Alien: Romulus is a one-shot, tie-in comic book that was first published by Marvel Comics on October 23, 2024 and serves as a prequel to the 2024 feature film of the same name. It was written by Zac Thompson, Fede Álvarez, and Rodo Sayagues, illustrated by Daniel Picciotto, colored by Yen Nitro, lettered by VC's Clayton Cowles, and edited by Sarah Brunstad. Cover art was provided by Leinil Francis Yu and Romulo Fajardo Jr., while variant cover art was provided by Björn Barends and Marco Checcheto with Marcio Menyz.
In Marvel's Alien comics line, Alien: Romulus was preceded by Aliens: What If..., and followed by Alien: Paradiso.
Publisher's summary[]
Following the theatrical release of the highly anticipated blockbuster Alien: Romulus, Marvel Comics presents an all-new story revealing secrets of the film's legendary antagonists! How did Xenomorphs find Rain, Andy and their scavenger crew? Familiar faces lurk in the shadows – and this issue shines light on them all! Horror master Zac Thompson (ABSOLUTE CARNAGE, X-MEN) and rising star Daniel Picciotto (GHOST RIDER, X-FORCE) collaborate directly with filmmakers for this must-have collector's item! See Alien: Romulus in theaters August 16th.
Plot[]
In 2142, Weyland-Yutani scientists recovered the cocooned remains of an alien specimen—designated “XX121”—from the wreckage of the Nostromo. The specimen was then transported via unmanned space probe from Zeta Reticui to the Remus module of Renaissance, where science officer Rook and his team conducted their research. Rook, fascinated by its bio-engineering potential, advocated for preserving the creature in stasis for further experimentation. However, two of the station's security officers, Adrian and Hyla, were deeply suspicious of keeping the alien alive. Hyla, in particular, having lost an eye on a prior mission while staving off hostile lifeforms.
Tensions escalated while Adrian and Hyla snuck into the Remus lab and disabled the cryogenic containment module that held the recovered alien specimen. This single act of defiance resulted in catastrophe as the Xenomorph violently broke free of its containment and immediately began killing station personnel, starting with Adrian. In the chaos of the creature's indiscriminate attack, cloned facehuggers, developed by the station’s researchers from XX121’s biology, were set loose, infecting staff and triggering a station-wide infestation. As bodies fell and panic spread, the station’s hierarchy became increasingly fractured.
Hyla’s failed attempt to eject the creature into space had been hindered by Rook’s ambition to extract compound Z-01 from the alien’s biology. In an effort to eliminate the alien threat before it destroyed their research, Rook used a thermal tracker to locate the creature in the Romulus module where his synthetic body was torn in half before Hyla opened fire. Upon the alien's death, its acid blood burned through each floor until it breached the station's hull and caused a massive decompression event, Hyla and the remainder of the crew were sucked out into space while Rook was left irreparably damaged, but remained active long enough to secure a complete sample of the transformative compound before activating the seal station protocol.
Trivia[]
- Alien: Romulus was the first one-shot, tie-in comic book published by Marvel Comics to serve as a prequel to an Alien/Predator franchise feature film.
Gallery[]
Issue covers[]
_cover.jpg "Alien Romulus 1 (2024) cover.jpg (126 KB)")
Variant covers[]
_Bj%C3%B6rn_Barends_cover.jpg "Alien Romulus 1 (2024) Björn Barends cover.jpg (164 KB)")
