Stan Lee Quietly Settled the Marvel vs. DC Debate in 2010, Crediting One DC Superhero for Inspiring the MCU
In 2010, Stan Lee cut through the Marvel vs DC rivalry, crediting Superman as the blueprint that shaped every modern hero — costumes, powers, secret identities — and the playbook both universes still follow.
Stan Lee basically settled the Marvel vs. DC argument years ago, and he did it with surprising grace: he tipped his hat to Superman. A 2010 excerpt from his book 'The Stan Lee Universe' has been making the rounds again, and it reads like a frank acknowledgment that DC got there first and set the bar.
Stan Lee on who started it all
Lee said the core building blocks we all associate with superheroes came straight from the Superman blueprint. In his words:
Every convention in our superheroes comes out of the Superman idea. Costumes, superpowers, a secret identity... we all used those things when coming up with our characters.
He also credited Superman with proving these big, imaginative stories belonged on the big screen. And after he saw the first movie in 1978 — 39 years into his comics career, by the way — he admitted Marvel was more than a little jealous:
It’s fitting that Superman, the first superhero, got the first superhero movie, but of course it just made us at Marvel that much more envious, hoping we could soon see our characters on screen. Superman was a big influence on everything.
Why Superman set the template
Quick history refresher: writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster introduced Superman in Action Comics #1, published April 18, 1938. That character didn’t just land; he became the model. The modern superhero trifecta — eye-catching costume, double life, actual superpowers — all distilled from that one creation.
The 1978 movie that changed Hollywood
Christopher Reeve’s 'Superman: The Movie' (1978) didn’t just work; it redefined what a comic-book film could be. Before it, superhero adaptations tended to lean campy and light. This one brought real scope, real craft, and a straight face. Audiences saw a man fly, outrun a train, shrug off bullets, and, yes, spin time backward. It was ambitious, expensive, and dead serious about treating this material like cinema.
- Title: Superman: The Movie
- Release date: December 15, 1978
- Director: Richard Donner
- Producers: Ilya Salkind, Alexander Salkind, Pierre Spengler
- Screenwriters: Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, Robert Benton; creative consultant: Tom Mankiewicz
- Based on: Superman by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster
- Main cast: Christopher Reeve (Superman/Clark Kent), Margot Kidder (Lois Lane), Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor), Marlon Brando (Jor-El), Ned Beatty (Otis), Jackie Cooper (Perry White), Glenn Ford (Jonathan Kent)
- Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth
- Editing: Stuart Baird, Michael Ellis
- Music: John Williams
- Production companies: Warner Bros., Dovemead Ltd., International Film Productions
- Runtime: 143 minutes
- Language: English
- Budget: $55 million
- Box office: About $300 million worldwide
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction
- Awards: Special Achievement Academy Award for Visual Effects; 3 Oscar nominations (Editing, Music, Sound)
- Legacy: Widely regarded as the first modern superhero film; set the tonal and narrative playbook for DC and Marvel movies that followed
The behind-the-scenes muscle mattered too. The studio brought in 'The Godfather' author Mario Puzo to help crack the story, paid for A-list gravitas with Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman, and bet big with a then-massive $55 million budget. It made the world believe this genre could be prestigious, not just pulpy.
Marvel’s first big-screen step came later
Marvel didn’t get a theatrical superhero movie out until 'The Punisher' in 1989, with Dolph Lundgren playing the skull-chested vigilante. Before that, Marvel heroes like Hulk and Spider-Man popped up in made-for-TV movies and series, but no proper theatrical releases. Fun side note: the 1989 'Punisher' still has its defenders — a recent post on X called it 'one of the most underrated action movies of the 80s.'
So, who won?
By Stan’s own scoreboard, DC took the early lead and reshaped the industry with Superman — the character and the film. That first blockbuster laid the tracks everyone else has been riding ever since. Agree with Stan? I kind of do. If you change the course of movies, that counts for a lot.
Where to watch
'Superman: The Movie' is currently streaming on HBO Max in the U.S.