Predator Self-Destruct: Every Yautja Wrist Bomb Usage
The Yautja self-destruct device is a powerful weapon that is built into the Predator wrist gauntlets and ships. The Predators use the Self-Destruct device to take our their final adversaries, to leave no technology in enemy hands, and to have an honorable death. The explosions vary in size and strength, but they are comparable to small nuclear blasts. The device can even be detached from the gauntlet and set to explode, allowing a less honorable Predator to escape. Here is a list of the most notable self-destruct explosions involving the Yautja themselves or their ships.
New Way City Self-Destruct
The New Way City explosion caused by Scarface Predator in the 1930ties was a major mess-up for the Yautja. His intention was not to destroy a large part of a populated city and kill innocent civilians. Being badly wounded (including losing an eye) he tried to keep his ship and Yautja equipment falling into enemy hands. However, the blast did not destroy the equipment he lost previously, as his Yautja weapons and mask were captured by the Borgia family. Ironically, the blast also failed to kill Scarface Predator himself, as he emerged from the rubble and was sentenced to exile for a hundred years by his clan.
Primal Predator Self-Destruct
The Yautja from Predator: Primal was one of the weakest Predators ever. He fought Alaskan Grizzly bears several times and lost each time. After his final fight with a mother bear, he was gravely wounded and decided to blow himself up. Together with his trophies in a ship hidden in the forest, he initiated his self destruct and sat in the pilot chair, contemplating on his failure. The explosion created a mushroom cloud that was theorized to be a gas explosion by nearby forest rangers.
Scout Ship Self-Destruct
The Bull Predator botched the self-destruct on the scout ship in Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem after the Predalien infestation of it. Instead of blowing the ship up, he contacted Wolf to clean up his mess. After Wolf arrived on the scene, he activated the self-destruct on Bull's wrist gauntlet and it took the ship out with it. The explosion seemed to be a smaller one compared to the others on the list. It was more electrical and Wolf seemed to just barely escape it. The self-destruct was a good start for Wolf's cleanup effort, but it really should have happened sooner.
Antarctica Temple Self-Destruct
Some sources of Predator lore establish that the Predator wrist gauntlet including the self-destruct is embedded into the Predators arm and difficult to remove. This is not the case in the first Alien vs. Predator movie, where Scar Predator easily removes his gauntlet and sets it to self-destruct in the middle of the Antarctica pyramid Alien hive, while himself running away together with Alexa Woods. The explosion takes out the temple and the remaining Xenomorphs, but the Alien Queen manages to somehow survive and escape from the underground tunnel. This explosion happens underground, so there is no mushroom cloud in this case.
Predator Who Fought Superman Self-Destruct
The Predator who fought Superman did a good job considering he was going against the Man of Steel. Superman was weakened because of a force field located in the Predator's ship. When the Yautja realized he was defeated, he activated his self-destruct inside a cave, hoping to collapse it on the superhero. Being Superman, of course he escaped. The self-destruct was also linked to the Predator's ship, so it exploded simultaneously. This link was later seen in Predators as well, where both the Crucified Predator and Berserker Predator could control it and blow it up through their wrist gauntlets.
Young Prince Predator's Self-Destruct
The main Predator from the Predator vs. Black Panther comic series did not fare much better than the Yautja who fought Superman. In this story, a young Predator Prince traveled to Earth in search of Wakandan vibranium (known as "godmetal") to advance Yautja technology. In the final stages of this "Vibranium Heist", the Predator Prince was about to get away in his ship and almost reached orbit. However, T'Challa's sister Shuri had previously hacked the Predator's wrist gauntlet and figured out the self-destruct ability. She attached the gauntlet by its wristblades to the ship, allowing it to explore just before entering the warp. The young Predator Prince died, but the vibranium still reached his father (a Predator King) in the Yautja Wolf System.
BG-386 Pyramid Self-Destruct
The self-destruct initiated by Dark Predator in Aliens vs. Predator 2010 is kind of unique, as it is triggered on the sarcophagus of Lord Predator, an ancient Elder who was buried in a pyramid on BG-386. Before the explosion, Dark had conveniently time to fight the Abomination Predalien who ambushed him. After defeating the Predalien, Dark exited the temple and flew away in his ship, with the temple exploding in a big white flash, taking out all the remaining Xenomorphs and the surviving humans on the planet.
Ahab Predator Wrist Gauntlet Self Destruct vs. Engineer
The legendary Ahab Predator from the Fire and Stone series used the wrist gauntlet self-destruct to take down his toughest enemy yet - an Engineer. After fighting each other to a standstill on the Perses, a mercenary ship belonging to Galgo, Ahab activated his wrist bomb and detached it. The Engineer could have possibly escaped, but Galgo shot him with an Space Jockey weapon after he was pinned to the wall by a Yautja harpoon. Ahab and Galgo escaped the ship, while the countdown reached the end, taking the Perses out in a big explosion. However, the explosion was not large enough to destroy the body of the Engineer, which Ahab quickly dug out of the wreckage. He then gained the much sought-after trophy - the ripped spine of the Engineer.
Predator vs. Wolverine Self Destruct
Wolverine fought the Predator several times during his long life, including in Alaska and Japan. Their long feud came to an end in the Canadian wilderness, where the two adversaries again fought themselves to a bloody stalemate. However, this time, the Predator chose to activate his self-destruct, hoping to take Wolverine's trophy in death. Although the blue explosion obliterated the Predator himself and the forest around it, Wolverine predictably survived thanks to his healing factor, which was much faster than the Predator's own healing powers. Logan would take the ceremonial dagger as a trophy.
Big Game Predator Ship Self Destruct
The insane Yautja from Predator: Big Game met misfortune when his saucer-shaped spacecraft was captured by the US military in the New Mexico desert. He had no other choice than to activate the ship's self-destruct through his wrist-gauntlet. The military scientists watched in awe as the counter kept flashing on the ship. They might have realized its purpose in the last second, but none of them survived as the explosion took out the entire military base. Only Enoch Nakai survived by being away from the base and took it upon himself to take down the crazed Predator.
Captive Predator Self-Destruct
The Captive Predator was a ruthless and smart Yautja who was held prisoner in a secret military base in the middle of the desert. It turned out that he had actually turned the tables on his captors - he could secretly move around the base without them knowing. The Predator was one-handed, his wrist gauntlet had been removed together with his right hand. In the end, he reacquired his wrist gauntlet from the director of the base and set it to self-destruct, taking out the base and approaching helicopters with him. Although he most likely died, the Captive Predator had a satisfying end by killing his tormentors.
Ancient Temple in Central America Self-Destruct
Thousands of years ago, Predators were worshiped as gods in Central America and used temples as a hunting ground for Xenomorphs. However, a Xenomorph infestation got out of hand with thousands of Aliens being on the loose. A group of three Predators fought the swarms of Aliens on top of a pyramid, being slowly overwhelmed. Their final resort was self-destructing, with the resulting explosion clearing the Xenomorphs from the area and saving Earth for the time being. The expanding white ball is perhaps the most unique of all the self-destructs and most likely the best scene in the Alien vs. Predator movie.
Val Verde Self-Destruct
The Jungle Hunter from Predator blowing himself up while laughing maniacally is the first and most iconic self-destruct sequence in the series. After his duel with Dutch, the Predator knew his only way out was to destroy his body and equipment, possibly taking Dutch along with him. It can be theorized that the ship of the Jungle Hunter was destroyed in the explosion as well - this happens in the novelization of the movie. Dutch suffered some radiation poisoning from the blast but otherwise survived after running only a few hundred meters. In contrast to the City Hunter, the Jungle Hunter did a great job of cleaning up after himself, none of his tech fell into enemy hands.
Conclusion
The Predator self-destruct device remains one of the most iconic elements of the Predator franchise. The beeping countdown and the maniacal laugh work best in the Predator movies, but have also been replicated well in Predator comics and games. From devastating explosions in dense jungles to sacrificial blasts in alien temples, it symbolizes the Predator's code of honor and their resolve to protect their technology at all costs. It also shows that the Predators don't care much about collateral damage and are somewhat sore losers.
Tag Categories: Predator Technology
