Alien: Romulus Offspring Discussion - Gender specific effects of Black Goo Accelerant?
Chris
AdminEngineerAug-18-2024 9:07 AMOkay folks, it's that time again - time to analyze and discuss the various new aspects of the Alien franchise the new film has introduced. Alien: Romulus introduced us to a new Alien Hybrid (seems to be the trend) in its final act and in true Prequel-style fashion, the chronological order of events leading to its creation will make us wonder and also - proposes new questions!
How was it created?
The Offspring is created by Kay injecting herself with Black Goo / Pathogen / Accelerant material synthesized by Weyland-Yutani. Her Human embryo is transformed interestingly enough - not her... Her Human embryo is changed and she births a pod containing an Engineer-looking baby.
The process to this creation is: Black Goo > Pregnant Woman > Birth.
Does the Accelerant react differently based on Gender of the host?
This suggests that the Pathogen prioritizes transforming an existing Human embryo if the host is pregnant... Every other instance where Humans were injected with the pathogen, it transformed their bodies or destroyed them...
Interestingly this adds curiosity to gender specific effects of the Pathogen.
In Prometheus, Shaw was not transformed either, but she was impregnated with the Trilobite embryo after Hollaway's sperm was transformed by the Black Goo PRIOR to his transformation. Shaw was never transformed after her birth.
Black Goo + Male = Aggressive Monster
I theorize the increased Testosterone levels in male hosts might react differently with the Pathogen, resulting in a complete transformation into an aggressive, zombie-like monster. It was happening to Hollaway and happened to Fifield in Prometheus.
Black Goo + Female = Host for new Lifeform
The reduced Testosterone levels in females must activate something in the Black Goo Pathogen Accelerant that motivates its components to either repair their damaged reproductive system (Shaw) and create a new lifeform or take over the resident reproductive system and any existing Embryos therein (Kay).
Perhaps this is why David dissected Shaw in Alien: Covenant and used her reproductive system as a means of bringing forth the Ovomorphs (Eggs) in Covenant. Artificially creating the Egg using the Accelerant and Shaw's reproductive system - cause there were no Eggs present on the Engineer outpost he took the Juggernaut to.
Poetic in a way, the emphasis and importance of male / female relationships on not only the franchise as a whole, but the creation and expansion of life itself.
While we only have a couple films now to showcase the Accelerant's effects on different beings and genders, I've noticed a trend. Is this intentional? Is it coincidental? I have to assume it's intentional.
With that being said - I hope we see more exploration of the Black Goo application and what all it can lead to. Both Prometheus and Romulus have now ended after teasing a Black Goo birthed hybrid creature. We never really see what the final - adult version of these beings look like and are capable of.
Xenotaris
MemberPraetorianAug-18-2024 10:53 AMWell I think Shaw didn't suffer any mutations due to the black goo altered Holloway's sperm.
Also Holloway was undergoing a different transformation then Fifield. Holloway was disintegrating because he ingested the black goo, while Fifield inhaled the black goo.
Kay I believe was having a slower transformation due to being larger than the mouse and her fetus. We see that she was lactating a black goo-like substance instead of breast milk.
Good hypothesis though, I would like for the filmmakers to explore this further in a sequel.
Dark Nebula
StaffNeomorphAug-18-2024 5:03 PM
Via Variety:
“The black goo is the root of the whole thing that was introduced in ‘Prometheus’,” Álvarez explains. “It’s the root of all life, but also particularly the xenomorphs come out of that thing, which means it has to be inside them. It’s the xenomorphs’ semen, almost. So we thought, if it affects your DNA, and the Engineers clearly came out of the same root of life, it made complete sense to me that [the offspring of a human and a xenomorph] was going to look like that.”
MonsterZero
MemberXenomorphAug-19-2024 6:06 AMIf Kay survived....would her future babies be offspring monsters?
Maybe Kay would have become a Queen. Mutating into some sort of Offspring birther.
Did Andy and Rain destroy the Accelerant ?
Where is BigDave?
Neomorph
MemberChestbursterAug-19-2024 9:37 AMNo matter how you slice it, the goo does whatever is necessary for the story.
Elizabeth gives birth to an anime tentacle monster after having intercourse with Holloway who on the other hand started to decompose.
Fifield somehow turned into the toxic avenger after faceplanting into a pool of the goo, much more than the tiny amount Holloway received, yet the Engineers on Planet 4 (Covenant) died after being sprayed with the goo. Why didn't they mutate? The worms bathing in the goo turned into hammerpedes (snakes) considerably larger than their original form.
Two colonists got goo spores into their bodies and gave birth to identical Neomorphs, while
***Romulus Spoilers***
Kay in Romulus gave birth to the happiest Engineer that ever lived.
*End of spoilers*
Nothing's consistent. It follows no logic other than being plot magic.
MonsterZero
MemberXenomorphAug-19-2024 2:43 PM@neomorph So true, But that's not any fun!
I wonder If they put Kay in Cryo? Or jettisoned her body. Ground burial on the next planet would be cool scene...with spores escaping her corpse.
Andy/Rain still have the accelerant? I'd absolutely read a book about their adventures.
With or without the accelerant. Rain is probably pissed at Weyland Yutani and wants some sort of revenge for the death of her friends. Expose them or something. Thorn in their side.
She must be silenced!
Neomorph
MemberChestbursterAug-19-2024 3:09 PMThere wasn't much left of Kay, I guess she was sucked out the airlock along with happy emojineer (some say he's still smiling while floating around in space)
Yeah what happened to that goo cylinder? Hopefully Romulus does well enough at the box office only for Fox/Disney to greenlight a potential sequel or a new Alien film at least, preferably a sequel without fan-service every other scene.
There's also a few loose ends like David's intentions when heading to Origae 6 at the end of Covenant, if any director cares to bother with his character arc.
Until then, Alien After Earth series next!
MonsterZero
MemberXenomorphAug-20-2024 5:14 AMYeah, it's nearly 2025 and nothing published ( novel, comic book ) about David/Daniels/T or Origae 6 so it follows, nothing but fan fiction for Romulus.
But Rain and Andy are likable characters ( compared to David and even Daniels/T ), so I'll give it much better odds.
Neomorph
MemberChestbursterAug-20-2024 10:42 AMThe chemistry between Rain and Andy worked really well! I was strangely enough more worried about Andy than any other character in the film lol.
Xenotaris
MemberPraetorianAug-20-2024 8:03 PMSupplementary material suggests the black goo does different things based on its environment.
Holloway ingested the black goo/accelerant, so he was destined to become Black Goo primordial soup.
Fifield inhaled it, becoming an enraged mutant or xenomorph hybrid (deleted scene version)
The Planet 4 Engineers were bombed with the accelerant, perhaps since the canisters dissolved/exploded in midair may have caused a different reaction in the pathogen.
Also the accelerant/black goo/black liquid/pathogen was a refined version in Alien Romulus don't pretend it was the exact same formula as it was in the Prequels.
The Accelerant from the prequels came directly from the canisters that the engineers made. The Accelerant in Alien Romulus was extracted from Big Chap/Kane's Son and then further refined into Z-01.
Xenotaris
MemberPraetorianAug-20-2024 8:07 PMCrap forgot to include one more thing and correct something. Yes the Pathogen/Black Goo/Black Liquid/Chemical A0-3959X.91–15 in Alien Romulus is the same pathogen from Prometheus and Covenant. But what we see that mutates the mouse and Kay's baby was the refined version, Z-01. Which came from a secondary source of the original pathogen, a xenomorph rather than its primary source, the urns.