Throughout the Alien vs Predator franchise, it has been made abundantly clear that the two deadliest creatures in the cosmos are Xenomorphs and Yautja–since the whole point of the series is to see which one is better. However, in one AvP storyline, a third extraterrestrial life form is introduced that proved to be the deadliest of them all, as a horde of these creatures took down just as many Xenomorphs like it was nothing.
The Xenomorphs are a species born of death and bred for violence, making them the ‘perfect organism’ when it comes to killing and survival. Similarly, the entire Yautja culture is centered around ‘the hunt’ as Predators travel the cosmos looking for increasingly deadly prey in an effort to prove their superiority while also maintaining a universal balance (per the Predators’ hunting-based religious beliefs). Since these two aliens were the deadliest in their respective franchises, it was quickly decided that they needed to face off against each other to prove which is the superior being–though the established lore of Alien vs Predator did a great deal more than that. AvP delved deep into the cultural impacts of these two lifeforms interacting with each other as Xenomorphs are needed to complete the most significant ritualistic hunt in Yautja culture while Predators are almost single-handedly responsible for the prevalence of Xenomorph life across the galaxy. However, that isn’t to say there aren’t a plethora of good-old-fashioned fight scenes between the Yautja and the Xenomorphs–and now, one more alien species can be added to this seemingly perpetual grudge match.
AvP’s ‘Rhynths’ Easily Killed an Entire Horde of Xenomorphs
In Aliens vs Predator #3 by Randy Stradley and Phill Norwood, the off-world human settlement of Prosperity Wells has been overrun with Xenomorphs after the Predators seeded this world for their Blooding Ritual. Prosperity Wells is essentially a giant cattle ranch, one that breeds and raises an alien species called Rhynths–which are basically a cross between cows and rhinos. After the Xenomorphs stormed the streets of this small settlement, the people released the herd of Rhynths from their pens in an effort to at least distract the Xenomorphs and Predators–which they did, and then some. Upon their release, the Rynths stampeded through the streets and ran down the Xenomorphs, killing a large number of them without even trying, and without sustaining any major injuries themselves.
Not only was the sight of these Rhynths plowing through a horde of Xenomorphs one of the more impressive examples of Xenomorph killing sprees in recent memory, but it was also immensely satisfying. Earlier in this story, the Xenomorphs wiped out a different herd of Rhynths by using them as hosts for their reproduction. Many Rhynths were killed in this Xenomorph sneak-attack, all of them suffering torturous agony and unparalleled terror before their ultimate deaths, so seeing another herd of Rhynths taking down the very Xenomorphs that killed their brethren was very gratifying.
This issue makes it clear that Rhynths are physically strong enough to kill an entire horde of Xenomorphs (something that even the most skilled Predator would have trouble doing), but in a wartime scenario, the Rhynths wouldn’t actually stand a chance against them. Rhynths aren’t exactly highly intelligent lifeforms as they are little more than alien cattle, meaning the sneaky and tactical Xenomorphs and Predators would eliminate all of them given enough time. However, just because the Rhynths killed a great number of Xenomorphs purely due to a surprise attack doesn’t diminish the fact that they are strong enough to pull off that immensely impressive act of carnage in the first place–proving that they are an alien species within Alien vs Predator that are physically deadlier than Xenomorphs.
