Okay, when Marvel introduced Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man back in 2008, this was the beginning of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. What happened afterward was somewhat awkward with Iron Man 2, but it introduced us to Thor’s hammer. From Thor, there was Captain America, which led to the Avengers. After that, it was Guardians of the Galaxy, with Thor 2, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the next Avengers movie.

These films have made billions. Marvel is really making money hand over fist, and there are plans for Guardians 2, two Avengers movies, at least another X-men movie, more Spider-man, and much more. What we are seeing is something that we haven’t seen before since the age of Universal monster movies, where Dracula meets Frankenstein, the Mummy meets the Wolfman, and anything else to get people in the seats. The idea of making not one movie, but a movie that is just a link in a chain of a bigger story is really making audiences have a commitment to a story.

DC has not had much luck on this regard. The Nolan Batman trilogy made quite a big of money, but the last one really couldn’t hold up to the mammoth success of The Dark Knight. That movie really should have kicked off DC’s Cinematic Universe, but Man of Steel didn’t really meet expectations. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice could change that, but the universe it is creating is pretty dark.

If you haven’t seen the trailer, it is a film that shows Batman fighting Superman. Apparently, the good guys don’t fight the Joker or Lex Luthor, but each other. The battle is meant to hearken back to the classic Frank Miller story The Dark Knight Returns, which is a story where Batman is in a dystopian future that is so bleak that he comes out of retirement to stop it. The new Batman v Superman movie seems to show a future where Superman is perceived as threat, and it all boils down to a one-on-one fight.

The trailer for this film was on display at Comic-Con, and there was another leaked trailer for Suicide Squad. This is a DC Universe film about a group of superheroes that aren’t heroes, but villains. This is from a comic about villains who go on black ops missions to compensate for time in jail. This film feels very gritty, possibly R-Rated, and it will have the Joker in it. It will also have Batman in it, and something tells me that what we could be looking at is some kind of crossover story. I have heard there is a solo Batman film, and a Justice League film as well. This is not to mention Wonder Woman and The Flash.

So, it seems like Marvel might be looking to make movies with their heroes that might be PG-13, but appropriate for kids. It looks like DC movies are getting darker, and might be made for adults. If DC is smart, then they will make their movies to fit well together like Marvel kind of does.

In short, I used to think that DC didn’t have a chance at the box office, but if they do it well, then people will not want Marvel movies.