Off My Mind: Marvel & DC, Why So Many Similar Characters?

" I just this is a case of human nature coming into play.When presented with 2 choices, We HAVE to pick one over the other...we just do lolForeign vs Domestic Pepsi vs Coke   Burger King vs McDonald's At&t vs Verizonand add your favorite debate and I am sure we will have strong views no matter which side you fall on the debate. (Domestic,Coke, BK,At&t in case anyone was wondering lol)  For my 2 cents, I find the differences come down to this. Marvel I care about Matt Murdock, Peter Parker and Steve Rodgers. While DC I care about Firestorm, Flash, Green Lantern Marvel puts the characters first and their super hero ID second. The classic Spider-man tales were about Peter's life and the balance between his heroics and paying the rent  Dc we'd wait for our hero to jump into action, The Bat Signal, The Flash Ring, or Superman and the phone booth change   We could go a whole issue in  marvel book without seeing the character get into costume, but dc if the same thing transpired, I am left feeling cheated and wondering when is the Flash showing up?  Marvel has the Alter Ego, while Dc has the secret Idenity Marvel has the Comic Book Character and Dc has the Super Heroes  So of course their will be similarities but it is how the treat their line up that makes all the difference for me "

" @IrishX: no its just pointing out similarities between characters from the 2 companies of which there are many "

i lol'd at G-Man comic

MARVEL IS SO MUTCH FREKING BETTER THAN DC

Marvel and DC are copy caters because they like  to play with each other. They are both little brothers cause they always want to based an idea off another.  For the other publishers they are mostly have original characters as much as  they can but there are still some  that they have that are based on a marvel or a DC character there and there. The positive thing or good thing that I like  is that maybe you don't like superman or batman but there is a another type of batman or superman that you might like  from the other publisher rather then the  first original. For example I like velocity instead of the main speedster the flash. 

don't forget black cat and catwoman, kingpin and blackmask, juggernaut and grundy, pym and giganta, lobo and wolverine etc.
 
Mr. Fantastic isn't plastic he can stretch but the Fantastic four were based on the 4 core elements ben or earth jonny with fire sue with wind and reed with water. It's part of the whole power sources concept in marvel.  Grim hunt just touch on spiderman and the primal forces in all animals. Those were also the mutants who survived house of M.

Pool water not so good lol. Good video. Surprised DC's Deathstroke & Marvel's Deadpool weren't mentioned. They may be a decade apart but the similarity is way obvious. I do agree that how the characters are written is more important than if they happen to have the same powers and personalities as someone else. At the same time it would be nice if Marvel & DC tried being more original than biting a bit off each other now & then.

" @IrishX: Spoiler: My whole point is it doesn't matter who created what first. It's how they're written. The video simply mentions different characters. I'm an obvious supporter of both publishers. "

Well said G-MAN all the character that i like are due to they unique personality. They are lot of charaters that have simlar powers but they personality are vastly different.

location, location, location. loved the video

Deadshot / 1950/ DC/ mercenary
Deathlok the demolisher /1974/ Marvel/ Futuristic gunman cyborg (Deathlok and Deadshot are original each have their diff paths)
Deathstrokethe terminator/ 1980/ DC/ mercenary (But then Slade was created as "The terminator" awfully similar to Deathlok's name and title)Deadpool the merc with a mouth /1990/ Marvel/ Mercenary (Deadpool was created as an original idea but later was changed to be a parody of Slade)Deathtrap/ 1993/ Wildstorm/ mercenary (Deadpool Ripoff looks just alike him even has a red costume.)   "

" @G'bandit said: 
" G didn't mention the mercs....... I'll mention them! 

Deadshot / 1950/ DC/ mercenary
Deathlok the demolisher /1974/ Marvel/ Futuristic gunman cyborg (Deathlok and Deadshot are original each have their diff paths)
Deathstrokethe terminator/ 1980/ DC/ mercenary (But then Slade was created as "The terminator" awfully similar to Deathlok's name and title)Deadpool the merc with a mouth /1990/ Marvel/ Mercenary (Deadpool was created as an original idea but later was changed to be a parody of Slade)Deathtrap/ 1993/ Wildstorm/ mercenary (Deadpool Ripoff looks just alike him even has a red costume.)   "

Deadpool came out in 1987 "

" I think it's fair to say the biggest difference is how each publication presents their characters.  Quicksilver is a colossal screw up that lies, cheats and causes more problems than he fixes where as the Flash is a hero, he saves the day and gets the glory through legitimate means. They're similar yet entirely different.  Plastic Man and Mr. Fantastic are polar opposites yet similar in some ways. One's a pervert who would literally chop an arm off at a chance with any hot lady on the Justice League roster and the other's more in love with science than his extremely hot wife :|  Great video, any chance we'll see G-Man rocking out with the geeetaaar sometime? "

I do like both Marvel and DC. If I had to choose one I would go with Marvel. Marvel seems more "modern-day" where as DC feels like it's in the past. Just my opinion though.

its not the power its how the character is portrayed and affected and effects the world around him

DC doesn't have a black woman with white hair, that is Storm!

Wah! I'm a Streaky ripoff!

Well  I think between JSA/JLA there are definitely more JLA members than Avengers,  Either way DC has many characters which predate similar Marvel characters but the same thing works in reverse as well. including Thin man who predates plastic man by like a decade or so. I have always had a  saying Marvel has the better characters but DC has the better stories, granted there is alot of error in both of these thought processes but the gist is there.  I think there isn't a limited number of super powers. per se. but there may be a limited number of "relevant" super powers. I think there are still alot that people have never really used because they just haven't been made up yet.

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Anyone mention Man-Thing from Marvel in May 1971?  
And a few months later DC came out with Swamp Thing in July 1971?
 

I would say that there are a finite number of super powers. Since about the 80's, the powers are almost all being either being reused, amplified (to another character), or a really obscure power is being used.

" Hmm, good points but Marvel still has Storm whose the only character ever to be able to control the weather "

booker t = the rock
razor ramon = stone cold steve austin = the sandman (ecw)
nwo=dx
etc.
nsync=backstreet boys
miley cyrus=justin beiber 
 
the list goes on and on, they go with whatever works and/or is popular,
competition usually sparks some great stories

Wolverine is Unique and so is Batman for the most part.

Spider-Man and Blue Beetle 2.  Both agile, joking, bug realated characters.

I don't think Marvel has any similar hero to DC's Green Lanterns.

"I don't think Marvel has any similar hero to DC's Green Lanterns. "

 
What the #$*& is the point of this?

" @Phantim555 said:

" Hmm, good points but Marvel still has Storm whose the only character ever to be able to control the weather "

Dc has the villain called weather wizard that controls the weather "

Ah, they forgot to include the kid at the pool shouting, "Mommy! Mommy! That guy who's talking to himself just spit in the pool!"

Actually G-Man, Plastic Man was a Quality Comics Character, DC created Elongated Man because Julius Schwartz didn't know DC bought the rights to Plastic Man 4 years prior.

Wade Wilson > Slade wilson

There's only so many super powers out there that make for interesting heroes. At the same time, it's the whole archetypes issue again; oh, yeah, there's anti-heroes, sooo unoriginal- it can't be helped.