If you’re a fan of superheroes, you’ve probably wondered which universe has more of them – Marvel or DC. Both comic book publishers have been creating iconic characters for decades, but which one has the edge when it comes to the number of superheroes?
Marvel vs DC
To answer this question, we need to take a closer look at both universes. Marvel Comics was founded in 1939 and is known for its complex characters and interconnected storylines.
Some of its most popular superheroes include Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, and the X-Men. On the other hand, DC Comics was founded in 1934 and is known for its iconic heroes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash.
The Numbers Game
Now that we know a bit about each publisher’s history let’s get into the numbers. According to Marvel’s official website, they currently have over 7,000 characters in their universe.
However, not all of these are superheroes – some are villains or supporting characters. In contrast, DC Comics has fewer total characters at around 2,000 but still boasts a significant number of superheroes.
To get a better sense of how many superheroes each publisher has let’s take a look at some lists. On Marvel’s official website dedicated to their heroes there are over 160 different characters categorized as “heroes”. This includes everyone from well-known heroes like Spider-Man and Captain America to lesser-known ones like Mockingbird and Moon Knight.
DC Comics also has an official list of their heroes on their website. While they don’t provide an exact number like Marvel does they do have significantly fewer on their list with just over 80 different heroes listed.
Of course depending on how you define “superhero” these numbers could vary slightly. For example if you include anti-heroes like Venom from Marvel or Catwoman from DC then the numbers would increase.
Conclusion
So which universe has more superheroes? It’s difficult to say definitively since the definition of a superhero can vary but based on the numbers we looked at Marvel seems to come out on top. They have significantly more total characters and a much larger list of heroes on their website.
Of course, the number of superheroes doesn’t necessarily equate to quality. Both Marvel and DC have created iconic characters that have stood the test of time. Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference – whether you prefer the more complex characters of Marvel or the iconic heroes of DC.