2 Years Later, It’s Clear Marvel Missed Their Best Chance To Beat DC

Published Jul 19, 2026, 8:44 PM EDT Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot. 13 years after Scott Snyder joined DC, the Absolute publishing line took the comic book industry by storm. Now, two years later, DC’s Absolute universe is extraordinarily successful, spanning a handful of unique books and characters. Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s ongoing Absolute Batman series is easily the most popular—it’s Batman, after all, though its storytelling and artistry cannot be discounted. Of course, the entire line is massively adored between Absolute Wonder Woman, Absolute Superman, Absolute Martian Manhunter, and Absolute Green Arrow (which recently received an extension from six to 12 issues), and it’s baffling to hear that this success could’ve been Marvel’s if it had chosen to go with Snyder sooner. Marvel Let Scott Snyder Slip By, And Now It’s Paying The Price According to Scott Snyder, as per the AIPT Comics Podcast, a “line-wide initiative” was pitched to Marvel shortly after DC needed time to evaluate his proposal for what would become the Absolute universe. Marvel could apparently only accommodate a far less “ambitious undertaking” and wanted a single series, rather than a whole, branching initiative, though it “wasn’t Absolute. It was a very different thing.” It’s fascinating that there’s a hypothetical multiverse timeline in the aether where Marvel immediately said “yes” to Snyder and has been enjoying the success that the Absolute universe has brought DC. This also reiterates that there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes, with fans never truly knowing how close DC and Marvel ever are to the possibility of something magical. With any luck, Marvel’s Midnight universe can be that for it. Elseworlds Are More Popular Than Mainline, And We Can See Why Whether Marvel’s recently announced and upcoming Midnight publishing line was inspired by the Absolute universe’s success, spun out of the original proposal Snyder had, or materialized purely from Marvel’s own ingenuity is anyone’s guess. The former seems the most likely, given that Marvel is pursuing its Midnight universe now rather than, say, several years ago. Likewise, the Earth-1610 and Earth-6160 Ultimate universes have probably given Marvel a definitive taste of how much leniency is afforded to worldbuilding and lore in a novel continuity, which is a godsend for an Earth-616 character like Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, in particular, whose mainline Amazing Spider-Man comics are constantly ridiculed and criticized due to how hamstrung his development and status quo are. It may have helped Marvel to see how popular the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Marvel Zombies TV show was in terms of its decision to pursue horror as the genre that Midnight would inhabit, acknowledging that horror could let it stretch its legs the most and be a nice reprieve from how comedic or lighthearted a lot of Marvel content is. Not that Marvel can’t normally be harrowing or sincere, but fully leaning into horror should compel it to shed any notion that Midnight X-Men, Midnight Fantastic Four, and Midnight Spider-Man are books that will pull punches (hopefully). Dedicating a whole new continuity of books to horror, wherein it can massively reinterpret iconic Marvel characters’ designs and mythologies, might be the only way Marvel competes with DC beyond the overwhelming popularity of Spider-Man alone. Regardless, the Absolute universe will forever be perceived as the wellspring that all new, creative universes draw their influence from. Despite not being ready to commit in the past, Marvel is clearly ready to take that leap now. It’ll be intriguing to see how its Midnight universe competes with DC’s Absolute universe when it debuts this fall. Absolute Batman #23 is scheduled to be released on August 12, 2026.