Darth Vader Wields the Infinity Gauntlet in New Art for the Marvel and ‘Star Wars’ Crossover Comic
For decades, fans have debated what would happen if the biggest villains from two of pop culture’s largest universes ever shared a page. Marvel and Lucasfilm are about to settle that debate with ‘Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles’, the first official crossover between the two franchises. The series arrives in January 2027, timed to the 50th anniversary of ‘Star Wars’.
As the launch approaches, the publishers have been rolling out cover art that shows just how wild the mash-up will get. Several variant covers have been released from a lineup of well-known artists. One of them is already a fan favorite.
The latest piece to catch attention is a variant cover by Rafael Albuquerque showing Darth Vader wearing the Infinity Gauntlet. The image is rendered in cool blues and teals, with Vader’s helmet glowing against a backdrop of tall blue lights. His gauntleted hand takes center stage, with the stones glowing in multiple colors.
It is a striking visual, because it combines two of the most recognizable pieces of iconography in modern fiction. Vader’s silhouette is instantly familiar, and so is the gauntlet. Together, they hint at the kind of power Marvel’s villains could hand to the Empire.
Darth Vader wielding the Infinity Gauntlet in the Marvel & Star Wars crossover comic series 🎨 Rafael Albuquerque https://t.co/nEkK9B57E8
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) October 10, 2026
Albuquerque is far from the only artist contributing. Kaare Andrews’ cover shows Darth Vader with his lightsaber, Doctor Doom with electricity flowing from his hands, and floating heads of both franchises’ characters above them. Alex Ross contributed a photorealistic cover of Spider-Man swinging on a web, contrasted with Luke Skywalker gripping his lightsaber.
Ron Lim’s cover takes a more traditional comic-book approach, with Professor X and Obi-Wan Kenobi sharing a spacecraft. In a fun twist, Obi-Wan is wearing Cerebro. These variants join a five-part connecting cover by David Marquez, who is also the main artist on the series.
The series is written by Kevin Smith, a longtime fan of both franchises. It is set in Marvel’s main continuity, Earth-616, and begins when a reality-shattering spell causes the events of ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ to unfold on Earth. Marvel’s heroes watch the story play out in front of them.
Luke, Leia, Han and Chewbacca team up with heroes such as Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Spider-Man and the Hulk. On the other side, Doctor Doom allies with Vader and the Galactic Empire, with Thanos and Ultron also appearing in the cover art. The five-issue limited series runs from January through May.
Fans have also had a taste of the interior art. At New York Comic Con, the Lucasfilm Publishing panel showed pages that included Vader fighting Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk and The Thing, among others. Separate artwork credited to Jerome Opeña has also shown Vader squaring off against the Hulk.
Taken together, the previews suggest a story that does not shy away from big, crowd-pleasing clashes. If Vader is truly wielding a weapon as powerful as the Infinity Gauntlet, the stakes for Marvel’s heroes will be high. It remains to be seen whether the cover is a literal plot point or simply a fun piece of fan service.
The project has a long history behind it. Marvel published the first ‘Star Wars’ comic in April 1977, and began publishing the franchise again in 2015. Smith has said Lucasfilm rejected crossover requests for years, and that he wrote this story in the style of an MCU movie.
Marvel’s newly appointed editor-in-chief, Stephen Wacker, has said the two brands’ histories have been intertwined for 50 years. Not every commentator has embraced the announcement, with some questioning whether Smith was the right choice as writer. Still, the covers have drawn plenty of excitement.
Cover art like Albuquerque’s does exactly what a crossover event needs: it makes readers imagine the story behind the image. A villain as iconic as Vader, armed with one of Marvel’s most feared weapons, is a hook that needs little explanation. The series has months to build on that curiosity before its first issue.
With the January launch still a few months away, more reveals are likely. For now, this single image has already become one of the defining visuals of the event.
What would you most like to see Darth Vader do with the Infinity Gauntlet?
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