Marvel Officially Acquires Alien and Predator Comic License

[SiL]

I don't think we are, we're just getting stuck on semantics.

The forced diversity - bad writing distinction was more of a general comment to some people's argument in this thread, not you in particular.

[Local Trouble]

IIRC, wasn't the original script for Alien written so the characters could be any race or gender?

[RakaiThwei]

Late to the party here but when the Disney purchase happened, I saw this a thousand miles away-- and it was only a matter of when this was going to happen. I didn't want to believe it, I didn't want it to happen but it did. If it happened to the Star Wars franchise, it most certainly was going to happen to Alien and Predator. Sure, from a business standpoint... it makes sense for Disney to have these properties produced by a subsidiary publisher but it doesn't mean that we have to like it... God knows, I most certainly don't considering this is the f**king mouse we're talking about.

I'll be honest, I haven't read a Dark Horse title since Fire and Stone happened but I do appreciate the world building and the characters which Dark Horse have presented to us. Like a lot of you, I definitely grew up on those comics and those stories were definitely entertaining. They even have inspired me to create my own Alien vs. Predator characters and settings for roleplaying and fan-fiction. I loved everything from 1989 to 2009 which Dark Horse has produced... I cannot comment on Fire and Stone, Life and Death, Thicker than Blood, Defiance, etc... because I chose not to read those stories. However, I did read a few of the recent crossovers such as Dread vs Alien vs Predator....  Archie crossover not counting of course.

So... hearing that Marvel definitely has the franchises now... Well, as someone who is reading Donny Cates Venom book, and Spider-Gwen/Ghost Spider... While also being aware of what Marvel is doing with their own titles, and hearing the fan-reception of Star Wars... It doesn't leave me with confidence. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy Venom and Spider-Gwen, but they're different animals compared to Alien and Predator. Dark Horse built upon what the movies laid upon, and as far as I know of Marvel... their runs on licensed properties really didn't feel like they were part of the movies, of course I speak of Marvel's limited runs on Robocop and The Terminator. Dark Horse, to me... made their comics feel like they were part of the movies.

Marvel also did Godzilla, who they... surprisingly integrated into Earth-616 and as far as I know, Godzilla is still a part of the Marvel universe, and at one point-- they even integrated Transformers and G.I. Joe as part of Earth-616 before they were retconned as a separate universe from the main Marvel universe. I don't think we're going to see Aliens and Predators integrated into the Marvel Universe, but I don't think crossovers are off the table.

But... I worry about the treatment of the characters, as well as the lore...

Oh, I'm expecting a big de-canonization of the Dark Horse stories... I don't like the potential of that, but I also don't like the idea of Marvel continuing and treading on what Dark Horse has done. Maybe de-canonization would be better in hind-sight... I just don't want them touching Machiko and Dachande.

But all in all... this is really the end of an era, and perhaps the Alien vs. Predator Universe as we know it.

...Peace.

Oh and uh.. Addendum here... Guys, if you don't like the new Disney-Marvel AVP material for the canon or EU material... There's an alternate canon you can follow...Cause, in Dredd canon-- Aliens and Predators exist canonically in there. So, if you want an alternate AVP canon... Look to Dredd's Aliens and Predators. 

[SiL]

IIRC, wasn't the original script for Alien written so the characters could be any race or gender?

Yeah, there's a note saying the roles are intersex and can be played by anyone.

[Corporal Hicks]

I think he is spot on, no R rating, predator hunting androids hell have iron man looking head on the front cover xD and in the marvel press release they only mention the movies and how great they are but nowhere a mention to the comics of the old and how great they were too, in many ways Dark horse kept alien franchise alive but marvel only say: it will be great to have them in our comics, clearly showing they wont respect the old comics:

Judge, I'd suggest having a read back through the read as the rating and continuity has been talked about and pointed out earlier. There's plenty of examples of some severe violence in Marvel's recent titles and the press release also talked about building on classic characters, and decades of multimedia storytelling. I don't think it's so clear cut we're in for a Legends situation.

Alien/Predator does have a history of crossovers even at Dark Horse though. Not "in continuity" of course, just things done for fun, but I know they did crossovers with various DC characters, Judge Dredd, Vampirella, Archie, etc. If we do ever see Predator vs Iron Man or what have you, I'm sure it will be in that vein.

Aside from AvP, I never used to be fond of the crossover titles but over the last 2 or 3 years I've been revisiting the DC crossovers and finding I actually enjoy a good chunk of them! The Batman vs. Predators particularly are really fun! I certainly hope Marvel kick off their new Alien and Predator series with individual titles and do mostly that, but I'd not turn my nose up at some crossovers with their other characters.

IIRC, wasn't the original script for Alien written so the characters could be any race or gender?

Yeah, there's a note saying the roles are intersex and can be played by anyone.

Really, I think that should be how a lot should be cast anyway. Ethnicity and etc included.

[SiL]

I think in a good 90% of films the race, gender, sex, and orientation of the characters is so irrelevant you might as well make it completely open casting.

[Drukathi]

Oh, I'm expecting a big de-canonization of the Dark Horse stories...

To be de-canonized, these stories must first be canon. And there are few questions:
- in relation to what, are DH stories a canon? If in relation to themselves or the resulting subseries, then this is such a small sub-canon that it is not even taken into count. I'm not even sure that this can in principle be called a canon.
- Are old stories the canon of today? Is Aliens: Outbreak a canon for the Alien 3: Unproduced Screenplay; or is Aliens: Pig a canon for Dead Orbit? No. There is no canon, not even continuity.
- In any case (at the maximum) if Marvel de-canonizes and rewrites stories like Resistance & Rescue (which are the canon for the Defiance series) - will you really be upset?

I've read a fair amount of new Marvel Star Wars. There is a lot of love for the characters and the lore in the writing and the artwork. I think a lot of hard work goes into those books. They're not phoning it in. If that spirit carries over to new Alien and Predator comics, everything should be fine. I hope for the best and look forward to seeing what they do.

If with Disney we never get anything like Alien 3 - that's good! Of course, this does not cancel the billion inconvenient moments that Disney itself generates, but this is another topic...
After Star Wars "whining directors trilogy", I don't believe Disney. But the "Stories" were great. I think that while Disney is not trying to establish a "canon" everything works for them as it should. And this is... the perfect soil for comics. It's too early to talk about films. But I would look with interest at Marvel comics.

[SM]

Defiance, Resistance, Rescue, Dead Orbit, Dust to Dust are all currently canon.

Pig sadly not.

[Drukathi]

Defiance, Resistance, Rescue, Dead Orbit, Dust to Dust are all currently canon.

Pig sadly not.

Probably the best words to describe all the "power" of the word canon.

[SM]

It's make believe; not history. It's easier to change.

[Local Trouble]

[irn]

I really, really, really hope this does not evolve in films too. If it does then I'm ignoring anything new involved with the Alien franchise and paying no interest to any related news.

[Perfect-Organism]

Although I disagree with MR H on a lot but I gotta agree with him on this and based on what disney done to star wars and most franchises and the stuff marvel is releasing the last 5 years, I think he is spot on, no R rating, predator hunting androids hell have iron man looking head on the front cover xD and in the marvel press release they only mention the movies and how great they are but nowhere a mention to the comics of the old and how great they were too, in many ways Dark horse kept alien franchise alive but marvel only say: it will be great to have them in our comics, clearly showing they wont respect the old comics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofm08_lNOtY

But even Dark Horse doesn't respect its old comics.  First they retconned the Verheiden series, and now none of that old work is canon.  I mean they respect it as good works of literature that get republished, but it has all been outmoded and treated as "Legends" just like Marvel's Star Wars.

[Nightmare Asylum]

Dark Horse seemed to be "resetting" every few years and, frankly, that's fine by me. I don't really need an expensive Alien multimedia universe. Just tell some good stories, continuity be dammed.

[Perfect-Organism]

They did throw "Marvel Universe" around in the press release, so anything is possible.

Gotta say, crossover stuff doesn't interest me in the slightest (even AVP) so I'm not at all looking forward to any of that, but some people are, so for them I hope it is good.

For myself, I'll most likely be sticking with the solo Alien material.

Yes, it's hard to interpret what Marvel Universe means in this case.  Star Wars comics are published under Marvel, so from a publishing perspective they are a part of the Marvel Universe, but...

Even the Marvel universe consists of many parallel universes, the main being Earth-616.  So for example, the Zombies Marvel Universe is not canon to the Earth-616 series.  They also publish a What If? series, where explorations take place in a non-canonic way of different events.  There are many different ways to interpret Aliens coming to the Marvel Universe.