There are few alien foes more fearsome than the Yautja seen in the Predator franchise, although this extraterrestrial species features many different variants of unequal strength. While audiences first met this fascinating creature in the jungle facing off against Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch Schaefer in Predator back in 1987, over the past nearly four decades, we have come to learn a lot more about this species’ abilities, beliefs, equipment, and motivations. Crossover films like Alien vs. Predator even showcased how different Yautja stacked up against all-time great movie monsters like the dreaded Xenomorph.
Every Predator movie has added new layers to the mythology of the Yautja, and it will be exciting to see how Dek, the latest species member set to be introduced in the upcoming Predator: Badlands, will compare to all the variants we have seen before. From more agile, stealth-based variants to ruthless aliens who prefer close-quarters combat, the Yautja differ greatly from one subclass to the other. Across movies, novels, comic books, and video games, there have been so many strong creatures in the Predator franchise.
6
Jungle Predator
Predator (1987)
It’s impossible to talk about the coolest Predator variants without mentioning the Yautja that started it all and who very much could have devastated the world had he not come face-to-face with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch Schaefer. As a jungle hunter, presumably of the Blooded rank, the Jungle Predator was a lone wolf who hunted military personnel in Guatemala during a communist insurgency in 1987. With invisibility technology, heat vision, and predatory impulses, he enjoyed toying with his victims before brutally putting them out of their misery.
With an on-screen kill count of nine people, the Jungle Predator was among the most deadly of all Yautja in the entire film franchise and stands as perhaps the most iconic depiction of the trophy-hunting alien species. While this Yautja was eventually defeated at the hands of Dutch in a close-quarters combat battle, the Jungle Predator did not allow himself to be murdered and instead committed honorable suicide with his self-destruct device.
5
Feral Hunter
Prey (2022)
The Feral Hunter was introduced in Dan Trachtenberg’s excellent Predator prequel Prey, which told the story of a young Comanche warrior named Naru attempting to protect her people from this vicious alien in the Northern Great Plains in 1719. With a design that was a lot different from classic depictions of Yautja, this terrifying creature boasted much more primitive gadgetry than what has been seen in the rest of the franchise and held a unique reverence for bones, out of which he fashioned armor and weaponry.
Prey
- Release Date
-
August 5, 2022
- Director
-
Dan Trachtenberg
However, what the Feral Hunter lacked in advanced technology, he made up for with sheer savagery and appeared to value close combat battles over the Yautja’s typically stealth-based approach. Having killed a bear with his bare hands and ruthlessly killed Comanche and French trappers, the Feral Hunter was a truly terrifying foe who appeared not to follow the same code of honor as other variants. With natural strength, it was only Naru’s ability to use the Feral Hunter’s weaponry against him that led to the creature’s demise.
4
Fugitive Predator
The Predator (2018)
The Fugitive Predator has the largest kill count among any Yautja seen across the film franchise, and its aims and background were far more complex than the simple trophy-hunting endeavors of other variants. While it’s uncertain exactly how or why, a study by the government sect behind Project Stargazer revealed that the Fugitive Predator is a human-Yautja hybrid possessing part human DNA. While the Fugitive will kill humans when it’s required, his overall goal was to deliver the weapon known as the Predator Killer to help humanity fight off an impending invasion.
With plenty of armor and a protective bio-helmet, the Fugitive Predator was stacked with equipment, although he also consistently used his natural weapons for protection, such as utilizing his mandibles to bite into the arm of a scientist or attacking a guard with the sharp bone spurs that emerged from the top of his forearms. With a mysterious backstory that only opens the door to more questions around Yautja culture, beliefs, and variant types, the Fugitive was both intensely powerful and endlessly fascinating.
3
Wolf
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
As a trophy-hunting species, the mark of a truly strong Yautja comes not just from their impressive equipment, armor, or brute strength, but also in the scale of their prey, with no trophy being more impressive than that of a Xenomorph. This was what made Wolf among the strongest of all aliens seen in the Predator franchise, as he slew many Xenomorphs and even fought a Predalien in combat. Although the crossover film Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem is one of the least acclaimed films in the entire franchise, there’s no denying that Wolf’s credentials are very impressive.
Wolf was an elite-ranked Yautja whose battle scars included burns on the left side of his face due to Xenomorph’s acidic blood and even the loss of his upper left mandible. With plenty of fighting experience, Wolf came to Earth after picking up a distress call from a Yautja Scout Ship that had crash-landed, where he dueled with a Predalien in a one-on-one fight. As a creature of boundless power, Wolf was only defeated after the US government dropped a tactical nuclear bomb, which killed him, the Predalien, and any other humans or Xenomorphs in the vicinity of the explosion.
2
Scarface
Predator: Concrete Jungle (2005)
While the Predator franchise started with the 1987 movie, it has spread out across comics, novels, and even video games like Predator: Concrete Jungle. It was here we met Scarface, a truly terrifying Yautja from the Dark Blade Clan who came to Earth in the futuristic year of 2030 to seek redemption for his species and reclaim stolen Predator technology possessed by criminal factions in the city of Neonopolis. In the process, Scarface eliminates countless rival gangs, fights cybernetic mercenaries, and eventually defeats the mafia family that stole his species’ technology a century before.
Predator: Concrete Jungle
- Released
-
April 15, 2005
- Developer(s)
-
Eurocom
- Publisher(s)
-
Vivendi Games
Scarface’s kill count is among the most impressive in the entire Predator franchise, as he’s not only defeated hordes of humans, but he also wiped out a Xenomorph nest and successfully faced off against a Predator-human hybrid. With endless strength and intelligence, Scarface is one of the few Yautja variants we meet who manages to successfully conduct his mission and actually make it out of Earth alive.
1
Super Predator
Predators (2010)
.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2)
Super Predators are also known as Berserker Yautja and are characterized by being larger, stronger, and more aggressive than their smaller counterparts. As a variant breed first seen in Nimród Antal’s Predators movie, they have also shown up in video games like Predator: Hunting Grounds and comic book series such as Predator: The Preserve. As a subclass featuring the likes of Berserker, Falconer, Tracker, Nightstorm, and Scavage, these Super Predators stand taller and have a more reptilian appearance than the average Yautja.
The Super Predators stand apart from the smaller Jungle Hunters and appear to have different beliefs and engage in a blood feud against their fellow variants. With cunning sensibilities and high kill counts, the various Super Predators seen in Predators stalked and killed many human prey on their game preserve planet. Through the use of traps and psychological torment, the Super Predators even used Hell-Hound extraterrestrial killer dogs in the pursuit of their victims.
- Created by
-
Jim Thomas, John Thomas
- First Film
-
Predator
- Cast
-
Carl Weathers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kevin Peter Hall, Peter Cullen, Derek Mears, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Walton Goggins, Françoise Yip, Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers
