The Alien lore section offers explanations, theories and listings for the Xenomorph species and the Alien universe in general, including the Expanded Universe of comics, books and games from several decades.
The Xenomorph's complex and enigmatic anatomy, a masterwork of both biological evolution and imaginative design, adds to the allure of these formidable creatures. In this exploration, we delve into the intricacies of Xenomorph anatomy, uncovering the mysteries that make them a true sci-fi masterpiece.
The age-old debate between fans of the Alien and Predator franchises revolves around a simple yet captivating question: who would win in a fight between these two iconic extraterrestrial species? The answer remains subjective and open to interpretation.
Used by the Colonial Marines across the universe, the M41A Pulse Rifle is probably the most iconic human weapon in the Alien series. We take a look at some of the Pulse Rifle variants that have been used in the movies, games and comic books.
The Xenomorph species has a fascinating life cycle that has evolved with almost every Alien movie. From the Alien egg to the giant Alien Queen, the Xenomorphs go through many different stages that each serve a specific and important purpose.
The existence of the Xenomorph egg on the USS Sulaco at the beginning of Alien 3 is one of the biggest mysteries of the Alien franchise. In this article, we take a look at most of the theories surrounding the egg, including plausible ones and others completely outlandish.
Here is an overview of all Xenomorph types from the Alien movies, including the facehugger, chestburster, warrior and queen Xenomorphs. As a bonus, some better-known Xenomorph types are also included from the games and comic books.
The Xenomorphs come in many forms and sizes, often depending on the type of the host. Here is a list of Xenomorphs ranked by their physical size, including several Xenomorphs from the Expanded Universe like the Alien King and Crocodile Alien.
The Predalien is the result of a facehugger impregnating a Predator. They are more powerful versions of the Xenomorphs, comparable in size and strength to the Praetorians, the guards of the Alien Queen. Here is a list of notable Predaliens from the AvP lore, including the Abomination and the LV-1201 Predalien.
With their unique physiology and highly adaptable nature, Xenomorphs have proven to be formidable foes for many space-faring explorers and soldiers. However, despite being called the Perfect Organism, they also have several weaknesses that can be exploited by their enemies.
The Colonial Marines vs. Alien Queen fights only happen in the Alien games and comics, where usually a small group of Marines battles a single Alien Queen and defeats her. In the games, the Alien Queens are used as boss fights.
The smartgunners are an important part of any Colonial Marine squad, offering powerful support fire from the sides or leading from the front. The smartgunners tend to have many kills and are often memorable for their bad attitude, including the likes of Vasquez, Drake and Jones.
As regular Xenomorphs in Alien stories tend to get too mainstream, gene splicing is sometimes introduced to create new breeds of often ridiculous Xenomorphs. These new Aliens vary in size and appearance, but still inherit their traits from their hosts.
The mysterious Black Goo pathogen first seen in Prometheus reacts in unpredictable ways with different organisms, producing wild mutations and new creatures. Here is an overview of these different mutations, including a mutated Predator and even a mutated Android.
After the egg and the facehugger, the chestburster is the third step in the Xenomorph's complex lifecycle. Here is an overview of different types of chestbursters, depending on the type of the resulting Alien and the way that it is born.
As is the common theme in the franchise, the Xenomorphs can not be controlled and have become a hated enemy of the Engineers. Here is an overview of the different clashes between Xenomorphs and Engineers, some happening even thousands of years ago.
The Space Jockeys fly around in gigantic ships, containing a deadly payload of bioweapons. These ships often crash, ready to be discovered by helpless explorers. While most of these ships look like a horse-shoe, some also come with more exotic designs.
The Colonial Marines use small and mobile units to protect the colonies. These units are the maximum size of a battalion, but usually only a few squads are sent into action. Here is an overview of different Colonial Marine teams, including the one commanded by Lieutenant Gorman in Aliens.
The Colonial Marines don't employ many personnel but use massive ships to travel them across the universe. The ships are fully automated and don't even need any crew to man them while the marines are on a mission. Most of these ships are similar to the USS Sulaco.
Like regular Xenomorphs, the facehuggers come in different shapes and sizes. They all have the purpose of infecting a host with an embryo, which can depend on the type of the facehugger. The list includes the Queen facehugger, giant facehugger, and the white hybrid facehuggers.
Besides their famous APC and Power Loader, the Colonial Marines don't employ many ground-based vehicles. The Colonial Marine Technical Manual has introduced tanks and self-propelled guns, while the comics and Kenner toys have also brought to light a few new vehicles.
In addition to the question of chestburster removal possibilities, the matter of facehuggers being removed before embryo implantation has been intriguing from the first movie. Here is a list of notable facehugger removals, including both successful and unsuccessful attempts.
The question of if it is possible to remove a chestburster before it is born has been in the series from the start. Throughout the movies and the expanded lore, there have been several successful chestburster extractions, although each have their own peculiarities.
Although the creature in Alien had eye sockets under the transparent dome, the most common Xenomorphs don't have eyes. The Alien sequels and games have given us a glimpse of the vision of the Xenomorphs, including the fisheye lens view and seeing the aura of their enemies.
Hunting and killing the Alien Queen is a great honor for the Predators and many have died doing so. It is even more useful to capture a live Queen and use her as a breeder to obtain Alien eggs. Here is a list of notable Predator vs. Alien Queen fights, including some attempts to capture her alive.
In addition to human-friendly synthetics with behavioral inhibitors, several series of combat androids have been produced in the Alien series by different mega-corporations. Here is a list of androids developed for the purpose of expanding the military power of the company.
The Colonial Marine officers are the ones that command the troopers in the field. Unfortunately, most of them get killed and nobody hardly remembers their achievements. Here is a list of notable Colonial Marine officers from the Alien lore, including General Spears and Captain Cruz.
The mega-corporations have a big influence over the surveyed worlds in the Alien vs. Predator universe. They are often in an open rivalry between themselves and other world governments. Here is a list of the biggest mega-corporations, including companies like Seegson, the Grant Corporation and Weyland-Yutani.
One of the common tropes in the Alien Expanded Universe is android Xenomorphs. They have been either created by a lone mad scientist or mass produced by some company. Here is a list of notable android Xenomorphs, including the infamous Xenoborgs and the lovable Jeri.
The Space Jockeys are the mysterious pilot species first seen in the first Alien movie. Throughout the series, there have been many iterations of them, including the Engineers from Prometheus and the Mala'kak pilots from the Alien books and comics. Here is a list of the different individual Space Jockeys, ranked by their accomplishments.
Xenomorph Prime is the elusive Alien Homeworld which has been shown little in the Alien games and comic books. Both humans and Predators have ventured there on different missions. Here is a list of notable occurrences of Xenomorph Prime throughout the Expanded Universe, as it has been never featured in the Alien movies.
The USCM packs a big arsenal of weapons including nukes, knives, sharp sticks and phased plasma pulse rifles. Here is a list of best infantry weapons from Aliens and the Alien games, ranked by their firepower and usability against the Xenomorphs and Yautja opponents.
The Predator Killer mech suit in The Predator was not the first instance of weaponized mech suits being used in the Alien vs. Predator universe. We take a look at several different mech suits and power armor from the movies, games and comics and rank them by their awesomeness.
Here is a list of Alien Queens from the Alien vs. Predator series who stood out from other hive mothers by causing the most mayhem. Included are the Queen Mother, Matriarch, Empress and other badass Queen Aliens from the movies, games and comics.
Here is an Alien movie timeline consisting of the events of Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien: Resurrection, Alien vs Predator, Aliens vs Predator: Requiem, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. The games, books and graphic novel events are not included in the timeline.
The Xenomorph King is a special type of Alien rarely seen in the Alien lore. It is known to be bigger than the queen Alien and even more aggressive. Here is a list of all notable Xenomorph Kings like the Rogue Xenomorph, the Hybrid King and the Kenner King Alien.
The female Xenomorph is the big and insect-like queen Alien. However, there are some female Xenomorph hybrids or special experiments who actually have feminine features. Here is a list of all known female Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise, including unused concepts from the movies.
People were rather angry after they killed Newt and Hicks in Alien 3. Here are several different scenarios where one or both survived, some developed even after Alien 3 was released.
I am quite sure Ridley never saw Alien vs Predator, but one of the scriptwriters for Prometheus might have. Here are the main similarities that I found between the 2 movies.
The Aliens have invaded Earth several times during its history in the Alien vs Predator franchise. Here are listed 5 Earth invasions. The list is sorted chronologically and some of these events have been deemed non-canon.
Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (also known as Alien vs Predator 2) left the door open for a sequel. We look at some of the rumors and speculation around the third Alien vs Predator movie.