Imperial is easily one of Marvel’s biggest and most ambitious new comic book projects in 2025. This series is the latest major project from Jonathan Hickman, the architect behind game-changing Marvel storylines like House of X and the new Ultimate Universe. And just as those projects revamped their respective franchises, Imperial is shaping up to create a whole new status quo for Marvel’s cosmic heroes like Nova and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
To get a better idea of how Imperial will upend the cosmic playing board, IGN chatted with Hickman via email. Check out an exclusive preview in the slideshow gallery below, and then read on to learn more.
To start, we wanted to know about the origins of Imperial. Was this a story Hickman was itching to tell, or did Marvel specifically approach him with an eye toward replicating the past success of Krakoa and Ultimate Invasion? As Hickman explains, 2025 was the right time to look at Marvel’s cosmic lineup with a fresh eye.
“I think it was simply time to revisit this corner of the Marvel Universe,” Hickman tells IGN. “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 new Ultimate line has been a big success for Marvel over the past two years, and there are some obvious comparisons to be made in terms of how Imperial is being used as the foundation for a new line of cosmic books. We were curious how similar Hickman sees this initiative? Are there any lessons from launching the Ultimate Universe that he’s taking into Imperial?
“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,” Hickman says. “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.”
Hickman continues, “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.”
Imperial also brings to mind 2006’s Annihilation crossover, another major storyline that ended with a huge status quo shift for Marvel’s cosmic heroes and an overall shift in the balance of power. In fact, Annihilation paved the way for the modern Guardians of the Galaxy as we know them. Does Hickman see any similarities between Annihilation and Imperial?
“No. Simply because that’s an invasion story and this isn’t anything like that,” Hickman says. “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 are clearly building on Hickman’s previous Marvel work. For example, the recent “Hunt for Xavier” crossover in the X-Men line tackled a loose end from the Krakoan era. It set the stage for Imperial by resurrecting the former Shi’ar Empress Lilandra and reuniting her with the fugitive Charles Xavier, as the two embark to rescue their daughter Xandra. Imperial also features the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda, an element first teased in 2015’s Secret Wars before going on to play a role in Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther series.
Despite these callbacks to his previous work, Hickman reveals that Imperial isn’t necessarily as connected to those books as it might seem.
“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 says. “Sure, there’s some of that in there, but not as much as some people might expect.”
Imperial is also notable for pushing the Hulk family in a more cosmic-oriented direction again. The preview art makes it clear that Hulk and She-Hulk are returning to the wartorn world of Sakaar, hearkening back to 2006’s seminal Planet Hulk storyline. Hickman makes it clear that this is no coincidence, and that there’s a good reason to return to Sakaar in 2025.
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.”
Finally, we asked Hickman about the decision to divide the series between artists Federico Vicentini and Iban Coello. How is the creative team you trying to take advantage of having two artists bringing this conflict to life?
“Both of those guys are crushing it,” Hickman says. “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 will be released on June 4, 2025.
For more on the world of comics, find out what you should read in this year’s FCBD lineup, and check out our exclusive interview with the writers of TMNT: The Last Ronin II.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
