What is it that draws you to Marvel so much?
 

For me I think it's the originality of the characters, and they feel kind of unique in a way, despite the fact that there are hundreds of them and 60+ years worth of stories etc!

Discuss.

are you talking in terms of comics or toys? Im interested in both. Been reading comics only since 2002ish.

For me, I grew up on Marvel, so it'll always hold a place in my heart. As far as comics go, I'm drawn to Marvel slightly more than DC because when they have all out "fun" comics, they are just that, fun. DC seems to take itself a little more seriously than Marvel in a kind of negative way... That's awfully vague I guess.

As far as toys go, Marvel toys have always been better, because characters are more dynamic and thus make for more interesting, well, toys.

The thing that draws me to Marvel... is Marvel.

For me personally, Marvel's characters just seem to resonate with me more than DC's characters. I don't think DC's characters suck, by any means, I just seem to enjoy the way Marvel incorporates their characters into stories that sometimes parallel our own real life current events.

As a whole, I enjoy Marvel's universe and crossover events more than I do DC's. However, I tend to really enjoy DC's animated stories much more than Marvel's. They just tell better stories and have way better action.

I have to admit that growing up, it was the X-men animated series of the 90's and Spiderman that got me into Marvel. It was the perfect introduction for someone who didn't have any comic book stores near him in his small community. Batman the Animated series was all I knew of DC until I finally saw the classic Superman movies and Louis and Clark series.

Now I've finally got into Green Lantern from Rebirth on to Blackest Night and can appreciate the Green Lantern mythos. I would have to say it's been from 2000 on that Marvel has really cemented itself as my preferred franchise mostly because I've been reading everything from Avengers Disassembled to Fear Itself since and no the characters and universe much more intimately than DC's.

It really all comes down to exposure if you ask me.

I like marvel's characters because in many regards they are so universal in the notes they hit.

They are humanized heroes not on some kind of pedestal from being an icon or otherwise overtly 'better than you in some way' type story that DC tends to do. Marvel is more towards everyday problems, and everyday people rising to the occasion.

I go back and forth on that, DC had it's time in the 90s where it humanized their characters moreso, but that has since fallen away.

Marvel on the otherhand is starting to have the opposite problem. They are trying to dehumanize these characters that made them so great and hoist them up on pedestals, and basicly all around starting to make the same mistakes DC did that led to their relaunch.

So classic marvel I love, 90s DC I love, modern Marvel I vary on. Some of it I love, some of it feels half-assed and spur of the moment changes to story plans.
So I love marvel because of the wealth and diversity of the characters and personalities, but the marvel current writing staff I'm all over the board on thoughts. There are some amazing titles coming out of marvel right now, but none of them seem to really get the push they deserve. Uncanny X-Force, X-23, Hulk, among some others. Yet all they seem to push is wolverine, X-Men, and the Avengers which by far are the ones that feel directionless, or like the writers wait until the last minute and try to bang something out without fully thinking through how it reads. (The Sex in the city avengers issues for the FI lead in, and the comic book death commentary in secret avengers for example though I'm sure there are many others too.)

I'm also not fond of Marvel's (and DC's) tendency to leave plot threads sit for decades at a time. (Ahem, Darkhawk, Nova Corps and the list goes on. The DC relaunch effectively deletes theirs for now.)

So I like Marvel's characters. The current staff varies talent to talent, but the history and nostalgia from when I was a kid will always keep me coming back. Well that and a handful of other things that will always keep me coming back.

I'm only a casual fan when it comes to the comics, I've read a few but for the most part I'm all about the cartoons and movies. (I am serious when it comes to toys though...)

I guess it's all about the nostalgia for me, and one of the main cartoons I watched growing up was X-men, I saw the Superman and Batman films, I saw the Spider-Man and Batman cartoons, but the X-men cartoon was the one I loved.

Collecting Marvel Universe, I essentially want to complete the cast of the X-men cartoon, but because so many other characters made cameos, the potential for collecting is vast. Through the more recent Marvel films, I have discovered other Marvel characters and like them as well (not as much though).

Marvel has a vast range of different and interesting characters, and the X-men cartoon in particular told very good stories. In describing why I'd drawn to Marvel, I guess I have to say why I'm not so drawn by DC.

I like Batman (who doesn't!?), I collect Batman figures from Infinite Heroes and the DCU lines, but I'm just not interested in other DC characters. I find Superman annoying (the point above about a pedestal rings true for me) and the only other DC characters I've been exposed to are the Green Lanterns (the recent film), and although it was okay, compared to say, Iron Man (who I didn't know anything about until the first film), it just didn't measure up.

I think the way Marvel has woven it's universe together is what makes it so great, okay there will always be retcons and the like, but I like the way the histories of the characters overlap (Captain America and Wolverine in WWII for instance), in addition for the most part, the movie studios have managed to get the perfect blend of action, story-telling and accessability in their Marvel films.