Imperial's Transformation of Marvel's Cosmic Heroes Unveiled

In 2025, Marvel Comics is set to launch one of its most ambitious and expansive projects yet with Imperial, a series crafted by the renowned Jonathan Hickman. Known for his transformative work on House of X and the new Ultimate Universe, Hickman is now poised to redefine the cosmic landscape of the Marvel Universe, bringing a new status quo to beloved characters such as Nova and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

To delve deeper into how Imperial plans to shake up the cosmic realm, IGN had the opportunity to discuss the project with Hickman via email. Below, you can find an exclusive preview in our slideshow gallery, followed by more insights from the creator himself.

Marvel's Imperial #1 Preview Gallery

View 8 Images

When asked about the origins of Imperial, Hickman explained that 2025 was the perfect time to reexamine Marvel's cosmic heroes. "I think it was simply time to revisit this corner of the Marvel Universe," he stated. "That I was available and interested, and that it’s been of ongoing interest to the company, and that the model of launching something like this had just been done with the Ultimate line, all added up to it feeling like this was an opportunity to do Imperial. It’s come together well and I think people are going to enjoy it. It’s a fun book."

The success of the new Ultimate line over the past two years has set a high bar, and there are evident parallels between that initiative and Imperial. Hickman shared his perspective on these similarities and what he learned from launching the Ultimate Universe that he's applying to this new project. "You can, in my opinion, draw a direct line between the two in terms of what we think can succeed with in the current market," he said. "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 of how to launch something like this."

He further noted a key difference: "The big difference, obviously, is that this isn’t set in an alternative Marvel Universe, so we won’t be doing the ‘real time’ aspect of the Ultimate line. Which has its pluses and minuses, but I think most people will be pleased about."

Comparisons to 2006's Annihilation crossover, which significantly altered the cosmic landscape and set the stage for the modern Guardians of the Galaxy, were also addressed. Hickman was clear in distinguishing Imperial from that storyline: "No. Simply because that’s an invasion story and this isn’t anything like that," he clarified. "The ‘what-you-get’ end results might be similar in that all of a sudden there are a bunch of Marvel cosmic books you care about. But plot/story-wise? No."

Elements of Imperial build on Hickman's previous Marvel endeavors, such as the "Hunt for Xavier" crossover in the X-Men line, which tied up loose ends from the Krakoan era and reintroduced former Shi'ar Empress Lilandra and Charles Xavier on a mission to rescue their daughter Xandra. The series also features the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda, first hinted at in 2015's Secret Wars and further developed in Ta-Nehisi Coates' Black Panther series. Despite these connections, Hickman emphasized that Imperial isn't as tightly linked to his past works as one might assume: "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 than me just picking up plot threads from my previous books," he explained. "Sure, there’s some of that in there, but not as much as some people might expect."

Furthermore, Imperial is set to explore the cosmic side of the Hulk family, with Hulk and She-Hulk returning to the war-torn planet of Sakaar, reminiscent of the iconic Planet Hulk storyline from 2006. Hickman hinted at the timing of this return: "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."

Lastly, Hickman touched on the decision to split the artistic duties of Imperial between Federico Vicentini and Iban Coello. He praised their contributions: "Both of those guys are crushing it," he said. "I’ve been very pleased and surprised at how they’ve tackled some of the story beats, character designs, and wild locations this thing has. And with the book having a compressed publishing schedule (we actually moved it forward at the beginning of the year), 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.