"No. You don't. But I do. You see, one killing machine recognizes another. That is death out there."
Marvel has an old and venerable tradition of publishing end-of-the world stories, mostly of the zombie-apocalypse-variety - Earth overrun by the undead or heroes becoming zombies themselves. But not exclusively, as exemplified by the perhaps very first such story: the 1986 Chris Claremont classic, the Days of Future Past, in which mutant-hunter giant robots, the Sentinels, have taken control over the world, exterminating the superheroes in the process. The forty years since then have borne out many such memorable stories where the end was ushered in by various forces: nuclear holocaust, killer robots, evil deities, and, of course, zombies. Whatever the nature and the reason for the destruction, the common theme more often than not is the desperate attempt of a handful of surviving heroes to stop the end or die trying. Mostly the latter.
Unlike other mediocre epic events Marvel has normally and too frequently been coming up with, these apocalyptic stories are usually excellent beyond expectation. Maybe because in standard main universe storylines, the readers never really have to worry about the heroes' lives, knowing that the authors' hands are tied in the most important part of the drama. But at the end of the world, even superheroes are mortal, the status quo is already shattered, and there is no commercial interest in keeping the protagonists alive for the next month's issue.
Even from this very strong competition, this 4-issue mini-series by Jonathan Hickman stands out as an instant classic. Hickman is one of Marvel's most important writers in the past decade, who has earned his fame by crafting long, epic tales fusing the best traditions of science fiction with the superhero genre. In Aliens vs Avengers, he manages to weave the Alien mythology seamlessly into the fabric of the Marvel Universe and take it to (one of) its logical end(s).
The God-like race of Engineers made androids, who frowned upon their masters' creation and decided to exterminate not only the creators, but life itself in the universe. And once they found out about the existence of the Multiverse, the countless parallel universes, they set off to exterminate life in every single one of them. To their end, they employed the ultimate species of mass extermination, the Xenomorphs. To every world, they sent a ship with infected natives. A day after landing, full-grown Xenomorphs were on the hunt. Weeks after it, the planet overall was infected. A year or two, and everything died.
The fans who had liked pondering the question of how well their favourite superheroes would fare against the Xenomorph have their answer. Decades in the future, but only a mere couple of years after the alien invasion started, Earth is a barren wasteland. The only fortress-city still standing and protecting the planet's last one and a half thousand inhabitants is built and run by the ancient, wheelchair-bound Tony Stark.
Of the defenders of Earth, almost no one else is left. The mutants fled to Mars years ago (In vain. Apart from a pathetically small group of survivors, they too perished). From the remaining heroes, the only one who still retains a touch of youth is Spider-Man Miles Morales. Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel is a middle-aged woman with a sagging face and a heavy-set body. Bruce Banner is a half-blind old man with liver spots who needs a stick to walk. And that's it.
Some old Avengers are still supposed to hold some outposts out in the wilderness, but news has stopped coming from them. What happened to the rest, the reader only learns from half-sentences dropped mid-conversation.
The only force technologically advanced enough to resist the Aliens would have been the science kingdom Wakanda, led by old King T'Challa, the Black Panther. Emperor T'Challa now, as Wakanda, in the span of decades, had become an intergalactic empire. But the Emperor and his elite fleet have disappeared before the invasion started, and the stargates that enabled the Wakandian kingdom to spread through the galaxy to dozens of planets have become the tools of its destruction. Should the Emperor return, he would rule over an intergalactic graveyard.
But this is a Marvel comic book, and the characters are still heroes. Danvers could still unleash the cosmic powers that channel through her body, and turn the last city on Earth into a pyre if the end comes. And she is preparing for that. Banner might be an octogenarian, but his mind is still that of a scientist, and his brittle body is still a shell for that unstoppable force of nature, the Hulk. The decrepit Tony Stark managed to best the android David and took over the Weyland Corporation a decade ago, and he still holds the survivors together by sheer force of will, and plans, if not for victory, at least for an escape and survival for the human race.
The last picture of Earth shows the last stand of the white-maned Steve Rogers ripping through a pack of Xenomorphs, holding the line just one last time so others can flee, as he has always done. The fight scenes are marvellous, and the deaths are meaningful and dignified.
The illustration matches both the elegance and the grim tone of the writing. The pastel colors convey the bleakness, but also lend the pictures a painting-like quality. At the same time, the visuals are astonishingly cinematic that makes the reader feel like she is watching a summer blockbuster. Ribić and Svorcina capture their target perfectly, let it be a high-octane action sequence, the cold vastness of space, or the warmth in the eyes of lifelong friends.
Either for Alien or Avengers aficionados, there's plenty to enjoy in this dark tale. For the fans of both, it's a must-read.
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