Summary

• The Xenomorph species has many variations, from the Ovomorph to the Warrior, each with unique traits and abilities.
• The design of the Xenomorph, credited to artist H.R. Giger, has evolved with each new incarnation in the Alien franchise.
• Alien: Romulus introduces a new Xenomorph with a different life cycle and slight design variations compared to previous versions.

The Alien franchise delivered one of the most memorable movie monsters of all time, but fans of the series might not be aware of just how many Xenomorph types exist in the larger mythology. The Xenomorph's design is credited to the surrealist artist H.R. Giger, first appearing in a lithograph entitled Necronom IV. The endoparasitoid species first appeared in Ridley Scott's Alien and quickly became one of the most iconic extraterrestrial species in cinematic history. From there, the creature evolved with each new incarnation.

Unlike other extraterrestrial species in sci-fi, the Xenomorph was designed to be the perfect killing machine, with the sole purpose of preserving their species by any means necessary. Due to its popularity, the continuing Alien franchise has expanded unlike any other, leading to four sequels, two prequels, and two spin-offs, as well as multiple video games and literature. Each new addition to the franchise has introduced new variations of the Xenomorph, with dozens of them now existing across the series. Building on the original, there are a lot of Xenomorph types to explore.

Ovomorph

The Egg Beginning Of The Xenomorph's Cycle

The first hint of the Xenomorph is seen in Alien when the crew of the Nostormos comes across an eerie field of eggs while investigating a mysterious beacon. While not fully developed, the egg stage in a Xenomorph life cycle, also known as the Ovomorph, is actually the most important. It is through the laying of these eggs that the species has been able to grow and spread their brutal reign of terror across the cosmos.

The Ovomorph has appeared in virtually every entry in the Alien franchise, except for Prometheus, and is a thick, living organism that protects the Xenomorph hatchling inside. If an individual gets too close to the Ovomorph, the egg opens in an incredibly creepy way and allows the next stage of the Xenomorph to take action on the poor unsuspecting individual.

Facehugger

The Xenomorph Carrier

The Facehugger first appears in Alien and is the creature that emerges from inside of the egg. It is a crab-like creature with legs as well as a tail. The Facehugger attaches itself to a host by latching onto its face and wrapping its tail around the airway. Once it has done this, it implants the Xenomorph embryo into the host's airway.

Aliens also showed that a face hugger can scurry across the floor and chase its victims if necessary.

Facehuggers have been shown to claim humans, Predators, animals, and Space Jockeys as their hosts, which has led to a wide variety of Xenomorph offspring. When they become set on a target that will be their new host, they are relentless in pursuing them. Like a fully grown Xenomorph, the Facehuggers have acidic blood, making it harder to remove from a victim. Aliens also showed that a face hugger can scurry across the floor and chase its victims if necessary.

Royal Facehugger

An Armored Xenomorph Carrier

The Royal Facehugger has only appeared once on-screen in the Special Edition of Alien 3, as it was removed from the film's cinematic release, but it has also appeared in some comics. The Royal Facehugger has the same behaviors as a regular Facehugger, except it is physically larger and protected by stronger armor. This is because the Royal Facehugger carries the embryo of a Xenomorph Queen, an essential part of the continuation of the species.

Given how difficult it is to deal with normal Facehuggers, a Royal Facehugger is an even more daunting creature to come up against. The Royal Facehugger was initially written to be the Facehugger that implants the embryo inside Ripley. Given the terrifying potential, it is a shame it hasn't emerged in the Alien movies again since those initial plans.

Chestburster

The "Hatched" Xenomorph

Kane became the first victim in the Alien franchise when the world was introduced to the Chestburster. After implantation of the Xenomorph embryo, the Chestburster grows inside the host's chest cavity, pushing and chewing its way out. While it's not a fully-grown xenomorph, the Chestburster is perhaps one of the most iconic incarnations of the terrifying monster in all the Alien movies, as the scene in the 1979 original when one first explodes out of its victim was also when audiences first learned just how harrowing the Xenomorph's truly could be.

First appearing in Alien, the Chestburster quickly became one of the most memorable parts of the franchise. The scene in which Kane begins convulsing only for a small alien to violently burst out of his chest to terrify the rest of the crew is one of the most iconic moments in movie history. No host has survived the Chestburster on-screen, typically dying of severe blood loss during the process. At this point in its life cycle, the Xenomorph is at its most vulnerable but is able to evade danger and hide due to its incredible speed and agility.

Drone

The Most Common Xenomorphs

The Drone Xenomorph was first seen in Alien and is considered to be the young-adult stage of the Xenomorph life cycle. For all intents and purposes, Drones can be thought of as the standard Xenomorph, and it's this version of the creature that most picture when imagining them. This is the version of the Xenomorph that stalks the crew of the Nostromos and ends up killing all of them except for Ellen Ripley. It is the most iconic variation of the Xenomorph and has also appeared in games such as Alien: Isolation.

The top of the Xenomorph Drone's head is translucent and has empty eye sockets within.

The Drone is characterized by its bipedal stature due to its human hosts, with an elongated head and cylindrical skull, standing around 8ft tall. The top of the Xenomorph Drone's head is translucent and has empty eye sockets within. They are the most widespread of the Xenomorphs. They are also the first stage of Xenomorphs that showcased the smaller second mouth within their larger mouth that acts as a method of attacking their victims.

Warrior

The Combat Xenomorphs

In James Cameron's action-packed sequel, Aliens, the Xenomorphs returned but with a slightly different look and mannerisms. Unlike the lone Xenomorph Drone from Alien, these hunted in groups and became known as Warriors. Their skulls are typically more ridged, unlike the Drones, and they are also faster and more agile. They have also been shown to burst when they are killed, drenching their attacker in acid.

Much like the Drones, the Warrior Xenomorphs are large in numbers and used to spread the species. They serve as the main offensive unit for the Xenomorphs, proving to be incredibly deadly and ruthless killing machines. The form hives of Xenomorphs, also protecting their queen. They are also intelligent and use stealth tactics to ambush their enemies as seen with the short work they make of the marines in Aliens.

Queen

The Xenomorph Breeder

The Queen Xenomorph first appeared in James Cameron's Aliens and is considered one of the deadliest Xenomorph variants. Standing around 15 to 20 feet tall, the Xenomorph Queen is the leader of the hive and responsible for laying the eggs in the Alien sequels. The introduction of this type of Xenomorph showed just how dangerous this alien species is as it was hellbent on spreading its numbers across the galaxy as effectively as possible.

Despite being the largest threat, the Queen typically spends her time laying eggs, only detaching from her egg sack to protect her offspring when necessary. In Alien vs. Predator, a Queen was shown to be held under a temple with the soul purpose of breeding so that the Predators would have plenty of Xenomorphs to hunt. Additionally, the Queen is considered to be one of the most intelligent Xenomorph variants.

Runner

A Dog-Like Xenomorph

The Runner first appears in Alien 3 after a quadrupedal animal falls victim to a Facehugger. In the second sequel to Alien, it is a dog who is overtaken by this new type of Xenomorph eventually bursting from the canine's chest and taking on some of its traits. Alien 3 is often maligned as a failed entry in the genre. However, it does introduce some interesting new ideas, such as being the first to reveal that Xenomorphs are influenced by the the organisms they grow inside.

The Runner is widely considered to be the fastest of the Xenomorph breeds and also the most aggressive. This is seen in the climatic sequence in Alien 3 when the Xenomorph is chasing the surviving convicts around the prison. Unlike previous designs of the Xenomorph, the Runner does not have the dorsal tubes on its back and is much slimmer in appearance.

Newborn

A Ripley-Xenomorph Hybrid

The Newborn is the first hybrid of the Alien series that resulted from a genetic mutation where it was an offspring of Ripley 8 and a cloned Xenomorph Queen on the Auriga in Alien: Resurrection. It is a sign of the dangerous experimentation that humans did with the Xenomorphs. The Newborn was shown to be stronger than a Xenomorph Queen, which it killed shortly after its birth, and considered the cloned Ripley to be its mother.

The Newborn was incredibly large, and unlike other types of Xenomorph, it was much closer to a humanoid in appearance, leading to it being widely considered as one of the worst designs in the franchise. It is an unsettling creature with a skull-like face and no inner jaw like the other Xenomorphs. It has not appeared on-screen again since its death in Alien: Resurrection.

Trilobite

An Octopus-Like Xenomorph

While there has not been an explanation as to how the Trilobite is related to the classic Xenomorphs seen in the Alien franchise, it shares similar behaviors to that of the Facehugger. Appearing in Prometheus, the Trilobite first appears after the black goo infects Charlie Holloway on LV-223, which causes him to impregnate Elizabeth Shaw with the creature after they engage in intercourse.

It is shown to grow quickly and to massive sizes once it is out of the host.

Shaw manages to remove the Trilobite, but it appears later on in the film as a giant, Octopus-like beast and attacks an Engineer, impregnating it like the Facehuggers, and creating a Deacon. Given that Shaw removes the creature from her own stomach surgically, it is unclear how the alien gets out of their hosts naturally. However, it is shown to grow quickly and to massive sizes once it is out of the host.