Riverdale’s latest twist is pitting Archie and his friends against Hollywood’s favorite alien hunter: The Predator. The comic book titled Archie vs. Predator 2 is set to launch on July 24th, and is guaranteed to make every other Riverdale threat The CW can come up with pale in comparison.
The five-issue series is a sequel to Archie vs. Predator, a crossover comic that was released in 2015. Alex de Campi, the writer of the previous installment, will be returning for the upcoming sequel along with Chilling Adventures of Sabrina artist Robert Hack. The story will continue on from where the previous comic left off, but is said to have a funny meta-commentary on corporate franchise reboots. Considering both Archie and The Predator have already been rebooted in film, comics, and television, they’ll have plenty to discuss… assuming they don’t kill eachother first.
In an interview with THR, Alex de Campi reassured readers that it is “massively important to me that both Archie and Predator fans feel like I’m handling their babies with love and respect and knowledge.” Though each comic is steeped in its usual humor and drama expected from a Riverdale story, there will be scares and violence aplenty to satisfy Predator fans. Robert Hack voiced his own excitement, saying “there’s so much to love about playing in this iconic universe,” and that creating art for a series like this “appeals to that subversive streak in me that wants to take the humor and the horror just that little bit too far.”
Archie Comics have enjoyed some crazy stories and heightened teenage drama, which makes adding in a character like The Predator an exciting twist for their occasionally all-too-safe universe. Archie vs. Predator 2 will find Betty and Veronica at the forefront attempting to rescue their friends from the galaxy’s most vicious hunters. The series hasn’t held anything back when it comes to dismantling the safety net surrounding Riverdale. Both de Campi and Hack have ruthlessly killed off characters both old and new in the series’ previous installment, with the hopes of attracting more fans by bringing something new and out-of-this-world to the table.
Archie’s dependable and safe storyline in the comic books has proven to be an incredibly successful one since its initial release in 1941. His motley crew of friends, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead, have continued to garner attention with the release of Riverdale on the CW in 2017. Sabrina Spellman, another frequent friend of Archie’s in the comics, has also seen a very successful adaptation on Netflix with The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. All of these takes on the teenagers of Riverdale, and its neighboring city Greendale, have shown that these memorable characters are easy to like and can tackle even Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.
The success of Riverdale has shown that fans will watch these familiar faces in far darker situations than what is featured in the comic books. Creators have taken these characters’ stories in plenty of wild and different directions, from solving murder mysteries to preventing their fellow students from being indoctrinated into a cult to signing Satan’s book for their dark baptism. Despite its ridiculous storyline, the addition of The Predator into the series is one that’s proven successful due to how well it managed to blend the series’ different tones. Riverdale’s stories have no limits, and Archie vs. Predator 2 is a wild ride that fans of any genre can appreciate.
More: Biggest Changes Riverdale Made From Archie Comics
Header Art by Fernando Ruiz
Source: THR
