Let's settle this once and for all: DC vs. Marvel Tournament

I don't accept votes from racists.

That's why Doomsday hasn't voted here.

Men in Black

Vincent DiNofrio is so great in that movie.

Are you swamping on Shit Thing?

We're doing what too?

Men In Black was originally published by Malibu Comics, but they went bankrupt in the early 90's.  Marvel Comics bought all of their intellectual properties, including Men In Black.

Deep cut. Nice.

THE FINAL VOTE:
Men in Black
A Swamp Thing movie directed by Wes Craven seems like it should be more memorable than it is.  It's actually easy to forget there was a Swamp Thing movie at all.  Like The Punisher, there are little three minute periods where I really dig the movie, but most of the movie is a bore. Going up against a movie that cemented Will Smith as an international superstar is unfair, but them's the breaks.

The Score
Swamp Thing:  0
Men in Black:  7


Agent K tries to arrest Swamp Thing, but Swamp Thing points out that he's not an alien and out of their jurisdiction.  Agent J responds by blowing Swamp Thing up with his Noisy Cricket while yelling "WOO!  NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' 'BOUT!" and giving Marvel it's first win, albeit with an asterisk.

Oh, by the way...


DC:  3
Marvel:  1
Draw:  1

ROUND 6!

IN THIS CORNER


Superheroes:  Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent/Superman
Supervillains:  Christopher Reeve as Horny Superman, Robert Vaughn as Ross "Not Meant to Be Lex Luthor" Webster, Annie Ross as Vera Webster, Pamela Stephenson as Lorelei "Not Meant to Be Miss Teschmacher" Ambrosia
Civilians:  Richard Pryor as Gus Gorman, Annette O'Toole as Lana Lang, Jackie Cooper as Perry White, Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen, Margot Kidder as Lois Lane
Run Time:  2 Hours 5 Minutes
Director:  Richard Lester (Superman II)
Writer:  David Newman & Leslie Newman (Superman, Superman II)
Music:  Ken Thorne (Superman II)
Cinematography:  Robert Paynter (Superman II)
Tomatometer:  26%
IMDB:  5
Razzies Nominated:  Worst Supporting Actor - Richard Pryor, Worst Musical Score
Story:  A paycheck scam brings computer genius Gus Gorman to the attention of billionaire Ross Webster, who wishes for Gus to use his hacking skills to enhance his shady dealings.  When Superman threatens to derail Webster's plans, Webster has Gus attempt to recreate Kryptonite to destroy the Man of Steel.  Due to unknown elements in the Kryptonite recipe, the concoction doesn't have the desired effect of Superman, which winds up changing his personality.

Pros:  Inspired the movie Office Space.
Cons:  It takes effort to have Richard Pryor in your movie and somehow have him be the worst thing in it.



AND IN THIS CORNER


Superheroes:  Wesley Snipes as Eric Brooks/Blade, Kris Kristofferson as Abraham Whistler
Supervillains:  Stephen Dorff as Deacon Frost, Donal Logue as Quinn, Arly Jover as Mercury, Sanaa Lanthan as Vanessa Brooks, Traci Lords as Racquel
Civilians:  N'Bushe Wright as Dr. Karen Jenson
Run Time:  2 Hours
Director:  Stephen Norrington
Writer:  David S. Goyer (Demonic Toys, The Crow:  City of Angels, Dark City)
Music:  Marc Isham (Waterworldb Crash, Of Mice and Men, Point Break)
Cinematographer:  Theo van de Sand (Wayne's World, Big Daddy, Little Nicky, Grown Ups, Just Go With It, Grown Ups 2)
Tomatometer:  55%
IMDB:  7.1
Story: A vampire attack in her morgue has Dr. Karen Jenson infected with the vampire virus. Her only hope is a vampire hunter named Blade, who is half vampire himself, who shelters her while she tries to develop a cure for vampirism. But Blade has more than enough on his plate with Deacon Frost, a vampire who wishes to become a god on Earth and bring vampires out of the shadows.

Pros:  Lots of heads blow up.
Cons:  Very slow for a movie with a lot of heads blowing up.



FIGHT!

Blade

Blade

Don Giovanni? Who's that dude?

I was hoping this would be one of the more exciting match ups and it's not disappointing.

For a minute there, I thought you were saying that Superman III had a plot.  Office Space is certainly a great movie, but since the decimal point scam in Superman III was inspired by someone trying to pull it off IRL, I'm not prepared to grant it any forgiveness in that regard. 

Superman III is boring.  Richard Pryor is shoehorned into a movie that isn't meant to be a comedy.  Robert Vaughn as discount Lex Luthor is a disappointment.  Clark Kent is in a rush to leave Metropolis at the beginning of the movie so that the producers only have to pay Jackie Cooper and Margot Kidder for one day of filming.  The fight between Clark and Dark Superman is fun if confusing for kids, but when discount Miss Teschmacher gets transformed into discount Brainiac at the end, it does look pretty cool.  By that point though, it's too little, too late.

Blade however, is an action packed adrenalin fueled thrill ride.  I was actually already familiar with Blade, having read The Nightstalkers comic series in the early 90's.  The movie version bore only a passing resemblance to the comics character, and it worked much better that way.  The Nightstalkers might have lasted longer if Blade had been more like the Wesley Snipes incarnation.  Marvel Comics certainly felt that way, and promptly altered the comics version to more closely match his on-screen counterpart.  Blade established a firm foundation which allowed the proliferation of Marvel movies in the 21st Century.