DC vs. DC

DC-Pros

DC has some good things that go on, such as Batman being weird, LGBTQ+ people, and people of different races. Concluding this introduction, let’s start off with the Pros. Batman is weird, and there have been panels suggesting that he is autistic. This shows that DC truly cares about diversity in disabilities. Which is good because we need more mental health rep, plus it explains his behavior to some extent. Such as how he will just go comics focused solely on one villain, even if they aren’t the one causing specific trouble right now, just learning their behavior and that can be classified as hyper fixation. Plus, he wears sunglasses inside, which can fall under a sensory issue, which can be linked back to autism.

There are two confirmed bisexual characters at the moment Timothy Drake and Jonathan Kent. Now, this is important because it is good to see people whom you can relate to not only as a good guy but also as the main character of the story. Plus since they show them not only in a good light but also as a romantic relationship. Now, because we have at least some characters who kids can relate to without having to awkwardly look up what they’re feeling, or feeling left out because they’re not like the other kids is cool. There is also a Canon Alternate Universe where instead of Batman and Superman, we have Midnighter and Apollo, who are married, and happily in love, and also that universe's version of Bruce and Clark. Which is great for representing the LGBTQ+.

We also have Duke Thomas, Bruce’s foster kid, and Damian Wayne Al Ghul, Bruces only biological kid, one of which is a daytime hero so at least he’s getting some sun. Bruce had a relationship with Talia Al Ghul, daughter of Ra’s Al Ghul, and had a child who is half Arabian, and was raised by his mother until he was about twelve and began living with Bruce, and became the fifth Robin. Duke is known as Signal when he’s out as a vigilante, he also happens to be Black. Duke and Damian are important because it does help to prove that yes even though you are not white, you too can be a hero.

The Flashes are people who have superspeed and are part of the speed force, honorable mentions include Barry Allen (Flash), Wally West (Kid Flash), and Bart Allen, (Impulse). They can turn into pure energy, they can turn back time, and they also probably have ADHD, which is manifesting in them being super hyperactive. Now, they are also loved by the people in Star City, super quickly, which maybe don’t be so trusting. All three of the “speedsters” mentioned are also part of a team, Justice League,

Teen Titans, and Young Justice. The “speedsters'' are a bit of a crazy bunch, especially when it comes to their family tree, but even still they have a lighter quality to them which can appeal to those who are not big fans of the darker themes shown in Batman and even Superman. Also, they can vibrate their entire body. This is why you don’t count your Robin’s before they hatch.

DC- Cons

The toxicity within this Universe is astonishing. We have people young or old comparing themselves to Harley Quinn and the Joker. The Joker treated Harley Quinn like a slave. He made her kneel, he hit and kicked her, tortured her for being independent. That’s just a few of the abusive behavior the Joker showed towards Harley Quinn. They have been a couple in the comics since 1993; they broke up in “issue 25”. Adding onto Harley Quinn she and much more female roles are sexualized, not just sexualized, but hypersexualized. Her outfits contains a corset, thigh-high shorts and a jacket paired with fishnet stockings. The movie Suicide Squad made in 2016, she wears a torn shirt, thigh- high short, fishnet stockings and a pair of high heels. This is what the comic artist chose. They choose to oversexualize female characters to “Make the characters more appealing to men,” stated by Temple-news.com. Why do they need to appeal to men? The author thinks it’s best for the female idols to act sexual is to fulfill a man’s fantasy. That was stated by Butwhythopodcast.com.

The next conflict is whitewashing characters, as an example Damian Wayne-Al Ghul, and Talia Al Ghul. These characters were first introduced in Batman: Son of the Demon published in 1987. What is whitewashing? In this case whitewashing is having people depict the characters as white people when they were not originally white. It is not just in the DC comics where they whitewash, it is also in the Marvel comics. The reason they whitewash in movies or in artwork is stated by kispesan.medium.com The writers forkispesan.medium.com claim, “-the favoritism of light skin and Eurocentric features-,” the writer, actors, artists, do it because of favoritism, and it is a a form of racism. The definition of racism is, “the belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities, especially so as to distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another,” told by the Oxford dictionary.

Then, this is about the movies. The movies make a noticeable difference in cast; mostly for Batman and the Joker. In total there are about 8 different Batman’s and 7 different Jokers, that is including the two new actors from the recent movie: The Batman, released in 2022. People don’t mind the casting change, but the dynamic is different.

Lastly, every time they switch the cast, the dynamic is much different, even if it’s the same characters. It changes the chemistry of the characters and how they interact with each other, like if they cast two different people for Dirty Dancing instead of Patrick Swyaze, and Jennifer Grey. The chemistry would be off and even awkward, like in The Lego Batman movie Batman and the Joker and really good chemistry and look nice together, but in Under the Red Hood they were awkward. Which is why it’s so important to have actors with good chemistry and try to stick with them for as long as you can. The better chemistry, the better the movie. With article at an end like the DC Universe, go check out the Marvel pros and cons article. See What universe you like the most.