With only so many actors to choose from it was always likely that Marvel and DC would have to share at some point but who comes out on top?

It was reported over the weekend that Benicio del Toro, who plays The Collector in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies, could well be joining James Gunn, director of the Guardians films, at Marvel’s big rivals DC for 2021’s The Suicide Squad.

The news got us thinking, besides del Toro, who else has appeared in films for both Marvel and DC over the years? And more importantly, which side comes out on top?

There has been a surprisingly large number of actors to appear for both studios and some huge names have turned out for both sides but just who triumphs in a game of movie-based Top Trumps between Marvel and DC?

Benicio del Toro

Del Toro is the most recent actor to switch sides and is reportedly in line to play The General in James Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad. As things stand this is little more than rumour but del Toro could make a great addition to the cast. But who comes out on top between The Collector and DC’s The General?

The Collector v The General

Powers (higest wins): 1 – 7

Memorability (highest wins): 5 – N/A

Films Appeared In (highest wins): 3 – 1

Debut Year (oldest wins): 2013 – 2021

Box Office Gross (highest wins): $3.44 billion – N/A

Michael Rooker

Michael Rooker, the man behind the blue face paint of Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy was announced last month as a cast member for James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. He’s set to play King Shark

Yondu v King Shark

Powers: 6 – 5

Memorability: 5 – N/A

Films Appeared In: 2 – 1

Debut Year: 2014 – 2021

Box Office Gross: 1.64 billion – N/A

Zachary Levi

Up next we have Zachary Levi, the star of DC’s most recent movie, Shazam! As well as playing the titular character in the DC movie, Levi also makes a noteworthy appearance in 2013’s Thor: The Dark World as Fandral, one of the guardians of Asgard. He reprised the role in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok but only momentarily as his character was killed off within a matter of seconds.

Fandral v Shazam!

Powers: 2 – 9

Memorability: 4 – 7

Films Appeared In: 2 – 1

Debut Year: 2013 – 2019

Box Office Gross: $1.52 billion – $362 million

Adawale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Levi was also joined in the cast of Thor: The Dark World by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who plays Algrim the right-hand man of the film’s main villain but also transforms into Kurse, a bull-like lava monster with immense power who faces off with Thor in the final act. However, Adewale also makes an appearance for DC as well in 2016’s Suicide Squad as Killer Croc.

Kurse v Killer Croc

Powers: 5 – 4

Memorability: 2 – 3

Films Appeared In: 1 – 1

Debut Year: 2013 – 2016

Box Office Gross: $664.6 million – $746.8 million

Laurence Fishburne

Another actor to appear in both the DCEU and Marvel’s MCU is Laurence Fishburne. He plays Perry White, the editor of the Daily Planet – the newspaper Clark Kent (Superman) and Lois Lane work at – in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, but he also lent his talents to Marvel when he appeared in 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Bill Foster v Perry White

Powers: 0 – 0

Memorability: 4 – 5

Films Appeared In: 1 – 2

Debut Year: 2018 – 2013

Box Office Gross: $622.7 million – $1.54 billion

Ben Affleck

Up next we have Ben Affleck who is definitely best known among comic book movie fans for his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne in the DCEU movies Batman v Superman and The Justice League. However, in 2003 Affleck also appeared in Marvel’s movie adaptation of Daredevil, not to be confused with the Netflix TV show.

Daredevil v Batman

Powers: 6 – 0

Memorability: 4 – 10

Films Appeared In: 1 – 3

Debut Year: 2003 – 2016

Box Office Gross: $179 million – $2.28 billion

Ryan Reynolds

Of course, Ryan Reynolds’s infamous role as DC’s Green Lantern earns him a spot on this list. As well as starring in the 2011 movie, Reynolds has also appeared in several Marvel films. 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine saw Reynolds take on the role of Wade Wilson and eventually a nightmarish version of Deadpool that many hope to forget ever existed but in 2016 Reynolds scored his biggest role in a more faithful telling of Deadpool’s story.

Wade Wilson/Deadpool v Green Lantern

Powers: 4 – 7

Memorability: 9 – 3

Films Appeared In: 3 – 1

Debut Year: 2009 – 2011

Box Office Gross: $1.94 billion – $219.3 million

Tommy Lee Jones

We turn out attention next to a classic DC film from 1995, Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever which starred Tommy Lee Jones as the notorious Batman villain, Two-Face. A decade and a half later and Tommy Lee Jones made an appearance for Marvel in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger.

Colonel Chester Phillips v Two Face

Powers: 0 – 1

Memorability: 2 – 7

Films Appeared In: 1 – 1

Debut Year: 2011 – 1995

Box Office Gross: $1.52 billion – $362 million

Halle Berry

While working on the original X-Men trilogy in the early 2000s, Halle Berry also starred for DC in 2004’s Catwoman film. It’s fairly safe to say that of the two roles, Berry will likely be remembered best as Storm in the X-Men series.

Storm v Catwoman

Powers: 8 – 4

Memorability: 7 – 3

Films Appeared In: 4 – 1

Debut Year: 2000 – 2004

Box Office Gross: $1.91 billion – $82.1 million

And finally, we come to something a little different. Up next we have a pair of films that are based on DC owned comics but aren’t really your typical superhero movies (so no Top Trumps here I’m afraid) but as they feature some big names in the MCU, they’re worth a mention.

The Losers:

Chris Evans, Zoe Saldana and Idris Elba all star in this action-filled romp about an elite black ops military team known as The Losers which originated from Vertigo comics, a division of DC. Released in 2010, the film earned a less-than-remarkable box office total of $29 million worldwide. It’s amazing to think that less than a year before taking on the iconic role of Captain America, Chris Evans was appearing in films like this.

V for Vendetta:

Lastly, we come to V for Vendetta. The film itself is based on a graphic novel published by DC comics, hence its inclusion on this list. The film stars Hugo Weaving as the mysterious masked vigilante/terrorist V in the film and plays Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger. Weaving appears alongside Natalie Portman who has made several appearances in the MCU, most notably in the first two Thor movies and a brief cameo appearance in Avengers: Endgame.

And there we have it. Did anyone on this list surprise you?

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