Predator: Badlands #1 gives more Yautja action in comic book form tying into the movie! The release of the film, Predator: Badlands, on November 7th was accompanied by a companion comic book, Predator: Badlands #1! In comic books, Dark Horse produced the first Predator comic in a 1989 limited series. The battle started in comics with the Aliens vs. Predator (1990) mini-series. The first of the match up was Alien vs. Predator (2004). Batman fought the Predator in Batman vs. Predator (1991). My favorite of the vs. series was Tarzan vs. Predator at the Earth’s Core (1996). Marvel Comics published their limited series in 2022. The Predator fought with the Marvel Universe including the latest, Predator vs. Spider-Man mini-series.
The writer, Ethan Sacks, has written for tie-in comic book, including one of the stories in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Special #1 (2023). The artist is Elvin Ching. The regular cover is by Juan Ferreyra which has the Yautja leaping off a cliff to slice his plasma sword at creature made up of spikes. There is an introduction by Predator: Badlands director, Dan Trachtenberg. It is not clear if this fits into the canon of the Predatorverse. Trachtenberg notes, “It is both a spark and an ember for our movie…” A two page spread with a movie image of Yautja Prime introduces the Predators and also the credits for the comic book. It opens with computer screens showing the K’shorrik, they are insectoid, but with long slits of eyes with two irises, and four arms.
The problem with introducing new alien species when we have the Yautja, humans, Xenomorphs and Engineers from the Aliens franchise is that sentinent species are rare. Unlike Star Trek and Star Wars with galaxies of such species. The other character is the computer whom we see as the screen which is wakened by a mother-like K’shorrik, also a commander of sorts. She gives the computer the mission to watch over the crew when they reach the planet they hope to colonize. A child makes friends with the computer. This moves to the mother informing about the ship’s damage from an asteroid field. She says that they are going to the crytotubes and send out a distress call. The computer acknowledges the order.
Then, we get a two page spread of the crashed ship, “10,000 Years Later”! What happened with the K’shorikk staging base? This is on the Moon of Pelkonen IV. There is an orangish tinge to the background of mountains and forests like the skin, carapace?, of the K’shorikk. Excellent work by colorist, Juancho Velez. An insert panel has two Yautja, a larger one behind the young Predator, both with helmets on looking at the wreckage. This is of course Dek, who wants to be hunting, and his brother, Kwei, who tells him that the task was given by their father. Dek wants to be “bloodied” and Kwei tells him he will earn his cloak. Kwei speeds away on his bike as Dek runs towards the ship. Within the ship, vines wrap around the broken ship’s corridor.
We see the cryotubes with the K’shorikk, the upside down triangle of the cryotue window ends with red points. In the cockpit, a red light beeps on a console. Computer, no name like MU/TH/R, becomes active, exiting hibernation mode. It must have been damaged after crash landing and the long time afterwards. Computer gets a transmission and analyzes Dek. It’s files show the K’shorikk in a circle with rifles and a Yautja leaps above them with wrist blades. The computer focuses on a strange beetle analyzing flor and fauna to use for defenses. It manufactures defensive weaponry. Bek uses his scanning beam, leaps down, and projects an image of a sphere from his wrist band. A green, bat-like creature flies behind him!
Four Power Cores out of Five!
#PredatorBadlands, #EthanSacks, #ElvinChing, #JuanchoVelez, #JuanFerreyra, #DanTrachtenberg, #Dek, #Computer, #Kwei
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