Alien vs. Captain America: Marvel Comic Overview

Alien vs. Captain America was a Marvel crossover comic that sent Steve Rogers into battle against the Xenomorph species during World War II. Written by Frank Tieri and illustrated by Stefano Raffaele, the four-issue limited series followed Hydra's attempt to weaponize Aliens after Baron Strucker discovered a chamber of Xenomorph eggs beneath the Himalayas. The story turned Captain America, Bucky Barnes, and the Howling Commandos into humanity's first line of defense against a hidden hive and its deadliest creation, the Red King Xenomorph.

Comic Overview

A map of Normandy targeted by Operation Red King

Alien vs. Captain America was Marvel's second major Alien superhero crossover after Aliens vs. Avengers, following the earlier alternate-timeline series Aliens: What If?. It was published from November 2025 through February 2026 and followed the same licensed 20th Century Studios imprint as Marvel's other Alien and Predator comics. Where AVA took place in a far-future apocalypse, this series went in the opposite direction and placed the franchise inside Captain America's classic World War II adventures.

Tieri pitched the story as a period horror-war comic that could combine Cap versus the Red Skull, Baron Strucker's search for Attilan, Bucky with the Howling Commandos, and Hydra turning Xenomorphs into battlefield weapons. Raffaele's art emphasized claustrophobic hive horror inside occupied France, while Leinil Francis Yu provided the main cover image showing Captain America surrounded by Aliens. The comic also introduced a particularly unusual Xenomorph hybrid in modern Alien lore when the Red Skull merged with a Xenomorph Queen and became the Red King.

Plot Summary

The story began during World War II, when Hydra searched for a new weapon that could break the Allied war effort. The Red Skull sent Baron Strucker into the ruins beneath Attilan in the Himalayas, hoping to find the Inhumans. Instead, Strucker discovered a chamber filled with Alien eggs. He brought a captured Facehugger back to Hydra, where Arnim Zola helped raise the resulting Xenomorphs inside a secret facility in occupied France.

Hydra used Allied prisoners and civilians as hosts, building a hidden hive that could produce more eggs, more specimens, and eventually a deployable alien army. Captain America and Bucky Barnes investigated Hydra activity alongside the Howling Commandos, eventually pushing behind enemy lines to free captured allies and uncover the scope of the project. What they found was far worse than a normal Hydra weapons program: a living Xenomorph Queen kept alive so she could supply Red Skull's growing army.

Red Skull's breakthrough came when he merged himself with the Queen, transforming into the Red King. The hybrid retained the Queen's size, claws, tail, and inner jaw, but his head carried the red skull-like features of Johann Schmidt. He also kept the ability to release the Dust of Death and gained direct command over every Xenomorph under his control. Hydra then launched Operation Red King, using the aliens as a diversion while preparing a strike against the Allied landing at Normandy.

The Red King's Xenomorph army assembled for Operation Red King

On June 6, 1944, the Red King's army attacked during the D-Day invasion. Xenomorphs tore through soldiers on the beach while Kree forces and Captain Mar-Vell helped hold the line. Captain America, Bucky, and Mar-Vell entered the Hydra stronghold for the final confrontation. Mar-Vell used a mind-control device created by the Supreme Intelligence to force the Red King to order his hive to die. When the Red King retaliated by blasting Mar-Vell with the Dust of Death, Captain America ended the battle by decapitating the monster with his shield.

The Red King Xenomorph fighting Captain America and Captain Mar-Vell

Key Characters

Steve Rogers / Captain America - The World War II hero who led the fight against Hydra's Xenomorph weapons program.
Bucky Barnes - Captain America's partner, who fought alongside the Howling Commandos during the investigation.
Red King Xenomorph - The Red Skull after merging with a Xenomorph Queen and taking command of Hydra's alien army.
Baron Strucker - The Hydra commander who discovered the Xenomorph eggs beneath Attilan.
Arnim Zola - The Hydra scientist who helped raise and monitor the hive inside occupied France.
Captain Mar-Vell - The Kree hero whose intervention proved crucial during the Normandy battle and final fight.
The Howling Commandos - Nick Fury's unit, who joined Cap and Bucky behind enemy lines.

Timeline And Canon

Alien vs. Captain America belonged to Marvel's non-canon Alien crossover continuity rather than the main Alien film timeline. It did not connect to the events of Alien, Aliens, or the Dark Horse Xenomorph infestations on Earth, but it did reuse core franchise elements such as eggs, Facehuggers, hive warfare, and Queen biology. Within Marvel's licensed crossover line, it followed Aliens vs. Avengers and showed how Disney continued pairing classic Marvel heroes with the Alien franchise after the Fox acquisition.

Legacy

The comic stands out as a memorable modern entry in Alien crossover history because it treated the Xenomorphs like a World War II super-weapon rather than a sci-fi horror outbreak. Operation Red King gave the franchise a directed alien army with a villainous hive mind, while the Red King himself ranks among the strangest hybrids in either Marvel or Alien lore. For readers who wanted a tighter, more self-contained follow-up to AVA, Alien vs. Captain America delivered a brutal period story where Cap's shield was finally matched against the perfect organism.