The Xenomorph is a hostile organism and poses
a large threat to the human species, but in the Alien Universe there would indeed prove
to be another species that would serve as an equal opponent to the terrifying creature. The Predator, otherwise known as the Yautja,
is an alien species known for its ability to hunt different species all over the universe
for sport, with its preferred trophies seeming to be humans and xenomorphs. The Yautja are known to hunt in groups, but
commonly their expeditions are practiced alone, as a sort of rite of passage and initiation
for lone Predators. In their hunting rituals, the Predators are
equipped with incredibly advanced technology to capture and kill their prey. Predators are usually equipped with a Bio-Mask,
which allows it to see in infared, which is why the Yautja more often than not hunt in
areas affected in extreme heat, such as the Central American jungle, seen in the first
Predator film, and a heat-wave stricken Los Angeles, as seen in the second Predator film. Aside from the heat vision, its mask can be
adjusted to view through additional vision modes to aid in its hunt, such as night vision,
ultraviolet, and even vibration scanning. It also allows for Vocal Mimicry and the Language
Translator, and records anything the Predator sees and hears so that it may be replayed
for reference. In hunting situations, the Predators use light-bending
cloak technology for camoflauge, which helps them blend in with their surroundings and
become somewhat invisible. The physical appearance of each Predator varies,
depends on factors such as it age, experience, and general rank within the tribes, with each
carrying a distinct look customizing their masks and armour, decorated with trinkets
and trophies marking their achievements. Some of these hunters are equipped with more
advanced weaponry than others, but the bare minimun when it comes to the Predator weapons
would be common amongst all Yautja: with a shoulder-quipped plasma cannon for long distance
projectile shooting, and retractable wristblades for up-close, melee encounters. They're also equipped with medicomp kits should
situations go awty and first aid is needed, and, in the very worst-case scenarios, perhaps
due to a large sense of pride within the species, Predators also have a self-destruct mechanism,
which has the ability to wipe out its surroundings with a large explosion. Even if considered sore-losers in that respect,
the Yautja operate with a ritualistic sense of honor, and when it comes to hunting humans,
it is against their nature to kill anyone who is unarmed, seriously ill or weak, or
pregnant. Going against these rules is seen as dishonorable,
and lacking the kind of sport so revered by the species. Considering all this, the Xenomorph, being
a creature that's inherently hostile, incredibly dangerous, and provenly difficult to kill,
clearly makes for ideal prey in the Predator's eyes. They consider it to be the ultimate prey,
in fact, with a complicated respect and fear of the creature, with Xenomorph hunting expeditions
seeming to be integral to the Yautja's rite of passage, going so far as to dedicating
temples and pyramids to this practice. It would be in the original run of Aliens
Vs Predator comics that this was first established, with a tribe of Predators making pilgrimiage
to their hunting ground on the Planet Ryushi, along with a captured Xenomorph queen and
harvested eggs aboard their ship. The comic gives some insight to the predator's
pre-hunt rituals as well, depicting sparring sessions and physical competition between
the Yautja before landing. Their controlled hunting environment goes
beyond their expectations, however, when a queen egg makes its way to Ryushi, infecting
a newly settled establishement named Prosperity Wells, of human colonists on the planet, which
leads to a massive infestation of xenomorphs well beyond what was prepared for. With Aliens and Predators at odds, and unsuspecting
humans in the middle of the horror, this would lead to rare trait in the Predator species
in which, due to dire situations, they'd be required to set aside any differences with
humans and create an alliance in order to defeat to the higher threat of the Xenomorph. As seen in this story, the Yautja clan leader,
known as Broken Tusk, forms a bond with the human colonist Machiko, who aids in defeat
of the alien outrbreak, specifically, in killing the queen, and due to her alliance, is marked
with the Yautja Clan's symbol. Many elements of this story of course would
be carried over into the film version of Alien Vs Predator, which, in also depicting humans
caught in Alien and Predator conflicts, made an attempt to explore the two species' relationship
as far back as possible. As the archeologist Sebastion gathers from
a translation made in a Yautja pyriamid located in Antarctica, "Thousands of years ago, these hunters found
a backwater planet. They taught humans how to build, and were
worshipped as Gods. Every hundred years, the Gods would return. But when they did, they would expect a sacrifice. Humans were used to breed the ultimate prey. The hunters would battle with these great
serpents to prove themselves worthy to carry the mark. But if the hunters lost, they made sure nothing
survived." This particular origin of the species had
not been explored in the comics or other media, but instead was an invention of the film,
and if included in an overall timeline, this would be the earliest interaction between
Xenomorphs, Yautja, and human beings, dating back approximatelty to the year 2996 BC. This of course would lead to still a significant
gap between what occurred in Prometheus, with the Engineer's self-sacrifice at the waterfall,
which has been confirmed as taking place in 3.2 Billion BC. Many questions arise from this origin, such
as how long the predators had been operating in the universe and how far back their species
dates, as well as how they have originally discovered the existence of the xenomorph,
and how they came to realize humans would be the best fitting hosts to the creature. Gaps considered, do you find this to be a
satisfying origin of the Alien and Predator conflict? Or do you prefer to disregard the film's explanation
and still leave it to mystery? Comment below and let me know. And as always, thanks so much for watching,
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