The Prowler is a reddish Runner-scale Xenomorph in Aliens: Fireteam Elite and Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2. Cold Iron Studios, developer of both games, used it as an ambush caste on LV-895 in 2202, and the same caste returned on LV-558 in 2207. It waited on ceilings and around corners, then leaped onto one Colonial Marine and held that Marine until a teammate shot it off or the pinned Marine finished a button prompt. The caste is also called the Jumper.
Appearance
The Prowler moved on four legs, with a red segmented carapace over a darker mesoskeleton and a head larger than a Runner's. A red crest covered the dome, an inner jaw opened inside the mouth, and a long spiked tail ended in a blade. The back had no dorsal tubes, and the spine was a smooth red ridge along the place where a Warrior carries a tube row. The hide is reddish-black, darker on the limbs and brighter on the crest, the ribs, and the tail.
Pin Attack
A Prowler waited on ceilings and around blind corners, then pounced when a Colonial Marine walked past. The leap pinned that Marine to the floor, and the claws kept cutting until the Marine finished a button prompt or a teammate shot the Prowler off. The Hunter in Left 4 Dead uses that same grab, and in Fireteam Elite the pinned Marine can also break the hold alone, at a cost in health.
Prowlers On LV-895 And LV-558
In 2202, fireteams from Colonel Olivia Shipp's UAS Endeavor met Prowlers in the hive that had overrun the Katanga refinery on LV-895. The caste moved with Drones, Warriors, Praetorians, Crushers, Spitters, and Bursters. In 2207, Fireteam Chimaera met Prowlers again in the colony halls at Storr's Boon on LV-558, during Fireteam Elite 2. The Prowler is a hive Xenomorph. White pathogen creatures kept a separate nest on LV-895 under the Pathogen Queen, and that roster returned on LV-558. The hide stayed reddish-black in both campaigns. The Runner in Alien 3 took a brown-red color from a dog or an ox. The Prowler's red plates have no named host in either game.
Similar Xenomorphs
The Prowler shares the Runner's four-legged body and smooth back, with no dorsal tubes. It carries heavier red plating and a larger head than a Runner. From a ceiling or a corner it leaps onto one Marine and holds that Marine down, and the other Xenomorphs keep attacking during the hold.
The rust-red Red Xenomorphs in Alien: Inferno's Fall are a separate red line from Philippa Ballantine's 2022 novel, written from a story with Clara Carija. In 2186 an Engineer Juggernaut dumped Black Goo on the UPP mine world Shānmén. Human hosts produced pale adult Xenomorphs, and local animals marked by rust-red Eitr produced rust-red forms in the shapes of those animals. The Prowler used a Runner body under its red hide.
NECA Figure
NECA released the Prowler in June 2022 in the first series of Aliens: Fireteam Elite figures, sold alongside the Runner from the same game. The figure is 7-inch scale and stands almost 9 inches tall, with nearly 30 points of articulation, a bendable tail, and window-box packaging. Item 51723 uses the game's red-and-black paint, with the crest, ribbed back, and bladed tail sculpted from the in-game model.
Prime 1 Studio Statue
Prime 1 Studio added the Prowler to the Concept Masterline line as CMALFE-01, with bonus version CMALFE-01S, each limited to 100 pieces. The non-scale polystone statue measures about 38 cm high, 25 cm wide, and 29 cm deep, and it weighs about 3.09 kg. It stands on a Katanga refinery base, and the inner jaw swaps between a closed mouth and an extended one. The bonus version packed a separate egg with a Facehugger and a title plaque.
Conclusion
The Prowler is the red ambush caste in Aliens: Fireteam Elite and Fireteam Elite 2, a four-legged Xenomorph with a spiked tail and no dorsal tubes. It hunted on LV-895 in 2202 and at Storr's Boon on LV-558 in 2207, pinning one Marine with a leap from a ceiling or a corner. The first game shipped in 2021, and the 2026 sequel used the caste again. NECA and Prime 1 Studio both issued figures in 2022.
Appearances
- Aliens: Fireteam Elite (Cold Iron Studios, 2021)
- Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 (Cold Iron Studios, 2026)
Tag Categories: Xenomorphs From The Games | Xenomorph Appearance | Aliens Fireteam 2 Lore | Aliens Fireteam 2 Enemies | Alien Lore
