It was late November of 1990 and I can still hear the gasps and cheers from the late-night theatre-goers.
We were watching Predator 2 – a good, but lesser sequel to the immensely regarded original that starred Arnold Swarzenegger in one of his most memorable roles in a career full of unforgettable ones Hell, my friends and I still quote lines from the original late-80’s summer flick, embedding them in nearly every conversation we have. That’s how ubiquitous, and aptly useful, knowledge of that cult-classic film is, “you son of a bitch”.
Anyway, that night in late November, Predator 2 was at its most climatic (and, perhaps, most memorable) scene where Danny Glover’s Lieutenant Mike Harrigan clambers aboard the famous creature’s spacecraft and gazes at what looks like a trophy case full of extraordinary skulls from its previous successful hunts.
Lo and behold, placed high in the case, is the long, cylindrical cranium of the famous alien from the Alien series of films.
Woop! Woop! Fists raised throughout the theatre. Frantic fan-cheers rang enthusiastically through the room.
And the promise of a shared, monstrous universe, was birthed!
Today, that universe expands as the Predator creature and all if its lore steps into the world of yet another long-standing pop-culture sensation with the first installment of the new Marvel Comics five-issue miniseries, Predator Vs. The Planet of the Apes!
Predator Vs. The Planet Of The Apes #1
Written by: Greg Pak
Illustrated by: Alan Robinson
Published by: Marvel Comics
Really, it’s a pop culture fanatic’s wet dream!
Written by Greg Pak and illustrated by Alan Robinson, Predator Vs. The Planet of the Apes is the story of two cult-classic universes colliding. Here, one of the deadly predators crash lands on Charlton Heston’s infamous fist-shaking “You maniacs! Goddamn you all to hell!” planet: the Planet of the Apes! Somewhere in the middle of those two aggressive species are the humans, subservient to the apes, which provides an illuminating platform of observation between hunter and hunted!
Humans hunted by dominant apes. Apes hunted by a ruthless alien. And we readers get to enjoy the action-packed narrative of the three-way war we’ve all been pining so long for!
Predator Vs. The Planet of the Apes is the fanboy and fangirl comic book crossover story we need right now. One where we again hoot and holler and raise our fists high in the air in a shared pop culture celebration.
Revel in the juicy sci-fi festivity! Make the run to your local comic book shop today and pick up the first issue of the five-part miniseries, Predator Vs. The Planet of the Apes.