DC Writer Mark Waid Says Superman “Speaks To A Lot Of People Right Now” Because He Offers “A Symbol Of Hope” At A Time Of Widespread “Dread”
According to veteran DC scribe Mark Waid, the massive push Superman will be receiving this year across various mediums could not have come at a more appropriate time, as he believes the Man of Steel can stand as a significant “symbol of hope” at a time when the concept is most needed.
Waid, who previously penned such seminal DC tales as Kingdom Come, 52, and The Flash Vol. 2 (wherein he both created the character of Impulse and elevated Wally West to A-list status) and currently serves the writer of the ongoing Justice League Unlimited Vol. 2 and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest Vol. 1, offered his take on Superman’s modern day-relevance while speaking to Newsarama‘s George Marston in promotion of the upcoming Summer of Superman publishing initiative.
Observing how 2025 is shaping up to be a particularly big year for the Last Son of Krypton, with the hero set to properly kick-off James Gunn’s new DCEU and play a starring role in DC’s upcoming We Are Yesterday crossover event, Marston at one point asked Waid as to why, in his opinion, Superman was so poised for this big resurgence across the public consciousness.
In turn, the Superman: Birthright Vol. 1 creator asserted, “I think with all the turmoil going on, I think that there is a sense of dread that is an undercurrent to every moment of our lives, even whether we realize it or not. And Superman is always the symbol of hope.”
“Superman is always the symbol of what we can accomplish if we pull together, what we can do if we have empathy. What we can do if we make kindness a virtue rather than a weakness. And I think that speaks to a lot of people right now. It certainly speaks to me.”
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Notably, that Waid in particular is looking to emphasize Superman’s ‘hope symbology’ comes as no surprise given how, by his own admission, the 2024 re-election of Donald Trump as US President essentially broke him.
“Even if by some miracle this turns around, I don’t believe in the basic goodness of my fellow Americans anymore, and without this, I cannot write superheroes,” said Waid on November 5th as vote tallies began to overwhelmingly favor Trump. “There’s no point. When you see a decline in the quality of my work soon, you’ll be able to trace it back to this night.”
Interestingly, Waid is not the only Superman-related creator to offer such a ‘light in the darkness’ take on the public’s current interest in Big Blue’s adventures.
Asked during a February DCEU press event as to why he thought his upcoming silver screen take on the hero was the right one for the ‘current cultural moment’, the aforementioned Gunn explained, “I think he’s the right Superman because he is a character that stands for something that is solid, stands for basic human morals, basic human integrity, basic belief in protecting others and protecting the weak being good to people and being honest. He stands for what I think of as the rules that don’t change.”
“People are looking for heroes right now,” he added. “They are looking for values of goodness, looking for people who are good and decent human beings. And Superman is that.”
Barring any unforeseen shipping delays, the Summer of Superman Special Vol. 1 #1, as penned by Waid in collaboration with current Superman Vol. 6 Joshua Williamson and the book’s next writer Dan Slott, is set to land on April 16th.
Further, that same day will see the start of Waid’s We Are Yesterday crossover, which kick-offs in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest Vol. 1 #38, continues on into Justice League Unlimited Vol. 2 #6 the next week, and conclude the week after in the pages of the Batman/Superman: World’s Finest 2025 Annual.
NEXT: James Gunn Had One Requirement For David Corenswet When Playing Superman – Be Kind To Everyone
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