Why Does Marvel use real places and Dc doesn't? basically I got to reading comics a few months back, I'm wondering why does Marvel use real places i.e. New York, LA etc. And DC invent places like Gotham and Metropolis..
Why Does Marvel use real places and Dc doesn't?
Hmmmm...I use to wonder about that myself, but seeing how awesome Gotham is, I just stopped wondering, but DC does use real places, I believe Nightwing went to New York City when he went out on his own
"DC does use real places for some of their titles but the reason I think they don't use real places all the time is because they made Metropolis and Gotham in the beginning so they probably thought they should might as well stick with it. "And plus Gotham is a really awesome city, real or not
The reason DC used created cities/places is because it gives them greater liberty and reflexibility with their stories. By creating their own cities, DC can take the best aspects of many major U.S. cities and combine them. Take Metropolis for instance....Metropolis is like NYC becuz it's a large city with a huge financial capital and Manhattan-like feel to it; but it's also like Chicago with it's weather (very windy and snowy) and like Los Angeles with it's beautiful, crystal beaches. Gotham on the other hand has a very cold and chilly feel to it (again, like Chicago), but has a very rich nightlife reminiscent of the famous nightclubs in New York.
ALSO, if Superman operated out of New York City as opposed to Metropolis; readers, whether they realized it or not, won't respond well subconsciously to Darkseid or Brainiac showing up and demolishing NYC (especially after 9/11 and the World Trade Center attack).
So that's why DC tends to used a lot of created locations....just gives them a lot more freedom.
" The reason DC used created cities/places is because it gives them greater liberty and reflexibility with their stories. By creating their own cities, DC can take the best aspects of many major U.S. cities and combine them. Take Metropolis for instance....Metropolis is like NYC becuz it's a large city with a huge financial capital and Manhattan-like feel to it; but it's also like Chicago with it's weather (very windy and snowy) and like Los Angeles with it's beautiful, crystal beaches. Gotham on the other hand has a very cold and chilly feel to it (again, like Chicago), but has a very rich nightlife reminiscent of the famous nightclubs in New York. ALSO, if Superman operated out of New York City as opposed to Metropolis; readers, whether they realized it or not, won't respond well subconsciously to Darkseid or Brainiac showing up and demolishing NYC (especially after 9/11 and the World Trade Center attack). So that's why DC tends to used a lot of created locations....just gives them a lot more freedom. "How come you can only come up with bad comparisons for Chicago? :(
I also don't get why doctor Doom was crying at ground Zero, he rules a totalitarian government and kill all that oppose.
" The reason DC used created cities/places is because it gives them greater liberty and reflexibility with their stories. By creating their own cities, DC can take the best aspects of many major U.S. cities and combine them. Take Metropolis for instance....Metropolis is like NYC becuz it's a large city with a huge financial capital and Manhattan-like feel to it; but it's also like Chicago with it's weather (very windy and snowy) and like Los Angeles with it's beautiful, crystal beaches. Gotham on the other hand has a very cold and chilly feel to it (again, like Chicago), but has a very rich nightlife reminiscent of the famous nightclubs in New York. ALSO, if Superman operated out of New York City as opposed to Metropolis; readers, whether they realized it or not, won't respond well subconsciously to Darkseid or Brainiac showing up and demolishing NYC (especially after 9/11 and the World Trade Center attack). So that's why DC tends to used a lot of created locations....just gives them a lot more freedom. "I agree. With real cities, you need to put current event or building. Otherwise the location is wrong, a custom city is easier to control and give you freedom to do anything you want.
Marvel uses New York as their backdrop because that's what they know. I am not saying DC doesn't, its just they had Gotham and Metropolis for so long it would be silly to just drop them out of the universe in favor of New York, or LA.
I actually enjoyed the 9/11 issue with Spiderman, and the reason I think Doom was crying is because he didn't think about that to get rid of the F4 and he can't do it now or he'd be a copy cat.
You're right, I'm sorry. I don't mean to put Chicago down, it was just for purpose of the analogy .If you want a better one, I could point to Gotham city being portrayed as having a lot of the classic Art Deco building style that Chicago has; which is why The Dark Knight was chosen to be filmed there :)
" @The Avenging Angel said:Actually you don't.You can just say it's New York.If I don't see the Empire state building every time I read Spider-Man..I'll still know where it takes place.As far as current events Marvel keeps up very well with NY.With a Metropolis you have more freedom..you can pretty much do anything to it.Like in the Marvel U if someone destroys NY then it would unrealistic because in real life it's still there but if you do it to Metropolis.It's not real anyway so who cares? Not using a real city is easier but it does take away from the realism that comics in general already lack." The reason DC used created cities/places is because it gives them greater liberty and reflexibility with their stories. By creating their own cities, DC can take the best aspects of many major U.S. cities and combine them. Take Metropolis for instance....Metropolis is like NYC becuz it's a large city with a huge financial capital and Manhattan-like feel to it; but it's also like Chicago with it's weather (very windy and snowy) and like Los Angeles with it's beautiful, crystal beaches. Gotham on the other hand has a very cold and chilly feel to it (again, like Chicago), but has a very rich nightlife reminiscent of the famous nightclubs in New York. ALSO, if Superman operated out of New York City as opposed to Metropolis; readers, whether they realized it or not, won't respond well subconsciously to Darkseid or Brainiac showing up and demolishing NYC (especially after 9/11 and the World Trade Center attack). So that's why DC tends to used a lot of created locations....just gives them a lot more freedom. "I agree. With real cities, you need to put current event or building. Otherwise the location is wrong, a custom city is easier to control and give you freedom to do anything you want. "
" Why Does Marvel use real places and Dc doesn't? basically I got to reading comics a few months back, I'm wondering why does Marvel use real places i.e. New York, LA etc. And DC invent places like Gotham and Metropolis.. "Stan Lee wanted to bring a little more realism to comics. He wanted his characters to live in real cities.
" @Vance Astro: Good point, but I didn't mean that every Spiderman comic I expect to see the Statue of Liberty of that Marvel was too lazy to apply current event in comics, I was just bring the point that using a real city would require more work and less freedoms. "I agree.
@stormtide said:
" Ah ok that explains it. Apparently form wikipedia, Gotham is in New jersey, and metropolis is in Delware. metropolis was modeled after Toronto. Which makes sense they have the CN tower and all. Although New Jersey Doesn't scream dark gritty psychopaths..to me "How the hell is Metropolis Deleware? There is nothing Metropolis about Deleware.
"According to the Atlas of the DC Universe (which MAY no longer be canon after the events of Infinite Crisis) Metropolis is located on the south end of Delaware Bay near the modern town of Lewes, Delaware. The Atlas shows Gotham city as being on the other side of the bay, near Cape May, New Jersey."
" @burr787: You're right, I'm sorry. I don't mean to put Chicago down, it was just for purpose of the analogy .If you want a better one, I could point to Gotham city being portrayed as having a lot of the classic Art Deco building style that Chicago has; which is why The Dark Knight was chosen to be filmed there :) "It's okay, I was just joking. Either way it's true, this place sucks in the winter but I still love it here. :)
To me the choice to use fictional cities or real ones reflect both the style of writing of the two companies and the fans of each. DC seems more power driven. Their characters are less about who the characters are and more what they can do. Even in their lives Superman,Batman, Wonderwoman those are the real personas, Clark, bruce, and Diana are the disguise. If you set them in a nonfictional place, the events surrounding them could be distracting. Even the places Metropolis, Gotham, Bludhaven, Center City...take on a larger than life quality. Marvel on the other hand is more character driven. Its more about who they are than what they can do or who they become. It is very definitely Scott not Cyclops, Matt not Daredevil, Peter not Spiderman. For Marvel characters, being a hero or villain is like volunteering at a soup kitchen. For the most part, it isn't what defines them or who they are. By providing a real setting, it gives more validity and suspention of disbelief for the story, whether it's about costumed crimefighting or not.
Well, I think it's because DC really began back in the day of more fantastic comics (fantastic = fantasy here). Hence, they created fantastic backdrops for their fantastic characters.
As someone's already said, Stan Lee wanted more realism in his comics. So he put them in a real place. *shrugs* He was trying to make comics more realistic, and it works for Marvel. Characters can cross over much easier, since they're all in the one place. In DC it's slightly harder, but it also gives it a wider aspect. DC's heroes are scattered, while Marvel's are all in NY (a bit of a generalisation, sorry).
" Well either way Marvel now own the rights to the world since Disney now owns Marvel... Soon Disney will own DC, and then Coca-Cola, Microsoft, America, Toyota and then eventually the British Monarchy etc etc... I used to live on Gotham Crescent so Gotham isn't made up at all... I know a footy player named Daniel Metropilis so thats not a made up place either... Wonderwoman works out of washington....... "Nah Exxon mobil buys out wal-mart, which buys out disney.
" "According to the Atlas of the DC Universe (which MAY no longer be canon after the events of Infinite Crisis) Metropolis is located on the south end of Delaware Bay near the modern town of Lewes, Delaware. The Atlas shows Gotham city as being on the other side of the bay, near Cape May, New Jersey." "Stop copying from wiki
When you use real cities, people will always end up trying to point out faults and inconsistencies in locations and events. You'll have to work to make the location similar and relatable to real life, and that often messes up the story, especially when you want to delve into a character's background. However, it's also easier, since you don't have to spend so much time on world-building and designing entire histories for your original cities. DC also uses real places though, although its fictional locations such as Metropolis and Gotham have become much more iconic and famous.
Marvel focused more on the aspects of their characters and making them relatable, whereas DC spent more of its time on the rich world-building and settings. Many people say that DC doesn't humanize its characters enough, which is something I disagree with. Creating fictional cities make it easier to show the character's attachment to their home/city, since some aspect of that city has to do with their personal life, which makes the story much more compelling (ie. Much of Gotham is owned by Wayne Enterprises, which is why Bruce Wayne is so protective of his city - because it was his parents' legacy).
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