The new four-issue series Beware the Planet of the Apes may be the most important read for fans of the franchise yet, delivering a prequel to the original film. As a fan of the various films, it’s exciting to see Marvel deliver something new, adding context to the universe rather than redo the movies, and for the most part, this opening to the series proves it’s a worthy read. The question remains, however, if you’re not a fan of this universe, will you want to pick it up?
The answer is largely based on how patient you can be. This opening issue is new and reader-friendly, but its delivery is also rather slow. It opens with excerpts from Adventures on the Planet of the Apes by Doug Moench, setting up key human characters and the setting. Three men land on the planet via a spaceship and are soon driven off. Though they don’t play a heavy part in the rest of the issue, they add a wrinkle to the setting before Charlton Heston’s George Taylor enters the series.
Most of this issue spins out of an ape named Lucius encountering a human woman and soon after disappearing. His aunt Zira is worried sick for him and, throughout the issue, encounters other apes demanding she not go looking for him. He may be in the Forbidden Zone, and this is a place apes never go. A lot is set up here, and it’s easy to see the potential of where it’s going, but it’s a slow boil read for sure.
Note the old-school comic panel.
Credit: Marvel
There are some great moments, though. The cliffhanger, for instance, is on par with George discovering the Statue of Liberty in the first film. It’s an iconic reveal that’s depicted wonderfully in a double-page splash by Alvaro López. There’s also a fantastic map showing the various zones traveled in the series, which is a fun way to build on your imagination and understanding of this world. López does a good job depicting emotion with the human woman, who cannot speak, yet you mostly gather their feelings and intentions.
As far as the larger context in the Planet of the Apes franchise, it’s pretty clear writer Marc Guggenheim has a good idea at the core of this story. It naturally builds on the world while not messing with the original series, either. There’s also potential here to show that humans that came before George may have severely messed up any chance of apes seeing humans as anything more than creatures to be put in cages.
Beware the Planet of the Apes #1 is a good, albeit slow start. It’s neat to see how this builds on a previous comic story while integrating key characters from the original film. In many respects, this stands alone, building on the larger lore while naturally leading to the first film.
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