Naver and Marvel take on Kakao and DC in superhero webtoon rivalry

South Korean platform giants Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp. have joined forces with competing American comic book publishers Marvel and DC to roll out superhero webtoons and intensify the competition.

Naver has partnered with Marvel Comics, the publisher of Avengers and Iron Man, and Kakao has joined forces with DC Comics, the publisher of Batman and Superman.

Naver Webtoon will unveil Marvel Comics' Black Widow as a webtoon to kick off the Marvel Webtoon Project. It would mark the first time that a Marvel comic original will be made into a webtoon.

By September, Naver Webtoon will also release other webtoons from Marvel Comics' intellectual property portfolio, including Eternals, Avengers, Spider-Man, and Hulk.

In April, Kakao began rolling out webtoons based on DC Comics' popular series such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League.

The collaboration began in 2019 after DC Comics reached out to Kakao Entertainment to create webtoons based on its IP portfolio.

Webtoons have become a global trend. Its digital formatting allows users to read webtoons by scrolling down vertically, customized to digital devices such as smartphones and laptops.

The intense rivalry between Naver and Kakao shows no signs of cooling as they vie to become the industry frontrunner.

The two South Korean platforms have brought their webtoon battle overseas, such as the US, Japan, and Southeast Asia.