If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.
Jim Lee has some “crazy ideas” for more DC/Marvel crossovers, including “not just the characters everybody knows”
On the heels of the best-selling Batman/Deadpool and Superman/Spider-Man crossovers, Lee says he’s thought about how to do Marvel x DC crossovers that don’t just rely on the most popular characters
NewsbyGrant DeArmitt, Staff Writer
Published on Wed Sep 16 2026
Popverse’s top stories
– Jason Momoa cast himself in Street Fighter
– Daniel Warren Johnson turned down DC’s Absolute Batman for Transformers, and somehow everyone won
– Oh yeah, Critical Role’s Sam Riegel has considered playing a Kobold… and making an all-Kobold game
2025 saw one of the biggest events in recent comic book history – a long-awaited crossover between DC and Marvel Comics. That book was Deadpool/Batman, and it was the first joint effort by the Big Two since 2004. Very shortly after, the streams crossed again for a Spider-Man/Superman crossover, and fans have been thinking about what’s next in the publishers’ crossover futures ever since. Interestingly enough, DC’s own president and COO hasalso been thinking about what’s next…
But Jim Lee isn’t sharing those thoughts just yet.
Lee touched on the future of Marvel/DC crossovers at San Diego Comic Con 2026, during a panel that spotlighted the legendary X-Men artist’s career. An attending fan asked Lee which two characters from the respective publishers were “overdue” for crossover, and Lee was very careful not to give a definitive answer, lest it be taken out of context.
“I would love to see more first of all,” said the Batman: Hush artist, “I think there are a lot more if we’re trying to be faithful to the first one – the Spider-Man.”
A quick note here – the “first one” that Lee is referring to is likely the Spider-Man/Superman crossover that happened all the way back in 1976. And it seems that being “faithful” here means utilizing characters that best represent their respective publishers at the time of the crossover.
“The Batman/Deadpool is kind of pairing in the two most popular characters,” Lee said, “But I think there are a lot more interesting, fun collaborations that we could do and I, I know the creators love doing it. I know the fans like doing it.”
However, just taking the two most popular characters from their respective universes and mashing them together isn’t the only way to do crossovers – in fact, Lee made it clear he was aware of the possibility of “overkill” in that regard. So the one actual tease Lee did end up making during this panel was that, should more crossovers happen, he had other ideas to get both publishers on board.
“I think there’s so much more room,” he concluded, “I have some crazy ideas for how we could do something where it’s not just characters everybody knows. I can’t share, but we have some exciting, novel ways of doing this kind of thing.”
Interested? Here’s where to find your closest local comic store, courtesy of Sweet, and here’s a guide to how (and where) to read comics online. If you’re looking for the best comics in recent memory, check out the Eisner Awards winners and the Harvey Awards nominees. And if you like free comics, here’s everything we know about Free Comic Book Day 2027.
About Comic-Con International: San Diego
Comic-Con is the premier event for all things comics and related popular art, including movies, television, gaming, interactive multimedia, and so much more! Enjoy cosplay galore and take part in unique programming, exclusive previews, and presentations, not to mention the expansive and diverse Exhibit Hall featuring merchandise and displays representing all fandoms.
Dates
Location
Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news
Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.
Let Popverse be your tour guide through the wilderness of pop culture
Sign in and let us help you find your new favorite thing.
More on Comic-Con International: San Diego
Critical Role’s Laura Bailey plays her fair share of anti-heroes. Here’s why
Critical Role’s Laura Bailey & Travis Willingham share their favorite Dispatch lines
The secret to the success of DC’s Compact Comics as it becomes a industry staple
Jim Lee explains how regular walks with his wife help him manage family and DC Comics
Jim Lee says the Marvel vs. DC rivalry is like baseball: The players change, but fans stay loyal
DC’s Jim Lee is a fan of digital comics, but has “mixed feelings” about how they change the reader’s experience
Kyle Chandler’s Comic-Con mission wasn’t just promoting DC Studios’ Lanterns… he also wanted to sneak onto the showfloor to read these Tom King comics he keeps hearing about
Absolute Martian Manhunter was almost called Absolute Martian Mindfucker, and Scott Snyder fought DC for it
