Once Disney bought 20th Century Studios and Marvel could play with Fox IP, we knew the Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise would fight some superheroes one day. Now it’s official, as coming this July is Aliens vs. Avengers, a four-issue limited series by the superstar creative team of Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić. That’s the same creatives responsible for the epic 2015 limited series Secret Wars, which is forming the basis for a highly anticipated Avengers sequel in a few years. Marvel has released cover art by Esad Ribić for the first issue, which you can see right here:
Jonathan Hickman spoke to Entertainment Weekly and dropped some hints about what to expect from the upcoming crossover event.
I’ve never worked on a licensed or ‘non-superhero’ property the entire time I’ve been at Marvel, so when all of this came together almost two years ago, I kind of jumped at the opportunity. I love the Aliens universe and the mythology, and obviously just how atmospherically and well-designed everything is has always gotten my creative juices flowing. It was tricky finding a way to make these two things work together, but I think Esad and I landed on something that works for fans of both franchises.
Jonathan Hickman is as big a writer as Marvel currently has. His runs on Fantastic Four and Avengers are among the best either series has ever had. Meanwhile, his X-Men reinvention of 2019 became a fan-favorite, fueling five years’ worth of stories. His work with Ribić on Secret Wars was also game-changing. So this creative team makes this series much more than another throwaway IP mash-up. The series will take place in the near future, with “older, gritter versions of Marvel’s heroes.”
We have to give it up to Marvel for the logo of this series. Fans will notice it’s an upside-down version of the Weyland-Yutani logo from James Cameron’s Aliens. Nicely done. The Alien vs. Predator franchise actually began as a comic book back in the day. Since then, the Xenomorphs have fought Superman, Batman, Judge Dredd, and even Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We’ll find out if Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are as much of a challenge to the Xenomorphs as those heroic icons were.
Aliens Vs. Avengers #1 goes on sale July 24, just weeks ahead of the release of Alien: Romulus.