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Xenopedia



The Deacon[3] is a Xenomorph-like creature formed following the Trilobite's impregnation of the Last Engineer.

Biography

The Deacon was an accidental result of the Engineers' Chemical A0-3959X.91 – 15 that was originally used as a bioweapon as well as presumably creating life. The Liquid infected Charlie Holloway, who impregnated Elizabeth Shaw with a Trilobite. This Trilobite eventually matured and impregnated an Engineer on LV-223, whereupon the Deacon developed and burst from the Engineer's chest.

126 years later in the year 2219, the vessel Geryon and its crew land on LV-223 under the pretense of a salvage mission, to catastrophic results, leaving only captain Angela Foster, Galgo Helder, Chris Hanlock, Jill, the Predator Ahab and the mutated construct Elden as the sole survivors. After a series of events, the survivors arrive at a mountain where they believed a human beacon was located. Hoping to escape the moon, the surviving members begin tunneling into the mountain where they came to the realization that the mountain was "alive" and that they were inside an acidic "vein", Elden assumed that whatever was on board "Weyland's ship" had heavily mutated around it. This implies that the Deacon had in fact, traveled to the ruins of the Prometheus and had mutated around the vessel until it became an organic mountain.

Characteristics

The Deacon has a blue smooth body, four fingers, a thumb and plantigrade legs. Their mouth possesses two different teeth sets, the top Jaw having teeth typical to herbivores, while its lower jaw had sharp teeth spread apart, the gum that protrudes behind the top possesses sharp teeth.

Life Cycle

Deacon life cycle

Deacon life cycle.

The initial stage in the Deacon's life cycle spawns from Black liquid known as Chemical A0-3959X.91 – 15 — a biological weapon and evolutionary agent created by the Engineers. The substance has a unique reaction with every animal genome it encounters and was designed to induce genetic chaos. Delivered via ingestion or inhalation, it's capable of mass destruction. Once a host is infected with the deadly pathogen, the they experience a painfully rapid genetic transformation.

After Holloway ingested the pathogen, he transmitted his infection to Shaw via insemination during intercourse. Just as soon as Holloway started showing degenerative effects related to his infection, Shaw became "pregnant" with a rapidly evolving Trilobite incubating inside of her body.

Upon successful removal of the alien creature during an impromptu cesarean section in the Pauling MedPod 720i, the Trilobite was quarantined in a lab and rapidly matured into a massive creature. It later came in contact with an Engineer and subdued him in a way that resembled how a Facehugger subdues its prey. The Engineer would subsequently incubate an embryo that would gestate inside him until an almost fully formed, infant Deacon bust its way through the Engineer's chest.

Differences from Xenomorphs

The biggest difference between Xenomorphs and the Deacon is the host they come from. As with all Xenomorphs, they gain different characteristics from their hosts. It is important to note how the birth of this creature is different from the majority of Xenomorph births. Similar to the Bloodburster from Alien: Covenant, the Deacon was born with arms and legs, while most other Xenomorphs born of humanoid hosts lack legs and arms before maturing. Instead of having a second inner jaw like the Xenomorph, the Deacon had a single set of protrusible jaws more akin to those of the goblin shark, where the upper jaw can unhinge and move forwards.[4] The deacon also lacks any biomechanical features, being nearly completely smooth, with exception of some ribs showing.

Unlike most Xenomorph Chestbursters encountered by humans (which push forwards out of their host's body), the Deacon used the sharp back end of its head to tear a way out of its host.

List of Known Victims

Behind the Scenes

Ultramorph

3

Concept art of the Ultramorph. Note the large eyes.

In Jon Spaihts' original script for Prometheus, titled Alien: Engineers, the film's final creature was originally intended to be a Jockey-Xenomorph, dubbed the "Ultramorph",[5] and was to engage the heroine in a lengthy running battle across the surface of LV-426. However, the creature was ultimately changed to the Deacon and its role was dramatically reduced to a virtual cameo.

Concept art of the Ultra-Morph produced for the film more closely resembles the traditional Xenomorph than the creature used in the finished movie.

Deacon/Xenomorph

There is some confusion over whether or not the Deacon is intended to be some kind of Xenomorph, largely brought about by the script revisions mentioned above and as a result of the production team occasionally referring to the creature as a Protomorph or Proto-Xenomorph (terms carried over from earlier script drafts).

Some evidence suggests the Deacon may not supposed to be a Xenomorph breed, or even a progenitor to the Xenomorph race. A mural of a fully-grown Xenomorph, resembling a Drone, can be seen on the wall of the Engineer Temple on LV-223, indicating that the Xenomorphs already exist by the time of Prometheus. However, the creature in the mural also seemingly possesses qualities of the Deacon, such as in its arms, which lack the biomechanical motifs of the traditional Xenomorph and instead are smoother and more biological in nature. The film's co-writer, Damon Lindelof, has stated, "I felt that the punchline of Prometheus was going to be that there is human DNA in what we have come to know as the human Xenomorph." While one could argue that his use of the word "was" is an indication that this concept was dropped from the film, the Deacon's inclusion as a cameo in the film's final scene does seem to indicate the creature's importance. In addition, the events leading to the Deacon's creation are a clear indication that it is in fact derived from the genetic material of Holloway and/or Shaw, exposed to the black goo, a known mutagen, meaning that there is in fact human DNA in its genome, a possible nod to the fact that Xenomorphs take on the characteristics of their host. The way in which it is portrayed, bursting from the chest of an Engineer, is an almost definite nod to its relationship with the Xenomorph.

The Deacon is not a creature created by a regular Facehugger impregnating an Engineer, but rather is created by a Trilobite. In the film's original script, an Engineer did become impregnated by a Facehugger, leading to an Engineer-spawned Xenomorph, although this was later changed when 20th Century Fox pressed Ridley Scott to remove the Xenomorph from the story altogether.

Despite its differences from the species Xenomorph XX121, the Deacon shares undeniable similarities with the former species, including the use of a living host as a means of gestation. Both the Deacon and the Xenomorph also possess a skeletal frame, an elongated head and an inner-jaw (although the Deacon's inner jaw is notably different to that of the Xenomorph). These similarities have likely only fueled opinions that the Xenomorph and the Deacon are supposed to be related.

In the commentary of the film Prometheus, however, the production crew and even Ridley Scott himself acknowledge the creature by calling it a form of Xenomorph. In fact, in one of the commentaries, a member of the production crew refers to the Deacon as a young Xenomorph Queen, and that it was not something intended to be created by the Engineers, but was "something new, special, totally unpredicted."

Name origin

The creature's production name became known as "The Deacon" because according to Prometheus director Ridley Scott its head looks like a Bishop's mitre, the Christian church Deacon's pointed hat. [6] The name could also be a metaphor, derived from the fact that while the Deacon is a means to an end for the engineers, they are not quite on the level of the traditional Xenomorph. In modern Christianity, a deacon is an ordained minister of an order ranking below that of priest.

Trivia

  • The Deacon was originally intended to have more screen time following its birth, pursuing Shaw and David to the second Juggernaut ship and narrowly missing them as they leave the planet.[7]
  • The Deacon bears a resemblance to the larger Xenomorphs (simply referred to as "Aliens") encountered in the Game Boy version of Alien 3, being similar in size and body structure (barring the addition of a tail), and having a pointed cone-like head.
AVP1

The original cover to Alien vs. Predator: Fire and Stone #1, featuring several Deacons.

Appearances

Gallery

Concept art

References

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