Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Alien: Romulus #1!TheXenomorphwas introduced in the original 1979Alienfilm, and even to this day, 45 years later, the creature is just as iconic. However, just because theAlienfranchise and its titular monster have stood the test of time, doesn’t mean everything about the Xenomorph’s debut was perfect, including and especially one glaring mistake in particular. Thankfully, the latest addition to theAlienfranchise has corrected this mistake (at least, part of it).
InAlien: Romulus#1 by Zac Thompson and Daniel Picciotto, fans are shown exactly how Big Chap decimated Renaissance Station, effectively allowingAlien’s original Xenomorph to have one final murder-festbefore being retired forever. The comic picks up right after the Renaissance crew brings the cocooned Xenomorph on board, detailing how rogue security guards free it from stasis to kill it, only to unintentionally unleash it upon the entire crew.
This official prequel comic also goes deeper into the experiments of the synthetic science officer, Rook. Movie fans know that Rook extracted the Black Goo from the Xenomorphs (Facehuggers), and planned to use it to ‘evolve’ humanity. Here, fans actually get to see it. Not only that, they get to see the horde of Xenomorphs that were given life as a result of Big Chap being brought on board - which is exactly howAlien: RomulusfixedAlien’s biggest Xenomorph mistake.
Alien: Romulus Allowed Big Chap to Do What It was Robbed Of in the Original: Make More Xenomorphs
1979’sAlienDeleted Big Chap’s ‘Eggmorphing’ Scene
While it was entirely due to Rook’s experiments, Big Chap was able to usher in a new generation of Xenomorphs without relying on a Queen Xenomorph. This effectively corrects a mistake made upon Big Chap’s debut in the original film, one which robbed the Xenomorph of doing just that.
In a deleted scene from 1979’sAlien, Ripley (wielding her iconic flamethrower) descends into the depths of the Nostromo, and comes across something far more disturbing than the Xenomorph. She sees members of her own crew - including Dallas, who was still barely alive - hanging from the wall, mutating into and ‘feeding’ growing Ovomorphs in a process known as ‘Eggmorphing’. Ripley then sets all of it ablaze, putting Dallas out of his misery, and ensuring that the Xenomorph was unable to complete this process of creating more Facehuggers and growing the hive.
This scene confirmed that Xenomorphs could create Ovomorphs and reproduce without a Queen, which is now something they canonically cannot do.
Obviously, this scene didn’t make it into the final cut of the film, which was a huge mistake for a number of reasons. Firstly, the scene was terrifying, and would have added tothe visceral horror of the Xenomorph. Secondly - and most importantly - deleting this scene permanently impacted the Xenomorphs’ lore. This scene confirmed that Xenomorphs could create Ovomorphs and reproduce without a Queen, which is now something they canonically cannot do thanks to the scene being deleted.
As far as Big Chap personally, it was supposed to be able to create Xenomorphs from nothing more than its own DNA and a source of nutrients for the growing Ovomorph (which, in this case, were humans), but it was robbed of that. At least, until its DNA was used to create a Xenomorph hive inAlien: Romulus, thereby correcting that mistake (to an extent).
It’s Time for Alien to Fully Correct This 45-Year-Old Xenomorph Mistake
Xenomorphs Should Canonically Have the Deleted ‘Eggmorphing’ Ability
While it’s cool thatAlien: Romulusgave Big Chap the chance to create its own Xenomorph hive without a Queen just like it tried to do in the deleted scene of the first movie, it seems like more of a meta correction than a canonical one. Sure, Big Chap technically ushered in a new Xenomorph hive, but it only did so through third-party assistance. It’s as ifAlien: Romulusgave a nod to fans by letting the franchise’s first Xenomorph become the ‘mother’ of a new generation of monsters, just as it tried to do in the first movie.
But, the Xenomorph species still doesn’t have the ability to create Ovomorphs without a Queen, and that needs to be corrected. In the original film, the idea of a Queen Xenomorph hadn’t yet been conceived, as the first Queen wasn’t introduced until the sequel,Aliens. Not only didAliensintroduce a Queen Xenomorph, it also fundamentally changed the Xenomorph. What was once a being of unknowable cosmic horror - born from death after forced impregnation only to grow into the perfect killing machine - became little more than a ‘space bug’.
The Xenomorphs were basically turned into giant ants or bees, requiring a hive system in order to function and thrive. This made the creature much more grounded, arguably detracting from the cosmic horror of the first film (which makes sense,Aliensis an action movie, after all). It’s much more terrifying to consider that a Xenomorph can not only kill or kidnap its prey, but also mutate and ‘feed’ them to a growing Ovomorph in a disgusting display of extreme body horror.
Alien Finally Reveals the Ancient History of the Xenomorph - Theory Explained
The Xenomorph has been a mystery in Alien lore since its introduction in 1979, but now, the creature’s ancient history might have just been revealed.
While it didn’t fix the problem 1979’sAliencreated by not including that deleted scene in the final cut (as the canon nature of Eggmorphing is arguable, at best),Alien: Romulusis on the right track by finally letting Big Chap be the ‘mother’ of a new hive ofXenomorphs, thereby correcting a 45-year-old mistake.
Alien: Romulus #1by 20th Century Studios is available now.
Alien
The Alien franchise, which began with Ridley Scott’s 1979 film, is a Sci-Fi series comprised of several horror films, games, and comic books centered on humanity’s encounters with a hostile extraterrestrial species known as Xenomorphs. Characterized by their lethal prowess and capability to reproduce at an alarming rate, these creatures pose a profound threat to human existence. The primary series protagonist, Ellen Ripley, acts as the voice of reason as she seeks to keep the creatures out of the hands of greed-driven corporate scientists.
