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Xenomorph
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{{Short description|Alien franchise fictional extraterrestrial species}} {{other uses}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2011}} {{Infobox fictional race | name = Xenomorph | other_names = {{plainlist| * ''Internecivus raptus'' * ''Linguafoeda acheronsis'' * ''Plagiarus praepotens'' * Xenomorph * Serpent * Alien * Prey * Bug }} | image = 1979 Alien Design.jpg | alt = | caption = Xenomorph in ''Alien'' (1979) | series = [[Alien (franchise)|Alien]] {{no italic|and}} [[Alien vs. Predator]] | type = [[parasitoid|Endoparasitoid]] [[Extraterrestrial life|lifeform]] | home_world = | first = ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]'' (1979) | last = | first_minor = | first_date = May 25, 1979 | last_minor = | last_date = | creator = {{plainlist| * [[Dan O'Bannon]] * [[Ronald Shusett]] * [[Carlo Rambaldi]] * [[H. R. Giger]] * [[Ridley Scott]] | portrayer = [[Bolaji Badejo]] (1979)<br>Trevor Newlin (2024) | voice = [[Percy Edwards]] (1979)<br>[[Frank Welker]] (2024–present) | based_on = <!-- if not an original creation, use {{based on|character|author}} --> | iu_creator = | iu_created_date = | quadrant = | home_world = | capital = | base_of_operations = | type = | sub_races = | distinctions = | language = | currency = | religion = | affiliation = <!-- or |alignment= --> | leader = <!-- or |leaders= --> | members = }} }} The '''xenomorph''' (also known as a '''Xenomorph XX121''', '''''Internecivus raptus''''', '''''Plagiarus praepotens''''', or simply '''the alien''' or '''the creature'''{{Efn|Common term before the xenomorph crossed over into other universes, such as that of Predator}})<ref name=WYreport>Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report</ref><ref>Alien: Sea of Sorrows</ref><ref name="A2">{{Cite AV media|people=[[Dan O'Bannon]] and [[Ronald Shusett]] (writers) and [[James Cameron]] (director)|title=''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]''|medium=DVD|publisher=[[20th Century Fox]]|date=1986}}</ref><ref name="A3">{{Cite AV media|people=[[Vincent Ward (director)|Vincent Ward]] (writer) and [[David Fincher]] (director)|title=''[[Alien 3]]''|medium=DVD|publisher=[[20th Century Fox]]|date=1992}}</ref> is a fictional [[parasitoid|endoparasitoid]] [[Extraterrestrials in fiction|extraterrestrial]] [[species]] that serves as the main [[antagonist]] of the [[Alien (franchise)|''Alien'']] and ''[[Alien vs. Predator]]'' franchises. The species made its debut in the film ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]'' (1979) and reappeared in the sequels ''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]'' (1986), ''[[Alien 3]]'' (1992), ''[[Alien Resurrection]]'' (1997), and ''[[Alien: Romulus]]'' (2024). The species returns in the prequel series, first with a predecessor in ''[[Prometheus (2012 film)|Prometheus]]'' (2012) and a further evolved form in ''[[Alien: Covenant]]'' (2017),<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gaska|first=Andrew E. C.|title=Alien: The Roleplaying Game|publisher=Free League Publishing|year=2019|pages=284}}</ref> and the 2019 short films ''Alien: Containment'', ''Specimen'', ''Night Shift'', ''Ore'', ''[[Alien: Harvest|Harvest]]'', and ''[[Alien: Alone|Alone]]''. It also featured in the [[Alien vs. Predator|crossover]] films ''[[Alien vs. Predator (film)|Alien vs. Predator]]'' (2004) and ''[[Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem]]'' (2007), with the skull and tail of one of the creatures respectively appearing briefly in ''[[Predator 2]]'' (1990), ''[[Predator: Concrete Jungle]]'' (2005), ''[[Predators (film)|Predators]]'' (2010), and ''[[The Predator (film)|The Predator]]'' (2018), as a protagonist (named '''6''') in the video game ''[[Aliens vs. Predator (2010 video game)|Aliens vs. Predator]]'' (2010), and will return in the upcoming [[FX (international)|FX]] television series ''[[Alien: Earth]]'' (2025). In addition, the xenomorph appears in various literature and video game spin-offs from the franchises. The xenomorph's design is credited to [[Swiss (nationality)|Swiss]] surrealist and artist [[H. R. Giger]], originating in a [[lithograph]] titled ''Necronom IV'' and refined for the series's first film, ''Alien''. The practical effects for the xenomorph's head were designed and constructed by [[Italian people|Italian]] special effects designer [[Carlo Rambaldi]]. Species design and life cycle have been extensively augmented, sometimes inconsistently, throughout each film. Unlike many other extraterrestrial races in film and television science fiction (such as the [[Dalek]]s and [[Cyberman|Cybermen]] in ''[[Doctor Who]]'', or the [[Klingon]]s and [[Borg]] in ''[[Star Trek]]''), the xenomorphs are not [[sapience|sapient]] {{nowrap|toolmakers{{hsp}}{{mdash}}}}{{hsp}}they lack a technological civilization of any kind, and are instead primal, [[Predation|predatory]] creatures with no higher goal than the preservation and propagation of their own species by any means necessary, up to and including the elimination of other lifeforms that may pose a threat to their existence. Like [[wasp]]s or [[termite]]s, xenomorphs are [[eusociality|eusocial]], with a single fertile [[#Queen|queen]] breeding a caste of warriors, workers, or other specialist strains. The xenomorphs' [[biological life cycle]] involves traumatic implantation of [[endoparasitoid]] [[larvae]] inside living hosts; these "chestburster" larvae erupt from the host's body after a short incubation period, mature into adulthood within hours, and seek out more hosts for implantation.
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