At this point, it's pretty much accepted as fact that Marvel movies are objectively better than those from DC. Just look at their average Rotten Tomatoes score, with DC at 48 percent and Marvel nearly twice that at 84 percent—and that's even considering the more extensive Marvel catalogue that includes duds like Thor 2.

So what is it that keeps going wrong over at DC? Yes, they put far too much faith in slo-mo fetishist Zack Snyder. Yes, they hire people like Ben Affleck to play Batman. But is there something inherently wrong with DC that makes these movies suck?

Acclaimed comic book writer Mark Millar (who has written for DC and Marvel, and penned a number of comics adapted into films) offered a controversial theory to Yahoo for why one is better than the other:

I think it’s really simple. The [DC] characters aren’t cinematic. And I say [that] as a massive DC fan who much prefers their characters to Marvel’s. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are some of my favorites but I think these characters, with the exception of Batman, they aren’t based around their secret identity. They are based around their super power. Whereas the Marvel characters tend to be based around the personality of Matt Murdock or Peter Parker or the individual X-Men, it’s all about the character. DC, outside of Batman, is not about the character. With Batman, you can understand him and you can worry about him but someone like Green Lantern, he has this ring that allows him to create 3D physical manifestations and green plasma with the thoughts in his head but he’s allergic to the color yellow! How do you make a movie with that? In 1952 that made perfect sense but now the audience have no idea what that’s all about.

He is right that the only successful DC properties in recent years have been Wonder Woman and Christopher Nolan's Batman films. Millar continued, doubling down on his theory:

People will slam me for this but I think the evidence is there. We’ve seen great directors, great writers and great actors, tonnes of money thrown at them, but these films aren’t working. I think they are all too far away from when they were created. Something feels a little old about them, kids look at these characters and they don’t feel that cool. Even Superman, I love Superman, but he belongs to an America that doesn’t exist anymore. He represents 20th Century America and I think he peaked then.

Yeah, he's definitely going to get some heat for that, but DC has yet to prove him wrong. Maybe Martin Scorsese and Joaquin Phoenix can help him out.

Matt Miller Culture Editor Matt is the Culture Editor at Esquire where he covers music, movies, books, and TV—with an emphasis on all things Star Wars, Marvel, and Game of Thrones.

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