Greyback Predator: Future And Past Of The Predator 2 Elder

Greyback the Elder, also recognized as the Golden Angel Predator, emerged as the Lost Tribe's leader at the conclusion of Predator 2 and stands as one of the most venerable Predators in their history. In a memorable scene, he gave Harrigan the Raphael Adolini 1715 flintlock pistol as a trophy for defeating the City Hunter. Here is the lore behind the Greyback Predator, including information about his past and future hunts, his appearance in other media, and the weapons and gear he used.

Leader Of The Lost Tribe Predators

The Greyback Predator got his nickname from the greyish skin and grey dreadlocks, indicating his Elder status and old age. He was the leader of the Lost Tribe Predators, hidden in a ship under the sewers of Los Angeles in 1997, monitoring the progress and hunting of the City Hunter Predator during a heat wave. It is not clear if the Elder ventured outside of the ship at this time, but most likely not. After Lieutenant Harrigan defeated the City Hunter in a fair duel, Greyback handed the man a flintlock pistol with the engraving "Raphael Adolini 1715", indicating that he had hunted on Earth a long time ago. The Elder Predator, along with his tribe of 8 other surviving Predators, then left Earth on his ship, leaving Harrigan behind.

The Hunt In New Guinea

The Predator: 1718 comic book described the backstory of both Greyback and the Raphael Adolini pistol, although this story was later retconned by Prey. The comic depicted one of the first hunts of Greyback (then nicknamed the Golden Angel for his golden mask) at the coast of Guinea in the year 1718. A group of pirates mutinied against their captain Raphael Adolini over a case of treasure. The Predator observed the mutiny and was thrown into the middle of it, fighting side by side with Adolini against the mutineers. Together they managed to take down the pirates, however, Adolini was mortally wounded. His last act was to give the Yautja his flintlock pistol, with "Raphael Adolini 1715" engraved on it, telling the Yautja to "Take It".

The Golden Angel And His Mask

An alternative and often-used nickname for the Greyback Predator is "The Golden Angel", originating from his appearance in the Predator: 1718 comic. In the comic, Greyback wore a golden bio-mask (similar to the Jungle Hunter's) and had yellowish skin, much different from his appearance in Predator 2. A pirate fighting the Predator muttered the line "He's fightin' a Golden Angel!" while his friends were being killed, cementing the term in Predator lore. Although Predator: 1718 was initially released without a cover, the Predator Omnibus 2 did feature a cover of a bronze-armored Predator hiding in the bushes. However, this was actually a cover of Predator: Kindred, depicting a different Predator with a bird-like mask. NECA took this confusion further, by creating an Ultimate Golden Angel figure with two different masks, the golden one from the comic, and the bronze bird-like one from the Kindred cover.

Additional Background From NECA

NECA has released three different Greyback figures, from which the arguably best one is the Ultimate Elder Predator figure, featuring all the accessories the Predator should have. The figure comes with three alternate heads, including the unmasked one from the movie, the golden bio-mask, and again the erroneous Kindred bio-mask. As with many other NECA figures, it comes with a small biography, adding some more details on top of the movie information. It mentions that the Lost Tribe was known for hunting in far reaches of the galaxy, earning them their nickname. On Earth, they hunted in many places, culminating in Los Angeles, where they lost the City Hunter, which was a first loss for the tribe but would not be their last.

A Korean War Detail

Predator fans both in Reddit and AvP Galaxy have pointed out an interesting detail on Greyback that hints at his long hunting history. Near his wrist gauntlet on the right arm is an indianhead emblem, which he wears as a trophy. This is the insignia of the United States 2nd Infantry Division, who fought in WW1, WW2, and at that point most lately in the Korean War. Its involvement in the Korean War was most profound, so perhaps that is where the Greyback Predator hunted them. The Predator Expanded timeline already covers Predator who fought in WW1 and WW2, but not yet in the Korean War.

The Prey Connection

Surprisingly, Greyback Predator is conspicuously absent from the "Prey" movie storyline, but there's ample room for their introduction in a potential sequel. The rumored "Prey 2" could shed light on how the pistol eventually finds its way into the hands of Greyback Elder Predator. One plausible scenario involves the notion that a young Greyback might be among the Predators arriving in the trio of ships depicted in the concluding animation. However, it's evident that he belongs to a distinct Yautja clan, as evidenced by the marked anatomical disparities between the Greyback and Feral Predators. It's conceivable that these three separate clans converge upon the scene, setting the stage for an impending clan skirmish. In the midst of this conflict, Naru, caught in the crossfire, might lose possession of the pistol to Greyback.

The Kalakta Connection

During the events of the Rage War in the late 27th century, a thousand-year-old Predator King by the name of Kalakta joined up with humans to fight against the Xenomorphs controlled by the Rage. Together, they defeated the Rage menace and the Predators parted on good terms with the humans, promising more diplomacy in the future. The book hints that Kalakta could actually be Greyback, who became the leader of the entire Predator race. Kalakta remembered meeting with an honorable man on Earth, who was heavily implied to be Lieutenant Harrigan. As Kalakta wasn't actually shown and only briefly described, it is difficult to determine if it was actually him.

Elder From Predator: Hunting Grounds

In Predator games, Greyback only makes a brief appearance at the end of the console games based on Predator 2. Predator: Hunting Grounds does feature a class named Elder, which looks very similar to Greyback, although it's not specifically named as him. This Elder class can be unlocked by reaching level 150. Wearing almost the same weapons and armor, he is missing the Indianhead emblem on the arm and does not wear the flintlock pistol. However, any Predator in the game can add a flintlock pistol trophy to the belt, if its unlocked. It's not specifically the Raphael Adolini pistol, but a more generic one.

Weapons And Gear

The Greyback Predator employed classic Yautja gear and weaponry, with some minor exceptions. He was lightly armored and wore the traditional fishnets, which keep Predators warm in colder climates. He wore a cloak generator, which he used just before and after meeting Harrigan. Greyback's shoulder cannon had the unique feature of having the target laser directly on the cannon itself, not the bio-mask, which he did not wear at all. His bio-mask is not shown in the movie, but presumably, he still used the golden helmet seen in Predator: 1718. Greyback wore an Elder Sword, held in a backhand grip, but perhaps this weapon was more for ceremonial purposes.

Behind The Scenes

Behind the scenes, Greyback Predator was played by Kevin Peter Hall, the same actor who played the original Jungle Hunter and the City Hunter. The rest of the Lost Tribe Predators were played by members of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, whom actor Danny Glover was a fan of. Soon after filming, the Lost Tribe Predator suits (including Greyback) were stolen, earning the Predator clan the name "The Lost Tribe". In the novelization of the movie, Greyback is the one who kills City Hunter, who had been severely wounded by Harrigan. This scene is later recreated at the end of the first Batman vs. Predator comic series.