Arguably the best comic books in existence to spawn various film, series, and animated series franchises, DC and Marvel have really made their mark in history, to say the least. Both have been around for almost a century and continue to deliver great content that surely piques people’s interest in heroes and villains, but who’s older, is it DC or Marvel?

Is DC or Marvel older?

Thinking back to DC and Marvel’s release dates in the comics, DC came out first. It was first known as Detective Comics Inc., which was later replaced by National Publications. Found by entrepreneur major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, their very first outing dates back to 1934 with Mandrake the Magician. In February 1935 they made their debut with the New fun: The Big Comic-Magazine # 1.

Marvel didn’t come out until five years later, in 1939, with Marvel Comics # 1. They published under the name Timely Publications. Martin Goodman, publisher of Pulp magazine, realized that a new comic book medium was gaining popularity and starting to emerge in the industry.

same Superman was older than Marvel. He made his debut in 1938 in DC’s subsequent anthology title, Action Comics. In Number 1, Superman was born from the pages of comics. It was followed by Batman who was released a year later, in 1939.

As for Marvel, their very first heroes to debut were Human Torch and Namor on the very first post they released, Marvel Comics # 1. Human Torch was an android superhero while Namor the Submariner was an antihero. They were followed by heroes like Captain America, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and many more.

Since then, DC and Marvel have both riveted on what’s better. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the two, even accusations that Marvel has copied DC. While there really are characters that look alike, DC would surely have the “first in release” and had produced characters during his five-year lead with Marvel.

As for their cinematic universe that everyone is currently following, one could argue, however, that Marvel was one step ahead of DC. The Marvel Cinematic Universe predates the DC Extended Universe by five years, the exact number of years that DC had a head start in comics. While it’s a strange coincidence, it’s a funny thing to think about how the tides have turned on these amazing editors.

The MCU started in 2008 with Iron Man being the first film to relaunch phase one which resulted in The Avengers in 2012 following the introductory films of Thor and Captain America and the second film of Iron Man, and even when there was a redesign for the Hulk, The Incredible Hulk is also part of it. Over the years, the MCU has built a solid foundation on its films, even now going into series.

As for the DC Extended Universe, it debuted in 2013 with Steel man giving a total overhaul on all the already existing films of Superman, doing a restart. Man of Steel laid the groundwork for all the movies to come with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Justice League.

Much to the delight of fans, both are considered historic in their own right. May the rivalry continue!

Related: Marvel Teaser Gives First Look at Loki’s Mythical Comic Weapon

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