This Epic Continues to Push the Boundaries of Crossovers

It’s funny, while there is a lot to talk about with Aliens vs. Avengers #2, one of the main things that pops into my head by reading this excellent comic book is, of all things, the SCHEDULING of the comic. You see, this is an over-sized comic book that is drawn by the same art team as the first issue, and we’re talking about incredibly detailed artwork here, and so, as a result, Marvel has cleverly decided to just release the comic book on a bi-monthly schedule so that it has a chance to at least come out on A schedule rather than delays or possibly using fill-in artists. The commitment to a consistent creative team on this event is really impressive, and will presumably make for a strong collection that could be sold over and over in the future.

And what we have here is certainly something that SHOULD be collected and sold over and over again in the future, as Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribić, Ive Svorcina, and Cory Petit, have delivered a story that both serves the fans who want to see superheroes fight Xenomorphs, but also a story that achieves so much more than that, with concepts that both transcend time and space, and also get so close that it is purely a character work (where a touch can speak volumes). It’s a stunning approach for a licensed comic book crossover, and one that we’re lucky to get to read.

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Which Aliens films does Jonathan Hickman surprisingly use as major inspirations for this comic?

In a bit of a surprise, Jonathan Hickman has leaned into the more recent Alien films, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, to make David 8 (played by Michael Fassbender in the films) the central villain of the series, as David, the creator of the Xenomorphs in the Alien lore, here decides to expand beyond just his universe, and far into the Multiverse, which is how the Earth was attacked in this comic book series, where humanity has been stripped nearly to the bone.

Hickman’s decision to take the story into such a cosmic realm (and leaning into some of the less-acclaimed Aliens films) is a bold one, and it just speaks to the striking way that he is able to weave between BIG ideas, and small, character-driven plot points, throughout this series. There is a “typical” way that you could have the Avengers fight against the Xenomorphs, and Hickman has blown way past that sort of thing, to the point where the Xenomorphs are barely a direct presence in this issue. They serve almost instead as a constant sense of doom that permeates all the decisions the heroes have to make. They know that they are constantly surrounded by Xenomorphs, and that is a constant weight on everyone.

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How do Hickman and Ribić cleverly bring the Avengers into a classic Aliens setup?

As I noted in my review of the first issue, Ribić does a particularly amazing job in just how well-defined all of the older Avengers are in the comic. Everyone is so well-defined that he is able to transmit a great deal of information with just simple reaction shots, or a hand placed at the right moment. It’s just a master class in being able to tell a story just with body language.

Of course, Ribić and Svorcina can also cut loose, when necessary, and this comic book provides an excellent opportunity to do so when the Avengers have decided to abandon Earth to save what is left of humanity, but they take off a little too late for Captain America to join them, leading whatever was left with his own stronghold (each of the Avengers had their own strongholds that they guarded, with a small group of humanity). Captain America heroically fights through the Xenomorph hordes to try to get his survivors to Tony’s ship, but it is all in vain. We know Captain America, though, so we all know that fighting in vain is something that he does really well. SO well that the Hulk decides to sacrifice himself to join Captain America to try to hold off the Xenomorphs as long as they can, even though it is obviously a losing battle.

Ribić and Svorcina give them an epic battle sequence, and then a wonderful spotlight as we pull back. We don’t need to see them ACTUALLY fall to know that they WILL fall, and instead, we remember them as the epic heroes they were. It’s a really powerful sequence, and the sort of thing that a “traditional” superhero/Aliens crossover could possibly provide, but here, it’s just one small facet of a layered storyline.

And, of course, now that all that is left of humanity is flying on a giant rocket ship (a rocket ship that Tony Stark designed thanks to an encounter with a David in the past, in one of the best scenes in the comic), the series has cleverly now turned into a traditional setup for an Aliens adventure, with a group of humans trapped on a rocket ship, and all you need to do is add a Xenomorph or two (and one is already ON the ship, having bonded with Venom when it tried to kill Miles Morales, who had previously bonded with Venom) and you got yourself some awesome space horror.

This being Jonathan Hickman, however, I am sure he will take the story in a totally unexpected direction, as well, while paying homage to the best of the Aliens universe AND the best of the Marvel Universe, which he has already done so wonderfully in these first two issues.

Source: Marvel