The xenomorph is a fictional extraterrestrial life form of unknown origin from the Alien universe, created by writers Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusset. The original alien design was created by Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger. The xenomorph is the quintessential violent defiler, existing only to reproduce its kind. That is its drive, its focus, its reason for being; to parasite living hosts before it dies. In the words of Ash, "A perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility. A survivor unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality." As a matter of practical fact, much of what we do know about the alien lifeform is conjecture.
The name
The movies did not give the creatures a specific name. The fans took to using the term "xenomorph" as the de facto scientific name for the species. It comes from Aliens in which Lt. Gorman uses it to tell the troops that they are facing animals rather than humans. The word Xenomorph was coined for advertising the 1953 movie It Came from Outer Space. The Greek word xenos means "stranger" or "alien" (in the sense of "foreigner")", the common name of the xenomorph. Morphê means "form", a Greek term that should not be confused with the English "morph" which refers to change. In other words, the word xenomorph itself means little more than "strange form". Thus it does not necessarily mean unknown extraterrestrial life. Gorman's line in Aliens is the only time that the word xenomorph is used canonically, although it was also spoken by Lt. Ripley in the special edition version of Alien³. Within the fiction of the Aliens universe, the xenomorph is often simply referred to as an Alien, or more derisively, a Bug. The DVD release of the first four films to feature the species identify its proper scientific binomial name to be Internecivus raptus; in some Dark Horse Comics, such as Apocalypse: The Destroying Angels and Aliens vs. Predator, it is given as Linguafoeda acheronsis.
Characteristics
Life cycle
Socially, in ideal situations, Xenomorphs are hive-minded creatures with a defined caste system which is ruled by a queen. They can exist and reproduce independently of this system and hive structure however, which makes their ability to spread and infest areas much more dangerous. They reproduce as parasitoids and grow to full size very rapidly. The Alien queen lays eggs that release a single parasitic facehugger when a host comes near. The facehugger attacks the host and slides a tubular proboscis down the victim's throat, implanting an embryo within their chest. The facehugger then dies, and the embryo's host shows no outward negative symptoms for several hours.
This embryo takes on some of the host's traits (such as bipedalism or quadrupedalism), then over the course of about 24 hours develops into a parasitoid chestburster, at which point it emerges, violently ripping open the chest of the host, killing him or her instantly. Within hours, the chestburster grows to adult size. Xenomorphs are roughly humanoid with a skeletal or insectoid appearance.
A lone Xenomorph is also capable of reproducing its own kind through a form of transmutation that is not entirely understood. The creature, during the first encounter with humans, had begun this process near the end of its life whereby a victim was partially broken down at the cellular level and reorganized into what would have been an egg, and placed near a still living but immobilized host. One can only surmise that the new creature emerging from the immobilized host would have continued this cycle, thus explaining the Xenomorphs preternatural reproductive drive given the very short lifespan.
Typical adults are about eight feet in height and have a hard outer shell, an exoskeleton which is skeletal in appearance and is usually muted shades of gray, dark green, brown and black. They have an elongated, cylindrical head but lack visible eyes. Throughout the fiction, it has been speculated that xenomorphs "see fear" in their prey through their sense of smell using pheromones (kairomones), through echolocation, and also through telepathy. No definitive answer to this question has been put forward.
Behavioural and defensive attributes
The adult xenomorph is a living weapon, noted for its ferocity and deadliness in any condition. It has strong, sharp claws and a venomous blade-like tip on the end of its prehensile tail. Its mouth contains a secondary jaw at the end of an extendable, piston-like appendage. This appendage can be rigid enough to penetrate body armor, an adult human skull, and has been illustrated to be surprisingly mobile and almost prehensile at the same time. It is often employed as a weapon. Xenomorphs, once fully matured, possess great physical strength and uncanny agility.
Despite their ferocity and savagery, Xenomorphs are, like any good predator, masters of stealth. A favored method of acquiring prey are to simply wait in a dormant stage until an appropriate host strays near and then drop down silently from behind. The prey generally has no idea the Xenomorph is present, due to its propensity to camouflage itself within its nest walls or the surrounding artificial environment given its biomechanical appearance. Xenomorph blood is an extremely potent molecular acid that is very similar to liquid fluorine and is capable of dissolving on contact almost any substance with alarming speed. The creature also has the ability to spit this acid, though this seems to be a rare behavior seen only in Alien³ and Alien: Resurrection as well as various comic books and video games.
Xenomorphs can produce a thick, strong resin, used to build their hives and cocoon victims. The exact nature and source of this resin remains unknown, though it shows amazing heat and moisture-retaining qualities, as seen in the hot, moist atmosphere of the hive in Aliens. Adult xenomorphs are quick and agile, and can run along ceilings and walls. They can survive in extreme temperatures, are well-adapted to swimming, and can survive in a vacuum for unknown lengths of time. Their movement tends to be silent, and they do not radiate heat as their exoskeletal temperature matches ambient temperature. They salivate profusely, and are extremely aggressive and persistent, while being totally devoid of fear. They appear to be intelligent (or at least learn quickly through Pavlovian, or classical conditioning,) especially the Queen. The slime that is constantly seen dripping from the creatures is written off by cast and crew as the xenomorph's way of helping it maintain a low body temperature. Xenomorphs, in all stages of their life cycles, have shown extreme vulnerabilities to fire, flamethrowers, and the like whilst cold is an inadequate precautionary measure except at the extreme. Since they can adapt to a vacuum and withstand cold climates, it is unlikely they would be driven off by chilly conditions but blasts of steam or cold air can be effective (as seen in Alien Resurrection).
The Queen
Xenomorphs have an insect-like life cycle, based primarily on those of the digger wasp, Ichneumon wasp, and the ant or termite. The Queen runs the whole hive and it is possible the hive could not survive without her. However, in the first Alien movie, a deleted (and later restored) scene where Ripley found Dallas cocooned and Brett being transformed into an egg suggested that any member of the species can procreate.
Queen Xenomorph aliens are significantly larger than the drones, approximately forty feet long. Their body structure differs too, having twin sets of arms and being built more like a T-Rex than a humanoid. Queens have a much larger braincase than the average adults, protected by a large crest above their heads. This implies that they are much more intelligent. It seems that they have a basic understanding of technology too.
The theory as to how the Queen maintains control over the hive is that she keeps in contact with the drones through a telepathic link, evidenced by her ability to call off their advance upon Ripley in the movie Aliens. A Xenomorph Queen would readily give her life for her eggs and in turn, is protected by the drones at all costs.
Birth
No one quite knows how a Queen comes to be. One logical explanation could be at some point, perhaps cyclical, a Queen senses the instinctive need to propagate new colonies and lays a batch of special eggs that will later hatch as Queen larvae.
It is likely that these special breeding eggs would be removed quickly from the Queen's chamber and stored securely in a highly protected area of the hive. At the proper time the drones would provide hosts for the fledgling Queens; these could be anything so long as they were warm and alive to provide sustenance for the Queen embryo. In the special edition of Alien³ a super facehugger is seen, the idea being that a creature that implants a Queen into a host would be more armoured, having hooked limbs to deter removal, and be stronger than the normal facehugger to achieve its goal at any cost. After impregnating the host the facehugger would die. Incubation can last days as the maturing Queen is a much more complex organism than her subjects. Upon birth the newborn Queens may well have battled for supremacy, and killing siblings may well be a way for a newborn Queen to define its own reality, or a way for it to assert its ascendancy as the matriarch of a particular area.
There are other theories as to how the Queen is created, one being that some newborn chestbursters are fed the Queen's royal jelly, provoking a cellular response that makes it metamorphosize into a matriarch. In the Alien vs. Predator video games, a normal drone can transform into a Praetorian and turn into a queen by going through a cocoon state. In the novel Nightmare Asylum, it's stated that if there are no queens around, a drone can undergo a "hormone storm" and become a queen.
Hive relationships
Most of the relationships of the Xenomorph hive established and recognised are suppostion. It is likely though that after a few weeks a new Queen would lead a contingent of drones away from the old hive and their first duty would be to spread to another area and begin construction anew. If natural building materials are unavailable, perhaps other elements would be improvised, for instance the use of other drone carcasses as construction material for the walls of the hive (not so much cannibalism as ruthless practicality). Early on all effort would be concentrated on finishing the hive so the Queen could begin laying eggs again. Rival creatures would be used to reinforce the hive and protect the Queen when she began breeding. The Queen is everything to the hive. As seen in the Aliens comics, drones in captivity, away from the Queen and with no contact to the hive, go into a dormant state, suffer from lack of strength, and eventually die.
Design
The design of the Alien Queen was created by Aliens director James Cameron in collaboration with special effects artist Stan Winston, based upon an initial painting Cameron had done at the start of the project. The Winston Studio created a test foam core and trash bag Queen before constructing the full hydraulic puppet which was used for most of the scenes involving the large alien. Two people were inside working the twin sets of arms and puppeteers offscreen worked her jaws and head. Even though at the end of the film the Queen is presented full-body fighting the powerloader, the audience never sees the legs of the queen, save those of the small-scale puppet that appears only briefly. In Aliens James Cameron used very selective camera-angles on the Queen, using the "less is more" style of photography. Subsequently the movie won an Oscar for best visual effects.
It is only during the end climax of the 2004 film Alien vs. Predator that for the first time audiences could see the Queen actually running because of the CGI techniques employed to create it. By this time, CGI technology was advanced enough to show more of the queen, including showing her running and fighting. For Alien vs Predator, the Queen's basic design was also altered to make it more "streamlined" in appearance. One of the changes was the removal of the Alien Queen's "high heel" protrusions on her legs and altering the joints so she could run faster and making the chest thinner because there was no need for puppeteers inside. Although the Queen was more "streamlined", she appeared overall much larger than the Queen from Aliens; however both mechanical Queens are about the same size off screen. Besides her overall size, the most notable change to this Queen was the serrations added to her crest. Most fans agree the AVP Queen's larger size, and crest serrations were simply because she was fully grown; whereas the Queen in Aliens was less than a month old. Even so, the Queen's size seems to vary throughout the movie. Most of the changes were minor details although there are many variations from the original design.
Non-Canon castes
The following castes do not appear in the movies and are thus not considered canon.
Praetorian
A royal elite guard to the Queen. Praetorians are larger than typical adults, but still only about half the size of the queen herself. Praetorians appear in the graphic novel series (and the Millennium/Orion books based on the same), such as Rogue and Female War (originally serialised as Earth War). They are also a playable class in the computer game Aliens vs. Predator 2, in which they cannot "wall-crawl" like the smaller aliens, but have a very thick bullet-resistant exoskeleton. In the game, a background report on the biology of the creatures reveals them to be a mid-point in development between the more numerous smaller xenomorphs, and the Queen.
The praetorians have been noted to possess a second pair of limbs protruding from the torso, much the same as a Queen. In the video game Aliens Vs Predator: Extinction, they are hatched from "Praetorian Eggs" and can later molt to become a queen if the current queen is killed. However, in Aliens vs. Predator 2 they are described as being born differently. According to AvP 2, a Praetorian is a full grown drone (or other 3rd stage xenomorph) that grows old and begins to emit different pheremones that cause the hive to react violently. If the molting Praetorian manages to escape the Hive, it can finish the molting process and return to the Hive to reassert its position. This makes it so only the strongest, most worthy drones can become a protector of the queen.
Praetorians are easily recognized by their crown shaped headcrest, which is very similar in appearance to the Queen's. Theoretically, preatorian face huggers are purebred, meaning they do not integrate their host's most valuable traits into their own DNA. By doing that, every preatorian that becomes a queen is a pure organism and not a hybrid. (If the queen were to become a hybrid, all the new born huggers would also become hybrids as soon as they are born. Quite similar to the Human-Xenomorph hybrid seen in Alien: Resurrection, but in that case the alien queen was removed from Ripley's clone with part of her human DNA, resulting in a much more powerful specimen.)
PredAlien
The "PredAlien" is the product of an Alien Facehugger impregnating a Yautja. Fan opinions on its appearance seem to range from approval to total hatred. Some believe the the Predator's fleshy dreadlocks should not have been included, as Xenomorphs seem to retain more of their host's skeletal structure than flesh; some even argue that the mandibles, which obviously have bones within them, should have been excluded, effectively rendering the PredAlien a stronger, bulked-up version of the human-incubated Drones often seen in the movie.
The AvP games have, however, shown a creature more in touch with its Yautja host: complete with large mandibles, a heavily-built physique, and dreadlocks - even going so far as to shorten the elongated head and apparently remove the inner set of jaws. In the games, this variant is also depicted light brown, much like the skin-color of the Predators. In reality, it shares more of a resemblance with its host than other xenomorphs.
The PredAlien's status as a non-canon caste is actually debatable, however, as a chestburster was seen in the end of the Alien vs. Predator movie emerging from the Yautja "Scar". It possessed the mandibles of a Predator, and may grow up to resemble the PredAliens of the game, or even a PredQueen, if a sequel is ever made. Of course, many fans seem to question whether the movie itself is canon, so the PredAlien's place in the Alien and Predator franchises is still up for debate.
Queen Mother
The Queen Mother is the supreme ruling progenitor of the Aliens at least in this part of the Galaxy. She purportedly lives on the Hiveworld (which may be the name of the Space Jockey homeworld), surrounded by a group of Queen-sized Praetorians that grew larger after eating the royal jelly created by the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother is twice as large as an Alien Queen (80 ft.) According to the comics she appears in, her head is not as wide as that of a simple Queen, and curves up like a blade at the back. In Genocide, after the first Queen Mother has been destroyed by Ellen Ripley in Female War, a new hive forms, which then enters into competition with the old hive, both of which have spawned new queen mothers. The aliens of the new hive are referred to as the reds; although the novels explain there is no visual difference capable of being detected by the naked eye, the graphic novels do show a difference in colour.
Empress
In Aliens vs. Predator 2, a variation of the original Alien Queen, the Alien Empress, was introduced. She, like the Queen, is a female and uses an eggsac to lay eggs. The Empress is sixteen feet larger and she has a differing crown, much like the Queen Mother differs from a simple Queen. The Empress's head curves up to form two large blades and two smaller blades at the rear of the head. She is seen only once, in AvP2, when she is captured by Dr. Eisenberg, who plans to use her in his bizarre experiments to combat the xenomorphs. However, she is released when a lone xenomorph confronts Eisenberg and literally tears him apart. It seems that while a regular queen controls only a single hive, an empress controls all xenomorphic activity on a single planet.
PredQueen
In Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction, a bizarre version of the Alien Queen is created, mixing Queen and Yautja Predator DNA. This version is called the "PredQueen". Not much is known about this Predator version of the Alien Queen, except that she is stronger, is four meters bigger than a normal Queen, and that she also uses an eggsac to produce xenomorph eggs. She looks like an Alien Queen with the appearance of a PredAlien. She is eventually destroyed by a group of Predators.
Rogue
In the comic Aliens: Rogue, a mad scientist engineered the Rogue: a male alien designed as a weapon to rival the queen caste and thus help rid the Earth of its alien infestation (see Earth Hive, Nightmare Asylum, Female War, and Genocide). However, as befits most cases where mad scientists prove they are every bit as insane as the stereotypes dictate, the Rogue escapes and wreaks havoc until it is torn apart by a Queen.
K-Series
In Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction, a variation of the original xenomorphs are created by Dr. Samuel Kadinsky. This group is called "The K-Series". They are almost identical to normal xenomorphs in ability but have a white pigmentation to their exoskeleton rather than the dark colors usually seen. They were eventually wiped out in a hive war to keep the species "pure".
Carrier/Ravager
In Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction, a Praetorian can evolve into two other forms of Xenomorph than just the Queen: the Carrier and the Ravager. The Carrier Xenomorph has the ability to carry 6 Facehuggers on spikes coming out of its back, and some can even carry 12. Their vulnerability is their weak armor, but their greatest advantages are the facehuggers they are carrying.
The Ravager Xenomorph's claws have the ability to kill enemies with one swipe. They can slice through metal. (Although this is considered nothing particularly unusual in the broader Aliens Universe. Most adult xenomorphs are capable of rending steel.) and their powerful armor makes them impervious to all but the most intense assault. Ravagers can also heal themselves over short periods of time. It can be argued that Ravagers are bred to be more geared toward all-out warfare than most breeds of Xenomorphs, as their claws are more of a blade-like appearance rather than merely claws and the fact that Ravagers rely more upon brute force to overpower multiple enemies, whereas most Xenomorphs called upon stealth or numbers to overcome such obstacle. Even more important is the fact that Ravagers make no efforts in capturing hosts for breeding and will always kill or destroy potential hosts outright instead.
Xenoborg
In the first Aliens vs. Predator computer game, there is a special variation of the Xenomorph, a cybernetically modified and enhanced xenomorph called the Xenoborg. It is reminiscent of the Star Trek villains known as the Borg; their physical appearance consists of a mechanical and flesh covered body, 4 spider like legs, a Borg-eqsue face, and can fire laser blasts. Their only weakness appears to be a flashing green light that, when hit, shuts the Xenoborg down. A similar creature appears in the book Alien vs. Predator: Hunters Planet, where a madman creates a planet for hunters and these creatures as the ultimate prey.
Human-Alien/Newborn
This alien is a cross between human and alien DNA. It is first seen in Alien: Resurrection and its appearance is more similar to a human rather than the xenomorphs. The human/alien is roughly eight feet tall. It is bright yellow instead of dark blue or black. The inner mouth is replaced with a tongue and the human/alien also has eyes this time. When it is first born it kills the alien queen and believes that Ripley is its mother. It is killed by Ripley when it is sucked into space through a small hole that she created. In the Alien: Resurrection Playstation game, it is refered to as the Newborn, has green blood, and is invulnerable to all weapons.
Other non-canon castes
Various action figures have been made depicting non-canon Xenomorphs, such as the Gorilla Alien, Snake Alien, Arachnid Alien, Flying Queen Alien, and Bull Alien action figures released by Kenner Toys to coincide with the release of the SNES Alien vs. Predator Game; the Gorilla, Snake, and Flying Queen aliens appear as boss enemies in the game. Two other non-canon Xenomorph action figures are the so-called King Alien and the Rhino Alien; the latter was a KB Toys exclusive.
See also
Alien Morphology in the Aliens vs Predator arcade game
Variations
The Alien has been portrayed in noticeably different ways throughout the films. Much of this is due to the special effects technology and techniques used to bring it to life.
Body shape
In the original Alien film, Alien, and sequel Aliens they were depicted as tall, slender creatures with a roughly human silhouette and a biomechanical design. Notably, the creature in the first film was far taller than those in the second. This was because of the difficulty of finding multiple seven-foot tall high actors; ballet dancers were used instead. In later films, like Alien: Resurrection and Aliens vs. Predator, they were depicted as being shorter and bulkier creatures, portrayed by either the traditional men in suit technique for closeups or full form using computer-generated imagery.
Tail
Originally, the Alien's tail was roughly the length of the creature with a small, almost surgical stinger-like barb on the end. From Alien³ onwards, however, the tail has grown in length and now features a knife-like blade at the tip. In Alien: Resurrection and Aliens vs. Predator, the tails have also sported a fin right before the blade. This was introduced in Alien: Resurrection to help the creatures swim convincingly, and was left on in Alien vs. Predator as ADI, the company that redesigned the creatures, did not have enough time to alter the designs.
The original shooting script for Aliens features a scene in which Lieutenant Gorman is "stung" by an Alien's stinger. He was not killed, merely stunned, and the barb remained lodged in his shoulder, having torn loose from the Alien's tail, much like a bee stinger. The novelisation also includes this scene, though the movie itself does not. However, this was integrated into Aliens vs. Predator 2. According to the game, the tip of the alien's tail sports a neurotoxin that allows it to stun enemies that it manages to hit.
Head
In Aliens the xenomorph was depicted as having ridges along its cranium, while in all other films the creatures had smooth cowls covering their skull, the logistic reason being that the cowl-less aliens in the sequel were easier to make and were more resistant to damage (director James Cameron was worried about the dome cracking).
In Alien: Resurrection and Alien vs. Predator, the head was shortened greatly to approximately half the original thirty-three inches. It was also made flat at the base, with little to no similarity to the original designs.
While it is never explained why the aliens from Aliens are missing the transparent cowl from their heads, a plausible theory exists in the fan community that since these Aliens are weeks older than the ones featured in the other films, they have fully matured and so their exoskeletons had fully hardened.
It is also very noteworthy to know that the original alien depicted in the first movie were Hans Ruedi Giger's original designs. H.R. Giger's original alien head design is based on the human male penis.
Fingers
In Alien and Alien³ the xenomorph had six fingers, with the index & middle fingers conjoined into one digit and ring & pinky fingers also conjoined, and a thumb on both sides. In Aliens the xenomorphs were shown with five fingers, missing the extra thumb. In Alien: Resurrection and AvP, the aliens were shown to have four fingers.
There is no explanation for the fluctuating number of digits; however, if you count the conjoined fingers from each variation as a single finger, each alien had four fingers.
Reproduction
It is impossible to even tell the sex of the alien. The cast referred to it as being ambi-sextrous while designer HR Giger says it is genderless. The alien appears to not need sexual reproduction, relying on the eggs alone. In Alien: Director's Cut, the alien originally had a second method of reproduction, whereby it could transform humans into eggs, as shown when Ellen Ripley discovers two victims of the xenomorph under the landing gear of their ship at the end of the film. This offered an origin for the eggs that did not require a queen, which seems to have been superseded (some would say merely complemented) by the queen in Aliens. None of the other films have continued with this method, and it is mostly considered atypical for the xenomorph life-cycle. Outside of the deleted scenes in recent versions of the film, this method of reproduction has never been seen and is not strictly considered canon.
In a deleted script for Alien³, these "eggs" are actually cocoons, inside of which a human is painfully transformed into a fullgrown alien, which then emerges from the cocoon like a perversion of a butterfly. This non-canon "tertiary" version of reproduction bypasses queens and facehuggers entirely. In another deleted script, the aliens reproduce via parasitical spores, which also turn humans into fullgrown aliens; but these "spore aliens" are actually genetically altered clones, so their way of reproduction is not the norm (and is impossible for normal alien species).
In Alien³ another addition was made: that of a "super facehugger" (another fan term used regularly) that could impregnate two hosts with a Queen and regular embryo and was larger and darker compared to normal. This explains why both Ripley and a dog were impregnated from one egg. The super facehugger was found by some of the inmates, who thought it a type of jellyfish. Another explanation was that there were either two facehuggers, or that the "super facehugger" is actually just a normal queen facehugger, which has the second drone to protect the queen as it matures; which may be why the dog alien might have tried to protect Ripley.
Oddly enough, even though it seems unlikely, some people think that all of the "Hive" Xenomorphs are female, and that the males are expelled from the hive upon sexual maturation, and that the queen emits a pheromone that prevents female sexual maturation.
Debate
DNA assimilation
Many believe that chestbursters, while still in an embryonic stage, use the host's DNA to augment its own and acquire any useful traits that the host garnered through natural selection. This makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint, since the host is adapted to its environment, taking on some of its characteristics would further adapt the newborn alien to its new environment. This would essentially make all adult xenomorphs hybrid creatures. This idea was used in some novel and comic book spin-offs. It is also alluded to in the first film, albeit indirectly. When Ash hears Parker's report on the size of the full-grown creature, as being at least as large as a man, Ash refers to it as "Kane's son." Another explanation could be that since the eggs seem to be produced asexually, the embryo receives some of its chromosomes from its host to allow for biodiversity of the species.
Alien 3 furthered this by having an alien embryo implanted into a dog. The xenomorphs of the first two films were all implanted in humans, and thus could walk in a bipedal fashion; they also had foot-long breathing vents on their backs. The "dog-alien", also known to fans as a 'runner alien' of Alien³ was visually very different from these, theoretically because it took on some of the DNA of its canine host. It preferred to move in a doglike manner, often running at high speed on all four legs. This new type did not have spines on its back, and was far more streamlined in appearance. Additionally, scientists in the comic books produce many "hybrids" such as an "Shark-alien" and "Tiger-alien", by "impregnating" terrestrial animals. These creatures seem to support the theory that the Xenomorph only supplies half the DNA of the final result.
The xenomorphs of the fourth Alien film were something of an exception, because they were far more human-like, to the point that the Alien Queen gave live birth to a "human-alien hybrid": this was because these aliens were the result of cloning experiments by the military, and were not the "true" form of the species, having been spliced with substantial amounts of human DNA. This was not as a result of the normal implantation-DNA-assimilation process. If a xenomorph develops inside a Space Jockey then it will be ten times its normal size.
In various comics and the Aliens vs. Predator video game series, this is taken a step further when a xenomorph embryo is implanted into a Yautja (Predator); the result is an Alien with Predator characteristics, a "Pred-alien". This hybrid stood on two legs, and had the basic body-outline of a Predator, having lost the elongated head shape. It also lacked the inner set of jaws characteristic of other xenomorphs, but sported a set of mandibles reminiscent of those of the Predator. Its head also has the "dreadlocks" reminiscent of most Predators. This motif was also repeated at the end of the recent Alien vs. Predator film, largely based on the comic books and the video game series and written by the director of Resident Evil, Paul W. S. Anderson.
Caste/cowl
Many fans believe that the difference between the original alien from the first movie and the swarm in the second is that of a soldier alien vs. drone aliens and that the colony contains both. Others believe that there is no soldier/drone caste and that standard adults are suitable to do all needed tasks.
Most of this debate is due to the variances between the two xenomorph designs in the first and second movie, primarily the issue of the cowl. Other popular theories are that the xenomorph sheds its cowl after further maturity (xenomorphs in all movies but the second and fourth were less than three days old). Film cast has noted that the cowl was simply skipped in Aliens, as the physical model as said earlier had a habit of cracking and breaking.
Endoskeleton
Some believe that the xenomorph contains an endoskeleton as well as its hardened exoskeleton.
The primary fuel for this debate is the xenomorph skull seen as a trophy in the movie Predator 2. In the Aliens vs. Predator comics the Xenomorphs, like in the original Alien movies, have only an exoskeleton, but in the comics it is seen that this skeleton can be bleached to the color and appearance of bone when left in the sunlight (such as the queen's head trophy on Machiko Noguchi's roof at the end of Prey).
The Yautja, which have a deep relationship with the Xenomorph life form, certainly have tools to clean and polish their trophies. The explanation for the alien skull seen in a Predator trophy case (besides being an inside joke by the film crew) may be that when the fleshy parts are removed only the bony supports are left in place, the predatory Yautja would then clean their trophy to their liking, giving the impression of an internal skeleton.
Naturally, some fans will assert that an endoskeleton is necessary, because of the inability of an exoskeleton to provide support for larger creatures. (the exoskeleton would snap under the increased weight).
Genetic adaptability
Although the 'DNA-theft' theory is popular, the idea of the xenomorphic embryo actually using DNA from the host is a matter of some debate, on the following points:
- Does a silicon-based lifeform like the xenomorph even use DNA? (This is addressed in one of the Aliens novels, where it is revealed that the xenomorph possesses more than the standard four DNA basetypes of A, G, C and T, but still does include those.)
- Can a silicon-based lifeform make some use of carbon-based DNA?
- Borrowing an entire host chromosome seems an unlikely possibility.
A more detailed explanation may be that a facehugger or chestburster is capable of deciphering its host's DNA, deciding upon which traits it would like to keep, and re-encoding the DNA of the embryo in order to obtain these "genetic ideas" for the resultant adult creature.
A facehugger's long period of attachment to its host supports that more is occurring than the simple laying of an egg. In the Alien fiction, it has been noted that the very few survivors of the alien impregnation process are often mentally unbalanced, prone to aggression, and known for feats of inhuman strength. Dr. Paul Church and Ripley 8 exhibit these traits to varying degrees.
Theories
According to the computer game Aliens vs. Predator 2, xenomorphs utilize ultrasound for relatively long-distance communication. Xenomorph hives are built with smooth, rounded edges instead of rough, sharp edges because sound propagates better in such an environment. The skulls of xenomorphs act as sonic amplifiers for both boosting the transmission of messages and ensuring that incoming messages remain audible. This theory correlates with the Queen's massive head, since administrative duties would require greater transmission/receiving strength than normal xenomorphs. Likewise, this correlates with the theory of telepathy amongst the xenomorphs; drones and workers need only basic telepathy organs to receive a queen's signals, while a queen needs a more powerful ability to broadcast. Likewise, in the Earth Hive trilogy of novels, particularly sensitive humans experience strange dreams with the impression that the Queen Mother is calling to them as well, from across the galaxy. However, these theories contradict the Rogue Aliens novel, which describes a portion of the xenomorph's brain that contains telepathic capabilities. In Rogue, it was theorized that xenomorphs that stay further from a queen have a diminished array of telepathic lobes. These lobes are used to communicate specifically with the queen as well as others (but on a lesser basis).
The origins of the xenomorphs have never been fully explained in the films, but the expanded Alien literature has stated that the xenomorphs are bio-weapons genetically engineered by an ancient race called the "Space Jockeys". Little is known of this race except that they are purported to have created the xenomorphs to fight an ancient civil war. Alien eggs would be used as "bombs" on an enemy planet and then the xenomorphs would proceed to kill the entire population as they spawned. The xenomorphs were then genetically designed to die off, however eventually mutated and thrived even after killing their prey. Presumably the Space Jockeys were then killed by their own creations until very few remained. Maybe a single member of the Space Jockey race escaped in a freighter or warship full of xenomorph eggs, but was himself infected with a xenomorph and killed. That could be an explanation for the large, fossilized humanoid figure seen by the crew of the Nostromo in the first film. Although the expanded universe isn't considered canon, by fan opinion, the xenomorphs are presumed to be a biologically created race or enhanced by such means.
The Yautja or "Predators," discovered the xenomorphs in ancient times, and chose to hunt the creatures for sport. However, the Yautja had no desire to hunt upon a fully infested planet, so would often seed new planets with xenomorph eggs, then descend to hunt the newly hatched adults. Because the hunt is designed to be a challenge, xenomorph drones sometimes escape into the wild after a hunt, resulting in the planet becoming infected. Yautja do attempt to prevent this unintended side-effect of their alien hunts by destroying all life on the planet. This is mentioned in the Aliens vs Predator: War comics as well as the Earth Hive trilogy of novels. This may be a factor in dispersal of the xenomorphs from one planet to another even after their creators became extinct.
Movie appearances
- Alien (1979) Directed by Ridley Scott
- Aliens (1986) Directed by James Cameron
- Alien³ (1992) Directed by David Fincher
- Alien: Resurrection (1997) Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- Alien vs. Predator (2004) Directed by Paul WS Anderson
Fan Films
- Batman: Dead End (2003) -- Directed by Sandy Collora
External links
- Alien: The Director's Cut
- Alien Quadrilogy site
- HR Giger online
- Anchorpoint Essay- Alien information pages
- [http://www.alienvspredator2.com/ Alien VS Predator 2 dot com - a pleasant fan site, that has small bits information considering both serise, and a forum