Predator: The Preserve, originally titled Predator, also known as Predator Vol. 2: The Preserve, is a 5-issue comic book series published by Marvel Comics. Following Theta's Predator encounter on Tusket, her continued journey lead her to a Predator's game preserve planet where a number of other humans abducted over the past century have been brought to be hunted. The series was written by Ed Brisson, illustrated by Netho Diaz, inked by Belardino Brabo, colored by Erick Arciniega, lettered by VC's Clayton Cowles, and edited by Sarah Brunstad. Cover art was provided by artist Giuseppe Camuncoli and colorist Richard Isanove while variant covers were provided by various artists. It was released on March 8, 2023.
Predator: The Preserve serves as the second installment of a multi-arc storyline that began with Predator: Day of the Hunter and continued with Predator: The Last Hunt.
In Marvel's Predator comics line, Predator: The Preserve was preceded by Predator: Day of the Hunter.
Publisher's summary[]
#1: FEAR IS REBORN! On a planet far from Earth, eight strangers find themselves in a deadly game. But this time, the Predators aren't the only ones on the hunt. Someone has the Yautja in their sites – and they've been searching for this game preserve for a long time. Ed Brisson and Netho Diaz kicks off an explosive new series that will turn everything you thought you knew about Predators on its head!
#2: THE PREDATORS BECOME PREY! The Yautja dumped an army of trained soldiers on their preserve planet for the sheer sport of hunting them. Most are already dead, no match for one of the universe's most fearsome races. But one of the Yautja "guests" wasn't invited… Theta Berwick is back and still hell-bent on revenge, and her kill count is climbing. Ed Brisson's mad epic continues with show-stopping art by Netho Diaz!
#3: A WOLF IN WOLF'S CLOTHING! Theta has gotten the crew to her ship, but an unexpected ambush by the Predators prevents them from boarding…that is, except for one. While Theta fights for her life, Kiyoshi boards the Sandpiper and prepares to escape, leaving everyone else at the bloodlust-laced mercy of the Predators. After all, what else but betrayal is to be expected from some of society's most ruthless deviants?
#4: SACRIFICES MUST BE MADE! A fight for control of the Sandpiper breaks out as distrust and fear splits the survivors into opposing camps. Theta must decide whether a human life is worth giving up the last remaining connection to her family. What lengths will Theta go to quench her thirst for vengeance…and who will she be willing to sacrifice in the process?
#5: THERE’S NO GLORY IN LOSING THE GAME! It’s the final showdown. The group of humans are officially divided and entangled in the ultimate hunt…against each other. There’s no doubt that it’s going to be a bloodbath, but it’s anyone’s guess as to who will make it out alive, gain possession of the Sandpiper and, ultimately, salvation. But there’s a Predator lurking on the ship, so whoever survives will have to go head-to-head against one of the galaxy’s most deadly hunters. Find out the fate of your favorite characters in the action-packed conclusion to Ed Brisson and Netho Diaz’s “The Preserve” story arc!
Plot[]
After arriving on an alien world blanketed in a tropical landscape, eight survivors found themselves grouped together in a cave, hidden from the three alien creatures that have been hunting them since their arrival. Through conversation, it was determined that each one of them had been abducted from Earth at different time periods over the past century, preserved in hypersleep, and brought to a planet they described as a game preserve. Two of the abductees, a husband and wife dressed in military gear named Isla and Lucas, revealed they were abducted from Earth in 2022 and belonged to a clandestine government organization named Other Worldly Life-Forms Program (OWLF), previously known as Project Stargazer. Isla shared as much information as she could about the alien hunters they call "Predators" by disclosing a number of previously recorded encounters with the species on Earth dating back to 1987, describing them as very powerful hunter killers.
In an effort to survive the hunt, the group decided to head back out into the jungle together to scavenge for weapons and ammunition. During their excursion, Omar, a security consultant abducted from Earth in 2018, discovered a decapitated human corpse before the entire group witnessed a number of crates with parachutes falling from the sky that they believe to be supply crates containing food to keep them nourished enough to remain formidable prey. Upon closer inspection, Allen, a British gangster abducted from Earth in 1987, determined the crate was not just empty, but had been used to transport a living creature. Soon after, the group had been attacked by an oversized extraterrestrial quadruped with human sized limbs and tentacles on its face that it used to ensnare Ernesto, a Filipino CAFGU soldier abducted from Earth sometime before 2042, almost killing him before Omar debilitated the creature with a grenade.
With it's ability to survive the violent blast, the oversized alien creature made its last stand until being fatally wounded by a plasma weapon. The Predator ultimately responsible for the kill, distinguishable by its broken mask, decloaked moments before its attack when it deployed a pair of wristblades to kill Beau, an American mercenary abducted from Earth in 1997, and threw its shuriken that wounded Kiyoshi, a soldier of the Japanese Defense Forces abducted from Earth in 2055. All of a sudden, the Predator had its head blown off by a veteran Predator hunter, hell-bent on revenge, named Theta. Soon after, the Predator's decapitated corpse is discovered by its two surviving clan members who performed a quick ritual in honor of the deceased before leaving a remote detonator behind to permanently eliminate evidence of their existence.
Elsewhere in the jungle, more supply crates had fallen, this time unleashing a horde of deadly extraterrestrial, humanoid creatures shrouded in pale, insect-like exoskeletons. After evading detection and stealing a flight recorder from the dead Predator's cloaked spacecraft, Theta and her trusted confidant, Paolo, led the group of abductees through the jungle toward her ship, the Sandpiper. When questioned by their companions, Paolo revealed they were in the year 2062, sparking a conversation about the Predator's ability to travel through time that was quickly dismissed by Theta who went on to confirm they were in fact being being hunted for sport by Predators on a training planet. While boarding the ship, Theta's group were ambushed by a Predator who killed Ernesto with a plasma blast before getting into a head-to-head battle with Theta. In an effort to protect Theta, the remainder of the group held their ground while Kiyoshi snuck aboard and took control of the Sandpiper, intent on leaving the rest behind.
Reprint History[]
The five issue series Predator will be collected as a trade paperback titled Predator Vol. 2: The Preserve that is set to be released on October 24, 2023.
Trivia[]
- Issue #2 of The Preserve and its variant covers were the first to be released in Marvel's Predator comics line to feature the publisher's 20th Century Studios imprint.
Goofs[]
- When OWLF member Isla first told her fellow abductees about previously recorded encounters with the alien species hunting them, she stated the first encounter with the species in 1987 occurred in Colombia (misspelled as Columbia), when in fact the alien encounter took place in Guatemala, a location originally established in the novelization of the 1987 film Predator, and again in the 2010 film Predators. However, the 1989 comic book series Predator: Concrete Jungle, and its novelization, also misstated that the 1987 encounter with an alien hunter took place in Colombia.
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