The Predator has long made appearances in cross overs with some pretty famous comic
book characters.
From fighting the likes of Batman, to trying to slay the ultimate prey Superman and even
taking on the Justice League, there has been no shortage of DC appearances the alien race
has made.
Outside of DC and Dark Horse though, the Predator hasn’t really come into contact with other
famous heroes or villains, thanks to a bunch of legalities.
But those cross overs got us thinking.
What if the Predator came to the Marvel Universe?
Ignoring the issue of rights here, let’s jump into hypothetical land and imagine what
that would actually look like.
So, if you’re familiar with the Predators from the films, you’ll know that hunting
is their game.
The recent Predator film that came out in 2018 revealed that the Predator’s have a
bit more of an end game when it comes to this hunt of theirs; they are aiming to splice
their DNA and become the predominant race in the universe, hence going around from planet
to planet, civilization to civilization, to learn more about the other species there,
and how they can dominate them.
In terms of intergalactic colonization, it's definitely a more brutal approach, but hey,
they are a race with innate violent instincts, so it makes sense.
So needless to say, if they were integrated into the Marvel universe, it would surely
be as a means of trying to conquer planets.
The thing is though, compared to DC, Marvel has arguably a more sophisticated galactic
presence.
This attempt at conquering and becoming superior to other races would be exponentially more
difficult, and they wouldn’t be able to operate under the radar as they have in their
own cinematic universe.
But let’s say their race went primarily undetected until they decided to make their
first move on a race.
Now arguably, considering the superheroes who are established on Earth, that wouldn’t
be their first target.
Who would be?
Well, let’s take a look at the kinds of planets they’d be eyeing.
The Kree Empire would be an ambitious choice for a first target.
Just because of the massive scale of what the Kree claim as their territory, and the
skilled and powerful warriors they have in their military arsenal, the Kree wouldn’t
be the smartest move right off the bat.
Then there’s the Nova empire; while the Nova Corp would prove as manageable but interestingly
challenging prey, the size of the Nova empire is also something not to be gawked at.
Same goes for the Builders, although their DNA would be very appealing.
Then there’s the Klyntars.
Getting their hands on symbiote DNA would be helpful for their cause, but it also potentially
causes a huge threat; if something goes wrong, which is usually does when trying to control
a symbiote, the Predators put themselves in a vulnerable position.
Without the right kind of tech and science, there’s a very good chance that the warriors
who go to Klyntar would just end up possessed by a symbiote.
But there’s also a chance that the Predators would have strong enough will power to avoid
being fully consumed by the Klyntars that bond with them.
BUT on the flip side, if they are, their violent tendencies and desire for galactic domination
could make for a threat that the rest of the universe probably wouldn’t want showing
up on their doorstep.
Risky, but it’s a possibility.
What’s next?
Asgardians and any other godly race, like the Eternals, would be out of the question.
They would be way too powerful a foe.
The Skrulls would be a good choice to target.
Because of their shape shifting nature, their DNA would surely be appealing to the Predators.
Same goes with the Chitauri, who would be another possible starting target, and at least
prove to hold their own if the Predators used them or amalgamated their DNA to their own
uses.
Of course, there’s hundreds of other planets we’re not discussing, some of which have
much weaker resistance to military attacks, so there is a possibility that the Predators
could slowly divide and conquer smaller civilizations and build up their galactic status in the
Marvel universe that way.
This raises another question though.
Since there are so many races out there in the Marvel universe, how good of a chance
to the Predators really stand against most of them?
Sure they could provide a whole lot of trouble, but in terms of overall power and the kinds
of abilities they have, one could argue that going up against the might of the Kree Empire
or even the heroes of Earth, and a team like the Avengers, there’s a solid chance they
would face defeat.
Compared to some of the other entities and beings out there, they’re not all that strong.
Sure they pose an interesting threat for Bruce Wayne’s Batman over in DC, but there’s
a reason why they haven’t tried to fully invade Earth over there, even if they have
messed around with the Justice League.
So in other words, they’d have to rely on being creative rather than simply brute force.
But rather than a full blown military attack, there’s another way the Predators could
manage infiltrating other races.
Aside from being hunters, they’re masters of stealth.
And that’s something that could come in handy when it comes to a planet like Earth.
Say that they manage to send one of their own down to the planet, and somehow manage
to be completely undetected in doing so.
They break into one of SHIELD’s facilities and manage to steal some pretty deadly weapons
or artifacts that they’ve kept there for protection.
They could then use what they recover against Earth and Earth’s heroes, in hopes that
that would give them an upper hand in the inevitable battle.
And they’d test it out by returning with their stolen goods, going home to create a
weapon, and then sending out a small hunting party to test their new tech out.
But here’s the thing; in order to pull something off like that, they would have to put some
serious retcon and research into a plan like that.
And the second they land on Earth, SHIELD or some other organization with advanced technology
is just BOUND to figure out that they’re there.
For the purpose of this video, let’s just say that organization is SHIELD.
Once on SHIELD’s radar, they’ve made themselves a bit of a target that Earth and its greatest
heroes will be aware of, and SHIELD will keep a steady eye on.
That’s in the comics though.
Earth 616 has a much larger, more complex history and more prevalent super powered ecosystem
of heroes and villains that exist on it compared to some of Marvel’s other Earths.
If the Predators were integrated into the Marvel universe, and successfully be a threat,
it would have to be on an Earth outside of 616 where they pose more of a threat.
Alternatively, if they were to pop up in the MCU, they would surely be more of a threat
since that Universe isn’t fully established yet in terms of having the roster of super
powered individuals Earth 616 has.
The arrival of a Predator hunting party would make for one hell of a battle, especially
if they were fighting off against characters like the Punisher, or Jessica Jones, or someone
who isn’t the likes of the Hulk or Captain Marvel.
Hell, it’d make for even an interesting fight between Iron Man and a Predator, really.
But eventually, its safe to say that that hunting party would be defeated if someone
like Thor came along and put an end to their hunt.
Facing off against just one of these heroes would make for an interesting conflict, and
even more interesting combat.
But when facing a team like the Avengers, well, things wouldn’t be looking up for
our Predator pals.
All in all, it’s safe to say that the Predators, when it comes to comic book crossovers, work
best when they’re isolated.
Have a Predator go up against only Iron Man.
Have a hunting party try to take down the Hulk.
Let one come face to face with the Punisher and it may play out like the original Predator
film, but in New York, and likely a whole lot of bullets and explosions.
But if you try to bring the Predators into the grander scheme of things, they would have
a hard time standing a chance against the kinds of power that exists out in the Marvel
universe.
So it wouldn’t be surprising that if the rights ever changed and they showed up in
the panels rubbing shoulders with your favourite Marvel characters, they would likely be involved
in isolated storylines just like they do in the DC and Dark Horse universes.
Alright, there we have it friends.
What are your thoughts on the Predator franchise?
Would you ever be interested in reading a Predator Marvel crossover?
And if so, what characters from the Marvel universe would you like to see encounter these
deadly hunters?
Give us a shout in those comments below and let us know!
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