The long running rivalry between comic book powerhouses Marvel and DC has led to some of the best and worst entertainment over the last decade, as each one tries to jump into new mediums to assert dominance with their superhero IPs. Now, as Marvel and Disney’sMCU dominates filmand streaming services, DC has a chance to gain a strong foothold in gaming with titles likeGotham Knightssetting up for a connected universe.
In the past, DC has already excelled with both licensed games, as well as those made directly by Warner Bros. Interactive and connected developers like Rocksteady with theArkhamseries. However,Gotham Knightscould be the first step in expanding beyond the single hero series that have so far dominated the market, and creating a whole interconnected collection in anAvengers-style collaboration down the line.
MCU vs DCEU
The most obvious and prominent medium where Marvel and DC have been duking it out over the last few years has been through their two interconnected film universes. Marvel had the advantage coming out of the gate, having started work on the Marvel Cinematic Universe while DC was still multiple Christopher NolanBatmanfilms away from even starting the Zack Snyder helmedDC Extended Universe. As a result, Warner Bros. has been playing catch-up while trying to recreate Disney’s successes with the MCU, with only a few entries claiming the same critical reception as the competition.
That isn’t to say that every movie under the DC umbrella is poorly made, since the reception of some movies likeWonder Womanand the new Zack Snyder Cut ofJustice Leaguehave had a more positive spin. Then there is the animation side of WB that has had a strong showing for DC since as far back asBatman: The AnimatedSeries, but as recent asBatman: The Long Halloween. However, these animated movies and shows aren’t nearly as lucrative as the blockbuster titles in the MCU, though that doesn’t mean that Marvel has been entirely successful expanding outward in every medium.
Marvel’s Rough Foothold Into Gaming
If there is anything from Marvel that has a prominent space in gaming, it would come down to either themany differentSpider-Mantitles, or theMarvel vs Capcomseries. While the games that have come out of these two properties have their own hits and misses within the medium, there isn’t much else in the Marvel catalogue that has exploded into the medium the way theArkhamseries has. A prime example of the shaky success of attempting to bring many of the familiar MCU heroes into a video game format would beMarvel’s Avengers.
While there are highs and lows in Marvel’s most recent attempt at adoptingThe Avengersinto a video game, the overall reception of the game is that the available content leaves a lot to be desired. There is a chance that theDLC rollout ofMarvel’s Avengerscould make up for some of the issues the game had at release, but Crystal Dynamics will have to work a delicate balance to rebuild confidence in the game. This unfortunately leaves Marvel in a rough position of trying to maintain dominance in a field that DC is already leagues ahead of.
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Gotham Knights' Roster of Heroes
Unlike when DC first started developing the DCEU after having only recently finished the Christopher NolanBatmantrilogy and the release of multipleAvengersfilms,Gotham Knights' roster of heroeshas a strong foothold to begin with. It’s still unclear if eitherGotham KnightsorSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueare directly connected to theArkhamseries, if in the smallest way, but in the gaming medium, connecting stories aren’t as important as connected gameplay. As long as the new DC games still hold the same game-feel as theArkhamseries, then they will both be able to build off of the cultural impact of previous titles in the way that the MCU does with each new movie.
To this same degree, all of theheroes appearing inGotham Knightscan act as the ensemble-style mashup that pays off for the setup from previous games, similar to the narrative threads that feed into eachAvengersfilm. The target audience is familiar with the basics of most of these characters like Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl, and characterization in most games is created more through control than through long cutscenes. This means that Warner Bros. is already completely primed to start creating a video game version of the DCEU, mostly using Rocksteady’s successes in theArkhamseries as DC’sIron Man.
Gotham Knightsis set to release 2022, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
