| This article is about the Xenomorph caste. For the Ataeginan couriers, see Runner (courier). |
- "I haven't seen one exactly like this before, it moves... differently."
- ―Ripley, regarding the Dragon on Fiorina "Fury" 161 (from Alien3)
The Runner,[1] also known as the Dog Alien, Ox Alien or Scout,[2] is an adult form of the species Xenomorph XX121 spawned from a quadrupedal host animal (such as a dog). Runners, as their name implies, are fast and agile, and can spit acid from their mouths. They are considered "stage IV" Xenomorphs and molt into Sentries once they've secured a hive and a regular source of hosts.
Runners have variously been portrayed as being slightly larger and slightly smaller than typical human-spawned Aliens, differences that no doubt derive from the animal that hosted the creature. However, the Runner encountered on Fiorina 161 was around 7 feet 5 inches tall when standing on its hind legs.
Characteristics[]
A Runner with a ridged head-carapace.
Runners are physically quite different to human-spawned Xenomorphs due to the species' tendency to "inherit" aspects of its host's physiology through the DNA reflex. In the case of the Runner, the adult has most notably taken on its host's quadruped posture, with digitigrade hind legs. Like immature Drones, Runners have smooth domed carapaces, though some have been seen to have ridged heads. and they are also one of the few Xenomorphs not to have the distinctive dorsal tubes typical of many other castes. They also have a more barrel-shaped chest, similar to many quadrupedal animals. Their skin is tinted brownish-red as opposed to the more usual grey-black.[3]
While capable of standing and walking on their hind legs, Runners typically remain in their quadrupedal stance when moving and this makes them among the fastest Xenomorphs. They are equally capable of traversing floors, walls and ceilings at speed on all fours.[3] However, physically Runners are not as tough as Drones,[4] relying on their speed and agility to outmaneuver threats rather than strength to overcome them. A Runner also tends to use its tail attack (which stuns the victim) more often than the Drone. They can also run into prey with crushing speed and weight.[4]
A Runner Alien, as it appears in Primal Hunt
Unlike other Chestbursters, in Alien3 the Runner is shown to be born fully formed and only needs to grow larger.[3] Why this is so is never explicitly stated. However, in the Special Edition, where the Alien is spawned from an ox, it is hinted that this could be a result of the Chestburster being unable to escape its host's chest cavity at the typical interval (likely due to its higher structural rigidity), as the ox dies some time before the Chestburster hatches. Furthermore, the Special Edition Chestburster is considerably larger than a typical specimen when it finally emerges from the corpse, indicating it had already begun maturing within.[5]
Role in the Hive[]
- "The runner functions best as a scout and raider, particularly because it can detect cloaked enemies and quickly recover from otherwise crippling encounters."
- ― AVP: Extinction, Alien Bestiary
A Fireteam runner, reflecting more typical Xenomorph colors
Runner Xenomorphs are a light-weight variant of the species who's abilities center around it's speed, hence one of it's namesakes. They excel at raiding and scouting, however their lightly armored bodies[6] means they fall short when it comes to sustained combat with decently armored foes[7]. Their claws also lack the armor rending capabilities of bigger and hardier castes such as the Warrior, Predalien, or Drone, who are more suited for combat. When scouting, a runner will seek out prey populations that can be used to propogate the hive, not unlike an ant reporting a food source back to it's nestmates. They emit spores which defeat Yautja cloaking as well as allowing the Hive to see prey and surroundings even if there are no Xenomorphs present for a time. In some hives, these spores become virulent and can be weaponized. Runners on LV-742 used these weaponized spores to both track and induce sickness in prey. Infection caused nausea, vomiting, and an easier prey item for aliens to dispatch.
It's speed allows it to complete scouting tasks faster than it's kin. When raiding, Runners will often move in ravenous packs, lunging at foes with blinding speed and weight or whipping them with their long, serrated tails.[8] Since the warrior's front limbs are usually on the ground, it attacks with it's tail more often than a Runner does.[9] The chaos and panic of a multi-runner attack allows others Xenomorphs to attack more successfully and with greater lethality. The Prowler, physically similar to a Runner, will grapple and pin prey so they can be more easily mobbed for instance.
A Runner from Aliens vs. Predator (2010)
Runners are noted as being particularly pyro-reactive, owing to a certain type of cartilage beneath it's exoskeleton, compared to other Xenomorphs. This may be an intentional adaptation for the caste, as a Runner set aflame will harden, expand and explode violently, effectively making it the xenomorph version of a suicide bomb against fire-weilding opponents. [10] The Runner is an infant-adjacent stage of Xenomorph, an immature adult form, and is capable of evolving into bigger and stronger forms. Once a hive has a steady supply of hosts, they will turn into Sentry Xenomorphs. From this stage, they rarely leave the hive, and evolve further into Crushers if the Queen determines there is a need.
Some sources say that Runners can also evolve into Praetorians[11], though this has only been noted for the Zeta Hive and hasn't been seen or noted anywhere else.
Intelligence[]
Runners, being generally fewer in number than other Xenomorph types, utilize stealth in their attacks, and have been known to take advantage of their ability to spit acid some distance, often hanging back from targets and striking from range, perhaps behind the cover of assaulting Drones,[12] Runners will often wait until their prey is alone before ambushing them, although they have been known to strike at members of larger groups if an opportune target presents itself.[3]
The intelligence of Runners is often debated. On Fiorina 161, instead of gathering live hosts for the soon-to-be-birthed Queen, a Runner displayed a tendency to kill its victims outright, sparing none (with the exception of Ripley, who was carrying a Queen embryo). It has therefore been theorized that Xenomorphs gain intellectual/mental as well as physical traits from their host, and that this may influence the adult creature's level of intelligence and instinctual behavior.[13] However, it is also possible the Runner was simply reducing the size of the human population in order to guarantee the young Queen's safety.
Behind the Scenes[]
As mentioned previously, there is much debate as to the Runner's intellect, given that in Alien3 it seems to kill all of its victims rather than capture them to be hosts for more Xenomorphs. In reality, the plan was originally for the Runner to convert the prison's assembly hall into a Hive where Dillon and Morse would discover several of the creature's victims, including Superintendent Andrews, cocooned and still alive, presumably ready for the Queen to impregnate when she began laying Eggs.[14] The sequence was conceived as an homage to a similar scene cut from Alien where Ripley discovers Dallas and Brett cocooned in the Nostromo's hold (later reinstated in the Director's Cut). However, this entire sequence was cut before it was filmed, although at least two of the cocoons were partially constructed.[14]
The Runner was planned to appear in the 2013 video game Aliens: Colonial Marines, but it was ultimately dropped.[citation needed]
Concept and credit controversy[]
Originally, H. R. Giger was approached on July 28, 1990 by David Fincher and Tim Zinnemann, and was asked to redesign his own creations for Alien3. Giger's new designs included an aquatic Facehugger and a four-legged version of the adult Alien. Giger said in an interview; "I had special ideas to make it more interesting. I designed a new creature, which was much more elegant and beastly, compared to my original. It was a four-legged Alien, more like a lethal feline - a panther or something. It had a kind of skin that was built up from other creatures - much like a symbiosis".[15] However, when Tom Woodruff, Jr. and Alec Gillis of Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc. (ADI) told Giger that they had their own design, Giger expressed himself as "very upset" and that the creature he had especially designed was his "baby". Even after the production severed contact, Giger continued to fax suggestions to Fincher because of his enthusiasm for the project, and made full-scale drawings and a sculpt of the Alien, all of which were rejected.
Giger would later be angered by the end credits of the released film presenting him as merely the creator of the original creature, and the fact that ADI personnel gave a series of interviews that minimized Giger's contribution. Fox eventually reimbursed Giger, but only after he refused to be interviewed for the Wreckage and Rage behind the scenes documentary on Alien3.[15]
The Academy Awards overlooked Giger's contribution to Alien3. However, Ridley Scott included Giger's name along with nominees Carlo Rambaldi and Richard Johnson. Fox, at the time Alien3 was released, pointed out that studios are precluded from submitting nominees in the effects category directly to the Academy. This upset Giger so much that at one point he sent Academy president Karl Malden a fax with this closing comment: "I am under the strong impression that my contribution to the visual effects of the nominated movie has been intentionally suppressed", signing the letter with a large black pentagram.[15]
Giger however would comment that he thought the resulting film was "okay" and that the Alien was "better than in the second film."[16]
Trivia[]
- While Alien3 was the first film to show a Xenomorph adopting different characteristics dependent on its host, the concept had actually existed since the making of Alien.[17] Director Ridley Scott later stated that the creature in the first film is merely "the man-version of Alien".[18]
- In Aliens versus Predator: Extinction, Runners spawn from a Kurn or Kriltic; while the Kurn is a quadruped with an arguably dog-like physiology, the Kriltic is not, and resembles a giant scorpion in appearance. Therefore, it seems strange that an essentially identical Xenomorph would emerge from both.
- It is unclear why the Runners seen in Alien3 and elsewhere are so fully formed at birth (with well-developed arms and legs), despite only being a Chestburster at the time.
- In the novelization of Alien3, Ripley refers to the Runner variously as a Worker as well as a Warrior.
- Considering the Runner is essentially a Drone spawned from a quadrupedal host, it is interesting to note that they are designated as Stage 4 Xenomorphs and not Stage 3 Xenomorphs like the Drone.
- The Dragon has been known to eat some of its victims.
- The name 'Runner' was introduced in Aliens versus Predator 2.
Appearances[]
- Alien3/novel/comic
- Alien3 (1992 video game)
- Alien3 (1993 Game Boy game)
- Alien3 (1993 SNES game)
- Alien3: The Gun
- Alien Trilogy (video game)
- Aliens versus Predator 2/Primal Hunt
- Aliens versus Predator: Extinction
- Aliens vs. Predator (video game, as "Jungle Alien")
- AVP: Evolution
Gallery[]
See Also[]
- Sentry — The mature form of a Runner.
- Crusher — A stage 6 evolution of the Sentry.
- Prowler -- A similar caste to the runner.
References[]
- ↑ Aliens versus Predator 2 - text log
- ↑ Andrew E. C. Gaska. Alien: The Roleplaying Game, p. 308 (2019), Free League Publishing.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Vincent Ward (writer), David Fincher (director). Alien3 (1992), 20th Century Fox [DVD].
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Aliens versus Predator 2 Prima's Official Strategy Guide
- ↑ Vincent Ward (writer), David Fincher (director). Alien3 Special Edition (2003), 20th Century Fox [DVD].
- ↑ Aliens vs. Predator: Prima's Official Guide, Page 21
- ↑ Alien versus Predator: Extinction (Alien Bestiary)
- ↑ Aliens: Fireteam
- ↑ Aliens vs. Predator: Prima's Official Guide, Page 21
- ↑ AVP: Extinction (Alien Bestiary)
- ↑ Aliens vs. Predator: 2: Primal Hunt, Text Logs
- ↑ Aliens vs. Predator, Microsoft Windows version, Rebellion, 2010.
- ↑ S. D. Perry. Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report, p. 25 (2014), Insight Editions.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Weyland-Yutani Archives - Alien 3: The Cocoon Sequence". Retrieved on 2013-04-18.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Vincent Ward, David Giler, Ezra Swerdlow, Sigourney Weaver, Paul McGann, Alec Gillis. Wreckage and Rage: Making Alien3 (2010), 20th Century Fox [Blu-ray].
- ↑ "The Official Website". HR Giger. Retrieved on 2009-03-02.
- ↑ Richard Meyers. The Officially Authorized Magazine of the Movie Alien, p. 53 (1979), Warren Publishing.
- ↑ Mark Kermode, Ridley Scott, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, Sigourney Weaver. Alien Evolution (2001), Nobles Gate Scotland [DVD].