Marvel has reigned supreme over DC on the big screen in the past decade.
As someone who grew up on Team DC, it pains me to admit that, but it's undeniable: where DC films have generally underperformed to both fan and box-office expectations, the MCU has consistently CRUSHED it at the box office ever since Iron Man kicked off the modern superhero era in 2008.*
And yet, the most recent Marvel films and Disney+ shows have not been as well-received by fans.**
If you're into pop culture, entertainment, or superheroes, this Time article, How Marvel Lost Its Way, is a really interesting read.
If you're NOT into any of those things, it's still a good read...
... because it's an important reminder that nothing, not even the mighty Marvel Universe, is guaranteed to succeed indefinitely.
Brands that fail to understand what their customers want and how to give it to them risk a decline into irrelevance.
That's always been true, but never more so than today when consumers have an almost infinite number of choices on the products they buy and the media they consume.
* Yes, there were beloved superhero films long before Iron Man: Superman (1978), Blade (1998), and Spiderman (2002) to name but a few. But Iron Man began the "Avengers" era, and that's what I'm talking about in this post.
** I've watched every single Marvel film and TV show to date, and I've enjoyed many of the ones that have been routinely lambasted by the media. Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel were interesting stories meant to "pass the torch" to the next generation of heroes. She-Hulk was campy, but that was the point. (It was fun!) Quantumania was... um... tougher to justify.