Alien vs. Predator versuses, or "Sometimes, the universe hates Bill Paxton".

[chiasaur11]

So, as I am occasionally wont to do, I have been pondering some scenarios relating to the two films in the Alien series and Schwartzenegger's Predator film. Scenarios for which a resolution did not come to mind.

I am assuming here that the local talent for longwinded discussion should manifest itself, and might provide resolution, so here goes:

Scenario the first. Weyland Yutani, as in Aliens, has established a colony on LV-426, bustiling with families ill aware of the pending threat to their very existences in the form of a crashed alien spaceship filled with a deadly cargo.

Unlike in Aliens, they will remain unaware, as a Predator ship crashes onto the colony between hunts, utterly destroying the Space Jockey vessel.

Marooned and very, very put out at missing presumably important appointments, the pilot of the ship manages to stumble towards the colony, massacre the security teams, and destroy any and all long range communications equipment. Wishing to minimize inconvinience, the remainder of the colony's personel are herded into the reactor room. Alone, without any prey, the Predator presumably plays paddleball while awaiting a pick-up.

This, unsuprisingly, does not go entirely unnoticed. Returning to the course laid by James Cameron's best film for the moment, a team of Colonial Marines, accompanied by a civilian adviser and a slimy company executive, land on the planet.

So, with the scenario changed from hordes of hive minded beasties to one Predator, would our heroes manage any better?

Scenario two:

Alan "Dutch" Schaeffer gets sent with his team into the jungle to rescue a missing presidential aide. Like in Predator, it's a set up. This time, however, it's a bit worse. Where intel indicated there was a rebel military base? Alien hive. Thriving alien hive.

We saw what happened the last time a squad of "Ultimate Badasses" went up against a hive without knowing what they were in for. Could Schaeffer do better?

And a final thought:

At the end of the second predator film, the creatures leave Earth as a sign of respect for Danny Glover character. Would it not be equally likely that they were running from Adam Baldwin?

[Brother Oni]

Depends on whether a motion detector can pick up a Predator under cloak, but it doesn't really matter that much as it can shoot the marines out of range of the detector.

That said, if it doesn't kill Drake and Vasquez (the two smart gunners) almost immediately, they'll put down so much suppressive fire that'll injure or kill the Predator by laws of probability.

However because the Predator species like heat, they'd probably be fighting in the reactor room, destroying the primary heat exchangers and resulting in the evacuation seen in the film.


Alternatively, the Predator would one shot the dropship's cockpit as it was landing with its plasma caster. :smalltongue:


Edit: Actually it's already been done in comic book form (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliens_vs._Predator_%28comic_book%29) (the basic plot of which has been butchered into the first AVP movie).

[hamishspence]

Was that comic made into a novel shortly afterward, by Steve and Stephani Perry?

If so- I rather liked it. Predator + Human team up, plus both young, arrogant predators, and aliens, running amok.

[Johel]

Same result, albeit faster : the central explodes, either because Ripley nukes it from orbit or because the predator felt cornered.

[Brother Oni]

Was that comic made into a novel shortly afterward, by Steve and Stephani Perry?

If so- I rather liked it. Predator + Human team up, plus both young, arrogant predators, and aliens, running amok.

I believe so, but I haven't read any AVP novels.

I enjoyed the comic book as it was one of the first to expand on Predator culture, plus in the collected form I read it in, there was a black and white strip before with the two pilots discussing evolution and tribal customs as a dialogue, with images of the Predators in ritual battle for the honour of taking part in the later hunt.

[konfeta]

Depends if the Predator is a plasma pistol spamming nooblet. :smallwink:


Motion detectors can see cloaked predators, though, canonically. Generally, if the Predator does not have a fallback route or doesn't engage at long range, he will die extremely fast. Colonial Marines firepower is too much for him to take head on, especially in close quarters.

Overall, this is difficult to imagine. If the Predator is familiar with what the Marines are capable off, they don't stand a chance. If he is a relative newbie, he will die the second he makes a mistake.

[chiasaur11]

Well, interesting to hear. Editing the first post to include a couple of other things time constraints prevented me from including originally.

[Brother Oni]

Scenario two:

Alan "Dutch" Schaeffer gets sent with his team into the jungle to rescue a missing presidential aide. Like in Predator, it's a set up. This time, however, it's a bit worse. Where intel indicated there was a rebel military base? Alien hive. Thriving alien hive.

We saw what happened the last time a squad of "Ultimate Badasses" went up against a hive without knowing what they were in for. Could Schaeffer do better?

If they go too close to the hive, probably not.

Colonial marine weaponry is far superior to current armaments (the standard M41A pulse rifle uses 10mm caseless ammo), so the team's longarms would require more shots to put a single alien down (I'm ignoring the minigun :smalltongue:).

Added to the fact that sightlines in a jungle are worse than in an indoors office environment, means the aliens can sneak up closer, plus they require more holes put into them means more acid spray and things are looking worse for Dutch and co.

You also mentioned a thriving alien hive, which means the queen has space for her bodyguards (seen only in the comics and novels), which are bigger nastier versions of the drones (approximately half the size of the queen if I recall correctly).

That said, once they've cleared the immediate area of the hive, the aliens would probably leave them alone. The drones have better things to do like tending the nest and looking after the queen, plus with plenty of prey in the vincinty, they probably won't go chasing after the team.


In any case, the colonial marines were crippled in their first encounter with the aliens - they had pistols, flame throwers and a shotgun. If the smartgunners hadn't kept their powerpacks, they probably wouldn't have made it out of the reactor room alive.
If their pulse rifle ammo hadn't cooked off (causing fatalities in itself), they might have put up a better fight (which they did in the ops room).

[Optimystik]

Edit: Actually it's already been done in comic book form (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliens_vs._Predator_%28comic_book%29) (the basic plot of which has been butchered into the first AVP movie).

I'll do you one better:

http://images.darkhorse.com/covers/300/a/avpvt1.jpg

Whoever wins, we GET TO DA CHOPPA

[Kaiyanwang]

I'll do you one better:

http://images.darkhorse.com/covers/300/a/avpvt1.jpg

Whoever wins, we GET TO DA CHOPPA

Smurfs will own them all. At the same time.

[Optimystik]

Smurfs will own them all. At the same time.

Too bad UNICEF owned them. :smalltongue:

http://pointlessbanter.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/unicef-smurfs.jpg

(last picture, I promise)

[Brother Oni]

I'll do you one better:

http://images.darkhorse.com/covers/300/a/avpvt1.jpg

Whoever wins, we GET TO DA CHOPPA

Doing a quick wiki check on the series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliens_versus_Predator_versus_The_Terminator), I can't decide whether the plot is awesome or complete silly nonsense.

Either way it sounds highly amusing. :smallbiggrin:

[chiasaur11]

Too bad UNICEF owned them. :smalltongue:


http://pointlessbanter.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/unicef-smurfs.jpg


(last picture, I promise)

So beautiful. Should have sent a poet;