If you’ve ever seen Aliens, the second and arguably best movie in the Alien franchise, then you’ll probably remember Carter Burke, the shady company man played by Paul Reiser who wanted to capture a xenomorph for his employers. And like any shady company man in a horror movie, he got what was coming to him … or did he?
Marvel has announced a new What If? miniseries set in the Alien universe that asks the question “What If… Carter Burke has lived?” Reiser will work with his son Leon, TV producer Adam F. Goldberg, Brian Volk-Weiss and Hans Rodionoff on a story that seems to be taking a “writer’s room” approach. Guiu Vilanova is drawing the five-issue miniseries.
“For years, people have asked me about Burke, what it was like to play such a ‘bad guy,’ to which my response was always ‘You say ‘bad,’ I say ‘misunderstood.’ Now the world will find out,” Reiser said.
Here’s how Marvel describes the story:
For years, fans of James Cameron’s legendary Aliens questioned whether Carter Burke, a company man more hateable than the Xenos themselves, had actually survived the traumatic events on the terraforming colony Hadley’s Hope. Thirty-five years later, Burke is eeking out a cursed existence on a backwater asteroid. With his once-promising career in the toilet, Burke’s only remaining purpose in life is to care for his daughter, Brie. She hates him, probably for being a horrible person. And when she finds out what he’s up to now? It’s not going to be a friendly reunion. Has Burke learned his lesson, or is he about to get all of his companions killed again?
And here’s the cover for the second issue:
Look for the first issue of five on March 6.