Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Alien: Romulus
Director Ridley Scott’sAlienintroduced the Xenomorph as a deadly predator whose only goal seemed to be killing and multiplying. This dreaded creature was frightening enough, especially with its mysterious background. However, the prequel filmPrometheusgave it a surprising origin that moved the franchise forward while still invoking audiences' fear of the unknown.
Ridley Scott’sPrometheuschanged theAlienmythology by revealingthe Xenomorphs were created by Michael Fassbender’s David, or at least made into the creatures seen inAlien. Since David was influenced by his life as an android servant to humanity, it makes even more sense that the Xenomorphs are the twisted, monstrous creatures that audiences know and fear. This twist also elevatedtheAlienfranchiseinto something far more than just a series of slasher movies set in space.
David Creating The Xenomorph Explains Why It Is So Perverse
The Xenomorphs Reflect David’s Goals
Created as a servant tothe Weyland-YutaniCorporation’s founder, Peter Weyland, David loathed having to cater to an evil man he would eventually outlive. Seeing only the worst in humanity, he later focused his malice on creating life forms of his own using the Engineers' black ooze, resulting in the birth of the Xenomorphs as an embodiment of his twisted view of perfection.
Like the android Ash inAlien, David has little to no regard for human life, admiring the “purity” of the Xenomorphs as emotionless and vicious survivors with no sense of morality. It’s only natural that the Xenomorphs share the qualities that their creator values so much and that they became the source of several gruesome horrors for humanity.
With the Xenomorphs, David revolted against the humans that created him, starting withPrometheus’s crew. Fitting with the film’s Biblical allegory, the android’s actions parallel the Devil leading an army of demons against God, leading to the genocide of the Engineers thatDavid executed inAlien: Covenant. Since David likens himself to Satan fromParadise Lostin the sequel, saying he would rather “reign in Hell” than “serve in Heaven,” it’s clear that David designed the Xenomorphs to be the demonic creatures that have tormented humanity throughout theAlienfranchise.
A “Human” Creating The Xenomorph Makes A Lot Of Sense
It Fits With Wider Themes In The Franchis
In a film rife with religious and philosophical ideas, one major theme inPrometheusis humanity’s interest in creation, with the crew of the titular starship seeking out the Engineers to understand the reason for humanity’s existence.The film also explores humanity’s desire to create life, with Weyland and the Engineers doing so seemingly because they could. This pattern of creation culminates in androids like David, who ironically bring about destruction for those who made them.
Prometheus' David Became An Android Messiah After Alien: Covenant
After the events of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Alien fans don’t know what happened to the synthetic David, but one comic might hold the answer.
David inherits this desire to play God fromcreator Peter Weyland, along with his callous arrogance. Just as Weyland made David in his image, so too did the latter make the Xenomorphs in his image. In the end, the android and his aliens become agents of chaos, with David eventually destroying the Engineers who made his human creators in the first place. Thus, the story thatPrometheushas built through David shows how humanity can bring about their undoing by recklessly toying with nature.
Alien Still Hasn’t Decided What The Xenomorph’s Origins Should Be
Questions Remain About Where They Came From
Since theAlienfilms beforePrometheusnever revealed the origins of the Xenomorphs, screenwriters Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof had plenty of freedom to expand the franchise’s mythos in the prequel. ThoughPrometheusshowed the Xenomorphs had existed in some form long beforeAlien,they are still a mysterious and chaotic forceimplied to have existed even before the Engineers, as shown by a mural depicting a Xenomorph known as “the Deacon.”
The Fate of Prometheus' First Xenomorph Was Too Gruesome For The Movie
The fate of Alien’s first Xenomorph, the Deacon, was left open-ended in the film Prometheus, but the comic book sequel explained what happened to it.
The film reveals that the Engineers harnessed and weaponized this force through the black ooze that creates the Xenomorphs or beings similar to them. The idea that such a small substance can mutate any life form it touches into a remorseless and unfeeling monster aligns with the Lovecraftian themes of the firstAlienfilm.
The fact that the divine Engineers attempted to use this destructive force to annihilate humanity also invokes fears about whether there is a God looking out for people in the face of such unholy terrors.
Both films used the mystery and brutality of the Xenomorph to show how terrifying and uncaring the universe can be. Just as the Facehuggers turned humans into alien incubators without mercy, the Engineers' black ooze corrupts everything it infects to varying degrees, transforming it into a host of destruction that can be unleashed instantly. The fact that the almost-divineEngineers attempted to use this force to annihilate humanityfor no apparent reason also invokes fears about whether a God is looking out for people and protecting them against such unholy terrors.
Overall,Prometheusbuilt upon the Xenomorph’s unknown origins to reinvent theAlienfilms in a surprising but sensible way. The prequel made these aliens the demons of the franchise, as envisioned by the Satanic but human David. Despite this, the franchise leaves enough questions unanswered to retain the chaotic terror that the Xenomorphs embodied in the original film. ThoughPrometheusremains divisive with audiences, the franchise continues to showcase the true horror of the Xenomorphs, asAlien: Romulusbrought back the black oozeto unleash a new kind of alien terror.
