Throughout the decades, comic book movies have portrayed familiar heroes in different ways. More recently, they have received more attention and have become a larger part of pop culture. As fans anticipate big films like Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, it would benefit us to take certain aspects of comic book adaptations into account in order to observe the direction in which they are going.

Most on-screen comic book adaptations are highly anticipated; fans will pour over the cast list, trailers and press releases, then rush to the theater in hopes of being satisfied with an accurate representation of the characters they know so well. In addition, the media will scrutinize the movie, giving it reviews, breakdowns, and predict how it will affect the cinematic universe it is apart of. Yes, Marvel and DC are being referenced here.

The rivalry between Marvel and DC has been growing for a long time. This year, Marvel Studios will be celebrating 10 years of its cinematic universe, since the first Iron Man movie kicked it off in 2008. However, the DC Extended Universe, or DCEU, has been struggling to get the same recognition since it began with Man of Steel in 2013. There has always been a rift between the two competitors, with Marvel seeming to have the upper hand. This could be due to the fact that its directors, like the Russo brothers (Joe and Anthony), and James Gunn, are well known and acknowledged for their work, the soundtrack composers like Michael Giacchino are excellent, the characters are portrayed in a way that makes the viewers believe that they could be real people, and the beloved Stan Lee, former chairman of Marvel Comics, makes a cameo in almost every movie. Fans will eagerly forgive Marvel for making less captivating films like Doctor Strange, but will not show the same level of tolerance for films like Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. For the longest time, Marvel had a consistent method to their movies, which is why they were, and still are a success, while DC struggles to make films that most people will enjoy.

Though DC is not revered for their movies, they have succeeded at producing excellent TV shows. Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow all exist in a cinematic world called the Arrowverse, and air on the CW. Arrow was the first show to establish this universe, back in 2012. In January of this year, Black Lightning was added to the Arrowverse, though it was reported to have no visible connection to the other shows. Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg are credited with creating, writing and producing the shows, and Blake Neely orchestrates the soundtracks. Personally, I would prefer the lighthearted Arrowverse over the darker, grittier Marvel Netflix universe. If DC hires these people to make their movies, then the DCEU might be as successful as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

As successful as the Marvel television shows are, they could learn from the Arrowverse. Four of Marvel’s TV shows, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist, exist in their own Netflix universe, with recent additions like The Punisher, and the inclusion of all four heroes in a miniseries called The Defenders. These shows explore heavy topics and include lots of violence. Not all the shows are highly respected, but most are popular.

Marvel and DC have strengths and weaknesses in different areas. Marvel has a successful movie franchise, while DC excels on the small screen. Both companies can learn from each other; if they do, comic book adaptations will just get better and better as time goes by.