# Alien vs Predator: Why Does't This Die? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881 "2007-12-22T00:36:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/41 "2007-12-23T13:58:27Z")
My Wife and I loved the first two Alien flicks. We probably watch them 3-4 times a year. Predator too. But… Somebody needs to come up with a new monster. ---
**Author:** ![Sockmunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Sockmunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sockmunkey)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/42 "2007-12-23T15:10:55Z")
Alien 3 was good (had the best lines of the three certainly) but 4 sucked donkey nard. Hard. On a side note, did the aliens use echolocation? The lack of external eyes and the shape of the forehead (rather dolphin-like) seems to suggest it. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/43 "2007-12-23T15:34:46Z")
In the associated comics and books, does the Xenomorph species ever make sense? (And “Xenomorph” is just as generic a term as “Alien”; does their species have an actual name?) Do they only exist to be scary monsters? The Predators, at least, are believable culturally; our own planet has had cultures that considered themselves quite civilized and moral, but with respectable gents who liked to go to exotic lands and kill the most formidable species there. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/44 "2007-12-23T16:23:18Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] In the associated comics and books, does the Xenomorph species ever make sense? (And “Xenomorph” is just as generic a term as “Alien”; does their species have an actual name?) Do they only exist to be scary monsters? [/QUOTE] From what I remember at some point somewhere, the Aliens were designed as a living weapon. Their speciation (probably not a word) doesn’t need to make sense - they’re disposable weapons designed for a huge interspecies war. The guy in the crashed ship in Aliens - you do see him, he has a head like an elephant - was probably their version of a military truck driver dropping off a load of weapons. Besides, the Aliens may not be all that bad - if you’re from the species that built them, and they’ve been hard coded to not attack your species. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/45 "2007-12-23T22:28:35Z")
[QUOTE=Merijeek] The guy in the crashed ship in Aliens - you do see him, he has a head like an elephant - was probably their version of a military truck driver dropping off a load of weapons. -Joe [/QUOTE] That was Alien, not Aliens. Just sayin’… ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/46 "2007-12-23T23:37:59Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Well, actually, terraforming had been underway for decades when Ripley’s shuttle was discovered. The implication is that Carter Burke researched her case and uncovered some long-forgotten log reference to the alien shipwreck and on his own initiative sent an order for a survey team to check it out. The extended version of _Aliens_ has greater detail on this, but even the theatrical release features a scene of Ripley angrily confronting Burke when she finds the order “signed Burke, Carter J. [He] sent them out there, and [he] didn’t even warn them.” It was a bad call. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but if he made a major security situation out of it then Administration steps in and there’s no special rights for anyone. In the original Alien, there is some indication that the Wayland-Yutani corporation had an idea about what was on that planet before they sent the Nostromo to check it out. The company likely had secret records about the Xenomorphs going back to Bishop Wayland’s encounter as chronicled in AVP. > [@Baldwin](#): > > In the associated comics and books, does the Xenomorph (And “Xenomorph” is just as generic a term as “Alien”; does their species have an actual name?) One of the Marines on the Sulaco refered to it as a Xenomorph, presumably using it as a generic term for an alien as they didn’t know what it was. It just stuck with the fans after that. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/47 "2007-12-23T23:59:08Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] One of the Marines on the Sulaco refered to it as a Xenomorph, presumably using it as a generic term for an alien as they didn’t know what it was. It just stuck with the fans after that. [/QUOTE] I always assumed it was a reference to its abilities. It’s an alien that ‘morphs’ it’s biology to fit whatever environment the host came from. Or perhaps the fact it has several metamorphic stages before it’s an adult. Either explanation works for me. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/48 "2007-12-24T02:21:22Z")
[QUOTE=Darkhold] I always assumed it was a reference to its abilities. It’s an alien that ‘morphs’ it’s biology to fit whatever environment the host came from. Or perhaps the fact it has several metamorphic stages before it’s an adult. Either explanation works for me. [/QUOTE] It’s Greek. xeno = strange, morph = form. A strange or unknown creature. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/49 "2007-12-24T06:00:49Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] One of the Marines on the Sulaco refered to it as a Xenomorph, presumably using it as a generic term for an alien as they didn’t know what it was. It just stuck with the fans after that. [/QUOTE] It wasn’t ‘one of’ the marines, it was the pretentious, green Lt. who would’ve gotten them all killed if Ripley didn’t have more balls in her underpants than he had in full combat dress. ---
**Author:** ![Sockmunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Sockmunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sockmunkey)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/50 "2007-12-24T10:47:22Z")
[QUOTE=Merijeek] From what I remember at some point somewhere, the Aliens were designed as a living weapon. Their speciation (probably not a word) doesn’t need to make sense - they’re disposable weapons designed for a huge interspecies war. The guy in the crashed ship in Aliens - you do see him, he has a head like an elephant - was probably their version of a military truck driver dropping off a load of weapons. Besides, the Aliens may not be all that bad - if you’re from the species that built them, and they’ve been hard coded to not attack your species. -Joe [/QUOTE] Elephant-head dude had his torso burst open from the _inside_ so it seems they weren’t coded not to attack their creators. Assuming he actually was one of them. ---
**Author:** ![WilhelmGefallen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9f8e36/32.png) [@WilhelmGefallen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilhelmGefallen)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/51 "2007-12-24T11:22:22Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] In the associated comics and books, does the Xenomorph species ever make sense? (And “Xenomorph” is just as generic a term as “Alien”; does their species have an actual name?) Do they only exist to be scary monsters? [/QUOTE] Wikipedia gives they’re actual name as “Internecivus raptus” (from the Quadrilogy box set) however I seem to recall in the comics it was something different, in Aliens Apocalypse: The Destroying Angels it was Linguafoeda acheronsis. The origins depend on what’s considered canon I think, I know that in Aliens: Genocide (the actual Novel, not sure about the Graphic Novel) Ripley ends up going to the home planet to try and kill them the gravity is about twice Earth normal and they seem to be a naturally evolved silicon based lifeform. In Female War\* though it’s speculated that they’re actually bioengineered, possibly by the Elephant headed aliens as seen in Alien, as the ultimate form of warfare eg; send down a queen and wait for them to have cleansed the planet. \*It’s odd to get the two conflicting stories about the creation when these two books were released as a single omnibus edition 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/52 "2007-12-24T13:08:12Z")
[QUOTE=WilhelmGefallen] In Female War\* though it’s speculated that they’re actually bioengineered, possibly by the Elephant headed aliens as seen in Alien, as the ultimate form of warfare eg; send down a queen and wait for them to have cleansed the planet. [/QUOTE] Kind of a shitty weapon don’t you think? They are extremely dangerous to handle, impossible to contain and once you’ve unleashed them on a planet, it’s now infested and completely useless to the invador. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/53 "2007-12-24T16:40:28Z")
Same thing could be said of Beserkers/Doomsday Machines; Law of Unintended Consequences comes up and bites you in the ass (literally, in the case of Aliens). ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/54 "2007-12-24T17:37:21Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] Kind of a shitty weapon don’t you think? They are extremely dangerous to handle, impossible to contain and once you’ve unleashed them on a planet, it’s now infested and completely useless to the invador. [/QUOTE] Perhaps the aliens have a biological off-switch built in by their creators. like a virus that signals them to all shut down (i.e. die) when the planet is cleared. Or, maybe they just don’t care about the planet at all. It’s cleansed, your enemy is dead, why give a rat’s patootie about their homeworld when you can move on to the next hunk of rock? Maybe they only live in space. Maybe they release the aliens to cover their backs. Or maybe I read way too much science-fiction. Naaaaaah. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/55 "2007-12-24T17:48:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Alien vs Predator: Why Does’t This Die? Well, if it bleeds, we should be able to kill it. ---
**Author:** ![WilhelmGefallen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9f8e36/32.png) [@WilhelmGefallen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilhelmGefallen)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/56 "2007-12-24T20:20:58Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] Kind of a shitty weapon don’t you think? They are extremely dangerous to handle, impossible to contain and once you’ve unleashed them on a planet, it’s now infested and completely useless to the invador. [/QUOTE] Fanwank: Maybe they had some sort of chemical/biological weapon that they could use to neutralize the population once everything was dead? * * * Actually I have to agree that they’re not the best weapon for taking over a planet you want to colonise, but on one that you really don’t give a crap about they’d be excellent assuming you can stop any interplanetary traffic coming from the target. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/57 "2007-12-24T20:25:18Z")
I don’t remember if I read this somewhere or not now, but I could have sworn it was implied - maybe in one of the comics - the Predators assisted in the creation and dissemination of the Aliens specifically to be a perfect form of prey. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/58 "2007-12-24T20:34:31Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] I don’t remember if I read this somewhere or not now, but I could have sworn it was implied - maybe in one of the comics - the Predators assisted in the creation and dissemination of the Aliens specifically to be a perfect form of prey. [/QUOTE] Implied…or implode? ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/59 "2007-12-24T20:55:41Z")
[QUOTE=WilhelmGefallen] Fanwank: Maybe they had some sort of chemical/biological weapon that they could use to neutralize the population once everything was dead? * * * Actually I have to agree that they’re not the best weapon for taking over a planet you want to colonise, but on one that you really don’t give a crap about they’d be excellent assuming you can stop any interplanetary traffic coming from the target. [/QUOTE] Hmmm… good points 😉 But, you’d not have any worry about them getting off planet, they’re just animals, right? Right? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881/60 "2007-12-24T22:40:21Z")
[QUOTE=WilhelmGefallen] Actually I have to agree that they’re not the best weapon for taking over a planet you want to colonise, but on one that you really don’t give a crap about they’d be excellent assuming you can stop any interplanetary traffic coming from the target. [/QUOTE] I would say that Aliens are an IDEAL way of taking over a planet you want to colonize, _provided you have a foolproof way of wiping out the Aliens after they’ve done their work._ After all, Aliens don’t go after infrastructure or hoard gold or anything like that – they just go after large living beings and use them as hosts and/or kill them. After the host population is gone and the Aliens exterminated, you have all of the planets resources/infrastructure still available to you, with nobody left alive to fight you over it. Very nice. Furthermore, if the Aliens ARE genetically engineered weapons, it’s reasonable to assume that some sort of built in delimiter kills them off – say, after X number of generations all the queens die out, shortly after, all the other Aliens do. Then you just sweep up the corpses and move in. You can even align this with levdrakon’s fanwank and say the Predators discovered a remnant population of Aliens that for some reason didn’t get wiped out and bred them as prey. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-vs-predator-why-doest-this-die/430881.md?page=4)