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The Dark Knight Rises vs The Avengers

Nolan or Whedon? Loki or Bane? Fans of both franchises are proudly standing by their picks and tearing each other apart over which film they're more excited for. But let's put down the fanboy flags and take a more unbiased and detailed look at the comparisons between the two, shall we?

Gregg By Gregg Katzman January 25, 2012
  

Marvel's The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises will soon grapple for superior reviews and figures at the box office, but even when all is said and done with the theatrical releases, fans from both sides of the war will valiantly fight to prove why their favorite is the superior of the two. Will praised director Christopher Nolan overcome the iconic Joss Whedon's gathering of Marvel's biggest heroes? 

Batman is disputably the biggest name at DC, but movies like Iron Man and Thor have turned relatively lesser-known heroes into household names. I never thought I'd see the day where pictures of Thor would decorate a Dunkin Donuts, but will this be enough to overthrow the Batman juggernaut?

Honestly, we're amazingly excited for both. But, for the sake of argument, let's compare and contrast.

 

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Batman Begins
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Former Films

Marvel Studios has a large numbers edge here, releasing Iron Man I and II, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Meanwhile over at the batcave, Nolan only has Batman Begins and The Dark Knight in his batbelt. But quality overcomes quatinity. Wait! Put down the pitchforks and hear me out first. While a few of Marvel Studios efforts are great, the rest really don't stack up to that rank. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight on the other hand, are widely admired for a reason. Both are superb examples of filmmaking and compltely warrant the level of praise they receive. That said, I'll still firmly disagree with the individuals that overhype and believe they're "flawless" movies. 

Winner: The Dark Knight Rises

 

The Ultimates
Credit: Marvel Comics

Source Material

And now we come to the reason why we care about these movies: the source material. Batman and The Avengers have decades upon decades of story arcs, but the two that seem to be drawn from the most for these films are Knightfall and The Ultimates. Knightfall is plenty of fun, featuring cameos from a huge amount of Batman villains and lots of mandatory battles taking place across Gotham City. It's an entertaining read, but it's not going to rank among the greats anytime soon.

Then there's The Ultimates (vol 1 & 2) by Mark Millar. If you've never read it, you need to stop reading this article this very second and go buy the graphic novels. These two volumes are absolutely must reads. This new take on the Avengers (in the Ultimate Universe) was witty, refreshing and just downright fantastic. And if that doesn't have you sold, there's a legendary Hulk vs Avengers fight. Seriously, go read this right now.

Winner: Marvel's The Avengers

The Trailers

Both trailers are hair-raising and make us all go insane with anticipation, but the two minute trailer for Marvel's The Avengers simply left me awe-struck. Thor vs Cap! A sneak peak at Hulk! Tony Stark verablly owning Cap! Nick Fury with a rocket launcher! This trailer is just packed with so many teasers that'll make any Marvel fan keep it on loop.

The Dark Knight Rises trailer is also filled with exciting moments to catch, but it didn't have my adrenaline rushing as much and that's taking into account the fact that I'm a Bane fanboy. There's plenty of reasons to be counting the days until both movies, but when it comes to trailers my vote goes to Marvel Studios.

Winner: Marvel's The Avengers

Bane
Credit: Empire Magazine

The Hype

The Dark Knight Rises has blown Marvel's The Avengers out of the water when it comes to buzz. The Avenger's trailer is excellent, but aside from that there hasn't been a lot to keep us thrilled. The Dark Knight Rises has released an IMAX prologue, more videos, an equal (if not greater) amount of on-set pictures and they've stayed strong with a viral campaign (The Dark Knight Rises Viral Package).

As of now, this is The Dark Knight Rises's world, but fret not, Marvel fans, Disney and Marvel Studios has plenty of time to catch up.

Winner: The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises
Credit: Warner Bros.

The Posters

At the moment The Dark Knight Rises without question has bested Marvel's The Avengers in the posters contest. Currently, the Marvel film only has the sleek poster branded with the "A" logo, while The Dark Knight Rises has two at its disposal: the bat symbol formed out of collapsing buildings and the jaw-dropping image of Bane walking away from Batman's broken mask. I don't need to be blatantly favoring Bane to realize that the latter is one hell of a stunning poster.

Winner:  The Dark Knight Rises

 

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