What if the LV-426 Xenomorphs from Aliens are a different strain of Alien and the Queen is a mutation?

this is a great topic because Ive always thought the xenomorphs in Aliens were alot different anyhow since Cameron and Winston remodeled the original concept and made so many. The Queen, and xenomorphs seems like, as Chris questions..."a different strain".

I can definately buy into this theory.

This theory is definitely an eye opener! What if the engineer in Prometheus who got inpreganted was in fact female??? ( talk about a bit of a stretch) and the deacon alien is a baby queen? After the events in Prometheus an engineer ship finds the queen on LV 223 then crash lands on LV 426?

If this was already discussed I apologize

I always know what xeno in Aliens - is another species. Too many differences with classic Alien anatomy.

The creatures in the second film were older, so I prefer the theory that that accounts for the differences. (Jury's still out as for why some have arm blades and others don't).

Did every woman at the colony birth a Queen? The woman colonist who birthed the burster that Apone fried, didn't.

While I do like the possibility of this theory there has always been a problem with the genealogy of the Xenomorph, let me explain...

Although it's likely that most of the ridged head Warriors were born from face huggers from the Queen's eggs which could, as you speculate count for the differing appearance, the Queen or a xeno that brought forth the Queen through egg morphing (a la mine and Big Daves theory) would have been born from one of the eggs from the derelict Juggernaut. Kanes son (Alien) was also born from one of the eggs within the derelict Juggernaut, so theoretically ridged heads are born from queen laid eggs, and drones are born from derelict juggernaut eggs.

Next comes with the egg aboard the EEV in Alien 3, presumably this is an egg from a Queen, but yet the xeno that comes forth from the Dog/Ox is a drone, which would suggest that the egg is instead from the derelict juggernaut, which would support the theory that there was a second team of special black ops marines aboard the Sulaco tasked with collecting eggs from the derelict Juggernaut.

The problem is Alien Rez, in which a Queen is removed from Ripley, but the resulting eggs give birth to drones, going against the different strain idea, unless the strain is born from drones metamorphosizing whilst losing their carapace, as per James Camerons suggestion.

I always thought the ridged head xenomorphs or Xenomorph Warriors were the more mature phase of the Xenomorph Drone, as per what James Cameron has stated in the director's cut.

Also they were going to have the "Drones" but a more smaller and weaker variety than Kane's Son which I would like to refer as the Xenomorph Stalker variety since its independent unlike the future portrayal of drones which are essentially smooth head warriors.

The Xenos from Alien Resurrection were genetic hybrids since it came from the clone Ripley 8 who is part human and part xenomorph, vice versa for the queen that's inside her chest, then later removed to start her hive. At the end of Alien Rez, the human DNA started to kick inside of the Hybrid Queen which she gave birth to a more even Hybrid (50% Xenomorph, 50% Human), the Newborn.

Well for Alien Rez I have always held to the fact that the humans had at least two queens, as both Ripley 8 (the main character) and Ripley 7 (naked and deformed in the room labeled 1-7) both had scars on their chest suggesting their Queens had been removed. This then begs the question, which Queen is left aboard the Auriga?

Ripley 8 seemed mostly human with only a small percentage of Alien DNA present, whereas from her deformities Ripley 7 had much more Alien DNA. As such the Queen from Ripley 7 would have had a good amount of Human DNA. The Queen on board the Auriga developed a womb, giving birth to the Newborn, which suggests she had more than a small percentage of human DNA, therefore suggesting she was the Queen taken from Ripley 7.

Of course, this means that the humans have another, less tainted Queen Alien, Ripley 8's Queen.

If they got a Queen from Ripley 7, why would they create Ripley 8?

Because the queen was tainted with too much human DNA

Ripley 7 would spawn a Queen with way more human genetic material than the one we saw in the film. And the Newborn would likely have no affinity with Ripley 8, if the Queen it came from was Ripley 7.

regardless, Ripley 7 had a queen removed from her chest as did Ripley 8. So there's another Queen out there somewhere.

Like most theories, there are flaws in this argument. Many female hosts were present from Hadley's Hope. The Queen in AR had been cloned with a mix of Human DNA artificially added via the cloning process. Something laid the eggs beneath the Derelict as seen in Alien etc etc.

The argument is shrouded in mystery, this is what makes the Xenomorph so Alien and intriguing. In my mind all Xeno's are a mutated mix of supercharged DNA and genetic materials. Whether or not the outcome, generationally, of the "Black Goo" (I see this as a form of Genetic Cancer, created by the Engineer's or their makers) becomes something which we have seen so far or something new as to be seen in other films I don't know. I wish Ridley had delivered the initial idea's and script for Prometheus which delved into the idea of multiple carrier types of creation of life rather than the pedestrian dumbed down story we got. I guess we will need to see.

Perhaps the creature created after initial introduction to the black goo is random and depends on environmental triggers leading to multiple generations of creatures which rely on donated breeding processes and DNA to survive. Perhaps variants appear each and every time depending on the viability of the species used as a host utilising a basic body plan with minor physical changes. As this is pretty much what we have already seen in the movies, we pretty much need to accept this as cannon.

Really looking forward to finding out more in future movies. I just hope we move away from the more animalistic ideas in the newer releases.

Oh. Sorry forgot to mention that in Alien 1 the Xeno is only days old. In A2 the Hive is at least many months old. Perhaps body plan, size and or the need for a Queen relies on time, availability of hosts and or environment..... Perhaps the original Xeno in Alien was about to mutate into a Queen on board the Narcissus.

I think once one Queen was birthed, and began spawning her own eggs, it would be her decision to create Queen Eggs. Obviously to reduce competition she would only produce Drone/Warrior Eggs for impregnation. If two or more Queens matured around the same time, I could see them killing each other off leaving only one.

There's so much time that passed between the initial exposure in Hadley's Hope to when the Sulaco arrived. There are just too many differences between the two Xenomorphs to say they're the same. Despite Cameron's claims that they're just older, I think it could be worked in quite easily that they were yet another strain. Instead of viewing the Alien as an insect I always viewed it as a virus. And viruses constantly mutate and change to better suit their hosts and environments.

The theory that they're older is the path of least making-too-many-things-up.

I think there's merit in terms of theorising that perhaps the Aliens on LV-426 are the only Aliens of that type in existence. They were an Engineer weapon that was only ever created once and never repeated.

And there's nothing to indicate there's a number 7 Queen still alive and viable; simply because they went to attempt 8.

"both had scars on their chest suggesting their Queens had been removed. This then begs the question, which Queen is left aboard the Auriga?"

Yes they must have had a previous Queen but we dont know what happened to it but we have to assume the Queen we get is from Ripley 8.

I have a idea for a Alien R sequel, that ran parallel with the movie, which would cover the other Queen 7 being sent to another outpost  as well as Ripley 8 DNA. A story where the company was interested in acquiring  the first successful clone Ripley 8 DNA to then re-clone her for a Army of Ripley 8s or similar based Human Super Soldiers based off her DNA.

The company also use the Queen 7 that was more like the other New Born concepts and it re-produced via the Egg Morph Route.

But as far as the Xenomorph, well firstly the reason for the Aliens ones was that they was producing a Action movie and the designs like Gigers where to fragile and so the head was changed for a more durable one.

Yes i heard how Cameron said this is what they Evolve too, but after seeing Alien 3 then i never brought that idea...

To me the Xenomorph like it or hate it, does have some traits of a Ant, Bee, Termite Hive...

I think that a Drone is created that has the aim of creating a Egg Morph Queen, once it has this it can also produce maybe a few Egg Morph none Queens?

Once a Queen is produced and its at the Age to produce Eggs, then a Hive is created and either something within the Hive Architecture or something to do with the Queen that either lets off hormones or produces something in the atmosphere that effects what kind of Embryo is produced.

Once a Hive is established then it needs protecting and something effects the Eggs to produce mainly Warrior Castes...

Should a Egg be taken far away from the Hive, it does not received these chemicals/signals or influence and so it produces a Drone, as a Automatic reaction to Procreate not knowing a Hive is established... a Egg that is some distance from the Hive will automatically produce a Drone to start the whole  Process again.

This theory explains the Egg Morph and why the Xeno in Alien and Alien 3 where similar.  its the best theory that i have....

Its like how when a Bee Hive loses its Queen then workers can then evolve a Egg to produce a Queen by feeding it royal jelly, but they only do this once they detect the Queen is dead or missing for a while... so to safe guard their species they then evolve a Egg to produce a Queen.

I can easily buy into the theory that egg morphing is the starting point, and that what come afterwards are various strains. On the Derelict, Kane observes a mist covering the eggs which responds to disturbances. It is like a trigger mechanism to activate life. In Prometheus there was an atmosphere change which resulted in the mural decaying, but also seemed to activate the contents of the urns. I have wondered if there is a connection here that is linked to prolonging the life cycle of the xeno. Is the mist generated by eggs, and so sets up an atmosphere that puts the eggs and xenos in stasis?

Maybe the first generation egg morphers are ‘designed’ not only to be able to replicate, but to also create a control environment suitable for their needs. I think the Queen is a 2nd generation strain that is focused on creating large numbers quickly.

What we do know about first generation egg morphers is that they can control their cell structures, which Ash remarked on, making them tough little SOB’s.

The whole idea of the Alien needing to pro-create (in a very terrestrial insect way.) is James Cameron's idea. I really don't get that impression from ALIEN. What I take from ALIEN is that this perfect organism is something completely uncomprehendable to our understanding of life and the cycle of life.

I see it as an organism which was maybe created to punish and torture certain lifeforms.

It literally is the physical manifestation of the fires of hell or the grim reaper.

IT IS NOT A GIANT ALIEN INSECT!

It will always find a way to come into existence whether it be by way of egg morphing or changes in atmosphere which then causes the black stuff to come alive.

I could be completely wrong but I just feel that this horrendous organism's life cycle and means of existing isn't something which we should even begin to comprehend. 

Well, I'm waiting to see what Ridley comes up with. I doubt if he will consider Queens, and ridged-headed hives of MORBS to be in his canon!