The Walt Disney Company (DIS), Time Warner Inc (TWX): How DC Beats Marvel

Time Warner Inc. (TWX)Marvel Studios may be chairman of the billion-dollar blockbuster club, but when it comes to comic-book-themed video games, DC Entertainment is starting to look untouchable.

Following the huge success of Batman: Arkham City, Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX)‘s sequel, Batman: Arkham Origins, is due to arrive the week before Halloween. A new trailer previews the game, which looks stunning and perfectly reflective of the dark world of the The Dark Knight:

Batman: Arkham Origins from Warner Interactive Entertainment. Sources: YouTube, Warner Interactive.

Expectations are likely to run high for Origins because of its predecessor. Arkham City sold more than 6 million units through its first four months of release.

Origins also benefits from a long line of successful Batman titles produced by Warner and subsidiaries Rocksteady Studios and NetherRealm Studios. Lego Batman: The Videogame has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide since its 2008 debut. More recently, Injustice: Gods Among Us, an action combat game in which DC superheroes fight not only villains but also one another, topped NPD’s list of the best-selling titles for the week ending May 7.

The message? Superheroes play as well for DC as movies do for Marvel and parent The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), though recent efforts could change that. A move to outsource development of Star Wars titles to Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) could also affect Marvel. Both brands are sorely in need of a chart-topping console game.

Meanwhile, DC and Warner prepare Batman: Arkham Origins for what could be an even bigger debut than Injustice‘s chart-topping performance. For me, it’s just one more reason to believe investors aren’t giving Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX) its due.

Do you agree? Let us know where you stand on Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX) right now, and which DC or Marvel character you’d like to see star in a video game.

The article 1 Underrated (but Important) Way That DC Destroys Marvel originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Tim Beyers.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of Time Warner and Walt Disney at the time of publication. Check out Tim’s Web home and portfolio holdings, or connect with him on Google+Tumblr, or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Walt Disney.

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