Where does The Raven fit into the Xenomorph Life Cycle? - Theory

[@samlee5599]

I fall on the side of mutation, that its adapting to a more hostile environment after the reactor blew... might be a mutated praetorian maybe ?

[@pwcummins4]

Sam Lee that’s what I was thinking as well

[@dakotahamilton5511]

I also agree but it looks like it has mandibles like a predalien

[@silent_stalker3687]

Sam Lee It looks like a Alien with burns on its face I’ll dub it the Irony variant; maybe ‘the Hicks’

[@user-MidwayDisc]

Man the Raven is most definitely the scariest looking xenomorph caste if you ask me.

[@maybebebi7060]

Not gonna lie... the *Raven* SCARED THE HELL out of me when I first encountered it in the game. It's even more frightening to me than the Alien Queen herself! Another great video and theory, Alien Theory! Thanks! : )

[@SharKwORDT95]

I always put the theory together that it was the chestburster that came from the space jockey. Here’s why: it’s larger and stronger than the average xenomorph, there’s only one of him and he doesn’t really interact with the hive that forms in Aliens. I’m thinking that it’s face being damaged but not bleeding is a result of the burster having to break out of the jockeys armor plating and getting a nasty injury from its break out, that’s why it looks like it healed over instead of being fresh. It could’ve bursted out and went it’s own way to either heal or try to survive and by the time the game takes place it’s all grown up and it’s it’s own thing. That could explain it’s close proximity to the hive while not actively taking on leadership over it. Just my thoughts.

[@2000sKidd]

That's a great theory! But, I always personally believed that the Raven Alien was the chestburster that came out of Hudson and was still Inside him while the reactor went off mutating the Alien. Another possibility is that it did come out and scurried away to get hit by the radiation itself. I always called him Hudsons Son. You can find his body near by and I'm sure that's what they're implying.

[@SharKwORDT95]

Wayne could be. They did make it a point to have mutated aliens that were abnormal for seemingly no reason. I hope someday we get some answers and one of us is right. It’d be cool to have a unique looking Xenomorph with an iconic backstory.

[@evanmanor7444]

The Ultramorph (cut Xenomorph variant from Prometheus) is what would emerge from an Engineer/ Space Jockey.

[@fen4554]

I always got the impression they were relatively close the blast of the processor; just shielded enough to survive. The radiation looks like it's in a tug of war with the xeno's regenerative abilities. But lets be honest; The raven type was made in a brief attempt to make the alien scary again. Gunning waves down tends to drain the xeno of all intimidation.

[@maybebebi7060]

Great theory- that could explain it's deformed face that it might have received from the blast.

[@dinohunter1525]

that could be it

[@mikedantonio4731]

@Raven Link it may be like the predalien, an immature queen

[@steel749]

The raven was so badass looking. I for one would like to see it in a live action movie as the main villain

[@CplDwayneHicks11]

Hiyatoys will be releasing The Raven figurine next month.

[@patricom05]

As long as they keep that colonial marines story as far away as possible. It was hot garbage

[@mikedantonio4731]

I would love to se a predator face the raven

[@gadielgonzalez2755]

My guess is that Weyland yutani were experimenting on xenomorph specimens in order to produce a queen. In the game you can obviously see the difference in some of the castes, as if they were mutated somehow. In one of Weyland yutani's labs you can see a crusher in one of the container cells as well as a few warriors who look like they've had their dome carapaces removed revealing a more human like face underneath. And then there are the spitters who vagely resemble queens with their head shape and dorsal spikes.

[@MrFedoraFilm]

I don't think the Raven Xenomorph fits in the Alien Life Cycle. It looks more like a mutation from the radiation cause by the Atmospheric Processor on Hadley's Hope. Like many others have theorized. -The way the Raven Xenomorph looks, sounds, the character features... it screams scary in design.

[@lancer737]

Also It might be a Predalien, I noticed it had a stack of Colonial Marine helmets in its lair. Predaliens are the only ones scene taking trophies.

[@jackychang9148]

lancer737 It's not bipedal enough. Plus, it's missing the mandibles.

[@lancer737]

Jacky Chang It has mandibles, they are just like the one from AvPs War collection.

[@samlee5599]

The Mandibles might have been blown off, its face looks like it's taken a beating … I didn't remember the helmets I thought it strange they were there

[@CplDwayneHicks11]

Those helmets and bodies belonged to Captain Breckett unit from River Of Pain. Fox pushed for the Colonial Marines to be stationed at Hadley's Hope which ACM made out more incidents happened which lead to Fire & Stone arc. Hence why Hicks knew about The Onager wasn't going to give that information away.

[@jackychang9148]

lancer737 Oh. I wonder what happened to the video game Raven Xenomorph? Maybe the others or the Queen was jealous.

[@BulletTooth504]

My theory is that the Raven is the alien that gestated in Private Hudson. Hudson was the ultimate badass. Logically, a Xenomorph born from him would inherit his badassery and become the biggest, scariest, and most badassed member of the hive.

[@cosmicderringer1824]

I love the editing you made for that thumbnail and video. This theory is great too and very plausible

[@stoneryoda9377]

You know its weird I was thinking this to my self yesterday while working

[@nicholasjeffords1543]

Imagine a xenomorph coming from a space marine

[@AlienTheory]

We’d be Doomed

[@djraisintoast]

Jesus h fuck how could you think such a nightmarish scenario????

[@nicholasjeffords1543]

xSHADYLURK3Rx because I thought about how similar tyrinaids and xenos look alike

[@slimjim877]

Or a prmarch

[@kelthuzad4634]

Alien Theory not really most of a spacemarines augmentation is made through artificial means meaning it's not part of the genetic structure of a human

[@chrisMc1972]

Almost hundred thousand subs!l always look for you first thing in the morning

[@ericmiller3708]

I tend to think of the Raven as a Big Chap that was exposed to high levels of radiation and mutated. Unlike Cameron's "bugs;" the humanoid features are quite obvious with the facial features. In addition, it doesn't have that insectoid screech. I actually like this xeno variant. In terms of the Ultramorph; definitely from the engineers or space jockey. Those were some tall beings!

[@lancer737]

The thing that most people miss is that Aliens don't really have a set caste or life cycle. They evolve to be however they need to be. Hence Kings, Rangers, Ravagers, and so on.

[@doghead2215]

Anyone who remembers Ravagers gets a like in my books.

[@Talla50k]

Technically kings were made by humans. So they do and don't count as kings are queens altered by Weyland Yutani to be a sort of combatant against the queen herself.

[@lancer737]

A Ghost But there are natural Kings, they made one that is canon almost 2 years ago.

[@Bobbobson69420]

Finally! :D I always hoped you’d do an in depth video on this topic. Sweet ideas though! I used to think it was the Space Jockey’s Xenomorph, but radiation sounds more viable of a theory.

[@2000sKidd]

I always personally believed that the Raven Alien was the chestburster that came out of Hudson and was still Inside him while the reactor went off mutating the Alien. Another possibility is that it did come out and scurried away to get hit by the radiation itself. I always called him Hudsons Son. My reasoning for this is that in the game near the Raven Level u can find Hudson's body that has had a chestburster come out.

[@darthlazurus4382]

I think you put more thought into The Raven than Gearbox. Aliens Colonial Marines was poorly done. While the Blind Xenos were cool, with an interesting backstory, I wouldn't be surprised if the creation of The Raven was "Let's make a big scary boss monster".

[@crispires691]

I liked to think that the Raven was Hudson's chesbuster since he was cocooned and dead where the Raven was Roaming jajaja

[@CplYeet]

That's a good theory! I never thought of that! Noice job

[@atroposmoirai2298]

Great work as always. Makes my overnight job a little better

[@pure8591]

Can you do a video on the Boiler please mate? 🤔

[@gravelycritical]

Now, that'd be in interesting video considering quite a few of the Boilers were the original Xenos as seen in the Aliens movie. According to their details.

[@javierfavela2255]

Hey Alien Theory, PLZ do the Queen Mother next!

[@kalbearts237]

Once again, Excellent video! Personally I think that the radiation theory is more likely. As we can susspect that the boilers were mutated Xenos that were caught in the direct blast of the colonies reactor, I think it would be more likely idea that the Raven is merely A warped warrior. A Warrior that may simple be overly disfigured from gestating in a host closer to the fallout of the explosion. almost akin to some sort of birth defect if I could say. This disfigurement could explain its behavior aswell, Seeing that it was primarily solitary in its level of the game. Just my two cents!

[@tonnig6077]

Another great video! Thanks.

[@r3gret2079]

I think the Raven is probably my favorite xenomorph, "type". Whatever that thing is, it is terrifying. Way more so than a regular xenomorph. So friggin dope!

[@Jesse12489]

I would like to think it's a Advance aged Warrior or the Engineer Xenomorph that came from the Pilot and woke up after the reactor blew up. Nobody knows how long the Xenomorph live.

[@stoneryoda9377]

Jesse12489 James Cameron's ALIENS implies that the xeno that came from the space jockey/engineer was the queen on the planet But in the original Prometheus script the ulrtanorph is born from the engineer/space jockey in the original derelict (the deacon is the infant form of the ultramorph a 16 foot biomech marvel

[@Jesse12489]

Stoner Yoda937 implied Doesn't mean fact. Plus that's James Cameron.

[@HeliHaych]

Stoner Yoda937 The Ultramorph Prometheus script would've been so cool.

[@doctorlunarous5747]

Well we get a good idea from the books that have recently came out, the one before River Of Pain, and it tells us they can remain in hibernation for a very very long time, at least the adults can, the eggs oddly seem to wither and die if not kept in a suitable environment though.

[@Jesse12489]

ebolamorph a few weeks? Okay that's just Theory territory and I like to believe those boilers down below were damaged by the reactor explosion and they're just blind them being old age there's no proof of that other than that is just a theory. The life span of two weeks would have to be the reason to make that theory plausible.

[@nanachimakenshi2512]

Wasn''t it also implied, after you manage to escape from the Raven, that the host it was birthed from was Hudson? I mean you see his body cocooned on the wall when you leave the Raven's area. I am going with the radiation theory considering how later on you meet the those blind exploding Xenomorphs which all look very screwed up.

[@kanewarburton8088]

The raven is one of the reasons I really love aliens CM because it brought a level of horror and hopelessness to the game, I mean I played the shit out of that level, it was brilliant XD the aliens are meant to be scary, and when all your doing is mowing them down, I will agree it is entertaining, however it drains the fear factor of them, and the fact that the raven has a bullet proof exoskeleton, makes it even scarier then the spikes that cover it's massive head and hide, reminded me a bit of the queen, but it was fresh and even to this day, replaying the game never gets old, the raven is one of the reasons for this, (along with the other types of xenomorph in that game.

[@BryceChillis]

i always thought the raven was Hudson's chestburster(RIP), mutated by the meltdown while gestating

[@architectofarmageddon7444]

The raven was the highlight of this game, everything before and after was a mistake.

[@thundercliff93]

Would be cool to see the Deacon in some future Aliens game

[@CplDwayneHicks11]

They can turn themselves into Mountains so don't expect much from them.

[@thundercliff93]

CplDwayneHicks11 í don't really dig that comic think the deacon turning into a mountain was kinda lame

[@mcsivyour]

my theory is its an "Evolved" as referenced in the AvP the hunt begins unleashed table top game, its stated "As a xenomorph hive grows in size, on occasion, a Warrior will mutate into a unique type of its own. highly adaptable, these creatures are often mistaken for a standard warrior until its too late for their enemies. some are able to spray aid at close range onto multiple enemies at once, others can camouflage their exoskeleton to blend into their surroundings to leap upon their foes, and some of them are even able to heal the most grievous of wounds almost instantly. classified as Evolved Warriors, company scientists believe they are an evolutional dead-end and once metamorphosis has finished, it will change no more after that. it is theorized that their evolution is due to an immediate need that the hive requires, but not as a long term creation. whatever the reasoning is behind these monsters, they should be engaged with extreme caution, as each one is different and there is no way to determine what capabilities it has until it has displayed them."

[@trogsothoth4919]

given the scarred look of it's face, i would suggest that the raven is simply a xenomorph of considerably advanced age, allowed to grow and molt to a final stage of drone or warrior class. most xenomorphs we see have only lived for days to months, maybe years, and therefore may be yet undeveloped. even the name, raven, has a smack of an elder amongst the hive. the idea that it is an in-between stage however is compelling, and the rapid growth may be the cause for it's gruesome appearance, it would be molting so rapidly that no sooner does the exoskeleton set and reform a faceplate dome that it's time to molt again, and the molt would be slower than reaching maturity because of the increased mass of the exoskeleton from that point onward.

[@bradleykuiper8308]

Isn't there a theory about it being the Xenomorph that emerged from the Engineer on the Derelict?

[@gravelycritical]

There is, but the times don't add up. We don't know how long they live, but from what we know it's not long. I prefer the theory that it is a mutated Xeno that came from Hudson after the explosion.

[@BustedRobotStudios]

Yeah, but if Engineers are long-lived, maybe that would mean that the Raven is also a very long-lived Xeno breed. And perhaps the exposed human-skull give credence to this as well, since Engineers and Humans share 99% DNA. Perhaps the Engineer DNA is far more potent, and thus exposes the skull more?

[@InvinciblKillerQueen]

I like the idea that it was a warrior or drone that was in the midst of metamorphosis, but the process was altered by the mass exposure to radiation. Even though the mutations certainly make it more potent in combat, it's now locked out of the reproductive cycle, and is largely ignored by the other xenomorphs.

[@kiba11394]

Thank you!

[@AnonRanGER01]

I'll tell you exactly how it came to be. Gearbox went "We need a different Xenomorph for this part.".

[@desktopshorts7411]

I always thought it was Hudson’s kid. Combat hardened, loud and destructive

[@Rilyn666]

Maybe it's the Alien that burst from the Space Jockey...

[@granziii12]

I'm going to try to speed through this. The Runner Alien was not its own separate classification. Just a drone that had a dog as it's host. The physical appearance varies depending on the host. Consumption of enough Royal Jelly triggers a mutation, causing various enhancements in Xenomorphs. A Drone consuming enough Royal Jelly will mutate into a Praetorian, which up until recently I thought was another name for a Royal Guard or Hive Guard. Sense a Drone is less geared for a combat role and more for hive maintenance, it makes a bit more sense for a Drone to mutate into something that wouldn't normally leave the hive and just stick to protecting the Queen. This begs the question, what would a Warrior mutate into? How long does this process take? What would they look like if they were to be observed during this process? What differences could be seen in identical Xenomorphs undergoing mutation when introduced to certain stimuli, such as rapidly fluctuating temperatures, different habitats, hostile/docile environments, radiation and so on. Could it be that this Raven was a Warrior mutating into a new variant due to consumption of Royal Jelly but was introduced to radioactive agents that specifically affect Xenomorph's ability to mutate in unstable and unpredictable means?

[@AncestorEmpire1]

It's scarier when ending each communication to the hive with: "Never More"

[@gradyadair1339]

1. Do you or anyone else know what the mazimum size limit is for a Xenomorph specimen to grow to? 2. What is the largest Xeno ever known? Predalien queen? Matriarch? 3. Prior to AvP: Requium, why was it believed that a Predalien can't molt into a Queen?

[@gradyadair1339]

Please reply.

[@afterlife697]

The maximum size limit that I know of is the queen standing somewhere between 15 and some of them 30 feet tall. The largest Xena more ever is also believed it to be like alien queen. Or some have said the queen mother. It is not known whether or not the alien predator hybrid can turn into a queen. As they keep changing the prerequisites for the growth of a Queen. I hope this helped sorry you had to wait a year for an answer.

[@cobra_commander2255]

I think it's either a very old warrior that has continued to grow over time, or maybe it was born from a different host: maybe a certain animal kept by the colonists.

[@briankane7931]

It’s probably a praetorian in the midst of molting. I think that it was one of the oldest xenomorphs in the Hadley’s hope hive and retreated to the sewers once it began molting into a praetorian. I do not think that the transition from warrior to praetorian is quick, I think it takes weeks before the warrior finally molts. The raven’s scars were likely inflicted by other aliens when it began molting

[@pelicanparagon2800]

Might seem more random of an idea but I looked at the Raven more like a leader. It was somehow separate from the main hive and locked away for enough time in the sewer system to attempt to become a queen eventually. But considering the vast mutations of the normal Xenos down in the sewer it’s my theory that the Raven could not properly evolve after cocooning and so we got the monstrosity. One with almost the strength of a queen but not the control of a hive. The alien adapts to perfectly fit its ecosystem even one so harsh and strange as a radiation filled sewer.

[@kanewarburton8088]

Personally I agree that the raven fits in between the warrior and Praetorian, however I do not believe that the exposed skull is natural, I recon that it could be battle damage from a previous fight, what if there was a war between 2 hives, this could mean the raven was either out numbered or, it found a worthy opponent from the other hive, maybe another raven, or even maybe something bigger, it's continuing existence would prove (if I am right about the battle damage) that either the raven defeated it's opponent or, they were separated mid fight. I like to believe that it was a fight with maybe a crusher, Praetorian or another raven, because this would show a level of dominance that the raven has. Also it would look like a pretty badass fight.

[@refurbishedtechpriest9076]

I always figured the Raven was a mutant of sorts.

[@danielalon2316]

I do believe the Raven is a Warrior transforming slowly into a Prastorian.

[@theponydalek7923]

I personally like the theory that it's the space jockey's xeno, as if a evolution of the scrapped Ultramorph, a variant of xenomorph where a face hugger impregnates an engineer. Since the life span of a xenomorph could be, and vary might be indefinite. It could be a possibility.

[@jordantucker9799]

Well from how I see and understand there's two possibilities based on its appearance and what info you provide. 1. It's suffering a mutation from radiation poisoning or somehow experimental genetic engineering. 2.It is an alien that is further evolving, but from its form I don't think its becoming a praetorian. The creature has a multi-able spikes and has mandibles along side its jaws which the royal guards lack, oh and the skull like face are battle scares quite sure of from fighting against other Xenos for dominance. Anyway I'm for sure it may be an evolving king alien, if you compare it with the two other "kings" both share distinct similarities and that they are breed for fighting. Anyway if people had read this and are going to ask me that it should be called a prince alien? Well you can feel free to do so but I'm just putting up what the raven might be and how it fits in the alien universe.

[@Subsaibot2526]

I actually like to think that the raven was a result of a facehugger who managed to attach to Newt. I know that isn't true but for me it adds that morbid feel to things. I just wish that the fight you have against it was done better, as well as the whole game.

[@Abzter1]

Ooh the raven was a pain to fight, but scared the Crap outta me when I had to sneak around it XD

[@epoxythanatos9025]

Partially burnt in the hive when Ripley was burning the place down as a young hatchling and being a resilient little bugger that Xenos are it's body reacted and adapted to its new hostile environment caused by the fallout and Ripley's flamethrower.

[@Furyhound]

I beleive it was disruoted mid molting phase, as some of the preatorian aspects are only partially formed, with additional deformations caused by the ambient radiation, such as the skull beinf more prevalent

[@ConanSmoke]

Maybe Alien Theory should become a rapper. I can already imagine him dropping fire singles about winters fighting the raven

[@LAGLION1994]

in the laboratory of the weyland yutani there was a group of drones one with the skull one with the skull but the head like the werrior and the raven can be an experiment

[@Lolpy.]

I say it was just a regular praetorian until radiation caught up to it and its appearance genes went backwards and forwards at the same time and pretty much became a mix of a royal guard, warrior, and possibly a charger.

[@camrinclark4322]

I think that it is like a newborn that is mutated to look different and be tougher than the normal xenomorph

[@swaswa1]

It could possibly be a form between a warrior turning into a queen without the usage of royal jelly or some sort of egg sack like system because with the explosion destroying the queen it's not impossible that the Raven was morphing into a new Queen

[@ZacharyRojasMZ1]

Its probably a variant born from engineers, seeing how the fossilized engineer pilot had a chest burster opening. It would explain its damaged face since it would have to break through the engineers exo-armor

[@rookieweeabo8575]

I also believe that it could just be another mutated Xenomorph thanks to the radiation that was released during the explosion like the ones that could only see through sound and then explode. :)

[@sprinkles2414]

I always thought at first it had to be a lurker Praetorian but now I wonder...

[@commissarstanley2524]

I imagine it could be a defect We see a skull like protrusion and is larger,perhaps it is a praetorian that developed incorrectly in the same way humans can have birth defects This could possibly have stemmed from the host using drugs as this has an effect on human birth or the radiation of the exoloded reactor Or maybe,it was terrible planning by the people who made the game as seen throughout the whole game

[@JoshuaBatch]

Even though Colonial Marines was not a good game in most of its aspects I did really enjoy The Raven's appearance, especially in the chase scene.

[@armageddontri7]

I read a theory somewhere that the raven was the result of chestbursting out of the space jockey in the beginning of alien.

[@midgerm]

i reckon the raven is the result of the chestburster of a normal xeno being subjected to trauma, thus forcing it to grow a bigger and stronger body to deal with its hostile captors think on it, the raven is bullet proof to the pulse rifle, which fires armour peircing explosive tipped ammo, nothing we do can hurt it except sheer force by wrestling it with a powerloader, keep in mind getting hit by a powerloader would probably kill a normal human in one hit, we dont know about normal xeno's but the queen from aliens also wrestled with a powerloader but she's the biggest of her brood so far. maybe im wrong and its just a xeno adapting to the strain put on the hive but this is what i think so my theory is, some scientist wanted to subject a chestburster to extreme torture like experiments, carving off a peice of its little fleshy face to see if it could regrow it or have any effect on it later down the line said chestburster was bred normaly; human face hugged, chestburster developed - then the scientist started carving peices off it, we saw that a laser scalpel from alien can hurt a facehugger, despite the blood, so maybe he wanted to see what would happen if an infant xeno got hurt - so he scalpels half its face off among other things. the damage to the chestubrster forces it to undergo an 'emergency strengthen' kind of metamorphisis: alright, so i have been beaten and cut and tortured constantly as a baby - that just means i need to grow BIGGER and MEANER! thus the raven was born, they have some restraints on the queen and sort of knew what to expect with her, the raven, it was not the case. thus the inadequate restraints and cages for the raven proved little challenge for him and he broke containment, killing his torturers and escaping this might also explain its rage like behaviour and want to be alone; growing up it was tortured to no end, perhaps now it just wants to be left alone, by its siblnings who got off 'lucky' compared to it and most definently the humans - all of them, to a xeno, a marine might look the same as the doctor who cut off its face as a baby it WAS hiding out in the sewers when we see it after all, and attacked us when we got too close its INSTINCT is to capture humans, but its PTSD causes it to kill in the heat of the moment, thats why it captures us and keeps us alive, but sort of glares at us when we wake up, it might be considering killing you slowly for the shit it went through as a baby; distracted by the gunfire it leaves you alone only to come back and see you escaped - it's NOT taking chances, it catches you now, its gonna WWE slam you into the ground with enough force to turn your bones and organs to mush it might even explain the roars it does, it might be because its structure is different thus it cant hiss or it's roaring in frustruation and rage for the pain it endured as a vulnerable chestburster tl;dr the raven is a xenomorph suffering from ptsd from a rough as hell upbringing, being tortured by humans. its only course of action was to be the biggest and strongest of the lot, but it dosent want to be around its fellow xeno's - it just wants to be left alone, only after encountering more humans, it's PTSD comes rushing back, filling it with rage

[@LordWyatt]

Why were there no Praetorian Guards around the queen when Ridley rescued Neut?

[@josephobrien4764]

In the original Alien movie it was supposed to show that the crew of the nostromo killed were being taken away by the drone and turned into eggs without a queen. perhaps this would have been the result of a face hugger from the scrapped egg attaching to another human. just a personal theory

[@ravenwitch5569]

The entire game should have been like that

[@S4F42i]

I have a concept drawing I did if you would like to see if a Xenomantis I made up with my friend, I’d like to show it ? Don’t know where to send it ?

[@Noddist]

I'm not really sure it fits anywhere into the life cycle - I think the Raven is an example of a battle damaged/evolutionary adaptive creature. Perhaps it was a victim of the atmospheric processor explosion. I also think that (maybe) it was either a Warrior turning into a Praetorian or maybe a Praetorian molting into a Queen when the explosion occurred. The differences it has as compared to other Xenomorphs might be adaptation due to the damage it was subjected to due to the explosion. It may also be adapting to damage that was inflicted upon it during Weyland-Yutani experiments.

[@SuzukiRiderlv426]

What about a video of the correct name for the Xenomporh, Linguafoeda acheronsis is the designated name for the genus found on Lv426, although in canon now and comics they have been found on other planets, in the novel alien: cold Forge, the scientist name the facehugger Manula Noxhydria, which is wrong I believe, a better and correct name for the facehugger would be Linguafoeda manumala, which describes the genus and species or step of the already convoluted life cycle of the Xenomorph. Another name given to the Xenomoprh is Internecivus raptus, which kinda aligns with the name given in cold forge, they called them "snatchers" which is ridiculous but pretty much describes them perfectly.

[@GrimmLeoricShadow909]

Hmm...my theory is that this is a mutation due to the radiation from the Atmospheric Generator Explosion, and at the same time a warrior was in the process of be coming a royal guard. As the generator exploded, the radiation slow mutated the warrior in to the Raven. In theory.

[@dunnquinn96]

Could it have been a drone that was molting into queen and the the atmospheric process detonation interrupted it?

[@danielbaldwin8930]

The raven could be a mutated elder xeno or a mutated warrior which could explain a few of its characteristics

[@jackiesantos2121]

I like the Ravens Xenomorph there's about the crusher or the spitter in colonial Marines or any other type of alien Mana possibilities huh

[@Korra228]

This guy looks reeeeally cool

[@TheFreakedoutduck]

could have been a failed queen, or a queen start up the got beaten by the other queen.

[@Iguana5k]

Looks like it had some shedding problems during the transformation into a praetorian, so it ended up like that.

[@TheAKgunner]

Maybe the Raven is the Xenomorph that burst out of Pvt. Hudson, who's body is found in the same sewer the Raven is in. Maybe, something in Hudson's DNA caused the Raven to look the way it did.

[@cerveshred]

I think this specimen is the first male xeno.

[@SuzukiRiderlv426]

That mofo was a praetorian, source: all the fucking ammo it takes to make it retreat, also all the smashing and hand combat using a power loader.

[@Darth_Melek]

My personal theory is that this is mutation that caused the birth of a male Xenomorph who instead of being a Pertorian he became a hive guard and hive caretaker. Compare this to a lion and a lioness. The male is built to lead and guard his tribe while the female is built to hunt. While this one does not lead due to the females being the alphas, it's clearly visible that he is not built for hunting, which shows by his teeth who are more human and without fangs, his extra rmored exoskeleton and even his body build of spikes that's built on offensive defense. This mutation reminds me a bit of the designs of the other male xenomorphs, due to their apearance built on being more frightning than the female counterparts of their species. What do guys think this Xenomorph might be?

[@cgoose500]

Haven't watched the video yet, here are my guesses •Mutant •Radiation is melting it •Dying of old age if Xenomorphs can do that

[@mikedantonio4731]

I don’t think Xenomorphs can die of old age, they’re always evolving, drone into warrior, warrior into praetorian, praetorian into queen, queen into empress

[@lichslayer0045]

I would think it would be cool if this Xenomorph was the result of long lost and discovered Engineer that was found by a facehugger somewere down the long road.

[@cognisant307]

The Xenomorph is an early form of vanguard Tyranid encountered during the dark age of technology.

[@cookiesnugglez7318]

I think it was a warrior turning into a praetorian and was caught in radiation and stopped growing

[@transformersfan500okane3]

My Head Canon: The Raven is Actually The Deacon but mutated to resemble a Zombie like Xenomorph

[@redpandarampage2191]

Not very related, but I never liked the human skull/ eye socket look on the Xenomorph. It just takes away from the alien-ness of them. Having no eyes visible makes for a much scarier, otherworldly look.

[@seva809]

same here

[@pendellobass2977]

Why is it named the Raven? It looks nothing like one

[@johnsummers2943]

The Alien that was in the Spice Jockey is what i always thought

[@tomgjgj]

Could it be a developing Queen? There must be something between a Chestburster and an adult Queen, after all.

[@Chris1982416]

They said the raven is what bursted out of the space jockey chest on the derelict.

[@antcow1239]

The Raven seems to be a one off mutant. Probably brought on after the colonies reactor went into melt down.

[@oinkleberry]

I don't ascribe to a set-in-stone lifecycle for the xenomorph. The Raven fits in because it is an individual whom developed individual adaptations & augmentations to become what it became. The only TRUE oddity I feel about it's anatomy is the presence of a nasal orifice. I didn't think the nose was present under the dome, but for the Raven is it clearly a part of the skull. Perhaps I just haven't looked close enough at the normal xenomorph face to have noticed it before.

[@phillydaize9634]

I believe that it’s an especially aged and irradiated warrior.

[@Lyceaos]

my thought is mutation. likely due to the radiation

[@jasonsantos3037]

There is one xenomorph tear from the engineer ultramorph but is 1 cm or came from a comic book called The Destroyer giant Xenomorph brownish color

[@carlosgarza1694]

What if the Raven was an outcast Xenomorph transforming into a Queen, that was hiding in the sewers when the processor exploded?