Why do the Predators keep coming back to a planet where they routinely get their butts kicked?
Turns out, they're into it.
At this point, we've seen Predators face off against human warriors many times across the decades.
Between the main "Predator" films, the crossover "Alien vs. Predator" spinoffs, and expanded
canon from the comics and novels, we've learned that the Predators are a species utterly obsessed
with the thrill and prestige of the hunt.
In particular, they're hooked on hunting species that can hunt them back.
"If it bleeds, we can kill it."
So, the fact that humans have defeated Predators numerous times over the years hasn't taught
these aliens to steer clear of Earth.
In fact, it's only made us all the more interesting to them.
Issue #0 of Dark Horse's 1989 comic "Alien vs. Predator" starts with a conversation between
two men on a space mining ship arguing about whether humans have become too dependent on technology.
As one man tells the other that we stopped using tools as means to an end and instead
have turned them into the end itself, we see images of Predators preparing their arsenal
of advanced hunting tools.
When the dialogue states that we have lost our connection to our primal nature, we see
the aliens fighting to the death over some small disagreement.
The implication is that the Predators are what humans ought to aspire to — at least,
in the eyes of that one very violent man.
They have technology, sure, but they don't depend on it.
They are advanced, but still seem to resolve conflicts via feats of strength.
They are both futuristic and rather primitive.
The comic suggests that the Predators hunt us down to prove to themselves that they have
not forgotten their roots and become dependent on their weapons.
Even on the verge of victory they will pause to allow humans to pick up weapons, as there
is no sport in killing prey that doesn't fight back.
Indeed, whenever we've seen Predators encounter humans in the films, there is at least one
scene where the Predator chooses not to use their weapons and instead fight humans by hand.
This seems to be their way of proving to themselves that their advanced technology has not made
them sedentary and dependent on tools.
Of course, their boasting of their power tends to be their undoing, but that's just good
news for whatever human they face off against.
"Prey" in particular sees the Feral Predator responding in kind to whatever weapons are
wielded against it.
After humans attempt to trap it with a net, it deploys a net of its own — with a lethal twist.
When humans fight with projectile weapons, the Predator responds with a less advanced
version of the Plasmacaster that fires bolts instead of energy blasts.
But when it fights animals, it tends to stick to only its wrist-blades and brute strength.
2018's "The Predator" revealed how far the Predators are willing to go to become the
galaxy's greatest predator.
In that movie, humans learn that the Predators have taken to splicing their own DNA with
that of other species in an attempt to improve themselves.
That's right.
If you can't beat them, and you won't join them, steal their genetic material to try
and capture what makes them special.
Of course, in a bit of delicious irony, the human soldiers in "The Predator" pull a similar
feat and use Predator weapons to fight back and kill a Predator.
That film even ends with a human soldier intending to pilot a "Predator killer" suit that can
even the field in future fights.
"That's my new suit, bubba.
I hope they got it in a 42 long."
The "Predator" books, however, focus on our dependence on technology as the reason why
Predators hunt us.
In the novelization for the first "Predator" movie, we are introduced to the titular alien
hunter as he is stalking and studying a group of soldiers, focusing on their camouflage
and heavy weapons.
According to the book, it was the sight of a creature that modified and trained itself
specifically to kill that interested the Predator and made it want to hunt soldiers.
Even if they know they are more advanced than us, the Predators think of us as worthy prey
— or even opponents — because we are willing to use tools to help us kill and rule over
other creatures.
There is perhaps no better example of this than the crossover comic titled "Batman Versus
Predator."
In that comic, a Predator lands in Gotham City looking for worthy prey, but isn't really
satisfied until it meets the Caped Crusader.
Truly, if you want an adversary that pushes itself and modifies itself in order to be
a better warrior, who better than Batman?
In that comic alone, Batman uses a sonar exoskeleton suit to increase his strength, as well as
several new gadgets like a wide-spectrum tranquilizer to beat the Predator.
Likewise, the "Aliens vs. Predator: Prey" novelization of the comic book series states
that the Predators hate humans for their cunning and craftiness.
They even turned us into bedtime stories to scare Predator children!
This strikes at the core of the franchise, which has always been about the advanced alien
hunter underestimating their prey.