Xenomorph species. Biology of xenomorphs: how Aliens work

The Alien, or xenomorph - a creepy alien monster with an elongated skull, two pairs of jaws, a sharp tail and acidic blood - is known even to those who are not familiar with the film of the same name and its sequels. But they are definitely worth watching. After all, in addition to the legendary monster, “Alien” gave birth to an original and dark universe that continues to develop to this day, and not only on movie screens.

The appearance of the Alien

It's hard to imagine that such a huge franchise was born due to a lucky coincidence. When working on the Alien script, Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett did not expect their names to go down in cinema history. The original plot of Alien was far from what viewers saw: producers David Giler and Walter Hill rewrote it more than once. It was they who included the android Ash in the plot, adding notes of sci-fi drama to the horror. The result was an incredibly beautiful and daring film for its era about how seven space truckers find an abandoned ship with the larvae of unknown creatures on a distant planet. One of which gets on board their vessel and causes a bloodbath.

The idea of ​​making ordinary hard workers the heroes of the film turned out to be successful. It was easy for viewers to associate themselves with such characters, empathize with them and understand the motives for their actions

The film was incredibly lucky with its design. O'Bannon collaborated on Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune, and although the project was canceled, it allowed the screenwriter to become familiar with the work of Hans Rudi Giger, both horrifying and erotic. Alien director Ridley Scott also liked Giger's work. The artist was tasked with coming up with the appearance of an alien at all stages of development, the setting of an alien ship and views of another planet. His facehugger models were so realistic that when he tried to bring them to filming in the USA, Giger was detained at customs. They couldn't believe that this was just decoration.

Frighteningly realistic and at the same time alien to our world, the biomechanical designs of Hans Rudi Giger are impressive at first glance. It’s unlikely that “Alien” would have become a cult film if a less eccentric and talented artist had worked on its design

Director Ridley Scott, the make-up artists, the set designers, and, of course, the cast gave their best. Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley has become no less a striking image of a strong fantasy heroine than Princess Leia from Star Wars.

The story opened up enormous possibilities for creating sequels and prequels to suit every taste. The space of “Alien,” according to the canons of good old science fiction, is not at all friendly and is fraught with a lot of dangers and discoveries - just like the Earth with sinister corporations and robots that are indistinguishable from people that have seized power.

Alien Biology

An alien, or xenomorph (from a combination of the Greek words "alien" and "form"), is an upright creature that is composed of both organic and inorganic matter and has two powerful jaws, a sharp tail, a durable exoskeleton and acidic blood. The life cycle of an Alien consists of several stages.

The structure of a xenomorph colony resembles an anthill or a beehive. There are several types of Aliens, differing in appearance and abilities. The largest and smartest - queen. She lays eggs for procreation and manages the hive. Its inhabitants are divided into workers and larger and more aggressive warriors. The appearance and abilities of Aliens may vary depending on whose organism they used for development. There are more types of Aliens in comics and games than in the movies, and they can change their specialization if necessary. But it is not entirely clear which species, besides those shown in the films, can be considered canonical.

From horror to action films

Despite the excellent box office of Alien, Fox was in no hurry to greenlight the sequel. Few people had any idea in which direction to develop the series. As a result, David Giler bet on the up-and-coming director James Cameron. His script for The Terminator impressed the producer, and Cameron became both the screenwriter and director of the sequel, Aliens.

Through Cameron's efforts, the series turned from a horror film into an action film. The director was a longtime fan of Heinlein's Starship Troopers and wanted to make a film not about helpless victims, but about future soldiers ready to face an unknown threat. Their story reflected Cameron's interest in the Vietnam War. Like American soldiers, the Marines in the film are well armed and trained, but meeting an unknown enemy on foreign soil turns into a real nightmare for them.

After Ripley defeated the Alien Queen with the help of a robot loader, such devices became a popular weapon for fighting evil creatures

The Alien universe was perfect for an action movie, and even Ripley, who survived the first part, fit into the plot without any problems. For fifty years, while she was in cryogenic sleep, a colony was founded on the ill-fated planet where her team encountered the Alien. Communication with its inhabitants is cut off, and an armed detachment is sent there to investigate. Ripley flies with him, hoping that defeating an old enemy will help her restore her reputation and get rid of her nightmares. It's not hard to guess what happens next. Instead of one natural killer, the squad encounters a whole brood of creatures that have made the colony their home.

“Aliens” became a rare sequel that surpassed the original in popularity. The fast pace, bloody action and brave heroine impressed both audiences and critics. In addition, Cameron's imagination expanded the Aliens universe. It turned out that xenomorphs have an intelligent queen capable of laying eggs, and they themselves are divided into soldiers and workers, like ants or bees. Not only strong and tenacious, but also smart and organized aliens have become worthy opponents for people.

After Aliens, Ellen Ripley was jokingly nicknamed Rambolina. Well, she looks no worse than Stallone’s hero. And he can deal with enemies and save civilians

Evil corporation

The Weyland-Yutani Corporation is constantly trying to get its hands on a sample of the Alien. The main direction of its activity is the exploration of new planets and the production of all the equipment necessary for this, from spaceships to spacesuits and on-board food. It also produces androids that are indistinguishable from humans. The corporation appeared as a result of the merger of the American company Weiland and the Japanese Yutani. And although the company's history is told differently in Prometheus and the original tetralogy, its business model remains the same. Weyland-Yutani is a classic evil corporation that is ready to do anything to get new technologies and make money from them. She sends colonists to a planet inhabited by Aliens, conducts inhumane experiments and eliminates their witnesses. According to Ripley, it is not clear who is worse: Aliens who kill out of instinct or people who are ready to kill each other for profit.

Fall and oblivion

By the time work began on the third part of the saga, the authors' luck had turned away. The producers couldn't decide how to develop the story. Several scripts were written for Alien 3. But Shusett and O’Bannon were not satisfied with the story about the conflict between two powers competing in the development of biological weapons, about the transformation of animals on an agricultural colony into Aliens, or about the meeting of hermit monks with xenomorphs.

As a result, the film was based on a plot about criminals on a prison planet who are fighting a monster. Ripley gets there in the company of a facehugger, who upon arrival infects a dog with the Alien larva. Ripley again has to hunt a monster, this time especially fast, and the local prisoners are not eager to help her. In addition, the embryo of the Alien queen is developing inside the heroine herself, after which unscrupulous agents of the corporation are already flying.

Unfortunately, due to a conflict between the producers and director David Fincher, it was not possible to adequately present the story. The disagreements were so strong that the young director left the project as soon as he finished filming, and the film was edited without him. As a result, instead of a masterpiece, an average action movie with chaotic ideas came out. The film did not add anything new to the Alien universe. It just confirmed that xenomorphs can use not only humans for reproduction, and hybrids with other creatures will look a little different.

At the end of the third film, Ripley sacrifices herself to destroy the Alien queen larva living inside her. This could have been a beautiful ending to the heroine’s story. But the greed of the film company overcame common sense

The final scene of Alien 3 could have put a spectacular end to the history of the series. But, despite the protests of the franchise authors, the studio decided to earn some more money. The next script was ordered from Joss Whedon, and the director's chair went to the Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jeunet. They tried to find a fresh look at the series that was losing popularity, but instead they ended up with a film that was associated only with Ripley and xenomorphs with Alien. The interesting themes that the plot could have touched upon were not embodied in the typical story of cool kids exterminating evil aliens.

In the new film, the military clones the Alien queen (and Ripley for company) and breeds several xenomorphs. They scatter throughout the research ship and begin hunting for the crew. This time Ripley has to get rid of them in the company of space pirates. Moreover, the cloned Ripley is practically a superheroine. Thanks to the alien genetic code built into her DNA, she became significantly faster and stronger, and her blood turned into acid. This was not the ending fans were expecting. And the average viewer was not particularly impressed by another typical action movie, as evidenced by the modest box office receipts.

Ripley's clone, combining human and Alien traits, is an interesting character. But he failed to pull “Resurrection” out of the abyss of banality and mediocrity alone

Alien on paper and monitor

After 1997, Aliens disappeared from movie screens for a long time. But the franchise was not forgotten: video games and comics continued to be released about xenomorphs, and a crossover with “Predator” appeared.

Games based on the Alien universe began to be released shortly after the premiere of the first film. First, adventure games appeared for antediluvian computers and consoles, and later arcade machines came into fashion, where xenormorphs could be shot with light pistols. From the mid-nineties to the early 2000s, the horror-shooter hybrids Alien Trilogy and Alien Resurrection and the online team shooter Aliens Online, which was ahead of its time, saw the light of day.

Alien: Colonial Marines was one of the biggest gaming flops of 2013

Of interest to modern audiences may be the two-dimensional side-scroller Aliens Infestation for the Nintendo DS, the controversial shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines, released on PC and consoles of the previous generation, and, of course, Alien: Isolation - an excellent horror game in a retrofuturistic setting that you can play on modern consoles and PCs. The plots of the games do not blow your mind, but they allow you to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the series.

Another thing is the amazing Alien: Isolation, in the spirit of the first film

In addition to films and games, many novels and comics based on Alien have been published, both included in the canon and remaining in the status of fan fiction. There are a variety of texts - from stories about how Ripley saves another group of colonists from the clutches of xenomorphs (and in the finale, to avoid inconsistencies with the plots of the films, loses her memory), to large-scale panels about the seizure of the Earth by aliens and the attempts of people to reconquer the planet. In the books, such undeservedly forgotten characters in films as Marine Hicks and the colonist girl Newt from “Aliens” were developed.

Alien and Predator

There were many crossovers involving the Alien, but only one developed into a large-scale series. In 1989, they came up with the idea of ​​pitting an ideal killer against a natural hunter on the pages of the comic book Alien vs. Predator published by Dark Horse. They met on the big screen only in 2004, in the film “Alien vs. Predator.” The spectacle turned out bloody, but stupid. However, this did not prevent the release of a sequel of even lower quality three years later. It is not surprising that the creators of Alien disowned this duology and it is generally considered not to be canon.

The Alien vs. Predator crossover is not considered canon for the Alien series.

But the conflict between Aliens and Predators with people has become an excellent theme for video games. The first-person shooter series developed by Rebellion Developments was especially successful. In it you could play as a hero of any faction, and each of the three had not only their own plot, but also an individual style of play. These games were loved for their frightening atmosphere and extreme cruelty. Well, where else can you tear out the spine from the back of a living person with your own hands? Except in Mortal Kombat. In the last part of which, by the way, you can play as an Alien and a Predator.

But if stories about fights between Aliens, Predators and humans still look convincing, then it’s hard to look at the covers of comics about the fight between Batman, Superman, Judge Dredd and Green Lantern with xenomorphs without smiling. But they were published not as a parody, but in all seriousness. Superman, for example, had to face an Alien on a planet with little sunlight, which is why the superhero lost some of his strength and was unable to quickly deal with the monster.

Forward to the past

The series truly returned to the big screen in 2012 with the release of Prometheus, an ambitious science-fiction film directed by Ridley Scott. Although it does not lead directly to the story of Alien, it is easiest to characterize it as a prequel to the main series.

The Prometheus starship is flying on a research mission to a distant planet. Scientists have calculated that in numerous drawings left by ancient civilizations, the gods pointed specifically to her. Hoping to find answers to questions about the origin of humanity and the meaning of its existence, the crew explores the ruins of alien buildings, one of which turns out to be a spaceship. He headed for Earth, but his entire crew, with the exception of one humanoid sleeping in a cryogenic chamber, died. An attempt to establish contact with the alien fails: he attacks the people who spoke to him. In addition, the hold of his ship is filled with vessels with black liquid, which causes terrible mutations in people. At the end of the film, this leads to the appearance of a creature similar to the Alien...

Thanks to the beautiful video sequence, “Prometheus” leaves a pleasant impression

"Prometheus" does not shy away from raising eternal questions about faith and the meaning of life, while at the same time discussing such popular themes in science fiction as the relationship between robots and people. Android David, played by Michael Fassbender, seemingly friendly, but in the depths of his digital consciousness harboring a grudge against his creators, became the main pearl of the film. The rest of the characters also turned out to be likable, although they acted illogically for professional researchers. But this is perhaps the only significant complaint about Prometheus. The film is imbued with the spirit of good old science fiction, whose universe is full of alluring and at the same time deadly dangerous secrets. And walking along the dusty paths of a distant abandoned world in the company of heroes turned out to be very pleasant. Not least thanks to the beautiful design of the film, combining Giger's design and modern, expensive special effects.

“Prometheus” complemented the “Aliens” universe well, lifting the veil of secrecy over the origin of the pilot of the alien ship that the heroes of the first film stumbled upon. At the same time, the film left many questions unanswered, hinting at the possibility of a sequel. And he didn’t have to wait long. Alien: Covenant was the first in a trilogy of films connecting the events of Prometheus and Alien. The film was released in May and got rid of some of the shortcomings of “Prometheus” - it brought back the Aliens themselves, answered several long-standing questions of the universe, and besides, it was just as beautiful. But his characters were also at odds with logic... Maybe they’ll fix it in the next film?

* * *

The Alien series turned out to be tenacious, just like the monster of the same name. And although the first two films raised the quality bar so high that it is almost impossible to repeat their success, I still want to see their backstory and continuation. The universe created almost forty years ago, populated by bizarre monsters, insidious robots and unscrupulous employees of giant corporations, continues to excite the imagination. And I want to believe that the skill of the writers and directors will allow the world of Aliens to develop further, and not sink into oblivion.

The theme of the consequences of a collision between a person and the unknown is always popular both in cinema and in art in general - from the cult opuses of Howard Lovecraft to the novels of Steve Perry. But often the unknown takes on specific forms, sometimes very cute like Spielberg’s, but mostly monstrous and deadly.

Cult movie character

Back in 1979, the young director, for whom the now legendary “Alien” was only his second full-length work in a big movie, created a picture that forever defined the face of sci-fi horror. Films about “Alien” are still released regularly. And other film stories often borrow elements of Scott’s masterpiece, which is not surprising, because “Alien” is a rare case when all the components are perfect: a gifted, ambitious director, a competent script, an unrivaled cast and phenomenal work by the artists. Over time, the alien cinematic universe grew and acquired its own hierarchy of individuals, among which the alien Praetorian occupied not the least place.

Prince

The individual, called the Praetorian, definitely attracts attention, since it is several times more powerful, stronger and larger in size than an alien-drone or alien-soldier. In terms of his parameters, he is second only to the Queen, which is why he is often called the Prince. In short, he looks so terrifying that Jung and Freud would hug each other and cry with joy.

The Alien Praetorian has an impressive bony crest, almost identical to the Queen's. The powerful horny cover makes the monster invulnerable to any type of small arms. The height of the individual ranges from three to four meters. He has a by no means primitive intellect, he is capable of setting up ambushes and traps for the enemy, and commanding other xenomorphs. For all these advantages, he is positioned in the classification as an elite soldier of the hive. The Praetorian has a frightening beauty that combines the disgusting and the attractive overnight. There is an opinion that, if absolutely necessary, they can develop into a full-fledged Queen.

Transformations

When the hive population reaches its maximum size, the Queen selects several candidates from among her subjects to become her personal bodyguards. Having passed the selection, individuals receive royal “permission” for further transformation. Since the process is accompanied by a strong release of pheromones, the monsters must urgently leave the territory of the hive. Otherwise, they will be torn apart by their relatives, who are incredibly irritated by the products of the external secretion of the alien Praetorian at the stage of mutation. During the period of the process of changing integuments, the chosen ones live outside the population, independently obtaining food and diligently avoiding encounters with their own kind.

Return to the family

Most individuals cannot withstand the modification and die, but these sacrifices are justified - this is how the weak are weeded out and the best remain. At the final stage of molting, the alien Praetorian returns to the hive and begins its new duties. Now he is inseparable from the Queen, her personal bodyguard. Caring only about ensuring the safety of the Uterus, the monster does not take an active part in the main life of the xenomorph colony. They rarely leave the hive, only if there is an immediate threat.

Praetorians can evolve not only from soldiers and drones, but also from Alien Predators. This fact is confirmed by an individual in the film “Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem” who has a crown.

The disadvantages of elite soldiers include their inability to climb vertical surfaces, which is explained by the presence of impressive size, a bony crest and large body mass.

This type of xenomorph is more often found in the expanded Alien universe than in cinema, including books, comics, computer games, and toy lines.

"and its sequels. Below is a list of the various xenomorph forms that have ever been mentioned in various films, computer games, comics, etc.

Encyclopedic YouTube

1 / 5

✪ Necromorphs: Monster Review of the game “Dead Space”

✪ Reactions of let-players to FACECRAP in Alien: Isolation (S08E10)

✪ 10 SCARIEST PLACES IN GAMES

✪ BATTLEFRONT 2 (2017) - WHAT WILL THE GAME BE? RELEASE DATE, SEVERAL AGES, CAMPAIGN

✪ House with Traps

Subtitles

We continue our acquaintance with the most dangerous, vile and incredible creatures that inhabit the darkest corners of known space. In past videos we came face to face with xenomorphs, arachnids, headcrabs and other creatures. Today in turn, in my humble opinion, are some of the most terrifying creatures of darkness - necromorphs from the Dead Void or Dead Space. We will find out what they are, where they come from, how they reproduce, how and why they are killed, what their life cycle is and, of course, how to kill them. Recently I asked you a little riddle for attentiveness on YouTube, Instagram and VK, what will this video be about? Many of you guessed right, so look for your names and nicknames throughout the video! Necromorphs are a dead life form. Devoid of pity, pain and compassion, these creatures exist to spread an alien extraterrestrial bacteria that transforms dead flesh into something terrible and hostile. If you don’t delve deeply into the nature and history of necromorphs, you might think that they are just another very dangerous zombie, but this is an erroneous point of view. Behind the threat of the lesser necromorphs lies something truly amazing and unimaginable, capable of destroying all life in the universe, turning it into a dead void - the Brother Moons. But first things first. Those converted into necromorphs immediately attack any uninfected life form with the goal of killing and subsequent transformation. Outbreaks of infection occur where mysterious extraterrestrial Obelisks appear, which resemble huge dildos from hell. Their study revealed the secret of such structures: Obelisks are sent to various planets by the Brotherly Moons, which are the final stage, as far as is known, of the development of necromorphs. They are huge planetary scale accumulations of dead infected flesh, the purpose of which is to absorb all living things. All necromorphs are united into a common intelligent telepathic network. Lesser creatures are devoid of reason as such, and they are controlled through Obelisks by the Brotherly Moons. So, the infection takes place in several stages: as soon as the Obelisk lands on a planet on which life exists, it begins to relay a signal that turns dead flesh within a certain radius of the obelisk into necromorphs. This signal affects intelligent beings in a completely different way: it drives them crazy, transmitting terrible images to their minds, including drawings of obelisks. This is done so that creatures affected by the signal create copies of the obelisks, thereby spreading the influence of the signal to new territories, further increasing the reach of the pandemic. In addition, insanity manifests itself in aggressive actions towards others and towards themselves: victims of the signal become dangerous, try to kill everyone around them, and at the same time themselves, becoming biological material for the subsequent replenishment of the army of necromorphs. In addition to the Obelisks' signal, the source of infection is the pathogen itself, which is spread by various types of necromorphs, for example, Corruptors or Swarms. As already mentioned: living organisms do not directly transform into necromorphs. First they need to be killed. If the bacterium comes into contact with a living person, then he experiences only some mental and motor disorders: catatonia, paralysis, breathing problems. On the other hand, such disorders can cause death, make a person easy prey for other necromorphs, and so on, that is, they still contribute to the spread of infection. Devouring the flesh of nephromorphs also leads to infection, death and subsequent transformation. Infected corpses turn into necromorphs extremely quickly, and the effect of rebirth is simply terrible. The cells of a dead organism begin to rebuild, which is expressed in a change in the shape of both individual organs and parts of the body, and the entire organism. Internal organs are unnecessarily recombined into additional muscles, and bones break and often become a kind of huge knives. This alone makes necromorphs very dangerous. The process of rebirth takes a matter of seconds, and during this process a huge amount of heat is released, which is why the blood literally boils. The flesh of necromorphs also spreads infection, growing to the floor, walls and ceiling; it is very reminiscent of the living earth of the zerg. This flesh, injected directly into the human circulatory system, initiates the transformation process. Necromorphs are very diverse in their types. If you want to know in detail about the features of all types of necromorphs, write in the comments “Let's Dead Space!” As I said before, necromorphs kill and spread infection for a reason. Their ultimate goal is to consume all life in the universe. The culmination of the infection of an entire planet is the birth of a new Brotherly Moon - the final form of the evolution of necromorphs. Once the pandemic reaches sufficient proportions, the Convergence begins. All necroforms, the entire biosphere of the planet and all Obelisks rush into the stratosphere, where the birth of a perfect dead creature - the Brotherly Moon - takes place. After this, the creature's only goal remains to consume all living things in its path. All necromorphs have amazing damage resistance. What kills a person will not stop a necromorph due to the lack of vital organs and the feeling of pain. They also don't need air to breathe. The main and most effective way to combat necromorphs is to dismember or completely destroy their bodies. Since there are a huge number of types of necromorphs, amputation is not a universal method, but in most cases it is the limbs that should be shot or cut off: arms and legs, since without them they become practically harmless and die. But I repeat, there are exceptions. A necromorph that has lost its head, in most cases, will not be particularly upset and will continue to try to kill you. In some cases, a powerful stream of flame, explosion or electric discharge can also help. But there are types of necromorphs that are able to quickly regenerate lost limbs, or simply mutate after losing them, becoming even stronger and more dangerous. In general, necromorphs have absorbed everything that is most terrible and deadly, becoming one of the most, or perhaps the most dangerous creatures in the universe. Who else would you like to hear about in future videos? Write in the comments and watch other videos on the channel! Don't forget to turn on the bell, otherwise many subscribers miss new videos! Also subscribe to my second streamer channel and support with some money, if you don’t mind! Links in the description! Thank you for watching! And remember - no one will come to your aid.

Soldiers and drones

They are responsible for protection and hunting, as well as expanding the living space, building the hive, collecting food, feeding the queen and caring for the eggs. Under normal conditions, these individuals are not capable of reproduction, but in the absence of a queen they can lay from one to three eggs (more precisely, using the bodies of living creatures to create eggs, like wasps). If desired, queens can evolve into a Praetorian - a larger, smarter and less mobile individual with a shield on the head similar to the queen’s shield [ ] .

Externally, the drone and the soldier differ in size (the soldier is slightly larger) and the covering of the head (smooth for the drone, ribbed for the soldier). Drones appear in the films Alien and Alien vs. Predator, and soldiers appear in Aliens and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. In each of these films, the appearance of the creatures is different. It is also possible that the xenomorphs from the movie Alien Covenant are also drones.

In comics and computer games, several castes stand out among drones, differing in appearance and behavior.

Cloned xenomorphs

A special type of drone that appears in the film "Alien" Resurrection. This subspecies appeared from eggs laid by the queen cloned with Ellen Ripley and is a kind of hybrid due to the fact that during cloning the genes of Ripley and the queen were mixed. Outwardly, they are quite different from ordinary drones - they are brownish in color, their legs are adapted for digigrade rather than plantigrade walking and have five segments, and their heads are shorter and more pointed. A characteristic feature of cloned xenomorphs is that they periodically exhale steam.

Queen

Queen or Uterus- the main and largest individual in the colony (several times larger than an ordinary Alien). The rest obey her unquestioningly, even if it costs them their lives. Moves only on two large limbs. Her exoskeleton is so durable that standard 10mm kinetic weapons cannot penetrate it. Unlike the constantly changing soldiers, from the moment she grows up, the queen’s appearance remains practically unchanged: her head is adorned with a huge comb-like “crown”, which turns into a head cover, the presence of additional limbs on her chest, the presence of huge spikes on her back instead of small breathing tubes, but her main feature - the presence of an umbilical cord of the ovipositor. This translucent biopolymer sac filled with eggs is so huge that because of it the queen cannot move independently and is therefore in a “cradle” - a kind of hammock made of salivary threads and strips of biopolymer resin that support the queen and her ovipositor in a suspended state. However, in case of danger, the queen is able to tear off the ovipositor and move independently. Example: in the game “Aliens versus Predator (2010),” the old queen breaks off her ovipositor to escape captivity, but after some time she grows a new one.

There is also a known fact, mentioned in Ridley Scott's books, that an adult queen, who has fully completed her development, has an intelligence superior to that of an ordinary human. Also, signs of intelligence are visible in the film “Aliens”. When Ellen Ripley first demonstrated the action of a flamethrower and then pointed the barrel at the eggs laid by the queen, the queen understood her intentions and, in order to preserve them, ordered the two soldiers who were going to attack Ripley to retreat. Another time, the queen understood the transport purpose of the elevator, and then used it.

There is also an "Alien King" figurine.

Runner

Ripley Clones

Hybrid (Alien Predator, Predatory Alien)

Queen Mother

The various Queen Mothers are the supreme leaders of all types of xenomorphs, with other Queens and Empresses subordinate to them. Each Queen Mother rules her own variety of Aliens, such as black or red. They have telepathy and empathy. They are distinguished by five spines on the edge of the crest instead of three, like ordinary queens.

Appears in the comics Aliens: Earth War and Aliens: Genocide and the book Aliens: The Female War.

Varieties that appeared only in games

• Empress:

The Empress appears in Aliens Online and Aliens vs. Predator 2". A particularly large and ancient queen. Even stronger and more durable. It is possible that the queens in Aliens versus Predator (2010), the 2004 film, and Aliens: Infestation are also Empresses.

• Flying Alien

The Flying Alien appears in Aliens: Extermination and Alien vs. Predator (SNES) as a boss, and in the Kenner toy line as the Flying Queen.

• Xeno-Borg

• Alien mutant

Alien warriors mutated as a result of the nuclear explosion on LV-426. Completely blind. Focus on noise. The attack is a self-detonation. Appears in Aliens: Colonial Marines.

• Spitter

Another type of mutated Aliens. Their heads glow in the dark. They spit acid from a decent distance. Very fast. Appears in Aliens: Colonial Marines.

• Crow

Very similar to a not fully developed Praetorian. A distinctive feature is the head like that of a warrior. Only one individual is found. Only large-caliber weapons are suitable against him. Serious damage can also be caused by a blow from the forklift's arm. Appears only in the game Aliens: Colonial Marines.

• Large Alien

• Tarkatan Alien

It is generally similar to a normal drone, but has retractable blades on its arms, and its mouth is much wider than that of normal xenomorphs and lined with long, conical teeth. All these traits are inherited from the Tarkatans. Other distinctive features are a short head, and a shorter stature compared to classic xenomorphs, about the size of an average person. Blood has acidic properties, but more limited, for the sake of game balance. Variations:

1. Acid player. The most classic Alien. External differences are a smooth head, like a drone’s, and acid oozes from the tail. Special moves are focused on the use of acid, and in terms of gameplay this variation is a typical zoner.
2. Tarkatan. A kind of replacement for Baraka in the game’s roster. External differences - a corrugated head, like a soldier's. Uses special techniques typical of Baraka, minus projectile.
3. Stuntman. Something between a praetorian and a queen. External differences are the presence of a crown-collar on the head. Specializes in summoning eggs and other xenomorphs.

Appeared as DLC as part of Kombat Pack 2 in Mortal Kombat X.

Varieties that appeared only in comics

In the comic "Aliens" Apocalypse: The Destroying Angels" (Russian) Strangers. Apocalypse: Angels of Destruction) Space jockeys are presented as a type of Alien.

Hive

To create a hive, one facehugger may be enough to enter a populated space (planet, spaceship, station). Once the xenomorph reaches the adult stage in the absence of a queen, it will transform first into a Praetorian, then into a queen. Having found a suitable isolated area, usually in the warmest place, and having eaten, it will grow an ovipositor and lay its first eggs. The first facehuggers will either attack those who approach, or will leave the hive and find carriers on their own. The hatched xenomorphs, having reached the adult stage in freedom, will return to the hive, where they will feed the queen and take care of the eggs as soldiers and drones. From this moment on, the facehuggers will not have to leave the hive, since the adults themselves will deliver future carriers there.

: reproductive female and infertile workers (workers, soldiers and others). The biological life cycle involves implantation of endoparasitoid larvae inside living hosts. Having completed their development, the larvae burst out of the host, causing its death, then quickly mature from juvenile to adulthood within hours and begin searching for new hosts to reproduce.

Encyclopedic YouTube

1 / 5

✪ The best deaths in cinema All victories over ALIEN #Alien

✪ Predator and Alien - shared cinematic universe [OBJECT] Predator, Alien Cinematic Universe

✪ The best deaths in cinema All victories over the Predator #Predator

✪ Who created Aliens? Who is Hans Giger? The story of the most recognizable monster in the history of cinema and games!

✪ Alien is not against Predator [OBJECT] Alien don't versus Predator

Subtitles

Creating an image

Name

Appearance of the image

In the summer of 1977, O'Bannon contacted Giger and told him about filming a new science fiction film. Just at this time, the artist’s third book, entitled “ Necronomicon" This collection of posters, shown by O'Bannon to Ridley Scott, caught the director's attention. Scott brought in Giger to work on the creature concepts, art design for his film, and the look of the Aliens. True, Giger's candidacy did not cause much encouragement among the film's producers. As a result of the fact that Scott insisted on involving this particular artist in the filming, a contract was signed with Giger in 1978. Over the course of three months, he made more than two dozen drawings of Aliens and sent them to the UK, where, according to them, a full-length Alien figure was to be created. The sculptors failed to bring the idea to life, which is why Giger was personally invited to the UK to directly participate in the preparation for filming. The artist worked for 5 months in the Shepperton studio on the interior design of the spaceship, inside of which, according to the script, the film's characters found Alien eggs. There, Giger created concept art for the dead pilot and the scenery of the desert planet (LV-426) where the ship was found. Giger also worked for four months to create the Alien costume, each element of which was made individually to the figure of the non-professional actor Bolaji Badejo, who played his role. Several times Giger altered his works due to the overtly sexual nature of certain details, such as the shape of the head.

Giger's design for the chestbreaker was considered unsuccessful in this case, and the final image of the chestbreaker was created by Ridley Scott and Roger Dicken.

The Alien Queen was drawn by the director of the second film, James Cameron, together with artist Stan Winston. Winston's studio created a foam model with full hydraulic control especially for the film. It was this model that was filmed in almost all the scenes of the film that required the presence of the queen in the frame. For this work, the film received an Oscar for best visual effects. It wasn't until the 2004 film Alien vs. Predator that computer simulations of the queen's running and fighting were used.

Life cycle

Facehugger

Alien structure

Anatomy

The Alien is a bipedal upright individual, capable of quickly moving on four limbs, as well as jumping and swimming, its body consists of both organic and inorganic compounds and is a synthesis of silicon-metallic and carbon structure. The exoskeleton consists of polarized organic silicates, silicate cells have metal in a bound state. In addition to the external exoskeleton, there is an internal bone structure.

Physiology

Alien blood is highly acidic and can corrode almost any substance upon contact with it. Its color is dull, yellowish-green. Concept artist Ron Cobb, when creating the Alien look for the first film in the franchise, came up with the idea of ​​an alien with acidic blood in order to create a plausible means of making the creature "invulnerable". If someone were to use traditional firearms or explosives to kill, their blood would corrode the spaceship's hull. In the novelization of the film "Alien" of the same name, it is said that, at least at the "face-grabbing" stage, the acid is not blood, but cavity fluid, which is under pressure between the double layer of skin.

List of games about aliens

• Aliens (FDS,MSX)
• Alien 3 (SNES, Sega MegaDrive 2)
• Aliens versus Predator: Extinction
• Alien vs. Predator (arcade)
• Aliens vs. Predator (video game)
• Space Station 13 (Colonial Marines build)
• Aliens Infestation (Nintendo DS)
• Mortal Kombat X (Plays as one of the fighters)

Influence on other works

Cartoon series

• "American Dad! " The robot in the series “Adult Deal” (1.17) is a copy of the robot from the movie “Aliens”. The Big Space Fryer (5.18) is a parody of the film Alien with Roger as the Alien and Stan Smith as Ripley.
• "Family Guy". In the episode "Peter's Daughter" (6.07), Peter Griffin admits that he treated Meg Griffin as an Alien; a parody scene with the Queen, Ripley and Newt is shown. In the film, in the episode “You May Now Kiss the… Uh… Guy Who Receives” (4.25), it is shown that the gay man has acid instead of blood, and then a monster similar to the Alien crawls out of him. In the bar in the episode “Blue Harvest” (6.01), one of the customers is an Alien.
• "Duckman." In the episode “Where Duckman Has Gone Before” (4.27), the Alien is one of the members of the spaceship crew.
• "Lilo and Stitch ". Experiment 627 in the episode of the same name (1.19) sticks out its tongue like an Alien.
• "Masks". In the series “New Year on a farm near Dikanka. From Dusk to Dawn" (episode 7) an Alien appears on the television screen.
• "Monsters versus Aliens". The Vornikarn series is a parody of the film Alien.
• "Pinguins from Madagascar ". In the episode "Alienated" (2.51), an alien like an Alien bursts out of the chest of the robot Lemy, quickly grows and spits paralytic fluid.
• "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, the Boy Genius." In a cave on a lifeless planet in the episode "Who's Your Mother" (3.05b), Carl disturbed an unusual egg; a spider-like creature jumped out of the egg and attached itself to Karl’s face; when the creature was disposed of, it turned out that a new organism had begun to grow inside Carl, causing Carl to feel hungry.
• "Adventures of Toons". In "Quack in the Universe" (1.02), Buster Bunny said, "In space, no one can hear you quack" (a reference to the tagline of the movie Alien).
• "Flattened space." In the pilot episode "Love and Darph" ( Love and gift) the fight with the queen on board the ship in the film "Aliens" is parodied. Two minor characters in the episode "Shock Period Park" (2.11) are parodies of Aliens.
• "Robot Chicken". In "A Piece of the Action" (1.07), Alien and Predator play chess.
• "The Simpsons". In the episode “Stole the First Kiss” (21.15), in one of the scenes the Alien kisses Ripley.
• "Futurama". In "The Prisoner of Benda" (6.10), Dr. Zoidberg was shown to have a second jaw on his tongue. The Bone Vampire in the episode “Fry the Egg Keeper” (6.22) has an appearance similar to that of the Alien and acidic saliva. At the beginning of the episode "Naturama" (7.13), a facehugger jumps out of an egg and attaches itself to a person's face.
• "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (1987). The episode "The Case of the Killer Pizzas" (2.11) is a parody of the Alien films. Shredder learned that turtles have a passion for pizza. He put eggs of creepy creatures from Dimension X on the pizza. But the pizzas didn’t go to turtles, but to ordinary people.
• "Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers ". In the episode "Dale the Alien" (1.03), a horror scene is shown on TV that parodies the Alien's fight with Ripley.
• "South Park". The alien at the beginning of the episode “Scary Fish” (2.15) is a parody of the queen (a cameo character). In the episode “Cat Orgy” (3.07), Eric Cartman watches the movie “Aliens” and repeats Newt’s phrase several times: “They usually come at night. Usually,” changing it every time. The Alien is one of the evil characters in Imaginationland in the series Imaginationland Episode II (11.11) and Imaginationland Episode III (11.12).
• "Hunter × Hunter". In the restart, the main antagonists are chimera ants - carnivorous insects that take on the traits of the victims they consume.
• "Transformers Prime ". In the eighth episode of the third season, “Thirst,” during the scientific experiments of Starscream and Knockout with dark and synthetic energon, vampire Terrorcons appear, their behavior reminiscent of zombies - the infected experience a huge thirst to kill and drink someone else’s energon, and are deprived of intelligence (although Airachnid is an exception), they can infect with a bite, and they can also be killed with a shot, but not in the head, but in the Spark. Terrorcons have an internal jaw like an Alien, but the snout is more like the mouth of an Alien.
• In the animated series Men in Black, an Alien appears in one of the episodes, who starred in the film as an Alien.
• In the animated series Kid vs. Kat" in the episode "Cinema Without Borders" at the moment when Lorne and Harley laugh at Coop, Mr. Kat crawls out through his shirt in the chest area, which parodies the appearance of chestbreakers.
• The chagelings from “Friendship is a Miracle” have a lot in common with Aliens: they are dark in color, live in a hive, spit viscous liquid and also have a queen.
• "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (2012). In the series “Invasion of the Belkonoids”, while searching for canisters with mutagen, the turtles discover a mutant squirrel that multiplies in a person, after which it enters the stomach through the mouth, which is a direct reference to the development of the Alien. They subsequently discover that the squirrels themselves grow to enormous sizes and are very similar in appearance to adult Aliens.

Full-length movies

• One of the scenes in the film "Spaceballs" parodies the scene involving the chest breaker in the film "Alien": the monster jumps out of the stomach of Kane, played by the same actor as in "Alien". Immediately after this, Kane says, “No, again!”
• Alien - a page on a spaceship in the cartoon "The Lord of the Beans: Attila's Long March" (cameo character).
• In film "".
• The monster in the horror film Alien 2: On Earth is partially copied from Alien.
• Teddy the Turkey in the film "Ticket to Space" is a parody of Alien.
• The attack of Puss in Boots on Shrek in the cartoon "Shrek 2", when the Cat climbs under the shirt and then crawls out with a crash through the torn fabric on the chest - a parody of the moment of the chestbreaker's "coming out into the world".
• Two Aliens (the queen and the buster) appear in the cartoon "The Haunted World of El Superbeasto" ( The Haunted World of El Superbisto).
• In the cartoon “Khan to everyone!” On the space station during lunch, the Frenchman's stomach began to swell, creating the feeling that a chestnut was about to appear.
• One of the monsters in the cartoon "Who's Afraid of Monsters?" - a parody of Alien.

Games

• In the game "Fallout 2" there are very strange and very powerful creatures - Wanamingo(the name is borrowed from the Wanamingo Mine in Redding, where their hive is located), they reproduce by eggs laid by the “queen.” Outwardly they resemble “strangers”. When destroyed, Pip-Boys are identified as “aliens”. These monsters also appear in the hold of the Exxon Valdez ship, where they are directly called “Aliens”.
• The game Space Station 13 has an “Alien” mode based on the movie “Alien”, where you can also win an alien costume in a slot machine.
• The Zerg race from the game StarCraft is loosely based on the Aliens.
• The image of Aliens is also found in the games of the Contra series. The first two parts featured facehuggers, drones with one red eye (a reference to Giger's images), and a flying drone with an eye and a retractable jaw. In subsequent parts, the image began to change, but only slightly, leaving the image of Aliens from the films recognizable.
• In the game "Space Quest 5" there is a facehugger as the main character's favorite.
• The facehuggers may have influenced the concept of headcrabs from the Half-Life games.
• In the game "Gradius 2" (version for the NES console), on a ship called "Prometeus" (which looks like the Jockeys' ship from the inside), eggs are found that spawn facehuggers.
• Genestealers from the Warhammer 40,000 universe were copied from Aliens and are similar in both appearance and way of life. Also, in the images of many Tyranid models, starting from the third edition, there are features of Aliens, both drones and the Queen.
• In Grand Theft Auto V, at the beginning of the game there is a frozen alien that closely resembles Alien from the film of the same name. During the second mission, Franklin drives past a site where they are apparently filming a movie about an alien.
• In the fantastic mode of the game “Agony of Power 2”, at a certain stage, the antagonist Deidran orders the release of “beasts”, which, bursting out of the depths of the mines, which are the main source of income for the player, threaten a premature “game over”. These very animals are very similar to Aliens, and their uterus sitting on the eggs is an exact copy of the uterus from the film “Alien 3”.
• In Sacred Underworld, the appearance of the Aliens is based on the image of the Hell Guards - the standard monsters of the fifth act.
• The Vulgara demons from the Resurrection of Evil addon for the game Doom 3 have a certain resemblance to Aliens.
  • in the game LEGO star wars 3 the clone wars in the mission "Legacy of Terror" there is the womb of the rebel Joanisians and also the power armor in which Riley fought with the alien queen

on Alien. Also, one of them is called Giger, which is a reference to the artist Hans Giger, who was one of the creators of the original monster.

Who are these xenomorphs? What appearance do they have? Whose idea was it to create a story about these creatures? What types of aliens (xenomorphs) exist? Answers to these and other questions can be found in our publication.

Creating an image

The idea of ​​a story about an alien xenomorph monster belongs to the authors of the script for the film “Alien” - Ronald Shusett and Dan O'Bannon. Initially, the horror film was planned to be presented to the audience under the name “Star Beast”. However, the producers of the film decided to abandon this option. The definition of “Alien” came out of the scriptwriters’ pens quite by accident. It was this word that later became the name of the bloodthirsty alien creature and appeared in the title of a whole series of successful films.

Xenomorph - this term appeared after the release of the second film “Aliens” (1986). Later, the definition began to be often applied to space creatures in the presented cinematic universe. In particular, this is what these creatures were called in the film “Alien vs. Predator.” The term has also been found in numerous video games.

It is worth noting that the xenomorph is an image that belongs to the famous artist Giger. It was he who worked on creating the appearance of the monster during preparation for the filming of the first film. In addition, the artist is the author of the sketches on the basis of which the interior of spaceships and the appearance of the scenery in the popular franchise were developed.

Appearance

Xenomorphs are fantastic bipedal creatures whose bodies have the ideal biological qualities necessary for survival in the harsh conditions of space. Being predators, such creatures have a wide arsenal of devices that bring death to any enemy. First of all, attention is drawn to their second jaw, which extends like a piston from the main toothy mouth. However, before biting the victim, xenomorphs prefer to grab it with their long clawed paws.

Another deadly part of the xenomorph's body is its powerful tail, divided into numerous segments. At its end there is a sharp tip that resembles a dagger or the tip of a spear. The tail often serves as an alien not only a piercing weapon, but also a device that allows one to knock down and disorient the enemy.

Xenomorphs have an elongated skull shape, where there are no clearly defined facial features. The main part of the head is occupied by a huge mouth. The organs of vision and hearing in such creatures are not externally visible. However, according to assumptions, xenomorphs are able to navigate in space thanks to rudimentary sensory organs. In the back area, such creatures contain breathing tubes.

Types of xenomorphs

Then comes the stage of embryonic development, which takes several days. During this period, the young individual adopts some genetic characteristics of the intermediate host.

Mature xenomorphs are called "breastbreakers". The latter rupture the body shell of the carrier, as a result of which he certainly dies. Such a creature leads a secretive lifestyle until it reaches the size of an adult.

Mentions in films

Xenomorphs appear in the following films:

• "Alien" (1979).
• "Aliens" (1986).
• "Alien 3" (1992).
• "Alien 4: Resurrection" (1997).
• "Alien vs. Predator" (2004).
• "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" (2007).
• "Prometheus" (2012).
• "Alien: Covenant" (2017).