Imperial: A New Era for Marvel's Cosmic Heroes

In 2025, Marvel is set to launch one of its most ambitious and expansive comic book projects yet: Imperial. Spearheaded by the visionary writer Jonathan Hickman, known for groundbreaking series like House of X and the new Ultimate Universe, Imperial promises to redefine the landscape for Marvel's cosmic heroes, including Nova and the Guardians of the Galaxy. This series aims to establish a new status quo, much like Hickman's previous projects transformed their respective universes.

To delve deeper into how Imperial will shake up the cosmic realm, IGN had an exclusive email conversation with Hickman. Below, you can explore a preview gallery of Imperial #1 before diving into the details of this exciting new venture.

Marvel's Imperial #1 Preview Gallery

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The genesis of Imperial stems from a timely opportunity to refresh Marvel's cosmic sector. Hickman shares, "I think it was simply time to revisit this corner of the Marvel Universe. 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."

Drawing parallels with the successful new Ultimate line, Imperial is poised to serve as the cornerstone for a new series of cosmic books. When asked about the similarities and lessons learned from the Ultimate Universe launch, Hickman responds, "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. 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 elaborates, "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."

While Imperial evokes memories of the 2006 Annihilation crossover, which reshaped the cosmic Marvel landscape and introduced the modern Guardians of the Galaxy, Hickman clarifies, "No. Simply because that's an invasion story and this isn't anything like that. 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."

Although Imperial incorporates elements from Hickman's past works, such as the resurrection of Shi'ar Empress Lilandra and the introduction of the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda, he emphasizes that the new series isn't heavily reliant on his previous narratives. "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. Sure, there's some of that in there, but not as much as some people might expect."

Imperial also marks a return to cosmic storytelling for the Hulk family, with the preview art showcasing Hulk and She-Hulk revisiting the war-torn planet Sakaar. This move coincides with the twentieth anniversary of the Planet Hulk storyline, a milestone Hickman hints Marvel wouldn't let pass without acknowledgment. "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."

Finally, the creative process behind Imperial involves a dual-artist approach, with Federico Vicentini and Iban Coello sharing duties. Hickman praises their collaboration, saying, "Both of those guys are crushing it. 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.