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Media Essays: Marvel vs. Aliens vs. Predator


Title card for the essay

Written by The Wandering Fox


I’m not doing much for the blog lately, I’ve been wandering a bit. Yeah, bad pun. Though I’m back and I’m here to talk about a crossover which hasn’t yet happened. Marvel vs Aliens vs Predator.


Disney brought the rights to 20th Century Fox, buying the film rights to X-Men, Fantastic 4, Aliens and Predator, the latter of which has had a slow return to the screens. Disney gave Predator to Hulu to make as they apparently didn’t see much in the franchise, thanks to Shane Black screwing up badly with The Predator, but Prey ended up as a well received movie, and we’re having Alien Romulus. Yet if there’s something this acquisition meant, it meant Disney could have both franchises crossover with their own, and Marvel were all happy to draw up some interesting covers.


But oddly enough, we haven’t had any yet. Both Alien and Predator have crossed over with Batman, Superman, Judge Dredd, Mortal Kombat, yet Marvel haven’t done a crossover yet. I don’t know why, but it’d be interesting to see how they’d try at doing a crossover. Superman vs Aliens is one of the well done crossovers made thanks to Superman being well characterised and couldn’t fight his way out as you’d think he would, you felt this sense of dread for him. Batman vs Predator was good with the Gotham hero trying to solve the deaths the Predator has committed, and battling the Predator with his gadgets, combat and skills. But if there’s something both stories stayed true to, it’s how Superman and Batman were written. Superman couldn’t bring himself to kill a Xenomorph, he wanted to but he couldn’t, and Batman didn’t kill the Predator in the end as it’d be against his morality. Though Batman did kill the Xenomorphs as he felt they were dangerous not just to humans, but humans who wanted to genetically engineer them.


It’s the trick with these crossovers, you have to try and stay true to the characters you’re writing, like would Spider-Man kill Predator? Would Captain Marvel kill Xenomorphs? How would they behave with these creatures? It’s a question I want to be done well. So here’s my ideas. Three Marvel characters for Predator, three Marvel characters for Aliens.

I’ll start with Aliens first. They’ll be up against Iron Man, Black Panther, and Captain Marvel.


Iron Man vs. Alien

Iron Man vs. Alien

Iron Man’s story begins with an alien craft crashing to Earth, with Tony Stark’s satellite watching it. It crashes in the African wilderness, and Tony suits up to investigate, given there could be tech on there criminals might try to grab. Tony is recovering from trauma of a previous adventure, having almost lost oxygen in one fight in space and only managed to save himself with his suit, and he’s been hiding in the suit a lot more. Reaching Africa, Tony finds Hammer mercenaries led by Whiplash have arrived but their tents and vehicles are abandoned, finding bullets scattered and a few of the mercenaries dead, their heads with a hole right in them. Tony goes into the ship and finds the remains of a few of the alien crew all cocooned to the walls, their chests burst open. Tony finds life readings coming from deep in the ship, so he investigates, finding a few of the mercenaries have facehuggers on them. Tony tries removing them, but a chest buster comes out. Tony finds at least one mercenary alive, who hasn’t had a face hugger on him, quickly freeing him, though the freedom is short lived as a Xenomorph then stabs him in the back. Tony ends up blasting it but it’s acid blood sprays him, his armour taking a bit of damage, then more begin to come, with Tony flying in the air and burns them with his flamethrower, but a Xenomorph tackles him and damages his suit, it’s blood eating at his chest armour. Tony is alarmed and tries to escape but is almost overwhelmed until Whiplash comes and distracts the Xenomorphs. Tony escapes with him into the jungle, both hero and enemy talking of what happened. Whiplash notes he was sent here to retrieve any tech from the craft but the bodies and the damage made him think it was worthless, yet the eggs were something he was told to get, but once his mercenaries tried moving them, they were dragged away by Xenomorphs and facehuggers caught them.


Tony tries calling in another suit to be given but he’s lost signal, leaving him weary of going back in, yet he knows Whiplash could take an egg and leave him to die, so Tony takes his suit apart and fits on his helmet, gauntlet, jet pack and flamethrower, both going in. Tony burns the eggs yet Whiplash takes one. Both go deeper in the ship, though Tony noticed the egg and tells Whiplash to kill it, though Whiplash explains it could be beneficial, but Tony merely believes it’s another weapon companies will make to hurt others. Then before they fight, the Xenomorphs then come. Tony keeps back but Whiplash tries killing the Xenomorphs, though he’s taken. Tony escapes to an archive and finds the aliens taking the eggs were going to take them to a benefactor to make them into fighters. This leaves Tony angered, and he knows they could come looking for the ship. He rescues Whiplash and takes him from the ship, but Tony learns an embryo is inside him, so he helps Whiplash regurgitate it out, killing it. Tony then completely disintegrates the ship, with the authorities coming and arresting Whiplash. Finally home, Tony feels confident without the armour.


The story is a character one for Tony, who is feeling insecure without the suit, but once he fights the Xenomorphs their acid blood badly damaged his armour, hence he has to strip his parts down, and after he finds out Whiplash’s employer is only wanting the Xenomorphs to make new warriors, it reminds Tony of exactly why he became Iron Man, not for trying to hide his face, but be the face of a new tomorrow, to stop others from using tech to hurt or kill, to stop businessmen, and be the stronger man. By the end, Tony feels better without the suit.


Black Panther vs. Alien

Black Panther vs. Alien

The second story is Black Panther’s. As for Tony thinking he destroyed all the eggs, he was sadly mistaken as Klaww found some and took them. Sacrificing a few of his mercenaries, Klaww decides to set them on Wakanda to steal the Vibranium.


T’Challa has the dome around Wakanda given there’s a storm coming in, but sadly one of the guards on watch is killed by Klaww, who tosses in the bodies which have the facehuggers. The storm passes, but because the guard isn’t checking in, Black Panther investigates, finding the guard’s body and his quarters overrun with cocoons of other guards. T’Challa calls in help, with the science team arriving to investigate, only for the humans to suddenly release chestbusters. They kill some of them but they escape. Black Panther then finds the security tape and understands Klaww did it and the Xenomorphs. He has the civilians evacuated from the south, with him investigating the town with his friends to find the Xenomorphs but can’t find them until one of his friends is grabbed from below. The vibranium is strong enough to resist their blood, though T’Challa has to be careful of the blood as it almost burns his friends.


Klaww has sneaked into the palace and begins searching for the Vibranium, but he’s found by Princess Shuri, who tries to keep him captive. Black Panther helps drive the Xenomorphs into the tunnels, but he finds they’ve been going towards the palace for a while. Klaww and Shuri’s fighting results in them creating damage they go into the tunnel, the Xenomorphs coming through. They capture her and T’Challa is forced back in the tunnel. The Xenomorphs are shut inside with the only way out through the tunnel. Klaww is confronted by T’Challa, with him forced to admit he didn’t know much about the Xenomorphs. T’Challa goes in to get Shuri, who he finds has a facehugger on her. He struggles to remove it, and because the Xenomorphs aren’t going anywhere near him, he realises she must have an important one in her. Taking her away, T’Challa has the tunnel sealed, with them escaping back to the lab, finding there’s a Queen inside of her. The Xenomorphs then begin to make their way through the palace’s air vents, though they can tell. They remove the Queen from her and wait for the Xenomorphs to arrive, T’Challa burning the lab. One Xenomorph remains, but they manage to stop. Klaww is arrested and a funeral is held for all of those who died.


This story has us understand how T’Challa takes his role as a king all deeply, but also showcases the Xenomorphs are intelligent enough to recognise Shuri could be ideal to implant an Alien Queen in her.


Captain Marvel vs. Alien


Captain Marvel is the final. She has met with Tony Stark and T’Challa, telling her of the ship and the Xenomorphs. They look at the course the ship came from, with Carol realising it came from a cargo port, the Skrulls of which operate, leaving her to wonder if there’s a Skrull who was trading the eggs. She goes to investigate, facing a Skrull scientist who tries to assure Carol he doesn’t know of what’s going on. However, a relative of the crew who died confront him and wants compensation. Carol tells him to show her. The scientist takes her below and shows her a few Skrulls with Xenomorphs-h facehuggers on them, explaining how he’s making a different species of Skrull, a species to obey. Carol tries removing the facehuggers but they start strangling the Skrulls, forcing her to back away. The scientist tells Carol the Skrulls will be placed in a pod and the Xenomorphs will exit through their mouths. Carol though arrests him and has them in pods to keep them alive. As she calls in the Nova corps, the chestbusters escape and begin running amok on the port. Carol tries finding them but there’s almost no sign of them until she spots the scientist escaping into the lower sections. Carol, fearing for everyone, takes everyone to the docks and gets them on the ships, before investigating.


The Xenomorphs can shapeshift but they haven’t turned out alright, they’re Skrull in body but their heads look little but have a hidden jaw. They can shapeshift but these traits are still with them. The Skrull scientist is angry and decides to kill them, but they kill him. The Xenomorphs here are a bit more intelligent, and they reveal a Xenomorph to cause havoc in the port, while they will sneak aboard a ship to escape. Carol wrestles with a Xenomorph and makes sure not to draw blood, throwing it out into space, though she’s caught by the Xenomorphs, who begin strangling her, they cleverly note she can’t shoot them or their blood will cause damage to the space port. Carol though wrestles with them and flies them into space and kills them, finally ending the Xenomorphs. Carol is deeply distressed by fighting the Xenomorphs, with her telling Stark and T’Challa what she’s learnt, with all telling the others of them.


The story gives Carol a lot to go over, thanks to both her colleagues telling her of the Xenomorphs she’s a lot more thoughtful on how to confront them, with her moving civilians to their ships to avoid the Xenomorphs and taking them into space.


Vs. Predator

The Predators are an interesting bunch. I think I’d have Hulk, Captain America and Spider-Man fight them.


Hulk vs. Predator


Hulk’s story has Bruce Banner on the run from the government, trying to hide anywhere he can. He’s fled to a coastal town where a gang war is going on, Bruce helping as many civilians as he can, but with there being a fight, a Predator is drawn to it. Bruce is held captive by one gang who demand the medicine he’s got. Bruce is trying to ignore the Hulk, and the Predator begins killing the gang. Bruce gets the hostages out but he’s injured, and he becomes Hulk. He begins tearing his way through, the Predator observing him in confusion. The Predator watches as the Hulk escapes into the wild, going to investigate him. Bruce calms down and knows he has to flee the island, the Predator observes Bruce, now knowing of his power and thinks of Bruce as an ideal prey. The Predator knows as well the gangs are coming to find him, so he sets up a few traps to take down the gangs.


Hiding, Bruce is miserable as all he’s had is being hunted, all the while trying to help others, and the thanks he gets is being hunted. Though he can tell he’s getting angry, Bruce tries calming down. The gangs then arrive but the Predator begins killing them one by one. Bruce hears this, gasping in shock at the Predator’s killings. Bruce then runs but is captured by the Predator, who begins torturing Bruce, wanting the Hulk to come out and fight. Bruce, fearful, once again tries to ignore the Hulk and instead falls unconscious. But because he’s still worth fighting over, the Predator goes to the higher levels. Bruce reawakens and cuts himself loose, but things go awry as he’s then knocked out by an American agent, who is going to bring Bruce in. The Predator follows them to their ship, Bruce is tied to a chair, but the Predator gets on board and begins killing everyone, Bruce cuts himself free and escapes, but he’s injured. Turning into the Hulk, he fights the Predator, who shoots him and stabs him though the Hulk recovers easily, until the Predator cuts his skin with his blade, causing the Hulk to slow down, yet once the Predator skins a agent, he gets angry enough his wounds heal and fights the Predator, beating it with his fists. The Predator is almost unconscious yet once Bruce faces it, he is disgusted. The Predator then begins its self destruct gauntlet, with Bruce escaping into the water. The ship is blown apart and Bruce is deeply traumatised by his experience before going on the road.


Captain America vs. Predator

Captain America vs. Predator

The Captain America one features the man on a mission to find old Nazi tech he fears HYDRA will be trying to recover. Steve travels to one of the bases the Nazis secretly built in the South, with him uncovering a Nazi cryogenics lab. Steve finds a cryogenics chamber and begins removing it to the ship, but finds HYDRA has sent its agents to take the lab. They confiscate the ship, but Steve fights them. The chamber is hit and a female Predator awakens, with her escaping into the snow. Steve is knocked unconscious in a fist fight with Strucker. Strucker brings Steve into the chamber and shows him how the Nazis captured a alien in the 40s, with her ship buried under the ice, they were going to use her tech to try and take the world over. They begin freezing Steve, while a few HYDRA agents find the ship. They begin exploring it, but the Predator returns and stalks them, killing them gruesomely. Strucker, knowing the Predator is down there, goes to confront her, though Steve breaks free from his captivity and chases after Strucker, though he comes face to face with the Predator, who fights Steve until Strucker tries killing her. Though she escapes, she comes to recognise Strucker is no friend of Captain America. Cap goes to the bottom of the base and is met by the Predator, and she manages to explain to him she was on a recon mission during the 40s to investigate, and was going to tell her race they cannot hunt on Earth. Steve agrees to help her as long as she leaves. Both battle the HYDRA agents, winning. As thanks, she gives Steve an old fire gun, then she leaves. Bitter, Strucker calls Steve an old man for not understanding, but Steve says he understands: HYDRA and the Nazis always steal something and slap a hydra on it to make it their own, they did the same to her. Steve goes home, his mission a win.


Spider-Man vs. Predator


Spider-Man is the hero having stopped Eddie from grabbing Venom. Going home, Peter remarks how it’s becoming a lot hotter and he thinks of making a suit which can help cool him down, noting he’d be a bit clunky but it’d help. Peter goes to the Daily Bugle, learns of a few murders having occurred with a few of the Kingpin’s men. Deeply worried innocents will be caught up, Spider-Man meets one of the survivors and asks him what’s going on. The survivor tells him whoever it was, they were invisible. Spider-Man then takes the CCTV and finds the killer was invisible and wonders what it could be. Going to the crime scene, Spider-Man finds one of the Predator’s gadgets left laying about. Grabbing it, he’s then caught off guard by the Predator, who almost cuts him. Peter does try fighting it but he’s easily overpowered, forcing him to flee, trying to trap the Predator, but he escapes and manages to badly hurt him. Spidey collapses into the water below, clutching the gadget. Escaping, Peter meets with Aunt May, who helps heal him. Peter tells her he was beaten up by a thug but he will live. Peter figures the gadget is alien. Going into work, Peter is annoyed Jameson is happy there’s images of Spider-Man hurt but he ignores it, but while skimming over an article, Peter remembers the survivor wasn’t carrying a gun, which is why the civilians haven’t been killed. Peter then goes to the crime scene as himself, but he senses the Predator is close by. Acting like he can’t see him, Peter takes in the Predator’s behaviour, how it’s annoyed its kill has been taken. Peter tries to stop it, suiting up as Spider-Man again but is almost killed though he injures the Predator, tearing its mask off. Spider-Man takes a quick glance in the mask and finds its infrared. Figuring the Predator can’t look in a colder temperature, he lures it to the lab, where Spider-Man hides in the colder area. Spider-Man beats the Predator to an inch and says he’ll call for help, yet to his shock he’s then met by other Predators, who are disappointed with the Predator. By killing himself, the Predator failed. The Predators leave, with them giving Spider-Man a finger knife. Peter goes home and is wondering if there will be others.


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