Pretty simple. Which movie did you like more?

The Avengers - the ultimate comic book movie. Exactly what I've always wanted and have never gotten before.

The Avengers, no question. I think The Avengers is the pinnacle of the more lighthearted, comic book-y superhero film. The Dark Knight (not Rises) is the pinnacle of the more serious, "realistic" (albeit problematically at times) superhero film. The Dark Knight Rises had several flaws, well detailed in the reviews thread, that keep it from topping or equaling The Avengers or The Dark Knight. It's very good, but it's not the best. For my money, The Avengers is the big budget movie of the year. The only thing I can see topping it would be The Hobbit. Maybe Skyfall if it lives up to the promise of the talent behind it.

But I have a feeling that for many people, 2012 will be the new 1977. The Avengers will be remembered as a big deal for a long time.

Avengers was way better than expected, while Rises was pretty disappointing.

And what's funny is that when The Dark Knight came out, my friend argued that Iron Man was the more important comic book movie of that year because what it introduced with the Avengers concept. I argued that The Dark Knight was the better movie, period, so I didn't care about what Iron Man may or may not be building up to.

You know what? Eating crow ain't so bad.

I like both movies quite a bit, but there was something wonderful about seeing the Avengers coming together and delivering on screen. Probably the most fun time i've had watching a movie in the theater in recent memory.

Loved them both, but Dark Knight Rises was amazing. I choose TDKR.

I'm a big DC fan and a bigger Batman fan, but I liked "The Avengers" more than TDKR. However, the 2nd Nolan-Batman movie is better than every Marvel movie put together.

Some of TDKR dragged. Didn't think Avengers dragged in any scene. If I could only choose one to watch over, it would be Avengers.

I enjoyed both of them very, very much the first time. Having seen both twice now TDKR holds up much better on rewatch for me.

EDIT - I think given how different the tone, structure, etc. TDKR (Nolan's Batman) is from The Avengers (Marvel comic movies), there isn't really a good comparison to be made regarding which one is better. You can prefer one or the other, but in terms of comparison, it's really apples to oranges in my opinion.

TDKR. The Avengers is little more than fanboy-pandering wank material.

This was a tough decision, as they are both really good.

Oh, you're right. I've changed my mind due to this excellently structured argument.

I prefer less crying in my superhero movies (see also: The Amazing Spider-Man)

Because real people never cry. What an adult reason for liking something.

TDKR for me. Avengers was a lot of fun but not very substantive to me. TDKR finished off a great story arc and trilogy and is a lot closer to the kind of film I like.

Like them both but I'll rewatch The Avengers many more times than I will TDKR.

at Dragon going down the fanboy route

So crying = adult. Thanks for clearing that up.

So no crying = awesome. Got your argument as well.

I'm sure you enjoyed Daredevil and the two Ghost Rider films, too.

The Avengers was a lot of fun, but I actually thought its flaws were just as glaring as those in The Dark Knight Rises. The missteps being about equal, I'm going with Rises, because Batman is my favorite hero and I generally prefer the tone of Nolan's Batman films to that of The Avengers.

The Avengers, because it never killed anybody.

Nope, those movies sucked. Didn't bother seeing the second Ghost Rider film. But considering how dark and brooding Daredevil is, I'm surprised it's not higher on your list.

I choose the movie that didn't have t.v. soap opera drama and cheap surprises just to surprise.

I love Batman. Love, love Batman. But TDKR had just a ton of flaws that took away my enjoyment of the film. There was no moment that made me go Yay!, no danger, a story that seemed to want to comment on political events but ultimately tossed it aside and said Eh, some humor, a story that had a payoff but didn't feel like anything special and a dozen twists at the end just because.

The Avengers has its flaws but is able to overcome them to become one of the most satisfying Summer movies in a while. Avengers had humor, Yay! moments, a sense of excitement, danger, no twists for the sake of twists, the fucking Hulk, action, just a tremendous sense of pure satisfaction, a boring beginning, and a terrific villain. If this poll were between TDK and Avengers, that would require me to think long and hard. But as it is, The Avengers wipes its ass with TDKR.

It might've been if it weren't a Marvel film.

I never have understood why people hate Daredevil. I loved it and thought it was a very enjoyable super-hero flick. But then again I liked The Punisher, the FF movies and Superman Returns and everyone on this forum seems to hate those movies as well (though I will go on record as stating that the Ghost Rider movies are total shit which was disappointing). I don't like all comic book movies but I tend to probably give them a little more leeway than regular films. To show how much I disagree with most in this forum I will commit blasphemy and admit that I have never cared for the X-men movies no matter how many times I have watched them. But then, I never was a big fan of the X-men comic which may have a little to do with it.

Anyway, choosing between The Avengers and Dark Knight Rises is tough for me. The Avengers was a ton of fun but as usual, I seem to disagree with most of the posters here who thought it was well paced. I felt it dragged some in parts but I still enjoyed it nevertheless. It was a blast seeing The Avengers all on the screen but I couldn't help but be a little less impressed just because I was never a big fan of several of the characters growing up. I never cared for Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, or Sgt. Fury as a kid when reading comics. I loved The Hulk and read Captain America intermittently.

I read the shit out of Batman though for most of my life until 17 and he was always my favorite character only rivaled by Spider-Man. Since DKR was such a well done continuation of a great Batman trilogy, I have to side with it over The Avengers. Though I have yet to see DKR twice as I did The Avengers, I never felt the pacing was poor and I was enthralled the entire time and didn't remotely feel that it was an almost 3 hour movie. I had quit reading comics by the time Bane came around but I felt he was an interesting villain and he held my attention throughout the movie.

DKR has just an edge over The Avengers for me. Both are great comic book films but they are almost apples and oranges to me. They both were a different experience and two completely different style of movies which makes them hard to compare in my opinion.