Okay, I figure by now everyone's sick to death of these stupid threads of mine, especially regarding the Alien King and how it is supposed to be just a statue, and maybe a unit in a Tabletop Game-I know this seems unnecessary and, in all fairness, it probably is. It's more just I want to try and explain WHY I've been so seemingly obsessed with the creature or the 'male sex'/masculine half of the Xenomorph.
I'll start with the fact that, at least to me, the original Alien really personified the idea of rape...of this horrific, monstrous and clever creature that was the worst of humanity's very reproduction. Something aggressive and nondiscriminatory-it didn't care whether you were male or female or even human-to it, you were both prey, a way to reproduce, and a plaything. It was both this instinctual parasite and a cunning predator that combined masculine AND feminine traits, with male aggression and symbolism with 'feminine' grace and poise (to say nothing of how female parasitoids use their ovipositors to insert eggs into hosts). And sure, I still did see it as a giant bug, but there was still something more to it when I'd finally watch the original Alien that made me appreciate the rest of the series that much more.
Then came Aliens, which was also excellent, and implemented something that further twisted the nature of birth and death-The Queen. She was the big bitch-The matron of all the Xenomorphs on Archeron, and she played the role well. You could feel the emotion, the love and the willing to sacrifice and kill for her offspring-both unborn and grown. And at the same time, she was still a perversion of motherhood and followed the trend of Kane's Son-but rather than being a sleek and sadistic killing machine, she was a fat, bloated and predatory parasite that cared little for the suffering of others as long as her children survived. At the same time, when she had to change and become more dangerous, she proved to be incredibly dangerous and was a great antithesis to Ripley and her Maternal nature.
And this probably isn't Aliens' fault at all, but ever since it feels like all that's been remembered or kept regarding the Xenomorphs was the perversion of birth and the female matriarch herself. The entire other half of the Aliens seems to have been forgotten-or rather, it's been rationalized as asexual female reproduction and behavior. And yes, as someone who constantly pulls science out of his ass to try and justify his theories I realize how hypocritical it makes me sound-but the issue was that at the same time, the original Alien and the entire second half of them was just as important as the feminine half. It wasn't meant to be 'they were entirely female', and even with Ridley Scott's comment on the original creature being female there is the issue of Giger's own designs portraying the creatures as having two sides or being 'both'-Feminine birth and care of the young as well as Male conquest and strength, but both twisted by lust and a malevolent force to be weaponized (the Engineers and, later, David).
And, as many others pointed out, the EU had turned the Aliens into Starship Troopers but without the message and morals behind it-Big Tough Marines killing the bugs and finishing off the Queen Bitch. And granted, sometimes that can be kinda fun-but there ought to be more to it than that, and the Aliens should be more than just 'Ants' or 'Bugs'. Even if they were just 'bugs', there's so many different arthropods to use, and the Aliens themselves combine traits from all different kinds of Invertebrates, although obviously Eusocial Insects are the biggest inspiration. In that being said, there is a bit of a 'two caste' system in play, with the Praetorians and Royal Guards being more of an intermediate stage. Obviously, the Aliens do not reproduce sexually (probably...save that for Species and Fanfiction) so a Male Alate or other variant is unnecessary and has no parallel nor point. HOWEVER, I think that returning to (or at least giving some return to) the masculine, aggressive aspect of the Aliens is both possible, and maybe even beneficial.
So where and how does 'The King'/Monstrosity fit into all of this?
Well, 'he' doesn't mate with the Queen, but we've mentioned the Queen is like a 'super parasite', and represents one side of the sexuality coin that the Aliens possess-And that even the Aliens themselves are like a virus or cancer that spreads and grows. So rather than have the Alien King be like a Bug King, what if we had him be more like a Rat King-A giant mass/entity of Xenomorphs forming together to fixate on the other half of their nature and design. Basically, a bunch of Aliens fuse themselves together in this cocoon, eventually becoming this single entity that displays the tails of the other Warriors that had twisted together and become this one new entity. In essence they have made themselves into this bio-mechanical machine-a living breathing weapon crafted from their very flesh like some humongous, eldritch abomination. A horrific Gigeresque fusion of the Aliens that very much lives up to its moniker of The Monstrosity that spreads chaos and destruction in its wake as a horrific, sadistic monster.
As far as where and how this would be applicated, it would really only occur on Ancient or Large Hives with a lot of Warriors coming together under
times where the Hive needs to expand or be defended, where the Queen herself is too valuable to use and the Warriors aren't strong enough. And yes, I know Kings haven't existed yet but that's mostly because the whole concept hasn't been made yet or introduced until very recently so please just try to keep some suspension of disbelief here. The King acts as the antithesis of the Queen-he leaves the Hive, rampages and destroys any and all threats while helping to spread the Hive's influence as far as he can before dying or falling apart, whereas the Queen waits and plans and lets others do her work for her.
This can also be seen through their designs-The Queen is sleek, smooth, graceful looking (minus her Ovipositor and Throne) with wide hips and high heel shoes like a dominatrix and fleshier, fuller lips that hide daggerlike teeth. The King, by contrast, is jagged and rough, beetle like and armored like a Knight in shining armor, with angular features and a face full of fangs that he shows off like a Warlord flaunts his gear.
But what's the point of all this? Why bother with any of this, and why do I like it so much?
I guess I look at it more from an eldritch abomination standpoint-and I find the idea of a bio weapon using their own traits and ability to change to be kinda nifty. That these things-or rather, the King itself-is designed for War. It's this humongous beast created from the perfect organisms buffing up their design and becoming this giant horrific creature blessed with a malevolent intelligence- a mass of minds form one big one that reveals in destruction and conquest, as opposed to the Queen being more reserved and filling the archetype of being the strong Matriarch of the household.
Both eldritch and Lovecraftian in their own way, but whereas one is an aggressive monster that represents the rape and destruction aspect and personified sexual aggression that spreads chaos and disease (The King/Monstrosity) The other represents an unknown, shadowy puppet master that plans and adapts, lurking behind the curtain and plotting for the future of her children and race-and not only that, but it is a perversion of Motherhood and birth, a corruption of the very creation of life (The Queen/Matriarch). Both are purebred or 'Royal' in a way, and both represent one half of the stock Xenomorph/the original Giger Alien. The King, to me, fills the niche and represents the pure unrestrained masculine side of the Alien whereas the Queen represents the female-both are important, but I feel the former has been neglected and forgotten-and the King could be a way to return to that.
But that's just me. Honestly, I doubt anyone will like the King maquette as anything more than a centerpiece, and that's fine. But seeing its recent inclusion in Prodos Games and otherwise positive reception, I hope to see more of him-He's really cool and I think he at least deserves a fair shot to be used and implemented as something more than a knockoff Queen or her 'mate'. If nothing else, thank you for reading and I await your responses.
