Brian Michael Bendis May Be Coming Back to Marvel (but Maybe He Should Stay Away)

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Marvel is currently facing some challenges. While their Ultimate Universe line was a big hit in 2023, DC Comics quickly gained ground, and their recent publishing strategies—DC All-In and Absolute Universe—surpassed Marvel in popularity. Adding to this, the X-Men comics aren’t selling well, interest in the Avengers is low, and even Spider-Man, despite improvements in The Amazing Spider-Man, isn’t performing as expected. The latest Daredevil series received poor reviews and was cancelled, and most of Marvel’s other titles aren’t generating much excitement, with a few exceptions like Zdarsky’s Captain America and Immortal/Mortal Thor. Overall, it’s a difficult period for the leading superhero publisher.

Marvel is currently facing challenges, and there’s talk that Brian Michael Bendis might return. Bendis played a huge role in making Marvel so successful in the 2000s and was a fan favorite for a long time. He left in 2018, spending time at DC Comics and with independent publishers. While his return in 2026 could potentially shake things up, there are several good reasons why he probably shouldn’t come back.

Brian Michael Bendis Is Overrated

I first really noticed Brian Bendis back in the late ’90s with his gritty crime book, Torso – a fascinating take on the Elliot Ness story. He quickly moved on to writing Sam and Twitch for Todd McFarlane, which got him noticed over at Marvel. But it was 2000’s Ultimate Spider-Man that truly launched him into the stratosphere. Combine that with his incredible runs on Daredevil and Elektra, and he became a huge name. Before long, he was writing the Avengers and basically became Marvel’s main guy. He kicked off their big event cycle with Secret War, then followed it up with massive stories like House of M and Secret Invasion. He spent seven years with the Avengers, three with the X-Men, and then just bounced around the Marvel Universe for a while before moving on in 2018.

While many people praise Marvel comics from the 2000s, I think that period is actually overhyped, and Brian Bendis is a major reason why. He was good at creating dramatic tension with lots of dialogue, but his action sequences weren’t as strong. If you find modern comics too long and drawn-out, Bendis is often to blame. Even though it received a lot of praise, ‘House of M’ was a dull read, and much of his work on ‘The Avengers’ dragged on unnecessarily – stories that could have been told in three or four issues were stretched to six or eight. His run on ‘X-Men’ wasn’t great either, and his final years at Marvel were disappointing, especially ‘Civil War II,’ which significantly damaged the character of Captain Marvel.

A really frustrating thing about Brian Michael Bendis’ writing is that he often doesn’t capture the unique personalities that other writers had established for characters over many years. He did write Spider-Man, Daredevil, Captain America, Wolverine, Luke Cage, and Spider-Woman well. But most of his other characters just ended up sounding like Spider-Man – though you could argue Jessica Jones is an exception since he created her himself. If you dislike the constant joking in the Marvel movies, Bendis is a big reason why that style became popular.

Before discussing his time at DC Comics, where he had some successes but many projects didn’t quite hit the mark, it’s worth noting that I actually think he wrote superheroes better for DC than for Marvel. However, that’s not a high bar. Fans began to lose interest in Bendis’s X-Men stories, and his work at Marvel only became more divisive. While he created some excellent content there – including Daredevil, The Ultimate Spider-Man, his Miles Morales stories, and Dark Avengers – he’s not the answer to the current decline in Marvel’s overall quality.

Marvel Needs New Blood, Not the Past

I’m a big Marvel fan, but honestly, they’re really struggling right now, and I think it’s because they’re stuck in the past. It feels like the same people who were making decisions back in the 2000s are still in charge – folks like Brevoort, Lowe, and Cebulski, who aren’t exactly popular with the fanbase. What Marvel needs isn’t another veteran from that era, but fresh perspectives. They really dropped the ball at NYCC – DC completely overshadowed them – and if they want to win back fans, they need to move forward and embrace new ideas, not keep looking backward.

Brian Michael Bendis is a talented crime writer, but he’s fallen from his peak popularity. While he still has fans, much of his recent work is criticized, and Marvel seems to be relying too heavily on past success and habitual buying. Although he can still generate sales with a title like Daredevil, he’s unlikely to be the key to revitalizing the company.

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2025-11-01 17:13