‘Alien’ Infiltrates Webtoon With Horrifyingly Fun Marvel Comics in Collaboration With Disney [Exclusive]

After visiting a galaxy far, far away, WEBTOON is now taking on the greatest threat in the universe. The episodic comic hub’s next release under its recent megadeal with Disney will bring the universe of Alien to life on the platform, joining the previous Spider-Man and Star Wars reformats. Tonight, users will be able to dig into the 2021 Marvel Comics series, set after the events of James Cameron‘s legendary sequel Aliens, and expanding the harrowing sci-fi horror world originated by Ridley Scott. Collider can offer an exclusive preview of the new mobile-friendly format for the terrifying story that will emerge on the platform at 8 p.m. ET.

The 2021 Alien comics, also known as Alien: Bloodlines, marked the Xenomorph’s Marvel debut and introduced readers to former Weyland-Yutani lifer Gabriel Cruz. After many years in service of the intergalactic organization, even surviving an attack from the alien itself, he’s finally retired and ready to focus on mending the broken relationship with his abandoned son, with help from an android modeled akin to Lance Henriksen‘s Bishop. Re-entering civilian life is harder than Gabriel expected, though, especially once he realizes that his tangles with the deadly Xenomorph are far from over. Even worse, he may only have one shot to save his son from suffering an attack from the extraterrestrial terror that Gabe was remarkably fortunate to escape alive.

Backing the chilling and personal new tale was 20th Century Studios, with Phillip Kennedy Johnson, an Eisner-nominated DC veteran who has worked on several Marvel titles and a 007 series from Dynamite Entertainment, penning the series. X-Men artist Salvador Larroca, meanwhile, created the look for the Alien comic. Our exclusive sneak peek finds Gabe trapped in a sticky situation with his co-worker, who was meant to be on vacation with a colleague. The dimly lit, dark blue setting, complete with a dead body and facehuggers, is already haunting enough until the Xenomorph itself approaches where the two men lie. Presumably, this is the attack that Gabriel was the sole survivor of, and the panic of his friend as the monster bears down upon them makes it all the more unnerving.

‘Alien’ Arrives on Webtoon at the Perfect Time for Fans

The goal of Disney and Webtoon’s massive collaboration was to bring the Mouse House’s war chest of IP, from Marvel to Star Wars and even their classic animated movies like Beauty and the Beast, to a new audience with reformats of existing stories and brand-new tales. There’s arguably never been a better time to get into Alien, with the franchise on a roll lately on both the big and small screens. Last year saw the premiere of Fede Álvarez‘s Alien: Romulus in theaters, the first film since Scott’s polarizing 2017 film Alien: Covenant, which earned rave reviews and a box office haul of over $350 million worldwide. A sequel is now on the way, albeit without the Evil Dead remake helmer at the wheel.

More recently, however, Noah Hawley has brought the Xenomorph to FX to similarly lofty praise with his series Alien: Earth. The show is currently in the middle of its first season, following a diverse group of survivors navigating a world forever altered when a mysterious spacecraft brings humanity’s greatest threat home. Their resilience is tested as they try to learn the motivation behind the invasion and rebuild a society left scrambling in the wake of disaster. Set before the events of the film that started it all, it also boasts a talented ensemble including Sydney Chandler, Timothy Olyphant, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, and Adarsh Gourav, bringing to life a different part of the Alien universe.

Alien (2021) is just one of roughly 100 stories based in the worlds of Disney that are set to hit WEBTOON over the next few years. It will be available through the company’s specified section on the English-language app starting tonight, September 12 at 8 p.m. ET. Check out the exclusive sneak peek in the gallery above.