Price:
Marvel-$41 for two tpb
DC-Like a hundred (and I haven't even bought most of the tie-ins)
Story:
Marvel-Without reading any Avengers comics before it, I was introduced to the scenario and the characters, the story was told and I felt how the events had a big impact on the marvel universe. Also, having never read Avengers, Bendis did a damn fine job of making me care about Hawkeye's death, and how monumentally sad it was that the team was ending this way. It played out like a classic tragedy.
DC-I've known and loved the DC characters since I was 12 and, to be honest I was confused half the tiem and apathetic the other half. Johns writing is so heavy handed, cliched, and corny that I was really rooting for the villains to just kill everyone by the end of issue 2. Also, not feeling up to buying 4 tpb tie-in stories and the umpteen crossover related titles, I felt confused most of the time.
Story Details:
DC-Superman of Earth 2 can't accept that his 90 year old human wife is dying peacefully of old age, Superboy-prime is pissy because he never had a childhood, and Alex Luthor is evil despite being from a backwards world where the Luthors are good.
Superboy-Prime punches through a wall, which causes every story over the last 18 years in comics and then has this complex plan to launch 4 mini-series.
Also, Sue Dibny is killed because Jean Loring wants to make her husband (who she left) love her again, despite his always carrying a torch for her.
Then she becomes Eclipso, Luthor puts on his green armor, Superboy-prime moves planets with his bare hands, and Hal Jordan is back.
Marvel-Scarlet Witch has a history of going crazy (I looked it up, not a retcon). One day she snaps and uses her powers to cause a whole shitstorm to fall on her friends who she blames for the loss of her imaginary children (also an old story, not a retcon). They confront her and she is placed in a coma. She then wakes up and undergoes therapy but everyone knows that won't work and consider killing her. Her brother gets to her and convinces her to remake the world. A young girl is able to undo memory blocks in people and Wolverine gets her to free certain key heroes so they know what's going on and can stop the Scarlet Witch.
Ramifications: DC is a tangled mess that will take the 52 issue series to understand. Most of the changes seem to be geered at pleasing whiny messageboard fans (seriously, this looks like every complaint on messageboards over hte past 5 years is being addressed).
Marvel has created several new teams, Wolverine has his memories back, and the mutant population is down to a manageable level so that they're actually a minority group again.
Conclusion: After all the complaints about the 90's crossovers getting out of hand, it seems almost suicidal for DC to do a crossover this big that requires more money than most adults (and any kid) is able/willing to spend on comics.
As I said already, Bendis story was easy to get into (and I literally am a "new reader" when it comes to the Avengers) and it was cheap enough to get into. I didn't need the tie-in tpb to understand either story, and I was satisfied.
In other words, Marvel has earned some respect and interest from me, while DC has managed to alienate me from titles and characters I grew up with.
Rob is gay.
