The new Hulu movie Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, the alien of the Yautja species has since spawned several sequels, spin-offs, comic books and more. While the design of the character is one of the most unique and formidable, the Predator's popularity mostly comes from how efficient it is at killing.
Predators are raised to be expert hunters. They engage in elaborate and dangerous games in which they stalk deadly prey, kill them and take gruesome trophies of their victories. The Predators have a variety of weapons and abilities that help make them such formidable hunters.
Voice Decoy
The Predators enjoy a fair enough match when hunting their prey even going so far as to avoid killing unarmed targets. But that doesn't mean they aren't above using the occasional cheap trick like their voice decoy abilities.
First seen in Predator, the alien records the voice of his prey and uses it in their hunting. It can be used simply to confuse them but Predators also featured a scene in which it uses the voice of one of the dead characters in an attempt to lure the others into a trap.
Net
This is a weapon that has only been seen in the Alien vs Predator movies so far. The Predator is able to launch this net that covers the prey and pins them down quite effectively. Given that the Predators don't seem to like taking prey alive, catching them in a net might seem surprising. However, it is also deadlier than it appears. In Alien vs Predator, he met is shown to ensnare one of the victims and then slowly constrict, cutting them with its unbreakable wire. It might not be the most practical of the Predator's weapons, but it might be one of the most painful.
Claws
With all the fancy alien gadgets at its disposal, it is easy to forget that the Predator is also just an incredibly strong and imposing alien. Its vicious long claws on each of its hands are enough to do more damage than most of the enemies it will go up against. Clearly, the Predator likes to have a little more fun than just relying on its claws, but The Predator showed just how effective it can be as one of the aliens clawed a victim effortlessly and in gory fashion.
Armor
Though these aliens are certainly powerful, they are also not indestructible. As Dutch says in Predator, "If it bleeds we can kill it," and given the deadly prey the Predators like to hunt, they certainly need some protection from time to time. Their slick-looking armor along with the iconic Predator mask provides an extra piece of mind when the prey decides to fight back. Along with looking cool, it also can withstand some heavy firepower which they often come up against.
Predator Dogs
Just as human hunters use dogs in their hunting methods, the Predators also bring some of their alien pets to their hunts. Predators introduced these terrifying cosmic hounds that are deadly enough in their own right as they could easily tear a victim apart.
But they are shown to be used in a way that serves the Predator's killing methods. The hounds are shown to round up the prey or lure them into a place where they can be more easily picked off.
Wrist Blades
As much as the Predators like to pick off victims from afar, that can get a bit boring for them. Luckily, they are still extremely deadly when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. One of their favorite weapons to use in these scenarios are the wrist blades.
The long and incredibly sharp blades extend from the Predator's wrist gauntlet. In one quick slice, the Predators can do away with their targets. They've even been used to slice and dice the Xenomorphs in the Alien vs Predator films.
Drones
The jungle setting of the original movie gave the Predator plenty of places to hide, always keeping an eye on his prey and waiting for the right moment to strike. However, in 2010's Predators, the hunters have some help to keep an eye on things while they hunt on an alien planet. The Predators have robotic bird-like drones which follow the humans as they make their way across the dangerous landscape. This ensures the hunters can keep an eye on their targets and makes it extremely difficult for those targets to escape.
Bladed Disc
Predators seem to be big fans of blades when it comes to their hunting. Most of their weapons are used for these kinds of brutal kills and their bladed discs are among the most devastating. Unlike the wrist blades, Predators can use these discs to take out victims from afar. The small, circular discs are lined with large blades similar to the ones on their gantlets. They can throw them considerable distances and we've seen these discs are sharp enough to cut through more than one victim before returning to the Predators.
Spear
Despite being technologically-advanced beings with weaponry far superior to anything on earth, the Predators like to keep things old-fashioned. Many of their weapons are designed after more primitive combat tools, like their spears. Of course, just because they like to keep things more interesting with these old-school weapons, doesn't mean they aren't deadly.
The spears they use are retractable, depending on the kind of combat they are involved in. They are also used as throwing spears, which the Predators wield with deadly accuracy.
Heat Detection
When someone comes face-to-face with a Predator, they can tell pretty quickly that they are outmatched. Rather than try to fight, the prey usually choose to run. While that's probably the smarter thing to do, hiding from a Predator is not easy at all.
One of their abilities includes seeing thermal readings with their special helmets. They are able to detect the body heat of their victims, so they can be found pretty much anywhere they hide. Dutch discovered that mud can hide his body heat leading to the movie's epic final boss fight, but the prey are in trouble if there's no big pile of mud around.
