It’s Been a Decade Since Marvel and DC Movies Went Head-to-Head, But Declaring a Winner Is Complicated

While Spider-Man may be the undisputed box office winner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the moment, ten years ago Tom Holland’s role in the MCU was just starting. Instead of dedicating an entire film to Peter Parker, the MCU dropped Peter Parker in the midst of an ideological battle between Iron Man and Captain America. Peter Parker was a regular kid from Queens until Iron Man showed up at his doorstep and threatened to tell his Aunt May that he was a superhero if he didn’t come with him to Germany. ## Videos by ComicBook.com Captain America: Civil War was a massive success for the MCU. Fans argued for months over the merits of Team Iron Man versus Team Captain America while interviewers asked cast and crew members for their own takes on the conflict.

The movie grossed over 1.1 billion dollars worldwide and became the highest-grossing film of 2016. In retrospect, it’s easy to forget that Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice came out that same year. The two films have broadly the same idea, but the executions were vastly different. While the MCU had two phases of films building up to Captain America: Civil War, the DC Extended Universe consisted only of Man of Steel at that time.

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice grossed 8.74 million dollars worldwide and was only the 7th highest-grossing film that year. From numbers alone, Captain America: Civil War appears to be the easy winner. Additionally, the creative team behind Captain America: Civil War — the Russo brothers — are still making movies for the MCU. The same cannot be said for Zack Snyder and DC.

In the years since, DC has had to pivot and start over. But given the pivots the MCU has taken recently and DC television success, declaring the MCU the winner over DC is not as simple as it once was. ## Head-to-Head in 2016 Back in 2016, the MCU definitely won the clash between Captain America: Civil War and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Captain America: Civil War had a better story buildup, a more satisfying end, and cultural impact. Iron Man and Captain America had been in movies together and had a pre-existing dynamic.

They argued but were able to put aside their differences for the greater good. Captain America: Civil War showed what happened when they couldn’t set aside their differences. Steve Rogers was always going to protect Bucky, and Tony Stark’s guilt complex required him to rush into taking accountability without taking the time to fully understand what the Accords would mean. Batman and Superman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice didn’t have that.

Instead, the characters meet for the first time in the film. They don’t know each other, and instead are working off assumptions based on public personas. Given the limited scope of the universe, the film relies on telling us that Batman has operated in Gotham for decades, but we haven’t seen it. The film is also busy introducing the mystery of Diana Prince, who both Superman and Batman believe is working with the other one, only to be revealed in the end as having her own interests.

The conclusion to Captain America: Civil War doesn’t completely resolve the conflict between Captain America and Iron Man, but allows for interesting stories to follow. Bucky is able to take refuge in Wakanda, Spider-Man is able to spin out into his own stories, and Captain America breaks his allies out of prison, setting up Ant-Man and the Wasp. The conclusion to Batman V. Superman is unable to sustain the conflict between its central characters because Superman is dead by the end.

The relationship that’s going to be further developed is not between the two main characters but rather between Bruce and the rest of the league that Bruce is assembling. The film was met with such mixed reviews that a director’s cut was released, citing that with extra time, the issues of the film were fixed. A director’s cut would also be released for the 2017 Justice League, which followed up on threads of Batman V. Superman.

The DCEU would go on to put out character-focused films such as Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Blue Beetle before rebooting itself. ## How the Franchises Look Now Back in 2025, it seemed like DC was finally gaining an edge over the MCU. James Gunn’s Superman was a hit, reinventing a character audiences had grown fatigued with, and featuring characters with spinoff potential such as Supergirl, Guy Gardner, and, surprisingly enough, Jimmy Olsen. The film grossed 618.7 million worldwide and, by its release, already had a confirmed sequel in Supergirl. Superman: Man of Tomorrow would be announced not much later.

In comparison, Fantastic Four: First Steps only grossed $521.9 million worldwide, and despite great reviews, the other main release of 2025, Thunderbolts made $382.4 million worldwide, one of the lowest-grossing MCU films, period. Terms like superhero fatigue were being thrown around, along with the more specific term MCU Fatigue. Recently, though, DC’s supposed lead has vanished. Supergirl was met with mixed reviews before it even came out and led many to doubt the bright feature they’d proclaimed for the DCU only a year earlier.

Still, Lanterns has proven successful, and the next DCU film, Clayface is arriving in cinemas this October. Between the detective genre focus of Lanterns and the DCU’s foray into horror with Clayface, it’s clear the studio is open to experimentation in a way that’s distinct from the MCU. Avengers: Doomsday looks to be much of the same tried-and-true formula. The film is taking characters audiences love and putting them against each other in elaborate CGI fight scenes that worked in films like Captain America: Civil War.

With Robert Downey Jr. playing Doctor Doom, Marvel chose to cast an actor they already worked with instead of giving a chance to a newcomer. With the decision to bring back Steve Rogers and to utilize the X-Men from the 2000 Fox Movies, much of the marketing has been steeped in nostalgia rather than creating something new. Only time will tell a winner between these two expanded universes. While Clayface arrives in theaters October 23, Marvel Studios will premiere the VisionQuest television series starting October 16.

Who is the current winner between DC and Marvel? Let us know in the comments below!