The iconic movie monsters crossover with Marvel for the first time in Aliens vs. Avengers. When the Aliens (Xenomorphs) of the ALIEN franchise reach Earth, the perfect organism meets a planet of superhumans. Who will be first to fall? Overwhelmed by Xenomorphs, the survivors abandon their home planet! But so many are dead. So many wounded. And a terrifying few…changed! The Avengers…must avenge. But as the gods of creation known as the Engineers set out to destroy what they made, humanity’s remaining heroes discover an even more pressing threat: the X-Men.
Aliens have a long history in comics which has lead to several crossovers with other iconic characters including Batman, Superman and Judge Dredd just to name a few. Since Disney’s purchase of Fox, we have seen several great Alien comics produced by Marvel. But Aliens vs. Avengers marks the first time that the Xenomorphs have appeared in a series featuring Marvel characters and they certainly make an immediate impact.
Adding to the excitement is the A-List talent Marvel has put together for this series with the reunion of the creative team of 2015’s Secret Wars series Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic. Both in the time since have continued to build on their strong reputations, with Ribic continuing his acclaimed work on Thor and Hickman successfully reviving the X-Men in the Krakoa era along with writing the bestselling Ultimate Spider-Man series. With two creators at the top of their game, you know this project is in good hands.
It would be an easy option to do a battle with a classic version of The Avengers, but Hickman opts for a more exciting option of pitting an aged version of the legendary heroes against the Xenomorphs in a post-apocalyptic future. Alongside the character you’d expect such as Captain America, Iron Man, Captain Marvel and Black Panther; Hickman makes some interesting character choices including having Miles Morales as a team member and the X-Men – particularly Wolverine and Emma Frost – playing a big part. The story has the epic scale you’d expect for a Hickman project and his penchant for worldbuilding is ever present. There are even some callbacks to his other Marvel works, with Mr Sinister’s role being particularly shocking, but given the Xenomorps’ history and Sinister’s penchant for genetics not wholly surprising.
Ribic’s art is tremendous and it’s hard to imagine any other artists being a better fit than him on this book. The xenomorphs are predictably terrifying and he does a great job with the older Avengers. His take on Miles who is exposed both to a face hugger and a symbiote is one of many standout moments.
This is an epic battle with everything fans of both franchises could want. Hickman and Ribic have produced a truly memorable series which stands out as one of the strongest Marvel titles of the year.
Aliens vs. Avengers is out 19 August from Marvel (9781302952006, p/b, £17.99)
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