(Photo: Marvel Comics)

The Marvel Universe has faced a variety of threats, whether descended from the cosmos or from the deep tunnels underneath their feet. Now it will face arguably its greatest challenge when the monsters of the MCU decide to take the earth for themselves in Monsters Unleashed.

How or why that happens is still a mystery, but that is how writer Cullen Bunn and an art team comprised of Steve McNiven, Lenil Yu, Adam Kubert, Salvador Larroca, and Greg Land want to keep things for the time being. While we don't know specifics, Marvel Editor-in-Cheif Axel Alonso told EW it will feature a who's who of Marvel creatures.

“If there ever were a monster who stood 10 stories high or taller and created mayhem in the Marvel Universe over last several decades, they’re gonna be in the story."

Editor Mark Paniccia echoes his sentiments and welcomed suggestions from the comics faithful.

“Our goal is to cram as many mammoth monsters of Marvel into Monsters Unleashed as will fit on the page. If you’ve got a personal favorite, chances are very good you’ll see them causing some mayhem in this series. And if you’re worried we’ll forget one, don’t be afraid to tweet at us @Marvel using the hashtag #MonstersUnleashed.”

For Bunn, this threat requires every hero that the universe can muster, as even one of these things is enough to take down a premiere superhero squad, nonetheless all of them at once. Plus, it doesn't just feature villains, as heroes like Devil Dinosaur and the beloved Guardian Groot are also featured in the battle against their friends and teammates, a battle which is shown briefly in the first promotional art from Steve McNiven.

“It’s an all hands on deck situation,” Bunn says. “Imagine something like the Hulk, only much bigger. With the destructive force those creatures have, the heroes will have to mobilize much more quickly. The heroes find themselves very quickly in a situation where they have no downtime, they have no chance to take a breath. They’re moving constantly against what are essentially cataclysmic threats over and over again.”

“Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and Herb Trimpe – all of these guys created incredible monsters that we remember from my childhood,” Alonso says. “They’re the equivalent of those Ray Harryhausen-type monsters, those rubber suits that thrill us. To see them coming back, and to take them seriously, it’s a lot of fun.”

Each issue of Monsters Unleashed will be helmed by a different artistic talent, giving each volume its own unique identity, something that Alonso wants to make sure comes through in the final product.

“All of these artists are associated with huge scale superhero action, and we’ll be giving them room to breathe,” Alonso says. “There will be plenty of two-page spreads and splashes so the book feels as big as it is. Each issue is 30 pages long, which will allow for that. Why the monsters are here now and what they want, is gonna be part of the fun of the story. For people who say they want to see heroes fighting villains, well, here you go. This is the Marvel Universe being momentarily united to deal with this common threat, because if they don’t get united, there’s going to be no Marvel Universe to live in. So that’s an interesting dynamic right there.”

Monsters Unleashed 1 - 5 will ship bi-weekly, and issue #1 will hit comic stores in January of next year.