The Marvel vs. DC feud is something that extends much farther back then the cinematic universes both properties currently inhabit. Long before Ben Affleck donned the cape and cowl as Batman or Robert Downey Jr. suited up as Iron Man, there were actual comic books that people read. Both Marvel Comics and DC Comics are over eighty years old with a rivalry that stretches as far back as the 1940s. Long before people started insulting fans clamoring for the Snyder Cut or accusing others of being Marvel shills on social media, people were debating whether the Hulk could beat up Solomon Grundy. Ah it was a simpler time!
Sometimes rivalry brings out the best in both combatants, and I think the same can be said for the two titans of the comic industry. If the two companies hadn't pushed each other over the last few decades maybe the world never gets Secret Wars or Crisis on Infinite Earths. Talk about a tragedy. What I'm saying is that a rivalry doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing and an epic rivalry can be fodder for great television.
Apparently, the good folks over to the upcoming streaming service Quibi feel the same way as they've hired MCU veteran directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo (AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR) to bring the Marvel/DC feud to the small screen. The television show, entitled Slugfest, will be a documentary series which, "will chronicle the growth of comic books as a new American art form, following the rise of the two companies that went on to become comics-publishing and Hollywood powerhouses." The show is inspired by Reed Tucker's book Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-Year Battle between Marvel and DC. Documentary director extraordinaires Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce (BELIEVER, FRAMING JOHN DELOREAN) will helm the series. The Russo brothers are set to executive produce.
Slugfest promises to be a provocative and intriguing look inside the Marvel/DC rivalry. The show will focus on little known stories from industry insiders and feature interviews with the creators of some of the most well known superheroes and supervillains. Slugfest will be a retrospective on a variety of elements across a broad spectrum of the comicbook world, including the infamous first DC/Marvel crossover event from the 1970s that showcased a Dutch/Dillon handshake of epic proportions between Superman and Spider-Man.
I don't know about you guys but rivalries have always intrigued me whether it's the Hatfields and McCoys, the Red Sox and the Yankees, or Coke versus Pepsi. As a huge fan of both Marvel and DC, the concept of a documentary series focusing on the rivalry between the two comicbook companies absolutely fascinates me. Not sure if I'd be willing to pony up the cash for Quibi just to watch it, but it's definitely piqued my interest.
Quibi with enter the streaming wars April 6, 2020.