Marvel Announces Aliens vs. Avengers by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic

Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic are reuniting for a colossal meeting between Aliens and the Avengers. The prolific writer has stayed busy at Marvel, helping to revitalize the X-Men franchise while also relaunching the Ultimate Universe and creating new characters in G.O.D.S. Next up on his calendar is a conflict between Xenomorphs and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, in perhaps the last crossover comic book fans would have ever expected. But after Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, Aliens vs. Avengers is a title that can now exist, and it has two of the biggest creators in comics working on it.

Entertainment Weekly announced Aliens vs. Avengers by writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Esad Ribic. The two last worked together on the 2015 event comic Secret Wars, which served as a relaunch of the Marvel Universe and is probably the blueprint for Marvel Studios’ Secret Wars film that’s in development.

“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,” Hickman told EW. “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.”

“Probably one of the coolest things about the project is how we’ve found really fun ways to ‘Avengerize’ Aliens and ‘alien-up’ Avengers,” Hickman said. “I think fans will be surprised at how elegantly some of those things fit together. It really turned out to be a chocolate-and-peanut-butter situation.”

What is Marvel’s Aliens vs. Avengers comic about?

The very short description of Aliens vs. Avengers reads, “It’s all led to this: Xenomorphs reach Earth! The perfect organism meets a planet of superhumans. Who will be first to fall?” 

The Avengers are used to battling alien invaders, but they haven’t faced anything quite like the Xenomorphs – that is if you ignore the existence of the X-Men antagonists, the Brood. As for Aliens, they’ve fought soldiers and scientists, but nothing like a God of Thunder or a genetically enhanced super-soldier. The cover, illustrated by Esad Ribic, features Iron Man, Captain America, and Captain Marvel, with the presence of a Xenomorph looming large behind them.

Aliens vs. Avengers #1 goes on sale July 24th. Make sure to let us know your thoughts on the titanic crossover in the comments!