Fire and Stone

Fire and Stone is a comic book series crossover set in the fictional universe of the Alien vs Predator franchise. It was first published by Dark Horse Comics in the Fall of 2014 and has been completely published.^[1]

Summary

The main storyline begins after the end of the Prometheus film and continues across different eras, such as that of Aliens, involving different characters from those seen in each film series. The comic series is divided in four mini-series related to each franchise. Each mini-series is composed of four issues. A final, double sized issue that gives closure to the main storyline was also produced.^[1]

Promotional image.

Plot

Fire and Stone - Aliens

Set concurrently around the same time as Aliens, the narrative begins prior to the arrival of the colonial marines as seen in the film, during the Xenomorph infestation of the Hadley's Hope colony on LV-426. As the Xenomorphs ravage the colony, engineer Derrick Russell and greenhouse specialist Genevieve Dione attempt to lead other colonists to safety. To do so, they seek to acquire transportation to evacuate survivors from the surface. The survivors enlist the help of Nolan Cale, a scavenger and pilot in possession of a small freighter known as the Onager. However, the Onager is only capable of short-range flights, imposing constraints on the survivors' escape plan. While the colonists board the freighter, Cale notices several xenomorphs that manage to stow away aboard one of the ship's cargo bulkheads. However, afraid of being marooned on LV-426 should he remain behind to decouple the infested cargo bulkhead, Cale abstains from informing the survivors and gives the all-clear for the ship to depart.

Because of the ship's limited flight range, the Onager lands on LV-223, a nearby planetoid within the same sector as LV-426. The survivors plan to hold out with the provisions aboard the ship and use a distress beacon to flag down rescue. However, the colonists inadvertently unlock the infested cargo bulkhead, and the concealed xenomorphs emerge, killing some of the survivors. Outmatched and helpless, the survivors are forced to abandon their supplies and flee into the nearby jungle.

Over the next several weeks, the group continues to traverse the surface of LV-223, constantly being pursued by the xenomorphs. As the survivors' numbers dwindle, Dione, becoming the group's self-appointed leader, urges that they erect defenses and frequently seek safety whenever possible. However, Cale dissents and insists that the remaining survivors mount an offensive to reclaim the supplies from the Onager and kill the Xenomorphs.

As Cale and Dione continue to bicker over the group's course of action, and the xenomorphs continue to whittle down the group's numbers, Russell becomes increasingly distant from the group affairs. Having stumbled upon a probe from the Prometheus expedition decades ago, Russell analyzes the data from the probe and finds that the current landscape of LV-223 has changed drastically from what it was at the time of the previous expedition. Russell deduces that the enigmatic black substance that the members of the Prometheus expedition encountered acted as a catalyst that expedited the evolution of the environment on the planet from a barren, rocky wasteland to a lush jungle setting. Russell also explores a crashed ship of the "Engineer" species encountered in the film, and finds a dormant Engineer in stasis, although much to his dismay, he is unable to wake it. Russell continues to compile his findings and stores notes and work in a cave situated within a mountain that the xenomorphs are wary of approaching. Although he reports his discoveries to the group, Russell's findings are dismissed as unimportant in comparison to the immediate goal of survival.

As the group endeavors to survive by scavenging for food, a few of the members on a fishing excursion at a lake are attacked by xenomorphs. One of the survivors, Luis, is dragged beneath the lake after a scuffle with a Xenomorph and in the process, both are fused together as one organism- a product of the black substance that Russell is investigating. After Cale kills the Luis-Xenomorph hybrid, Cale is unable to withstand his emotions of guilt and confesses to the group of his role in the group's dire situation, having failed to inform them during the escape from LV-426 of the presence of xenomorphs aboard the Onager. An enraged Dione berates him for his incompetence, but Cale vows to redeem himself by leading a group of survivors to attack the xenomorphs guarding the Onager and recovering the distress transmitter. Cale and his group ultimately fail in their attempt, and during the battle, he is exposed to the black substance.

The mutated Cale leads the xenomorphs back to the survivors' camp, where a massacre ensues as Dione and the last of the survivors are wiped out. Russell, now the sole remaining member of the group, continues to take refuge in his cave and focuses on his studies of the LV-223 environment. However, as the days pass, he becomes increasingly unstable and erratic from weeks of isolation, and a diagnosis from the probe reveals that he is afflicted with brain tumors. Russell also notes that the mutant Cale experiences conflict with the xenomorphs.

Russell buries the deceased members of the group, but is assaulted by Cale, whom Russell kills with a stake. The struggle attracts the attention of the xenomorphs, and as Russell attempts to flee, he becomes injured and is unable to reach his mountain hideout. With the xenomorphs poised for the kill, and a puddle of the black substance within reach, Russell reaches out, believing that it can save him. The narrative cuts off as the xenomorphs emit a roar, leaving Russell's fate unknown.

Background

Spanning four franchises, four different comic book series and five creative teams, Fire and Stone begins with writer Paul Tobin and artist Juan Ferreyra's Prometheus: Fire and Stone four issue mini-series.

Ahead of its launch, publisher Dark Horse Comics released a trailer for the series, showing writers Tobin and Kelly Sue DeConnick, who writes the final leg of the overall storyline, talking about the origins of the series.^[1]

The first issue of Prometheus: Fire and Stone was released in September 10, 2014.^[1] The complete collection was released on the 6th of September 2015.

Titles

• Prometheus: Fire and Stone (1-4)
• Aliens: Fire and Stone (1-4)
• Aliens vs Predator: Fire and Stone (1-4)
• Predator: Fire and Stone (1-4)
• Prometheus: Fire and Stone - Omega

Collected editions

Each of the titles' franchises, like Aliens, have been collected as a trade paperback.

All the titles' franchises have been collected together in one single trade paperback:

• Prometheus: The Complete Fire and Stone (Dark Horse Comics, 508 pages, 2015, ISBN 978-1-63008-445-5)

References

External links

• Official Fire and Stone Teaser Trailer
• Prometheus: Fire and Stone #1 Comic Preview
• Official Aliens vs Predator: Fire and Stone Teaser Trailer