In superhero comics, there is an age-old, or at least eighty some odd years old, question: who would win – Marvel’s heroes or DC’s? This question has caused discord among fans for years and sometimes the companies themselves have gotten in on it, most notably Marvel during Stan Lee’s time and Joe Quesada’s, stoking the fires of this friendly rivalry.
It’s one of those questions that will seemingly never have an answer, but fans can review the tales of the tape, or page, as it were. Both universes have their advantages and by looking at them with a discerning eye, a concrete victor can be found.
11 Marvel Heroes Win: The Cosmic Marvel Heroes Are Ridiculously Powerful
One place where Marvel has always had an advantage over DC is its cosmic heroes. Sure, there are the heroes of New Genesis, powerful gods all, but compare one of them to Silver Surfer or Cosmic Ghost Rider, control a fundamental energy of the cosmos and can rearrange matter itself, and suddenly Orion doesn’t stand much of a chance.
Cosmic Marvel is full of amazing heroes, out there facing down threats to the cosmos that are pretty much unprecedented in the DC Universe. The power curve in the DC Universe is often much higher, but Cosmic Marvel has a lot of advantages.
10 DC Heroes Win: The Green Lantern Corps And The Guardians Of The Universe Are Potent
One place where DC can match Cosmic Marvel heroes is with the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe. The Corps is one of the most potent heroic forces in comics, with thousands of highly skilled officers all using the most powerful weapon in the universe. The Oan Guardians of the Universe are cauldrons of energy and are nigh unstoppable as a group.
The Green Lantern Corps can vie with Marvel’s space heroes with sheer numbers alone, but the most skilled members would be a challenge for even the most powerful of Marvel’s heroes. If the Oans themselves got involved, that would pretty much be all she wrote.
9 Marvel Heroes Win: Factions Like The Inhumans, The Hulks, And Eternals Have A Variety Of Powers
Marvel and DC both have families of heroes, but Marvel does things a little differently. Whereas DC has the heroes in their families all share powers, Marvel families are more like factions; groups of related individuals with often remarkably different powers. The Inhumans and Eternals are the best examples of this.
Both groups are full of powerful heroes who can do things that make them dangerous in a fight. Beyond them, the Hulks are among the scariest heroes. Hulk is a cauldron of infinite power and his cousin She-Hulk is close to him. Marvel’s factions bring a lot of power to the table.
8 DC Heroes Win: The Flash Family Is Unmatched
Both universes have speedsters, but DC’s are infinitely more powerful. The Speed Force is a multiversal constant and an important force in DC’s reality, and those who are touched by it can reach speeds and use powers that their Marvel counterparts couldn’t imagine.
Marvel has some speedsters that can conceivably match a Flash’s speed, like Makkari, but even then they don’t have the powers that a member of the Flash Family does. A Flash Family member is powerful enough to take down teams of Marvel heroes solo, and there are a lot of them.
7 Marvel Heroes Win: Scarlet Witch And Doctor Strange Lead A Great Magic Corps
Marvel’s magic heroes might not all be the most well-known, but there are powerful ones out there. Scarlet Witch and her powers are well known, as are Doctor Strange’s, but magic users like Wiccan, Brother Voodoo, and Agatha Harkness aren’t slouches either, and that’s not even counting the various mutant magic users like Magik, Pixie, and Rictor.
These magical defenders have faced down some of the most dangerous threats imaginable and always won. Their skill and power have made the difference in many battles, and they are among the feared and respected heroes around.
6 DC Heroes Win: DC’s Magic Heroes Are Better Defined And More Powerful
Magic users like Scarlet Witch, Wiccan, and Doctor Strange are superlatively powerful, but none of them could deal with the Spectre. As the literal Spirit of Vengeance for the Presence, aka the One Above All, Spectre could devastate any of Marvel’s magic users with a thought, using their own wrongdoing against them. That’s only the beginning for DC’s magic corps, though. Zatanna, Black Alice, Doctor Fate, John Constantine, are some of the greatest magic users in comics.
There’s also Enchantress, the Shazam Family and Black Adam, the Phantom Stranger, Mr. E, Dr. Occult, and the Demon Etrigan, all powerhouses in their own right. There is so much power on the DC side of the magical divide that Marvel’s magic users don’t stand a chance.
5 Marvel Heroes Win: The Avengers Are A Fighting Force Like No Other
The Avengers are known as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for a good reason. The team has combined the most powerful heroes of the MCU into a potent fighting force that has handled everything thrown at the Earth. The Avengers’ members are great for tackling threats, and they’ve been molded into a unit by leaders like Captain America, Black Panther, the Wasp, and so many more.
The Avengers have won intergalactic wars, tackled mad gods, genocidal androids, and every kind of supervillain imaginable. They represent a martial force like no other and would be more than a match for many DC teams.
4 DC Heroes Win: The Justice League Are Unmatched
The Justice League is the greatest assemblage of heroes in the DC Multiverse. They’re more than just an army of the most powerful superheroes assembled into one; they’re a team of individuals who can handle just about any threat solo, and become unbeatable when united. Sure, the Avengers can fight with the best of them, but the Justice League is better than the best.
The Justice League have dealt with threats that take more than just power to beat, although they have that in spades with members like Superman, Firestorm, Captain Atom, the Flashes, and more giving them near unbeatable strength. They also boast the smartest heroes imaginable, scientists and strategists who specialize in pulling victory from the jaws of defeat.
3 Marvel Heroes Win: The Mutants Have Every Power Imaginable
Marvel has one big advantage in a superhero war, and that’s the mutants. The most powerful mutants are world-shaking powerhouses, able to literally bring life to Mars by working together, come up with a method for immortality, and alter reality itself. On top of all that, the telepaths are pretty much completely unmatched by anyone in the DC Universe, led by Xavier, Jean Grey, and Emma Frost.
Throw in the less powerful mutants like Cyclops, Wolverine, and Colossus, and the mutants represent a fighting force that would devastate many of DC’s heroes in ways they’ve never thought possible. They’re especially dangerous now, all united under the banner of Krakoa.
2 DC Heroes Win: The Superman Family Is Pretty Much Unstoppable
DC’s various factions are quite powerful, but none can match the Superman Family. Every one of them is formidable and they all have Superman as a role model. There are few groups of heroes in the Marvel or DC Universe that have the mixture of powers of the Kryptonians, and if they do, they definitely aren’t on their level.
The Marvel heroes aren’t going to be able to exploit the weaknesses of the Superman Family very well, and trying to plan for heroes as powerful as them is difficult when they’re running around at superspeed and smashing every hero in their way.
1 Who Wins: DC Is Going To Blitz The Marvel Heroes
While the two groups of heroes are pretty evenly matched in some places, DC’s are just too much for Marvel’s. Beyond the fact that the power levels are generally higher for DC heroes, they just have too many advantages. From magic users to Kryptonians to the Flash Family, Marvel doesn’t have much that matches DC’s power, and even the mutants would fall from a concerted assault by a group of Flashes, for example. It would be a universe-shaking battle that fans would love to see, but in the end, DC is walking away as the victor.