New Chapter on 13/09/2025
.
.
.
"Chris, I don't know why you keep asking if we're changing dates again," I said, rubbing my temple with two fingers as I leaned back on the couch in my hotel room. The phone was warm against my ear.
On the other end, Chris spoke. "Daniel…"
I cut him off. "Nothing went wrong with changing Green Lantern and Justice League's dates. Even the toy companies didn't care. The merchandising timeline adjusted fine. Everyone adapted."
"I know," he said. "It's just… you know, after all the Weinstein stuff, I'm a bit on edge. I feel like something will happen."
I raised an eyebrow. "Chris, what are you even implying?"
There was a pause.
Then: "No, no, I'm not saying anything like that. Jesus, no. Don't even say that out loud." He sounded genuinely rattled. "Fuck."
I blinked. "You sound scared, my friend."
He exhaled hard. "I might have had a nightmare today, alright? Someone falsely accused me; my whole life was ruined, you know? One of my friends was exposed yesterday. I don't know what to believe anymore. I feel like someone will use this to come after my position."
I sat up straighter. "Okay, Chris, no one's coming after you."
"There are a lot of people who want my job, Daniel. You know that."
I sighed. "I don't think even Victor's that cutthroat."
Chris laughed bitterly. "Victor's not the only one."
He wasn't wrong, but still. "Look," I said, lowering my voice. "We already ran full background checks on everyone involved in DC's projects cast, crew, department heads. Nobody's got any problematic skeletons waiting to tumble out. We're clean. You just need to focus on Stardust, alright?"
"Okay. Okay. You're right," Chris muttered. "I just… I don't want what's happening at Marvel happening to us."
I smiled. "Feige owes me big for that heads-up."
Chris perked up. "So, how did you know about that?"
"I heard things. Rumors about him last year." I let it trail off. "But that's not something we need to worry about. DC's fine, no need to worry."
"Good. Good. Thanks. I won't take more of your time. I know you've got a thousand things going."
"That I do, Chris," I said. "That I do."
"Alright. See you at the board meeting next week, then."
"Yup." I ended the call.
The screen went black. I let the phone fall onto the couch cushion beside me, then leaned back and stared at the ceiling of the hotel suite.
It was the morning of the first day of San Diego Comic-Con.
This year was going to be big, especially for Marvel. I knew exactly what they were planning to announce: the entirety of Phase Three. Eleven movies.
DC had some major things lined up for its showcase tomorrow, but nothing as big as what Feige was about to announce today.
As I got dressed, the TV in the background ran a news report with updates on what was happening with Weinstein.
And what followed unfolded exactly as I expected: actress after actress, and other women in the industry, stepping forward. Articles. Leaks. Anonymous testimonies. The #MeToo movement was beginning to ignite. Just yesterday, Bryan Singer was accused of multiple incidents stretching back years. More names were surfacing.
Months ago, I'd insisted on a deep investigation to make sure neither Midas nor DC had any unsavory characters attached. Every director, actor, and executive working with us was vetted so we wouldn't get caught in the storm that was building.
But things did happen that I didn't see coming. In one of the strangest incidents, a few days earlier I'd found myself trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons. Some angry A Song of Ice and Fire fans hijacked the #MeToo tag, venting their rage over the new book. Stark and Lannister fans, normally at each other's throats, had united in their grief and outrage. I'd killed too many favorites, they claimed. It was a shitshow; my name got lumped in with #MeToo, and misunderstandings spread. PR worked around the clock to redirect attention, clarify the situation, and get my name out of that space.
It hadn't been a good few days for me.
I stepped out of the hotel suite. A handler met me at the entrance and ushered me into the sleek black SUV waiting outside. It was a short drive to the convention center a blur of fans from a dozen fandoms, all in cosplay.
I was led inside and into the VIP lounge, where I spotted Matt waiting for me.
"Danny," he said as I approached. "I just talked to Kevin Feige."
"Oh? Did he spill any secrets?" I joked.
Matt laughed. "He did ask if you were here. I didn't know he was a fan of Invincible."
Yes, Kevin Feige was a big fan of our comic—so much so that he kept pestering me with unsolicited story ideas sometimes. Half of them were actually pretty damn good, too.
Half an hour later, it was time for the Invincible panel.
The hall was packed, and Matt was greeted with huge applause.
The moderator then welcomed me onto the stage.
The crowd erupted again equal parts cheers and boos. I understood why: A Storm of Swords had come out a few weeks ago.
As I stepped up to the mic, I leaned in. "I know where those boos are coming from," I said, pausing. "And no, I will not stop killing."
That got a wave of laughter and a few scattered claps from those who'd clearly just finished the book. Some people even stood up and cheered. Others just shouted, "Fuck off, Adler!"
I took my chair next to Matt and adjusted my mic as the panel began in earnest.
Most of the time was spent digging into what was next for the comic. The Invincible War arc was up next, so there was a lot of hype.
We addressed why it was taking so long.
"It's been a crazy year—between my work with Arcanum on Dark Souls," Matt said to cheers, "and Daniel being, you know, Daniel… he's got like a million things going on."
"Oh, I'm sorry for entertaining everyone," I said, to some laughs.
Matt rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "Yeah, yeah. But despite all that, we've managed to stay on track. We're hitting the deadlines we set for ourselves."
The moderator asked if we had something to show everyone.
"Oh, well," I said, stretching my arms, "we do."
The screen behind us lit up with a gorgeous, fully painted group illustration of the Invincible variants. It was a sprawling horizontal shot: versions of Mark Grayson standing together, each one unique. I'd even made a few changes to some of the variants.
The hall applauded and cheered as they took photos.
"And there they are," I said, my voice almost drowned out. "All the variants. From Viltrumite Mark to, um… Mohawk Mark."
More laughter rolled through the crowd.
"Now, you guys must be thinking these guys are too much for our poor old Mark to handle."
The screen changed again.
Mark battle-damaged, on his knees, face bloodied, hands clenched. Looming behind him was the silhouette of Conquest.
"And then," I said, "there's this guy. You've got him to look forward to."
A collective "Ooooohhh" rippled through the hall.
"Basically," I added, leaning into the mic with a grin, "what I'm saying is… Mark is not going to have a good time."
Laughter, louder this time.
Matt leaned into his mic with mock offense. "I'm pretty sure at this point Daniel loves torturing all his fictional creations."
There were a few questions from the audience about the comics, and after an hour the panel was nearing its end.
"I just want to say," I began, "seeing the success of the Percy Jackson series has been incredible and now that I'm working with Netflix on the A Song of Ice and Fire adaptation…" Cheers erupted at just the mention.
"I'm not saying it's happening now," I added with a smile, "but when the comic's deep enough in… yeah, we're going to do an Invincible animated series too."
The crowd exploded in cheers.
We closed with a release-date announcement next issue dropping next month and with that, the panel wrapped.
Matt and I stepped offstage and spent some time meeting fans in the hall, then made our way out to meet up with Matt's girlfriend, Jessica. We found her outside the hall wearing a flawless Black Widow cosplay. It wasn't just good it was studio-level good. She could've walked onto a Marvel set and no one would've blinked.
"Jessica," I greeted, grinning.
"Daniel," she said smoothly, striking a pose for someone's camera before turning to me. "So… who's going to be the talk of Comic-Con this year Marvel or DC?"
Without hesitation, I said, "Marvel."
She raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
I nodded. "Yeah. They've got some huge announcements coming bigger than ours. We've got some cool stuff, sure, but they're about to blow everyone's minds."
Jessica narrowed her eyes. "Okay, now you have to tell me."
I smiled and pointed to my watch. "The Marvel showcase is in four hours. I'm pretty sure you can wait that long."
Matt laughed. "Danny, run. She's relentless when she wants spoilers."
"Copy that," I said, backing away as Jessica stepped toward me with a mock glare. I left them both as I made my way to the lounge.
======
In the lounge, I sat down to call Margot when I saw a familiar face making his way toward me.
Kevin Feige.
"Kevin," I said, standing to shake his hand.
"Daniel," he replied warmly. "Great panel. Looking forward to the next issue."
We both sat down on the soft couches.
"So," I said, nudging his arm, "I hear you'll be showing off a certain purple Titan to everyone."
Kevin chuckled. "Yeah. We're doing it."
I leaned back. "Can't wait. It's hard to believe we're actually getting fucking Thanos on the big screen."
"Things have changed," Kevin replied.
I leaned in slightly. "So… what's the situation with Age of Ultron?" I asked, almost in a whisper.
Kevin didn't answer right away. He rubbed his hands together and glanced around the room, then said quietly, "Because of your warning last month, we had some people look into it."
"You were right," he continued. "Whedon… yeah, he's problematic, to put it mildly. And with everything going on now with MeToo and all that—it's not a risk we can take."
"Good glad you took my suspicions seriously," I said.
Kevin looked tired; it must have been a hell of a month for him.
"I've started shifting the reins over to the Russos," he said. "They're already working alongside Whedon, slowly taking over."
"Good idea. The Russos seem great especially after Winter Soldier," I said.
My warning to Kevin had really improved our relationship. It increased the trust between us, made it possible to talk more openly about both franchises, and helped ensure both could thrive together.
"I've been under pressure ever since The Dark Knight came out," Kevin added, almost offhand.
"Didn't know that," I said.
He shrugged. "It's not a huge deal. But you really raised the bar overnight. We'll be making some changes to Age of Ultron now that the Russos are more in control."
That sounded great to me. Age of Ultron was one of those movies I felt would be better if it leaned into the serious aspects less of the humor Marvel was known for and went for a more serious take. Ultron needed to feel like a real threat; in that movie, he felt off.
"Well, no wonder you look so tired, Kevin," I said with a small smile. "You've got enough on your plate even more, I imagine, with that merger coming up."
Kevin chuckled. "Don't remind me."
"The MCU could use the Fantastic Four and X-Men after Infinity War ends," I added. "Some fresh blood."
He gave a sly nod. "Oh, I've got plans, believe me. You're right about bringing them in after the Infinity storyline ends."
"And what about you? Still doing Darkseid?"
I leaned forward and smiled. "Of course. And he's still going to be more intimidating than Thanos."
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge, Daniel?"
"Maybe."
He laughed and stood. "Good luck with The Flash."
I stood too, extending a hand. "Good luck with Guardians."
We shook. Rivals on paper. Collaborators and friends in reality.
I waited for the Marvel showcase to begin, watching from the private lounge. Matt and Jessica joined just as it started.
The first movie announced was Captain America: Serpent Society.
Matt leaned forward. "Oh, cool," he said. "Wonder how they're gonna do that."
"That's a fake title," I said.
Both of them turned to me. "What?"
I just gestured to the screen. "Just watch."
Soon more movies were announced: Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther.
"They're already announcing the sequel to Guardians it hasnt even come out yet?" Jessica asked.
"I've heard the movie is great. They clearly have a lot of faith in it," I replied.
Next came Inhumans.
I couldn't help but laugh.
Jessica leaned toward me. "That's fake too?"
"No, no," I chuckled. "That one's real… unfortunately. That's Perlmutter's pet project. The guy's obsessed with it. I'd bet money it never sees the light of day."
Then, before Infinity War was announced, Kevin said he'd "missed one" and, to my genuine surprise, revealed Black Widow slotted between Doctor Strange and Guardians.
On screen, the crowd erupted. Jessica practically squealed at seeing her favorite character finally getting her own movie.
"Finally," she said out loud.
I was happy too. Scarlett had been pushing for this film ever since Wonder Woman. But Perlmutter had blocked it at every turn, convinced solo female superhero films were "bad business." Now that Kevin had more creative control, he made it happen.
The next announcement was the big one.
A clip played, stitching together scenes featuring the Infinity Stones, with a voiceover. Then, finally, the Mad Titan was revealed—Thanos, Infinity Gauntlet in hand.
"They actually showed him," Matt said, then turned to me. "You'd better show off Darkseid or something to match this, Danny."
Jessica was just as hyped. "That was insane."
Then Feige made a final announcement, just as I remembered from before: he changed the title of Captain America 3 and announced Civil War.
The cheers were bigger than before as Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans walked onto the stage and faced off.
With everything Kevin told me today, for the first time since waking up in this new world I was excited to watch the MCU especially with this new Age of Ultron next year and to see what plans they had for the X-Men and Fantastic Four in Phase Four.
Tomorrow was the DC showcase and panels; I needed to prepare.