Discussion Of The Week Recap – Marvel vs DC

Discussion Of The Week - Marvel Toys VS DC Toys

I suspect a lot of people are going to say Marvel due to the successful launch of the Marvel Universe line. Personally I like more Marvel characters than DC characters so I feel my decision will be biased. The Marvel Legends and DC Universe Classics / Superheroes are all some nicely detailed toys. I've been fighting the urge to go crazy and buy a ton of these things in package at the local comic shops but will try and wait until the Canadian Action Figure Expo to pick some up loose.

Ultimately I think Marvel is doing a better job of getting their 6 inch figures into stores. If you can't find the toy it's hard to collect it.

Marvel. Do I need to explain why?

I've always preferred the Marvel Universe characters over DC, with a few exceptions (Batman's Rogues Gallery). Also, I think Marvel has had better figures than DC, both in terms of availability and fun.

My question would be what if Hasbro had the DC license and Mattel had the Marvel one? How would we feel then?

I'm a Marvel guy, myself, so I lean heavily towards that direction. However, DC Direct has done a fantastic job of producing figures based on specific artist interpretations of characters. The DC Universe Classics line is great and reminds me of being a kid and playing with the Super Powers line. The 3.75" stuff is just not on par with Marvel's.

In the end I have to go with Marvel. From the original Secret Wars line, 90's Marvel, X-Men and Spider-Man, Marvel Legends and now Marvel Universe, Marvel has consistently had great toys on store shelves that I always want to pick up.

While I do prefer the way the Marvel figures are compared to the DC, I have to say Marvel BUT that decision is more based on the characters rather than the toys. I have read both Marvel and DC since I was old enough to read and truthfully I have more favorites in the Marvel Universe than the DC universe. So I say Marvel simply because in my opinion they have more interesting and fun characters than DC but that is of course an opinion and everyone is different.

I will play odd man out. I read the marvel books mainly because they are online but collect the DC Universe Classics. Mattel puts out a pretty solid figure.

I'm an equal fan of both, and have always been a green lantern fan. With that said on the even characters...

I tend to prefer the modern 3.75'' Marvel Figures. Better sculpts, better articulation, and just all around more poseable and fun. They also include accessories.

DCIH which is my DC line of choice, while gradually improving the articulation, lacks accessories. I do give them kudos for doing jay garrick and other lower knowns so soon. But Lanterns without power batteries, female figures having v-cut legs, shoulder articulation and head rotation, just seems like they are still making DC figures in the 80s.
Comparing Ms. Marvel to Raven/starfire/Star Saphire just isn't even fair. Ms. Marvel/Firestar are clear winners. Female sculpt with articulation that doesn't hinder detail that allows for a multitude of poses.

So for now, I prefer Marvel, simply for the fair treatment they've given to all genders in sculpts and articulation.

All that's for the 3.75'' lines though.

When it comes to the collector lines...
Marvel wins again. Legends has better bigger BAFs, better detail, and again, the better articulation. Mattel in the DC counterpart makes what looks to me like wrestling toys in DC costumes.

It's only once we get over to the Direct figure market, that my opinion turns.
While DC Direct is lacking somewhat in articulation they do make up for it in characters, regularity, and even a Green Lantern Specific line. Whereas Marvel Direct is slow with the characters, and hasn't done many to any characters I'd want.

So I guess for me it boils down to this as the final result.

3.75'' Winner: Marvel Universe. (Great sculpts, great articulation, no real gender bias on articulation.)
6'' Winner: Marvel Legends. (Covers a wide array of characters with great articulation and massive BAFs)
Direct Winner: DC (Multitude of lines covering all sorts of characters we may never see otherwise.)

In the 90s, Kenner also surprised us with the Total Justice/JLA line. Great sculpts, low articulation, but the accessories made up for it. Compared to Toy Biz's marvel lines at the same time(this was right before legends), DC won flat out. Those were some of my favorite toys as I grew up reading the Kyle Rayner GL run. And though I watched and read X-Men back then, the figures in comparison were too basic and simple, with extremely low detail, and ugh, action features that hindered play value.
Marvel has come a long way. It's a shame that DC has done an about face almost since they've switched companies. While they've improved the articulation, they just don't have that same sculpting magic they had back with Kenner. Even the duplicates that were released were amazingly neat figures, like the Flash Atom blue beetle three pack, or the Green Lantern Dr. polaris two pack.

I'd like to see what Hasbro could manage now with the DC license after all they've done on MU. From the accessories to the poses and even the sculpts. It'd just be nice to have Blackest night, or Emerald Twilight, even Superman Red or Blue, or brainiac 13 like figures in those scales with faithful accurate detailed sculpts.

So while I love me some green lantern. Marvel wins hands down for modern lines.
But until X-Force X-23 is made, Mattel can still catch up if they overhaul some aspects of their DCIH lines. The new articulation is a great start. But they still need accessories, stands, and to correct the gender biased articulation. It sucks that starfire can't even make a decent flight pose. Or Raven a decent using her powers pose. Or even wonderwoman or more even being able to do a decent pose at all, or even stand without help. =/

Wow, looks like this might be a first round KO.

im a HUUUGE Marvel fan, but im thinking DC is actually putting some work into their 6" line even tho there was a half a wave i couldnt find, im kind of tired of never seeing some of the marvel stuff and then only to be kind of dissapointed in some of it when i do find it. So to me its a draw, i love the DC figures but the personal attatchment to the characters isnt there, and well Hasbro has kinda been letting me down lately, i dont care for MU at all and so the lack of love for Legends is turning me off

For myself it has to be Marvel, as I collect 3 3/4" figures & I find the Universe/Fury Files to have much better articulation than DC's Infinite Hero's line while still having impressive sculpts. Also, some of the Marvel/TF Crossovers ain't to shabby.

Agreed. I was determined to be a completist with the DCUC line, but with wave 2 becoming like a Big Foot sighting, and me having rarely seen wave 3 and others, I gave up. The figures are great, I love them, the 4H make great figures, but now I just buy some if I see them.

Both Marvel and DC toys are almost even at this point. How so? When one does a great line, the other does a poor one, and vice versa. For example, at this point, Marvel Universe dominates DC Infinite Heroes, and DCIH won't start catching up with more articulation until later this year. Marvel Legends was at it's strongest when Toy Biz launched it, but since Hasbro got the license, it had growing pains and is just now starting to become revitalized. Whereas DC Universe Classics has been consistently strong but suffers from the same problem that plagued Toy Biz' Marvel Legends line; they are hard to find with inconsistent distribution.

Marvel tends to have better movie and cartoon figures, giving a broad range of toys to collect, be it for kids, collectors, or both. Their Marvel Crossovers Transformers are far superior to that of Mattel's transforming Batman robots as well.

For 3 3/4" Marvel is the clear winner; however for 6" I perfer DCUC. Up to series 4 there were quality issues to be sure, but the figures look great and display easily (at least for me). It is clear that Mattel cares about their 6" while the BigH could not care less, at least on a corporate level.

No doubt in the past ToyBiz and to lesser extent did a great job with ML, but at least for now IMO DCUC is king...

So for me: 3 3/4" Marvel; 6" DC

I think DC would have won if this conversation was held before 1989. The Super Powers line was pure awesome, while Secret Wars was pretty cool, but not on the Super Powers level. From about 1990 on, Toy Biz took Marvel and expanded the universe to include 3 versions of every character ever made. Then there was the Spider-man Classics/Marvel Legends line which is one of the best toy lines ever. DCUC is cool, it's just 8 years behind the pace, not to mention that the figures are impossible to find with any regularity.

I don't need ot get into the 3 3/4 lines.

Make mine Marvel!

I to have liked both lines off and on favoring one over the other, but right now I really like the DCUC line. I regretfully agree though that they are annoyingly difficult to find with any consistency.

3&3/4-Marvel
6"-DC
Comics-Post-80s Crisis DC, Pre-90s Marvel

Marvel Legends was the 1st line that I really started collecting. With the new 2 packs being released, this has driven my love for them even more.

the MU line was a nice distraction until ML came out again, but I can already tell that Hasbro is slowly transitioning us Marvel fans into the 3 3/4" scale.

The DCUC brand has been amazing out of the gate; with their clever reuse of bodies, minor tooling to make some of the most obscure characters (B'Wanna Beast!) I love this line. I have to agree with distribution problems, especially since I'm Canadian that adds to not finding the current waves.


If I had to choose one, I still have to give it to Marvel. Marvel was the 1st comic company that I started reading when I was a kid, so my heart lies there.

But DCUC is right up there, so I can't totally dismiss the line.

This is a tough call, but I'm gonna have to go against most of the crowd and say DC, just because of the DCUC/SH line.

Articulation plays a big part in my toy preferences, and while Marvel Legends is magical, some of the sculpts just aren't that pretty (Odd lookin' butt/neck joints etc). Also, the ball joints used in the hips seem to always stand out glaringly. This problem is less obvious in the 3.75" Marvel Universe line, which I have to admit I like and collect.

But DCUC/SH doesn't have this problem with ball joints. And I love the sheer weight of story some of these DC characters have behind them (Any of the icons, the big 3--Supes, Bats, WW, for eg).

It's strange about the distribution--here in South East Asia it's much easier to find DCUC and even DCSH stuff right now. We got lots of Marvel Legends but it's the much older waves. But I think pretty soon we'll not even get the DCUC stuff cos the word among retailers is that the price is going up some US$3, and that's pushing the cost price for these sellers up too much.

So DC for best line (cos really, DC Direct stuff is never concerned about articulation) and Marvel for consistently good stuff.

I have only 1 DC figure in my posession (Rorschack) and I own almost every MU figure that's been released so far excep Iron Fist, which I decided to wait for the variant of (with an actual fist) and I also own several ML figures that I decided were must haves as well as a few of the Marvel Select figures; it's safe to say who I feel wins in this category.

I'm a HUGE Marvel fan, I just find their characters to be more fun to read about and they've had me hooked since I was a kid. I do however love Batman, and Watchmen was great, but it ends there. I'll read a good DC book when it's recommended but nothing has ever made me just want to go out and purchase their figures afterward the way Marvel has with their stories.

Well I am DC guy all the way. I have every DC figure made in the US for the last 15 years, though in the last 5 years I have back way off of repaints or the weird named batman figures. Even the sorry ToyBiz ones with eh DC superheroes Aquaman that was so bad that wrote on the card back that he had to have armor under his shirt to keep him wet ( which did happen in the comics way back but not because his chest was three times the proportion of his body)

But this is because I like DC. I have to say that come of the marvel figs look amazing. Some look twisted in enough to be in the infinite heroes line if they were shorter.

The Marvel 3 3/4 quarter line far surpasses the DCIH line really in every way but scope. But I am really hoping that they catch up and Have already made up my mind if I have to re-buy every figure to get new better sculpts.
We do need accessories though badly for all of the DC lines. And some vehicles. The Batmobile and Supermobile being chief among them.
But to to put things into perspective….. If they made figures that looked like clayface with a bat of his chest… I would hunting them.

From the Original Secret Wars line, the 90's X-men/Marvel/Spider-man line, Marvel Legends, Marvel Select, and now the Marvel Universe 3.75 line, I think Marvel figures have always beaten DC figures in quality, design, character-likeliness, and articulation.

I'm a fan of both Publisher's as well, so I speak as a unbiased consumer.

My comic collection leans about 10 Marvels to 1 DC pretty much because I enjoy Marvel characters more. Though if there is a good story line in DC I'm all over it.

Action figure wise, DC characters seem to generally have sillier costumes, which keeps me from wanting to buy any. If the DCIH stuff were nicer, I'd probably buy some DC A-listers to beat up on with my MU.

Marvel all the way.

The first action figures I ever collected were Kenner's Super Powers collection...and still have very fond memories of this line. While Mattel's Secret Wars line came out about this same time...the figures just weren't as fun for me as a child. The 90's saw Toy Biz take over with their marvel lines. The kenner DC entries around this time just didn't grab me...and I still don't like the animated style figures. Now, I was a big fan of marvel legends when they first came out...but as I think was mentioned above, the ball joints on the hips can range from okay to "Why does this guy have his testicles for hips?" Upon seeing Mattel's DCUC figures...I forgot all about Marvel Legends. They're about as perfect as I can expect an action figure to be. I'll also agree with what's been previously stated, the marvel universe 3 3/4 figures do kick ass when compared to DC's Infinite Heroes...but again in defense of DC...DC Direct's stuff, while not as articulated as they should be by now, makes up for it with scads of variety.

So, I'll side with the dissenters and vote DC.

When it comes to movies, DC is better. But for toys, Marvel is superior. Why? 2 words: Marvel-Legends.

i am a fan of marvel but dc is top dog now that blackest night is out it only makes the 6 inch toys look good yes i know dcuc is hard to find but the find makes them worth it and marvel legends may have more possibility and better characters and a longer streak they just dont compare to a good 6 inch toy with only 22 points of awesome and tell me does marvel legends have air holes in their boxes?