>>85210837Both, though I do think that comparisons to Marvel are a bigger factor than people like to admit.
I mean Marvel are running like a Swiss watch at the moment. If you take away them still finding their feet with the Incredible Hulk they haven't released an objectively BAD film. Yeah Iron man 2 and Thor 2 are poor films but the characters and the world they inhabit are likeable enough that even though people know they are poor films they give them a pass because damn it if they aren't at least enjoyable.
They've done all this with a bunch of second stringer characters. Ones that vaguely interested normies had heard of, but probably never knew much about them. I mean was Iron Man a household name before the film? Was Thor? Captain America certainly wasn't for me, but then I'm British and don't know how broadly he was known in America.
They've now done it with much more obscure characters for normies like Ant Man, Jessica Jones, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Black Widow, The Guardians of the Galaxy, Falcon etc
DC have an uphill battle because whereas Marvel seem to have perfected the formula for making a blockbuster superhero movie that will make you a fan of just about any character in their roster at the moment, DC haven't. But they can't just copy Marvel's style because they're being compared as it is.
Its as though Marvel and DC are in a baking competition and DC have got just as good ingredients as Marvel, arguably better quality ones but know they'll get marked down if they make their cake using the same methods as Marvel, but Marvel already got their hands on the instructions.