Great Quote: 'DC is for kids then you graduate to Marvel'
There's no question that Marvel has more depth and complexity and it translates to the big screen as well as in the books.
To quote the History Channel Documentary Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked from a few years back, "When you're a kid you read DC. Then, as you get older with more adult sensibilities, you graduate to Marvel."
It's been true for years and the current efforts on both the small and big screens just cement this fact. DC is so desperate to be taken seriously that they've tried to turn all their characters dark and brooding.
They stray from their source material because they know their foundation is silly and the history is shallow. Yet, what they fail to realize is that they are treading middle ground and coming off as even more ridiculous. When something is idiotic but tries to be dark and serious, what results is a mess. You then grant Hollywood types the freedom to inject whatever they think works.
This even happened to Marvel characters when Fox and Sony thought they knew better. Things like Elektra and Ghost Rider among others means that Hollywood "knowing better" can screw up even characters with depth. Imagine what is going to happen when you take every DC character who isn't Batman. What DC has (for the most part) are remarkably shallow, juvenile characters and the WB is asking some Hollywood hacks to make them believable and respectable. Good luck with that concept.
You simply can't make chicken soup out of chicken sh_t even if the one "ingredient" they will try and save every "recipe" with is Batman.
Thank God Marvel has a better foundation and more complex characters. They can stay true to their characters and not be afraid to deliver complete multiple note films. Humor can balance with drama and angst and action... imagine that!