Resized to 85% of original (view original)
xenomorph, facehugger, ovomorph, chestburster, and alien queen (alien and 1 more) drawn by matsuda_yuusuke

Artist's commentary

  • Original
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    エイリアン

    宇宙生物ゼノモーフは中間生物を使い宿主となる生物に幼態を寄生させ、その生物の体内を食い破ることで誕生する。成体のゼノモーフは驚異的な身体能力をはじめ、鞭のようにしなり岩をも貫く槍にもなる強靭な尾や、強酸性の血液を持つ極めて凶暴な生物で、生身の人間では到底太刀打ちできない。しかし宿主に寄生しなければ子孫を残せない性質上、大変受身な生物といえるのでほっとけば人類との接点は無いのだが、兵器利用したがる馬鹿が後を立たないので何度も地球に持ち込まれそうになる。が、その都度エレン・リプリー航海士の驚異的なガッツにより水際で防ぐことができているのだ。ありがとうリプリー。

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    266054
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    Bakamono said:
    Yes, if you look at the original Geiger Illustrations, and the old giant toy form the 70's, it's got the top part of a human skull at the front, much like these illustrations, just less cute.

    i knew i always saw eye sockets in there

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    • Lojackz
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    Bakamono said:
    Yes, if you look at the original Geiger Illustrations, and the old giant toy form the 70's, it's got the top part of a human skull at the front, much like these illustrations, just less cute.

    In addition to that toy, Kenner has also incorperated the "Skull" inside the Warrior aliens for the ALIENS vs Predator toyline . The two pack that includes an Alien and Predator (simply remove the clear purple dome of the head) and eureka!

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    • NWSiaCB
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    sohibil said:

    This makes me wonder, whether Xenomorph exoskeleton isn't actually some sort of "naturally evolved" space suit for a relatively humanoid lifeform.

    Xenomorphs were designed to look scary and vaguely phallic, and that's about it. You don't want to get into the logic of their existence, since it all just falls apart with any rational analysis.

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    For starters, in extra materials, it's stated that they're supposed to be silicon-based life forms, which makes their entire parasitism maturation completely impossible, because unless all the humans have been on a strict glass-based diet, then the humans they try to eat their way out of would be inedible to them and humans would be immune to face huggers, ruining the whole series.

    For another, consider that Aliens 3 stated that xenomorphs parasitized from non-humans have a body structure like the animal they parasitized. Considering as the original concept of the xenomoprhs was based upon wasp parastism, which always produced more wasps regardless of if they parasitized caterpillers or spiders or whatever, that just makes no sense. (Especially since they aren't "taking over the body" of a creature, they're just eating them and growing according to their own DNA...) Hence, those xenomorphs have human shape with some skeletal and phallic imagery thrown over them because... that's exactly what they are. (There's more than one reason Aliens 3 ruined the whole franchise.)

    Also, considering how "throw them out the airlock" is basically the only way (aside from "explode a nuclear reactor") that xenomorphs are killed, I seriously, SERIOUSLY doubt that they count as "space suits".

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    • sohibil
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    NWSiaCB said:
    ... considering how "throw them out the airlock" is basically the only way (aside from "explode a nuclear reactor") that xenomorphs are killed, I seriously, SERIOUSLY doubt that they count as "space suits".

    Pardon me if I'm wrong but...

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    in the first Alien movie wasn't the Xenomorph still alive after being thrown out of the escape pod into outer space? Afterwards Ripley had to blow it away with a burst of the rocket engine if I'm not mistaken.

    And you can still shoot it, or kill it with some other weapon. Ripley was just a bit unlucky in #1.

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    • NWSiaCB
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    sohibil said:

    Pardon me if I'm wrong but...

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    in the first Alien movie wasn't the Xenomorph still alive after being thrown out of the escape pod into outer space? Afterwards Ripley had to blow it away with a burst of the rocket engine if I'm not mistaken.

    And you can still shoot it, or kill it with some other weapon. Ripley was just a bit unlucky in #1.

    And Ripley can climb out of an open airlock on pure arm strength in 2. The movies, as I've been saying, play very, very fast and loose with their science. But regardless, it's kicked out of the airlock for only a few seconds at that time. It takes a couple minutes to die of asphyxiation, even with all the air ripped from your lungs by a vacuum. (And its mouth seemed open at the time, as well...)

    Besides, if xenomorphs were such a perfectly-sealed space suit, why are they constantly drooling and dripping slime? Another thing pointed out about them is that they shed more water than an amphibian, to an evolutionarily disadvantageous degree, and would therefore need to constantly replenishing bodily fluids or staying in water.

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    • sohibil
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    NWSiaCB said:

    ... why are they constantly drooling and dripping slime?

    I did notice, they were drooling quite often, especially in close-ups. But I don't remember them doing it all the time. In that case, they'd really dehydrate in a matter of hours.

    And I forgot to mention: of course lifeforms based on different elements wouldn't be able to mate, mutate or do some other reproductional stuff together. But I think it wouldn't prevent them from being able to devour and digest each other's body. Earthly lifeforms can eat many things that do not consist of carbon, hydrogen or oxygen: eg. salt - it's just chlorine and sodium. Of course, it won't satiate us and eating too much would give us a really bad time, but we are able to digest it even though we're made of something completely different.

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    • LancetheGallade1500
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    This picture has sat with one thing untranslated for 14 years now, so I thought it was time to give at least some translation.

    If anyone with more experience in the field wants to take a crack at it, here's what (I think) it says:

    「体を折りたたんでるイメージが強いので基本体育座り」

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