DCEU Audience....who is it? And who should it be?

[metaphysician]

I really really dont understand some of these really hardcore DCEU fans.

I "blame" Dark Knight. It was an awesome movie, that did awesomely both critically and commercially, and it came off a drought of good comic movies and especially good DC movies. The problem was, a lot of DC fans took this to be the new normal, rather than an extraordinary peak. So, when Marvel started putting out movies that consistently performed well critically and commercially, and WB meanwhile had its movies perform. . . not? It created a dire dissonance. "Something must be wrong! Our movies aren't competing as well as they are supposed to!"

Hence the weird conspiracy theories.

 

[Lantern Venom]

And that's a really stupid decision when they try to market the movie by making children's book and kids toys. They clearly want kids to like these movies

You can make a serious movie that kids, just by seeing their favorite characters on screen, can still enjoy

I don't see it as a big problem because the MCU is too mature for very young kids as well. The difference is that when Marvel began their universe with a drunken, womanizing hero being kidnapped by terrorists, they had Earth's Mightiest Heroes on TV and Super Hero Squad shortly thereafter. Kids who were too young to see the Iron Man film (as in 6 years old or younger) had age-appropriate equivalents to familiarize them with the characters.

WB should have had something like this a couple of years ago, but at least they're finally getting around to it. It makes financial sense since the 4-year-old girl who is too young for Suicide Squad can have an idea who Harley Quinn is, then that kid can be interested in the DCEU in a few years.

 

[AnneFan]

Edit

 

[writer0327]

I "blame" Dark Knight. It was an awesome movie, that did awesomely both critically and commercially, and it came off a drought of good comic movies and especially good DC movies. The problem was, a lot of DC fans took this to be the new normal, rather than an extraordinary peak. So, when Marvel started putting out movies that consistently performed well critically and commercially, and WB meanwhile had its movies perform. . . not? It created a dire dissonance. "Something must be wrong! Our movies aren't competing as well as they are supposed to!"

Hence the weird conspiracy theories.

I blame the Dark Knight for making many DC fans and apparently WB execs believe that if you give a comic book film a little grit, explore heavy themes, and ground it in the "real world", you'll have a masterpiece. Every story and character in a comic book universe isn't meant to be an examination of the human condition some other deep, soul-searching topic. But if you're going to do it, you have to earn it with good directing, story pacing, and quality character development, which takes time.

 

[Micromind]

" DCEU Audience....who is it? And who should it be?"

Same as the audience for X-Men movies and Nolan's Batman movies.

 

[Greens]

I don't see it as a big problem because the MCU is too mature for very young kids as well. The difference is that when Marvel began their universe with a drunken, womanizing hero being kidnapped by terrorists, they had Earth's Mightiest Heroes on TV and Super Hero Squad shortly thereafter. Kids who were too young to see the Iron Man film (as in 6 years old or younger) had age-appropriate equivalents to familiarize them with the characters.

WB should have had something like this a couple of years ago, but at least they're finally getting around to it. It makes financial sense since the 4-year-old girl who is too young for Suicide Squad can have an idea who Harley Quinn is, then that kid can be interested in the DCEU in a few years.

Didn't WB have The Brave and the Bold, though?

 

[akfj]

I don't see it as a big problem because the MCU is too mature for very young kids as well. The difference is that when Marvel began their universe with a drunken, womanizing hero being kidnapped by terrorists, they had Earth's Mightiest Heroes on TV and Super Hero Squad shortly thereafter. Kids who were too young to see the Iron Man film (as in 6 years old or younger) had age-appropriate equivalents to familiarize them with the characters.

WB should have had something like this a couple of years ago, but at least they're finally getting around to it. It makes financial sense since the 4-year-old girl who is too young for Suicide Squad can have an idea who Harley Quinn is, then that kid can be interested in the DCEU in a few years.

Super Hero Squad started airing in 2009 and Earth's Mightiest Heroes didn't start airing until 2010. Batman: Brave and the Bold was airing at the same time as those shows.

 

[Erzengel]

As other people have said in this thread.

It's a combination of fans, general audience and critics.

Look at movies like Spider-Man 2, X-2, BB, TDK, Iron Man, Avengers, TDKR, TWS, DOFP, GOTG and CW. Above average and higher box office gross, loved my the majority of fans and high ratings from critics.

So not only is their precedence. It's now fairly common.

 

[Luke234]

I find all the "they make it just for the fans" claims absolutely ridiculous, movie studios dont think about just 10% of the audience (in this case, comic book readers) general audience, movie geeks, supehero geeks, kids, teens, adults, they all matter, and i think Marvel has found that sweet spot where everyone can enjoy it, and i dont think "watchmen-ing" Batman and Superman was the right decision, but they onviously panicked by the reaction to it that they quickly started brightning up Squad with SONGS, FLASHY TRANSITIONS, JOKES, MORE SONGS, ACTION, and in a way it clearly payed off since its making some bank (having no competition in August also helped) so maybe WB is learning from this and heading to the right direction, i for one am hoping WW is the one that manages to surprise everyone, im putting trust in Patty.

Not everyone enjoys Marvel. I gave up . Campy, joke in every scene, horrible villains, a civil war where nobody dies. It IS family fun but I can't watch another one of these ridiculous movies with no stakes.

 

[Cyborg]

As other people have said in this thread.

It's a combination of fans, general audience and critics.

Look at movies like Spider-Man 2, X-2, BB, TDK, Iron Man, Avengers, TDKR, TWS, DOFP, GOTG and CW. Above average and higher box office gross, loved my the majority of fans and high ratings from critics.

So not only is their precedence. It's now fairly common.

Agreed

 

[Lantern Venom]

Didn't WB have The Brave and the Bold, though?

Super Hero Squad started airing in 2009 and Earth's Mightiest Heroes didn't start airing until 2010. Batman: Brave and the Bold was airing at the same time as those shows.

Marvel not only had those shows, but they designed their animated universe to reflect the films. Avengers Assemble, Ultimate Spider-man, and the GotG are all very similar takes on their respective characters. That ensures that wee ones watching those shows would have an understanding of the MCU a few years down the line.

Brave & the Bold was a decent show, but it didn't seem to serve any particular purpose for the DCEU. WB should have had a Man of Steel-like cartoon with closer versions of Batman and Wonder Woman if they were truly interested in casting a net for the future. It seems like they're finally doing something to gain interest in the DC Universe as a whole instead of just churning out yet another Batman 'toon.

 

[MbJ]

Brave & the Bold was a decent show, but it didn't seem to serve any particular purpose for the DCEU.

Nor should it have had to. It was light years ahead of any of the recent Marvel shows in terms of quality, and a big part of that was that it didn't aggressively suckle at the teat of the movies and tried to do its own thing.

Even DC's short-lived Green Lantern show was more concerned with actually trying to tell a good story instead of serving as a commercial for any more GL movies.

Not everyone enjoys Marvel.

There will always be anecdotes or exceptions, but their point was still correct. Marvel's film franchise has proven to be by and large, a consistent and massive success.

 

[Mad Ones]

I don't watch any Marvel cartoons and don't want to. They seem like they're more of the same that we get in the movies.

 

[Lantern Venom]

Nor should it have had to. It was light years ahead of any of the recent Marvel shows in terms of quality.

It was mediocre, just like The Batman, Beware the Batman, and like current Marvel cartoons. While I admire Marvel's business approach with their animation and games, they could still stand to improve the quality of their shows.

 

[MbJ]

It was mediocre

It was highly enjoyable. And even if it were mediocre, it'd still be doing its own thing instead of serving as a series of glorified 22 minute commercials for the movies.

Seriously. The lack of creativity in the current crop of Marvel shows is astounding.

 

[The Batman]

End result is, to quote a cliche, Superman movies for people who don't like Superman.

The thing is, it's not even working.

Cavill's Superman is nowhere near as iconic as Fleischer, George Reeves, or Christopher Reeve. Only die hard fanboys seem to hold this version in any high regard.

 

[Lantern Venom]

It was highly enjoyable. And even if it were mediocre, it'd still be doing its own thing instead of serving as a series of glorified 22 minute commercials for the movies.

Seriously. The lack of creativity in the current crop of Marvel shows is astounding.

It was a show with subpar animation and hit-and-miss stories. It had its moments, I'll certainly acknowledge that, but it took some really silly off- ramps. I find it very comparable to Marvel's current crop of 'toons = one step forward, one step back.

 

[The Batman]

I'll take the "mediocre" BATB over a MOS-tie in cartoon any day of the week.

Criticizing Brave and the Bold for not being a tie in is silly criticism.

 

[Batmannerism]

I'll take the "mediocre" BATB over a MOS-tie in cartoon any day of the week.

Criticizing Brave and the Bold for not being a tie in is silly criticism.

Just my 2cents on BATB.

I used to love BATB, mostly because it was self-satirizing and generally hilarious - there are some real "meta" episodes (such as the Music Master, Strangest Cases and final episodes).

Really, I think an Aquaman serious would have been a fantastic...oops I mean "OUT-RAGEOUS !" follow on.

What made BATB great was that it took the piss out of itself, along with the entire superhero genre - but also did fan-service to some of the greatest superhero stories ever.

In fact, in some ways BATB did a better version of the Batman v Superman fight from Dark Knight Returns, than the recent live-action crap-fest

I get that some probably didn't like the campy tone, but BATB managed to keep the balance of camp and seriousness pretty reasonable.

Anyway, I miss BATB (of course I have a few episodes on DVD, and once in a while pull them out for a laugh).

 

[The Batman]

Just my 2cents on BATB.

I used to love BATB, mostly because it was self-satirizing and generally hilarious - there are some real "meta" episodes (such as the Music Master, Strangest Cases and final episodes).

Really, I think an Aquaman serious would have been a fantastic...oops I mean "OUT-RAGEOUS !" follow on.

What made BATB great was that it took the piss out of itself, along with the entire superhero genre - but also did fan-service to some of the greatest superhero stories ever.

In fact, in some ways BATB did a better version of the Batman v Superman fight from Dark Knight Returns, than the recent live-action crap-fest

I get that some probably didn't like the campy tone, but BATB managed to keep the balance of camp and seriousness pretty reasonable.

Anyway, I miss BATB (of course I have a few episodes on DVD, and once in a while pull them out for a laugh).

It's pretty much the only remarkable post-Timmverse Batman cartoon.

 

[Lantern Venom]

I'll take the "mediocre" BATB over a MOS-tie in cartoon any day of the week.

Criticizing Brave and the Bold for not being a tie in is silly criticism.

You are a previously established fan, so you wouldn't have been the target demo. It's been a long time since Superman was the centerpiece of an animated show, and since Cav-El is the cornerstone of the DCEU, it only makes sense that WB should have launched a MOS-based 'toon to prep small kids for their impending movie slate.

 

[MbJ]

Unlike the Guardians or many of Marvel's characters, everyone already knows who Superman is. There's no need.

I mean, a new Superman show could be cool, sure. But acting as though it were some sort of necessity or that cartoons need to be tie-ins for the movies is a creatively bankrupt thought process.

That's why I'm very glad that the upcoming Justice League cartoon, despite using some of the characters, looks like it'll be very little like the DCEU. If I want to watch the DCEU I'll watch the DCEU.

 

[BH/HHH]

It's pretty much the only remarkable post-Timmverse Batman cartoon.

Ermm

 

[MbJ]

Just my 2cents on BATB.

I used to love BATB, mostly because it was self-satirizing and generally hilarious - there are some real "meta" episodes (such as the Music Master, Strangest Cases and final episodes).

Really, I think an Aquaman serious would have been a fantastic...oops I mean "OUT-RAGEOUS !" follow on.

What made BATB great was that it took the piss out of itself, along with the entire superhero genre - but also did fan-service to some of the greatest superhero stories ever.

In fact, in some ways BATB did a better version of the Batman v Superman fight from Dark Knight Returns, than the recent live-action crap-fest

If I were the thumbs up kind this would get a thumbs up.

I blame the Dark Knight for making many DC fans and apparently WB execs believe that if you give a comic book film a little grit, explore heavy themes, and ground it in the "real world", you'll have a masterpiece. Every story and character in a comic book universe isn't meant to be an examination of the human condition some other deep, soul-searching topic. But if you're going to do it, you have to earn it with good directing, story pacing, and quality character development, which takes time.

Sadly, it's a consistent problem Hollywood has always had. Something becomes a hit and suddenly everyone tries to replicate it while only having a superficial grasp on what made it work.

So I'm sure they thought people would be jumping for joy at a dark take on the DCU after the success of the Batman movies, without actually grasping what about those films made people like them.

 

[writer0327]

Ermm

They really need to bring this back. Hopefully, Netflix can get this worked out.