Imperial's Impact: Reshaping Marvel's Cosmic Heroes

In 2025, Marvel is set to launch one of its most ambitious and expansive new comic book projects yet with Imperial, helmed by none other than Jonathan Hickman. Known for his transformative work on series like House of X and the new Ultimate Universe, Hickman's latest venture promises to redefine the landscape for Marvel's cosmic heroes, including Nova and the Guardians of the Galaxy. To delve deeper into what Imperial has in store, IGN conducted an exclusive email interview with Hickman, accompanied by a preview gallery below.

Marvel's Imperial #1 Preview Gallery

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The origins of Imperial stem from a desire to revisit and revitalize Marvel's cosmic universe. Hickman shared with IGN, "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."

The success of the new Ultimate line over the past two years has set a precedent for what Imperial aims to achieve. Hickman draws parallels between the two initiatives, noting, "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." However, he highlights a key difference: "Imperial 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 may evoke memories of the 2006 Annihilation crossover, Hickman clarifies that the two are distinct in nature. He explains, "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 builds on elements from Hickman’s previous work, such as the "Hunt for Xavier" crossover and the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda, he emphasizes that the series is not just a continuation of his past storylines. "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," Hickman notes. "Sure, there’s some of that in there, but not as much as some people might expect."

The series also marks a return to the cosmic realm for the Hulk family, revisiting the war-torn world of Sakaar from the 2006 Planet Hulk storyline. Hickman teases, "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."

The creative team for Imperial includes artists Federico Vicentini and Iban Coello, whose collaborative efforts are crucial given the series' compressed publishing schedule. Hickman praises their work, 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.