Warning: Spoilers for Alien: Paradiso #1TheAlienseries is finally unveiling howXenomorphsactually see whenever they hunt for humans. Witha unique defense system made of acid bloodand the ability to crawl around undetected, a Xenomorph is a “perfect organism” that’s capable of causing untold destruction. However, it’s long been debated how the Xenomorph is able to see without a visible ocular system… until now.
In a preview forAlien: Paradiso#1 by Steve Fox and Edgar Salazar, an employee at a resort is shown hiding for his life as the Xenomorph hunts down people around him. He carefully grabs a knife and makes a break for the beach, hoping that he can elude the creature. However, in the final page, it’s revealed that theXenomorph has been on his trail the entire time, picking up his scentand using the trails to lead it right to him.
This scent-based vision system shows that theXenomorph is more reliant on smell, rather than sight, to hunt its prey. Plus, with how much fear it strikes in its hunting grounds, it shows that humans are far easier for the Xenomorphs to hunt than previously believed.
Xenomorphs Track Humans by Scent Rather than Sight
Alien: Paradiso#1 by Steve Foxe, Edgar Salazar, Peter Nguyen, and Carlos Lopez
The revelation that a Xenomorph’s hunting skills rely on tracking scent is surprising, but at the same time logical. After all, ever since the creature first appeared in the classic 1979 horror film,there has been no obvious evidence of the Xenomorph being able to see.Its skull from the Predator’s trophy roomhas shown that there are eyes hiding underneath its domed head, but without them being visible, it’s clear that they rely on something else to truly “see.” In this case, it’s the scent of their prey that helps guide them throughout their hunting grounds.
This answer fills in a missing piece regarding why Xenomorphs can take over a society so quickly in a matter of hours.
What’s even more interesting is that this answer fills in a missing piece regarding why Xenomorphs can take over a society in a matter of hours. By nature,humans tend to secrete scents, whether it be through sweat, breath or other means, whenever they are nervous or scared. A Xenomorph attack would undoubtedly cause a lot of mass panic among a crowd, making it incredibly easy for the alien species to track them down and kill them or bring them to their nest to become hosts for more Xenomorphs.
One Crucial Detail from the Xenomorph’s Point of View Proves It Has an Advantage Over Predator
Removing the Scent Doesn’t Make Prey Invisible
“Seeing” through scent shows that the Xenomorph andits nemesis, the Predator, have something in common: they track humans using something other than basic vision. However, one detail inAlien: Paradiso#1 actually shows that the Xenomorph secretly has an advantage. As the Xenomorph closes in on the resort worker,readers can still see the environment and prey from its point of view without the need for a scent line.The worker’s scent just helps guide the creature to his exact location.
It’s far more dangerous to come face-to-face with a Xenomorph, because washing away scent isn’t enough to prevent someone from being seen, unlike the Predator’s heat signature tracking, which can be fooled. This new perspective on the Xenomorph’s hunting abilities is a major reveal forAlienfans because of how it shows the hopelessness of evading the creature. It’s nearly impossible to avoid secreteing scents, especially in times of fear. Plus, with theXenomorphstill able to see basic shapes and outlines while navigating the terrain, the monstrous creature fromAlienis even deadlier than fans believed.
Alien: Paradiso#1is available now from Marvel Comics!
Alien
The Alien franchise, which began with Ridley Scott’s 1979 film, is a Sci-Fi series comprised of several horror films, games, and comic books centered on humanity’s encounters with a hostile extraterrestrial species known as Xenomorphs. Characterized by their lethal prowess and capability to reproduce at an alarming rate, these creatures pose a profound threat to human existence. The primary series protagonist, Ellen Ripley, acts as the voice of reason as she seeks to keep the creatures out of the hands of greed-driven corporate scientists.
