Marvel acquired the rights to publish Alien comics in 2021 – but it wasn’t until this year that the company made strides to redefine the franchise, with the biggest signal of a new era coming in the form of the terrifying white Xenomorph, which has proven to be the most dangerous, deadliest incarnation of the infamous extraterrestrial monster yet.
Alien (Vol. 3) – written by Declan Shalvey, with art by Andrea Broccardo – introduced this massive new threat, depicting it as absolutely ruthless toward not only the humans unfortunate enough to be the first to encounter it, but also toward its smaller cousins, the classic Xenomorphs familiar to fans of the films.
Part of the Xenomorph’s charm as a cinematic monster has been its adaptive evolution – taking traits from its incubating host means variations on the creature are to be expected. Xenomorphs that have burst forth from humans are already apex predators; by introducing a version that absolutely brutalizes them, Marvel has taken the horror possibilities Alien to the next level.
Alien: 10 of the Most Brutal Kills From Marvel’s Xenomorphs (So Far)
Ever since Marvel took over publishing Alien comics, there has been no shortage of epic kills pulled off by Xenomorphs. Here are the 10 most brutal!
The White Xenomorph Proves Marvel Has Ambitious Plans For Alien
The current fourth volume of Marvel’s Alien – once again by the creative team of Shelvey and Broccardo – puts the white Xenomorph at the center of the story, while Alien Annual (2023) #1 revealed the genetic backstory of the new creature, identifying the unlucky species whose DNA material was appropriated to give birth to this new, incredibly vicious incarnation of the galaxy’s most dangerous species. The white Xenomorph is Marvel’s attempt to raise the stakes of Alien storytelling in an organic way, and so far, it has been successful. The creatures’ appearances in 2023 provided the most thrilling, stand-out moments of Alien (Vol. 3) and raised major expectations for Vol. 4 and beyond.
The white Xenomorph is massive, significantly larger than the more familiar, human-incubated black Xenos, able to fend off hordes of its smaller counterparts with ease. Most significantly, Marvel has introduced a Xenomorph that lacks one vital weakness of previous versions; while their acid blood is an incredible defense mechanism, the creatures have commonly been depicted as susceptible to it themselves. The white Xenomorph is immune to acid blod. This eliminates one of the key weaknesses exploited by desperate humans against the species, while at the same time giving the white Xeno a critical advantage in inter-species conflicts, as seen at the climax of Marvel’s Alien (Vol. 3).
The Door Is Open For Even Deadlier Xenomorph Variants
The Alien franchise has tended to be human-centric, and as a result, a default depiction of the Xenomorph has largely taken hold. Understandably, as H.R. Geiger’s original creature design from the 1978 film is a visual as iconic as it is chilling. Marvel’s white Xenomorph proved that the company is willing to look beyond the familiar to create new, exciting versions of the Xeno for its ongoing Alien narrative. Long-time Alien publisher Dark Horse was at times willing to push the boundaries of the franchise, and Marvel, and it looks as though moving forward Marvel will continue to take exciting swings, building off of its redefinition of the franchise.
In addition to a terrifying new threat for humankind, the white Xenomorph is crucially a worthy adversary for other forms of Xenomorphs – both the familiar, and the forthcoming. The greatest adversary of the Xeno has long been another classic cinematic extraterrestrial, the Yautja, from Predator. The two have had some truly incredible conflicts over the years, but Marvel’s introduction of the white Xenomorph makes it clear they do not want to rely on this familiar match up to give the franchise the brutal non-human antagonist it deserves. Now, Marvel has opened the door to an Alien galaxy more populated with disperate extraterrestrial species, and more potential hosts.
Marvel’s Alien And Predator Will Inevitably Meet Once More
Similar to how it has revitalized Alien in the comic book medium over the past several years, Marvel has also been doing new, exciting things with the Predator franchise. While for the strength of both franchises, it is perhaps the right move to keep the two seperate for now, with both currently housed by the same publisher, it seems inevitable another Alien vs. Predator installment will happen. Marvel’s Alien so far has introduced the white Xenomorph as a nigh-unstoppable threat, and a more than significant foil for the traditional Xenos. Predator has introduced the Yautja-hunting human Theta. Should both of these new creations survive their current storylines, it would be thrilling to put them into conflict with one another.
It is important, however, that Marvel’s Alien continues to build up the legitimate threat of the white Xenomorph – and perhaps other, even scarier variations on the creature that remain to be introduced. By that measure, the company should also continue to focus on expanding Predator lore at every opportunity. It has already made the Yautja an essential part of the Marvel Universe by tying it into Wolverine’s backstory, but this integration should not come at the cost of neglecting to build the Predator franchise a vibrant, unique fictional galaxy of its own. This goes for Alien as well, and its relationship to Predator.
In 2023, Marvel proved that it is a solid home for IP that didn’t originate within the company. Alien and Predator have paved the way for further Planet of the Apes stories at Marvel, as well as heralding the company’s acquisition of the Doctor Who franchise. The white Xenomorph is, in some ways, the mascot of this new wave of Marvel’s adaptations of major screen properties. It has given the Alien franchise its deadliest new threat in ages, as well as providing a story engine to drive subsequent volumes in the next year. The white Xenomorph uses the comic book medium to its advantage, and will continue to dominate Alien comics for the forseeable future.
