Kenner Aliens vs Marine 2-packs

 The Ultimate Battle Between Man & Beast!

1994 was the last year for the initial Aliens (& Predator) line from Kenner. The line closed out with the Queen Hive playset, along with the Arachnid and King going into early 1995. The Swarm never reached retail, or it did in very, very low numbers at specialty shops. Predator figures were in their final series as well (Night storm, Lava Planet, and Clan Leader. Laser Shot didn't reach retail either). 

At the time, KB toys was the spot for Aliens and Predator figures. KB believed that the line was strong and they ordered all remaining inventory from Kenner thru 1995. My friend was the only one I knew with a brand new King and Arachnid alien, straight from KB Toys. 

Action Figure Digest #34, 1996

The Alien and Predator figures proved strong at retail and were far from over. KB Toys took the initiative and created an exciting line: Alien vs Marine 2-packs. They were released in late 1996, ready for the holiday season. These sets were exclusive to KB Toys and featured 5 pairings of repainted Aliens and Marines. 

To really make it special they included the 3 Marines that no one was able to get; Vasquez, Hudson, and O'Malley. Additionally, the King and Arachnid aliens were also chosen since collectors had missed out on their first release.

The biggest set was Hicks vs King Alien. It's a massive bubble. In all of Kenner's iterations of Alien and Predator figures, the Hicks vs King Alien is THE largest carded figure. I'm surprised there aren't more instances of the bubble just pulling away from the card. Good glue I guess.

The world rejoiced with this lineup. It was more Aliens figures, and in "better" colors. All the Marines looked "cooler" in their "screen accurate" costumes. The Queen Facehugger was finally colored like a real fleshy facehugger. Even the Arachnid looked less ridiculous in black & silver.

As far as Aliens go in this series, Night Cougar and Scorpion are the best looking. And Vasquez and Hicks are the best Marines. It's hard to not get excited with Vasquez and her red bandanna and pulse rifle. That backpack rocket launcher? Sure, why not...

As for packaging, these were pretty simple, with all card backs being the same. Same text, same art, and the same cross sell on the backs. Only the figure sticker on the bubble and bubble shape/size were unique to each pair. Obviously KB and Kenner kept expenses to a minimum by using "generic" packaging.

Same card back for whole set

No examples have turned up with any variations, figure related or packaging related. They all have warnings on the upper right and left corners.  It's just my speculation, but I bet these were produced in relatively low numbers, and/or in a very short time frame (I don't remember seeing any long before the holidays or going too far into 1997). 

10" Alien vs Predator, 1996

At this same time, Toys R Us wanted in on the late-stage Aliens action. Their entry: an awesome 10" Alien vs Predator 2-pack. This was also in celebration of the Aliens 10th Anniversary. It also lumped in the Predator 10th Anniversary as well (1987-1997). This was a really nice set, with an excellent predator rendition (reused from the prior year's 10" "Ultimate Predator").

Ultimate Predator, 1995

Ultimate Predator compared to 2-pack version 

 The bigger bonus was the alien. It might've looked odd at the time, but it turned out to be a scaled up version of the warrior alien from the then-unproduced Hive Wars line. 

Hive Warrior (L) and upscale Alien from 2-pack (R)

Hive Wars, 1998

So not only did collectors get really rare and hard to find Marine and Aliens figures, but they were treated to a totally new Alien figure in 1996!

If you're interested in collecting any of these sets, they are relatively common. Prices can vary wildly, and certain sets are easier to find then others. But not impossible.

What's more is that 2026 marks the 30th Anniversary of these figure sets. 30 years! And it's neat that it's also the 40th anniversary of Aliens. These sets were originally created in conjunction with the then 10th Anniversary of Aliens in 1996. So it's cool that these toys and the movie are sharing an anniversary together this year!

1996 was a great year. It marked the 10th anniversary of Aliens, and was commemorated with these fantastic Alien vs Marine figure sets, as well as a giant Alien vs Predator figure set. 1996 was great, indeed. 

Happy Aliens Day, 2026!