Warning! This article contains spoilers for Alien #9
Despite all of the differences between Aliens and Predators as well as their cosmic rivalry that has stretched across all forms of media, the latest Alien comic confirms the one thing they actually have in common. The Predators have proven that they will not hunt prey that can’t put up a fight as that wouldn’t be a worthy or honorable hunt, including prey without weapons or ones that are already dying of a terminal illness. While fans have always been under the impression that Alien’s Xenomorphs don’t discriminate when it comes to killing something, it seems as though Xenomorphs in the earliest stage of their life cycle are just as picky as the Predators.
In Alien #9 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Salvador Larroca, the evil synthetic Ambrose is attacking his fellow interplanetary settler Jane with a Facehugger. Ambrose was ordered by Weyland-Yutani to spread Xenomorphs across this particular settlement by any means necessary. When a horde of the creatures are sent to the planet by the company, Ambrose does everything he can to help them reproduce across the settlement. Once Ambrose believes he has successfully attached the Facehugger to Jane’s face, he is attacked from behind and completely neutralized. However, the attack is the least surprising thing that happens in this scene as the Facehugger falls off of Jane’s face moments after it attaches, leaving Jane was completely fine.
Throughout this current Alien comic book run, it has been established that Jane is suffering from a debilitating disease that is ravaging her body. While Jane is a strong and brave person, she is evidently not an ideal host for a Xenomorph and the Facehugger that refuses to impregnate her knows this. Because of her terminal illness the Facehugger chooses not to incubate her as that Xenomorph would possibly be impacted by the disease and would be born weaker than other Xenomorphs. Basically, Jane survives because of a disease that is killing her, a situation that others have been in while facing off against a Predator.
The best example of a Predator allowing their potential prey to live because they are already dying was shown in the 2004 film Alien vs Predator. In the film, the Predators travel to Earth after a group of explorers led by Charles Bishop Weyland unlock an ancient pyramid that contains Xenomorphs. Weyland is suffering from lung cancer and the disease has become advanced enough to be untreatable. When a Predator is about to kill Weyland, it sees that he is already dying and chooses to walk away rather than kill him. Weyland provokes the Predator enough to force its hand, but the initial response was to let Weyland live as there would be no honor in killing a dying man.
While the Aliens and Predators share this one key similarity, the reasons behind their decisions to not go after someone with a terminal illness couldn’t be more different. The Facehugger chooses to leave them alone because they aren’t ideal hosts for a Xenomorph whereas a Predator doesn’t kill someone with a deadly disease because that would be unsportsmanlike. However, regardless of why they both choose to let those with terminal illnesses live, it is still one of the only things Aliens and Predators actually have in common.
