Warning! This article contains spoilers for Predator Vol. 2 #5With the recent release of Prey, new life has been breathed into the Predator franchise with Naru–the film’s protagonist–who has effectively become the face of that rejuvenation. Unfortunately, given the one-off nature of the movie, it seems as though Naru’s time in the spotlight has already come to an end–that is, unless the movies use a comic book plot point that would perfectly explain how Naru can return to the franchise.
2022’s Prey is the fifth installment in the Predator series (not counting AvP) and was met with immediate acclaim from both fans and critics alike–and the reason behind its success was that it went back to basics. The first Predator movie was successful because it was a classic story of human versus beast, set within the unforgiving landscape of a jungle with little hope of outside rescue for the main hero. Prey followed that formula to a tee, and even enhanced certain elements of it by having Naru literally use the Predator’s own weapon against it. The intelligence and ferocity exhibited by Naru was arguably unmatched by any of the other humans who faced a Predator throughout the franchise (especially when considering her limited resources and understanding of advanced technology given the time period in which this movie was set), and that’s exactly why she needs to make a comeback–and Marvel Comics just explained exactly how.
Naru Could Be Abducted by the Predators and Kept in Hypersleep
In Predator Vol. 2 #1 by Ed Brisson and Netho Diaz, a number of people are falling from the sky of an alien world with parachutes on their backs, not knowing where they are or how they got there. However, before they even have a chance to think, they are attacked by a gang of Predators the moment they land–and most of them meet a grisly end right then and there. However, the humans who did manage to survive gather together in a safe spot and discuss how they’re going to survive the alien hunters.
During the discussion, someone offhandedly mentions what year they think it is, and someone else quickly corrects them with what year they think it is, and so on. Within this group, one person thinks it is 1987, another thinks it’s 2022, and someone else thinks it’s as far into the future as 2050. The reason this is the case is that Predators have been collecting humans throughout history, seemingly with every hunting trip they take to Earth, and then storing those people in hypersleep until they are ready to hunt them on an off-world preserve.If the main goal of the Predator species was to hunt the very best of what humanity had to offer, and they collected the strongest people they could find with every trip to Earth they took, then it would only make sense that they’d want to hunt the person responsible for killing the first-known Predator on Earth.
Disregarding AvP continuity, Prey marks the earliest Yautja/human encounter in history (a milestone that was backed up in the last volume of Marvel Comics’ Predator). So, wouldn’t the Yautja be interested in hunting the first human who killed one of their own? And wouldn’t they want to do so on their terms this time, where they could study and control the hunt? The logical answer is yes, which is very exciting for the potential future of the franchise.Following the events of Prey, Naru could have been abducted by Predators who would then have trapped her in hypersleep, allowing Naru to come back as a time-displaced warrior from the past thrown into a technologically advanced future to continue doing what she’s already proven she can do: kill Predators–and the newest Predator comic outlines exactly how that can happen.Predator Vol. 2 #5 by Marvel Comics is available now.