Xenomorphs vs Stuff

[Vultur]

What other less-than-human-smart predators - real or fictional - could beat xenomorphs in equal numbers? A sapient species could use the same techniques humans did, so that wouldn't be as interesting to discuss. A semi-sapient race like the Dreen or Posleen would be interesting, though.

Obviously anything absurdly huge could, like the starship-sized clawhawks from Deathworld. Even a T. rex would be able to chomp it, though the acid would chew through its face. Both would probably die, unless Rex stepped on it or kicked it.

But of roughly equal size? Their hide seems tougher than anything Terrestrial except maybe the biggest crocs - some less canonical stuff, like the Alien novelization, implies it's way tougher than that. Their reflexes and speed seem to be more like a big cat's (even the tiny, immature chestburster was pretty fast). They're much stronger than humans (see how effortlessly the creature lifts and strangles a man in Alien), probably as strong as Earth carnivores of the same size. And the acid blood is likely to severely burn its opponent.

[Zor]

I am pretty sure that novels such as earth-hive are not conisdered canon, but the acid is a big thing here, creatures are generally on Melee attacks which makes the scenario largely MAD. Xenomorphs may not be a force that a well trained military can't handle if they know what their up against, although fighting them in close quarters is bad mojo.

For onew which would be able to hold their own, i would say the Dragons from Dragons: a Fantasy made Real could have a fighting chance if only for their firebreath.

Zor

[Lord of the Abyss]

The Blob comes to mind. Even if the acid can burn a Blob, I doubt that it would kill one, just burn away some mass.

Photid Floaters from Alan Dean Foster's Midworld could, easily - the things focus sunlight into destructive beams. Lasers, probably judging from how destructive they are. Plus as the name implies they float ( gasbags ); the xenomorph's couldn't reach them under most circumstances. They fall into a grey area as far as "of roughly equal size" goes; since they are large but not massive; a big xeno like a queen is smaller but probably outmasses them substantially.

[Vultur]

Yeah, there are probably a bunch of Midworld things that could do it. There are carnivores on that planet that could eat tanks - not of equivalent size though.

[Stark]

Hydralisks.

[Ford Prefect]

Hydralisks.

On that note, Termagants.

[Stark]

Don't termagants have guns? Way unfair!

[hongi]

Don't termagants have guns? Way unfair!

Hydralisks shoot supersonic spines. I think they're both pretty unfair.

[SylasGaunt]

I imagine the Catachan Barking Toad could kill quite a few of them.. though granted the toad would die in the process.

Also on that note, the Hypnotoad could probably have a go at it depending on whether or not xenos have no eyes or just hidden ones.

[Solauren]

Metroids. Definately the larva stage. I expect the more advanced forms could as well. An Omega Metroid vs an Xenomorph queen would be interesting.

X-Parasite (also from Metroid). The again, the X-Parasite would become the Xenomorph, so that would just make things worse.

[Darth Onasi]

Possibly the Deathclaws from Fallout. Depending on if their claws could withstand the acid, they are said to be extremely strong and durable.
If they can then they could simply use their long arms to swipe at the xenos.

[Coyote]

Chtorrans, maybe.... until it bit down on one.

[Stark]

Hydralisks shoot supersonic spines. I think they're both pretty unfair.

Pfft so supersonic I can visually track their motion! Anyway, this is for sub-human animals, not super-engineered psycho gunwielding guys.

SPINES are ALL NATURAL.

[Batman]

For something hideously unfair the other way round, the supermutt of course.

[Ford Prefect]

Don't termagants have guns? Way unfair!

Ffffffff, fine Strak. Hormaguants then. No guns and they must engage in close combat. They'll still definitely win, and it won't even be a MAD situation or whatever. As I recall, we see xenomorph acid blood hit a dude's face in Aliens and while nasty, it's not exactly 'melt through twenty million spaceship decks' like the acid the facehugger had in the first film. Hormagaunts are entirely stupid without synapse control so it seems kind of fair.

[Stark]

OMG Hormagaunts have six limbs! UNFAIR!

I want to say pre uplift Shofixti but they're too smart.

[Gerald Tarrant]

Chtorrans, maybe.... until it bit down on one.

I thought the worms could survive a flame thrower unless the guy was very thorough. They were pretty hard to put down. Also there's the still unresolved question of how intelligent the worms are. And of course they're not at all comparably sized. Some of the older ones were described as bus-sized.

The Grendels from "Beowulf's Children" by Niven, Pournelle, and Barnes would make a good match I think.

[Swindle1984]

Grendel's could shred xenomorphs, but they'd fry themselves moving under speed without a water source nearby. Not to mention that the acid would fuck them up and make it a MAD scenario. About the only way a grendel could kill one or more xenomorphs and survive would be to engage them underwater (where it could go into speed safely and the water would dilute the acid blood somewhat) or if it thrashed them all with its tail without breaking the skin (highly unlikely considering how hard the tail would impact and that most varieties of grendel have spikes on the tail club.).

[Vultur]

Deathclaws ... they're incredibly tough, but they don't seem very fast-moving, so that would be interesting. It would depend on whether the Xenomorph could rip up the Deathclaw before the Deathclaw landed a solid hit.

Chtorrans ... hmmm. The acid ought to hurt them - I don't think it's possible to be immune to something like that. A big Chtorran could ignore it, though; they're pretty decentralized. One of the big ones could kill several Xenomorphs at least, before they finally slashed it up enough to kill it. Chtorrans are faster-moving than Xenomorphs, and probably comparable reflex-wise.

Grendels are freaking fast in the first book (the second book says 110 km/h, which isn't nearly enough to do what they did in the first book).

[Gerald Tarrant]

First I referred to the wrong book, I should have referenced "The Legacy of Heorot", Beowulf's Children is an inferior sequel.

Grendel's could shred xenomorphs, but they'd fry themselves moving under speed without a water source nearby.

Grendel's were capable of surviving their speed rush if it was raining, also their normal reflexes and movement rate are already very impressive. There's also hints that Spoiler

the hyperoxyganated adrenaline analogue was principally a mechanism for coping with other Grendels, i.e. traces of speed could set other grendel's off. Also when Wayland Cadman tried to hunt the first one down, it didn't boost itself until it faced an actual threat, hunting was fun, not a survival exercise

Which means speed and its overheating consequences might not enter the equation.

Not to mention that the acid would fuck them up and make it a MAD scenario.

That depends on a few things, the particular scenario we have set up, and what the strength and speed of the acid turns out to be. The first Grendel had its leg blown off by Cadmann and still managed to track him back to the colony and kill 9 or 10 people in its death throes, while it was being shot by rifleman and roasted with a flame thrower, despite all the damage it almost managed to escape back into the river.

About the only way a grendel could kill one or more xenomorphs and survive would be to engage them underwater (where it could go into speed safely and the water would dilute the acid blood somewhat) or if it thrashed them all with its tail without breaking the skin (highly unlikely considering how hard the tail would impact and that most varieties of grendel have spikes on the tail club.).

I don't agree, as has been mentioned previously there's a canon incident where Alien Acid blood isn't a killer. And depending on how the Grendel goes about killing an alien it'll still retain some functionality to keep on killing, its claws, its teeth, its tail, there's not really a safe non-pokey end of a Grendel. Remember the danger of the grendel's wasn't just their speed, it was also their strength, and ability to take a beating and keep going.

[Vultur]

Grendel's were capable of surviving their speed rush if it was raining, also their normal reflexes and movement rate are already very impressive.

True. However, off speed they're fast compared to humans, but I didn't get the impression they're significantly faster than Earth predators without speed. The big cats are insanely agile, and even the clumsy predators like bears and crocodiles can easily outrun humans. (If you accept "Beowulf's Children", they're no faster than cheetahs even on speed: "over 110 km/hr" is consistent with cheetah top speeds, variously reported from 100 km/hr to 120 km/hr).

I think having a xenomorph spew acid blood in a predator's mouth would be much worse than just being splashed with it.

[white_rabbit]

Some of the smaller Catachan Devils would probably do, although there are various hints dropped that they are of Tyranid origin, so that might rule them out.

I would point out that Hormagaunts can have guns as well, so specifically, it'd have to be a "classic" scythe armed beasty. Either way, I think they'd win, certainly they don't have the ridiculous reproductive cycle, so a major conflict would go in their favour if they were seeded on a world in opposition to Xenomorphs,and they are better equipped for physical combat.

Hell, the first Hormagaunts basically were the Xenomorphs of Aliens, with the creepy face rape and horror aspect being sub-contracted to the Genestealers.

[Shroom Man 777]

Hrm...

A rhino could just crush a xeno like a bug, and other African savanna wildlife could do so too. A giant octopus or a giant squid could strangulate one. A shark or a crocodile could kill one, and the water might neutralize the acid.

Killer Whales could play fuzzball with one.

[Imperial Overlord]

Mainland Grendels would be much better for xenomorph stomping, but they might be too smart to qualify for this versus. They have language, are social, some varieties build damns, use speed sparingly unless coolant is available, and are capable of overriding their instincts.

[TheMuffinKing]

After reading the novel "Killer" by David Drake and Karl Edward Wagner, I think the Phile would be a good match against a xenomorph. In the novel the phile/sauropithecus(?) is described as a man sized slightly hunched over blue scaled beast. They are faster than a man and have more endurance by far while their attacks can sever the head of a man in one effortless swipe. Their attacks have also been described as being little more than a blur and they can easily a fully grown man. For weapons they have razor sharp and as speculated, diamond hard retractable claws within their human like hands.

Phile intelligence is sufficient for them to recognize weapons ranging from simple blades to energy weapons and recognize and utilize the function of rafts, boats etc. This is demonstrated in the novel by the phile figuring the use of a rudder on a barge, the novel explains it better. Philes don't utilize weapons other than their own natural abilities.

Philes are armored with fine blue scales that are tough, mitigating the effects of an enraged tigers claws (the claws left a series of ragged scars). They also have a rapid healing ability, the same phile had a dislocated shoulder and several broken bones, torn connective tissues, etc and managed to completely heal in under a week.

Philes are divided between male and female and the female implants eggs into a live host while the larvae eat their way out. Phile females, once bred, can lay many clutches of fertilized eggs from a single breeding and delay the laying/implanting of said eggs as the situation dictates.

In the novel, a single injured phile kills an enraged tiger in single combat, while sustaining non-crippling injuries. Based on all this I think the phile, aka sauropithecus, would be a good match for xenomorphs.

Maybe genestealers! Well, no, not really genestealers!