According to the 1919 manual, “Ten Million Photoplay Plots”, there are only 37 basic plots to any possible story. It is the twists and tweaks along the way that make your story unique. This 100+ year old manual is still the standard in storytelling today. This goes for film, television, books, and comics. Concerning the latter, comic book writers have ‘inspired’ each other since the Golden Age. Aquaman is DC Comics’ answer to Namor. Hawkeye is Marvel’s answer to Green Arrow. Jack Kirby created Darkseid, which led to the creation of Thanos. Solomon Grundy’s look was changed to match the Hulk’s. Most comic book characters, whether Marvel or DC (or any other publisher, for that matter) are derivative of ancient religious or literary mythologies, whether directly or indirectly. So, this latest ‘campaign’ from DC fans against Avengers: Endgame is a bit of a stretch.
Over on Twitter, someone is claiming that The Russo brothers blatantly ripped off the plot of a DC animated film for Avengers: Endgame, the highest grossing film of all time. They posted a scene from the animated film, Batman/Superman: Public Enemies, which showcased a nearly unconscious Batman in outer space being rescued by Superman and his ship carried back down to Earth. They did a side by side (or, actually an ‘over and under’) comparison with Tony Stark’s rescue in Endgame.
Now, these scenes do look similar, but to take a less than 30 second clip out of a film and say that a 3 hour movie ripped off this animated film is, to be honest, ridiculous. Also, while visually similar, they are not the same, plot wise. Other DC fans jumped on board, though, and even accused Marvel of completely ripping off Zack Snyder’s original plot for his two part Justice League that ultimately didn’t happen (but will now be a 4 part series on HBO Max). This is also beyond a stretch. Marvel had their plans for this film worked out for over a decade, laying the groundwork all the way back in 2008.
We keep trying to tell yall, that marvel jacks DC swag, maybe this will convince them😱😱😱😱😱😱🤣🤣🤣🤣🔥🔥🔥🔥 #dc #marvel #dceu @FilmGob pic.twitter.com/X6u6wPoVif
— Fatal Jay (@FatalJayShow) November 29, 2020
This isn’t the first attack like this, either. A few months ago, a fan tried to say that the Ronin scene was a rip-off of Katana’s introduction in Suicide Squad, but that ended up not even treading water. The reality of it is, some people are die-hard DC fans and will always try to find some way to hate on Marvel – but it goes both ways. Some Marvel fans hate all over DC. The thing is, there is nothing wrong with being a fan of both! All media takes bits and pieces from what is great around them and uses it to inspire their work. So, stop with all the fighting and just enjoy these great movies and comics!
Do you think Marvel ripped off DC on this one? Let us know in the comments below!