Helmet or Skull?

I think this question should have been closed since Ridley told us it was just a suit or something similiar, and not a skull....He also said that his purpose was to tell the story about the guy inside the suit...I think the idea of SJs as humanoid Gods looks much better than just another unlogical type of aliens...Giant head, Bald guy and many other proofs are too enough to understand that Enguneers are humanoids, and possibly Annunaki...This will make the plot genial and great, the movie will be something more than just a great horror...As for me i don`t want to see elefant safari in Prometheus, especially as Gods, lol....

I agree with you [b]@Snorkelbottom[/b] you can clearly see from other angles of the first picture, that the [i]skull[/i] is flat on each side. Where as the Jockey in ALIEN has details on the side of its face/helmet. The sculpture also has lots of details on the side profile. The first picture also features several markings that appear to be where different skeletal plates have fused, very similar to how a human's skull looks. [img]http://www.daviddarling.info/images/human_skull_side.jpg[/img] I also think that the last image [i]looks[/i] like a helmet, and moreover we haven't actually proved that the Blue guy is a SJ, so we don't know what they really look like. Ridley has also stated that the SJ is a being within a suit, so it makes sense we'de see both a helmet and a skull. In summary: Image 1.) Skull Image 2.) Helmet Image 3.) Helmet

@immrsage - Yes Ridley has said that what we saw in Alien was a suit and not a skeleton, the question is what is inside the suit. although a lot of people have assumed the big guy next the chair in the trailer is the one whom wears the suit, there are an equal amount of people whom believe that something else dons the suit and the big guys serves another purpose. The Image from Alien is the suit (as Ridley stated) and IMO the skull belongs to the being whom dons the suit. So my summary: Image 1. Skull Image 2. Helmet Image 3. ???

The picture from alien - the eye sockets appear to be more on the sides of the head and not more towards the front like in the other two photos - and not only is the mouth open on the original SJ - there also appears to be a row of teeth in the upper and lower jaw. My vote is that [i]at the time alien was shot[/i], the SJ as shown was a creature, not something in a suit.

Question: what would be the reason for Ridley Scott to be so keen in pointing out that image #2 is a suit if he expected its wearer to look almost exactly like the suit itself? Before I find a proper reason for that, I believe that #1, #2 and #3 would all be helmets. Speculative note: In fact, assuming these suits can be donned by humanoids, IMHO the recently released picture of Shaw (with the [i]suits[/i] behind her) might mean that at some point a member of the crew will don one of them and try to pilot the derelict, with unforeseeable consequences. IMspeculativeHO, of course.

@Baldas I like the idea that one of the crew members will put on the suit to try and pilot the ship

@Baldas, I had a similar idea with Shaw (didn't want to speculate until someone else did...too big a spoiler), but I reckon she puts it on at the end. It's her last chance of survival. Her own life support won't last five years. Her ship is gone. I can't imagine anything surviving the alien ship crash and Vickers ain't gonna last. There's nothing left (until a new trailer proves otherwise) except HER and the alien SHIP. In a way, it's a very Alien ending and very reminiscent of Ripley. I bet this is when the "warning" is sent...it's just Shaw "logging off" in her own way before going to sleep. Beautiful... But such an ending would suggest she knew she wasn't going to make it. It's too much of a tease to people who haven't seen Alien to make out that Shaw survives just to have her "disappear" when the sequel comes along.

@Gehirn - I must say that is a brilliant theory

To be fair - it's an absolutely preposterous notion that Ridley is implying that the SJ from Alien was a suit! Surely this has got to be misinformation to build up internet chatter. I just can't see Fox ploughing hundreds of millions into a film about a guy in a suit and for that matter I can't see Ridley wanting to do that film. What worked so well in Alien was the mystery surrounding the SJ - as we get closer to the release date, Fox will show more trailers and will no doubt play on the strands of Alien DNA to entice as big an audience as possible. So can you imagine how disappointed people are going to be when they find out it's a suit. If I'm wrong and they are suits then the creature inside the suit is going to have to be something special. If it's that blue guy then I'll be leaving the cinema early! As I've said in a previous post - the only reason why you'd want them to be suits is so that the humans can communicate with the unsuited SJ. As so much attention would be on an unsuited SJ (especially in human form) then you would need a brilliant actor to pull it off. It just doesn't add up - so for my money all the above pictures are skulls!

Okay, although I've previously thought that we might be seeing a totally diffent 'Derelict'-style craft in the PROMETHEUS trailer compared to the one seen in ALIEN (due to all the varied internal and exterior design differences described on other topics here), I've not yet speculated on this whole 'Spacejockey' thing too much yet. So I'll take the plunge and summarise my own 2 cents (and hopes) on this now - 1. I reckon the top pic shows an actual SKULL...probably the same one that the 2 females are shining their torches at that's discovered beside a large SUIT near the 'ampules' and giant 'head'. 2. I want it to be a skull because I agree that the middle pic showing a close-up of the 'thing' seen in ALIEN is definately showing an open-mouthed skull complete with teeth, rather than a 'helmet with teeth' which seems silly. 3. MORE TO COME IN THIS POST SHORTLY

The suit is probably biomechanical. This would go a long way to explaining why it 'looks' like a fossilised body in ALIEN. And gives RIDLEY a get-out clause. Your master, Melk :-)

Look like skulls to me. But if the movie creators make them out to be some kind of advanced bio-tech that is beyond our comprehension, I can live with that. But it will have to be something we haven't seen before in movies for it to work well, and the effects better not be half-assed!...

Why does it have to be one or the other? Especially in photo #2. Remember Dallas said it had fossilized and become part of the chair. It only seems logical that if it can become part of the chair then it could also be part of the suit. So what we see in Alien is a little bit skull and a little bit suit. The fun part is figuring out what's what. The real question for me then is time. A few posts have made the claim that Prometheus is what 2-3 decades prior to Alien (I read one that said 30 years but can't remember who posted it)? If so then how could the SJ become fossilized to the chair as Dallas said? Fossilization takes thousands of years.

Fossilization was inferred when we, as Dallas, believed that what we saw was a skeleton of a long dead organic creature. Ridley has recently stated that what we saw in Alien wasn't a skeleton but a suit, and then last week released an image of these suits behind Shaw, which look like the Jockey in Alien, to clarify the point. No skeleton = No fossilization. I guess the REAL question actually is are the Space Jockeys big Elephantile humanoid aliens (SKULL) or are the Space Jockeys big humans (Helmet).

Dallas says "It looks like it's grown out of the chair."

I think too that this is a biomechanical suit like seen in the Japanese animation Guyvers. Unlike fully synthetical suits from mankind (MJOLNIR armor suits from Halo, deep sea diver suits, astronaut suits), the SJ suits are made of organic materials and might serve as a second skin for them to operate in hazardous environments. So while you would say that the eyes are very apart, i think once the helmet is attached to the humanoid SJ, the pupils of the suit will synchronize with the eyes of the SJ.

I agree that its probably a bio mechanical suit that serves as a second skin. If its just a regular synthetic suit it will be rather disappointing for me. But we'll see... Did someone mention "Guyver"? LOL Its one of of the few Manga's/Anime that I like. I grew very fond of the series as a kid due to the "biomechanical armor" and the "[i]humans were created by aliens[/i]" story line. The writing on the anime wasn't that good, hence its multiple cancellations, but the premise was great.

I agree with Snorks and here's why: 1. Ridley Scott said so. The End.

"lower lip that protrudes out like that of an Elephant" Finally!!! Now moving along. What film did John Hurt(Kane) "Star" in after Alien??

@ Db - Finally someone sees. (to everyone else in Sam Neill's voice) Do you see, Do you see. LMFAO @ Provo - "Potatoes" Elephant Man of course

Seriously though, there are a couple more points I could make. Logic stands: IF we take what Ridley Scott says to be true (it's kinda' like the Bible, we can't pick and choose)... then the movie is what he says it is. If we don't, it isn't... and we have no common ground to comment on. IE: It's not a prequel, it doesn't take place in the same universe as Alien, (the derelict just happens to look the same), oh yeah, and it just happens to crash... nada. If he says it's a suit, as badly as I wish it wasn't, then I accept that. If it's a prequel to Alien, and as he said we will see the tie-in in the end (and that tie-in happens to be the chestburster that comes out of the SJ)... then it stands to follow that a human, or humanoid creature was inside of the SJ suit... probably Shaw, the last survivor of the Prometheus crew (as I believe I've stated in an early post). Therefore: It's a helmet.

[b]Can I just say:[/b] [b]@RickK[/b] I think you have just hit the nail on the head sir. I think production team might struggle a little with that explanation. The SJ in ALIEN was probably designed to be a creature, or the skeleton of one. It'll be interesting to see if they address the design differences in Prometheus.

with these creatures being bio-mech by nature, throw in the bio-former and who knows what the suits could be made too look like....who says we have to understand its composition and construction. i had as many questions about the alien when it was revealed!! good theory with shaw donning the suit!!!! also ridders is bound to misinform...

Picture 1 - Helmet Reason : I think this is the helmet from the ampule room photos. It looks larger and more rounded than the skull in image #3. To me it makes sense that the suit would look somewhat similiar to the being that wears the suit. If #1 is a skull, then how did the head become seperated from the rest of the corpse. I've read people say that it's du to natural decay, but then I would expect the rest of the body to be in a similar state of decay. Picture 2 - Helmet Reason : RS said so. It's his movie and his story. Picture 3 - Skull Reason : The original article that this image was attached to had some comments from the person supplying the images. His comments were that this represented a prosthetic mask worn by an actor. This skull looks smaller and less bulky than the object in picture #1, like it could fit inside. The hardest parts of this to digest are : 1) We thought the blue guy wore the suit. If not--Who is he? 2) If #3 is a skull it would seem that the SJ really look like SJ's. At that point why even bother making the SJ wear a biomechanical suit? The only thing I can think of is it allows for easier crew interaction. Example : Easier for the crew to interact with a human wearing prosthetics versus a CGI or animatronic SJ.

Picture 1 - Helmet Reason : I think this is the helmet from the ampule room photos. It looks larger and more rounded than the skull in image #3. To me it makes sense that the suit would look somewhat similiar to the being that wears the suit. If #1 is a skull, then how did the head become seperated from the rest of the corpse. I've read people say that it's du to natural decay, but then I would expect the rest of the body to be in a similar state of decay. Picture 2 - Helmet Reason : RS said so. It's his movie and his story. Picture 3 - Skull Reason : The original article that this image was attached to had some comments from the person supplying the images. His comments were that this represented a prosthetic mask worn by an actor. This skull looks smaller and less bulky than the object in picture #1, like it could fit inside. The hardest parts of this to digest are : 1) We thought the blue guy wore the suit. If not--Who is he? 2) If #3 is a skull it would seem that the SJ really look like SJ's. At that point why even bother making the SJ wear a biomechanical suit? The only thing I can think of is it allows for easier crew interaction. Example : Easier for the crew to interact with a human wearing prosthetics versus a CGI or animatronic SJ.

It doesn't necessarily have to be either or, it could be [i]both[/i]; If the helmet was biomechanical then the helmet itself could have a skull, which is visible after the thin layer of living tissue has died away. Alternatively, perhaps the suit does not necessarily include a helmet. Perhaps the head is the actual head! And therefore, we are looking at a skull all the while. I'll take anytyhing other than it ending up with the tall guy - whom I will henceforward refer to as [b]Riddick[/b] (from [i]Pitch Black[/i] and [i]Chronicles of...[/i] fame) - because that to me is entering into Disneyland.

Ridley's statement could be misdirection. Alien in a suit, but do you really want to see this: [img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3Y1o3fYPHsk/TFm01I16GsI/AAAAAAAAAX4/bj2jm035dSs/s1600/MIB_homunculus3.jpg[/img]

That's an interesting point [b] [b]@Starbeast[/b] in the original design by Giger: [img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RVLJm9IHkZk/TBHSuaDhT2I/AAAAAAAAAgI/izfs3IPcY08/s1600/AlienSpaceJockey2.jpg[/img] They Jockey actually sports what appears to be a helmet (thin layer of glass) similar to the crew of the Prometheus.

Hi Guys new here although ive been looking since October Thought id add my thoughts on this one, if it is indeed Shaw in the suit and gives birth to the alien then how come the SJ in Alien was so big? No I think th original SJ was organic and not a suit. I think I agree with the rest of you tho June can't come quick enough the bloody suspence is killing me.

@Mentos, wow I didn't even know that! That would have been so cool. Maybe Ridley will work it back in - perhaps not as glass but as some kind of force field H.U.D.

@Hukerlover, welcome to the party! And yeah point taken, but perhaps the suit - through its biomechanicity - come to fit a wearer of any size. I mean it will grow around the occupant. Remember the loaders from Aliens? but instead it's organic and can grow around the wearer making connection points at the right places in order to operate the suit. It's just a theory of course. EDIT: In fact, now that I've mentioned it twice, I'm gonna start a new thread.

[b]@Starbeast[/b] I think that could be plausible. If the suit is organic, then we might be looking at some sort of lipid layer or something like that? Or we might be taking speculation a little too far there haha. [b]@Hukerlover[/b] You know; I've never actually thought about it like that. Shaw's pregnancy would fit well into into the story very well in that case.

What Dallas said was "Alien lifeform, looks like its been dead a ling time. Fossilized, looks like its grown out of the chair. Bones are bent outward, like it exploded from inside". Sure we might be seeing a suit, but Dallas says "fossilized". If you have ever seen and touched a fossilized bone or piece of wood, there is no mistaking it for organic. If it's a bio-mechanical suit it too can be fossilized. Scott only says its a suit, but not how long it's been there or if something was in the suit too. As guarded as Scott is with this project would it not be in the realm of possibility to think that he is either mis-directing us or leaving out vital information? I do have a theory that will satisfy both possibilities. For the sake of arguement let's say it is a suit with a living being inside (human or SJ?) It is infected by a facehugger (the 1st?) and a chestburster explodes out of it. Upon the hosts death the bio-mechanical suit hardens like stone. As if each suit is synced to one life form. Now we have a fossilized looking suit that did not take thousands of years to get that way.

@Starbeast Thanks for the welcome it's nice to be here I still can't get my head round the petite Shaw becoming that big beastie tho. @mentos maybe thats what we see in that comic con trailer its just before she climbs into the suit to maybe try and save herself with the biomecanicle suit

[b]@Rakkasn[/b] I really like you explanation actually, but I don't think we need to dwell on the [i]fossilised[/i] comment too much. To me as [b]@RickK[/b] pointed out before, I think in the original ALIEN it was designed as more of a creature, and as an afterthought Ridley has developed an affinity towards the suit idea.

@ Rakkasan, like mentos said lets leave the fossilization comments out of this one and try to stay on topic, if you want to dwell on the fossilization look up the thread I started in the Prometheus section called "Space Jockey Was Never Fossilized", I think

The clear dome Mentos pointed out over the SJ's head in Giger's design drawings only adds more evidence that the SJ was - at that time- a totally alien life form. The whole design of the thing leaves more questions than answers though, and that's what makes it such a cool design. Who knows what was going thru Giger's mind when he comes up with this stuff. Who would [i]want[/i] to?!?? LOL!

No we have developed an affinity for the suit idea. Yes Ridley says it's a suit, but he never says whether or not something or someone is inside the suit. He has intentionally mis-lead the press before. And why not dwell on the fossilization comment? Is this blog not about ideas, and trying to answer questions the movies don't answer? You don't find it intriguing that if only a few decades have past between Prometheus and the Nostromo, then why does it look like the SJ (or SJ suit) has aged thousands of years?

All of this is covered in the other thread, which is specifically about that point. [url=http://www.prometheus-movie.com/community/forums/topic/1105]Heres the link to the thread[/url] This thread is about Head or Skull, the one I linked to above is about fossilization

Could have saved a lot of time linking or mentioning that that earlier.