the Xenomorph,
is a endoparasitoid extraterrestrial species that
is the primary antagonist of
the Alien film
series. The species made its debut in the 1979 film Alien,
and reappeared in its sequels Aliens (1986), Alien
3 (1992), and Alien
Resurrection (1997). It has also appeared in the series'
two spinoffs Alien
vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens
vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), as well as the series'
subsidiary literature and video games.
Unlike many other
recurring enemy extraterrestrial races in science fiction,
the aliens are not an intelligent civilization, but predatory
creatures with no higher goals than the propagation of their
species and the destruction of life that could pose a threat.
Like wasps or termites, aliens are eusocial,
with a single fertile queen breeding
a caste of sterile warriors.
The aliens' life
cycle, in which their offspring are violently implanted
inside living hosts before erupting from their chests, is in
many ways their signature aspect. Their design deliberately
evokes many sexual images, both male and female, to illustrate
its blurring of human sexual dichotomy.
The alien design
is credited to Swiss surrealist and artist H.
R. Giger, originating in a lithograph called Necronom
IV and refined for the series' first film, Alien. |