Alien: Earth is the latest chapter in the Alien series, but it is far from the first. Not only does the franchise live in its many movies, but the Alien universe also exists in comic books, the vast majority of which were published by Dark Horse Comics.
The Dark Horse era of Aliens comics significantly contributed to the broader lore of the series. Unfortunately, nothing that happened in those books is, strictly speaking, canon. But, as the Alien franchise continues to expand in the form of a television series, Alien: Earth has the power to fix that.
Many downright shocking moments in the Dark Horse Aliens comics would be perfect for a long-form canon series like Alien: Earth. So perfect, in fact, that it would be no surprise if fans asked themselves: if Alien: Earth doesn’t include these 10 shocking scenes, what’s the point?
10
Alien vs Ninja
Alien‘s Xenomorphs are known for battling Colonial Marines and Predators, but one comic shows Xenomorphs fighting a completely different type of enemy: ninja. In Aliens: Music of the Spears, ninjas break into a pharmaceutical company to steal an Ovomorph (Facehugger egg) and find themselves surrounded by Xenomorphs.
The battle between the ninjas and Xenomorphs is as epic as it is unique, especially for a Sci-Fi franchise. But the best part is that it happens on Earth, as Xenomorph knowledge and experimentation have become fairly common at this point in the franchise.
If Alien: Earth eventually normalizes the Xenomorphs’ existence on Earth the same way Dark Horse Comics did, then there’s no reason why this ‘Alien vs Ninja’ scene couldn’t exist in a later season.
9
Human/Xenomorph Hybrids
Alien: Earth explores the idea of human/synthetic hybrids. But what about human/Xenomorph hybrids? That’s a hellish amalgamation introduced in Aliens: Colonial Marines, and these alien hybrids had a name: Bug-Men. The Bug-Men traveled the cosmos as armed soldiers, spreading Xenomorph life wherever they went.
The Bug-Men weren’t products of human experimentation, nor were they created by the Xenomorphs deliberately. They were regular humans who had been mutated by drugs derived from the Xenomorphs, a horrific (yet fascinating) side effect of introducing Xenomorph DNA into their bodies willingly.
8
Xenomorph-Derived Drugs
The Bug-Men mutated because they took drugs created from Xenomorphs, but Aliens: Colonial Marines is far from the only time fans hear about these drugs. The aforementioned Aliens: Music of the Spears and Aliens: Genocide also heavily feature Xenomorph drugs, two of which are called Royal Jelly and Xeno Zip.
Royal Jelly is a hallucinogen that taps human minds into the same frequency of communication as the Xenomorph, while Xeno Zip is an ‘upper’ that temporarily gives humans the strength and speed of a Xenomorph (but not the creature’s durability).
These drugs are why pharmaceutical companies are as obsessed with Xenomorphs as Weyland-Yutani or Prodigy, as they are cheap to make (indeed, the companies basically only need a Queen Xenomorph) and are highly addictive. Drugs like these would be a perfect addition to Alien: Earth.
7
Xenomorph-Worshipping Cults
As confirmed in Alien: Earth, Xenomorphs communicate through high-frequency sounds that the human ear cannot hear, but that the human mind can intercept. When there are enough Xenomorphs around humans (ie, hives on Earth), some people are driven subtly insane by the Xenomorphs’ communication.
These people become increasingly fascinated by the Xenomorphs to the point where they long for the ’embrace of the Queen’ through impregnation. They worship the Xenomorph Queen, and they consider it a great honor and privilege to carry a Xenomorph inside of them.
Some cults use drugs like Royal Jelly to become more connected with the Xenomorph hive, which only increases their longing for impregnation. If Xenomorphs are going to stay on Earth in Alien: Earth, then the series should absolutely introduce these disturbing cults.
6
Xenomorphs Breeding Humans
Xenomorphs have always been portrayed as highly intelligent, and they use their intelligence for one thing above all others: breeding. The Xenomorph’s primary function is to grow its hive in any way possible. And, in Aliens: Labyrinth, they found a truly disturbing way to do just that.
The Xenomorph hive featured in this comic was dying, and the aliens only had a handful of humans left for reproduction. So, the Xenomorphs kept the weak and starving humans alive by feeding them pieces of former hosts (ie, dead people) before attempting to breed the humans like cattle.
This could be the horrific fate of Netherland in Alien: Earth if a potential Xenomorph outbreak were contained on the island. And now that fans know that’s a possibility, it’s hard to imagine the series going any other way.
5
Alien’s Connection to The Terminator
Alien: Earth has taken the Alien franchise to Earth for the first time, opening the possibility of canonizing a connection made in Dark Horse Comics with The Terminator franchise. It’s revealed in Aliens vs Predator vs The Terminator that Alien takes place in The Terminator‘s future after humanity defeats Skynet.
Granted, it’s more likely that the Alien universe will become officially connected with Blade Runner as a result of Alien: Earth than The Terminator. However, the comics have already established the connection, and all Alien: Earth has to do is confirm it.
4
Further Exploration of the Xenomorph’s DNA Reflex
Alien fans have known for years that the Xenomorphs adopt traits of their hosts, although the movies (and now the TV show) rarely explore that aspect of their biology. The closest fans came to this was in Alien 3 with the Runner Xenomorph, which was born from a dog.
Alien comic books, however, have explored the DNA Reflex extensively, but none so thoroughly as Kenner’s Aliens: Space Marines. These comic books were packaged with Kenner Aliens action figures and served as in-story explanations for the variety of Xenomorph toys.
However, just because these comics were made to sell toys doesn’t make them any less lore-accurate. And now it’s time for Alien: Earth to explore what a Xenomorph would look like after gestating within a giant mantis or alien rhino.
3
Xenomorph Synthetics
Synthetics appear to be a significant aspect of Alien: Earth, particularly in the context of human-synthetic hybrids. However, there’s a more interesting synthetic ‘hybrid’ in the comics that has yet to be brought to the screen, one that would be perfect for Alien: Earth – Synthetic Xenomorphs.
Dark Horse Comics introduced a synthetic Xenomorph named Jeri in Aliens: Stronghold. To be clear, this wasn’t a synthetic with the mind of a Xenomorph (like the hybrids in Alien: Earth); Jeri was simply a synthetic that resembled a Xenomorph. However, that alone offers some fun narrative possibilities.
In the comics, Jeri was used to infiltrate Xenomorph hives undetected. Plus, Jeri was a foul-mouthed, chain-smoking, gun-toting Xeno-Synth, and that visual alone is enough to warrant his live-action introduction.
2
The Black Goo’s Terraforming Capabilities
The Black Goo is a substance derived from Xenomorphs (specifically Facehuggers) that the Engineers used to seed life on worlds across the universe. Peter Weyland was obsessed with refining the Black Goo to grant himself immortality, which is why David dubbed the substance “Prometheus Fire“.
In Dark Horse Comics’ Alien, Predator, and Prometheus crossover miniseries Fire and Stone, it’s revealed that the Black Goo also has the power to terraform entire worlds, as it did to the moon featured in Prometheus, LV-223.
With Alien: Earth‘s heightened focus on scientific breakthroughs, it would be fascinating if the series delved further into the Black Goo’s terraforming capabilities, especially as Weyland-Yutani is canonically on the verge of launching its “Building Better Worlds” campaign.
1
The Introduction of Steel Team
This entry actually isn’t from a Dark Horse Aliens comic, but rather Marvel Comics’ Alien: Icarus. Steel Team is a team of synthetic special forces. They utilize their heightened strength, speed, durability, and near-immortality to tackle missions that human soldiers could only dream of accomplishing.
Alien: Earth had already teased a similar team when Prodigy’s “Lost Boys” sprang into action following the Weyland-Yutani ship crash-landing in Prodigy City. Now, all Alien: Earth needs to do is expand on that idea with a legitimate synthetic special forces team, just like in the Alien comics.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
