Mark Waid > Quotes

“Socrates should have written comics.”
― Mark Waid

“Does Batman ever NOT have a plan...?”
― Mark Waid, Kingdom Come #2: Truth and Justice

“...If you genuinely believe that only the death of a loved one can motivate a human being to take up a cause...then get your pathetic, cynical ass out of my way so I can do my job!”
― Mark Waid, Daredevil, Volume 3

“If you're going to survive in this world, here's what you need to know: you are who you are, not what people think you are.”
― Mark Waid

“We answer rage with wisdom. We answer fear with imagination. We answer war with hope. We are, each of us, important.”
― Mark Waid

“Why can't Spider-sense warn you when you're about to get dumped?”
― Mark Waid, Daredevil, Volume 2

“We all want to live in a world where we can make a difference... That's why Spider-Man fights the good fight. Or Captain Marvel. Or me. Or... There are a lot of us. And we don't all wear masks these days. Iron Man went public. So did Captain America. Others. Probably because it's harder to keep secrets in an internet surveillance age. But I think some of it, too, is that the ethical paradox can wear you down. No one on the white-hat side has ever hidden his or her identity with less than noble intent: to make the fight about something bigger than us. To represent a greater justice, where the focus can be on right and wrong... and not on whether the bad guys will exact reprisal on those close to us. And sometimes you have to lie... because you can justify a lie if lives are riding on it. Even as you fight for, as the saying goes, truth and justice... even if you're a lawyer who has sworn to live by the truth... you willingly bear false witness.”
― Mark Waid, Daredevil, Volume 7

“You're not perfect. Sometimes, you can be a real jerk. Not on purpose. Just sometimes. But no matter what, you are a man of integrity. That is your defining characteristic. You can't see this, but it comes off you so strong that I have watched Avengers be intimidated by it. Be inspired by it. Your integrity carries a weight you can't imagine. It has meaning.”
― Mark Waid, Daredevil, Volume 7

“Crushing people is the truth's hobby.”
― Mark Waid, Archie, Vol. 2

“R is for Riverdale. Relatable. Right Stuff. Ravishing.”
― Mark Waid, Archie (2015-) #5

“You need your own strength in this life. Your own purpose. You can't simply live for others.”
― Mark Waid, Star Wars: Princess Leia

“I know this is scary. You're hungry and cold and you want to give up! But you can't turn on each other! Not now! Show me how brave you can be by pulling together! Do it for each other! That's the trick! Because when you reach out--when you extend yourself for other people-- that's when you're without fear!”
― Mark Waid, Daredevil, Volume 2

“If I'm not 100% comfortable in her world and she's not 100% comfortable in mine...then we'll make our own world.”
― Mark Waid, Archie, Vol. 2

“Mystic grimoirs, walking corpses... I'm so far out of my wheelhouse that I might as well be on the moon.”
― Mark Waid, Daredevil, Volume 7

“The Sons of the Serpent - they want you angry. At the world. They need us all to feel like victims. And it's an easy get, because times suck. Every day is a battle. We all feel like we're on the wrong end of the wrecking ball. We feel at the mercy of forces beyond our control, and that makes us scared. And that's rocket fuel for S.O.B.'s like the Serpents. They prey on us when we're frightened. They tell us our enemies are the immigrants down the street, or the food stamp family next door. They encourage us to turn our fear into rage, and we fall for it because it's 'empowering.' Except it's not. We don't become 'empowered.' We become weaponized.”
― Mark Waid, Daredevil, Volume 7

“Man of Tomorrow," my ass. Try "Man of the nineteen-fifties!”
― Mark Waid, Kingdom Come

“They'll come around. You watch what happens the next time someone co-opt that symbol. People know now, it stands for courage. It stands for Hope. It stands for Superman. and the whole world will remember that.”
― Mark Waid, Superman: Birthright

“America heals, but America is not the world.”
― Mark Waid, Kingdom Come

“We are not our enemy. We are Alderaan. We answer rage with wisdom. We answer fear with imagination. We answer war with hope. We are, each of us, important. Alderaan survives.”
― Mark Waid, Star Wars: Princess Leia

“Daredevil: "You want to use what's on that drive just to avenge your husband? It's not worth it. You're special I get it. . .I mean it. The bad guys took somebody you love, and it hurt worse than anything you could ever have imagined. Me, too. They took my dad. Your buddy, Frank? They took his wife AND kids. Want to know who else has that story? Go to the Avengers mansion and throw a stick. Everyone I know has lost someone in that way. And it never stops aching. And I'm sorry, but that does not elevate you. What does make you special is that you have game. Obviously, and focus. I've seen you in action. You've got the stuff. Put it to good use."

Rachel Cole-Alves: "You know what give me strength? My loss. We're alike. Admit it: Nobody who's a stranger to that particular pain could EVER be as driven as us."

Daredevil: "NEVER! Don't ever say that to me ever again. That is a repellent statement. IT's a vomitous insult to every cop-- every Fireman-- Every soldier alive who steps up to fight for those who can't! I am Sorry for your Loss! But if you genuinely believe that only the Death of a loved one can motivate a human being to take up a cause...then get your pathetic, cynical ass out of my way so I can do my job!”
― Mark Waid, Daredevil, Volume 2

“When most dullards hear the words 'the theater,' they envision a twelve-screen multiplex where disaster porn entertains the culturally witless for 90 minutes at a time. Pfaugh. The word 'theater' has grandeur. Power. Back to its ancient Grecian origins, it means 'the seeing place.' A stage upon which actors and actresses use fiction to show us truths.”
― Mark Waid, Daredevil, Volume 7

“New York City is a tinderbox. The Sons of the Serpent - a white supremacist group with a twisted history, deep pockets, and long reach - declared it a combat zone. As they have many times before, they're unashamedly ginning bigotry and hatred into violence and bloodshed. But this time, they've gotten smart about it. Instead of parading through the streets in hoods and robes... they've gone undercover. Dozens upon dozens of them, hiding inside the New York justice system so they can control the law. Control the people. And as God is my witness, I will drive them out and strike them down... no matter what the cost.”
― Mark Waid, Daredevil, Volume 7

“Other people get to do what they love! Doesn’t a princess get to think of herself?” “Sometimes. Of others? Always.”
― Mark Waid, Star Wars: Princess Leia

“Always know your protagonists inside and out. As a writer, show us things about them we've never before considered; make us care about who they are and what they want, so much that it's gut-wrenching to see them roadblocked and exhilarating to see them triumph over obstacles. You have to live inside them, through them--inhabit them as an actor would and tell stories about things that matter immensely to the both of you.”
― Mark Waid

“Under oath and with God and the media as my witness, I'm telling you that I am Daredevil. Always have been, always will be.”
― Mark Waid, Daredevil, Volume 7

“- BUT THE BOYS ARE HAVING SO MUCH FUN, WITH ALL THE PUNCHING AND THE FASTBALL SPECIALING...”
― Mark Waid, DC/Marvel: Superman/Spider-Man #1

“Daredevil: "You want to use what's on that drive just to avenge your husband? It's not worth it. You're special I get it. . .I mean it. The bad guys took somebody you love, and it hurt worse than anything you could ever have imagined. Me, too. They took my dad. Your buddy, Frank? They took his wife AND kids. Want to know who else has that story? Go to the Avengers mansion and throw a stick. Everyone I know has lost someone in that way. And it never stops aching. And I'm sorry, but that does not elevate you. What does make you special is that you have game. Obviously, and focus. I've seen you in action. You've got the stuff. Put it to good use."

Rachel Cole-Alves: "You know what gives me strength? My loss. We're alike. Admit it: Nobody who's a stranger to that particular pain could EVER be as driven as us."

Daredevil: "NEVER! Don't ever say that to me ever again. That is a repellent statement. It's a vomitous insult to every cop-- every Fireman-- Every soldier alive who steps up to fight for those who can't! I am Sorry for your Loss! But if you genuinely believe that only the Death of a loved one can motivate a human being to take up a cause...then get your pathetic, cynical ass out of my way so I can do my job!”
― Mark Waid, Daredevil, Volume 2

“Social government was never Superman's arena. It is possible that the constant pressures thrust upon him as an emerging world leader could bend even a man of steel to the breaking point?”
― Mark Waid, Kingdom Come

“(...) - D-CERN, WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO FINALLY EDUCATE SEVEN BILLION LACKWITS OF MY GENIUS?”
― Mark Waid, DC/Marvel: Superman/Spider-Man #1

“I'm a master of story. Almost a living fiction myself, so resilient am I! Spider-Man beats me down, I rise! Daredevil imprisons me, I escape! That's because stories have power! He who controls the narrative controls the audience, and you're all the audience, every one of you. As they say, the world's a stage...”
― Mark Waid, Daredevil, Volume 7