Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Alien: Black, White and Blood #1!A new take on Westworld in the Alien universe has proven to be the perfect fusion of the two ’70s sci-fi franchises. Out of all the science fiction films that were released during the 1970s, many fans agree that Alien cornered the market just as the decade was reaching its end with its horrific take on extra-terrestrial life. However, before Alien‘s release, Michael Crichton’s Westworld made a name for itself with its intriguing existential ideas revolving around AI. Now, the two have officially come together in an incredible fusion of their premises.
In Alien: Black, White and Blood #1, the anthology’s second story, titled “The Hunt” by Stephanie Phillips, Marcelo Ferreira and Pete Pantazis, follows a band of vacationers who pay top dollar to hunt Xenomorphs in an isolated resort sponsored by Weyland-Yutani. These amateur hunters are given the essential tools needed to survive with powerful weapons that are capable of tearing through the Xenomorphs with ease. However, to ensure their safety, they are also given a mobile force-field that prevents any chance of death…until things go horribly wrong.
Any eagle-eyed sci-fi fan will be quick to recognize that the premise behind this story is heavily inspired by Michael Crichton’s Westworld with a Xenomorph coat of paint. However, it actually goes beyond the basic story idea in a genius way.
Alien‘s Dark Westworld Twist Expands on Crichton’s AI Amusement Park
What makes this story in the Black, White and Blood anthology stand out among the rest is how it adds new layers to Westworld‘s deep themes. The whole idea behind the original ’70s film and its HBO sequel series was to explore the concept of artificial intelligence and the existentialism it could experience after gaining sentience. The very idea of being killed over and over for entertainment is enough to cause a violent uprising against the park’s rich attendees, and that’s exactly what Alien does in “The Hunt.”
However, it adds to this by turning the focus from the subjects of the park to the people who have paid to be there. Since the Xenomorphs are just animals with a thirst for blood, it makes sense to explore the harsh realities of bringing them to a hunting reserve like this, and the Marines hired to ensure the hunters’ safety are in fact the ones that lead to their demise. They disable the mobile force-fields and criticize the hunters for completely disregarding the people who have sacrificed themselves to make it happen. It’s a brilliant critique on how the working man is constantly put in harm’s way to make the rich more comfortable.
Alien Makes an Excellent Point About Corporations With Its Final Westworld Spin
The best part about “The Hunt” is undoubtedly its ending, as the Marines realize that they themselves have been put in harm’s way as the Xenomorphs close in and kill them. Morally, they are in the right to criticize the wealthy for their disregard of the loss of life that brought them their greatest desires. However, their shortsightedness is ultimately what gets them killed, as they put themselves in harm’s way by targeting the patrons in order to send a message, rather than revolting against the corporation itself. “The Hunt” does an incredible job of commenting on how Weyland-Yutani are the real villains of this story, since they’re the ones that offered this hunting fantasy. They obviously do it to appease patrons willing to pay for the experience, but the Marines place their focus on the wrong people, since they are ultimately the symptom of a greater problem.
“The Hunt” has proven that these two very different sci-fi franchises can actually fuse together incredibly well. Both are thematically rich stories hiding underneath a simple premise, and the themes of both ultimately complement one another in this brief tale of terror. Westworld and Alien may be different on the surface, but this new story shows that at the end of the day, their science fiction roots make them the ultimate pair.
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