Marvel and DC have taken very different paths over the past two decades in cinema, said Blair Davis, a professor in the College of Communication at DePaul University in Chicago.

Later this year, Marvel and DC will team up for the first time in 30 years, and to celebrate, the two publishers will release a reprint edition of Spider-Boy’s epic first appearance.

But on the DC and Marvel pages, they are very, very different men. DC’s Hercules: The Villain-ish Hercules is introduced in the DC Universe not as a hero, but as an adversary of Wonder Woman.

Marvel and DC have taken very different paths over the past two decades in cinema, said Blair Davis, a professor in the College of Communication at DePaul University in Chicago. This summer ...