You're all probably scratching your heads in confusion as you try to understand what I mean by the title. To make a long story short, this revelation came while I was thinking about the current relationship between the films of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and the DCEU (DC Extended Universe). After examining the trends and styles both studios were using I found the perfect analogy within the world of video games. I believe that in film, Marvel is to DC what Nintendo is to Sega, or more specifically what modern Mario is to modern Sonic. I know to some of you that might be confusing and to others this might make perfect sense. Allow me to go into greater detail and show you how these movie studios and game companies are more alike than you think.

First, lets look at Marvel Studios. Like Mario, Marvel has released several films spanning several years. The films have had mostly critical and financial success (they have varying degrees of quality, but none of the films have a gotten overwhelmingly bad reviews). Like Marvel, Mario has had an overwhelmingly positive video game career with only a few duds here and there. Both Marvel Studios and Nintendo emphasize a sense of fun and enjoyment above all else. This emphasis has been met with a small level of critical backlash (I've noticed that both companies are sometimes criticized for being to "safe", not willing to take large scale risks and try new things, and for repeating established formulas). While some of these criticisms do have merit, it's hard to argue with the results. Marvel and Mario have established their identities in their respective media cultures and are commonly looked upon as a benchmark of quality. Compare this with Sonic the Hedgehog.

Like DC, I am a huge fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. I own and play most of the games. I own toys and merchandise from the series. I still read most of the comics (Sonic and DC). However, like Sonic, it makes me sad when I see the DCEU constantly fall and fail when it comes to their films/games. In recent years DC has tried to follow in Marvel's footsteps (a shared universe of superheroes), but have tried to set themselves apart by forming their own identity (dark, grim, gritty, and trying to convey "deeper" ideas). However, this has backfired on them constantly for several reasons. The characters are often flatly written and don't show any emotion other than sadness, which makes it hard to convey "darker" themes effectively. The plots are sloppily written and littered with plot holes. None of the characters come off as likable so audiences don't connect with the film.

While Sonic tends to fair slightly better in the character department, like DC, Sonic is often trying to reinvent itself after each failure. To many this idea is commendable, attempting to experiment and try new ideas. There is an appeal to this idea; I just wish it had better results for both DC and Sonic. All of the DCEU films have been met with financial success, but critical failure (as of now; I still have my fingers crossed for "Wonder Woman"). The same can be said for the more modern Sonic games. Sonic has had massive critical failures for many reasons; buggy game-play, poor voice acting, poor plot, and an attempt to make the series too dark (in "Shadow the Hedgehog" the title character used machine guns... really!). Both DC and Sonic have tried to change with each new addition to their franchises. However, this has only given each series a severely inconsistent feel and has kept them from establishing a solid foundation to expand and improve upon.

I brought this idea to your attention mostly for fun, but also for the sake of the DCEU. I feel the DC films are falling into the same rut the the Sonic franchise has been in for some time now. They lack any specific direction to guide them and that has made the franchise feel like an inconsistent mess. Like Sonic, I feel that DC is shallowly applying the "dark and gritty" aesthetic because they still believe in the false notion that "dark and grim" makes anything automatically better. I write this in the hope that DC can learn from the mistakes made by the Sonic franchise. Like Sonic, I hope DC makes a critical and financial hit that they can build a solid foundation on and expand from that. I hope they can learn from Marvel and have a little fun now and then. I hope Marvel still makes good films, but I hope they do take a slight risk every now and then (similar to Nintendo/Mario), so things don't start to get stale. They have proven that they are capable of writing good stories and characters, so they should apply that knowledge to some fresh and new idea. I write this in the hope that all of these companies can take something from this and use it to better themselves.