View source for WildC.A.T.s/Aliens

{{Infobox comic book title <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics--> 
<!-- |title               = --> 
|image               = WildCATS Aliens cover.jpg
|imagesize           = <!-- default 250 -->
|caption             = {{Descript-cvr|WildC.A.T.S/Aliens|||August 1998|art=[[Gil Kane]], inks by [[Kevin Nowlan]]}}
|1shot               = Y
|Crossover           = y
|SciFi               = first
|Superhero           = y
|multigenre          = y
|publisher           = [[Image Comics]]<br />[[Dark Horse Comics]]
|startmo             = August
|startyr             = 1998
|main_char_team      = [[Wildcats (comics)|WildC.A.T.S]]<br />[[Alien (creature in Alien franchise)|Aliens]]
|writers             = [[Warren Ellis]]
|artists             = 
|pencillers          = [[Chris Sprouse]]
|inkers              = [[Kevin Nowlan]]
|letterers           = [[Bill Oakley (artist)|Bill Oakley]]
|colorists           = [[Laura Martin|Laura DePuy]]
|editors             = [[Scott Dunbier]]
|creative_team_month = 
|creative_team_year  = 
|creators            = 
|TPB                 = Stormwatch: Final Orbit
|ISBN                = 1-56389-788-1
|TPB#                = 
|ISBN#               = 
|subcat              = Wildstorm Publications
|altcat              = 
|sort                = WildC.A.T.s/Aliens
|addpubcat1          = Dark Horse Comics titles
}}
'''''WildC.A.T.S/Aliens''''' was a [[one-shot (comics)|one-shot]] [[comic book]] and [[intercompany crossover]] event, published by [[Wildstorm]] (while still part of [[Image Comics]]) and [[Dark Horse Comics]] in [[1998 in comics|1998]]. The comic was written by [[Warren Ellis]], pencilled by [[Chris Sprouse]], with [[Kevin Nowlan]] inking and [[Laura Depuy]] as the colorist.

==Overview==

The story is set between the events of ''[[Stormwatch (comics)|Stormwatch]]'' vol 2 #10 and #11, and between ''[[Wildcats (comics)|WildC.A.T.S]]'' vol. 1 and vol. 2, and depicts the events which led up to the disbanding of Stormwatch and the formation of [[The Authority (comics)|the Authority]].

When the idea for the crossover was explained to him Warren Ellis was not enthusiastic; he kept telling them he thought the idea was "Bloody stupid" but was won around when "he was told that he could kill any character he wanted".<ref>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=76010 Recapping an evening with Warren Ellis @ Heroes Con 06], [[Newsarama]], July 6, 2006</ref> It was this free hand that allowed him to clear the decks and launch a new superhero team with his own characters (the exception being Swift), [[The Authority (comics)|the Authority]].<ref>[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/04/08/top-100-comic-book-runs-85-81/ Top 100 Comic Book Runs #85-81], [[Comic Book Resources]], April 8th, 2008</ref> [[Scott Dunbier]], the editor in charge at the time, explained the thinking behind this: "One of my goals was that this should be a book with lasting effects, unlike the usual cross-company epics that come and go and mean nothing. Since Warren Ellis was wrapping up his run on ''Stormwatch'', before diving into ''The Authority'', I thought it would be an interesting idea to kill off a large portion of the remaining Stormwatch characters, the ones that wouldn’t be moving on to the new book."<ref>[http://scottdunbier.blogspot.com/2007/10/only-real-drawback.html The Only Real Drawback], October 16, 2007</ref>

==Plot==

The story opens with a Stormwatch escape pod, containing a scarred Flint, crash landing in New York City. The resulting rescue, retrieval, and debriefing are witnessed by [[Grifter (comics)|Grifter]] and [[Void (comics)|Void]]. Upon hearing Flint's description of the aliens, Grifter mistakenly believes the creatures to be Daemonite and quickly gathers up the original WildC.A.T.S team (sans [[Voodoo (Wildstorm)|Voodoo]]) for a rescue mission to the Stormwatch space station, Skywatch.

Void teleports the team to the station where they quickly uncover a video log and security tapes depicting the events that led up to the alien attack. A mysterious asteroid was passing nearby and a Stormwatch science team was dispatched to take surface samples and to plant explosives that redirect it into the sun. Skywatch lost contact with the team but their ships automatically returned to Skywatch. They quickly found themselves out of their depths and dealing with an unknown [[Alien (creature in Alien franchise)|Xenomorph]]. The Aliens ripped through the stations, slaughtering and infecting the majority of the crew. The Stormwatch superhuman team attempted to fight them off but were ultimately wiped out, yet there were indications of a small group of survivors hidden away on the satellite.

After watching the footage, the WildC.A.T.S continue to look for the survivors, eventually finding them hidden in their cryogenic lockdown section. The survivors included [[Battalion (Wildstorm)|Jackson King]], Christine Trelane, [[Winter (comics)|Winter]], and 96 crew members. With the help of Void, most of the crew and all of the WildC.A.T.S escaped, injured but alive. Winter, however, stayed behind to pilot the station into the sun, ensuring that the Xenomorphs were not able to spread to the Earth.

==Aftermath==

The dead Stormwatch members were [[Fuji (comics)|Fuji]], [[Hellstrike]], and [[Fahrenheit (comics)|Fahrenheit]]. [[Winter (comics)|Winter]] was believed dead at the time of the crossover, but later returned in an ''[[The Authority (comics)|Authority]]'' one-shot, ''[[The Authority (comics)|Scorched Earth]]''. Winter's energy absorbing powers had allowed him to survive in the sun, but he had been driven mad and all [[Doctor (Wildstorm)|the Doctor]] could do was imprison him there. Following Worldstorm's "reboot" of the Wildstorm Universe, the deceased members are seen back in active service, most obviously Fahrenheit who, after losing her powers, joins [[Stormwatch: Post Human Division]]. [[Christos Gage]], the writer of that series, explained that the subtle changes in the post-Worldstorm Wildstorm Universe may have allowed a solution to the problem to be found, which was helped by a new Doctor—one without drug problems. The background to this is given in ''Stormwatch: PHD'' #5, according to Gage, "Whatever the cause, the new Doctor was able to restore Winter to human form, and as we saw, the other characters were linked to him on a quantum level, held in stasis in a pocket dimension, so they came back as well.".<ref>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=107384 Christos Gage on Stormwatch #5's reveals and secrets], [[Newsarama]], April 2, 2007</ref>

Stormwatch Black ([[Jenny Sparks]], [[Jack Hawksmoor]] and [[Swift (character)|Swift]]) were not on board the station and made no appearances during the crossover. They would go on to form the core of the new team: [[The Authority (comics)|the Authority]].

==Collected editions==
The issue was a one-shot but has been collected in a [[trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]]:
*''Stormwatch: Final Orbit'' (includes ''Stormwatch'' vol. 2 #10-11 and ''WildC.A.T.s/Aliens'', {{ISBN|1-56389-788-1}})
*''DC Comics/Dark Horse Comics: Aliens'' (includes ''WildC.A.T.s/Aliens'', {{ISBN|978-1-4012-6636-3}})

==See also==
*"Change or Die", the storyline that ended the first series of ''Stormwatch''

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*{{gcdb series|id=6087|title=''WildC.A.T.s/Aliens''}}
*{{comicbookdb|type=issue|id=29731|title=''WildC.A.T.s/Aliens''}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://www.starland.com/sus/1999/sus990224.html#WildC.A.T.S/Aliens%20#1 Review of the one shot]
*[http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/99964040567155.htm Review of ''Final Orbit''], [[Comics Bulletin]]

{{Warren Ellis}}
{{WildCATs}}
{{Alien (franchise)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:WildC.A.T.s Aliens}}
[[Category:Alien (franchise) comics]]
[[Category:Comics by Warren Ellis]]
[[Category:Intercompany crossovers]]
[[Category:Wildcats (comics)]]