ass anti-hero with his own
successful series of books, and is now one of the most popular
characters of all time, in several titles featuring his hilarious banter with
himself. He’s even maybe someday possibly going to eventually get his
own solo movie, perhaps? Alas, because Deathstroke came first DC gets
the win for this round, but I’d say Marvel earns some major originality
points for redeeming the character of Deadpool.
4. MARVEL: DOCTOR STRANGE FROM DOCTOR FATE
Doctor Fate is the premier magic-wielding doctor in DC comics, with his
first appearance in 1940. He draws his powers from artifacts like the
Amulet of Anubis, the Cloak of Destiny, and the Helm of Fate, which
combine to give the sorcerer phenomenal powers. The first Doctor Fate
was archaeologist Sven Nelson, fighting crime and supernatural danger
from a tower in Massachusetts. He became a medical doctor in 1942.
Doctor Fate’s description sounds a lot like another medical doctor who
uses an amulet and magic cloak to help him fight supernatural threats
and master the arcane arts. Marvel’s Doctor Stephen Strange made his
first appearance in 1963, and since then has defended New York and the
universe from his secluded Sanctum Sanctorum.
5. DC: ROCKET RED FROM IRON MAN
When Iron Man made his debut in 1963, the audience saw a metal
suited superhero shooting out of the Cold War conflict for the first time.
In 1987, DC introduced its own metal-suited hero, but this time he hailed
from Russia. Both heroes share a love of tech and tinkering with suits to
help them protect the Earth.Where Marvel’s Tony Stark is complex, vice-
ridden, and wonderfully inventive, Rocket Red is more muted. He is also
less prone to rolling out a new suit of armor for every occasion. Perhaps
a combination of being the first, loudest, and most prolific of the two,
Tony Stark is by far the more recognizable. It also helps that the original
armor was made by Stark himself, whereas the Rocket Red Brigade’s
armor was first created by Green Lantern Kilowog. Iron Man’s tech is
better than Rocket Red… ” Rocket red armor was made by Kilowog using
advanced alien science. that doesn’t really mean anything to this fight.
Also, Rocket Red probably doesn’t have Iron man’s tech support.
6. MARVEL:HAWKEYE FROM GREEN ARROW
DC was not shy about Robin Hood’s influence on the Green Arrow. In his
Year One origin story, Oliver Queen loses everything to a corrupt
employee after he buys Robin Hood’s cinematic bow. His constant
drinking and bling-laden life make him out to be an expendable joke.
After being treated like the poor in a Grimm’s tale, there was no law for
him anymore. At his core, he remains the voice of reason in the Justice
League. He stands up for the little guy when his cohorts are taking down
overpowered alien threats. Yet, his dark-side of wanton revenge often
shines through. For instance, in the wonderful animated take on The
Dark Knight Returns he cracks a smile and, in a dead-pan voice, says “I
always thought it would come down to you two,” before agreeing to
help Batman take down Superman, who has become the enforcer for
the U.S. government. Oliver Queen is 23 years older than Clint Barton,
and Hawkeye was introduced as a reluctant villain, who eventually
joined the Avengers in 1964. Similar to Green Arrow, Hawkeye is a voice
of the obvious for Marvel’s Avengers. Both he and Oliver can, therefore,
come across as sarcastic assholes, which is actually a welcome relief in
light of the shared nationalistic naivety between the red, white and blue
costumed team leaders of Captain America and Superman. Aside from
the fact that both characters use bows, Hawkeye really has no other
reason to be around aside from assuring fans that Marvel and DC do
have to rip-off each other’s characters when the quiver of ideas run out.
7. DC: BLACKEST NIGHT FROM MARVEL ZOMBIES
Alternate universe comics are always entertaining, and zombies have
been a phenomenon for the last few years. Marvel made a great call
with its Marvel Zombies event, running from 2006 to 2007. A strange
infection turns the Marvel heroes of Earth-2149 into zombies, though
not shambling mindless ones. They keep their powers and intellects, but
are driven by “the Hunger” to devour human flesh. Zombie superheroes
were also the focus of DC’s 2009-2010 Blackest Night event, where the
personified force of the Grim Reaper, Nekron, raises superheroes to
crush out all life. While the Marvel zombies hunger for flesh, the Black
Lanterns devour emotions. The story was more closely tied to DC’s main
continuity, and led to the follow-up series Brightest Day, which resolved
loose threads from resurrected heroes.
8. MARVEL: CIVIL WAR FROM KINGDOM COME
Marvel’s Civil War (2006/07):
The Marvel arc of the moment, Civil War is a crossover storyline
presented in a seven-issue limited series and published across two years.
The comic follows Marvel’s heroes as they are forced to pick sides in the
aftermath of a number of botched superhero missions that lead to
significant collateral damage. When a group of young heroes named the
New Warriors fail in an attempt to capture Nitro on camera for their
reality TV show, the villain uses his explosive powers to destroy a
number of city blocks, killing 600 civilians, 60 of whom were children.
This forces the U.S. Government to introduce the Superhero Registration
Act, and those not adhering to it are deemed rogue vigilantes. Tony
Stark and Dr. Reed Richards lead the side of the pro-registration, while
Captain America leads a team of anti-registration heroes that become
known as the Secret Avengers. The conflict ends with a battle in New
York City, brought to a halt when Cap – who was about the deliver the
finishing blow to a near-beaten Iron Man – is held back by civilians.
Seeing the error of his ways, Steve Rogers is hauled off to jail while Tony
Stark is named new director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
DC’s Kingdom Come (1996):
Another story arc that DC got to first, Kingdom Come was a four-part
mini-series published under the Elseworlds imprint. Like Civil War, it was
a deconstructionist story that followed DC’s traditional superheroes as
they are forced into a conflict with their own kind in the form of
vigilantes. The Justice League, lead by Superman, hang up their capes
and abandon the superhero life after public support for a reckless hero
named Magog swells. After Magog’s actions lead to the deaths of
millions in the American Midwest, the Man of Steel is coaxed out of
retirement, though his attempts to lure Batman into his reformed Justice
League do not go as planned, with Bruce Wayne critical of his former
ally’s approach to the crisis. It boils down to a battle between the idealist
views of Superman (who is the Captain America of this story) and the
diplomatic tactics of Batman (who, of course, is Iron Man). When the
final conflict gets out of hand the government are forced to drop bombs
on the battle, a move that infuriates Superman. The Kryptonian heads to
the UN’s headquarters and threatens to bring the building down on the
delegates as punishment, though – much like Cap – he sees that his
actions are causing exactly what he was trying to prevent and relents.
Same story, different heroes.
9. DC: ATOMIC SKULL FROM GHOST RIDER
It’s hard to imagine two people independently coming up with flaming-skull
headed superhumans. Marvel debuted its attempt at converting heavy
metal into comic book form in 1972. Johnny Blaze was a stunt driver who
sold his soul to the demonic Mephisto. Now his body burns with hellfire and
he fights evil with his iconic chain along with a host of other superhuman
abilities. Atomic Skull actually started out as a yellow-and- green caped
supervillain fighting Superman. It was only in 1991 that we saw Joseph
Martin become the Atomic Skull, who is also a man with a flaming skull and
a love of leather jackets. Although his origin is a result of genetic mutation
from the Dominators, he later also makes a pact with a demonic entity,
Neron, for enhanced powers. Atomic Skull has radio-active powers,
including enhanced super-human abilities and energy blast projection.
Normal human altered by an alien gene bomb enabling superhuman
strength, stamina and durability capable of emitting tremendous blast of
radioactive energy. While the Ghost Rider is an Old West crimefighter set in
the 1800s originally created and published by Magazine Enterprises Johnny
Blaze possesses the supernatural ability to transform into the Ghost Rider at
will .The Ghost Rider also possesses superhuman strength.
10. MARVEL: Necrosha Ripped-Off Blackest Night
Necrosha is a crossover story arc that came out in the same year as (but
most certainly after) Blackest Night. It was teased for a short time in the
pages of X-Force and began in earnest with one-shot X-Necrosha in October
2009. The continuing story follows Selene, the Black Queen of the Hellfire
Club, as she gains access to the Technarch transmode virus and uses it to
resurrect a number of dead mutants. While the antagonist’s goal in Blackest
Night was to be the master of all life, Selene’s similarly grand plan is to
assemble an army of the resurrected and use them to become a Goddess.
With her new Inner Circle of Blink, Mortis, Senyaka, Wither and Eli Bard,
Selene manages to keep her enemies busy long enough for her to head to
the island of Genosha (soon rechristened Necrosha) and resurrect millions
of dead Genoshan mutants in order to sacrifice their souls. In the end
Warpath and the X-Force use the Ghost Dance – a ritual taught to them by
Ghost Rider that kills evil spirits – to attack Selene’s Inner Circle, killing two
and scattering the rest. Warpath himself stabs Selene, who explodes into a
rays of light and dies, taking the effects of the virus with her.
DC’s Blackest Night (June 2009):
This crossover from DC consists of an eponymous, central miniseries and
a number of tie-in books. DC’s take on the undead begins when the
Black Hand, chosen by the Black Lantern battery as a mortal coil,
removes the skull of Bruce Wayne from his grave and recites an
incantation that promises the coming of the Blackest Night. With this,
every deceased superhero and villain receives a Black Lantern ring and
proceeds rise from their graves. The Green Lantern and the Flash, who
were visiting Batman’s grave only moments before it was desecrated,
lead the charge against the undead, with Flash using his abilities to warn
every hero on the planet that their former allies and enemies have
returned as evil corpses. Members of the Justice League and the various
Lantern Corps arrive to bolster the numbers, but even they seem to be
no match for Nekron of the Black Lantern core. Nekron plans to make
contact with the Entity, the cause and source of all life in the universe
which began on Earth. His plan backfires, however, when the Entity
takes the side of the living and transfers its power into every ring it can
reach, creating the White Lantern corps. As the Marvel heroes used the
Ghost Dance to defeat the ringleader of the zombies, so the DC ones use
the power of the Entity, and the undead were able to rest in peace.
