Small detail I think a lot of people will miss because it's only noticeable for a brief moment about the elevator deal, is Ripley hit both buttons for both elevator banks. Hence the Queen saw the other shaft car open up and hopped in, then the elevator under the evacuation parameters rose up to the platform. Don't believe me? Watch it again for yourself and pay close attention with a keen eye. Now I won't dispute how intelligent the Queen is.
I do that at work all the time. If the elevator doesn’t arrive within two seconds of me pushing the button, I lose my shit and start pounding the button while screaming “COME ON, GOD DAMN IT!”
Aye my first cat was like that could open doors (even one with round knobs), new how to unlock latches to get out of a cage I even watched him pressing the electronic button on a can opener we had on the counter to get my attention and ask for wet food after we had him on dry for a long period of time. Your Parakeet figuring out a phone is equal parts funny and scary though lol.
Stand Your Ground and Castle Doctrine only extend so far though - pursuing her intruders all the way into upper orbit miiight put the Alien Queen on shaky legal ground.
From the comics, it was estimated that a Queen has an IQ of over 140. That's significantly intelligent fully capable of a deep understanding of problem solving, adaptation and strategy. The Queen controls her drones through some form of telepathy.
@@letsburn00 (got this from ChatGPT so take it with a grain of salt) Newt's father discovers the Facehugger specimen on LV-426 on June 12, 2179. The colony then loses communication with the Weyland-Yutani Corporation on June 27, 2179. Therefore, the colony lasted for approximately 15 days after the Facehugger was discovered. After losing communication with the colony on LV-426, it takes the Sulaco approximately 17 days to reach the planet. This duration is mentioned by the character Bishop in the movie.
I remember getting the Dark Horse Comics Aliens #1 and found it interesting that the Queen was telepathic in ‘ensnaring’ humans to worship her and ultimately be hosts for her children…
@@VBSuper It's not representative! It appears that he is telepathic, and the scientist himself says so. Especially in the first mission that Six had never met that Queen in person.
The Queen picking the safest spot under the cooling ducts could be chance or intent, the Queen from Alien Isolation also made the same choice on Savastapole near the reactor although we never see her in game. That aside the Queen was immediately able to strike a bargain with Ripley and call off her drones in the nest based on a few short actions. That wasn’t an instinctual reaction, she also presumably directed her drones to cut the power to the command Center before attacking. Other notable showings of intellect include the Queen ordering her drones to attack her in AVP to cause the acid to destroy the chains holding her. Aliens 4 Queen has Ripley brought to the nest to witness the birth of the Newborn which is immediately able to use rudimentary door controls and some form of language. At the very least the Queen has shown to have advanced problem solving skills a grasp on cause and effect and understand language in some capacity without training or prior exposure. Something not even the smartest animals are capable of. Personally I think Aliens inherit at least some of the memory’s and intellect of their hosts as the Runner from Alien 3 didn’t seem all that smart being trapped multiple times and was based on a dog or ox. This is also supported by Aliens 4, Ripley 8 wasn’t supposed to have any Memories of the original and it’s implied it was an unintended result of Alien DNA being mixed with the sample they used to clone her and she inheriting those memories thanks to the Queen.
In Nightmare Asylum Queen showed emotions when General Spears torched her brood front of her forced her to obey his orders then she acted she was listing to his orders and he sent them to earth to fight other hives but Queen and her hive turned on him and outsmarted him he got what he deserved
I'm really hoping she makes her return in Romulus. We haven't had a proper Alien Queen since AVP or Alien Resurrection if you only count the stand-alone movies.
Don't forget about the prisoner from ALIEN 3, Golic. Although he had psychological issues, he "communicated" with the Alien by knocking out one prisoner and killed another one, only to free the alien from the trap that Ripley and the other prisoners made for it. And as he freed the Alien, Golic asked the Alien, what else did it want him to do for it. At first when I saw Alien 3, I thought Prisoner Golic was doing this of his own accord, but with more thought on this, I think the Alien was communicating with the prisoner Golic before the Alien killed him.
Makes complete sense. After all, Golic did develop a fascination of The Beast as well. So with that and the Beast communicating with Golic, the Xenomorphs have a wide variety of intelligence. No matter the variant.
It can be observed that alone, a Xeno is quite intelligent,because its survival requires it to be so. Within the hive, a drone acts purely on instinct or impulse, only following the command of the Queen otherwise. The Queen, likewise regarding her role in the hive, requires her intelligence in order to guide, direct, defend, and grow the hive. I think this suggests, and somewhere it's been cited, that the Xenomorphs require whatever intelligence their survival requires at the time. Its structural perfection must obviously include a highly modular brain structure with the ability to upgrade or downgrade its cerebral functions as needed to fulfill whatever role it needs to serve.
@@E.V.A.N-COProductions When? Ripley started having nightmares immediately after being woken from cyro sleep, just because the Nostromo never found the Queen doesn't mean she wasn't already there laying eggs or is there an introspection I'm not aware of?
@@_JackNapier When Ripley woke up, they had claimed that in the what, 50 years or so of her drifting in space, that they had a colony on LV-426, at that point in time, the colony hadn't been infected. Presumably, after a few days, (after the meeting scene, where Ripley is in her room) They then told her communication had been lost with the colony (when the infection started) then, the queen is either born, or at that point, grown to a full-sized queen. We're not really given a measure when exactly that happens, but we know for sure, that the queen did not exist until the colony's infection, which is after Ripley was awoken.
Drones in theory are also extremely intelligent, but when they are "imprisoned" in the hivemind they kinda drop that intelligence in favor of a collective consciousness, take SIX from AVP2010, it's a game but if you think of Six's skills as an extention of the human playing it, if you're a good Xeno player always zipping around, have good reflexes and guns don't scare you because you know you can close in faster than a human can blink and a gun pointing forward at you is an open invitation to the back, you can, again, in theory see how intelligent a xenomorph can be. It's differen if you're playing a dino survivor for instance and you're playing a dinosaur and expect the human playing that dinosaur to act like an animal, it'll never happen and it will always break character because you will always see things that would not happen in nature. A Xenomorph is no animal. It's a literal biological weapon born from a human.
I’ve never understood people who say Aliens is “just” an action film. Of course it’s not nearly as terrifying as Alien, but it still has some very strong horror elements that creeped me out as a kid.
Aliens is among the 10 best movies ever. I wonder how miraculous it was to come up with a movie so good as its classic predecessor, while expanding it with new creative ideas so good that would make it a classic per se.
I like the idea of a Queen's intelligence being a case-by-case thing. Maybe they've got a base intelligence, but the longer they live, the more mature they get, or the more outside stimulus/problems they need to solve, the smarter they get. Maybe colony queens genetically pass on things they've learned, if the species is allowed to exist in a place long enough, where successive generations are smarter than earlier generations (almost like the collective knowledge from *Other Memory*, used by the Bene Gesserit in Dune).
Technically speaking, the queen never figured out how to use the elevator. At the scene where Ripley is at the elevator, there are 2 lifts and she pressed both buttons hoping that one would come before the queen did. (Facing the screen) the one on the right came up first, Ripley and newt made it before the queen got there and was held off by the last remains of the flame thrower. Seconds after the elevator went up, the one on the left came up and automatically opened the door, it's here that the queen put it together that if she went in there she will get them. Intelligent to a degree she may be, but still insect mentally driven. It's also I believe clever writing in design, they couldn't/didn't want the conflict between Ripley and Queen to end so abruptly after it started, so Ripley on purpose (survival chance and script) brought both elevators for escape and to bring the queen to continue the plot script.
I prefer to think of the Alien Queen having a highly evolved level of Instinct rather than Human like Intelligence. Xenomorphs have no complex language or ability to pass on knowledge through education, their abilities are genetic and instinctual.
This is true if there is no telepathic exchange. Because if there is we are suddenly discussing language- or something rudimentary enough to even interface with separate organisms like dreaming humans. So if we consider the comics canon then intelligence is a given. What would be a more interesting question is: are the Xenomorphs sapient? And if so, how does that compare to the self awareness of, let's say, a human? Being intelligent doesn't necessarily imply sapience, particularly if their instinct is good enough.
The Queen had a full on silent negotiation with Ripley, that alone is human levels of intellect in my books. An animal can understand cause and effect but it would have attacked or tried to flee in a similar situation not barter. AVP, Aliens 3 and Resurrections all seems to indicate some form of rudimentary mental or psychic link as well they can communicate. That said I personally think a lot of their intelligence is a result of inherited memories from their hosts. It would fall perfectly in line with their strengths being based in genetics and adapting to the host environment.
Yes, I rewatch your videos.. Yes.. I love this channel.. but foremost I appreciate your love of this franchise, and all of your hard work putting all of these interesting theories out there. It's just amazing
I would believe she has some problem solving skills, to what extent is unknown and very dangerous considering she’s a bloody queen. As for the dreams? It simply be whatever method she uses to communicate with her hive messes with a person’s mind if exposed too long. As for the next being in the heat exchange maybe it’s simply the most comfortable place temperature wise at the plant.
I'm going to say the Queen had no idea the true function of heat exchangers and merely chose the warmest spot available for her nest. Then again, its possible she had access to base schematics or something?
Could have been a sort of "inherited knowledge" like is discussed in Resurrection. That would imply that the Queen was incubated from someone who knew the layout of the reactor. I'd say either maintenance or a scientist who would have understood more in-depth how the reactor functioned.
I don't believe the Queen actually operated the elevator as such. I feel like she learned to get in the elevator after just witnessing Ripley's narrow escape, but then the elevator defaulted back to the top floor due to inactivity.
In "Sea of Sorrows" (at least in the audio drama - I have to read the book again!) they discuss the critters setting a trap for Decker and friends in the silicon tube, and also that the Queen almost turned Decker by "getting into his head" and projecting thoughts and images and shit when he was about the blow her away with Adams's plasma rifle. I reckon her highness has intelligence, especially since the genetic memory aspect of their evolution became canon. They'd have to be pretty dense not to learn a thing or two from their host.
True Elevators are programmed to sit on a particular floor or pre position themselves in high traffic areas. Although the Queen could have just as easily hit a button by accident when cramming himself into the elevator, she would have no idea what floor Ripley would have gone to. The odds of all that working out in favour of the Queen is slim to none, everything points to it being intentional.
The queen from AVP was my favorite. She wakes up every hundred years to breed and when all of her brood is killed, she’s put back to sleep for another century. Based on how angry and vengeful the Ancheron Queen was when her hive was destroyed, you can just imagine how the Antarctic queen felt after centuries of sensing her children die and not being able to do anything about it. Having her children make her bleed to escape her bindings shows how intelligent they can be. Maybe it was Grid who gave her the idea. Likely her fallen children from previous hunts never managed to melt Yautja metal or passed the knowledge on. I don’t think that Xenomorph queens can communicate telepathically with humans, but if they could, I highly doubt it would be about working things out for the benefit of both species. Hoping we get to see another queen in action or see a yautja party capture one on the big screen someday.
In the book Antaratic Queen saw her eggs and brood even her main son Grid got killed by self destruct that is why we see her angry as running in fast speed
I've always seen a queen's intelligence to a drone's intelligence down to a case by case but with age as the determining factor. The queen in Aliens she does have a level of intelligence (i.e. opwrating the elevator), but the queen of all queens in Female War has the ability to peoject her "will" to thousands of people on Earth and almost influence "Hicks" into opening the door when she was locked behind when she was captured.
I think the Queen is highly intelligent, just not in a way humans can understand. By that I mean that was she does or how she does it will have result favorable for her hive and herself in the end. But to us humans her actions seem confusing because we don't think like she can. We see the slice, the Queen sees the pie (and eats it)
Smart enough to : OPerate an elevator , tell warriors to fall back when eggs were under threat from flame thrower, and sneak on board a drop ship and wait for the best moment to strike.
I wished we had more films or games or even live action shorts that show the xenomorph queen and her intelligence, I think to have more scenes showing human communication in the threat of danger like ripley threatening to burn her eggs if she doesn't back away would be fantastical.
My all-time favorite Queen moment is in the AvP arcade game. You confront the tubby captain guy on the bridge of his ship, then you see a bladed tail slowly linger down and stab him right in the back. And there she is, ready to throw hands.
Thanks for the video, as always! I have a couple of thoughts: - The elevator in Aliens seemed automated from what I recall. As in, at the press of the buttom, they would come down and then go up to the platform. As Ripley ran from the Queen and reached the elevator entrance in a rush, she pushed BOTH elevator buttons, so that's how it opened to the Queen and how she was brought on top... a simple unfortunate mistake from Ripley's part. - I am wondering if in Alien³, the Queen embryo could already communicate with the the Xeno. That could be why Ripley was spared during her encounters with it during the events. Also, in the Assembly Cut, wasn't it hinted that the Queen was also messing with Golic's mind? It was truly fashinating.
Elephant or Orca level of intelligence, self aware, assess and anticipate target behaviour, capable of complex problem solving, coordinate group's action, and spiteful.
Higher than any animal on earth which isn't human. Whether you buy into that the Queen knew how to use the elevator isn't given. What is given is how she was able to sneak onto the rescue ship manned by Bishop, find a way to be protected from space and when she got safely to the main ship decided to finally seek revenge on Ripley. That takes lots of cunning and planning before seeking out the revenge. Not even a chimp can be this intelligent especially when he enters into a new environment where he isn't familiar with.
@@jakep1979 Your views on intelligence is either too low or too high, with a little searching online, you found a enough example in the wild and captivity demonstrating, that at least for both elephants and orcas are ingenious and deliberate killers hold grudges for life.
There was a nice episode of Love Death and Robots about a large alien hive that people discover and want to study and exploit. The hive is mindless, made out of multiple species all living together, but when it detects something unexpected is happening, it breeds its intelligent specimen, which is more intelligent that anything ever encountered and quickly deals with the humans. Maybe that could be borrowed by the Alien mythos: xenomorphs are perfect because they don't need intelligence. If and when they need it, the queen just becomes as intelligent as it needs for the moment. Just like the drones can lie in wait for a long time expending no resources until prey comes along, the queens can bury their intelligence until the need arises.
Not long after the elevator reached the sub basement and Ripley had stepped out of it, the doors automatically closed and it returned to the platform level. When she was escaping, Ripley pressed the call buttons for both elevators and got into the first one to arrive, the queen didn't need to operate anything because it's automated but she did have the intelligence to realise that by getting into the elevator she could pursue Ripley and Newt.
can the queen mother or the worker drones gain the memories of the hosts after maturing? and if so, can the memories be shared with the hive. maybe that could also contribute to the queen using the elevator and stowing away in the cheyenne landing gear. intellegent? i say yes.
Great video! I definitely believe the queens are intelligent. I sometimes wonder if it was Cameron’s link to the first film in which the Big Chap appeared intelligent, particularly in the alternate ending. Whereas Cameron’s Xenos seem mostly like bugs. Either way, I like it.
Aye the Queen being big and intimidating is one thing. But it’s how smart she is portrayed in the film and how she is shown to actively be out for revenge that makes her truly terrifying for me.
i've been an alien fan all my life, but it is in this video where i too pondered the true horror of the alien queen, not only thinking it a badass beast but a sentient one, an intelligence potentially older than the earth, to think a creature like that exists solely to spread her domain of death and pain and warped fucked up sexual violence truly frightened me, i've got chills. there lies the brilliance of the alien queen and of the xenomorph species.
I believe the Queen is very tactical intelligent. Looks like every decision or move is tactical and thought out and ahead. Would love to see more of the Queens intelligence on screen. Awesome video!
When Ripley goes to the hive to rescue Newt, the elevator automatically returns to the top floor after she exits. After destroying the nest, Ripley hits the buttons for both elevators. Taking that into consideration, the queen did not have to do anything except enter the elevator for it to take her to the top floor. I do like the idea of an intelligent queen, but how she learns is still mysterious.
It’s great to see content from the amazing RPG being included! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the evolution of the Abominations depicted in the Heart of Darkness!
"What do you mean *they* cut the power? How could they cut the power, man? They're animals!" I think that scene shows an incredible degree of intelligence coming from somewhere and it's clear the Queen gives orders. It's possible the loss of power was caused by general damage and the timing coincidental but I prefer the Xenomorph Queen being smarter than the average bug.
Always wondered why Ripley torched the eggs after getting to the exit though - the whole place was going to blow within minutes, all she did was piss the queen off and remove any incentive for her to stay in that chamber, waste ammo she would need to get to the elevator, and waste the time she would potentially need to get to the evac point before the place explodes. Just a very strange choice on her part.
I saw in the special features for Alien Covenant there is a short clip where David is talking about the xenomorphs and his experiments and wanting to make a queen and hints at using Daniels to make one. The clip hinted at it but never said, so I might be completely wrong here.
I remember reading the novelizations of humanity taking Earth back, and they really, strongly believed in the idea that the Queen was telepathic. I like to think she communicates like a radio, with the drones receiving her thoughts and instructions on one frequency, but not us, unless we dream and then kinda... stumble upon it, hence the nightmares so many people had when near a queen. As for how intelligent, I think any kind of intelligence just makes the race seem that much scarier. Like a drone knowing to regrow the hive if seperated by making captives into literal eggs, or a queen figuring things out slowly, methodically. It means one just can't go in there and blow them up the same way all the time. They grow and adapt.
I would imagine the nest location simply had the correct temperature and humidity for the Queen. However, if the queen's host had structural and engineering knowledge of the reactor, she could've inherited some of that knowledge as an embryo from the DNA crossover.
I always thought that the Queen did not operate the elevator as it automatically returned to the platform due to the emergency. I imagine she just entered the elevator, doors closed on her and went up to the platform. Great video again though, thanks a lot! :)
I think of how the drones, when they couldn't get through the pressure door, decided to take an alternate route (inside the ceiling). If drones are that smart, and the queen showed she was smart enough to know what Ripley communicated with her flamethrower (basically a bargaining action), enough to tell her own guards to get back, I'd say she's pretty intelligent.
My friend you produce the highest quality aliens and predator related content on UA-cam. Though i cannot directly support your efforts every piece of content you create i view multiple times and always look forward to more thank you so much for all that you do
The queen can be bargained with or even bullied into doing a persons bidding because it is capable capable of weighing risks and making decisions based on those factors. Like when Ripley threatened to destroy the hive if the queen didn’t call off the drones
This was a well timed video, as I'm about to sit down and watch my brand new 4 K version of Aliens and will watch all the extras and such,so a good night of TV ahead!❤😎👍
I was thinking earlier of all the lifeforms the xenomorphs have gestated in and what the resulting creature was. What other possibilities haven't been explored and yet and what would you like to see? There's a ton of potential and could make a cool video. Hopefully the upcoming series and film will have some surprises..
I like the idea that the hosts intelligence and knowledge are adopted by the queen. So as the drones are borne from sicentists and military. That the queen takes these 'coded memories' and thats how the intelligence increases.
Clever girl. Whoops, wrong franchise. Okay, joking aside, in my head-canon, 'ovimorphication' is still a viable part of the procurement and perpetuation of a Xenomorph hive.
I believe that the Queen is only as smart as the situation deems them to be(not just as a movie or comic but in it makes sense in a life setting). For example, in Aliens the Queen probably did choose the reactor for the heat and instinct but it also knew to call of its own protectors which showed great intelligence and reasoning. When the nest is destroyed it attacks Ripley off of anger and less likely instincts. However, it did not understand the danger of the situation with the site about to be nuked. In the Earth War they are incredibly smart as they have to be which is why they make their nests smaller and even the drones have to adapt.
I’m sure others have brought up a similar theory, but here goes. In Alien 3 we see our first xenomorph not incubated in a human being. It takes on some of the physical traits of the dog that was its host. If the drones do modify an egg so that it will produce a queen, what if there are other changes to the embryo? Why could it not also tap the nervous system of its host and gain some impression understanding of things in the host’s environment? The use of an elevator? That this locale is warm and very protected? Scary possibility depending on how far that learning could go. “What you've done is taken God's oldest killing machine and given it reason and will.”
I think the Queen in Aliens based her hive out the of desire to stay warm. I very much doubt she would have intricate knowledge of an atmosphere processing station :) I have always found it odd how Hadley's Hope was overrun by the aliens though. I mean the one facehugger brought back attached to Newt's dad maybe succeeded in laying its embryo and that embryo may have burst out of the guy and survived to grow into an alien ... but then what? That's just one alien. So ok the colonists go back and get more eggs, they must of to have those facehuggers in the medlab. But they wouldn't have loaded up with them and brought a ton back to the colony. So in no way can I logic this out that there would suddenly be so many warrior aliens to overrun the place and do all that they did.
Probably because the first chestburster was the queen and the next batch were drones that could bring back more and more host for her eggs. I think it takes less than a week for her to produce eggs. She likely snatched up a few people on her own before she got too big to navigate in the vents, and her children helped her out once she went into egg laying mode.
@@imjustadog1897Hmm, could be. So they just had bad luck and the one egg that got Newt's dad happened to be a Queen? Assuming that there was an egg just laying in among the others that was a Queen egg, so we would have to throw out the similarities with bee's and how they add royal jelly to an egg to produce a queen. But ok, so the embryo hatches and grows into a queen, on the way it grabs some colonists and takes them to the APS? And no one notices? In that week where she is laying up, growing and producing eggs all alone no one wondered where the missing people went? No one checked where their ID tag things that were implanted were at on the scanners? And lets say that she grabbed 4 people on her way to the APS at the start, unlikely considering her size, but lets be generous. So ok she now has four warriors to do her bidding, finding more people. None of the other colonists saw the aliens grabbing and carrying them to the APS? None of the security force killed any of them?
@@ukmediawarrior The first chestburster could’ve started out as a warrior or drone, then molted into a queen. One xenomorph could’ve captured half a dozen people in a few days. When the other victims that were brought back with facehuggers showed up, that increased the number of xenomorphs to the brood. With a queen coming up and producing eggs, the xenomorphs were bound to keep catching people since the tools and weapons they had weren’t strong enough to take them down. Hadley’s Hope wasn’t equipped to deal with xenomorphs. It’s not like they were expecting aliens or terrorists. The security team did try to rescue those that were kidnapped, but they got overwhelmed.
Queen is Definitely intelligent, i would say the Drones are intelligent as well. In the movie Alien the xenomorph was smart, and he beat Ripley to the escape ship without her even knowing. Many other examples of the drones being smart.
Great topic AT! I believe the Queen is highly intelligent. If the company androids were so taken with the xenomorph, (both Ash and Bishop), it cannot be based on mere biology alone. Ash referred to it as a, “perfect organism”. He gave the crew of the Nostromo 0 chance of survival. Intelligence, organizational skills and a high level of communication would be needed for the xenos to be declared a, “perfect organism”. Theory time: Further, it would make sense for the Queen of a hive to have the ability to communicate with her offspring. The first film, Alien, promotes the idea of interspecies rape and then this fast growing, humongous alien appears. Later media suggests xenomorphs final appearance are a hybridization between the xeno and host. Interesting, because Cameron chose to make slight changes to the xenomorph appearance from Alien. As in, the facehugger that attacked Newt’s dad began a series of events that led to a royal egg and subsequent birth of a new Queen. Thus, the hive of Hadley’s Hope were of their own unique hybrid DNA. It’s possible each new hive is a subspecies of the previous generation? The caveat being memories and experiences are transmitted via DNA to the eventual new Queen. Something of this sort would be a requirement for a “perfect organism” to survive indefinitely. For the channel, a follow up theoretical topic could be to discuss if the Queen that laid the thousands of eggs inside the Derelict ship was herself alive? Hibernation? Dormancy?
The one thing that makes humanity capable of outperforming the limits of our soft squishy bodies is our intelligence. Any animal that can defeat us in physical conflict, which is nearly all of them, cannot hope to overcome us in any way because of our intellect. That is how we win. In the Aliens universe, the idea that there's a creature that not only far outmatches us physically (there's no way a human could physically over power a xeno-drone with his bare hands; hell, he would be hardpressed to overpower a facehugger) but also outmatches us in intellect is a terrifying prospect and is what pushes Aliens from the level of slasher horror and into the realm of cosmic horror.
I really like the idea of having super smart queens. This idea of intelligence was explored a little in the Aliens Vs Predator movie. When the queen ordered her drones to deliberately injure her, and use her acid blood to melt the chains holding her prisoner. Super cool! =D
Same movie, though a drone - Grid, in fact - after getting the tip of it's tail sliced off, flicks the acid blood onto the predator so it needed to take it's armor off. That would infer self awareness of the base creature and so a Queen would be the same at least.
Telepathic yes, but short range; maybe limited to those infected with the black goo (A0-3959X.91 - 15). As for intelligence, I believe this is a trait engineered into the Xenomorph themselves. The hammerhead worms, were not that intelligent as infected with the goo it accelerated their development with aggression, yet limited. The Xenomorph when infecting a Predator hunter, knew instinctual aspects of their ways, technology and method of attack. It didn't stick around in the sewer tunnels when Wolf created a defensive perimeter, it knew it was a trap. It also knew that it needed numbers quickly, to overcome Wolf, the master Predator Hunter. It wasn't aware of human power plants or technology, as it wasn't imprinted with the information. On Fiorina 161, the Xenomorph was spawned from an animal and limited to the DNA information gathered. It could sense the Queen and prepared for its arrival, without much intelligence to pass on, except to keep her host safe. It had no idea it was entering into a trap in the injection pit, which lead to its demise. On LV-426, the Xenomorphs imprinted with humans - a smart one. Possibly a leader. On creating the Queen, the hive transferred their gathered knowledge, intelligence of the colony's strengths, weaknesses. What was their resources and ability to holdout. They'd have uncovered the plan to call for help via the dish; the concept of the reactor etc. If help would arrive, it'd be via the landing platform that the drop-ship took station at. Getting in to the colony wasn't their problem; getting out would be and they ensured this wouldn't happen. The Xenomorphs were limited in not knowing how another drop ship might be used, or that if the Marines were overdue, what the time frame was for a check and rescue. The Xenomorph Queen knew how elevators worked, that Bishop was a synthetic, but now how the reactor worked or the maintenance required, to keep her eggs safe after the clash with the Marines. The Queen gathers only hive essential intelligence. The DNA of the host contains all that is needed to defeat the host and that is its weakness, it's limitation. I believe that the race who created Xenomorphs were able to control these bio-weapons, both remotely and directly. The Xenomorph was designed by them to inflict significant damage and take damage, with a singular mission. Should the intelligent life escalate, they could communicate on a plan to checkmate the play remotely, while being fully capable of being stealthy etc. They're unconcerned with how the Facehuggers are studied etc. The understanding of them isn't enough to compromise the mission. Without the race who engineered them, the Xenomorphs have a hive limitation and with entropy, will be limited. They don't pick and chose their harvest; it's all at once. The colonist at LV426 were harvested immediately. Another indication this was a well thought out self motivated, limited intelligence based on DNA, aggressive bio-weapon. Great video. Really enjoy your work! Thanks.
If we're really delving into this Alien: Rogue has some interesting implications to the Queen's intelligence as well. Pretty good book and worth the read.
I think it's a case by case basis. People think the Acheron hive was nerfed and less aggressive, stating there's no way any Marines should have survived the initial attack. I feel this is do to the queen, the Acheron queen was intuitive and curious, choosing to order her drones to probe and test these new humans and learn instead of outright slaughter.
Does anyone think if the Nostromo crew just went back into hyper sleep and locked the door after the Alien was on board, they would’ve made it back to Earth? They would’ve survived but Weyland Utani would’ve got their bio weapon.
In the absence of a queen, the drones will evolve into one. There's a race for the throne. When one drone fully matures and lays an egg, it secretes a hormone which halts the maturation of all others. That's why some partially mature xenos assume the role of praetorian. They are partially evolved queens, complete with larger than normal size and royal head crest.
I wonder if we ever going to see the Xenomorph King, I'm talking talking about Rogue, but the actual Xenomorph King. He has an action figure and he looks awesome. Like a Praetorian but even more terrifying.
I always wondered how the queen came to be, considering the initial contact was on the derelict. Then I read this article in a scientific journal: "....Ants are able to switch from a worker to a 'queen-like status' thanks to a slight tweak in a single protein in their brain, a new study reveals. Biologists in Philadelphia isolated nerve cells from brains of the Indian jumping ant (Harpegnathos saltator), which get their name from their ability to leap a few inches. The experts found that the protein, called Kr-h1, orchestrates ants' transition from a standard worker, tasked with finding food, and a queen-like 'gamergate'. Gamergates are described as 'queen-like', even though they're not queens. They're actually workers that can reproduce in the absence of a queen in a colony....." Fascinating.
It's intelligence draws on more than just the experience of the individual creature or the simplicity of instinct. The most notable trait is that of it's genetic memory that is believe to exist across space itself, possibly telepathically conveyed by all other xenos existing and combined with the Matriarch's knowledge (comics). While the intelligence of the queen may be limited based on human IQ, the Queen has access to all the working knowledge the species have aquired, including physical variants and tactical knowledge including it's long time encounters with the Yauja, Elephantoid Jockies, Space Jockies, and countless encounters with other life forms (some highly advanced), for eons before humans ever come into the picture. In regards to the supplimentals, the xeno queen is highly intelligent, tactically aware, and posesses the knowledge to litterally alter her brood physically & behaviorally as required to gather hosts or respond to threats.
I always assumed their inteligence depended on the host dna but well...too many unknowns of the acheron hive/original derelict eggs to make a conclusion. If David did tamper with the original derelict eggs or if the mutagen is part of their dna etc etc etc Its like every new movie adds more questions and answers none :)
Great video! I think the Queen's are extremely intelligent not just all animal instincts. The fact the aliens are very organized and each Alien inside a Hive know there role and job proves the Xenos are highly intelligent.
Small detail I think a lot of people will miss because it's only noticeable for a brief moment about the elevator deal, is Ripley hit both buttons for both elevator banks. Hence the Queen saw the other shaft car open up and hopped in, then the elevator under the evacuation parameters rose up to the platform. Don't believe me? Watch it again for yourself and pay close attention with a keen eye. Now I won't dispute how intelligent the Queen is.
Great catch. I think that's the most plausible explanation I've heard so far.
I believe you. Ha I always felt elevators should respond to urgency (more times I crush that button the faster it should come)
I just read your comment didn't realize you already posted this
I do that at work all the time. If the elevator doesn’t arrive within two seconds of me pushing the button, I lose my shit and start pounding the button while screaming “COME ON, GOD DAMN IT!”
@@c0t0d0s7same 😄 basically impossible not to hear and/or say it when waiting for anything urgent.
I've had cats and dogs who were dangerously smart - and a parakeet who worked out how to use a telephone.
I prefer to hold that g
Aye my first cat was like that could open doors (even one with round knobs), new how to unlock latches to get out of a cage I even watched him pressing the electronic button on a can opener we had on the counter to get my attention and ask for wet food after we had him on dry for a long period of time.
Your Parakeet figuring out a phone is equal parts funny and scary though lol.
My mom's cat can open doors, to the point where she locks certain doors she otherwise would not.
Big deal; I had a pet rock smarter than i
Queen was a survivor of a home invasion, no wonder she wanted revenge.
Stand Your Ground and Castle Doctrine only extend so far though - pursuing her intruders all the way into upper orbit miiight put the Alien Queen on shaky legal ground.
@@decibelfilm She could argue she was kidnapped lol
@@H1vey She could argue temporary insanity considering her egg's got exploded.
Her species invaded first , she was just a squatter.
@@Cyborg_Auto So she gets squatter's rights 🤪
From the comics, it was estimated that a Queen has an IQ of over 140. That's significantly intelligent fully capable of a deep understanding of problem solving, adaptation and strategy. The Queen controls her drones through some form of telepathy.
An average human have an IQ of 120. It's quite intelligent.
I always thought not telepathy but some form of ultrasonic communication, like a dog whistle.
@zealot777 In the comics the zeno queen used telepathy to communicate with her drones & warriors
Also interesting is that she's only a few months old in the film.
@@letsburn00 (got this from ChatGPT so take it with a grain of salt)
Newt's father discovers the Facehugger specimen on LV-426 on June 12, 2179. The colony then loses communication with the Weyland-Yutani Corporation on June 27, 2179.
Therefore, the colony lasted for approximately 15 days after the Facehugger was discovered.
After losing communication with the colony on LV-426, it takes the Sulaco approximately 17 days to reach the planet. This duration is mentioned by the character Bishop in the movie.
I remember getting the Dark Horse Comics Aliens #1 and found it interesting that the Queen was telepathic in ‘ensnaring’ humans to worship her and ultimately be hosts for her children…
Very Cthulhu -esque, the way she could affect sensitive people's dreams.
There was a lot of silly stuff in the comics and novels, telepathic magic being one example.
One of the interesting things of the game AVP 2010 was the Queen constantly giving Six missions to complete, through telepathy.
I think that was just representative, we do see them talk to each other in the movies.
@@BeKindToBirds Yeah, it's reprentative, but the idea is there.
@@VBSuper It's not representative! It appears that he is telepathic, and the scientist himself says so. Especially in the first mission that Six had never met that Queen in person.
The Queen picking the safest spot under the cooling ducts could be chance or intent, the Queen from Alien Isolation also made the same choice on Savastapole near the reactor although we never see her in game.
That aside the Queen was immediately able to strike a bargain with Ripley and call off her drones in the nest based on a few short actions.
That wasn’t an instinctual reaction, she also presumably directed her drones to cut the power to the command Center before attacking.
Other notable showings of intellect include the Queen ordering her drones to attack her in AVP to cause the acid to destroy the chains holding her.
Aliens 4 Queen has Ripley brought to the nest to witness the birth of the Newborn which is immediately able to use rudimentary door controls and some form of language.
At the very least the Queen has shown to have advanced problem solving skills a grasp on cause and effect and understand language in some capacity without training or prior exposure.
Something not even the smartest animals are capable of.
Personally I think Aliens inherit at least some of the memory’s and intellect of their hosts as the Runner from Alien 3 didn’t seem all that smart being trapped multiple times and was based on a dog or ox.
This is also supported by Aliens 4, Ripley 8 wasn’t supposed to have any Memories of the original and it’s implied it was an unintended result of Alien DNA being mixed with the sample they used to clone her and she inheriting those memories thanks to the Queen.
Any animal, real or fictional, that knows how to operate an elevator is intelligent enough in my book
Imagine the commercial to sell that elevator too
"It's so easy an Alien can do it...!"
Came here to say that
Not only that, but have the knowledge that their blood is acidic. That's pretty intelligent.
You wrote a book too??
I've seen dogs and even cats doing that with proper training
In Nightmare Asylum Queen showed emotions when General Spears torched her brood front of her forced her to obey his orders then she acted she was listing to his orders and he sent them to earth to fight other hives but Queen and her hive turned on him and outsmarted him he got what he deserved
I'm really hoping she makes her return in Romulus. We haven't had a proper Alien Queen since AVP or Alien Resurrection if you only count the stand-alone movies.
You mean the goofy versions of the queen.
I've got a good feeling about Alvarez's Alien.
How about an Empress like in AvP2? ( _game_ )
Romulus= diversity woke BS
@@Zeithrithe Matriarch in AVP 2010 was so interesting to me
Not to mention that in Aliens the xenos cut off the power before they attack. This was probably done by queen's order
I need to re-read Earth Hive, Nightmare Asylum, and The Female War. They go into wonderful detail on how intelligent the alien queen is.
Could you give me a few recommendations to read? I have never read any of the material
@@cahillp3start with Earth Hive and then Hive Wars
Don't forget about the prisoner from ALIEN 3, Golic. Although he had psychological issues, he "communicated" with the Alien by knocking out one prisoner and killed another one, only to free the alien from the trap that Ripley and the other prisoners made for it. And as he freed the Alien, Golic asked the Alien, what else did it want him to do for it. At first when I saw Alien 3, I thought Prisoner Golic was doing this of his own accord, but with more thought on this, I think the Alien was communicating with the prisoner Golic before the Alien killed him.
I didn't consider that he was anything other than a murderous lunatic until I read your comment. But it makes a fair bit of sense.
Makes complete sense. After all, Golic did develop a fascination of The Beast as well. So with that and the Beast communicating with Golic, the Xenomorphs have a wide variety of intelligence. No matter the variant.
It can be observed that alone, a Xeno is quite intelligent,because its survival requires it to be so. Within the hive, a drone acts purely on instinct or impulse, only following the command of the Queen otherwise. The Queen, likewise regarding her role in the hive, requires her intelligence in order to guide, direct, defend, and grow the hive.
I think this suggests, and somewhere it's been cited, that the Xenomorphs require whatever intelligence their survival requires at the time. Its structural perfection must obviously include a highly modular brain structure with the ability to upgrade or downgrade its cerebral functions as needed to fulfill whatever role it needs to serve.
She's smarter than 85 for sure.
Nice!!! "Don't call me that." 🤣🤣🤣
Epic comment!
But I did have humans for breakfast this morning.
"WELL I'M ALL OUT OF IDEAS!"
Ohhhhhhhh good one
That moment when you realize the Alien Queen was giving Ripley nightmares in an attempt to influence her to stay away😱😱😱
Nope. Not across interstellar distances.
@@jollygoodfellow3957 Especially since in between that moment, the Queen didn't even exist.
@@jollygoodfellow3957 PLENTY of Alien Queen communication across interstellar distances in the comic books.
@@E.V.A.N-COProductions When? Ripley started having nightmares immediately after being woken from cyro sleep, just because the Nostromo never found the Queen doesn't mean she wasn't already there laying eggs or is there an introspection I'm not aware of?
@@_JackNapier When Ripley woke up, they had claimed that in the what, 50 years or so of her drifting in space, that they had a colony on LV-426, at that point in time, the colony hadn't been infected. Presumably, after a few days, (after the meeting scene, where Ripley is in her room) They then told her communication had been lost with the colony (when the infection started) then, the queen is either born, or at that point, grown to a full-sized queen. We're not really given a measure when exactly that happens, but we know for sure, that the queen did not exist until the colony's infection, which is after Ripley was awoken.
I wonder if Queens inherit some basic primal intelligence from their human hosts, and that's what separates them from the regular drone chestbursters.
Queens are able to carry memories from hive's past memories
Drones in theory are also extremely intelligent, but when they are "imprisoned" in the hivemind they kinda drop that intelligence in favor of a collective consciousness, take SIX from AVP2010, it's a game but if you think of Six's skills as an extention of the human playing it, if you're a good Xeno player always zipping around, have good reflexes and guns don't scare you because you know you can close in faster than a human can blink and a gun pointing forward at you is an open invitation to the back, you can, again, in theory see how intelligent a xenomorph can be.
It's differen if you're playing a dino survivor for instance and you're playing a dinosaur and expect the human playing that dinosaur to act like an animal, it'll never happen and it will always break character because you will always see things that would not happen in nature.
A Xenomorph is no animal. It's a literal biological weapon born from a human.
You said it before me! 😀
Maybe the alien in 1979 alien spared the cat because the host loved cats.
@@denifnaf5874 It had no reason to harm the cat.
Pure uncompromising terror. Cameron should do another Aliens film.
I’ve never understood people who say Aliens is “just” an action film. Of course it’s not nearly as terrifying as Alien, but it still has some very strong horror elements that creeped me out as a kid.
@@keefriff99 it's action only, not a single thing scary about aliens. But that doesn't mean it isn't a great movie!
@@keefriff99 Id say its just as terrifying as Alien if not MORE.
@@keefriff99 Alien is sci-fi/horror/action. Aliens is sci-fi/action/horror.
James Cameron has unfortunately lost his touch. His last few films have been pretty crappy, if you ask me.
Aliens is among the 10 best movies ever. I wonder how miraculous it was to come up with a movie so good as its classic predecessor, while expanding it with new creative ideas so good that would make it a classic per se.
I like the idea of a Queen's intelligence being a case-by-case thing. Maybe they've got a base intelligence, but the longer they live, the more mature they get, or the more outside stimulus/problems they need to solve, the smarter they get. Maybe colony queens genetically pass on things they've learned, if the species is allowed to exist in a place long enough, where successive generations are smarter than earlier generations (almost like the collective knowledge from *Other Memory*, used by the Bene Gesserit in Dune).
Technically speaking, the queen never figured out how to use the elevator. At the scene where Ripley is at the elevator, there are 2 lifts and she pressed both buttons hoping that one would come before the queen did. (Facing the screen) the one on the right came up first, Ripley and newt made it before the queen got there and was held off by the last remains of the flame thrower. Seconds after the elevator went up, the one on the left came up and automatically opened the door, it's here that the queen put it together that if she went in there she will get them. Intelligent to a degree she may be, but still insect mentally driven.
It's also I believe clever writing in design, they couldn't/didn't want the conflict between Ripley and Queen to end so abruptly after it started, so Ripley on purpose (survival chance and script) brought both elevators for escape and to bring the queen to continue the plot script.
Alls I gotta say is. Just finished Alien: Isolation. Amazing. Starting Aliens: Dark Descent tonight. Ready to take on the hive and the queen!
I prefer to think of the Alien Queen having a highly evolved level of Instinct rather than Human like Intelligence.
Xenomorphs have no complex language or ability to pass on knowledge through education, their abilities are genetic and instinctual.
This is true if there is no telepathic exchange. Because if there is we are suddenly discussing language- or something rudimentary enough to even interface with separate organisms like dreaming humans. So if we consider the comics canon then intelligence is a given.
What would be a more interesting question is: are the Xenomorphs sapient? And if so, how does that compare to the self awareness of, let's say, a human? Being intelligent doesn't necessarily imply sapience, particularly if their instinct is good enough.
The Queen had a full on silent negotiation with Ripley, that alone is human levels of intellect in my books.
An animal can understand cause and effect but it would have attacked or tried to flee in a similar situation not barter.
AVP, Aliens 3 and Resurrections all seems to indicate some form of rudimentary mental or psychic link as well they can communicate.
That said I personally think a lot of their intelligence is a result of inherited memories from their hosts.
It would fall perfectly in line with their strengths being based in genetics and adapting to the host environment.
Yes, I rewatch your videos.. Yes.. I love this channel.. but foremost I appreciate your love of this franchise, and all of your hard work putting all of these interesting theories out there. It's just amazing
I would believe she has some problem solving skills, to what extent is unknown and very dangerous considering she’s a bloody queen. As for the dreams? It simply be whatever method she uses to communicate with her hive messes with a person’s mind if exposed too long. As for the next being in the heat exchange maybe it’s simply the most comfortable place temperature wise at the plant.
I'm going to say the Queen had no idea the true function of heat exchangers and merely chose the warmest spot available for her nest. Then again, its possible she had access to base schematics or something?
Any Queen needs heat and sleep to lay eggs she probably hasn't learned much about reactor other than it's heat to lay eggs
Could have been a sort of "inherited knowledge" like is discussed in Resurrection. That would imply that the Queen was incubated from someone who knew the layout of the reactor. I'd say either maintenance or a scientist who would have understood more in-depth how the reactor functioned.
I don't believe the Queen actually operated the elevator as such. I feel like she learned to get in the elevator after just witnessing Ripley's narrow escape, but then the elevator defaulted back to the top floor due to inactivity.
I agree, Read @garthhandcock3373's explanation a few comments above. You and he make logical sense of the Queen's action.
In "Sea of Sorrows" (at least in the audio drama - I have to read the book again!) they discuss the critters setting a trap for Decker and friends in the silicon tube, and also that the Queen almost turned Decker by "getting into his head" and projecting thoughts and images and shit when he was about the blow her away with Adams's plasma rifle. I reckon her highness has intelligence, especially since the genetic memory aspect of their evolution became canon. They'd have to be pretty dense not to learn a thing or two from their host.
The Elevator returns to the top automatically hence why it wasn't there when Ripley got back to it.
True Elevators are programmed to sit on a particular floor or pre position themselves in high traffic areas.
Although the Queen could have just as easily hit a button by accident when cramming himself into the elevator, she would have no idea what floor Ripley would have gone to.
The odds of all that working out in favour of the Queen is slim to none, everything points to it being intentional.
The queen from AVP was my favorite. She wakes up every hundred years to breed and when all of her brood is killed, she’s put back to sleep for another century. Based on how angry and vengeful the Ancheron Queen was when her hive was destroyed, you can just imagine how the Antarctic queen felt after centuries of sensing her children die and not being able to do anything about it. Having her children make her bleed to escape her bindings shows how intelligent they can be. Maybe it was Grid who gave her the idea. Likely her fallen children from previous hunts never managed to melt Yautja metal or passed the knowledge on. I don’t think that Xenomorph queens can communicate telepathically with humans, but if they could, I highly doubt it would be about working things out for the benefit of both species. Hoping we get to see another queen in action or see a yautja party capture one on the big screen someday.
In the book Antaratic Queen saw her eggs and brood even her main son Grid got killed by self destruct that is why we see her angry as running in fast speed
I've always seen a queen's intelligence to a drone's intelligence down to a case by case but with age as the determining factor.
The queen in Aliens she does have a level of intelligence (i.e. opwrating the elevator), but the queen of all queens in Female War has the ability to peoject her "will" to thousands of people on Earth and almost influence "Hicks" into opening the door when she was locked behind when she was captured.
I think the Queen is highly intelligent, just not in a way humans can understand.
By that I mean that was she does or how she does it will have result favorable for her hive and herself in the end.
But to us humans her actions seem confusing because we don't think like she can.
We see the slice, the Queen sees the pie (and eats it)
Smart enough to : OPerate an elevator , tell warriors to fall back when eggs were under threat from flame thrower, and sneak on board a drop ship and wait for the best moment to strike.
And hide a couple eggs there
I wished we had more films or games or even live action shorts that show the xenomorph queen and her intelligence, I think to have more scenes showing human communication in the threat of danger like ripley threatening to burn her eggs if she doesn't back away would be fantastical.
My all-time favorite Queen moment is in the AvP arcade game. You confront the tubby captain guy on the bridge of his ship, then you see a bladed tail slowly linger down and stab him right in the back. And there she is, ready to throw hands.
Thanks for the video, as always! I have a couple of thoughts:
- The elevator in Aliens seemed automated from what I recall. As in, at the press of the buttom, they would come down and then go up to the platform. As Ripley ran from the Queen and reached the elevator entrance in a rush, she pushed BOTH elevator buttons, so that's how it opened to the Queen and how she was brought on top... a simple unfortunate mistake from Ripley's part.
- I am wondering if in Alien³, the Queen embryo could already communicate with the the Xeno. That could be why Ripley was spared during her encounters with it during the events. Also, in the Assembly Cut, wasn't it hinted that the Queen was also messing with Golic's mind? It was truly fashinating.
Elephant or Orca level of intelligence, self aware, assess and anticipate target behaviour, capable of complex problem solving, coordinate group's action, and spiteful.
Higher than any animal on earth which isn't human. Whether you buy into that the Queen knew how to use the elevator isn't given. What is given is how she was able to sneak onto the rescue ship manned by Bishop, find a way to be protected from space and when she got safely to the main ship decided to finally seek revenge on Ripley. That takes lots of cunning and planning before seeking out the revenge. Not even a chimp can be this intelligent especially when he enters into a new environment where he isn't familiar with.
@@jakep1979 Your views on intelligence is either too low or too high, with a little searching online, you found a enough example in the wild and captivity demonstrating, that at least for both elephants and orcas are ingenious and deliberate killers hold grudges for life.
Really enjoy this channel. Gives me hope that there might be a non-crap Alien movie in future
8:51 does this explain Ripley’s nightmares in the opening scenes?
The queen is much smarter than your average DMV worker
now that's just dmv-cist
@@we-must-live 🤣🤣🤣
The older the Xeno,the more intelligent it gets?
Just going off of A1 & A2 Xeno life spans
There was a nice episode of Love Death and Robots about a large alien hive that people discover and want to study and exploit. The hive is mindless, made out of multiple species all living together, but when it detects something unexpected is happening, it breeds its intelligent specimen, which is more intelligent that anything ever encountered and quickly deals with the humans. Maybe that could be borrowed by the Alien mythos: xenomorphs are perfect because they don't need intelligence. If and when they need it, the queen just becomes as intelligent as it needs for the moment. Just like the drones can lie in wait for a long time expending no resources until prey comes along, the queens can bury their intelligence until the need arises.
The Queen understood implicit threat when Ripley pointed the flamethrower at the eggs and also attempted to catch her offguard.
Not long after the elevator reached the sub basement and Ripley had stepped out of it, the doors automatically closed and it returned to the platform level.
When she was escaping, Ripley pressed the call buttons for both elevators and got into the first one to arrive, the queen didn't need to operate anything because it's automated but she did have the intelligence to realise that by getting into the elevator she could pursue Ripley and Newt.
can the queen mother or the worker drones gain the memories of the hosts after maturing? and if so, can the memories be shared with the hive. maybe that could also contribute to the queen using the elevator and stowing away in the cheyenne landing gear. intellegent? i say yes.
Great video! I definitely believe the queens are intelligent. I sometimes wonder if it was Cameron’s link to the first film in which the Big Chap appeared intelligent, particularly in the alternate ending. Whereas Cameron’s Xenos seem mostly like bugs. Either way, I like it.
Aye the Queen being big and intimidating is one thing.
But it’s how smart she is portrayed in the film and how she is shown to actively be out for revenge that makes her truly terrifying for me.
i've been an alien fan all my life, but it is in this video where i too pondered the true horror of the alien queen, not only thinking it a badass beast but a sentient one, an intelligence potentially older than the earth, to think a creature like that exists solely to spread her domain of death and pain and warped fucked up sexual violence truly frightened me, i've got chills. there lies the brilliance of the alien queen and of the xenomorph species.
I believe the Queen is very tactical intelligent. Looks like every decision or move is tactical and thought out and ahead. Would love to see more of the Queens intelligence on screen. Awesome video!
When Ripley goes to the hive to rescue Newt, the elevator automatically returns to the top floor after she exits. After destroying the nest, Ripley hits the buttons for both elevators. Taking that into consideration, the queen did not have to do anything except enter the elevator for it to take her to the top floor. I do like the idea of an intelligent queen, but how she learns is still mysterious.
I wish Ridley Scott and James Cameron made an alien masterpiece together.
I could only imagine if the Queen waited until they gone into stasis before revealing herself.
It's been a while since I've seen one of you're videos. Good to be back.
It’s great to see content from the amazing RPG being included! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the evolution of the Abominations depicted in the Heart of Darkness!
"What do you mean *they* cut the power? How could they cut the power, man? They're animals!" I think that scene shows an incredible degree of intelligence coming from somewhere and it's clear the Queen gives orders.
It's possible the loss of power was caused by general damage and the timing coincidental but I prefer the Xenomorph Queen being smarter than the average bug.
Always wondered why Ripley torched the eggs after getting to the exit though - the whole place was going to blow within minutes, all she did was piss the queen off and remove any incentive for her to stay in that chamber, waste ammo she would need to get to the elevator, and waste the time she would potentially need to get to the evac point before the place explodes. Just a very strange choice on her part.
Catharsis. It was satisfying to destroy the mother of her nightmares.
I saw in the special features for Alien Covenant there is a short clip where David is talking about the xenomorphs and his experiments and wanting to make a queen and hints at using Daniels to make one. The clip hinted at it but never said, so I might be completely wrong here.
This was a great video, perhaps a good template for future videos; i.e. How Intelligent is/was the Red Alien Queen/Ripley Abomination/Predalien etc :)
I remember reading the novelizations of humanity taking Earth back, and they really, strongly believed in the idea that the Queen was telepathic. I like to think she communicates like a radio, with the drones receiving her thoughts and instructions on one frequency, but not us, unless we dream and then kinda... stumble upon it, hence the nightmares so many people had when near a queen.
As for how intelligent, I think any kind of intelligence just makes the race seem that much scarier. Like a drone knowing to regrow the hive if seperated by making captives into literal eggs, or a queen figuring things out slowly, methodically. It means one just can't go in there and blow them up the same way all the time. They grow and adapt.
Love your channel. Every time i come back, i get sucked into the rabbit hole lol
I would imagine the nest location simply had the correct temperature and humidity for the Queen. However, if the queen's host had structural and engineering knowledge of the reactor, she could've inherited some of that knowledge as an embryo from the DNA crossover.
as intelligent as the plot requires her to be
I always thought that the Queen did not operate the elevator as it automatically returned to the platform due to the emergency. I imagine she just entered the elevator, doors closed on her and went up to the platform. Great video again though, thanks a lot! :)
I think of how the drones, when they couldn't get through the pressure door, decided to take an alternate route (inside the ceiling). If drones are that smart, and the queen showed she was smart enough to know what Ripley communicated with her flamethrower (basically a bargaining action), enough to tell her own guards to get back, I'd say she's pretty intelligent.
Maybe the elevator was on auto pilot. The queen just got in and rode that baby up.
My friend you produce the highest quality aliens and predator related content on UA-cam. Though i cannot directly support your efforts every piece of content you create i view multiple times and always look forward to more thank you so much for all that you do
The queen can be bargained with or even bullied into doing a persons bidding because it is capable capable of weighing risks and making decisions based on those factors. Like when Ripley threatened to destroy the hive if the queen didn’t call off the drones
Hey bro love the videos they are really good love your love for the series and the lore
I never subbed you but your vids kept coming up. I fell asleep to them. I've subbed now.
I appreciate it. Sweet dreams.
This was a well timed video, as I'm about to sit down and watch my brand new 4 K version of Aliens and will watch all the extras and such,so a good night of TV ahead!❤😎👍
your content is amazing man keep it up
I was thinking earlier of all the lifeforms the xenomorphs have gestated in and what the resulting creature was. What other possibilities haven't been explored and yet and what would you like to see? There's a ton of potential and could make a cool video. Hopefully the upcoming series and film will have some surprises..
Queen pressed the like button in the elevator.
She didn't manipulate the controls on the elevator, but she understood that the elevator would take her where she wanted.
I like the idea that the hosts intelligence and knowledge are adopted by the queen.
So as the drones are borne from sicentists and military. That the queen takes these 'coded memories' and thats how the intelligence increases.
Clever girl.
Whoops, wrong franchise.
Okay, joking aside, in my head-canon, 'ovimorphication' is still a viable part of the procurement and perpetuation of a Xenomorph hive.
I believe that the Queen is only as smart as the situation deems them to be(not just as a movie or comic but in it makes sense in a life setting). For example, in Aliens the Queen probably did choose the reactor for the heat and instinct but it also knew to call of its own protectors which showed great intelligence and reasoning. When the nest is destroyed it attacks Ripley off of anger and less likely instincts. However, it did not understand the danger of the situation with the site about to be nuked. In the Earth War they are incredibly smart as they have to be which is why they make their nests smaller and even the drones have to adapt.
Hey, Can you look at the Alien Queen from the 2010 game ALIENS VS PREDATOR, Please.
Make a video on the new Romulus trailer and what you think, all us alien fans are super hyped right now! Lol
I’m sure others have brought up a similar theory, but here goes. In Alien 3 we see our first xenomorph not incubated in a human being. It takes on some of the physical traits of the dog that was its host. If the drones do modify an egg so that it will produce a queen, what if there are other changes to the embryo? Why could it not also tap the nervous system of its host and gain some impression understanding of things in the host’s environment? The use of an elevator? That this locale is warm and very protected? Scary possibility depending on how far that learning could go.
“What you've done is taken God's oldest killing machine and given it reason and will.”
Excellent episode!
I think the Queen in Aliens based her hive out the of desire to stay warm. I very much doubt she would have intricate knowledge of an atmosphere processing station :)
I have always found it odd how Hadley's Hope was overrun by the aliens though. I mean the one facehugger brought back attached to Newt's dad maybe succeeded in laying its embryo and that embryo may have burst out of the guy and survived to grow into an alien ... but then what? That's just one alien. So ok the colonists go back and get more eggs, they must of to have those facehuggers in the medlab. But they wouldn't have loaded up with them and brought a ton back to the colony. So in no way can I logic this out that there would suddenly be so many warrior aliens to overrun the place and do all that they did.
Probably because the first chestburster was the queen and the next batch were drones that could bring back more and more host for her eggs. I think it takes less than a week for her to produce eggs. She likely snatched up a few people on her own before she got too big to navigate in the vents, and her children helped her out once she went into egg laying mode.
@@imjustadog1897Hmm, could be. So they just had bad luck and the one egg that got Newt's dad happened to be a Queen? Assuming that there was an egg just laying in among the others that was a Queen egg, so we would have to throw out the similarities with bee's and how they add royal jelly to an egg to produce a queen.
But ok, so the embryo hatches and grows into a queen, on the way it grabs some colonists and takes them to the APS? And no one notices? In that week where she is laying up, growing and producing eggs all alone no one wondered where the missing people went? No one checked where their ID tag things that were implanted were at on the scanners? And lets say that she grabbed 4 people on her way to the APS at the start, unlikely considering her size, but lets be generous. So ok she now has four warriors to do her bidding, finding more people. None of the other colonists saw the aliens grabbing and carrying them to the APS? None of the security force killed any of them?
@@ukmediawarrior The first chestburster could’ve started out as a warrior or drone, then molted into a queen. One xenomorph could’ve captured half a dozen people in a few days. When the other victims that were brought back with facehuggers showed up, that increased the number of xenomorphs to the brood. With a queen coming up and producing eggs, the xenomorphs were bound to keep catching people since the tools and weapons they had weren’t strong enough to take them down. Hadley’s Hope wasn’t equipped to deal with xenomorphs. It’s not like they were expecting aliens or terrorists. The security team did try to rescue those that were kidnapped, but they got overwhelmed.
Queen is Definitely intelligent, i would say the Drones are intelligent as well. In the movie Alien the xenomorph was smart, and he beat Ripley to the escape ship without her even knowing. Many other examples of the drones being smart.
Great video Alien Theory!
Great topic AT! I believe the Queen is highly intelligent. If the company androids were so taken with the xenomorph, (both Ash and Bishop), it cannot be based on mere biology alone. Ash referred to it as a, “perfect organism”. He gave the crew of the Nostromo 0 chance of survival. Intelligence, organizational skills and a high level of communication would be needed for the xenos to be declared a, “perfect organism”.
Theory time:
Further, it would make sense for the Queen of a hive to have the ability to communicate with her offspring. The first film, Alien, promotes the idea of interspecies rape and then this fast growing, humongous alien appears. Later media suggests xenomorphs final appearance are a hybridization between the xeno and host.
Interesting, because Cameron chose to make slight changes to the xenomorph appearance from Alien. As in, the facehugger that attacked Newt’s dad began a series of events that led to a royal egg and subsequent birth of a new Queen. Thus, the hive of Hadley’s Hope were of their own unique hybrid DNA.
It’s possible each new hive is a subspecies of the previous generation? The caveat being memories and experiences are transmitted via DNA to the eventual new Queen. Something of this sort would be a requirement for a “perfect organism” to survive indefinitely.
For the channel, a follow up theoretical topic could be to discuss if the Queen that laid the thousands of eggs inside the Derelict ship was herself alive? Hibernation? Dormancy?
It definitely can
One of the many reasons why Weiland yutani is so adamant on making weapons out of Xenomorphs
The one thing that makes humanity capable of outperforming the limits of our soft squishy bodies is our intelligence. Any animal that can defeat us in physical conflict, which is nearly all of them, cannot hope to overcome us in any way because of our intellect. That is how we win. In the Aliens universe, the idea that there's a creature that not only far outmatches us physically (there's no way a human could physically over power a xeno-drone with his bare hands; hell, he would be hardpressed to overpower a facehugger) but also outmatches us in intellect is a terrifying prospect and is what pushes Aliens from the level of slasher horror and into the realm of cosmic horror.
I really like the idea of having super smart queens.
This idea of intelligence was explored a little in the Aliens Vs Predator movie. When the queen ordered her drones to deliberately injure her, and use her acid blood to melt the chains holding her prisoner.
Super cool! =D
Yeah but..why didn't she do that a century before..or a millenia before? Why now? Didn't she have her drones back then also?
Same movie, though a drone - Grid, in fact - after getting the tip of it's tail sliced off, flicks the acid blood onto the predator so it needed to take it's armor off. That would infer self awareness of the base creature and so a Queen would be the same at least.
Shes smart enough to know how to divide by zero
/s
Rome has entered Chat😂
It's widely believed to be smarter than the dialogue writers of AVPR
@@HumanHamCube believed? It's just factual
They cut the power.
Telepathic yes, but short range; maybe limited to those infected with the black goo (A0-3959X.91 - 15). As for intelligence, I believe this is a trait engineered into the Xenomorph themselves. The hammerhead worms, were not that intelligent as infected with the goo it accelerated their development with aggression, yet limited. The Xenomorph when infecting a Predator hunter, knew instinctual aspects of their ways, technology and method of attack. It didn't stick around in the sewer tunnels when Wolf created a defensive perimeter, it knew it was a trap. It also knew that it needed numbers quickly, to overcome Wolf, the master Predator Hunter. It wasn't aware of human power plants or technology, as it wasn't imprinted with the information.
On Fiorina 161, the Xenomorph was spawned from an animal and limited to the DNA information gathered. It could sense the Queen and prepared for its arrival, without much intelligence to pass on, except to keep her host safe. It had no idea it was entering into a trap in the injection pit, which lead to its demise.
On LV-426, the Xenomorphs imprinted with humans - a smart one. Possibly a leader. On creating the Queen, the hive transferred their gathered knowledge, intelligence of the colony's strengths, weaknesses. What was their resources and ability to holdout. They'd have uncovered the plan to call for help via the dish; the concept of the reactor etc. If help would arrive, it'd be via the landing platform that the drop-ship took station at.
Getting in to the colony wasn't their problem; getting out would be and they ensured this wouldn't happen. The Xenomorphs were limited in not knowing how another drop ship might be used, or that if the Marines were overdue, what the time frame was for a check and rescue. The Xenomorph Queen knew how elevators worked, that Bishop was a synthetic, but now how the reactor worked or the maintenance required, to keep her eggs safe after the clash with the Marines. The Queen gathers only hive essential intelligence. The DNA of the host contains all that is needed to defeat the host and that is its weakness, it's limitation.
I believe that the race who created Xenomorphs were able to control these bio-weapons, both remotely and directly. The Xenomorph was designed by them to inflict significant damage and take damage, with a singular mission. Should the intelligent life escalate, they could communicate on a plan to checkmate the play remotely, while being fully capable of being stealthy etc. They're unconcerned with how the Facehuggers are studied etc. The understanding of them isn't enough to compromise the mission. Without the race who engineered them, the Xenomorphs have a hive limitation and with entropy, will be limited. They don't pick and chose their harvest; it's all at once. The colonist at LV426 were harvested immediately. Another indication this was a well thought out self motivated, limited intelligence based on DNA, aggressive bio-weapon.
Great video. Really enjoy your work! Thanks.
If we're really delving into this Alien: Rogue has some interesting implications to the Queen's intelligence as well. Pretty good book and worth the read.
I think it's a case by case basis. People think the Acheron hive was nerfed and less aggressive, stating there's no way any Marines should have survived the initial attack. I feel this is do to the queen, the Acheron queen was intuitive and curious, choosing to order her drones to probe and test these new humans and learn instead of outright slaughter.
Fascinating!
Does anyone think if the Nostromo crew just went back into hyper sleep and locked the door after the Alien was on board, they would’ve made it back to Earth? They would’ve survived but Weyland Utani would’ve got their bio weapon.
In the absence of a queen, the drones will evolve into one. There's a race for the throne. When one drone fully matures and lays an egg, it secretes a hormone which halts the maturation of all others. That's why some partially mature xenos assume the role of praetorian. They are partially evolved queens, complete with larger than normal size and royal head crest.
I wonder if we ever going to see the Xenomorph King, I'm talking talking about Rogue, but the actual Xenomorph King. He has an action figure and he looks awesome. Like a Praetorian but even more terrifying.
I always wondered how the queen came to be, considering the initial contact was on the derelict. Then I read this article in a scientific journal:
"....Ants are able to switch from a worker to a 'queen-like status' thanks to a slight tweak in a single protein in their brain, a new study reveals.
Biologists in Philadelphia isolated nerve cells from brains of the Indian jumping ant (Harpegnathos saltator), which get their name from their ability to leap a few inches.
The experts found that the protein, called Kr-h1, orchestrates ants' transition from a standard worker, tasked with finding food, and a queen-like 'gamergate'.
Gamergates are described as 'queen-like', even though they're not queens. They're actually workers that can reproduce in the absence of a queen in a colony....."
Fascinating.
It's intelligence draws on more than just the experience of the individual creature or the simplicity of instinct.
The most notable trait is that of it's genetic memory that is believe to exist across space itself, possibly telepathically conveyed by all other xenos existing and combined with the Matriarch's knowledge (comics).
While the intelligence of the queen may be limited based on human IQ, the Queen has access to all the working knowledge the species have aquired, including physical variants and tactical knowledge including it's long time encounters with the Yauja, Elephantoid Jockies, Space Jockies, and countless encounters with other life forms (some highly advanced), for eons before humans ever come into the picture.
In regards to the supplimentals, the xeno queen is highly intelligent, tactically aware, and posesses the knowledge to litterally alter her brood physically & behaviorally as required to gather hosts or respond to threats.
I always assumed their inteligence depended on the host dna but well...too many unknowns of the acheron hive/original derelict eggs to make a conclusion.
If David did tamper with the original derelict eggs or if the mutagen is part of their dna etc etc etc
Its like every new movie adds more questions and answers none :)
Great video! I think the Queen's are extremely intelligent not just all animal instincts. The fact the aliens are very organized and each Alien inside a Hive know there role and job proves the Xenos are highly intelligent.