Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Alien: Romulus & Alien: Romulus #1! The first Xenomorph that Alien fans were introduced to in the original 1979 film (nicknamed “Big Chap” during production) has made its official return to the franchise in an all-new Alien: Romulus prequel tie-in comic book one-shot. While this may seem like old news to fans who have already seen Alien: Romulusthis comic will tell the story that was merely brushed over in the film, while also revealing exactly how Big Chap survived.
In a preview shared by AIPT Comics for Alien: Romulus #1 by Zac Thompson and Daniel Picciotto, readers get an unlettered first-look at the upcoming one-shot prequel tie-in. The first few panels should be familiar to those who’ve seen Alien: Romulusas it shows a Weyland-Yutani science vessel securing the cocooned Xenomorph from the wreckage site of the Nostromo, just like what fans saw in the movie. But then, the comic goes into much greater detail.
Unlike in the film, this comic establishes the scientists who are freeing Big Chap from its cocoon as actual characters. It also reveals that some people aboard the WY vessel aren’t exactly on-board with Xenomorph experimentation, and it shows Big Chap’s first attack on a human since getting beaten by Ripley. It’s clear that fans are about to be placed inside the laboratory where the experimentation on the Xenomorph took place that laid the groundwork for Alien: Romulusincluding a full explanation of how the Xenomorph survived in space – and much more.
Alien: Romulus Prequel will Offer More than a Lesson in Xenomorph Biology
The Alien: Romulus Comic will Tell the Story the Movie Didn’t: Big Chap’s Final Massacre
In Alien: RomulusRook (the synthetic Science Officer of the Renaissance) explains that Big Chap’s DNA was used to create Facehuggers, which were kept safely in stasis between Black Goo extraction procedures. However, after Big Chap’s biological material was collected, the Xenomorph itself broke free from its containment, and proceeded to slaughter everyone on board. Not only that, but Big Chap released the cloned Facehuggers, which infected those aboard the space station with Xenomorph embryos, resulting in the hive fans saw in the film.
While Big Chap was killed (with its body prominently featured along with Rook’s exposition), the original Xenomorph certainly did a lot of damage before being taken out for good. Fans were robbed of seeing that in the movie, but now, with the release of the official Alien: Romulus prequel comic, that shortfall will be remedied.
Alien: Romulus Prequel will Also Introduce a Ripley-Level Badass
PLUS: An All-New Alien Creature will be Introduced in the Prequel Comic
One standout from this preview is the introduction of a character who is immediately presented as a badass. She seems to be a former Colonial Marine contracted by Weyland-Yutani, who now wears an eye patch following an injury during a previous mission fighting alien ‘bugs’ that have never been seen before in Alien lore – ie, an all-new alien creature! She also seems to be against bringing a Xenomorph on board, as she raises her weapon to Big Chap the moment it’s released from its cocoon. Is she familiar with Xenomorphs? And if so, what other stories could this character offer?
This person will clearly be the main character of the prequel comic, and may even get her own spin-off Alien comic in the future. While she is certainly an interesting new addition to Alien canon (as are the alien ‘bugs’ that took her eye), the main takeaway from this new one-shot is the obvious. Alien: Romulus prequel comic brings back the franchise’s first Xenomorphgiving fans the story that was only brushed over in the movie, and explaining exactly how Big Chap survived the original film.
Alien: Romulus #1 by 20th Century Studios is available October 16, 2024.
Source: AIPT Comics
