Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Predator Kills the Marvel Universe #1!There are several beloved superhero teams in the ever-expandingMarvel Cinematic Universe, but one stands above the rest as perhaps the most beloved of all: theGuardians of the Galaxy. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to save the team from the brutal slaughter they just endured in Marvel Comics.
InPredator Kills the Marvel Universe#1 by Benjamin Percy, Marcelo Ferreira, and Daniel Picciotto, the Yautja species have decided not only to hunt on Earth, but to claim the entire planet as their own. The only problem is that Earth is heavily defended in the Marvel Universe, so more than a few superheroes have to go, including the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Interestingly, the Guardians of the Galaxy’s deaths were something of a precursor to thePredators' eventual strike against Earth, almost like a practice run before the main event. However, that didn’t detract from the Predators' viciousness and brutality.Star-Lord was the first to go with a plasma cannon to the chest, followed by Rocket, Drax, and the rest of the Guardians, who were killed in equally horrific fashion.
How The Predators Defeated The Guardians of the Galaxy
While gruesomely epic to witness, there’s one thing about this comic that may give fans pause: how did the Predators get the better of the Guardians of the Galaxy? This is a team that regularly deals with alien threats on a galactic scale, after all, so how did the Predators get the better of them so thoroughly? Well, that can be answered by one classic Marvel Comics character: Kraven the Hunter.
At the end of the previousPredator/Marvel crossover,Predator vs Spider-Man, Kraven was accepted by the Yautjainto their clan. With Kraven feeding the Predators all the intel they could ever need, Marvel’s heroes are in grave danger, and the Guardians of the Galaxy are living (or, in this case, dying) proof of how true that is.
The Guardians of the Galaxy’s Brutal Deaths Are Only the Beginning
As previously mentioned, the slaughter of the Guardians of the Galaxy felt like a warm-up for the Predators before the real war against the Marvel Universe began. And that’s because that’s precisely what it was. The Predators were testing their abilities (along with Kraven’s usefulness) before launching a full-scale invasion of Earth, meaning the Guardians were just the first of many victims.
At this point, most of the Marvel Comics universe has been adapted into theMCU, which means theGuardians of the Galaxywon’t be the last on-screen heroes to meet a gruesome end courtesy of the Predators, even if they are the most beloved.
Predator Kills the Marvel Universe #1is available now from Marvel Comics.
