While recent attempts to "see them aliens" at Area 51 flopped before they ever really got off the ground,the trilogy of crossovers that saw futuristic law man Judge Dredd take on Aliens, Predator and both of those simultaneously have enough over-the-top action to satisfy any alien fanatic.
Although all three of those franchises have had multiple comic book crossovers with various properties, they all take place in merciless, brutal worlds that mesh together surprisingly well. While these crossovers, especially Predator vs. Judge Dredd vs. Aliens, might seem like the comic book equivalent of putting a hat on a hat, Judge Dredd, the ultimate figure of law and order, makes for the perfect foil for these untamed forces of intergalactic lawlessness. Regardless of who you are or where you're from, you must adhere to the law.
Now, we're taking a look back at these three crossovers to see what went down in each of them and who ultimately one these brutal battles.
PREDATOR VS. JUDGE DREDD
Predator has declared open season on the Justice Department in 1997's Predator vs. Judge Dredd by John Wagner and Enrique Alcatena. After narrowly surviving a harpooning, Judge Dredd enlists Psi Division Judge Schaefer for backup as the Predator continues to claim other Judges' badges and helmeted spinal columns as trophies. In addition her psychokinetic Predator-tracking powers, Schaefer's great-great-grandfather was Dutch Schaefer. If that's not a tenuous enough connection to Predator for you, then you'll love Dredd ripping off his shirt for a knife fight with the Predator.
Incidentally, this Predator is kinda the worst. For example, moments away from using a Lawgiver on a captured Judge, the Predator passes a perception check, disabling the booby-trapped pistol. Although a Predator doesn't usually take prisoners or have a reason to know that a Lawgiver explodes if it isn't being used by its registered owner, the creature ultimately loses a hand when he tries to use Dredd's Lawgiver against him in the aforementioned shirtless knife fight. While the Predator is distracted by his smoldering stump, Dredd just stabs him. The defeated Predator slumps over, and this entire fiasco is never mentioned again.
JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS: INCUBUS
The mutant pirate Mr. Bones wants to conquer Mega-City One, undermining the cyberpunk metropolis with a Xenomorph horde in 2003's Judge Dredd vs. Aliens: Incubus by John Wagner, Andy Diggle and Henry Flint. Just like the films, the Alien threat grows exponentially, starting out with Dredd fighting an Alien in a maternity ward where a single shot can't be fired, ramping up to an all-out firefight in the heart of a hive.
Captured and impregnated by the Xenomorphs, Judges Dredd and Sanchez use what remaining time they have left to slay as many Aliens as possible. In addition to the newbie Judge Sanchez, a ragtag group of pest control specialists known as the Verminators and some ancient Robot Judges, Dredd uses every incendiary, armor-piercing and Hi-Ex round in his Lawgiver to get off of Mr. Bones' wild ride.
PREDATOR VS. JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS
After his genetically engineered manimal henchmen capture a Predator, genocidal geneticist Dr. Reinstöt uses the Predator's trophy collection to reverse-engineer a Xenomorph in 2017's Predator vs. Judge Dredd vs. Aliens by John Layman and Chris Mooneyham.
In addition to impregnating the captured Predator with a Facehugger to produce the quintessential Predator-Alien hybrid, Reinstöt uses mutagens to convert a captured Judge into a "Judge-Alien" hybrid, unleashing his mashup minions on Judge Dredd and the psychic Judge Anderson. At the last possible moment, the Judges are saved by a hunting party of Predators who had been tracking their captured friend's distress beacon.
With Anderson serving as a psychic translator, Dredd joins forces with the Predators to defeat Reinstöt's manimal-alien army. Victorious, Dredd tells the Predators to get off of Earth, declaring hunting season to be over.