Spider-Man 2099 Co-Creator And Legendary HULK And X-FACTOR Writer Peter David Has Died, Aged 68

Spider-Man 2099 Co-Creator And Legendary HULK And X-FACTOR Writer Peter David Has Died, Aged 68

We have some sad news to share today, as it's been confirmed that Peter David, the legendary writer behind memorable runs on Hulk, Spider-Man 2099, and Young Justice, has passed away due to health issues.

By JoshWilding - May 26, 2025 05:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Marvel Comics

The comic book world has lost a legend, as Peter David has passed away, aged 68. The prolific writer was known for humanising even the most outlandish characters, becoming a cornerstone of the comic book industry and a storyteller whose work resonated with fans and creators alike.

During his incredible career, David co-created Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099, Maestro, Strong Guy, Genis-Vell, Joe Fixit, and many more. 

His most memorable runs included Aquaman, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man 2099, X-Factor, and Young Justice. He also wrote various Star Trek novels and, in the TV realm, penned episodes of Babylon 5, Ben 10, and Young Justice

David has been suffering from health issues for a while now, and when Medicaid dropped him, a GoFundMe was set up to help the writer. The last update before the news of his death broke was that David was on a ventilator. 

On May 20, his wife Kathleen David wrote, "Due to his inability to cough or clear his throat, he is temporarily on a ventilator. His color is much better and he is moving his limbs which is a good sign. He is under light sedation to keep him from fighting the tube down his throat."

Over $123,000 was raised for David, showing just how much he meant to comic book fans who enjoyed his work over the decades. 

In a 2020 interview, the legendary writer discussed his approach to writing The Hulk. His take on the Jade Giant played a huge role in how Bruce Banner has been portrayed in the decades since and what we've seen from the character on screen. 

"I was researching the series because I really hadn't been reading it and I came upon this Bill Mantlo story that detailed Bruce's being abused as a child. That suggested the entire Multiple Personality Disorder angle. The notion that Bruce had never been able to cure himself because he always treated himself from the outside in, and the problem was that his difficulty was on the inside working itself out. That the Hulk was part of his personality; the gamma rays just gave it form."

"That all the way back to issue #1 we had never seen Bruce Banner as a whole person, and that eventually I figured I'd do a story where Doc Samson, with the aid of the Ringmaster, would treat him the way that MPDs were generally treated: with hypnosis. And that detailed the entire run of the series for me."

Our thoughts go out to David's friends and family at this difficult time.

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vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 5/26/2025, 5:16 AM
RIP
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 5/26/2025, 5:18 AM
I wish comicbook writers are fairly paid in the future by big studios. Not sure if they have a union or something but that needs to happen.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 5/26/2025, 5:33 AM
@vectorsigma - You can't really have a union for something like that because they're not actually owed any money from Marvel Studios or DC Studios. They're only owed the money for the work they do for the comics and are paid in full for that.
Pictilli
Pictilli - 5/26/2025, 9:05 AM
@ObserverIO - they could still have a union though that fights for fair wages and treatment, so labor has some bargaining power against capital/management.
fanboy03191
fanboy03191 - 5/26/2025, 9:13 AM
@ObserverIO - I think if you created a character during a run that is adapted to film you damn well deserve a piece of the profits. That’s your character. Yeah it was created for a company and such and I’m not saying they deserve full profit but a decent percentage? Come on. You’re telling me you don’t think Jim Starlin deserves adequate compensation for Thanos, who is on par with Darth Vader. In terms of sheer recognizability?
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 5/26/2025, 10:00 AM
@ObserverIO - what you are saying makea sense.

I guess hollywood can exercise their social justice/wokeness and stop being hypocrites for a change.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 5/26/2025, 10:16 AM
@fanboy03191 - Deserves? Sure, but as a matter of honor not as a mater of law.

Starlin created the Thanos character for a story he was writing in Iron Man and expanded that character in Silver Surfer leading to the classic Infinity Gauntlet storyline that was adapted into Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
But when he wrote these stories he did not secure his rights as a creator of either the stories or the characters. Because he failed to do that he's not owed a single penny.

Essentially he created IP for Marvel. Marvel paid him for it and they profit from it.

Does Disney also owe Avi Arad and Ike Perlmutter for every Marvel thing they sell? No, because they bought the rights to Marvel and paid them.

Everyone has been paid for the IP somewhere down the line. It's just that Marvel Comics automatically retains the rights for any IP created while working for them. So if you work for Marvel you are complicit in this process.

You might think 'Well then why does anybody ever work for Marvel if it's so shitty in terms of creator's rights'? Well because it's Marvel. You get to play in the sandbox. Wouldn't you?
If there's an IP you want to retain the rights for, DON'T give it to Marvel for the price of a regular living paycheck.
Of course some things would probably need Marvel in order to exist in the first place I suppose.

I mean a classic example would be Todd McFarlane.
He doesn't own Venom but he does own Spawn.
Spawn was done for Image and he retained full creator's rights, as did all the Image founders for their own IP and all Image creators still do to this day (I'm sure there's outliers, Gaiman comes to mind for example).
But Venom was dine as part of a story in Spider-Man involving the alien costume. Todd didn't want to draw Spider-Man in the black costume he wanted to draw him in the classic red and blues. But they had him in this black costume from an alien planet so Todd wrote a story out of neccesity to get rid of the costume and Venom was born.
Now Todd didn't create Spider-Man, he didn't write Secret Wars or any of the stories in which the alien costume first appeared. He did create Eddie Brock and designed what Eddie looked like wearing the costume and called him Venom.

So basically a lot of these characters, Thanos included to some degree wouldn't exist unless they were done for Marvel using pre-existing characters, concepts and stories.

It just Marvel's practices and policies that suck. They need changing.

And yes I do think that a union of some sort is a good idea anyway @Pictilli, definitely and maybe putting pressure on Marvel Comics to change their archaic work-for-hire policies is something that a union could do. Maybe they already have a union, I don't know.

However until they change it, creators know what they're getting themselves into. They're adults, they're awake and conscious of what they're doing. And that's basically giving Marvel not only stories and art but also IP for a one-time payment.
alten2345
alten2345 - 5/26/2025, 11:01 AM
@vectorsigma - they are when it’s not Marvel or DC.
FlixMentallo21
FlixMentallo21 - 5/26/2025, 9:03 PM
@ObserverIO - there was an attempt to set up a 'creator's bill of rights' in the 1980s, but it never fully got off the ground.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 5/26/2025, 5:29 AM
Legend. Best ever Hulk run.
Methos5000
Methos5000 - 5/26/2025, 5:34 AM
@ObserverIO - indeed.
LebaneseSpidey1
LebaneseSpidey1 - 5/26/2025, 5:45 AM
@ObserverIO - Exactly 👍🏽
Fogs
Fogs - 5/26/2025, 9:29 AM
@ObserverIO - Yesss that's what I remember him for, mostly. Huge RIP.
LebaneseSpidey1
LebaneseSpidey1 - 5/26/2025, 5:44 AM
1.Hello CB Community 🙂✌🏽
2. So I made this account for saying RIP to the legend Peter David. We will always remember you and especaill Your Hulk run.
3. So sad that we lose more and more CB Legends. But that’s life sadly I mean I still miss for example Ditko, Romita Sr. Wish could have seen them but I’m not from the USA so it was never up to me anyway.
SethBullock
SethBullock - 5/26/2025, 6:21 AM
RIP
Gambito
Gambito - 5/26/2025, 7:07 AM
Absolute legend Rest In Peace MR DAVID
Superspecialawesomeguy
Superspecialawesomeguy - 5/26/2025, 7:28 AM
What an absolute legend and what an absolute loss for the comics industry; a true titan in his field, his Young Justice run alone was by far the most fun I've ever had reading a comicbook R.I.P.

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Thing94
Thing94 - 5/26/2025, 7:28 AM
RIP, he was a great contributor to this industry.
Reeds2Much
Reeds2Much - 5/26/2025, 7:32 AM
The legend that made Cap and Hulk to watch lewds together. Rest in RIP.
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GarthRanzz
GarthRanzz - 5/26/2025, 7:40 AM
Ugh. Easily one of my favorite writers. Loved his Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man run, Aquaman, and Supergirl runs.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 5/26/2025, 10:22 AM
@GarthRanzz - Oh man his Supergirl run was dope. And the Fallen Angel series that came out of that.

(creator-owned. DC is way better than Marvel in this regard)
fanboy03191
fanboy03191 - 5/26/2025, 9:11 AM
This is a blow… David was a true powerhouse of a talent. This is terrible news to wake up to. He gave us some truly awesome work over the past few decades. His novelizations were excellent as well. RIP.
Fogs
Fogs - 5/26/2025, 9:30 AM
Loved his stuff as a teen.
RIP
TheShellyMan
TheShellyMan - 5/26/2025, 9:45 AM
RIP!
dragon316
dragon316 - 5/26/2025, 10:01 AM
Rest In Peace Spider-Man 2099 I like
WEAPONXOXOXO
WEAPONXOXOXO - 5/26/2025, 10:18 AM

RIP Mr. David
He will be missed. During COVID I think I reread something like 80-100 of his books from Incredible Hulk.


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I got into The Incredible Hulk with this issue. I bought in because X-Factor was in it. I was all about the X-Men and all the other mutant books. Also Thor, Iron Man, West Coast Avengers. But this book really opened up something so different and new. The Hulk didn't have a shinny costume or cool gadgets. He was like one of the most intelligent people on the planet but major phycological problems due to a [frick]ed up childhood and wanted by the government and always on the run and homeless. This guy couldn't get a break. So I bought it because of X-Factor. But I kept buying it well because I fell in love the the art! LOL! Todd McFarlane was on the book! But he eventually left but I kept on it because the writing was just so solid. I think it was my second favorite comic. Uncanny X-Men will always be first.

One of my favorites. 370-371
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Nomis929
Nomis929 - 5/26/2025, 10:45 AM
Another legend gone. :(

R.I.P.
alten2345
alten2345 - 5/26/2025, 11:00 AM
Took you long enough to post this. RIP to one of the best writers in comics
MisterBones
MisterBones - 5/26/2025, 11:31 AM
Truly one of the greats. He redefined Aquaman and Hulk.
marvel72
marvel72 - 5/26/2025, 11:38 AM
What a legend,R.I.P Mr.David and thank you for my favourite version of the Hulk Maestro.
cadunovaes01
cadunovaes01 - 5/26/2025, 12:17 PM
The first Spidey story I read was The Death of Jean DeWolff. And the Sin-Eater Saga. These stories changed the impression I had, as a teenager, that hero comics were for children. Tks to Peter David! RIP
grif
grif - 5/26/2025, 12:20 PM
disney couldnt give 2 shits


lol peter who?


rip

breakUbatman
breakUbatman - 5/26/2025, 1:31 PM
RIP Peter David
BR74
BR74 - 5/26/2025, 2:28 PM
The first Hulk comic I ever bought was written by this man -- Incredible Hulk #396. To me, his Dark Tower adaptations were a gateway drug to the original novels. This man was an exceptional talent. May he Rest In Peace.
catmandom
catmandom - 6/2/2025, 9:42 PM
You don't deserve healthcare, you deserve billionaires. This is a huge loss. My love to his family.

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