Greyback

"Take it..."

―Greyback (from Predator 2)

Greyback,^[2] also known as Golden Angel, was a Yautja Elder encountered by Mike Harrigan aboard the Yautja Mother Ship hidden beneath Los Angeles in 1997. He was the leader of the Los Angeles hunting party.

Biography

18th century

Greyback first visited Earth in 1718, when he encountered pirate captain Raphael Adolini and assisted him in fending off his mutinous crew. At the end of the deadly battle, Adolini gifted the Predator with his flintlock pistol before succumbing to a gunshot wound. Greyback then buried the captain and gifted the dead man with his otherworldly sword.

20th century

Greyback returned to Earth, along with a small hunting party, in 1997. Even though there were a few members within his gang, only one actually actively hunted the armed citizens in Los Angeles. Greyback presumably watched the duel between LAPD detective Mike Harrigan and the City Hunter without interfering. After the latter was defeated in hand-to-hand combat aboard their ship, Greyback and the rest of the hunting party surrounded him. Contrary to Harrigan's expectations, they did not attack, but rather carried away their fallen comrade's body. Before Greyback himself left, he gave to Harrigan Adolini's flintlock pistol as a trophy, signifying the respect he held for the man who had defeated one of his ilk in a fair fight. Greyback and the others then left Earth on the ship with their dead comrade.

Equipment

Cloak
Cutlass
Bio-Mask
Extendable sword (formerly)
Plasmacaster
Wristblades
Wrist Gauntlet

Trophies

18th century flintlock pistol (formerly)
Dog tags
United States 2nd Infantry Division patch

Behind the Scenes

Greyback's suit was actually made from the original Jungle Hunter outfit from Predator, with different armor pieces applied.^[2] The Elder's head was likewise recycled from the Jungle Hunter outfit, and was modified with foam latex appliances to alter its appearance. According to special effects artist Shane Mahan, "We changed the structure and the look of it a bit, and broke a tusk on it to make it look older."^[3] Greyback was played by an uncredited Kevin Peter Hall, who portrayed the Jungle Hunter Predator and the City Hunter in Predator 2.^[2]

Trivia

Greyback is never named in the film or its novelization; his name is only given by the film crew in behind the scenes interviews and merchandise.
Greyback's Plasmacaster is unique in that the laser pointer is built into the weapon itself, rather than mounted on the Predator's Bio-Mask.
In the novelization of the film, it is Greyback who kills the City Hunter, not Harrigan — Harrigan merely severely wounds the City Hunter with the Smart-Disc, at which point Greyback and the others arrive. The City Hunter then willingly allows Greyback to behead it.^[4]
Among Greyback's trophies is a sword, dog tags and a patch from the United States 2nd Infantry Division, which is on his left arm.