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At the end of Prometheus one sees a creature that looks surprisingly like the xenomorph alien.
Does that scene show the actual origin of it? Does it contradict the version from Alien vs. Predator where one is told predators use the xenomorphs for "coming of age" ceremonial purposes?
No it does not. The opening sequence of the movie indicates the Engineers have existed for quite some time. it is implied they gave the genetic material which became all life on Earth. This fact alone makes their species very old indeed. Even if the Predators had been using the Xenomorphs for a long time as AVP suggests (20,000 years at least) the Engineers have been around for at least 1000 times that long.
When we meet the Engineers and their technology in Prometheus, it is clear the creature or some variant of the xenomorph is already known to the Engineers. It is part of the bas relief on the wall of the giant head room (see below). If we are to assume the Engineers are the artists (which there is neither confirmation or denial of) for that art to exist, someone had to know something about the creature and presumably its lifecycle.
Xenomorph Bas Relief in Giant Head Chamber
If the Engineers did not create the art, then perhaps they did NOT know about the xenomorphs but seeing how the creatures came from the development of the Black Ooze in a human host, which then is transferred to another human, gestates in the body of the second human, is extracted and eventually uses a third alien to come into existence, AND the Engineer's ship is filled to the brim with canisters of the Black Ooze, it is safe to assume even if the aliens did NOT create the bas reliefs, they knew the potential of the Black Ooze and its inevitable results.
It is safe to assume the Engineers know the origin of the Xenomorphs even if they did not specifically create them.
The comics have made reference to the fact the the Engineeers did in fact create the Xenomorph species and, like the film suggests, use them to eliminate unwanted lifeforms from the universe.
Some comics have run stories explaining that the Xenomorphs were originally created to eradicate the Predator species as the Engineers thought their species unworthy of life. However, as the Predators are a race who live for the hunt, they found this as just another challenge, and adopted it as their rite of passage into adulthood.
Since the engineers have already developed a formidable biological weapon, it makes sense they would use them to destroy other ''unworthy'' lifeforms. The Xenomorph which emerges from the engineer at the end of the film looks different to the Xenomorphs we have usually have seen on screen because the Xenomorph species borrows characteristics from each host impregnated with an embryo - as we've seen in AvP2 with the pred-alien and the dog-alien.
It does not contradict AVP. The only explanation that makes the Alien Universe make sense after Prometheus is that the engineers work for the "Aliens" (the term I will use for the entire Xenomorph race).
The Aliens are in charge and either created or enslaved the engineers to do their bidding. That is why you see the relief on the chamber walls. The Aliens can alter their genetic makeup to adapt to their surroundings due to the way they propagate. They are a perfect conquering species. Egg (Alien DNA) --> Face Hugger (Universal impregnator) --> Host (combining DNA sequence). We have no idea what the original in charge Aliens look like. They may have limbs that allow them to create technology like us unlike the ones we have seen so far. They could be "normal" looking bipeds that have mental control over their spawn and decided to take over the entire galaxy until they ran up against the Predators who were actually equipped to fight them. They take interest in humans because they know we are essentially a future enemy that belongs to the Aliens. They haven't killed everyone yet because they are assessing whether we can be freed from this cycle and be an ally against the Aliens. That is why they have been to earth either many times or for a very long time.
In order to move across the Galaxy and spread their species further. They send the engineers to seed the Planet with genetic material. Honestly it doesn't matter if there is life there or not yet. The engineered life will eventually come out on top. Then they send a face hugger party to start to transform the life on that planet.
There are two main players in the galaxy at this point. The Predators and the Aliens. They are at war. And they capture Alien xenomorphs and use them as a right of passage for some or their troops. The predators as a species don't necessarily live for the hunt. We only see their military side.
This actually explains this terrible movie and ties all the universe together. It is the only explanation for why there is a loving tribute mural in the goo room. It is holy to them. It explains why the engineer is super angry at the humans because they are not meant to be there. It explains the absurdly large face hugger because it was produced outside of the natural process and the engineer knows it is an abomination. They didn't create the Aliens as a weapon. They are just having lots of babies.
In the end.. If they want to make sense of what they did to the canon of this universe in Prometheus, the humans have to help the Predators defeat the Aliens.
The black life matter that was created by the blue giants who are the engineers. They in fact created life on earth trying to possibly create and engineer new weapons. But possibly accidentally created a humans, even possibly creating dinosaurs huge monster like creatures that can be used as engineered weapons against other predators or maybe other alien threats. Maybe they destroyed the dinosaurs. they even tried to destroy the human race, but something prevented them from doing so.They were not the only species alive at the time in the universe. I believe that the predators where Alive at the same time as the engineers . I also have a theory that the predators were hunting the engineers. In The movie Prometheus the biologists and archaeologists discover a A holographic footage in the memory banks ship. It shows the engineer running from something; but what ? What were they running from that they couldn't see in the footage ? I say to myself; the predators can in fact camouflage them selves by turning invisible. That's why you could not see them chasing the engineers. The predators were known for hunting and killing all species I believe they also hunted the engineers and stole their technology ; the Black life matter substance that was found on Prometheus. Predators are definitely known for killing Different species and actually taking something valuable or some kind of weapon as a trophy . In the movie predators Two Danny Glover gets thrown an original colt 45 as weapon trophy. Predators are known for loving weapons and will do anything to get their hands on weapons. So the original theory of the Predators creating the aliens is in fact still very plausible..
I would agree that the engineers created the aliens, way before recorded human history. Clearly as a weapon and designed to target someone who was believed to be a serious threat. Very likely, the predators. We know from Predator that they been hunting aliens a long time and seem to be the dominant lifeform in the galaxy. Prometheus series comes long after the aliens have been created and seems to just stumble upon aliens origins and kinda experiments some of their own. Not sure how its all gonna lead to the Alien 1 film. No matter what Ridley Scott says, i believe that ship had one destination- Predator Home World! A final solution to the engineer-preditor war.
My belief is there was a war between the predators and the engineers, and to stop the war they created the aliens as a sort of peace offering something the predators lived for a great hunt.
