Imperial's Impact: Reshaping Marvel's Cosmic Heroes

In 2025, Marvel is set to launch one of its most ambitious and expansive projects yet with Imperial, a new comic series masterminded by Jonathan Hickman. Known for his transformative work on House of X and the new Ultimate Universe, Hickman aims to redefine the cosmic landscape of the Marvel Universe, impacting characters like Nova and the Guardians of the Galaxy. To give fans a glimpse into this game-changing series, IGN had the opportunity to discuss Imperial with Hickman via email. Scroll through the exclusive preview gallery below and delve deeper into what this series has in store.

Marvel's Imperial #1 Preview Gallery

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The origins of Imperial stem from a perfect storm of timing and creative vision. "I think it was simply time to revisit this corner of the Marvel Universe," Hickman shared with IGN. His availability, ongoing interest from Marvel, and the successful model of the Ultimate line launch were key factors in shaping Imperial. "It's come together well and I think people are going to enjoy it. It's a fun book," Hickman added.

Drawing parallels between the Ultimate line and Imperial, Hickman sees similarities in the approach to success in the current market. "A small, tight line of books that readers can invest in and not feel overwhelmed, and where creators can execute their vision for the individual titles without drowning in external continuity seems to be a pretty solid model," he explained. However, he noted a key difference: Imperial is not set in an alternative universe, thus forgoing the 'real time' aspect of the Ultimate line.

When asked about similarities to the 2006 Annihilation crossover, Hickman was clear: "No. Simply because that's an invasion story and this isn't anything like that." Though the end result may be similar with a revitalized interest in Marvel's cosmic books, the plot and story of Imperial diverge significantly.

While Imperial builds on Hickman's previous Marvel projects, such as the "Hunt for Xavier" crossover, he emphasized that the series is not as heavily connected to his past work as one might think. "Well, I'm kind of notorious for mining my own continuity inside of the greater Marvel one, but I'd say well over half of this is more like me picking up pieces from a bunch of extended stories that have been done over the years by other creators," Hickman clarified.

The series also marks a return to the cosmic realm for the Hulk family, with Hulk and She-Hulk revisiting the wartorn world of Sakaar. This move is timed to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of the Planet Hulk storyline. "All I'll say there is we're coming up on the twentieth anniversary of Planet Hulk and Marvel doesn't usually let those opportunities pass by," Hickman teased.

The creative team behind Imperial includes artists Federico Vicentini and Iban Coello, who are working together to bring the series to life. "Both of those guys are crushing it," Hickman praised. "With the book having a compressed publishing schedule, the only way it could be done was for them to tag team it. The trick there is they have to complement each other and that's clearly the case here."

Imperial #1 is slated for release on June 4, 2025.