Marvel’s 10 Best Comic Covers Featuring Alien’s Xenomorphs

The Xenomorphs of the Alien franchise have ingrained themselves deep into popular culture, thanks to the quality of their debut film and instantly iconic designs. This has led to these nightmarish creatures popping up everywhere—from merchandising to crossovers to, of course, comic content.

Alien is no stranger to comics, with the series finding longevity in the medium since 1979. This has culminated in Marvel’s ownership of the comic rights to this series, leading to series and crossover events with the fearsome creatures, from Alien: Bloodline to Alien vs. Avengers. Regardless of the title, each comes with several excellent variant covers done by many artists.

10 Alien vs. Avengers #1

While Marvel and Alien have crossed over before in the 2021 Marvel vs. Alien variant cover line, Alien vs. Avengers is the first time both worlds are officially set to clash in the pages of a comic. A 4-part sci-fi epic done by comic legends Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić, Alien vs. Avengers is set in a new timeline far ahead in Marvel’s future— a promising setup that could lead to plenty of devastation for the leading heroes.

The cover for the first issue would be nothing remarkable if not for Ribić’s impeccable skill regarding rendering and color. He makes the sleek metal of Iron Man’s suit bounce off the page and the blues on Captains America and Marvel as warm as the rest of their palettes— a stark highlight to the unfeeling cold of the Xenomorph behind them. While the cover doesn’t tell us much of the approaching story, it’s expertly done all the same.

9 Alien vs. Avengers #2

The second issue of Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić’s Alien vs. Avengers crossover promises a dark turn of events for the series. The Xenomorphs have overwhelmed Earth. Many heroes have been changed, killed, and/or wounded, with the survivors having fled the planet to avenge those gone.

This cover, once again painted by Esad Ribić in his masterful style, shows us the changes these heroes have gone through. Not just in the fact they are much older than usual in this world, but during the invasion of the Xenomorphs as well. Miles Morales is older and has replaced Peter Parker as Spider-Man, age is visible on Captain Marvel and the Hulk, and the remaining heroes have new suits to brace against the dangers of the beyond. The cover presents an interesting new circumstance for our heroes, with danger lurking in the background.

8 Alien #2 (2023)

Marvel’s latest continuation of their Alien comic series, Alien: Descendant continued the stories of characters like Dayton and Zasha Zahn from 2023’s Alien: Thaw. The setting was that of an icy, arctic moon with all sorts of Xenomorphs buried in the ice, even introducing new variants of the iconic species. It even shared some surface-level similarities with John Carpenter’s The Thing, with a similar setting and a cast of characters trapped with one another vying for rescue and escape.

This cover, drawn by Javier Fernández, is memorable in its simplicity and clear visual storytelling. The character Zasha Zahn is dragging the disembodied corpse of a Xenomorph away, with its green blood staining the white snow. The task highlights some degree of skill in Zasha, as it is rare for a mere human to defeat a Xenomorph so brutally and live to tell the tale.

7 Fantastic Four #28 (2018)

The Fantastic Four are no strangers to the wonder and horrors that reside in the bounds of other worlds, as Marvel’s first family has defined their superheroic career exploring them. It’s no surprise, then, that they were selected for 2021’s Marvel vs. Alien line of variant covers. Marvel’s First Family was thrown into battle with a formidable Xenomorph Queen.

The cover by Joshua Cassara and Rachelle Rosenberg was a fun and bright homage to the cover of the team’s first appearance in Fantastic Four #1, a humorous choice when combined with a fearsome Xenomorph Queen. The team’s actions and dynamics are also recontextualized in this cover— they’re dressed in their then-modern uniforms instead of civilian attire with an updated logo to match, and taking an active role in fighting the focal monster of the scene instead of simply reacting to it.

6 Alien #6 (2022)

One of Marvel’s first published works with the Alien franchise, the 2022 series retroactively named Alien: Icarus was the end to a three-part saga initiated by Alien: Bloodlines, the beginning of Marvel’s time with the franchise. The book followed a cast of synthetic humans battling against the extinction of mankind, collectively known as the Steel Team.

The series was presented with detailed covers by Björn Barends. Each cover looked incredibly photorealistic, as if they were constructed from 3D models or even photobashed. The covers brought the terror of the Xenomorphs alive, with the sixth issue of the series as the artistic peak of the collection. The creatures stand triumphant above the remains of the Steel Team as if they’re about to pounce on their prey— but the real focus of this cover is what looks like a Xenomorph and human hybrid, a fearsome-looking beast teased at the end of the issue.

5 Alien #6 (2022)

Alien: Icarus was a memorable conclusion to the original trilogy of Marvel’s Alien comics. It played with the ideas of synthetic humans and modified human/Xenomorph hybrids—the latter a truly scary idea that has yet to be expanded upon in depth.

While simple, the minimalism of this variant cover by David Harren is striking all the same. The use of negative space makes the focal points of the piece pop out, seemingly depicting a Xenomorph’s life cycle. The creature’s eggs provide a base for it to perch on, like a throne, while also evoking the imagery of skulls. A Facehugger quietly crawls along the side but doesn’t detract from the Xenomorph itself. The alien reigns supreme in a pose that is angular and contorted, a true sight offsetting to any viewer.

4 Guardians of the Galaxy #10 (2020)

The Guardians of the Galaxy have faced many alien creatures of the nastier variety over the years, and this cover depicts a scene no different from a normal adventure for the team— though it actually seems preferable to their encounter with the cosmic horrors of Knull’s army that occurred in the issue itself.

Pepe Larraz’s cover depicts a scene of Rocket Racoon and Groot staring at a Xenomorph Queen in terror, having stumbled into her den of Ovomorphs— the term for eggs of the Xenomorphs in the Alien franchise— presumably about to hatch into a swarm of Facehuggers. The scene feels like it’s out of a sequence with the monster collector Lady Hellbender in 2021’s Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy game, with the team ready to face off against one of her many prize beasts.

3 Aliens: What If…? #1 (2024)

One of Marvel’s most recent forays into the Alien franchise, this series combines the terror of the 1986 film Aliens with Marvel’s iconic What If…? line of comics. The series set out to answer a question asked for decades— what if the detestable Carter Burke survived the events of the film, able to escape and save his skin?

The comic felt less like a What If…? that drastically changed the series of events of the story and more like a grounded spinoff that could have legitimately taken place. Despite this, the cover by Skottie Young was still in his dynamic and classic cartoonish style, which feels like a cute throwback to classic What If…? tales, just as out there and full of charm. The Xenomorphs look almost like mischievous dogs chasing after Burke, their “tongues” lolling with toothy grins to match.

2 Alien #1 (2023)

The first of two Alien series to be released in 2023, Alien: Thaw followed a new saga set in the universe after the events of the previous trilogy comprised of Alien: Bloodlines, Alien: Revival, and Alien: Icarus. The Xenomorphs buried in ice, slowly awakening with new variants among them, were an ever-terrifying threat in a distinctly unique setting for the franchise.

The miniseries focused on the Zahn family among a group of soldiers and scientists trying to survive the onslaught of deadly Xenomorphs able to thrive in the treacherous terrain. Alex Maleev’s cover for the issue is nothing short of haunting; the sickly colors used perfectly render a Xenomorph in disgusting detail. With the creature placed in a horrifying position over a cradle, one can only assume that the Zahn family will be torn apart in the ensuing carnage.

1 Captain Marvel #25 (2019)

Ellen Ripley and Carol Danvers are characters with a fair bit of overlap. 2019’s Captain Marvel film takes some aesthetic inspiration from Alien for its interpretation of the title superheroine. Both characters are independent and resourceful underdogs who draw upon their internal power while also having a fondness for orange cats.

One of the final pieces released for the 2021 Marvel vs. Alien variant cover line, Jamie McKelvie’s contribution to the initiative was quite memorable. Bathed in cool blues to create a sterile, eerie atmosphere, the cover is a charming reference to the Alien franchise’s most popular character. With Captain Marvel dressed similarly to Ripley and holding her precious pet cat while hiding from a clear danger, the cover was a beautifully composed homage that blended the best of Alien and Marvel’s worlds.