"It looks like damage." |
The Bellyburster is a Xenomorph infant that bursts from the victim's abdomen.[1]
Implantation
Using a delivery method similar to a Facehugger, the Predalien birthed from Scar in 2004 could force embryonic Xenomorphs down its victim's throats. The victims appeared to be only pregnant females, as the Predalien merely killed a female nurse instead of implanting her. The implied reason behind this is so that the baby Xenomorphs could feed on the human fetus before taking its place in the stomach; though it's also possible the Predalien saw a pregnant belly more efficient way of spawning Aliens. Multiple larvae later erupted from the victim's abdomens.[1] Functioning as a juvenile Queen, the Predalien utilized these multiple spawnings to quickly increase the Xenomorph population and build the Hive in mere hours, presumably before molting into a full grown, Egg-laying Queen.[2]
How this method of reproduction works is unknown, as with regular Facehuggers, it is strongly suggested that Plagiarus praepotens is deposited to force the body to grow an embryo. However the Predalien's method clearly shows what seems to be actual embryos being deposited.
This method of reproduction is not specific to this particular Predalien, however.[3] As a Praetorian, it may be more common at her particular level of maturity and in her particular circumstance. Other Predaliens, who seem warrior-caste adjacent, do not act to increase hive numbers and/or exist at the same time as a Queen alien.
Aliens: Labyrinth
Bellybursters also make a minor appearance in Aliens: Labyrinth, in which Paul Church encounters an incredibly bloated Louise Clark being crowded by Xenomorphs inside a hive. She later gives birth, with four Xenomorph infants bursting out of her stomach. These bursters however are different to the ones in Requiem as they are severely deformed and later die.
Aliens: Resistance
Bellybursters are shown erupting from the stomach of numerous hosts and like the Predalien's spawn, there are multiple Bellybursters per host. The Bellybursters were shown to kill at least one of their own after erupting, the reason for this is unknown.
Behind the scenes
- "The belly bursters were actually in the first draft that Colin and I read...They had the bellybursters ... caused by an alien warrior...We actually made it the Predalien that was reproducing in this fashion" -Greg Strause AVP-R: Preparing For War: Development and Production (featurette)
- "Basically the Predalien's kind of a baby queen-there's a phase in between warrior alien and full-blown queen...they do this thing with embryo implantation.. the idea with that was; how does a baby queen quickly form her own little mini-drone army to get the hive built before she evolves into the final state where she can't completely defend herself?"--Colin Strause AVP-R: Preparing For War: Development and Production (featurette)
Trivia
- In reality, Bellybursters seem to be more or less identical to traditional Chestbursters, the only difference being their different gestation characteristics.
Appearances
See Also
- Chestburster — A more common embryonic Xenomorph form that differs in its gestation and birth characteristics.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
- ↑ AVP-R: Preparing for War: Development and Production
- ↑ https://prodosgames.com/sites/prodosgames.com/files/files/avp_unleashed_1_1.pdf