Warning: spoilers for Alien #6 are ahead. 

Ridley Scott's Alien is one of the most influential science fiction stories of all time, spawning numerous film sequels and spinoffs as well as a series in Marvel Comics. What made 1979's Alien such an audacious take on space travel was its unflinching look at how terrifying of a place the universe could be. With its horror-tinged look at space, exploration was no longer a noble endeavor, but one that was dripping with uncertainty and threats of violence around every corner.

Now, with a new comics series from Marvel, the ideas from Alien are being re-examined with a story set eighty years after the first film. Following Gabriel Cruz, a retired Weyland-Yutani security officer sent to space one last time to retrieve both his rebellious son, Danny, and a xenomorph sample, Marvel's Alien is concerned just as much with family dynamics as it is with showcasing the franchise's brand of body and creature horror.

Related: Marvel's Aliens Sequel Retcons The Movie's Ending Better Than Alien 3

Even with the Alien franchise continuing on more than forty years after its release date, there are still some unresolved aspects to its premise that have remained unaddressed until now with Marvel's Alien. Much of what makes Alien unique is the xenomorphs themselves. While it is clear why humans are sent to space in the first place, the motives behind the xenomorphs' actions are often left unexplained. Even as the aliens pick off members of the crew one by one, their actual reason for doing so is never considered beyond the fact that the story needs a scary-looking monster in order to achieve its horror aims. This ultimately limits some of the critiques that Alien has sought to make from the very beginning, because the films never give the audience a chance to consider that the xenomorphs are coming from an understandable place: they are defending their homes and families from invaders who want to use their bodies for commercial gain.

The xenomorphs' plan explained in Marvel's Alien #6.

Alien #6 however, finally addresses this lack of consideration for the xenomorphs, injecting the franchise with a greater sense of nuance that takes the story to new heights. From a creative team of Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Salvador Larroca, Guru-eFX, and Clayton Cowles, Alien #6 reveals that Danny's girlfriend, Iris, is a synth intending to sabotage Gabriel's mission. As Iris lays "dying" after Bishop and Gabe take her down, she reveals the truth behind the xenomorphs' presence in the universe: to thwart any species' attempts to colonize space. Thus, the xenomorphs' attacks against humans aren't so much because they are scary aliens, but because they are part of a broader action in the universe to correct humans' arrogance.

Considering how Alien from the start has been concerned with dispelling romantic myths of exploration, it's time that it also depart from overly simple "us vs. them" conflict between humans and xenomorphs. Later on, when fighting a xenomorph in open space, Gabe realizes, "The alien isn't the monster. It just does what it does. Just an animal protecting its young." With Gabe protecting Danny the same way that the xenomorph defends its own, the issue finally brings a sense of humanity to the xenomorphs as well as a sense of accountability for the humans.

Much of the horror in Alien relies on a lack of understanding. The xenomorphs are shadowy figures that the humans cannot communicate with, making them easy targets to be afraid of. But this does not entirely work when the humans' actions against the aliens are too grave to ignore. Framing the xenomorphs' actions as reasonable, rather than incomprehensible and horrifying, lends an added sense of moral complexity to Marvel's Alien comics that the movies fall short of achieving. And while it may be less scary, in the traditional sense, to view the xenomorphs in this light, this perspective ultimately pushes the core components of Alien to a place of new significance. The comics ask who truly is the "alien" in this scenario: Gabe and the interests of Weyland-Yutani, or the xenomorph defending its home?

Next: Alien: Xenomorphs Have An Obvious Weakness Humans Haven't Realized Yet