Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is The
Speaker 2: Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow
Speaker 2: Your Mind, focusing on mythical creatures, ideas, and monsters in time.
Speaker 2: In past episodes of The Monster Fact, I've discussed both
Speaker 2: the xenomorphs of the Alien franchise and the various monsters, mutants,
Speaker 2: and superheroes of Marvel Comics. In today's episode, I'll be
Speaker 2: talking about both of them. As I just finished reading
Speaker 2: the newly released Aliens Verses Avengers, written by Jonathan Hickman
Speaker 2: and art by Isadriebitch and Ivas Fortina. I have to
Speaker 2: admit that I was skeptical about this crossover at first.
Speaker 2: There have been so many Alien comics crossovers over the years,
Speaker 2: from Predator and Judge Dredd to Yes, Buffy the Vampire
Speaker 2: Slayer and Archie Captain America versus The Face Hugger just
Speaker 2: wasn't high on my list of crossover matchups. But after
Speaker 2: hearing some encouraging tidbits, I put this volume on my
Speaker 2: reading list, and I'm delighted to say that it's a
Speaker 2: really fun ride that honors both franchises while delivering a dark,
Speaker 2: richly creative tale of cosmic doom that doesn't hold anything back.
Speaker 2: So spoiler alert, I'm about to talk about some twists
Speaker 2: and turns in the Aliens Versus Avengers comic book. If
Speaker 2: you want to read it reasonably cold, this is a
Speaker 2: good place to cut out and return a bit later.
Speaker 2: All right, here we go. The comic book takes this
Speaker 2: to a future Earth on the verge of complete destruction. Waconda,
Speaker 2: Atlantis and every last nation on the planet has fallen
Speaker 2: to the hordes of rampaging xenomorphic organisms. The surviving mutants
Speaker 2: have fled to Mars. In a single city pretected by
Speaker 2: the surviving members of the Avengers, fights against utter destruction,
Speaker 2: against all hope, they desperately search for an answer. As
Speaker 2: it turns out, in a parallel universe following the events
Speaker 2: of Alien Covenant, the rogue android David succeeded in wiping
Speaker 2: out all non xenomorphic life and replicating himself. Over the
Speaker 2: course of the ensuing millennium, they developed the means to
Speaker 2: cross over into other universes, and thus sent their android
Speaker 2: emissaries followed by seed ships, to eradicate life there planet
Speaker 2: by planet by planet. I'm a rather big fan of
Speaker 2: the themes explored in Ridley Scott's prequel films Prometheus and Covenant,
Speaker 2: so I appreciated the turn of events here, and it
Speaker 2: sets up a fitting foil for the scientists, wizards and
Speaker 2: super soldiers of the Avengers. There's even a little engineer
Speaker 2: drama thrown in for good measure. The comic book really
Speaker 2: kicks into high gear, however, when the action spills over
Speaker 2: to Mars. Here, the few surviving Avengers flee Earth for
Speaker 2: the mutant occupied Red Planet, but quickly discover mostly death
Speaker 2: and desolation here as well. Because who happened to get
Speaker 2: his hands on some xenomorphic organisms for study and experimentation,
Speaker 2: Why none other than mister Sinn. Born doctor Nathaniel Essex.
Speaker 2: Mister Sinister was a contemporary of Charles Darwin and therefore
Speaker 2: contemporary of Alfred Russell Wallace as well. Sinister is a
Speaker 2: neo Victorian mad scientist who became obsessed with mastering the
Speaker 2: next phase of human evolution, a quest that takes on
Speaker 2: additional dimensions as he falls under the influence of the
Speaker 2: ancient Egyptian mutant apocalypse. Who uses alien technology to transform
Speaker 2: Essex into the bizarre, undying mister Sinister. He becomes a
Speaker 2: cloning master and an endless self experimenter. And so when
Speaker 2: Sinister in his many clones encounter xenomorphic life on Mars,
Speaker 2: he doesn't see it so much as the end of
Speaker 2: all life, but a potential new beginning for himself. At first,
Speaker 2: it seems Sinister and his clones have merely protected themselves
Speaker 2: from xenomorph aggression by implanting dormant embryos inside their own bodies.
Speaker 2: But then Sinister himself allows his own embryo to develop
Speaker 2: and burst forth as a red fleshed xenomore, complete with
Speaker 2: the signature Sinister Diamond on its forehead. Even worse for
Speaker 2: the surviving mutants and Avengers, this new zeno, the Sinister Queen,
Speaker 2: possesses the mutant abilities of such deceased x men as
Speaker 2: Colossus and Nightcrawler, creating a deadly hybrid that can only
Speaker 2: be stopped by another, particularly shall we say, venomous xenomorphic evolution.
Speaker 2: It's a delicious combo, as Sinister, throughout Marvel Comics, is
Speaker 2: obsessed with creating a perfected human species, while the xenomorphous
Speaker 2: we all know is the perfect organism that Sinister could
Speaker 2: give himself over to it and mirror the David's in
Speaker 2: his plotting and ambition seems entirely appropriate. Aliens Versus Avengers
Speaker 2: goes all out, exploring several books worth of ideas in
Speaker 2: a single volume, and with an absurdly high body count.
Speaker 2: It's definitely worth giving a quick read while waiting for
Speaker 2: the next episode of FX's Alien Earth, which I'm also
Speaker 2: enjoying and remain cautiously optimistic about. Tune in for additional
Speaker 2: episodes of The Monster, Fact, The Artifact, or Animalius to
Speaker 2: Pendium each week. Write in with any alien comic, book
Speaker 2: and novel recommendations as well, and as always, you can
Speaker 2: email us at contact at Stuffdblow your Mind dot com.
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