Popverse's top stories of the day

• Humanity blossoms into something... new in BOOM! Studios' In Bloom this December
• Agatha All Along got you wondering how magic works in the MCU? Here's your guide to Marvel's many on-screen magicians
• What can we learn from the brief life of Jermaine Clement and Taika Waititi's Time Bandits reboot from Apple TV+?

In 1976 Marvel and DC Comics made history with Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man, the first crossover between the two iconic universes. This led to many other crossovers over the years, including the iconic JLA/Avengers. 

However, the crossovers came to a stop after 2004.

According to former DC Comics publisher Dan DiDio, he’s the one responsible for halting any crossover plans. During a spotlight panel at Tampa Bay Comic Convention, DiDio revealed the reason he vetoed any intercompany crossovers between the two giants. 

“You’re talking to the one person that stopped every Marvel and DC crossover,” DiDio began with a laugh. “I’m going to tell you why I stopped it, and I’m going to say this to everyone. My reason was, when you’re in competition with other places you have to have pride in your own work, and you have to believe in your own material. The only reason I’m crossing over is if I’m having really bad sales or there is a problem with the market. If I have to rely on other companies to prop my characters up, then I’m in bigger trouble than I thought.”

“My second reason was, after that comes out, what do you do next? After you cross that over and you get that big moment, you’re still back in the same place you were beforehand, and now it seems less special, because you just removed so many other things away from it.”

“My point was always that I think it’s great to see something stand out individually and exist on their own right, but as a leader of a line of characters, it’s best for them to be on their own, rather than relying on other characters to prop them up.”

Will Marvel and DC ever cross over again? DiDio stepped down from his role at DC in 2020, but there are still lots of intercompany politics and legal issues that could prevent a crossover from happening. Time will tell, but I think the two universes can only be kept apart for so long.

Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out our guides to upcoming movies, upcoming TV shows, upcoming comics, and upcoming comic conventions. If you're looking for specific franchises or genres, we have all the upcoming MCU, upcoming Star Wars, upcoming Star Trek, and upcoming DC movies & TV for you. If you're a fan of superheroes and not specific to just Marvel or DC, we have overall guides to all the upcoming superhero movies and upcoming superhero TV shows (and new seasons) as well.