As Alien’s Xenomorphs get their biggest upgrade in years, says goodbye to Predators being able to slaughter them by the dozens.
Summary
- Alien’s new white Xenomorphs are larger and more powerful than the classic Xenomorphs, with new art revealing their shocking size.
- By hybridizing with the native life of LV-695, the white Xenomorphs have gained immense strength and durability, capable of taking on multiple classic Xenomorphs single-handedly.
- With Marvel’s acquisition of the rights for Alien and Predator, it is likely that a new Alien vs Predator event will be launched, where the white Xenomorph hybrids will play a significant role.
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As Marvel’s new Alien series focuses on the Xenomorphs’ biggest ugprade in years, the species has finally flipped its major imbalance with Predator’s Yautja. The two fictional alien species have been battling since Dark Horse’s original Alien vs Predator comic, however with their warrior training and arsenal of weapons, Yautja tend to make short work of individual Xenomorphs. Now, those days are over.
Introduced in the recent Alien vol. 3 (Declan Shalvey, Andrea Broccardo), the white Xenomorphs are a new offshoot species from the classic black monstrosities of the Alien franchise. Hailing from the ice-covered moon LV-695, the new Xenomorphs are far larger than the classic Xenomorphs, though the two haven’t been seen side by side very often. Now, in cover art for the upcoming Alien vol. 4, fans see how huge these monstrosities actually are.
In cover art from Javier Fernandez (Alien #3 and #4) and Declan Shalvey (Alien #2), the monstrous size of the white Xenomorphs is clearly contrasted against the classic Aliens, showing how much more powerful these new hybrid creatures really are.
Related: Alien’s New White Xenomorphs Have History as the Franchise’s Smartest Monster
Predator’s Yautja Just Became the Weaker Species
Alien’s New Subspecies Out-Muscles Predator
While the two are their own franchises, Alien and Predator have a long, long history of crossovers, with a rich mythology explaining how the two interact. While hunting Xenomorphs is a huge part of Yautja culture – effectively allowing them to come of age – they also spread Xeno eggs across the universe in order to create new hunting grounds for their most valuable prey. However, the threat Xenomorphs pose to Yautja is generally about numbers. A single Predator could be expected to slaughter dozens of Xenomorphs, especially given their advanced technology and long history studying their prey. When the Xenomorphs win, it’s usually because a swarm overruns a Yautja, or catches one by surprise.
Now, however, the white Xenomorphs have changed that. By hybridizing with the native life of LV-695, the new Xenomorphs have grown to a gigantic size, with the strength and durability to match. Each new Xenomorph is a gigantic killing machine capable of tearing a Predator to pieces, and – as shown in Alien vol. 3 – taking on a legion of classic Xenomorphs single-handed. The original fauna of LV-695 were massive creatures (shown in Alien Annual 2023), and are even described as “kaiju” in the summary for Alien vol. 4 #4. Their size just made the Xenomorphs deadlier than the Yautja – not on the basis of their endless numbers, but on a 1-to-1 basis. Alien lore has always claimed Xenomorphs improve their species by taking on the qualities of their hosts, and now fans are seeing that in action.
It’s Time for a New Alien vs Predator
Marvel Has the Rights to Both Franchises
Marvel acquired the comic book rights for Alien and Predator comics in 2020, and recently made them the foundation of its 20th Century Studios imprint. It’s already started giving fans epic franchise crossovers with its other properties, as seen in the currently ongoing Predator vs Wolverine. It therefore seems it’s only a matter of time before Marvel launches its own Alien vs Predator event, and its recent focus on the white Xenomorph hybrids shows they need to be the third faction in this conflict. White Xenomorphs have no love for their regular cousins, considering them a territorial threat, and could tear a Predator apart easily.
Marvel’s 20th Century Studios imprint also includes Planet of the Apes, with new comic series Beware the Planet of the Apes coming January 2024, set in the original film series continuity.
The original Alien established that a single Xenomorph is a terrifying proposition, but up against Predators, Xenomorphs have proved to be the weaker species. Now, Marvel’s art for the upcoming Alien vol. 4 shows that’s no longer the case, perfectly setting up a new Alien vs Predator where every Yautja should fear a 1-on-1 fight against this new hybrid species.
Alien #1 is coming November 15 from Marvel Comics.
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