The trio feature on a 3,500-copy variant of “Marvel Zombies: War Zone #1“, a year after one of their songs turned up in the Disney+ series trailer.
Babymetal are on the cover of a Marvel comic.
The Japanese group appear on a limited variant cover for “Marvel Zombies: War Zone (2026) #1“, announced by hustl., with artwork by Phil Noto. The run is capped at 3,500 copies.
The connection came through television. Babymetal‘s “From Me To U“, a collaboration with Poppy written by former Bring Me The Horizon member Jordan Fish, was used in the trailer for Marvel Animation‘s “Marvel Zombies” on Disney+.
The band said in a statement: “We are truly honored to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Marvel, a beloved around the world for so many years. Gracing a comic book cover alongside Marvel‘s characters is the best surprise we could have asked for. We hope our fans are as excited as we are!”
hustl. chief executive Keri Harris said: “Babymetal‘s connection with Marvel and hustl.‘s ongoing efforts to authentically connect music, sports, and Marvel drove this collaboration. Phil Noto‘s art style was perfect for this cover and we are really excited that we were able to work though making this available to fans in the U.S. and Japan.”
The variant is available to pre-order now through the Capitol Records online store, and through hustl. for the hobby market. Japanese pre-orders open on September 7. The standard edition of the comic reaches shops on September 2.
The issue itself picks up after a zombie outbreak overruns Manhattan and a barrier is thrown up around the island, leaving survivors to fight it out inside. The Punisher is among them, and is looking for answers rather than an exit.
“From Me To U” opens Metal Forth, released in August 2025 and the band’s fourth album by their own count, the title being a play on the word. It was their first record for Capitol Records and the first to feature Momometal as a full member.
The album put the group into territory no Japanese act had reached. It entered the Billboard 200 at No. 9, making Babymetal the first all-Japanese group to place an album in the American top ten. It sold 36,000 equivalent units in its opening week, 33,500 of them pure sales, and has since passed 200 million streams worldwide. Before that, the highest any Japanese album had climbed was No. 14, reached by Kyu Sakamoto‘s Sukiyaki And Other Japanese Hits in 1963.
Metal Forth also went to No. 3 on the Oricon albums chart in Japan, into the top ten in Germany and the top twenty in the United Kingdom. Its guest list runs to Poppy, Spiritbox, Tom Morello, Bloodywood, Electric Callboy, Polyphia and Slaughter To Prevail.
Babymetal formed in 2010 and built their following in Japan on the strength of their live shows before crossing over abroad, going on to open for Lady Gaga, Korn and Red Hot Chili Peppers in the years that followed. The fusion of J-pop vocals with metal instrumentation became known as kawaii metal, and the band have carried it further than any of their imitators.
The current lineup is Su-metal (Suzuka Nakamoto), Moametal (Moa Kikuchi) and Momometal (Momoko Okazaki). In May 2025 they became the first Japanese act to sell out London’s O2 Arena.
This year the group issued Metal Forth (Deluxe Edition) and begin a world tour in September, including dates across North America.
