Marvel Comics' New EIC Stephen Wacker Says It's Time To Stop Following The MCU: "That Is Backwards"

Marvel Comics has a new Editor-in-Chief, Stephen Wacker, and he's made it clear that the plan moving forward is for the Marvel Universe to inspire the MCU, not the other way around.

News

By JoshWilding - Oct 08, 2026 05:10 AM EST

Filed Under: Marvel Comics

Source: AIPT

For a long time, Marvel Comics has allowed what we see on screen to influence what happens on the page. The idea is to make it so that fans of the MCU will better recognise these characters when they pick up the comics, but it isn't something most readers want.

Take the TVA comic that was released in 2024. It featured characters like Sylvie, Miss Minutes, and O.B., and paired them up with Variants of Spider-Gwen and Captain Carter. However, it created a huge amount of confusion—especially when the Scarlet Witch was revealed to be locked up in the TVA—about whether it was an MCU tie-in. It wasn't, and the MCU-ification of the TVA landed with a thud.

At New York Comic Con yesterday, new Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Stephen Wacker promised a new approach to storytelling, and it's one that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is fully on board with.

Telling attendees (via AIPT) that the MCU's success has created the impression that synergy is needed between the comics and movies, Wacker stated, "That is backwards."

During his first meeting with Feige, Wacker was told that it's not the job of comics to follow the movies, and the executive even attended a Marvel Comics summit yesterday to share his belief that what's on the page should be 15 years ahead of what's on screen. The EIC added that the comics are better when they lead, not when they follow.

Wacker also promised a fundamental change in how Marvel Comics approaches storytelling in general moving forward:

"We cannot be the company that just protects trademarks for the greatest characters in comics history, or just adapts them for movies and TV shows. I want us to be the company that does something for you that’s unexpected, that you can then go hand-sell. I want readers to argue and debate Marvel stories."

"I want retailers excited about the Marvel boxes showing up from PRH. I want critics surprised by Marvel. I want competitors challenged by Marvel. I want kids discovering Marvel. And I want the rest of the entertainment business looking at our comics and thinking, ‘Crap, we need to catch up.’ That’s the Marvel comics that I and the new team want to build."

We're going to see names on Marvel books next year that have not been there in a long time and in some cases, ever, @StephenWacker said. He does not believe in a house style. Wants to learn from Manga - price, size, content. #nycc #nycc2026
— AIPT @ NYCC (@AIPTcomics) October 7, 2026

Before they greenlight any new series, they're asking if it's ready and they can support it. This could mean fewer books published. #nycc #nycc2026 @StephenWacker #MARVELCOMICS
— AIPT @ NYCC (@AIPTcomics) October 7, 2026

Never miss a story! Set Comic Book Movie as a preferred source on Google

About The Author:

JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009

A lifelong comic book fan who grew up on Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the '90s, Josh Wilding has been contributing to ComicBookMovie.com since 2009.

While he's also written for websites like Batman-News, HeyUGuys, and WhatCulture, Josh is CBM's Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and the site's #1 contributor with nearly two decades of experience covering film and TV news (including interviews with Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Gary Oldman, Halle Berry, Jon Bernthal, Tom Welling, and hundreds more).

Based in the UK with his wife, Josh is also an avid WWE and Formula 1 fan and writes about those passions on CBM's sister sites, TheRingReport.com and FullThrottleHQ.com. Favourite superhero? Spider-Man. Favourite pro wrestler? CM Punk. Favourite F1 driver? Max Verstappen.

Amazing Spider-Man #1000 Review: A Monumental Chapter In The Wall-Crawler's Comic Book History

Recommended For You:

Jessica Jones: Alias: Brian Michael Bendis And Michael Gaydos Reunite For New Comic Book Series

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, Comic Book Movie is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. Comic Book Movie will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that Comic Book Movie, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Do you have what it takes to write for us?

Want to contribute?

12 Comments

Malatrova15 - 10/8/2026, 5:42 AM

So Jonatan Majors is in this

Gambito - 10/8/2026, 5:42 AM

Problem is that they cannot come up with anything worthwhile instead, might as well just copy what works

dragon316 - 10/8/2026, 9:03 AM

@Gambito - super comics gooood va bad all time what new story can you do with same theme all time goood vs bad run out of ideas eventually give them some real world trouble problems child abuse , drunk driving alcohol abuse , people trafficking , rape , drug abuse , domestic abuse which comes with usual alcohol mix with it , child abuse kidnapping ., murder thieves rule world kill who is over done

roboticJohnson - 10/8/2026, 6:20 AM

this feels like the smartest thing I've heard from marvel comics in years

lordrodd - 10/8/2026, 6:49 AM

@roboticJohnson - I concur.

KennKathleen - 10/8/2026, 6:32 AM

How about writing good stories in both mediums?

Arkham Knight didn't call itself "Knightfall", but there were several similarities attached to both stories.

Brian Azzarello's "Joker" was not a sequel to the Dark Knight (which happens to be another classic comic title), I actually think it was written before the film dropped, but both the movie and the book had several components that seamlessly fit in tones.

If you make great stories, the public will accept that there are two different planes of thought taking place for the same character.

Anyone reading a comic knows there can be two or more different takes of the same hero sitting right by each other on the shelves.

The "money funders" need to stay out of creative development. Get a team of people they trust with the brand. Let them put together a plan with full creative control. Pay for the vision. Let the chips fall as they may.

🪙 🪙

Saintsinnister - 10/8/2026, 6:35 AM

This has to be a hard job title to have in this day and age. The storylines have been exhausted for almost every character, nobody wants any new or legacy characters, and hardly anyone buys comics anymore. Sure you can retell old stories with new artwork, update the dialogue maybe, but print is a dying medium. If I held the title I would make a bimonthly magazine that includes a few new comics, posters, and insider information about everything Marvel..

AgentofSH1ELD - 10/8/2026, 8:09 AM

@Saintsinnister - I agreee. Long time comic fan but I have not read an actual comic since the last Secret Wars run in 2015.
I kinda feel like the MCU saved Marvel comics as a whole... I dont know where the actual comic medium would be right now without the likes of MCU, The Walking Dead, and whatever it is DC is doing.
Look at how much content on TV rn is comic based.. over the past 15+ years the medium has dominated film.
They can try to seperate them as much as they want, but the comic industry would be better off if it were tied to it at this point. :/

ObserverIO - 10/8/2026, 9:48 AM

@AgentofSH1ELD - Synergy has become a curse word among comics enthusiasts, but without synergy we wouldn't have the Daily Planet, Kryptonite, Alfred Pennyworth, the Batcave or Harley Quinn. It's weird to just ignore how these franchises resonate in other media.

Mrcool210 - 10/8/2026, 6:52 AM

I mean it's probably the right mindset to have that has been an issue with the comics for a while and it is better for the movies to take from the comics, not the other way around..

However I'm really hoping we are also allowed for things to evolve and change. Now that we have new blood maybe one more day will finally be undone, or Peter will get into an interesting status quo.

Quite frankly comics are at their best when the riders were allowed to do whatever they want damned the consequences. And then have future writers fix what they want to fix and keep what they want to keep yeah it's more messy but it allows some more creativity and more interesting stories

JabbaTheSus - 10/8/2026, 9:20 AM

Now they just need to get their head out of their asses with what stories they're putting at the forefront. They announced compendiums finally, which is great...However, like the Premiere series, I seriously question why they would choose the runs/characters they did. Claremonts X-Men is a great one, I'll give them that, but then it's Squirrel Girl, Superior Spider-Man and Uncanny X-force...Why? Your first 4 Compendiums and you don't give us an ASM, Thor, Iron Man, Avengers, Daredevil? Premiere has been the same. Love them and the price point, but how the hell did we get Vision, Black Panther, etc. before getting any of the ones I mentioned above?

The reason DC is killing it right now with the compacts, is because they started with only their biggest and best reviewed/sold arcs. It's not rocket science.

ObserverIO - 10/8/2026, 10:02 AM

So basically he wants to be Absolute.

It's good that he wants to learn from Manga in regards to price, style and size. Manga is taking over comic book stores and they've almost pushed regular comics out completely. The compact comics collections are a good start. But I think they need to dip their toes in the water with a high profile series based in a new universe with zero continuity baggage. Something they can sell to everyone. To Gen Z and Alpha.

I was surprised that they didn't put the new Mangaverse in this format. Maybe they can do another Mangaverse series this way.

Or if the Midnight line continues to be good they could start reprinting that series in Manga format (although I think an original, new high-profile book would make a bigger splash than simply reprinting something that's already months old). Maybe create a new universe for the format or simply create a new Midnight title to be published in this format.

But yeah I think this is the way forward for comics in general. Manga is winning. It's going to win. If you can't beat 'em join 'em. Time to do Manga American style.
All American and European publishers should look into this. DC could release a new Absolute title in this format and maybe start collecting Absolute Batman and the other Absolute books in this format. I think the Manga crowd would love Absolute Flash.

Please log in to post comments.

Don't have an account?
Please Register.

Our Superhero Specific Sites

Marvel Comics' New EIC Stephen Wacker Says It's Time To Stop Following The MCU: "That Is Backwards"

Marvel Comics has a new Editor-in-Chief, Stephen Wacker, and he's made it clear that the plan moving forward is for the Marvel Universe to inspire the MCU, not the other way around.

Amazing Spider-Man #1000 Review: A Monumental Chapter In The Wall-Crawler's Comic Book History

Jessica Jones: Alias: Brian Michael Bendis And Michael Gaydos Reunite For New Comic Book Series

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, Comic Book Movie is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.