This predator should've brought the plasma cannon. And is that mask more style than substance?
The particular Predator who arrives on Earth in "Prey" has a ship that's shown a handful of times,
mostly while it's transitioning in and out of active camouflage. It's even visible as early
as the first scene, where a slight disturbance in the sky over Naru's village foreshadows the
alien's arrival. But what happens to the ship after the Predator descends to the ground?
In the shot where the Predator is properly deployed, he simply drops from his ship,
which re-enters camouflage and disappears into a nearby mass of clouds. Is the ship on autopilot?
Are there other hunters onboard, setting off for other spots on Earth or even other planets?
What happens to it after Naru kills the Predator? While these questions might all seem minor in
the grand scope of the story, their answers would provide some interesting insight. It's
unknown just how extensively the Predators have explored Earth and humanity by 1719,
and getting a look inside the ship would give some clues. Perhaps for the best, though, "Prey"
is more interested in the action on the ground, leaving the many mysteries of the ship unanswered.
Naru successfully uses the Predator's helmet-mounted lock-on system to kill it,
but when she returns to her tribe all she carries of the creature
is its severed head. What about the deployable shield, the active camouflage, the armor,
the weapons, and all the other pieces of advanced technology? Was it damaged
beyond use in the fight? Is it impossible for humans of the early 18th century to decipher?
Or does Naru simply believe that she and her people are better off without such strange tools?
That last option might be the most likely one. "Prey" makes a point of showing how advanced
technology can be an untrustworthy ally, such as when the flintlock pistol given to Naru fails
to fire, and when the Predator is killed by its own weapon. Ultimately, instincts, intelligence,
and survival skills are shown to be far superior to any piece of sci-fi tech, which might be why
Naru lets the Predator's gear rot in the mud. Or maybe, with the influx of European invaders,
she'd simply rather leave the tools out of potentially dangerous and treacherous hands.
At the end of "Predator 2," Mike Harrigan is given a gift by an elder Predator,
a flintlock pistol from the year 1715, as a sign of respect. According to the name engraved on the
gun, it once belonged to Raphael Adolini. While this moment is mainly meant to emphasize just
how long the Predators have hunted on Earth, the pistol has become a key piece of "Predator" lore.
At the end of "Prey," it's revealed that the flintlock pistol given to Naru midway
through the movie is the same one seen in "Predator 2." The character who gives her
the gun is credited in the film as "Raphael," which would seem to tie
the whole thing up nicely. Or it would, if not for a few lingering questions.
The big mystery about the pistol now is how it got back into the hands of the alien hunters.
Unless they specifically tracked it, which seems unlikely, it would be incredibly unlikely
for them to encounter whoever it got passed down to decades or centuries later. The most
logical explanation might be a pretty dark one: The Predators return for Naru later on,
defeat her, and take the gun as a trophy. Whatever the explanation, the return of the
flintlock pistol is a pretty notable retcon of previously established "Predator" lore.
Depending on what "Predator" stories you're reading or watching, you might have one of
several different understandings of their history on Earth. The "Alien vs. Predator"
movies show a timeline where the species lived among humans thousands of years in the past,
and the comics show Predators hunting humans as early as 1718. That might sound like it would
line up perfectly with the events of "Prey," but the fifth film in the franchise actually
retcons some of the previous lore pretty severely in terms of how long the hunters have been around.
The comic book "Predator: 1718" tells the story of Raphael Adolini,
a pirate captain who encounters a Predator shortly before his death. In the comic,
he gives his engraved flintlock pistol to one of the aliens as a sign of respect.
It's the same gun that's given back to humanity at the end of "Predator 2."
"Take it."
But in "Prey," that flintlock pistol is given to Naru by a member of the French trappers.
That would seem to undo the entire "1718" story from any kind of canon,
which means that the actual history of Predators on Earth is once again pretty murky.
At the beginning of the movie, Naru delivers a pretty interesting bit of narration,
explaining that long ago, a monster had come to her land. Is she speaking about a time before the
events of "Prey," or after? Perhaps Predators have come to her home before, but it's never confirmed.
There are some pretty big differences between the Predator in "Prey" and the ones seen in
the other films in the franchise. Primarily, though the alien hunter still has a lot of
impressive technology, it's not nearly to the level seen in later human hunts.
This is most visible in one particularly glaring absence: the shoulder-mounted
plasma cannon that's typically been the Predator's most iconic and dangerous weapon.
In prior films, the plasma cannon is connected to the triangular targeting laser
used by the Predators to hunt down their targets. In "Prey," however,
that targeting apparatus is connected to a handheld spear gun, still a deadly weapon,
as is proven multiple times, but not quite as advanced as the plasma cannon. The simplest
explanation for the classic weapon's absence is that Predator technology just isn't quite
as advanced in "Prey," which would make sense given that it's several hundred years removed
from the rest of the series. The Predator also has a mechanical shield, rather than an
energy-based one, and a much simpler helmet and suit of armor than those worn by later hunters.
Even still, it seems odd that a race that's achieved invisibility and interstellar travel
hasn't yet mastered the science of big, deadly laser guns. Another possible explanation is
that the hunter in "Prey" just chooses to use simpler tools to make the hunt more challenging.
Historically, Predators wear full helmets that hide their mandibular alien faces.
In "Prey," however, the alien hunter that fights Naru sports a very different piece of headgear.
More of a mask than a helmet, it looks like it could be part of a skull,
possibly a trophy from a past hunt modified with a laser-tracking system.
Why the Predator chooses to wear the mask, however, remains unknown.
"You're one ugly mother fu-"
At the very least, the mask suggests that this isn't the Predator's first rodeo.
The hunter has killed before, but not necessarily on Earth. With a spaceship at the ready,
the mask could belong to any number of as-yet-unnamed species across the galaxy.
It's also unclear if using this kind of trophy mask instead of the more traditional helmet
is the norm of the time or a personal choice. We don't get to see another Predator in "Prey,"
but the alien choosing the mask instead of the classic armored helmet
may be some kind of prideful display.