The Battle of Superheroes

Motley Fool analyzes the competition between spandex armies, and this snippet caught my eye:

Superhero Movies Are Big Business, But TV Might Be the Next Big Thing ...

Animation domination

Just because Marvel Studios has had fewer flops on the big screen doesn't mean that it's dominating every venue. Its feature-length animation releases have been lackluster, especially compared to Warner Bros.' animated DC Comics Blu-ray and DVD offerings. The DC animated features typically have better writing, more well-known voice actors, and draw directly from popular comic miniseries for inspiration.

Perhaps in recognition of this, Marvel has cut back on its feature-length animated offerings and is instead pushing out child-focused animated series on Disney XD. In addition to "Ultimate Spider-Man," "Avengers Assemble," and "Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.," rumor has it that a "Guardians of the Galaxy" series will be added to the network to help capitalize on the upcoming Marvel Studios film. ...

There's a reason Warner Bros. Animation has been dominant in the animated realm of superheroes: Until recently, its lineup of writers, directors, designers, and board artists were stronger than Marvel's.

The Warner renaissance began a long time ago, back when Bill Clinton was President and the world was young. As Tim Burton reinvented the Caped Crusader in live-action, so did Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Eric Radomski, Stan Berkowitz and other talented personnel brought new oomph to Batman, Superman and other corners of the D.C. universe.

The newer Marvel Animation studios has stocked up on a lot of ex-Warnerites and is running hard to catch up. Marvel now dominates in live-action features, but in the animated sector of entertainment, it has a ways to go before it overtakes what Mr. Timm and associates have accomplished over the past twenty-plus years.