It’s been a big week for the Predator franchise. First the highly anticipated prequel movie Prey hit the Hulu streaming service to widespread critical and audience acclaim over the weekend, and today the Disney-owned Marvel Comics published the first issue of its new Predator title.
But unlike Prey, which is set in the distant past of North America, this newly launched Predator comic book takes place about 34 years in the future, on planets other than Earth.
With the Predator license previously held by Dark Horse Comics, that company published dozens of series over decades’ worth of storytelling. But Marvel has sought to get a fresh start here in the franchise, zooming in on an orphaned girl named Theta whose space-colonist parents were hunted by a Predator when she was a child. Flashbacks to that event on the planet Damara in 2041 are interspersed with the “present-day” action, in which Theta has taken it upon herself to track down and kill Predator after Predator until she finds the one who murdered her mother and father those fifteen years earlier. But the story begins with what appears to be two Predators fighting each other, until the victor of their battle is revealed to be Theta wearing Predator armor, frustrated that her fresh kill isn’t missing the mandible she once severed with a machete. The flashbacks start out painting a pristine picture of Theta’s past as she and her family explore a new world with other colonists, only for their mission to suddenly grind to a halt with the arrival of a deadly Predator seeking new victims to massacre. Back in 2056, Theta finds herself outrunning a tribe of aliens who mistake her for the Predator (she is wearing the ferocious creature’s armor, after all), only to board her ship, narrowly escape Indiana Jones-style, and be immediately reminded by its AI system called “Sandy” that the vessel is in desperate need of repairs.
This culminates with Theta crash-landing– with Sandy out of commission– on a frozen world occupied by the corporation from which she stole the ship and the AI. It all adds up to an incredibly intriguing (not to mention extremely violent, but I wouldn’t have it any other way) beginning for this new Predator comic, skilfully written by Ed Brisson (Ghost Rider) and attractively illustrated by Kev Walker (Avengers Forever) with colorist Frank D’Armata (Wolverine). I already love the feel of the world this creative team has put together, set in a time period heretofore unexplored in the seven– so far– Predator films. The designs of the spaceships and the existence of space colonists might remind readers that Predator (often) takes place in the same universe as Alien, and I for one wouldn’t be surprised if we eventually get an Alien vs. Predator crossover from Marvel– a concept created during the Dark Horse days which carried over onto the big screen, but might have a new life breathed into it via these pages. Regardless, this comic is definitely not for kids, but for someone who still holds out hope that fresh ideas and innovative stories can still come out of this franchise, the combination of well-executed action and absorbing plotting on display here definitely checks the right boxes.
Predator #1 is available now wherever comic books are sold.