10 Actors Who Have Been Part of Both Marvel and DC (And Many Didn’t Remember)

In recent years, superhero films and series have become increasingly popular, taking over the halls of all cinemas, in addition to streaming services. The responsibility for this, in large part, lies with rivals Marvel and DC. Both companies started in the comics and, since then, dispute the attention of the fans of the segment. Some actors managed to act both in one company and in the other, many with prominent roles that will forever remain in the imagination of fans.

O awesome.club prepared a list of actors who had the opportunity to work in both the Marvel and DC universes, although many didn’t know it. Check it out below!

Michelle Pfeiffer was present in both universes of superheroes. First, she played Catwoman in Batman Returns, a film directed by Tim Burtom in 1992. Pfeiffer’s Catwoman is Selina Kyle, one of the most popular in DC comics. The character is considered neither villain nor heroine; she walks between these two strands in her stories.

More than 20 years later, Michelle returned to shine in a superhero movie, this time at Marvel in Ant-Man and the Wasp. In the second film of this franchise, she plays Janet van Dyne.

Tom Hardy started out in the world of heroes playing the villain in Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. The actor embodied Bane, the character that makes Bruce Wayne return to the mantle of Batman. To play the villain, Hardy had to work out a lot: “I probably did a lot of damage to my body. I am small! If I continue to gain weight, I will collapse like a house of cards under too much pressure,” he said.

At Marvel, the actor won the lead role, this time as the anti-hero Venom. The symbiote stays in the body of Eddie Brock, a reporter for the newspaper “O Clarim Diário”, who has a certain disagreement with Peter Parker (Spider-Man). The first film was released in 2018 while the second won Brazilian movie theaters in 2021, conquering the top of the national box office for a few weeks.

Zazie Beetz worked at Marvel and DC at very close dates. First she acted in Deadpool 2, in 2018, as Domino. The character is a mutant and is part of X-Force, working with Wade Wilson, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds). Then, in 2019, Zazie scored a box office success in Joker, a feature film in which she played Arthur Fletcher’s (Joaquin Phoenix) neighbor Sophie Dumond. The character is very important for us to understand what goes on in the head of the Joker.

Jared Leto is known for leading the band 30 Seconds to Mars and also for the impeccable performances in which he surrenders completely to the character, often needing to make gigantic transformations in his body. So when he was chosen to live Joker in Suicide Squad many fans were excited. But after the movie opened, audiences weren’t too pleased with his participation, as he had little screen time.

Already in Morbius, Leto continues in the villainous line, but this time as the anti-hero Dr. Michael Morbius, a biochemist who turns into a vampire after an experiment aimed at curing a blood disease. Morbius is yet another antagonistic character from Spider-Man.

Many versions of Spider-Man were developed by Marvel, but the first one, we never forget. The villain of the first film was the classic Green Goblin, played by Willem Dafoe. When not in his villain costume, the character is Norman Osborn, founder of Oscorp.

In DC’s Aquaman, Willem Dafoe plays a secondary character, but who has a very important relationship with the protagonist, Arthur. Vulko, Dafoe’s character, is the one who trains Aquaman and teaches him about life in the ocean. To play this character, the actor had to be rejuvenated with special effects, as some scenes are true flashbacks.

At Marvel, Michael Rooker participated in Guardians of the Galaxy playing Yondu Udonta, an intergalactic thief and adoptive father of Peter Quill, Chris Pratt’s character. The actor was present in the first two films of the saga, in addition to having voiced the character in the Disney+ series What If…?, from 2021.

At DC, Rooker participated in the movie The Suicide Squad. The character is Brian Durlin’s alter ego, Savant, and despite being one of the highlights in the publicity, he didn’t have much screen time.

Idris Elba was another actor who first worked at Marvel and then migrated to DC, in this case under the direction of Michael Hooker. For Marvel, Elba worked on Thor and Avengers: Infinity War, playing the role of Heimdall, protector of Asgard and best friend of Thor (Chris Hemsworth). In the first film the actor had few scenes, as well as in Avengers. But in Thor: Ragnarok he got a bigger spotlight.

In the movie The Suicide Squad, Idris plays Bloodthirsty, a villain who has a history with Superman — although this is not addressed in the film. The film’s director, James Gunn, hid the identity of Elba’s character throughout production so that no information would come to light; for him, the role was one of the most important. That’s why so careful.

Halle Berry was present at the first X-Men line-up for theaters. The actress played Storm, one of the most powerful mutants, able to control the weather and atmosphere. The actress was present in four films of the saga.

Between comings and goings with her Marvel character, Berry played Catwoman for DC, in a solo film. The character is considered an anti-heroine, as she mixes attitudes considered illicit with some successes in favor of Gotham City. However, Catwoman did not yield good results, as it was considered a failure by critics and comic book fans.

Ben Affleck started in the world of heroes in Daredevil – The Man Without Fear, playing the lead role. In the film, Affleck is attorney Matt Murdock by day and Daredevil by night. The film was released in 2003 and did not do very well at the box office worldwide. In addition, the actor was also not very satisfied with the final product.

Years later, Affleck had the opportunity to play another hero, this time in Marvel’s rival, DC. The actor got the role of Batman and was heavily criticized by fans of the superhero, who didn’t think he fit the character. However, his debut in Batman v Superman was successful at the box office and managed to change the minds of some Batman followers.

10. JK Simmons in Spider-Man and Justice League

JK Simmons started in the world of heroes in Spider-Man, in 2002. The actor was J. Jonah Jameson, head of the Daily Bugle, that is, Peter Parker. In the plot, he is always fighting with the boy and, moreover, he hates Spider-Man, doing everything for the hero to be criticized by the newspaper. The sequence with Tobey Maguire ended in 2007, with the third film. Some time later, another actor who wore the mantle of the “webbed” very well was the brilliant Tom Holland, in the movie Spider-Man: Far From Home, already in 2019. And to the surprise of fans, JK Simmons once again took on the role of Jonah, causing commotion in the followers of the saga.

At DC, Simmons appeared as Commissioner Gordon in Justice League. The man is one of Batman’s allies in the defense of Gotham City. To prepare for the role, Simmons read a lot of comics and chose not to rely on past interpretations of the character by other actors.

DC and Marvel may even be rivals, but they give us great interpretations of our favorite characters. In your opinion, which one is the best? And are you more of a Marvel or DC fan? Tell us in the comments section!