Marvel’s cosmic hierarchy has been turned inside out. After the events of Jonathan Hickman’s Imperial, the old order has crumbled and been rebuilt as the Galactic Union—a new power bloc with new rules, new dangers, and now… new protectors. Enter the Imperial Guardians, a reimagined take on the Guardians of the Galaxy who will patrol this volatile frontier in a brand-new ongoing series launching in March.
The series heralds the return of one of Marvel’s most influential cosmic voices: Dan Abnett, whose work on Annihilation and his seminal reinvention of the Guardians helped define Marvel’s modern space epics. Abnett teams up with artist Marcelo Ferreira, bringing the explosive energy seen in Predator Vs. Spider-Man and Predator Kills the Marvel Universe to Marvel’s next cosmic chapter.
Handpicked in secret by Maximus, the mastermind behind the upheaval in Imperial, this unconventional squad pulls heroes from across Marvel’s cosmic spectrum: Captain Marvel, Gamora, Darkhawk, Amadeus Cho, and Cosmic Ghost Rider. Their assignment is simple on paper and impossibly messy in execution—maintain stability within the newly formed Galactic Union by any means necessary. They’re expendable, deniable, and fully disavowed… and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
The series promises moral gray zones and high-stakes missions:
Why has a Kree Grand Admiral launched an attack on Hala? What’s unraveling inside Darkhawk’s mind? Who thought Cosmic Ghost Rider would play well with others? And most importantly, what is Maximus really scheming?
Abnett describes the post-Imperial cosmos as a place where even victory comes with compromises. “The new Guardians remit reflects that perfectly,” he says, highlighting a roster designed for tension: a powerhouse in Captain Marvel, an unstable anti-hero in Darkhawk, the unpredictable brilliance of Amadeus Cho (in Hulkbuster armor!), a volatile Cosmic Ghost Rider, and Gamora—the only one capable of holding this chaos together.
Ferreira adds that the dual challenge of a team book and a cosmic book is exactly what energizes him. Drawing characters like Cosmic Ghost Rider, Darkhawk, and Gamora, he says, has been “double the fun,” and he hopes that excitement leaps off the page for readers.
Fans can preview Sean Izaakse’s main cover and Netho Diaz’s variant today—then preorder IMPERIAL GUARDIANS #1 at your local shop. More details are available at Marvel.com.
IMPERIAL GUARDIANS #1
Written by DAN ABNETT
Art by MARCELO FERREIRA
Cover by SEAN IZAAKSE
Variant Cover by NETHO DIAZ
On Sale 3/11
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