Aliens vs. Predator: The Ultimate Battle

Aliens vs. Predator: The Ultimate Battle is a mini-comic that was published by Dark Horse Comics in 1992. It was included exclusively with the first Aliens vs. Predator action figure two-pack produced by Kenner Products. The story was written by Dan Thorsland, penciled by Brandon McKinney, inked by Karl Kesel, lettered by Dan Nakrosis, and edited by Barbara Kesel, with cover art by Joe Phillips.

The Ultimate Battle was a part of the Aliens: Space Marines series, a number of mini-comics included exclusively with certain toys from Kenner's Aliens and Aliens vs. Predator toy lines. It was the only comic to be published with an Aliens vs. Predator set and features a stand-alone story separate from the rest of the series.

Publisher's Summary[]

Sometime in the future...

Vicious, gruesome, and deadly, the Aliens spit acid, and use slithering face huggers to capture their prey. Led by their sinister Queen, the Aliens are spreading everywhere, mutating into more deadly forms as they go.

From the other side of the cosmos comes a race of hunters. Predators, fearsome creatures who live for the pursuit and capture of deadly prey. Through cunning skill and sheer brute force, the Predators have hunted every deadly species known, but nothing else in the galaxy offers the thrill of a genuine Alien hunt.

Plot[]

On an unknown planet, the Cracked Tusk Predator leads his clan of Yautja on a hunt for the only creature that is a match for them - the Aliens. After flushing a hive out with fire, Cracked Tusk announces the beginning of the hunt. Renegade, a Young Blood is scouring the jungle, before being ambushed by a Drone. The Drone quickly disarms Renegade, but this only angers him. The two creatures clash on equal grounds but a second Drone soon emerges. Before the tides could be turned, a Predator on a blade fighter appears and incapacitates the Drone, leaving Renegade and the first Drone in a standoff.

Reprint History[]

A reprint of Aliens vs. Predator: The Ultimate Showdown was included with NECA's updated Aliens vs. Predator two figure set. However, other than the Kenner and NECA figures with which it has been packaged, the comic has never been offered for individual sale anywhere, making it (along with the rest of the Aliens: Space Marines series) among the rarest Aliens vs. Predator comics from Dark Horse.

Behind the Scenes[]

The art team behind The Ultimate Battle, Brandon McKinney and Karl Kesel, previously produced another mini-comic in the Aliens: Space Marines series, Aliens: Showdown. This is one of only two times the same team of artists produced more than one entry in the series; John Nadeau and Steve Moncuse also produced both Aliens: Night Strike and Aliens: Swarm (Nadeau also worked on several other entries, but either alone or with different partners).

In 2015, NECA's in-house photographer, Stephen Mazurek, recreated pages 1 and 7-14 from The Ultimate Battle using photography of NECA's Aliens and Predator figures as a tribute to Kenner's toys.^[1]