The Alien franchise is mighty, and its influence on pop culture is undeniable. The series had a major impact on the comic book world, thanks to Dark Horse adapting the creatures into a series of standalone non-canon stories. It even led to the inspiration of an Alien vs. Predator film franchise, with mixed critical results.
Nevertheless, the Aliens have enjoyed a strong showing in the comics world. They’ve gone up against a number of intriguing characters over the years, including some that are truly bizarre. Here are ten of the weirdest characters ever to have crossed paths with the terrifying xenomorphs, showing just how the comic book world plays fast and loose with the rules.
10 The Dark Knight Battled Aliens In The South American Jungle
It may seem odd for the Caped Crusader to go up against the xenomorph menace, but it happened. It’s certainly not the strangest crossover of the bunch, but it’s definitely one of the coolest. What could have been a silly parody was actually an excellent story mixed with some fantastic art, and nods to both universes.
It all starts when Batman infiltrates a South American jungle to look for a Wayne Enterprises geologist. He stumbles upon the xenomorphs, and learns about their life cycle and killing habits. It’s notable for a scene where Batman fights off a xenomorph birthed from a crocodile — one for the ages.
9 The Man Of Steel Faced Down The Galaxy’s Most Lethal Species Several Times
Yes, the Man of Steel has gone up against the xenomorph menace on more than one occasion throughout the years. It’s an odd pairing, as individually these creatures aren’t much of a match for him. In vast quantities, however, things are a little different.
The saga between these two titans reached new ground when the ultra-powerful Darkseid experimented on the xenomorphs, creating a deadly army designed to carry out his bidding. Comic book fans probably haven’t seen the last of Superman facing down the inner jaws of a vicious alien.
8 The WildC.A.T.S. Fought Aliens In A Comic Crossover Designed To Clean House
Darkhorse and Wildstorm comics decided to cross over in 1998 with the release of WildC.A.T.s/Aliens, an odd pairing by every standard that was rather ill-received by writer Warren Ellis. It mainly served as an excuse to disband and destroy the Stormwatch team, paving the way for the creation of the Authority.
The battle left many of the C.A.T.S. severely injured, while the story was wrapped up with as nice a bow as one could expect from such a premise. As a one-shot, it wasn’t going to win any accolades, but it did go down as one of the more colorful Aliens crossovers.
7 Hal Jordan’s Xeno Decision Had Fateful Consequences For The Future Green Lantern
This was one of the weirder, but better Aliens crossover events, thanks to its well-written premise. The story starts with Hal Jordan locating a horde of xenomorphs and relocating them to a planet where they believe they’ll be able to live out their lives without causing greater harm.
The story then progresses to Kyle Rayner, who visits the planet ten years later to rescue the crew of a downed ship from a xeno hive. Realizing he can’t bargain or reason with such an instinctual predatory species as the xenomorphs, he summons his powers to mow them down in a fit of pure violence.
6 Judge Dredd Laid The Law Down On An Alien Menace Threatening Mega-City One
Judge Dredd has flirted well past the gritty noir-future semi-realism of its main setting a number of times, but it took on crazy new ground when the titular character squared off against the aliens. In the comic, the villainous Mr. Bones uses a cache of aliens to exact revenge on Mega-City One, leaving the Judges to stop him.
It’s an interesting and well-written comic that shows the aliens in a much different atmosphere and setting, going up against a very different foe. It’s notable for a final scene where Judge Dredd issues a summary judgment on the xenomorphs in a witty, sarcastic fashion.
5 Vampirella Tried To Save A Martian Base From A Xeno Infestation
Vampirella is the last protagonist that comic book fans thought would ever square off against the xenomorphs, but it did happen. The story revolved around Vampirella trying to protect a Martian base from an alien outbreak while struggling to earn their trust at the same time.
It’s notable for showcasing an alien queen/vampire hybrid for the first time, anywhere. While many alien comic book crossovers have showcased interesting hybrids before (notably Aliens vs. Predator), this was a whole new ballgame; the first time the alien physiology went full-on supernatural.
4 Witchblade & The Darkness Fought Aliens, & A Superpowered Predator
It wasn’t enough that Witchblade crossed over with Aliens. No, instead the writers saw fit to deposit both Darkness and the Yautja Predators into the equation, as well. The result was a four-way slugfest that stands as one of the most bizarre in crossover history.
In addition to being imprisoned on an alien spacecraft headed for Earth, both Pezzini and Estacado must contend with swarms of aliens out for blood, plus a Predator that gains access to the powers of the Witchblade, in one of comic’s most crazy moments.
3 Picard & The Enterprise Crew Nearly Went Up Against The Aliens In A Canceled Crossover
Sadly, this particular crossover never saw the light of day before suffering cancelation, but production was well underway. Titled Star Trek: The Next Generation/Aliens: Acceptable Losses, the comic would have seen the inclusion not only of Federation forces but also cameos from the Borg and the Romulans.
The plot of the Next Generation comic is unclear, but judging by the initial sketched cover art, it might have taken on a more humorous tone, rather than an ominous one. A particular cover design even seemed to parody the classic Trek episode “The Trouble with Tribbles,” suggesting a Lower Decks-style approach.
2 Buffy The Vampire Slayer Faced Down A Vampire Xeno In A Homage To The Original Film
Yes, comic book Buffy did go up against a xenomorph, which is a weird pairing, to say the least. It was designed by the writing team to be a homage to Ridley Scott’s original Alien movie while injecting the Buffy character into the mythos in a half-parody/half-remake approach.
The story centers on Buffy and Spike escaping to a space station after the world goes literally to Hell following the events of season 8 of the TV show. It’s notable for waiting until later in the story to reveal that the xenomorph in question is vampiric in nature and vulnerable to sunlight.
1 Ellen Ripley Set Xenos Loose On Skynet’s Terminators In The Far Future
The three-way crossover comic Aliens vs. Predator vs. The Terminator finally put all three characters in the same boat and had them go at it. It was interesting in the fact that it tried to continue the events of Alien Resurrection, despite the story never having been canonized.
The aliens and Terminators cross paths in the fourth issue when the cloned Ellen Ripley unleashes the xenos on them, confident that their acid blood will damage the endoskeleton killers. Even if it never goes down as official, it’s still a smartly-written comic with a lot for fans of all three franchises to love.
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