Warning: contains spoilers for Predator vs Wolverine #4!The Predator franchise is teasing that the Yautja species may actually have become weaker over time, with the alien killer seen in Prey among the franchise’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest ever. It’s an intriguing idea that stresses some of the major themes of the franchise and corresponds with the ideas set up in the movies. In Benjamin Percy and Ken Lashley’s Predator vs. Wolverine #4, Logan undertakes his final battle against the Yautja that’s been hunting him for a century. In their last bout, the Yautja lost its helmet, which was revealed to have been used in Weapon X’s experiments on Wolverine. However, the lost gear also gave Logan a way to draw his foe back out into the open.
Using the helmet to lure the Predator to the Canadian wilderness, Wolverine notes that he could have gained an advantage by sabotaging it, rather than letting the Predator reclaim its armor. However, he also explains why he didn’t – the better their technology, the worse that Yautja become as hunters. As Logan notes, “over and over again, technology has been the yautja’s failing.”
Advanced Technology Makes the Predators Worse Hunters
The Yautja Are ᴅᴇᴀᴅlier Without the Crutch of Advanced Weaponry
Predator vs Wolverine follows a century-long battle between Wolverine and a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly Yautja who considers him the ultimate prey – partly because of the unbreakable adamantium coating his bones. The two have clashed again and again, with Logan often winning not because he’s the better hunter, but because he figures out a way to turn the Predator’s hi-tech equipment against it. Wolverine has attacked the Predator with its own glaive, blinded its heat vision by creating an underwater cloud of his own blood, and eventually wins by creating a mud-covered decoy that the Yautja ᴀssumes is a way to trick its tech. All the way, the Yautja’s tech makes it more powerful but also creates a host of weaknesses that Wolverine is able to exploit, just as Predator‘s heroes always have, going back to Dutch covering himself in mud.
Not only does Logan start using the Yautja’s tech to his advantage, but he notes that being able to rely on sci-fi weaponry actually lessens the Predator’s own skills and instincts. Wolverine works out that the Predator has become so reliant on tech that it’s started to prioritize the input of its gadgets over its own instincts. He explains:
The fancier the tech, the cockier you get, and the more detached you are from the musk and bloodbeat of the thing you want ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.
The Ultimate Predator Would Be a Yautja Without Sci-Fi Technology
The Predators’ Ethos Has Been Corrupted Over Time – Which Makes Older Stories Even More Exciting
This idea is perfectly represented in Prey, which is set in 1719 and follows a Predator with less advanced technology. This Predator is particularly ruthless, savvy, and vicious in a way that certainly makes it seem ᴅᴇᴀᴅlier than the plasmacaster-wielding grunts seen in movies like Alien vs Predator. Ultimately, this Predator is only taken down when its advanced tech is turned against it by Naru, raising the question of how a human could beat a Yautja without technological advantages to turn against it. The franchise seems to support the idea that the more stripped-down and unsophisticated a Predator is technologically, the ᴅᴇᴀᴅlier it becomes.
While Predators have their own code of honor, the franchise ultimately criticizes them as a parody of big-game hunters. They come far, far better equipped than their prey and are usually righteously defeated by victims who are fighting for their lives while the Yautja fight for sport. Because of this, the Predators’ technology will always ultimately be their Achilles Hell, as it’s the thematic symbol of their arrogance and unfair advantage. However, with stories like Prey traveling back in time and depicting Predators who are less technologically overwhelming – and Marvel exploring the lore in various comic series – it’s possible that fans will get to see a pure Predator at some point in the future – one whose skills and instincts haven’t been blunted by a reliance on tech.
What Kind Of Yautja Appears In Predator Badlands?
The Upcoming Predator Movie Could Add Weight To The Theory
The Predator: Badlands trailer has already sent shockwaves through the fanbase, not just because of its unique setting and ominous tone, but because it features a very different kind of Yautja – one unlike any seen in the franchise before on the page or the screen. Unlike the hulking, armored warriors of Predator, Predator 2, or even the more primal Feral Predator from Prey, this new Yautja is noticeably younger, leaner, and more human-like in its proportions and movement.
This fresh take on the iconic alien hunter introduces a Yautja with a slighter frame and far less bulky armor, suggesting it’s an inexperienced member of the species.
This fresh take on the iconic alien hunter introduces a Yautja with a slighter frame and far less bulky armor, suggesting it’s an inexperienced member of the species. In Yautja culture, everything from gear to status is earned through victory in hunts and combat. This new Predator’s lightweight armor – minimalistic and stripped-down – speaks volumes. It’s likely this Yautja hasn’t yet earned the right to don the heavier, more high-tech battle gear worn by its ᴅᴇᴀᴅlier, older kin. It’s not under-equipped, it just hasn’t earned those privileges yet.
The lack of dreadlocks is also a notable difference. The young Yautja in Predator: Badlands sports fewer dreadlocks than any prior iteration, which further implies that it’s at an early stage in its life or warrior development. Since the dreadlocks have often been tied to age and status among the Yautja, this subtle change is yet another visual cue that the Badlands Predator is still at the start of its journey.
What’s even more intriguing is the more humanized facial structure and movement style of the creature. It’s still unmistakably alien, but there’s something eerily relatable about its design, almost as if it’s meant to evoke sympathy or at least a deeper connection from the audience. That’s no coincidence. All signs point to Predator: Badlands flipping the script, with the Yautja possibly taking on a more protagonist-like role. If true, it would mark a bold new direction for the franchise – one that dives into the personal growth, rites of pᴀssage, and cultural expectations of a young Predator out to prove itself.
Predator: Badlands is clearly continuing the franchise’s trend of reinventing the Yautja species in fresh, thrilling ways – ways that could support the theory Predator versus Wolverine has already added weight to. From Prey’s primal Feral Predator to this new youthful hunter, it’s clear that the franchise is diving deeper into Yautja lore than ever before. If this young Predator is the movie’s main character, audiences might be in for a surprisingly emotional and personal journey – one that redefines everything known about the Yautja.
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Predator versus Wolverine #4 (2024) |
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Predator vs Wolverine is available now from Marvel Comics.
