Comics Explained: Aliens versus Predator

As of writing The Predator is finally out in cinemas. As expected this franchise has regularly featured in comics so if we want to look at the comics we are spoiled for choice. Today I wanted to look specifically at one comic which went on to define the Predator: Aliens versus Predator. Many people will know this from the two movies but Aliens and Predators have been fighting each other for over a decade by the time even the first movie was released; we had toys, novels, games and the thing that started it all, comics. It is quite incredible that a lot of the lore behind the Predator universe comes from the Aliens versus Predator, (the most common name for the species is the Yautja which comes from the comics), part of the franchise and often Alien and Predator are classed as one and the same. Today we'll look at the first two stories which pitched the ultimate lifeform against the ultimate hunter but first I just want to discuss the origins of this franchise.

Origins

Dark Horse Presents #34

The first story would appear over three issues in Dark Horse Presents #34-36. Although Dark Horse regularly publishes their own original stories, most famously Hellboy, they also regularly purchase the rights to other titles and create comics based on them - before Disney bought Lucasfilm they did the Star Wars comics for quite a while. The Terminator versus Robocop was another crossover done by Dark Horse as an example. Dark Horse Presents was an anthology series so the first crossover of the Aliens and the Predators appeared alongside other stories, although due to their popularity they were the main story and were featured on the cover. Backing it up slightly we have the films. In 1979 Ridley Scott released Alien, perhaps one of the greatest and scariest sci-fi movies of all time, which was followed by James Cameron's Aliens in 1986. Aliens continued the horror theme of the first movie but it brought in action elements; if not for this we may never have gotten Aliens vs. Predator to start off with. In 1987 we then got Predator directed by John McTiernan of Die Hard which was firmly in the action movie genre, however, it can also be classed as a thriller with the burly mercenaries being hunted down one by one by the Predator meshing it well with Alien. A crossover was a perfect idea and we finally got it in 1989 with Dark Horse Presents #34. It soon gained popularity; so much so that in Predator 2 in 1990 an Alien skull can be seen in the Predator trophy cabinet. As more comics, games and novels were being produced Fox, (which owned both franchises), seriously considered doing a movie but not many people associated with it were in favour of it. Sigourney Weaver wanted her character killed off in Alien 3 so she didn't have to appear in a crossover, and both Scott and Cameron were against it - in a twist of fate James Cameron later enjoyed the movie we did get calling it the third best Alien movie, if his opinion has since changed I am not sure. There are still talks about making another movie with several directors hoping that the renewed interest in the two franchises thanks to Alien: Covenant and The Predator will pave the way for a third movie.

Aliens vs. Predator

Dark Horse Presents #36, when they first fought

Our first story is split between three different stories over the three issues: Aliens, Predator, and Aliens versus Predator. On a ship flying to a planet two bored pilots, Scott and Tom, debate how companies were exploiting planets, including the Earth. Something fast passes by them which they put down to a meteorite but we see that it is in fact another ship. The two pilots start discussing how evolution has fought back against humanity including the rise of the Africanized honey bees, red ants taking over the southern US, and a bacteria breaking down the planet's oil. Is nature actually evil? Is an organism doing something that it is evolved to do which harms another lifeform actually evil? As they have their discussion we pan onto the ship as rows upon rows of eggs are being scanned revealing inside the facehuggers awaiting to hatch and infect a host. Attached to a harness an Alien Queen is being forced to lay the eggs for something. The next issue sees a change of discussion for the pilots - now they discuss technology, humanity and the primordial urge to hunt. On the second ship we find out who has the Queen: a group of Predators. We see that they are observing a swamp on an alien planet and collecting the eggs to shoot to the planet. Two rival Predators begin a ceremonial fight as Scott and Tom debate humanity's primal urge to show supremacy through force, and one Predator beats the other. In our final issue the eggs are shot down to the swamp and they hatch. The Predators soon land with the intention to hunt the ultimate prey. Quickly they find signs of the Aliens, the xenomorphs, including a monkey-like creature, a serpent, and a bird having their chests ripped open from the inside. However, they are soon ambushed. One of the Predators has its neck torn open by the flanking xenomorphs but the other Yautja fight back. In a flurry of spears and blasters they manage to wipe out the xenomorphs. The pilots continue their discussions, including about hunting, and one mentions how loosing his virginity was a rite of passage as the elder Yautja break off the finger from a killed xenomorph. The acidic blood then burns the symbol of their clan on the head of the youngest hunter initiating him into the hunt.

The Hunt on Ryushi

The Hunt begins

Dark Horse soon came back to Aliens versus Predator and we got an immediate sequel. We find out that one of the eggs was secretly a Queen egg and that they were sent to multiple planets. One happened to be the planet Ryushi. By the twenty-second century corporations like Weyland-Yutani (from Alien) had been colonising different planets to use for economic exploitation as Earth's environment had slowly been destroyed. On Ryushi the Chigusa Corporation had set up a farming town called Prosperity Wells where they would raise and farm a rhino like animal, acting more like a sheep or cow, called the rhynths. It is an important time for Prosperity Wells: after a year the colony of just 100 had finally built up a large shipment of rhynth to send to Earth, and their administrator was being changed. The current administrator was Hiroki Shimura was welcoming, and warning, the new administrator Machiko Noguchi. Machiko soon found out that there are tensions between the company and the colonials who want more pay. Scott and Tom in The Lector arrived on Ryushi to take the rhynths to Earth just as the pods containing the xenomorph eggs landed in a nearby valley. Quickly the eggs hatch and attach to the rhynth. One of the chief ranchers, Ackland, found a discarded facehugger so sent it to the colony's biologists and doctors, Kesar and Miriam Ravna. Meanwhile, the colony is partying to celebrate their first shipment and Machiko to get the ranchers on side gave them pay rises. More importantly, the Yautja hunting party arrived...

Broken Tusk and Machiko

Kesna Ravna decided to search the valley to find the origins of the facehuggers but instead finds the Yautja. Their elder and leader, Broken Tusk who is the same one from the first three issues, is ran over by Ravna who then immediately crashed, dying in the explosion. Broken Tusk's un-Blooded and volatile students became enraged deciding the hunt the colonists in revenge including a small ranch where they kill the dog and parents. Back at Prosperity Wells the unconscious Broken Tusk is brought to Miriam and Machiko as Scott and Tom prepare to head off to Earth. They are horrified to discover that strange creatures, including one giant one, stand where the rhynth once did and one of the remaining ones have a chestburster burst its way through its chest. The crew is butchered and the pilots cocooned. The sole survivor of the small ranch attack was a young boy who was followed by the un-Blooded Yautja and a battle erupted between the Yautja and colonists. Despite being lightly-armed their weaponry was far more advanced than that of the colonists and decimated the defenders eager to get back to their master. As this was happening Machiko, and a guard, went to The Lector to see why they hadn't set off only to be met by the xenomorph Hive. The guard is taken by the xenomorphs and Machiko was almost overtaken herself until she was saved by one of the Yautja. However, the hunter could not survive the onslaught from the parasites despite taking many out with it. Machiko described the un-Blooded warrior best: Despite his speed and strength and practiced moves, the 'warrior' was not a smart fighter - he was like a karateka who had mastered his style, but had never faced an actual opportunity. Prosperity Wells soon became engulfed in a three way war between the colonists, Yautja, and xenomorphs claiming the lives of several un-Blooded warriors and colonists including Hiroki.

Broken Tusk against an un-Blooded

Machiko went to find Miriam and they two realised one important thing: if they were to survive they needed Broken Tusk on side. As one of the students broke into the lab Broken Tusk prevented it from killing the humans. As the young warrior broke a taboo by killing humans Broken Tusk started fighting with the young one allowing the two humans to escape and formulate a plan. Machiko had a plan to allow the colonists to evacuate. Taking the helicopter they release the rhynth who stampeded allowing the colonists to evacuate during the distraction, much to the dismay of Ackland as a year's worth war profit had now gotten away or was killed. To escape Broken Tusk climbed an antennae but he was followed by the xenomorphs but as he had defended them Machiko opted to save the warrior. However, during the rescue a xenomorph attacked causing the helicopter to crash killing Miriam. During the stampede Scott and Tom had managed to escape the Hive and helped Machiko out of the crash only to find that Broken Tusk had tried to rescue Miriam as well. The four formed a small pragmatic group fighting their way through the hordes of xenomorphs to get to the operations centre. Inside they discovered a note revealing a sobering reality: Chigusa Corporation had refused to send marines deciding instead that Machiko should preserve the xenomorphs, even at the expense of the colonialists. Suddenly Tom fell over in pain with a chestburster killing it, (which is soon dispatched by Broken Tusk), and Scott comes to the sobering reality that he would share the same fate resulting in him getting Machiko to do a mercy killing. 

With the colonists safely out of the way Machiko realised that if they didn't do anything the xenomorphs could spread across humanity's colonies. Using a van and teaming up with the Yautja they broke into The Lector in order to blow it up to take the Hive with it. Luckily the van hit the Queen temporarily incapacitating her; if not the two could have been instantly torn apart. Fighting through the ship the Queen soon came after them mortally wounding Broken Tusk. Machiko managed to drag the Yautja to an escape pod and the heavy doors shut across the Queen's neck killing her. The launch of the pod detonated the ship taking the Hive with it. However, Broken Tusk was on death's doors. In his final moments he used blood from a xenomorph to burn his clan's symbol onto Machiko initiating her into the clan. Following the events the surviving colonists were moved to a friendlier system but Machiko opted against following them. For two years she waited on Ryushi acting as a small scale rancher. A new batch of un-Blooded with another Yautja, Broken Tusk's rival from the initial comics, hunting the xenomorphs. Machiko took part and the Yautja fought with her. She had become a member of their clan.

Machiko with Broken Tusk's mark

Thank you for reading. For future blog updates please see our Facebook or catch me on Twitter @LewisTwiby. Feel to free leave any comments and suggestions, and have a nice day!