A Classic X-Men Villain Tampers With The Xenomorphs In Aliens Vs Avengers #3 [Exclusive Preview]

"Aliens vs Avengers" sounds like a disposable crossover premise, and another way for Disney to flaunt its now-ownership over 20th Century Fox. Yet this comic has zagged whenever I expected it to zig.

Marvel brought out its A-List talent for the series, reuniting writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Esad Ribic from 2015's "Secret Wars" crossover. Rather than a simple beat 'em up (with, say, the Avengers trapped on a Xenomorph infested space station), the comic has gone downright apocalyptic; a Xenomorph infestation reaches Earth and wipes almost the entire planet out.

The comics have been pulling quite a bit from Ridley Scott's underrated but essential prequel duology "Prometheus" and "Alien: Covenant" too. Hickman and Ribic tell us that, had the Engineers made it back to Earth in "Prometheus," not even the heroes of the Marvel Universe could've stopped their bio-weapons from ending humanity.

Now, Marvel has shared an exclusive look at "Aliens vs Avengers" #3 with /Film. This will be the third out of the reported four issues. Issue #2 ended with the few remaining superheroes escaping Earth, while the Engineers were preparing for something. The synopsis reads:

"THE ENGINEERS GO TO WAR! But in a world of cosmic heroes and genetic mutants, the Engineers are not the only gods of creation. As the Engineers set out to destroy what they made, humanity's remaining heroes discover an even more pressing threat: the X-Men."

In 2019, Hickman oversaw an ambitious relaunch of the X-Men comics with dual mini-series "House of X" (drawn by Pepe Larraz) and "Powers of X" (drawn by R.B. Silva), where mutantkind settled a new nation on the living island Krakoa (which produced some of the best "X-Men" stories in years). Based on that synopsis and the preview pages, Hickman is going back to Krakoa.

See Ribic's cover for "Aliens vs Avengers" #3 below.

Marvel Comics

"Aliens vs Avengers" #1 said that, when the Xenomorphs came for Krakoa, most of the mutants took the island's portal network to Mars (claimed by mutants as the planet Arrako). However, Apocalypse stayed behind to hold back the aliens; he'd either prove himself fitter than the horde or die trying.

Issue #3 suggests it may not be so simple; evil geneticist Mister Sinister also remained behind in his Krakoan base, "Bar Sinister," and is doing well for himself. Sinister is the twisted scientist of X-Men villains, most infamous for creating Jean Grey's clone Madelyne Pryor.

The character truly came into his own, though, under writer Kieron Gillen's pen in the 2011 "Uncanny X-Men" relaunch. Gillen, deciding Sinister is the ultimate narcissist, depicted him as keeping many clones of himself. Not just as back-up bodies, but as whole "Sinister" communities.

Krakoa-era "X-Men" writers (Hickman, Zeb Wells in "Hellions," and ultimately Gillen again in "Immortal X-Men") ran with this and redefined Sinister as less Dracula, more Bond villain. He's innately an over-the-top character, so modern X-Men comics write him as if RuPaul was a super-villain. He balances out the camp by being an absolute bastard worthy of his adopted name; he'll backstab anyone, even himself, and smile as he does it.

Now, Bar Sinister is home only to Mister Sinister clones, who have naturally taken an interest in the aliens to rival Ash's (Ian Holm) admiration.

Marvel Comics

The lead Sinister declares the Xenomorphs are the ultimate manifestation of his goals; killing machines that also preserve the DNA of their victims. (Remember, a facehugger needs a host to implant an egg for gestation.) Sinister has long been obsessed with cataloguing mutant DNA — and he's holding several X-Men captive.

Marvel Comics

Then, some "visitors" (certainly the Engineers) pop by. Will they have any patience for Sinister, or is he in over his head playing with the fire of the gods?

Marvel Comics

"Aliens vs Avengers" #3 is scheduled for print and digital release on February 19, 2025.