Explaining the black goo SPOILERS!

[hfeldhaus]

From the film we see that black goo poses two abilities, to mutate and eviscerate/kill. We see two characters in the film consume the black goo, Holloway and Sacrificial engineer. They both die (presuming here that holloway would die from it it). The other is skin interaction with no consumption. This leads to mutation, worms swim in the goo and Fifield falls head first thus they both mutate and don't die. The complexity comes when people start banging while theyre infected with this shit!

[Le Celticant]

The engineer drink something totally different I think.
The liquid seemed reactive and very much alive unlike the black goo.
Also I can't remember how exactly Fifield got into that mutant state but isn't the black goo that he get on his helmet and then melt into his mouth?
He was very much... alive but transformed after that.

[Winkie Bear]

I think the black goo is simple. It's Red Matter (see Trek '09) - it's a gimmick, a plot point, it's whatever you need it to be to move the 'story on'.

I'm not going to waste my precious brain cell trying to figure out what the writers were thinking because I'm sure the answer is, nothing.

[Nero the Jackal]

It seems to mutate any living creature that it comes in contact with, i think it's mutations are unique with each species it infects, i personally theorize (i could easily be wrong) that xenomorphs are an eventual creature that is descended from the mutations caused by black goo infecting an insectiod/arachnid life form.

[Le Celticant]

It seems to mutate any living creature that it comes in contact with, i think it's mutations are unique with each species it infects, i personally theorize (i could easily be wrong) that xenomorphs are an eventual creature that is descended from the mutations caused by black goo infecting an insectiod/arachnid life form.

Xenomorph being insectoid / arachnid lifeform mutated by the goo.
Seriously mate, the way you envision Alien sounds transvestite to me. 

[Nero the Jackal]

It seems to mutate any living creature that it comes in contact with, i think it's mutations are unique with each species it infects, i personally theorize (i could easily be wrong) that xenomorphs are an eventual creature that is descended from the mutations caused by black goo infecting an insectiod/arachnid life form.

Xenomorph being insectoid / arachnid lifeform mutated by the goo.
Seriously mate, the way you envision Alien sounds transvestite to me. 

Well there is a sexual imagery to them 
I am not saying that they the DIRECT result of black stuff and insect orarachnid, i am saying they are perhaps descended from the mutation of black stuff/insect.

[hfeldhaus]

If you remember to the first they enter the temple David finds black goo on the wall or the hologram button, I can't remember sorry, but when he plays with it between his finger it seemed alive a lot like the goo at the start!

It's definitely not nothing because a lot of the plot revolves around these urns! They're what cause all the problems really! And if the goo reacts differently when it bonds with different species why were holloway and fifield so different?

As for the demo coming from insects or arachnids, I dont think so. They will most like be explained int he sequel(s) but from Prometheus we can see they're birthed from engineers although technically they are created by human interaction with too and sex

[GreatKnower]

The only way i can make sense of it is to use the idea that it was most likely taken from.....the Black Oil in Xfiles.
The oil itself is sentient, pretty much the black goo is shoggoth(s). The SJ's at one point could probably control it, to terraform, make their ships, cities, etc.., but over time it developed sentience and became its own "lifeforce". You could say the humanoid form of the black goo/oil is the Xeno with some of the hosts traits of course. Its possible that burning fifield and holloway was the best thing to do because even if you tried to just kill the host (gunshot wound), the goo would keep them alive as a symbiote or even just drain out of the dead corpse. Burning them is like sterilizing an infection and killing the goo.

Just like in Xfiles, the evil Aliens are the greys infected with or birthed from the black oil, and the good aliens are not. Man was created by the black oil infecting cro magnon/neanderthals and mutating him into a more "grey" like state (hairless, speech ability, brain capacity, smaller physique, etc) The oil itself is trying to take over the universe by "possession".

The oil in xfiles even takes over some worms in the artic that infect humans and make them kill each other. Its hard not to see Lindelof copy and pasted this. But i guess thats ok since they are both owned by Fox......

Knowing Lindelof, the first scene of Prometheus 2 will be the Xeno getting into a SJ ship and taking off after "mommy"

[Nero the Jackal]

As for the demo coming from insects or arachnids, I dont think so. They will most like be explained int he sequel(s) but from Prometheus we can see they're birthed from engineers although technically they are created by human interaction with too and sex

It was only a theory, the sequel may give more answers 

[RoaryUK]

For me, the sacrifice engineer drinks something totally different, otherwise the black goo would make no sense.  While Fifield falls head first into the goo, possibly consuming some but it doesn't matter, the attack on his face is enough to figure instant mutation, while Holloway consumes a very small amount thanks to David making his transformation much slower, but I do believe they would have become the same thing.... mutants!  Shaw on the other hand is a bit of a mystery. We know she is infected by Holloway but at what level, if she is infertile why didn't she go the way the others did however slowly, and even if you accept the unlikely, that things just happen because shes a woman having sex with a man who's about to impregnate her with a potion that (technically) makes ready made babies, why the hell did she give birth to a SQUID of all things??? 

[Nero the Jackal]

For me, the sacrifice engineer drinks something totally different, otherwise the black goo would make no sense.  While Fifield falls head first into the goo, possibly consuming some but it doesn't matter, the attack on his face is enough to figure instant mutation, while Holloway consumes a very small amount thanks to David making his transformation much slower, but I do believe they would have become the same thing.... mutants!  Shaw on the other hand is a bit of a mystery, we know she is infected by Holloway but at what level, if she is infertile why didn't she go the way the others did however slowly, and even if you accept the unlikely, that things just happen because shes a woman having sex with a man who's about to impregnate her with a potion that (technically) makes ready made babies, why the hell did she give birth to a SQUID of all things???

Maybe because he was not fully infected then and only a carrier, or maybe when he passed it on to her it had human dna mixed in so it affected her differently just like how her offspring

Spoiler

impregnated the engineer with something different

[close]

[RoaryUK]

For me, the sacrifice engineer drinks something totally different, otherwise the black goo would make no sense.  While Fifield falls head first into the goo, possibly consuming some but it doesn't matter, the attack on his face is enough to figure instant mutation, while Holloway consumes a very small amount thanks to David making his transformation much slower, but I do believe they would have become the same thing.... mutants!  Shaw on the other hand is a bit of a mystery, we know she is infected by Holloway but at what level, if she is infertile why didn't she go the way the others did however slowly, and even if you accept the unlikely, that things just happen because shes a woman having sex with a man who's about to impregnate her with a potion that (technically) makes ready made babies, why the hell did she give birth to a SQUID of all things???

Maybe because he was not fully infected then and only a carrier, or maybe when he passed it on to her it had human dna mixed in so it affected her differently just like how her offspring

Spoiler

impregnated the engineer with something different

[close]

...or perhaps Lindelof & Scott really didn't know what to do.  Don't get me wrong, I'm one of those who actually enjoyed the movie with all it's flaws, the thing is, when you say the victim is infertile but then goes onto produce something not just out of the blue, but something that can't logically be explained, isn't it possible what you're actually doing is telling the audience "hell it's only science fiction go figure"!  And if it is, couldn't the truth be this was simply a case of lame writing!   

[Nero the Jackal]

Well to be fair, the impossibility of shaw getting pregnant was the point, she even said it was not possible, remember the creatures can regenerate, so maybe it regenerated a part of her...who knows, i was just guessing  you're right it is a little confusing but maybe it was intentional.

[Symn]

Here's my explenation for the different effects of the black goo. It's easy.... every one of those jars with black goo does something different. Bring a little worm in contact with the goo of one jar will do something totally different then bringing it into contact with another jar's goo. A little wurm might turn into an acid snake, or it might turn into a cute gerbil, who knows these secrets of the goo. Well.. the engineers do, cause they programmed the goo to do something.

[RoaryUK]

Here's my explenation for the different effects of the black goo. It's easy.... every one of those jars with black goo does something different. Bring a little worm in contact with the goo of one jar will do something totally different then bringing it into contact with another jar's goo. A little wurm might turn into an acid snake, or it might turn into a cute gerbil, who knows these secrets of the goo. Well.. the engineers do, cause they programmed the goo to do something.

Nice theory, but here's the probem.... several urns begin leaking not just one forming a concoction, so even if what you say is right for each urn, the engineers can't possibly know what will happen if they were mixed, only that it each victim would most likely (logically) end up with the same infection!