SDCC 2024: Mark Waid Discusses Going All In on DC Comics, Superman, and More

This year’s San Diego Comic Con had a lot going on for DC Comics fans. Between Absolute Power changing the game and de-powering heroes all across the Earth, DC All In promising big, universal changes, and the first glimpses of the Absolute Universe coming to light, there’s a lot to look forward to for DC readers.

At the center of many of these events is comic book icon and Absolute Power writer Mark Waid. Not only is Waid putting the heroes through the wringer in his epic summer event, but he’s also a major part of the DC All In initiative, taking over Action Comics this October and writing Justice League Unlimited. Screen Rant sat down with Mark Waid to hear all about what he has in store for the rest of the year.

Screen Rant: Mark, it was not that long ago that we were talking about Absolute Power, now the first issue has been released. How has the reception been?

Mark Waid: I’m really stunned. I mean, I’m really pleasantly surprised at the reception. You never know, because you’re in the eye of the whirlwind. ‘Is this going to be something that people latch on to?’. But second printings tell that tale and everybody at DC has been very complimentary and store owners I’ve talked to really are into it. And dude, that’s Dan Mora, I mean, come on, I’m just kind of around for the ride. But Dan’s stuff is great.

We only saw the opening salvo. The tie-ins have covered the fallout. But we haven’t even really hit the crux of the main series.

Mark Waid: No you have not. It gets much worse for everybody.

Oh gosh! The level of coordination in this event has been fascinating to watch because this is basically a payoff for the entire Dawn of DC. You’ve talked to me about how amenable the other creative teams have been, but at any point, was anyone ever sweating, thinking “We’re doing too much!”?

Mark Waid: Only me, in that you have a vision for four issues and an outline for four issues. And you think that’s going to last and you’re an idiot. Because there’s so many new ideas that come along as you go. So by the time you get issue four, it is jam-packed. The coordination, however, has been great. There’s been very few little blips and those we’re able to fix mostly because Dan Mora is extremely fluid when it comes to me having to say “Hey, it turns out we need this character instead of this character.”.

We talked previously about Task Force VII and how these are all robots that have been imprinted in one way or another by a form of Batman. And we’ve seen their personalities mostly through the mini series that have gone into them. Did you just say to the writers “Hey, we want a Batman influence, it’s up to you” or did you have a direction for how the individual Amazos should act?

Mark Waid: I let the writers pick. I will freely admit, that’s one of the things that doesn’t pay off as beautifully as I’d hoped because it sounded great. You know one can have the Adam West voice, one can have the Gotham by Gaslight voice, one can have the Red Rain voice. Name four others! Frankly, the Batman: Animated Series voice is very much the same voice. So there was less to choose from there than I thought. But that said, everybody’s had their pick and they’re running with it.

So the cat’s out of the bag. DC All In is coming. What can you tell us about the process of writing Absolute Power and its shift from a big summer event to the thing that ushers in this new age for the DC Universe?

Mark Waid: Editor Paul Kaminski has been essential in making sure that all those gears are meshing. And the All In stuff was percolating simultaneously to Absolute Power. And I was talking with Scott Snyder a little bit, Josh a little bit but we weren’t really clear on how well it was all going to tie together until about two months ago when we really started nailing down the All In Special. And once we did that, we realized how beautifully constructed all this, to some degree by accident, flows. There are specific things in the Absolute Power that specifically lead into the All In Special, that specifically lead into Justice League. And for reasons other than just we’re waving our hands and saying “Hey, we want a Justice League book.”. Let’s give it a reason. Let’s give it a specific purpose.

At the Absolute Power panel yesterday we heard from Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson discussing what this initiative means to them. What does All In mean to you?

Mark Waid: It means that there’s just an excitement to it. And I know that sounds like bulls**t Hollywood answer, but I mean it. I’ve been very lucky. I’ve been able to build a corner of the DC Universe in the last couple of years, where I can have fun and where I don’t feel like everything is editorially mandated or feel like everything is grim and dark, and things seem to have worked out pretty well. The thinking was we should be having more fun with these books. We shouldn’t be experiencing the joy of what it is like to be Green Lantern, Flash, whatever. The characters should shine and we should get back to the essence of who these characters are.

We just heard the announcement about Justice League Unlimited. Yep. Are all these things you’re talking about here driving your book?

Mark Waid: I mean, Dan Mora again, I’m not gonna let him go. (laughs). I’ll let him do another book every once in a while. I like it. I’ll let him cross the street. But I won’t let him get out of sight but I won’t let him get into a car with a stranger with candy.

Everybody wants him!

Mark Waid: Exactly. I mean, we have to fight off other editors all the time. It’s constant, but it’s a chance to sort of extend the world’s finest ethos. So there’s a sense that anything is possible and that all of these characters are good if you come at them with the right angle. Between Dan and me, I’m confident saying you can deal us any C and D list character in the DC Universe as well as the A and B list characters, and we can find the take on that character that you’ve not thought of before.

The idea of a Justice League expanding so dramatically is a perfect and ironic result of Absolute Power.

Mark Waid: Exactly. I mean, they’re humble enough to look at each other when all the dust settles and go “We might not have been caught on the back foot if we’d been talking to each other.” So it makes perfect sense. And it’s a very joyous turn of events. It’s not just “We’re drafting you into the Justice League”. You don’t have to be there. But if you want to be in the Justice League, and you’re a superhero or costume crime-fighter of some sort, you are welcome on the Watchtower. It’s going to be a Mission Impossible style, “Oh, this thing is happening in Argentina. Well, then you, you, and you are the best ones for this job. This thing is happening on Mars, you, you, and you. So that’s the play.

You did bring up the Watchtower at the panel yesterday where I think you described it as the home of the League. What is it about the Watchtower compared to something like the Hall of Justice?

Mark Waid: It conveys the notion that they’re looking over all of Earth. And not in a creepy, arrogant, godly way, but more in a sort of protective way of like “We are not the Justice League of America. We are the Justice League of the world. And we’ve got our eyes on every threat regardless of where it is on the planet.”.

We’re gonna be seeing you on Action Comics pretty soon. I’m excited for that because it picks up on a plot point from World’s Finest. Would you like to elaborate on this?

Mark Waid: Yeah, I mean, this is part of the fun doing the World’s Finest is making sure that the story ‘counts’ so people can’t just dismiss it as not essential. In every arc of World’s Finest, we try to make sure that there’s something, whether it’s Lazarus Planet or whatever, and that we see it come to fruition in the DC Universe. So with this, we planted the idea that there is a ghostly figure called Aeythr who came across the Phantom Zone a few years ago and looked at it and looked at the horror of the fact that it’s just a phantom realm with nobody even able to communicate. That’s a terrible, terrible idea for a prison and it’s uncanny. When they came up with this idea in 1961, you know, nobody thought about it. As we get more aware of how the judicial system should be working, it makes Superman a jerk if the Phantom Zone is a garbage can for villains.

Mark Waid: So Superman realizes at the start of the Action Comics story that something is happening and he knows something’s going weird in there for a while…he’s got to deal with the Phantom Zone. And in doing so, he’s going to have to reckon with the fact that his dad created this. And how much of a jerk is his dad? Is there some perspective on Jor-El that he didn’t have before? The story will involve time travel and take him back to Krypton and meet his own parents when they’re younger than he is today. And seeing some secrets about the Phantom Zone that you never knew before.

Action Comics is also going weekly, which isn’t the first time in its history. What did the decision to go weekly come from and how does it serve your story?

Mark Waid: It’s interesting. If you’re running a monthly book, you have to be a little more cognizant of the fact that it’s been a month since the reader read the last installment. So there’s a little more catching up that has to be done with weekly. I feel like we don’t have to do as much recapping, it’s still gonna be reader friendly. You’re still gonna know what’s happening at all times. But I don’t have to spend as much time recapping what the story has been so far. So it gives me time to just get more action into the book. I don’t know why the gods chose to make it a weekly comic.

You’re also working on Batman and Robin: Year One. You talked about the importance of Dick Grayson to Batman’s legacy. How does that impact what you’re writing in your upcoming story?

Mark Waid: It is the last thing you would expect, which is that Bruce and Dick just don’t get along. I mean, they don’t they don’t fall into lockstep easily. Early on, this is the biggest hurdle they have to overcome. At times, they barely like each other. But Bruce is responsible for this kid now. And Dick knows this is better than being in an orphanage somewhere so they gotta make do. But Batman is a lone wolf. Batman has been partnerless and seen himself as at his best when he doesn’t have to be responsible for anybody else. Conversely, Dick’s very life every night under that circus tent has been dependent upon him having a partner that can catch him and he can catch. Partnership is everything to Dick. It’s kept them alive all these years. So how did the two of them manage to reconcile that?

You’re working on books set in the past and present. When are you doing a book set in the future?

Mark Waid: Sooner than you think!

Justice League Unlimited #1, Batman and Robin: Year One #1, and Action Comics #1070 are available this fall from DC Comics.