It's been an exciting few weeks for comic book fans. Because just weeks after Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok hit theaters to change the God of Thunder's franchise forever, Zack Snyder's Justice League finally debuted as well. While the MCU slowly introduced individual characters before uniting the The Avengers, DC took a more aggressive approach. After uniting the DC trinity in Batman v Superman, Justice League brought in a trio of new heroes, and expanded the shared universe. But there are plenty of critics out there, some of which maintain that the blockbuster was a ripoff of The Avengers, especially since Joss Whedon was involved in both films. One new video has pointed out just how many glaring similarities there are, and it's enough to make your jaw drop. Check it out.
Holy copied superhero, Batman. Most of these similarities likely went over fans' heads on the first viewing, but it's hard to deny how alike the two films truly are. Let's break down exactly what this video is showing us.
Perhaps the most obvious comparison between The Avengers and Justice League come from their respective villains, and the bad guys' almost identical evil plan. As the above video points out, both blockbusters revolve around an ancient horned villain coming to Earth, and bringing an army of monsters to destroy the planet. Of course, Loki and Steppenwolf are vastly different characterizations, as Tom Hiddleston's Marvel villain is complex, layered, and equal parts dastardly and hilarious. In comparison, Steppenwolf has almost no personality, and only ever speaks about his mission to unite the mother boxes and destroy the planet.
Speaking of mother boxes, that's yet another eerie similarity between the two films. The Avengers' plot largely revolves around the Tesseract, which Loki used to bring on his army of alien creatures. It's only once Loki has accrued this device that the final battle in New York could occur. And Justice League's plot is almost identical, as Steppenwolf needs the three mother boxes to go through with his plan.
There are also a ton of other character similarities to the heroes of The Avengers and Justice League. Obviously the comparisons between Iron Man and Cyborg aren't exactly groundbreaking, but I never realized how similar Wonder Woman and Thor truly were until now. Both have an old history with each film's main villain, and have been outcast from their respective mythological communities.
Even the way the villain's master plans are foiled are about the same. Both need the connection with their powerful boxes interrupted, in order to close the portal that is letting all hell break lose. While Justice League did this through the combined might of Superman and Cyborg, Black Widow ended up saving the day for The Avengers.
While this video is pretty mind blowing, it will no doubt stoke the fires of the Marvel/DC rivalry. While both studios seem supportive of each other, the fandom is another story.
Justice League is currently in theaters now. Be sure to check out our 2018 release list to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.
