One of the most terrifying forms of a Xenomorph is unarguably the Chestburster, but Alien recently introduced an all-new form that is way scarier.
There are few science fiction monsters scarier than Alien’s Xenomorphs no matter what form they may be in–from the massive queen to the severely unsettling Chestburster–but the series has somehow managed to top even the most terrifying version of the cosmic monster in a way that is surprisingly down to earth.
Xenomorphs were first introduced in Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien. In the movie, a team of interstellar transporters come across a far-off planet where they discover a strange alien egg of some kind (something that would come to be known as an Ovomorph). When one of the crew takes a closer look at it, the egg opens from the top and a Facehugger leaps out, attaching itself to the man’s face. What fans would soon learn is that the Facehugger was planting biological material inside the crew member which would grow into a Xenomorph. In a way, the man who investigated the alien egg became something of an egg himself as, when the Xenomorph was ready to ‘hatch’, it burst forth from his chest in horrifying fashion–hence the name, ‘Chestburster’. This part of the Xenomorph’s lifecycle is immensely disturbing and is arguably the most sickening aspect of the alien creature as a whole–but it seems as though the Chestburster has finally met its match in terms of skin-crawling terror.
In Alien #2 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Julius Ohta, Steel Team (a small hit-squad comprised of militarized special forces Synthetics) are sent to a world that was once a Weyland-Yutani scientific research and terraforming outpost but has since become overrun with Xenomorphs and subsequently bombarded with radiation, making the world unlivable for organic life–aside from the Xenomorphs themselves. Steel Team was sent to this planet, Tobler-9, to infiltrate Welyland-Yutani’s abandoned laboratory and retrieve an Ovomorph as it held the genetic material that could be synthesized into life-saving pharmaceuticals for humanity. When Steel Team enters the lab, the deadly Synthetics aren’t able to find what they were sent to retrieve, and instead come across something decidedly troubling.
Xenomorph DNA was Merged with Insects, Creating a Disturbing Mutation
Upon entering the lab, one of the Synthetics on Alien‘s Steel Team came across clear containment vessels that held what were seemingly normal mosquitos. Inside one container were ‘culex pipiens’ which are common household mosquitoes, and in another there were ‘aedes albopictus’ which are also known as Asian tiger mosquitoes. While insects inside a scientific research laboratory–especially one that is specifically studying organic life of all kinds–isn’t too surprising, the thing that’s striking about these insects is blatantly obvious: they’re not dead. Tobler-9 shouldn’t be able to nurture organic life because of the high levels of radiation in its atmosphere, but that doesn’t apply to Xenomorphs. Since this lab was not only used for research of existing organic life, but for the experimentation of gene-splicing, the implication here is that these mosquitoes aren’t as mundane as they immediately seem, but are actually an all-new kind of Xenomorph.
While readers don’t get to see these mosquitos/Xenomorph hybrids in action, one can only imagine how horrific, and deadly they will be once they are inevitably unleashed. Swarms of regular mosquitoes can pose a serious threat right here on Earth–but what if all of them had jagged claws instead of harmless legs? Or acid blood that splattered all over someone when swatted? Or had the ability to lay eggs inside of victims just like a Facehugger? Right now fans don’t know exactly how close these bugs are to Xenomorphs, but the little fans do know is enough to invoke a great deal of fear and anxiety over what they could be capable of. The idea that a horde of mosquitoes will take on Xenomorph behavior while being similarly invulnerable (as made clear by the fact that they can live on Tobler-9) is absolutely terrifying on a level that goes far beyond the fear-factor of Alien’s Chestbursters.
