This April Marvel Comics will release a new Planet of the Apes comic that will reveal the movie trilogy’s secret war. One of the most popular franchises in science fiction history, the Planet of the Apes films have thrilled audiences for more than 50 years. Now, with the next entry in the series on the horizon, Marvel is releasing a brand-new, ongoing Planet of the Apes comic, one promising to fill in the gaps left behind by the movie trilogy.
An announcement on Marvel’s website provides a first look at the series, which will be written by David F. Walker and illustrated by Dave Wachter. Picking up where 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes left off, the comic series will debut with an arc titled "Devolution." The series begins with the ALZ-113 virus, which gives the apes their intelligence, is running rampant across Earth. The humans scramble to find a cure, but more desperate factions see the writing is on the wall for humanity, and decide to lash out at the apes. Some humans, such as Peacekeeper Juliana Tobon, try to make a stand, but humanity’s violent nature may prevail.
Marvel Takes Readers Back to the Planet of the Apes
The Planet of the Apes series sprung from the mind of French writer Pierre Boulle, who published the novel La Planete des Singes in 1963. Translated into English as Planet of the Apes, 20th Century Fox adapted the novel to film in 1968. Co-written by the Twilight Zone’s Rod Serling and starring Charlton Heston, the film was a hit with audiences and would spawn four sequels and a TV show. Tim Burton released a lackluster reboot in 2001; another reboot, in 2011, proved to be a success, launching a new trilogy of Planet of the Apes films that showed the downfall of humans and the rise of the apes. Disney now owns the film rights and has announced a new movie, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, that will debut in 2024. The franchise has a long history in comics as well–Marvel published the first Planet of the Apes comics in the mid-1970s.
Now, Planet of the Apes returns to Marvel Comics, to tell the story of humanity’s final war against the apes. When Rise of the Planet of the Apes ended, civilization was still intact, but the apes were now intelligent. The second film, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes picked up years later, and everything had fallen apart, with humans living hardscrabble existences while the apes slowly come together to form their own world. Marvel’s new Planet of the Apes series will show the breakdown of human society, and promises the apes will learn “the depths of human cruelty.” The new series fleshes out an integral part of the mythos, but one never seen until now.
The new Planet of the Apes series will continue a proud tradition. As stated earlier, Marvel Comics published the first comics based on the movies in the 1970s, giving fans new adventures in this amazing world. David F. Walker and Dave Wachter are now using the comics to tell one of the most important stories in the Planet of the Apes franchise.
Planet of the Apes #1 will be available from Marvel Comics on April 5.
Source: Marvel.com