That's probably their problem. Their marketing strategy seems to be: Make another Superman and/or Batman movie, commision something to do with Wonder Woman and scrap it, and sell lots of stuff with Bats and Supes logos on it.
Up until recently, they had the corner market on animation, particularly their animated movies. Now that Young Justice has been cancelled, that corner is gone. In comics, they completely rebooted their universe, but I don't think this is an indicator they've got their stuff together. Batman's now ultra-compressed continuity alone is a good indicator of this.
But if you're gonna move into anything like the mainstream, you do it in movies and TV. And here, Marvel officially pwns.
The age-old approach was to make single superhero properties into "adaptations". Isolated stories without any outside continuity or larger universe. But fans of comics and even cartoons know this isn't that fun. You see your favorite characters in live action, sure, but in this scheme, you never get to hear Tony Stark say "Does your mother know thou wearest her drapes?" to a Norse god.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is now a true Marvel Universe. It has the Avengers, it has SHIELD, it even has the Guardians of the Galaxy. They just need to work out a deal with Sony and tie-in Spider-Man's continuity.
It works because the people making it are the people who've had the rights all along: Marvel (---and now Disney, who forked over $4 bill for the enchilada).
FOX still has the X-Men, which I can live with because mutants might be a little complicated to tie into the Avengers & co. I really want Spidey and the FF in MCU though.
But it doesn't look like we'll ever get to see Spider-Man, the Human Torch, and Iceman hanging out. My fangirl heart's a little sad.
But back to the point. Agents of SHIELD is further proof that Marvel is audacious and brilliant, and Disney isn't totally evil. It shares its continuity with the big movies, allowing the MCU to expand even further into something unique.
That's why I didn't kick up a fuss that Iron Man 3 wasn't based on a comics storyline, and that thing with the Mandarin was kind of brilliant, disappointed as I was (---but I would've been "disappointed" anyway, because I know Mr Ten Rings from Iron Man: Armored Adventures). I thought it was clear sign that the MCU has its own stories to tell, and its own way to tell them.
With Marvel's Ultimate Universe in shambles (that's what happens when you kill basically everyone in a world where people don't quite have the knack for resurrection), the MCU is now Marvel's "modernized" world.
Whereas, DC's contemplating rebooting Green Lantern and Batman films al-freaking-ready. "Arrow" is a good series, but it really has its own take on everything, leaving it outside DC's multiverse (I think). This leaves Smallville as the standout, and I really don't think that's a good sign for DC. And since there was no real "crossover" involved, just cameos and guest spots, I'm tempted to disqualify it. Otherwise, I'd be citing the Incredible Hulk TV movies co-starring Daredevil and Thor. Hmm, maybe I should...
Maybe if DC had grabbed onto Joss Whedon when he was going to make a Wonder Woman movie for them, they'd have something as stunning as The Avengers to show for it.
(So, who wants to make bets that Man of Steel will acknowledge/hint at the existence of other superheroes? If DC/Warner Bros intends to stay with the times, I sure hope it does.)
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