List of non-canon castes from the Alien films
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Below is a list of non-canon castes from the Alien universe. For various reasons, the makers of various spin-offs to the Alien and Alien vs. Predator franchises would expand the variety of forms for the Xenomorph species. The castes are never seen in any of the films, and therefore are not considered canon.
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[edit] Arachnoid
A strong purple and black brood that uses powerful jump attacks. They are assumed to be special variants of the Warrior and Stalker aliens created through experimentation, much like the Chrysalis and Razor Claws minibosses.
Appearance: Alien vs. Predator (arcade game)
[edit] Chrysalis
A very large (around the same size as a Praetorian) Xenomorph with a greyish-green exoskeleton and a hard, tan carapace on its head, back, and forearms. It sometimes moves/attacks by rolling itself along the ground in a ball. It gets its name from the chrysalis that it is seen gestating in when it first appears. The Chrysalis's head can actually extend a short distance from underneath the carapace over its head when biting its prey. More Chrysalis are also seen defending the Queen during the final battle.
A variation of the Chrysalis appears in the second level of the Konami "Aliens" arcade game, but it looks considerably different and has a different attack pattern.
Appearance: Alien vs. Predator (arcade game)
[edit] Defender
A bluish brood with an apparently hardened carapace on its arms and head that can defend itself against most projectiles and hand-to-hand attacks.
Appearance: Alien vs. Predator (arcade game)
[edit] Flying Alien
A winged Xenomorph encountered on the xenomorph homeworld in Steve Perry's novel Earth Hive. Flying aliens can also be seen in Konami's Aliens, as well as a Flying Queen in the toy line.
[edit] Infectoid
A Human implanted by a type of facehugger altered as a bioweapon. Instead of being sedated, they are put in a zombie-like state, and move around the nesting area, attacking any intruders. If the same type of facehugger implants a Predator, the Predator is instead driven into a berzerk state, and will attack anything that moves.
Appearance: Alien vs. Predator (arcade game)
[edit] K-Series
In Aliens versus Predator: Extinction, a variation of the original xenomorphs are created by Dr. Samuel Kadinsky. This group is called "The K-Series". They are almost identical to normal xenomorphs in ability but have white and yellow pigmentations to their exoskeleton rather than the dark colors usually seen. They were eventually wiped out in a hive war to keep the species of xenomorphs "pure".
[edit] Praetorian
A royal elite guard to the Queen. Praetorians are larger than typical adults, but still only about half the size of the queen herself. Praetorians appear in the graphic novel series (and the Millennium/Orion books based on the same), such as Rogue and Female War (originally serialised as Earth War). They are also a playable class in the computer game Aliens versus Predator 2, in which they cannot "wall-crawl" like the smaller aliens, but have a very thick bullet-resistant exoskeleton and a very high crouch jump. In the game, a background report on their biology reveals them to be a mid-point in development between the more numerous smaller xenomorphs, and the Queen.
The praetorians have been noted to possess a second pair of limbs protruding from the torso, much the same as a Queen. In the video game Aliens versus Predator: Extinction, they are hatched from "Praetorian Eggs" and can later molt to become a queen if the current queen is killed. However, in Aliens versus Predator 2 they are described as being born differently. According to AvP 2, a Praetorian is a full grown drone (or other 3rd stage xenomorph) that grows old and begins to emit different pheromones that cause the hive to react violently towards it. If the molting Praetorian manages to escape the Hive, it can finish the molting process and return to the Hive to reassert its position. This makes it so only the strongest, most worthy drones can become a protector of the queen.
Praetorians are easily recognized by their crown shaped headcrest, which is very similar in appearance to the Queen's. Theoretically, praetorian face huggers are purebred, meaning they do not integrate their host's most valuable traits into their own DNA. By doing that, every praetorian that becomes a queen is a normal organism and not a hybrid. (If the queen were to become a hybrid, all the new born huggers would also become hybrids as soon as they are born. Quite similar to the Human-Xenomorph hybrid seen in Alien: Resurrection, but in that case the alien queen was removed from Ripley's clone with part of her human DNA, resulting in a much more powerful specimen.)
Another theory is that the Praetorians are male Aliens that fertilize the queen.
[edit] Royal Guard
Praetorians also appear in the Alien vs. Predator arcade game, where they are known as Royal Guard, and are typically encountered as minibosses as the player gets close to the Queen. Royal Guard are capable of spitting acid, and will often spray it in all directions as a defensive tactic. They also use a distinctive "throw" attack if the player comes to close.
[edit] Carrier/Ravager
In Aliens versus Predator: Extinction, a Praetorian can evolve into two other forms of Xenomorph than just the Queen: the Carrier and the Ravager. The Carrier Xenomorph has the ability to carry 6 Facehuggers on spikes coming out of its back, and some can even carry 12. Their vulnerability is their weak armor, but their greatest advantages are the face-huggers they are carrying. After the carrier is dead the facehuggers riding will scatter every where.
The Ravager Xenomorph possesses huge, scythe-like claws have the ability to kill enemies with one swipe. They can slice through metal (although this is considered nothing particularly unusual in the broader Aliens Universe - most adult xenomorphs are capable of rending steel) and their powerful armor makes them impervious to all but the most intense assault. Ravagers can also heal themselves over short periods of time. It can be argued that Ravagers are bred to be more geared toward all-out warfare than most breeds of Xenomorphs, as their claws are more of a blade-like appearance rather than merely claws and the fact that Ravagers rely more upon brute force to overpower multiple enemies, whereas most Xenomorphs called upon stealth or numbers to overcome such obstacles. Even more important is the fact that Ravagers make no efforts in capturing hosts for breeding and will always kill or destroy potential hosts outright instead.
[edit] PredAlien
The "PredAlien" is the product of an Alien Facehugger impregnating a Predator. Fan opinions on its appearance seem to range from approval to total hatred. Some believe the Predator's fleshy dreadlocks should not have been included, as Xenomorphs seem to retain more of their host's skeletal structure than flesh; some even argue that the mandibles, which obviously have bones within them, should have been excluded, effectively rendering the PredAlien a stronger, bulked-up version of the human-incubated Drones often seen in the movie.
The AvP games have, however, shown a creature more in touch with its Predator host: complete with large mandibles, a heavily-built physique, and dreadlocks - even going so far as to shorten the elongated head and apparently remove the inner set of jaws. In the games, this variant is also depicted light brown, much like the skin-color of the Predators. In reality, it shares more of a resemblance with its host than other xenomorphs.
The PredAlien's status as a non-canon caste is actually debatable, however, as a chestburster was seen in the end of the Alien vs. Predator movie emerging from the Predator "Scar". It possessed the mandibles of a Predator, and may grow up to resemble the PredAliens of the game, or even a PredQueen, if a sequel is ever made. Of course, many fans seem to question whether the movie itself is canon, so the PredAlien's place in the Alien and Predator franchises is still up for debate. However, Alien vs Predator takes place before Alien and could be canon, the predators could have killed the predalien chestburster.
In the game the predalien is not able to headbite, however, in Aliens versus Predator 2: Primal Hunt the predalien is capable of using its mandibles to instantly crush and consume the head of a foe (it is likely this addition was made due to the fact that the predalien is the only class playable in the single-player campaign, and headbiting restores a large amount of health, far more than from simply clawing at a corpse).
[edit] PredQueen
In Aliens versus Predator: Extinction, a bizarre version of the Alien Queen is created, mixing Queen and Predator DNA. This version is called the "PredQueen". Not much is known about this Predator version of the Alien Queen, except that she is stronger, is four meters bigger than a normal Queen, and that she also uses an egg-sac to produce xenomorph eggs. She looks like an Alien Queen with the appearance of a PredAlien. She is eventually destroyed by a group of Predators. She can lay eggs that have chestbusters that only take on the characteristics of a predator rather than the original host. While she is in the hive there can be another queen that is produced from a human. The relationship between the two queens is apparently friendly and non hostile.
[edit] Empress
The Empress is essentially a larger version of the Queen, also capable of laying eggs. When there are multiple Queens in an area, they will fight for dominance, the winner becoming the ascendant ruler over the others, and thereby all other Aliens on the planet.
Appearance: Aliens versus Predator 2
[edit] Razor Claws
Another large breed with a purple coloration and large, sharp claws on its fingers. It is known for its great speed, making it hard to defeat or even keep up with. It is fond of using that speed to make dashing attacks in which it uses its namesakes to cause massive damage and slice its victims in half. The birth of the Razor Claws was a result of a genetic malfunction in the cocoon process.
Appearance: Alien vs. Predator (arcade game)
[edit] Rogue
In the comic Aliens: Rogue, a mad scientist engineered the Rogue: a male alien designed as a weapon to rival the queen caste and thus help rid the Earth of its alien infestation (see Earth Hive, Nightmare Asylum, Female War, and Genocide). However, as befits most cases where mad scientists prove they are every bit as insane as the stereotypes dictate, the Rogue escapes and wreaks havoc until it is torn apart by a Queen.
In the book of the same name, the Rogue, while thought to be believed to be more powerful than the Queen, due to it being a "male", the scientist is shocked to find the Queen is in fact more powerful, a reference to the idea that the female of a species is the larger and more powerful. The scientist, Kleiner, is subsequently killed when he uses a sound cannon on the Queen until it goes critical, destroying the asteroid base he is on. The Rogue is seemingly much more aggressive and seems not to care about the smaller castes of Aliens, as described when Professor Kleiner finds the crushed corpses of the elite Praetorian guard of the queen, the Rogue's recklessness is also described when it destroys the barrier that separates the Alien sector and the Human sector, allowing alien drones to pour into the human sector.
[edit] Smasher
A brown or green brood with an oversized head that attacks with a charging ram attack.
Appearance: Alien vs. Predator (arcade game)
[edit] Stalker
These xenomorphs are similar to the creature in Alien³ and are slightly more dangerous than the average Warrior. Of note is that this species does not spit acid while the Warriors do - This is reversed from movie canon, where the Warriors were never observed doing this, while the xenomorph in Alien³ was.
Appearance: Alien vs. Predator (arcade game)
[edit] Xenoborg
In the first Aliens versus Predator computer game, there is a special variation of the Xenomorph, a cybernetically modified and enhanced xenomorph called the Xenoborg. It is reminiscent of the Star Trek villains known as the Borg; their appearance consists of a mechanical and flesh covered body, a Borg-eqsue face, and can fire laser blasts. Their only weakness appears to be a flashing green light that, when hit, shuts the Xenoborg down. A similar organism appears in the book Alien vs. Predator: Hunters Planet, where a mad-man creates a planet for hunters and Xenoborgs as the ultimate prey.
[edit] Other non-canon castes
Various action figures have been made depicting non-canon Xenomorphs, such as the Gorilla Alien, Snake Alien, Arachnid Alien, Flying Queen Alien, and Bull Alien action figures released by Kenner Toys to coincide with the release of the SNES Alien vs. Predator Game; the Gorilla, Snake, and Flying Queen Aliens appear as boss enemies in the game. Several of these Kenner Aliens would later be repainted as KB Toys exclusives in three seperate lines, including Aliens vs. Marines two-packs and the Hive Wars line incorporating previously unreleased figures.
- Scorpion Alien
- Gorilla Alien
- Bull Alien
- Queen Alien
- Rhino Alien (Bull remold)
- Mantis Alien (Gorilla remold)
- Snake Alien
- Queen Facehugger
- Flying Queen Alien
- Killer Crab Alien
- Hive Warrior Alien
- Panther Alien
- Wild Boar Alien
- Night Cougar Alien (Panther repaint)
- King Alien
- Arachnid Alien (limited release)
- Swarm Alien (limited release)
- Acid Alien (unreleased prior to Hive Wars)
