"Man of Steel," "Batman V Superman," "Suicide Squad," "Wonder Woman", "Justice League," what do all these films have in common? For the most part, excluding "Wonder Woman," they were all met with disappointment and heavy criticism. This is unsettling because the characters that are owned by DC are much more iconic and well known than the ones owned by their competitors from Marvel. How do they keep messing up?

The biggest reason why DC is losing the comic book movie war is that they don’t understand their own characters and what makes them so loved by fans. Just take a look at Batman and Superman in DC’s current film franchise.

These characters are the most beloved and iconic superheroes in the world. It’s not a coincidence that their original comic book team-up line was titled “World’s Finest.” They certainly didn’t gain their popularity for being portrayed the way DC’s movies have recently gone about their characters.

Superman has always been the ultimate superhero. Despite having his amazing powers that could easily be trouble if placed in the wrong hands, he is a beacon of hope that always does the right thing. His character isn’t hard to figure out.

Unless you’re in DC’s films. The Superman we get in the movies is brooding, uninspiring, and worst of all, unlikable. Marvel’s Captain America portrays a better Superman than DC’s Superman. Superman doesn’t appear to want to save people and be the ultimate superhero in these recent films. He acts like it’s too heavy a burden for him to bear and nobody wants to see that from Superman.

Another problem is his only motivation seems to be Lois Lane in the movies. Lois Lane convinces him that the world is ready for him in "Man of Steel." Lois Lane being a damsel in distress is the reason he stops his temporary hiatus from being Superman in "Man of Steel." Lois Lane is what makes him come to his senses and to stop fighting the Justice League in "Justice League."

Lois Lane is an important character, but Superman’s reliance on her in the films is off-putting and hard to connect with. There’s more to Superman than his significant other, just like every person in the real world.

Batman has it even worse.

Batman is a violent murderer in "Batman V. Superman." He kills criminals, uses guns, and attempts to murder Superman when all Superman wanted to do in the first place was talk to the guy. This is the type of person that Batman is supposed to put in Arkham Asylum, not be.

Sure, the convoluted plots of these movies, bad CGI, and poor directing have an impact on why these movies haven’t been well received, but Marvel isn’t at fault for these errors either.

One specific problem Marvel has with their movies is that they’re kind of ugly. In fact, DC films tend to be more interesting visually than Marvel movies because Marvel’s color grading is dull. Their movies have a lot of gray in their worlds and villains. Their movies aren’t as vibrant as DC. This is a totally subjective preference, but most people prefer vibrancy and color in their superhero movies.

Here are your typical shots from Marvel Movies:

Even Christopher Nolan’s gritty, dark, and realistic "Dark Knight" trilogy had excellent color grading and camera work. Those movies are stunning to look at. DC’s current films do have their own problems with this too, as they try to darken all their shots, but at least it’s not as boring and gray as Marvel. Their shots are for the most part gorgeous to look at.

Typical DC shots:

Marvel’s movies aren’t perfect, and they have many problems of their own, but they are so well received by critics and fans. This is because they understand their characters and know what makes them likable.

A movie is either broken or made by its characters. All the other technical aspects of its writing, story, production, and direction can be overlooked if the audience likes the protagonists and can emotionally connect with them. We want to root for our heroes by the end of the movie and Marvel does this so much better than DC.