There’s a common misconception amongst people, many think an alien is just an alien but the deadly beauty of the Xenomorph is the creatures ability to adapt and reconfigure itself depending on it’s host. The prequels added fuel when names like Deacon, Trilobite, and Neomorph began getting thrown about; don’t get me started on how much of a bitch it was trying to explain the difference between the classic creature and Covenant’s Protomorph. But have no fear, Torsten V to the rescue to explain Xeno anatomy throughout the films.
0.The Pathogen/ black ooze- In Prometheus we are introduced to the vase like canisters containing the evolutionary substance. It radically causes mutation in all biological lifeforms and death when heavily exposed. One drop was all it took to set the events of the later half of Prometheus in motion. In Covenant we see how experiments with the Pathogen and wildlife have foarmed tiny pods in the grass that release a spore form of the ooze that can seek nearby life, causing Neomorph impregnation. We know the Engineers created this as a weapon and they planned to use it on us at a point and I theorize some of the ancient Xenomorph DNA resides in it but we don’t know. Either way, shit is mean.
- Hammerpede- we see it crawl straight out of a puddle of the pathogen. Don’t ever take it’s appearance as harmless or “kinda cute”. After assuming a stance like a cobra as shown above, it lashes out, acting primarily like another snake, constricting around its victim with deadly strength. We see it crush a man’s arm, fracturing it to where the bones are outright exposed in minute. Also it has acid for blood. It’s complete pattern isn’t revealed but it’s a dangerous little bastard.
2. Trilobite- the ultimate evil of drunken sex incarnate. Elizabeth Shaw, our barren heroine in Prometheus discovers she is miraculously 4-5 months pregnant with this cutie. It’s origin? 1 drop of pathogen in a infected host and sex. After a harrowing ang gruesome scene, Shaw gets it out. At the end of the film it grows to the size of a small car, the tentacles massive and muscular, the inside of it revealed to be a long penis and six toothed vaginas…it’s pretty nightmarish. After violating an engineer, the finale of the film is it’s offspring.
3. The deacon- my twitch name is deacon2012, here’s why. The last minutes of Prometheus we witness this creature break out of the engineer’s stomach. We don’t know much about except for it’s close relation to the alien. But a beautiful specimen all the same.
4. The Neomorph- the saving grace in my opinion of Alien: Covenant. Created by exposure to pathogen spores, depending where the spores make contact depends where the creatures will breech from. We see one breech from someone’s back and another man has one rip out of his throat in a gory display. From the get go they are clawed and very hostile. Starting from roughly the size of a puppy they can grow to roughly 7 feet tall in a very fast time (tune in for my Covenant to hear about this). Unlike the alien and deacon, the neomorph has no extendable jaw, instead having a impressively large mouth of razor sharp teeth. It’s able to decapitate someone with ease. Ghostly white in color, it’s face puckered into a little pink kiss, and long bony spikes protruding from it’s back are clear indicators. I highly recommend checking out the concept art for it because they are freaky as hell.
5. Protomorph- so we get David’s perfect creature at last, just not as evolved yet. Whereas the perfected Xenomorph begins life as a worm like creature, this prototype begins life as a baby with tiny features (it’s hard not to look at baby and think “I am Groot!”) and grows ludicrously fast. This alien looks similar to the classic but there are notable differences: the head is slimmer and longer, the front teeth have more of a human structure, the limbs are longer and the body is leaner and more muscular without the bulk of a developed exoskeleton of the Warrior type or even the “Big Chap”. It shares the neomorph’s unbridled aggression which is part of why it’s flawed.
6. Ovamorph/ Egg and facehugger- Where it all began. One egg, one person, and one horror. The Egg stands roughly 3-4 feet tall and has leathery texture. Inside is the facehugger that carries the alien’s seed to impregnate the host. They’re quick and agile moving like a spider. They have a perfect system once the host is captured. Host becomes locked in a controlled coma; the creature provides oxygen but will tighten the tail around the victim’s throat if an attempt to pry it off is made. It’s skin has a silicon base and it’s blood is acid based. The perfected alien usually takes a day to lay the embryo while David’s proto-eggs laid there’s much quicker and more potently. Either way, this form of the creature falls off and dies after the embryo is laid. I wonder what happens next?
6. Chestburster- ahh. How ever you look at it, this little tike is going to break out of your chest and you will die. Depending on the host, the fetus will appear differently. For example: in Alien 3 the host is not human instead of what we see above, we get something like a pup- a miniature version of the adult. Within a day they mature into the adults, the badasses, the oh no…
7. Alien/ Xenomorph/ “The Serpent”/ ” The Dragon”/ “The Big Chap” – So these are bad. Almost perfect biological killing machines, sharp teeth, claws, tongue that can blast through bone and light metal like a piston, bladed tail lined with sharp edges. They are intelligent, can withstand extreme temperatures and pressures, and do not require oxygen; they are incredibly strong, fast, resilient, and have keen senses . They’re bodies adapt, getting new traits from there hosts. In Alien, during a controversial deleted scene we learn a alien can potentially convert bio matter into eggs; in Aliens the warriors are more ridged, heavy, and hardened for combat; in Alien 3 the creature moves on four legs, is slightly smaller and leaner, but acts much like an attack dog. In comics and other media we’ve seen other breeds such as the Gorilla Alien, The Mantis Alien, and in Mortal Kombat X even the Baraka Alien which…pimpin yahl as well as other. In my Alien Resurrection review I covered Ripley and the Queens mutant freak baby, so I won’t talk much on that, leaving just her highness…
8. Queen Alien- save the best for last. These hotties are twice the size of your standard alien, four armed, and epic as hell is the mother of the hive. She creates a large sac to lay eggs, rendering her stationary though not defenseless. It’s a common theory she a telepathic connection to her warriors, she is in fact more intelligent than the rest. If you you find yourself in battle with her…sorry dude.
That brings us to a close; I hope I cleared up any questions or misconceptions about the Xenomorphs. May the gaming gods bring you glory because in space no one will hear you scream.
