A stunning revelation about the the Alien films and comics, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation has sought to harvest the Xenomorphs with the intent of weaponizing them. However, thanks to a surprise reveal in 1998’s Alien vs Predator: Eternal, it may have benefitted Weyland-Yutani to target the Predators instead! The series, part of Dark Horse Comics’ original Alien vs Predator continuity, was written by Ian Eddington and illustrated by Alex Maleev.
The Alien franchise kicked off with the film of the same name in 1979, directed by Ridley Scott; it was further developed in a series of sequels and spin-off media, including a line of comics study the Xenomorphs, in the hopes of harvesting them for scientific and military purposes. However, Alien vs. Predator: Eternal, a four-issue miniseries by Ian Edginton and Alex Maleev published by Dark Horse, suggests the company should have directed its efforts towards studying and harvesting the Predators instead.
In this mini-series, readers meet Gideon Lee, a mysterious billionaire who has not only made his fortune harvesting technology from a captured Predator ship, he has been doing so for 700 years—by consuming the hearts of Predators. Lee had directed his companies and resources to baiting Predators, capturing them and then consuming them, prolonging his life.
The revelation that Predator hearts, when consumed, can extend a human life-span was new to the franchise, and has huge ramifications for the universe. Throughout the Alien franchise, Weyland-Yutani’s repeated attempts at harvesting the Xenomorphs have met with disaster, resulting in numerous casualties, including the loss of an entire colony. Weyland-Yutani has tried to fit the Xenomorphs into a hole they cannot fill, and Aliens Vs. Predator: Eternal points to a potentially different direction for the company: capture and study Predators instead.
Gideon Lee amassed a fortune reverse-engineering Predator technology and learned that eating their hearts could extend his life. Lee accomplished much in his 700 years, off the backs of captured Predators. While attempting to capture Predators can be as risky a proposition as capturing Xenomorphs, Lee appeared much more successful at harnessing the potential of the Predator than Weyland-Yutani ever was with Xenomorphs. In Prometheus, a prequel to Alien, Peter Weyland became obsessed with the Progenitors (the beings who eventually created the Xenomorphs), believing they would grant him immortal life. If Weyland had known of the existence of the Predators, how might his company have fared differently?
The rights to the Aliens and Predator franchises are now with Marvel, and it remains to be seen if the company chooses to acknowledge the developments in Alien Vs. Predator: Eternal or not. Regardless, the mini-series blew the lid off what fans knew about the Predator and offers a new path for Weyland-Yutani.
