Warning: Spoilers for Predator: Killer of KillersThe animated anthology Predator: Killer of Killers broke the Predator universe wide open, and in doing so introduced several never-before-seen Predator variants across the course of its four key stories. From director Dan Trachtenberg, who revitalized the franchise with 2022’s smash hit Prey, Predator: Killer of Killers chronicles three battles between Predators and humans from global history. The three separate stories feature a Viking warlord, a Japanese samurai, and a WWII fighter pilot as they each fight a different Predator, before all three unite to battle an even greater threat.

What makes Predator: Killer of Killers truly unique in the franchise is how much it expands the established lore of the Predator species, and what drives their murderous culture. As part of that expansion, the movie showcases stark physiological and technological differences between the various Predators that invade Earth to seek trophies. As explained by Killer of Killers‘ director, the different Predator variants match and reflect the warrior cultures they do battle with, yielding some incredible fight choreography and truly brutal kills.

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The Brute Predator

The Hulking Yautja Warrior Fights Vikings

Because the new Predators aren’t distinctly named in the movie, it’s easiest to recognize them by their fighting style. The first new Predator introduced in Killer of Killers is the Brute Predator, a mᴀssive, incredibly strong Predator who does battle with the fierce Viking warlord Ursa after killing her inner circle of soldiers. The Brute Predator is unique in the franchise in that he discards his cloaking device very early in the hunt, which is typically frowned upon in the Yautja Code. In place of a broad spectrum of weapons, he does most of his killing with his bare hands.

His lone armament is a large gauntlet that allows him to perform kinetically-charged punches that shatter shield and bone. After it breaks, he also discards his mask and essentially fights blind, with no heat vision due to the cold and no other form of tracking to ᴀssist in his pursuit of Ursa. She manages to defeat the beast that’s twice her size by shielding herself from one of his kinetic punches while underwater, forcing them both backwards, sending her out of the water and his skull directly onto the spike of an anchor.

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The Stealthy Predator

The Oft-Cloaked Warrior Fought Samurai In Feudal Japan

With more than 800 years having pᴀssed since the appearance of the Brute Predator, the Stealthy Predator is far more capably armed. It’s interesting to note that despite hunting on Earth nearly 100 years before the Feral Predator stalked Naru and the Comanche in Prey, the Stealthy Predator possesses what appears to be a more technologically advanced array of weapons, despite them being mostly blade-based. Just as samurai fought with katanas and throwing knives, the Stealthy Predator hunts with a spear, blades from his gauntlets, and a vicious blade that can be sH๏τ forward on a chain and retracted.

Unlike the Brute Predator, the Stealthy Predator relies heavily on his cloaking device to stalk his prey, only revealing himself when actively engaged with his enemies. That’s a symbol of his adherence to the Yautja code of honor, which makes sense as a reflection of the code of honor of the samurai that he’s battling against. The two samurai that fight the Stealthy Predator work together to trick him to recall one of his own explosive projectiles into his arm gauntlet, and then cut him in half with their katanas.

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The Pilot Predator

The Airship-bound Yautja Battled American WWII Pilots

The Pilot Predator is truly unique in the Predator franchise, as we have never seen a Predator whose primary form of combat is aerial. In the entire story that plays out over the skies of Europe during WWII, the Pilot Predator remains in his aircraft until he’s eventually sH๏τ down and killed by Torres, the young pilot who manages to outwit him. In lieu of bullets, missiles, or an energy projectile, the Pilot Predator levels the playing field (again, sticking to the Yauja Code) by only shooting retractable harpoons that skewer a plane’s innards and remove its engine.

The Pilot Predator’s very existence opens up a world of possibilities for Predator variants. His weapons and mask, which is little more than an eyepatch and mouth covering, indicate that he is a highly specialized killer, and that his fighting style isn’t commonplace. It’s possible he specifically sought out organisms in the universe that do battle in the air, which begs the question of whether there are other types of specialist hunters, perhaps ones that fight with spaceships, or some that specifically seek out aquatic prey.

By climbing to an extreme alтιтude, Torres is able to cool his plane down enough to become invisible to the heat-hunting Pilot Predator. He then flies close enough to the ground that he receives covering fire (and alternative heat targets) from the very soldiers whose job it is to shoot him down. Despite suffering heavy damage in the crossfire, the Pilot Predator survives for one last sH๏τ at Torres. However, Torres overheats his plane engine and baits the Pilot Predator into pulling it out of his plane, turning it into a bomb as it returns to the Predator aircraft.

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The Grendel King

The Predator Warlord Is A Seasoned Killer

The Predator king that is behind the human warrior abductions isn’t actually named “the Grendel King”, but the only label he’s given comes from Ursa, who refers to him with the name of the monstrous antagonist from the epic Norse poem Beowulf. When the Brute Predator first attacks, one of Ursa’s soldiers calls it “Grendel”, which appears to be sort of a catch-all тιтle meaning “monster”. Therefore, when approached by the leader of the monsters, Ursa calls him the Grendel King.

The mᴀssive Predator is ornately decorated with trophies, proving just how lethal he is as a hunter. In fact, eagle-eyed viewers have theorized that his cape is made of Xenomorph tails, which would be the ultimate proof of his status. He appears larger, faster, and stronger than most other Predators, and his chief weapon is a large axe that he wields like a throwing spear at one point. He is sliced and bludgeoned by Ursa and Kenji when they finally make it to his raised platform high above the arena, but all it does is enrage him.

The Grendel King definitely has a “big bad” feel to him, and it seems likely that he reappears given the cliffhanger ending of Predator: Killer of Killers. Between his intimidating appearance, his control over the arena, and the brief look we get at his fighting skill and durability, it’s clear that he has risen to his rank not by blood, but by accomplishment. He is unbothered by Kenji and Torres’ escape, and even seems to delight in the fact that a new hunt can begin.

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The Predator King’s Soldiers

The Lesser Killers Do The Grendel King’s Bidding

Not much is revealed about the Grendel King’s soldiers, other than the fact that they take orders from him and appear larger than the Predators that have been seen in the past. They’re smaller than the Grendel King, but if the Yautja culture is a meritocracy (which, again, seems to be the reason the Grendel King is the leader), then we can infer that these are capable killers in their own right. One is eaten by the tusked arena beast after jabbing it with a spear, so it’s possible they aren’t very bright, and are little more than nameless henchmen.

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The Predator Populace

Hundreds Of Yautja Fill The Grendel King’s Arena

We don’t get many close-up sH๏τs of the Yautja commoners that fill the arena. Most of the angles are from behind the crowd, which shows the viewer little more than shadowy silhouettes. However, that still provides an important bit of information: there are many different appearances in the crowd. Theoretically, each Predator watching the action in the arena is as distinct as the three that are shown hunting on Earth in Predator: Killer of Killers, indicating there could be an untold number of variants or simply unique individuals within the Predator universe.