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The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

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The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

DC gaining ground on Marvel monopoly

DC gaining ground on Marvel monopoly

I have always been captivated by magic, so it is no surprise that I often find myself absorbed in the worlds of Disney or Hogwarts. With the help of my comic-loving father, I have also fallen in love with superheroes. After giving what I would call a fair chance to both DC and Marvel comics, I found my alliances planted firmly with the latter. Perhaps I merely enjoy watching Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Andrew Garfield on screen, but I also believe there is something more genuinely relatable to the Marvel universe.

So okay, I am not a god or a billionaire mastermind philanthropist, and I’ve never been experimented on by the government or bitten by a radioactive spider, but the characters themselves develop in a way that makes it seem like this magic could really be happening in the world. Needless to say, I love Stan Lee (the public face of Marvel) and am very grateful for another world to get lost in. Which makes what I’m about to say rather difficult, but I love DC’s “The Flash.”

“The Flash” is a TV show, starring Grant Gustin (swoon), about a guy named Barry Allen who gets struck by lightning caused by an exploded particle accelerator built by Star Labs. The lightning not only gives him super speed, but it also gives powers to a lot of bad people inducing Barry to use his speed to protect Central City and capture all of the evil “meta humans.” The show’s got everything—action, super powers, comedy, romance—the only problem is that it’s a DC comic. Oftentimes I forget I’m watching because the character of Barry Allen is so Marvel-esque. You see, most DC characters are pretty hard to relate to—Superman is basically an alien, and Batman is so dark half of the time I can’t even see the screen—but Barry Allen is different.

First of all, Barry is a wonderfully adorable nerd. He works as a forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department, and he has always had his eye on the unexplainable. Secondly, he has been pining after the same girl his whole life and even worse, she’s his best friend, and there’s never a good way to deal with that. Thirdly, about fifteen years prior to the start of the show, Barry watched his mom get murdered by “the man in the lightning” (this is what ignited his interest in unexplainable things) and then had to watch his father get accused and sentenced to jail for the murder. So, basically you just have all the feels for Barry—and it does not hurt that Grant Gustin is adorably perfect for the role.

So here in case lies my dilemma. I am totally obsessed with “The Flash”—like so much so that I had an existential crisis after an extremely emotional and suspenseful episode the other day that resulted in a hysterical phone call to my dad to get me to calm down—but it totally goes against my Marvel alliance and pledges them to DC. I’ve reached a great impasse concerning what exactly I should do about this crisis of alliances, so perhaps the only possible solution is to binge watch “The Flash” to ease my mind.

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So, forgive me Stan Lee for I have been swayed to the dark side. I promise that “Deadpool” and “Captain America: Civil War” will take far greater precedence over “Batman vs. Superman” or “Suicide Squad” in exchange for me continuing to obsess religiously over “The Flash.” If you’re looking to join me in this fandom, the first season is available on Netflix, and the second season is currently live on Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW. 10/10 – would highly recommend.

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