Xenomorphs and the Evolution of Evil

 

Since Alien debuted 45 years ago, fans of the frightening sci-fi franchise have been chest-bursting with excitement over new updates to the story universe through films, comics, toys, and more. Now, the Alien franchise is expanding again with the TV series Alien: Earth. The blend of sci-fi and horror is perfectly embodied by the terrifying figure of the Xenomorph, a bio-mechanical monster from the mind of H. R. Giger.

Over the years, from fan-favorite sequel Aliens to crossovers with Predator, Xenomorphs have mutated and evolved into terrifying new versions of the classic creature. To prepare for the carnage that inevitably lies ahead in the new television series, let’s take a look at some of the strangest strains and meanest mutations of Xenomorphs seen throughout the years!

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Alien Queen

The Alien Queen is perhaps one of the most famous evolutions of the Xenomorph alien legacy, featured in the film Aliens. This iconic, unforgettable creation became the monstrous matriarch and singular source of the aliens that were menacing the terraforming colony Hadley’s Hope. She is a fearsome beast, with an ovipositor to lay the ovomorphs, or Alien Eggs, which spawn the dreaded facehuggers who have sent many a colonial marine to their demise. The Queen is recognized by her massive stature and regal head crest, numerous arms, and the iconic inner jaw of the Xenomorph menace.

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Bodyburster

Bodybursters are a mutated variant of Xenomorphs that are unable to mature past the larval stage of their lifecycle. Rather, they deepen in hue, appearing to be slightly larger, black chestbursters capable of moving at incredible speeds. This mutation originally appeared in the comic Aliens: Kidnapped. Despite not maturing into their full form, bodybursters have dangerous bile inside their bodies that cause their bite victims to explode.

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Alien King

The Alien films first introduced the frightening Xenomorphs as the brood of their Queen, who lays eggs that hatch into facehuggers. Since that debut, the Queen has met her King in the board game Alien vs Predator: The Hunt Begins. A part of H. R. Giger’s legacy, the Alien King leads the smaller drone Xenomorphs with his intimidating size and multi-layered head crest, which makes him appear overwhelmingly regal and much more powerful than the standard drone. Based on size alone, this Xenomorph is especially equipped for battle, leading to its other alias, the Monstrosity.

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Predalien

The Predalien is the result of breeding between a Xenomorph facehugger and a Yautja, or Predator alien. While they are physically more similar to a Xenomorph, the Predaliens do have the recognizable head crest and tentacle appendages of the Predator species. This species first appeared in the film Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, and the original Predalien was referred to as “Chet” in the script to keep the secrecy of the character in case of script leaks.

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Xenoborg

Xenoborgs are a genetically engineered strain of alien cyborg creatures featured in the Aliens vs. Predator games. Created in a cybernetics factory on Planet Blior, these Xenomorph variants have armor enhancements on their bodies and are capable of holding weapons. The Xenoborgs were controlled via radio, but eventually their creator lost control as the Xenomorph instincts overpowered his programming — letting the creatures run wild.

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Bull Alien

This varied strain of Xenomorph is born from hosts like bulls or cows. They first appeared in the Aliens: Space Marines mini-comic Stampede, which accompanied the Kenner toy release of the Bull Alien character. These Xenomorphs have large black horns, with red and black bodies. As the comic name suggests, they often stampede and are very dangerous for the human colony of TerraForm 3. Bull Aliens are considered similar to Dog Aliens, AKA Runners.

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Swimmer

Swimmer Xenomorphs are the result of a facehugger breeding with a whale or other large aquatic mammal. Found on an aquatic colony planet in the comic series Aliens: Colonial Marines, these aliens live in oceans thick with kelp. Their top halves resemble the traditional Xenomorph queen, but below the waist they have large tails, fins, and even tentacles. While incredibly fast and deadly in the water, these Xenomorphs have not been seen staying on land.

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Crusher

The Crusher mutated after a nuclear explosion on planet LV-426 in the comic Aliens: Colonial Marines. Brown in color, the Crusher walks on all fours and has a massive bulletproof head shield which it uses like a ram. It is large and fast, but despite the power of its head shield, the rest of its body is susceptible to damage like any other Xenomorph.

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Engineers

Out of the darkest reaches of space, and predating every sentient species in the Alien universe, the Engineers orchestrated multiple evolutionary lines. These pale, imposing geneticists debuted in Prometheus. Not only did they plant the DNA seeds for humans on primordial Earth, but they also experimented with the deadly life-giving pathogen known as black liquid to create Xenomorphs. That’s right — Engineers are the source of it all.

From the Engineers, we have also seen a variety of hybrid Xenomorph monsters. In Prometheus, black liquid mutates within a human colonist and is transferred to another human via intercourse. The result is a tentacled creature that rapidly grows in size, capable of taking down a large Engineer. This slithering horror operates like a facehugger and when it used an Engineer as an incubator, the Deacon was born. Similar to Neomorphs, these smaller, short-lived Xenomorph hybrids have elongated craniums that end in a sharp point. Due to their humanoid ancestry, Deacons are bipedal as they mature. They also appear in Alien: Covenant. With their smaller human teeth in a Xenomorph exterior, this hybrid perhaps hits closest to home.

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Over the last few decades, the Alien franchise has grown strong and taken many different forms from Dark Horse’s comic universe, which began in 1988, to the modern series of film prequels. No doubt new terrors await as Xenomorphs (or something else) make their way to our planet in Alien: Earth.

What is your favorite Xenomorph evolution? Join the conversation with other sci-fi fans over at Sideshow Social Network or at side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!