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Well, Marvel has just openly challenged DC Comics to something unheard of in the past 30 years.

An inter-company softball game.

During the Marvel Fanfare panel at Comic-Con International: San Diego 2026, incoming editor-in-chief Stephen Wacker spoke out in what might be his first official act as Marvel's top editor.

"I am challenging Marie Javins and Jim Lee right now to another softball game," says Wacker.

Marie Javins is DC Comics' editor-in-chief, and Jim Lee is DC's CCO/publisher/president.... and a man I know personally gets invigorated by a challenge.

Wacker, himself a former DC editor, is referring to a nostalgic, long-held activity the two companies had for decades when the two companies were based in New York City. In 2027, Marvel is moving to the Los Angeles area (Buckley's already been here for years), and it seems like he wants to play ball with the distinguished competition.

Marvel vs. DC comics softball games with staff are something that began organically in the '60s, sometimes happening in NYC's Central Park. Informal at first, but then became semi-official and was even mentioned in passing in comics by both companies. As DC and Marvel went from privately-owned companies to being part of larger and larger corporate entities by the late '80s and into the mid '90s, the logistics of it became too cumbersome to get approved by corporate management even if the staffers wanted to do it. When DC moved out of New York City in 2015, the idea of it became moot.

But now, as Marvel prepares to relocate its Comics Editorial offices from New York City to the Los Angeles area, not too far away from DC's offices for the past 11 years, we might have a whole new ballgame.

It's certainly helped by the fact that the current editors-in-chief at Marvel and DC are both veteran editors previously at the other company, and seem to have a healthier collaborative arrangement with each other than previous administrations.

Now, we wait and see what DC says. One note of warning: Wacker may not be a wringer, but he was at one time a sports journalism editor.

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.