DC Just Quietly Admitted Defeat To Marvel

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 15 seconds ago

For the better part of a century, there has been a creative war between two powerhouse publishers: Marvel and DC. While there are plenty of others making comic books, these are the biggest names in the game, each amassing millions of fans. Eventually, the war leapt from the page to the silver screen, with each side releasing its own bevy of superhero films. For a long time, Marvel has been dominant: not only is the MCU the most popular cinematic universe ever created, but it outlasted the DCEU, which crashed and burned in its attempt to be the grim and gritty alternative to Marvel.

Last year, however, James Gunn launched the DCU with Superman, his film about the most famous superhero of them all. The movie was a hit, one that earned more than both of the MCU’s rival summer films (The Thunderbolts and The Fantastic Four: First Steps). It looked like Marvel might finally have a worthy rival, but now, it looks like the fight is already over. Gunn’s new cinematic universe was already in trouble when Supergirl became a critical and commercial bomb. Now, Gunn himself has confirmed that the DCU won’t show off anything at San Diego Comic Con’s famous Hall H, where Marvel is planning on making several major announcements.

Why Hall H Is So Important

So, what’s significant about Hall H? Basically, this is the home of the biggest presentations at San Diego Comic Con. Fans often line up a day in advance to get inside this 6,500-seat room; there, they are treated to a bevy of exclusive panels, trailers, and other previews courtesy of major Hollywood studios. Historically, Marvel has made major announcements in Hall H, and this year is no exception. Fans attending SDCC can expect major announcements about Avengers: Doomsday, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, X-Men ‘97, and more. Because of this, DCU fans were hoping James Gunn would bring some major announcements of his own.

Unfortunately, that’s not gonna happen. While there will be some other DC offerings elsewhere at SDCC (including an immersive Lanterns experience and a DC booth with a Superman Experience), there will be no DCU panels, updates, or anything else at Hall H. James Gunn himself confirmed this while also explaining his reasoning: namely, that he can generate hype for upcoming films for free via social media, but making a big splash at San Diego Comic Con would cost several million dollars. For the DC Studios co-CEO, the juice just ain’t worth the squeeze.

It’s All About The Money

He’s not wrong, of course: it’s always been hard to track how effective marketing movies to SDCC attendees is, especially because almost every “exclusive” thing they are shown ultimately ends up (officially or unofficially) on the internet. Plus, this is the fourth year Warner Bros. is skipping the Hall H hoopla, so Gunn’s announcement may not seem that shocking. Still, DCU fans are a bit surprised because there are major projects coming up, including Clayface and The Man of Tomorrow. Following Supergirl’s failure, this would be the perfect time to hype up the DCU, but Gunn is content to play cautious and coy.

From the outside looking in, this certainly feels like conceding defeat to Marvel. Instead of building hype and creating its own counternarrative, the DCU is just letting Marvel have all the glory at the biggest nerd convention in the world. Maybe this is practical: highly-anticipated films like Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday were always destined to earn more than Supergirl, even if it hadn’t underperformed. Still, though, if Gunn isn’t willing to make the effort to market his cinematic universe, why should fans make the effort to check out future movies and shows?

When it comes to the ongoing battle between Marvel and DC, it seems clear that the house Stan Lee built has already won 2026. But will it ultimately win the war? Maybe, maybe not. Kevin Feige is gambling everything on Doomsday, and if that movie flops, it could be the beginning of the end for the MCU. That could make 2027 the perfect year for Gunn to strike back with some killer content of its own. If this year has taught us anything about saving the DCU, though, it’s that this is not a job for Supergirl!