The Creators – Benjamin Percy – Writer, Marcelo Ferriera & Daniel Picciotto – Artists, Jay Lesten & Daniel Picciotto – Inkers, Frank D’Armata – Colours, Clayton Cowles – Letters

The Players – Guardians of the Galaxy, Predators, Kraven the Hunter, Dr. Cornelius, Predator X, Graveyard, Fantastic Four

The Story – It is all in the title.

The Take – Knowing that this series will be potentially shocking is one thing. Reading about it is one thing, but seeing it is something else entirely—and it’s nothing short of surprising. Benjamin Percy, Marcelo Ferriera and Daniel Picciotto start their book off with a bang as the Guardians of the Galaxy answer a distress call. Suffice it to say, it was a trap, and they were killed most gruesomely. These first scenes do not pull any punches, and it is quite jarring to see such fan-favourite characters mutilated in such a way. It also gives readers a clearer idea of what they can expect as the series progresses. When Percy says Predator Kills the Marvel Universe, he is not fooling around.

The middle portion of the book is filled with introductions to some of the players that may or may not be making their way to the end of the story. This includes Kraven, who is now honoured among the Predators, as well as a couple of notable Predators who will most likely do a bunch of the killing going forward. One of the more interesting aspects of the book is that it continues from the previous Predator miniseries, which featured Wolverine, Black Panther and Spider-Man.  Thankfully, one does not necessarily need to read those books to understand this one. Percy explains everything a person needs to know as events unfold, doing so by providing backstory, characterization, and enough action to satisfy those who came to see just that. The artwork is fairly solid, and while the story pulls no punches, neither do the pencils. Seeing Star-Lord’s chest blown out through his backside, as one example, is brutal and gives the reader pause, partly in disbelief and secondly, to just take in all that has happened through those images on the page. While the book ends both on a cliffhanger and in tragedy, one has to know exactly where it is going. The title says it all. Despite the reader thinking that the Fantastic Four will pull off another win or that the Avengers will show up to save the day, Percy does not make it that easy. There are no rules currently, at least none that most Marvel books follow, thus making this story Percy and company are telling highly exciting. While it might be slightly cruel to say, waiting to see who gets it next makes it all the better.

Worth It? – Yes.