Warning: contains spoilers for Alien #9!
The Xenomorph race, Alien‘s perfect predators, just got a new name, and it’s one which predicts the terrifying future of mankind. Marvel’s latest arc set in the Alien universe takes place on a recently terraformed moon, as a small religious sect known as the Spinners attempt to forge their own Eden out in hostile space. Sadly, they’ve been a little too successful, and Weyland-Yutani has sent a shipment of Xenomorph eggs to wipe out human life so the now useful moon can be claimed.
In Alien #9, the synthetic known as Ambrose has turned on former friend Jane, leading her to a clutch of Xenomorph eggs. Once a Facehugger is attached to Jane, Ambrose explains that he has merged the group’s religious teachings with the predatory Xenomorphs, believing not just that they deserve to triumph, but that their attack on the moon is in accordance with scripture. The issue comes from Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Salvador Larroca.
Talking to Jane as she seemingly falls victim to the Facehugger, Ambrose explains that he believes the group’s deity ‘Mother’ is actually embodied by the alien race, saying, “Mother is real after all. I’ve seen her, Jane… And all who bear her light within their breast become themselves our Mother, their flesh, and will unmade and made anew. It’s true, Jane. You’re all Mother now.” While it may seem like Ambrose is simply spouting a dark perversion of the Spinners’ doctrine, previous issues suggest that his version of their gospel is actually more accurate, as there really is a dark Xenomorph goddess waiting in humanity’s future. Thankfully, Jane is released (seemingly after the Facehugger senses her terminal illness, making her an imperfect host), and still has a chance to survive and perhaps reclaim the moon.
Alien‘s previous arc introduced a Xenomorph goddess – a more humanoid being who rules over the species as its ultimate hive queen, her influence even suggested to reach back through time. This ‘One in the Dark’ was seen in a vision by Chestburster-survivor Gabriel Cruz, and explained by the rogue synthetic Iris as humanity’s inevitable fate; a being who will arise when mankind ultimately tries to merge with the perfect life-form and is instead overtaken, becoming fodder for the Xenomorph hive like so many advanced, arrogant species before them.
Ambrose describing the Xenomorphs and their victims as a single organism named ‘Mother’ is eerily similar to this horrific endgame, raising the possibility that the Spinners’ doctrine may even have been an accurate prediction of where the human race is heading now that Weyland-Yutani has grown so careless with its alien assets that it’s willing to unleash them across space for profit and convenience.
Ambrose referring to the Xenomorphs as ‘Mother’ is disturbing both because it’s accurate to their future bonding with mankind under the One in the Dark, and because describing the species as a single entity is a rare but not inaccurate way to think of the hive-mind beings, spreading out across the galaxy endlessly killing and reproducing until they’re all that’s left. Given the way in which synthetics are connected to one another, and the themes of reproduction and motherhood running through the Alien franchise, Xenomorph fans shouldn’t be surprised if ‘Mother’ proves to have a disturbing amount of staying power as a new way to think of the ultimate predator.
About The Author
