Warning! This article contains spoilers for Alien #3Despite any reinterpretations or controversial origin stories, one aspect of Alien’s Xenomorph species that has remained true is that they are a nearly unstoppable force of cosmic horror that are simply too good at continuing their own horrific existence across the universe–which is why making them smart could potentially ruin the franchise.
The Xenomorphs were introduced in Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien and have become one of the most iconic Sci-Fi horror monsters in existence. Because of the creature’s popularity, there have been a number of spin-off Alien series that have come in the form of video games, novels, and comic books–and all of them put their own spin on the Xenomorph. In some interpretations, Xenomorphs are a part of a universal hive mind, while in others they are more akin to bugs that use pheromones to communicate. Sometimes the Xenomorphs have a deeper, almost otherworldly purpose in the cosmos, and sometimes they simply act on pure instinct to survive. However, in almost every addition to Alien lore, the Xenomorphs aren’t portrayed as evil. They are the perfect organism, and they are a ruthless force of nature that rages through the cosmos like a deadly hurricane of chitinous flesh, gnashing teeth, and grotesque impregnation–though their latest interpretation is changing all of that.
In Alien #3 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Julius Ohta, a squad of Synthetic soldiers by the name of Steel Team have descended upon a planet called Tobler-9 in an effort to retrieve the Ovomorph of a specific Xenomorph strain that contains the biological material necessary to create a drug capable of saving the lives of millions. When Steel Team meets a gang of human survivors, the humans lead the Synthetics to a Xenomorph hive where they can get the Ovomorph they’re after, but right when they all enter the hive, the humans enclose the Synthetics within and leave them for dead. Before that happens, however, the humans give Steel Team a little bit of insight into this new strain of Xenomorph beyond their life-saving biological potential: the Xenomorphs are much more human-like.
Making Xenomorphs Smart Takes Away From their Cosmic Horror
Xenomorphs are a force of nature that can’t be stopped as they are highly adaptable both in terms of reproduction and their ability to survive in any environment, including the vacuum of space. They simply exist, and while their continued existence means excruciating pain and unimaginable horrors for those who cross their ever-marching path throughout the universe, being scary or cruel isn’t their intention. In fact, their hosts mean as little to them as humans mean to classic Lovecraftian Old Ones. Xenomorphs are indifferent to humans’ pain and suffering as people are simply a means to an end–and their uncaring, mindless inevitability is what makes them so terrifying. In this issue, however, it is revealed that Xenomorphs actually enjoy terrorizing and killing people. This new strain that Steel Team is after–dubbed the Icarus Strain–is mixed with human DNA before the gestation stage, meaning an Icarus Xenomorph is born with human characteristics that were with it since the Ovomorph stage, such as humor and sadism.
This Alien issue reveals a Xenomorph hive consisting of organisms that like inflicting pain and who kill and terrorize because they think its funny. While this is a dark new take on the iconic creatures, it turns them into ordinary evil villains rather than an addition to the darkness of an uncaring universe where the only thing bad about them is they survive too well with no feelings towards their hosts one way or the other. Since this Icarus Strain alters Alien’s Xenomorphs on an inherent level by giving them human intelligence and emotions, it runs the risk of losing what made Xenomorphs so scary in the first place and could permanently ruin the franchise.
Alien #3 by Marvel Comics is available now.