Alien Vs. Predator: Rage War Book Trilogy (with Eric from AVP Vs. The World on Insta!)

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[00:00:10] All right, gang. So we've been looking forward to this chat for quite a while. And lo and behold, I have Eric from AVP Vs. The World on Instagram. It was a delight setting this whole thing up. And really, it's going to be quite a delight. As we're talking about, you know, we had to take on some AVP.

[00:01:47] And it lo and behold, it had to be AVP versus the World. Oh, yeah. What's up, Cam? What's up, me? I'm doing great. But yeah, we're taking on AVP Rage War Trilogy. It's like, yeah, it's pretty fascinating when you've cut it down to it. It's like, yeah. And Titan Books, you know, they've been accumulating some other book property and book companies, but they're taking this license pretty seriously. Like some of the other tie in.

[00:02:16] Some movie and TV places. So but like any good fanboy. So what brought you into this particular universe? What got you started into movies and books in general? I mean, well, yeah, I've definitely been. And first of all, thanks for having me. Absolutely. Yeah. Glad to find out are interested fans. We want to talk to the everyday person, you know, who has this on their show.

[00:02:42] Yeah. And I've always grown up thinking that, like, am I the only one that's like obsessed with these creations as much as like, like, like, are there other people? There's been a bunch of these, dude. Everything about aliens and everything about predators and stuff. Remember when YouTube was in its infancy and people would upload like a page of a comic book and be like, and then you see them get like a review like five years later. Like, hey, better later than never.

[00:03:07] No. Yeah. I mean, I'd still do that now. I've been reading a lot of like, like the new Predator books that are coming out on Marvel, like more like alien like Predator kills the Marvel universe. And yeah. And like all these like the Predator. The Punisher Deadpool with Deadpool. Oh, no. Yeah, exactly. Predator. Yeah. It's like, yeah. But I'm glad I've always wanted to see. Yeah.

[00:03:30] I'm just glad they take the license seriously because everyone was worried at first and it's like, you know, because like, well, Star Wars has been varying. Will Fox and Disney merging actually take the series? Like, I think especially as the time of this recording, you know, they've already come out with the Planet of the Apes crossover with Gregory Peck getting a take on it. So it's like, yeah, these guys got it. And they hired people who actually love these properties.

[00:03:56] So and that's why we were kind of drawn to doing more of this as like, you know, anyone can review some of these movies and shows. How about we talk about some of these crossovers in comic book form and, you know, see if it was a good use of the property or not. And it's been fun going about it because it's like this is as close as you're going to get with some of these properties in some cases to additional stuff. I mean, people were wondering what would a Back to the Future 4 and 5 look like? It's like, well, now, you know, it's in comic book form. Yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:04:25] And comic books have always been a great medium for like sequels. Like there's like another like there was a sequel to the movie Aliens in comic book form that I was looking at recently. Yeah. Like the original Alien Freeze. So it's like that's the second coming. Basically, it's just like, yeah, if you can't get in any other format, that that's what you got.

[00:04:47] And but so I know for some reading this, if you don't have the collected book together, it first goes as Predator Incursion. Then book two is Alien Invasion. And then it is AVP, Alien vs. Predator Armageddon. And but yeah, it's they took this seriously. I don't know the release timeline, but, you know, this was. This is a big deal.

[00:05:18] Like, it's just like, OK, you're going to. Collectors and. I mean, I remember. Sorry, but I remember coming coming across Predator Incursion when I was like, I just got like like my Kindle running and stuff. And I was looking up. It was the 20th. Like Predator Comics. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I was just like looking up like like like Predator Comics and like all the ones I had when I was a kid. Kind of, you know, like like the concrete jungle one, which is like a sequel to Predator One.

[00:05:47] And then like big game and like all the aliens versus Predator books. And then I saw the Predator Incursion book. And then I was like, oh, this is a novel. And I just kind of like started reading it. And then later found out about like like the sequels and the big tie in and stuff. But one of the things that really grabbed me about it is that that's always something I've wanted to see in live action. Like like like like if I was to make a big alien predator film or something like that,

[00:06:15] I would either do like a huge massive trilogy kind of like, you know, like Lord of the Rings kind of. It would be worthwhile. Yeah. Yeah. It's like with because because you got like Predator battles. You got Predators fighting aliens, aliens fighting like Marines or whatever human element. And then the humans got to fight the Predators. So so there's always some kind of like battle or something that you can have happening. You know, that's always going to be like exciting.

[00:06:42] And and like like like either I would make a massive trilogy or just one long four hour movie. You know, that's just like, you know, like and that's kind of what these books kind of did, you know, in in the novel form. There's so many like just really cool moments where people get stuck on the Predator habitat or Predators show up because they're flaying the rage and stuff like that. So they show up and like and like this human area or something. And then these battles just kind of break out.

[00:07:10] And then and then the aliens start coming in because like like the rage starts starts invading and they have like thousands and thousands of Xenomorphs, you know. So there you go. These massive like awesome kind of ideas that I've always wanted to see in a live action kind of format, you know. But these books are like, you know, like the next best thing really. Either reading it or like listening to it on Audible or something. Oh, audiobook. Listening to it on Audible and I was just like, this is awesome.

[00:07:39] I'm just driving around and I'm listening to the story. And did they add sound effects and music cues? Oh, yeah, yeah. No, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And like different voices and stuff. Yeah. Sweet. And I'll do kind of just the books were really good at keeping up with everybody and just reminding them, hey, this is what went on to this one led into this. So I'll do a brief recap with Predator Incursion. It is written by Tim Leibon.

[00:08:10] The terrifying assault by the Yachika Predator cannot go on challenging, yet the cost of combat is high. Predators are master combatants and each encounter wields a high body count. But what Lieutenant Johnny means and his Marines, the Voidlarks, enter the fray to discover an enemy deadlier than any could imagine.

[00:08:30] But yeah, so the main subplot, the main overall subtitles says, you know, Predator ships stream into human space and on present in numbers, the colonial Marines controlled by Weyland Yutani respond to the incursion, thus entering the rage war. Then we have then we have then we have invasion. Well, I love the subtitle Predator into prey.

[00:09:00] Faced with overwhelming forces of the rage, Earth envies forge an unprecedented alliance with the Predators, yet even the combined might of two races might not be enough to stop the carnage as an unstoppable swarm of xenomorphs topple planet after planet, penetrating even deeper into the human sphere. Some of the other book intros outline it better, but I'll get to that when we're actually breaking it down. But the final one with Armageddon, I love it. Target Earth.

[00:09:30] Having fled centuries before the rage returned to take revenge and claim the planet on their own. Now through a deal struck with the unlikeliest of allies, the human race must rely on the Predators to ensure mankind's ultimate freedom. Yet even the combined might is not enough. The fate of the Earth may rest with a single android, Lilia of the Rage. So, oh, yeah, pretty straightforward. But and I'll break down some of the other stuff.

[00:09:58] But I really was surprised by the very mostly earned character development. I'm mixed in my ratings, but it's overall pretty solid. And so, yeah, we got thanks to the Wicca recapping this. Lilia is an android created by the Rage, which the Rage is also known as the founders. They're the human scientists. So they're kind of going into the unexplored stuff in Prometheus.

[00:10:25] But but it's not required that you watch all your movies or not, because, you know, they're they're already part of the lore in both the books and comics. And in the prologue, Lilia acquires genetic information on the xenomorph aliens that enables the Rage to control them. Feeling remorseful, she chooses to rebel against the Rage to save mankind. Dr. Isla Pallant is a xenobiologist. Yes, that's a real thing. Specializing in the Yashka.

[00:10:55] For circumstance, she's pulled into the war against the Rage. She she had some cool stuff, you know, like she's dealing with nanobots, nanoscience. So that's cool. But she is crucial in acquiring the age aid of the Yashka. Major Okoko Snowdog Hallie. Mm hmm. As a member of the U.S. Colonial Marine Corps and the commander of the 39th Spaceborne known as the Devil of Dogs.

[00:11:24] And she's cool. She's pretty progressive. She's the Ripley of this tell. Oh, yeah. Yeah, true. And Lieutenant Johnny Maines. He's the no nonsense guy. He is a member of the fifth exurgeonist known as the Void Larks. His squad are here to initially discover the Rage fret when they come across a horde of the xenomorph soldiers. Aboard a predator habitat. Mm hmm. We go to private Jimma Leader, who's a member and mains love interests. It's interesting how they first meet.

[00:11:54] And one minute they're making off color remarks is like, yeah, that would count as sexual harassment in the workplace. But whatever. Everyone cares. Yeah, yeah. And no one cares in the future. No, yeah, exactly. Yeah. Like that could also equal like sexual tension kind of too, you know. Oh, yeah. Like they have like instant chemistry kind of, you know. It's sexy and fiction. In real life, not so much. So I'll list some of them off.

[00:12:20] But man, we're already up knees deep. Oh, no. There's so many. Yeah. We haven't even swam across the canal here. We're still. Oh, yeah. We haven't even gotten to like the Yautja characters. Yeah. Yeah. And like those are some of the like. If I could just jump in. Sure. Sure.

[00:12:44] Just like like just like one of my favorite things always in in Predator books or like Aliens versus Predator books is the relationship between people and the Predators kind of too, you know, because like. In the movies, we don't get that. We just get them. You know, I know. I know. Like we like barely get it in the Aliens versus Predator movie. And and and I remember people seeing that movie and be like, oh, what the hell is going on? She's like she's like working with with the Predator. And I'm like, well, yeah, that's what they do.

[00:13:12] Like, I think so many are just oblivious to that. It's like, well, and some people were like, oh, we like my movies mindless. Like, well, it wasn't really mindless. We still dug the human characters. There's lots of development before there's any combat. Oh, yeah, exactly. Yeah. No, it's like it's almost like like the first half of the movie is like fun. And then it kind of like, you know, that's just my opinion. How the 2004 movie kind of like falls off in like the third act. I get it. Yeah. Right. Yeah.

[00:13:40] Like not at all like the comics. It's they're pretty much Godzilla movies. And so I think that's it. It's like people are misremembering stuff. And it's like, well, you should still know what the movie is intending versus how you are interpreting it. Yeah. No, yeah. It's kind of like when a movie is campy is like, well, but is it there on purpose or that's the only way you can take it? You know, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. And sometimes, too, it's just like the people making the movie almost.

[00:14:10] This isn't like Evil Dead where you interpret how you want to interpret it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's like this should really be something that I mean, you know, like I said before, too, like that 2004 movie could have been four hours long or three. Yeah. Like a trilogy or something to really dive into these these kind of shown the actual pyramid and how it came together and got built. Yeah. And just shown like just really like like how deep like like the Predators really are into

[00:14:38] that stuff and maybe more like relationships with the Predators and kind of more. I mean, definitely like when when the first two Predators just get like killed off, like almost instantly. I was like, oh, man, come on. What are we doing? Like we yeah, like we didn't even get into it. We barely got here. Yeah. And yeah, that's that's that's really what I really like about these these books is that it just really dives into kind of like, you know, like like the Predators aren't

[00:15:06] just mindless killing machines like like the Xenos, you know, like they. Yep. And and it it almost makes you look at like Predator one different almost kind of two because like if it was a different scenario, like the Predator might have been working with with with Arnold Schwarzenegger. I mean, like just like. Yeah. And it's like I look at the Xenomorphs like any unstoppable robot army is like. Oh, yeah. The only thing that we need is the Queen's is like, OK, cool. So they're not all just mindless.

[00:15:34] There's one person controlling them or to do their shit. So and same thing. I mean, if we want to go into crossovers like Terminator is like you want to have, you know, the Skynet design different kind of killing bots. So each of them actually has different skills and it shows that the computer is getting ruthless with its survival. So it is with these creatures. Same thing. We want each of them to really have their own identity. Yeah. Same thing with the humans. I don't want them to be punching bags or body counts. No. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:16:04] It's like like like like you want to flesh out the humans. So then when they do die, it like matters. Got it. You know, I also don't want them being Dutch or Corporal Hicks knockoffs either. I want them to be their own thing. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And like Mains kind of struck me as like like I kind of definitely visualize Hicks with with Mains kind of like for some reason, like just kind of like when like he would talk, I would kind of see his face. That's kind of what he was too. Yeah.

[00:16:31] And this author is careful about instead of just copying and pasting, just making the character kind of be a love letter to that. Exactly. Yeah. I'm sure that character created. Well, also, I'm not thinking of, hey, this person looks like Michael Biehn, but definitely a type. Yeah. Yeah. He could be he could look like an Arnold. He could look like a Frank Grillo or Scott Adkins action star. Yeah. Yeah. Like a Bruce Willis type. All I know. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. No, exactly. Yeah.

[00:17:00] Like like you definitely got that that vibe from him. Like this is that character, you know, from it. Yeah. That doesn't waste time. That first book is just electrifying. It's like, yeah, these guys all care about each other. They don't know how to say it, but they're having a moment when that and they're wisely kind of doing kind of like any good alien, let alone Star Trek movie does is like in between cleaning out my laser rifle, you know, or getting my gear.

[00:17:27] I'm having an intense conversation instead of, you know, a lesser movie would have been like, let's, you know, have a static B roll of people in the locker room suiting up is like, but they're doing two things at once. They're multitasking. One of them is listening to the science exposition while the other is saying, wait, you hear that? Yeah. No, exactly. Yeah. And, and, and, and when, when like, you know, his squad starts getting killed off and stuff, you're like, Oh, he feels like he's been impelled.

[00:17:56] He's just like, yeah, yeah. Hey, he feels powerless for like once in his life. He's like, I don't, what do I command? I have just me. That sucks. Yeah. Yeah. So, and we, we, we got the scientist couple, we got Giango and yeah. Yeah. And, uh, we, we got where who's a mercenary and the captain of the Satan savior spaceship. Oh yeah.

[00:18:24] We had a Shari who is a female predator and a leader of the widow clan. She is contacted by the synthetic Android Lillia and similarly takes her aboard her worship, the zero Zah. And we got the other elder predator who he is thousands of years old and recounts a time when the predator were locked in a war with the species, much more ancient than a human, the xenomorph or the predator themselves.

[00:18:52] The, the, the, the, the implies. Yeah. And I did kind of miss this cause it was, it was a big deal, but yeah, they're an ancient race of aliens in the Milky way galaxy. They moved on and no longer inhabited, but I, I, that was definitely a big thing is like, see there. I love it when you got these exclusive is like, you got, you know, we're, we're pulling a dune here. Yeah. It's like, we got some, yeah. Yeah. Like, yeah. Like it's, it's, it's even bigger than what they thought it was.

[00:19:21] He implies that he was part of the Los Angeles hunting party, which is the, for people who remember predator too, there's about seven of them at the very end and in the pyramid in the spaceship that takes off. So, and it applies that, that he was one of them or something. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:19:48] Uh, uh, writer Tim Lee bond even cited an interview that he prefers this to be the elder gray back in the final frame of predator too. It was like, in his words, give us another beauty shot of the predators focus on the leader who's taller and bigger than the rest. Maybe his dreadlocks are longer as well. Like the older predator at the end of predator too. Yeah. Could this actually be the elder? And if it is, could it be the same elder Kalatka from the predator? Encouraging novel.

[00:20:17] Assuming he doesn't die, not knowing the canon status of predator too, it might be a cool tie into predator in the rage war books. So yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, that's cool. Uh, we got Gerald Marshall, senior executive for Weyland Yutani yet he's slimy as soon as he's introduced. He's the company board of directors playing politics. So giving us someone to hate. We got Yakita who's a female, another female predator from the rage war and she helps the humans in this story.

[00:20:47] I dug her instantly. She severely injured and missing both her legs uses technology to insist in getting from place to place. Instead of hunting, she's adept at getting info on technology. So she's kind of cyborg ish. That that's the vision I got from reading this. Yeah. We got, yeah. Like she has like, like, like the, like the robot eye and stuff too, right? Like, yes. Yep. Yeah.

[00:21:09] We got Milt McLevin, another Weyland Yutani employee and part of the scientific research at Love Road on LV 1529 in the year 2692. Working as assistant to Palant, he becomes one of humanity's foremost predator experts and is heavily involved in the rage force. So one good apple, one person who isn't a tool, isn't a brainwash. Well, almost.

[00:21:39] Oh, no, wait. I'm thinking of the other one. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But it was tough to keep them close at first, but they they quickly keep reminding us and is like, OK, down. Sorry for that confusion. Yeah. And after a while, I was game. I was just like, OK, let's let's keep seeing what you got. There's it doesn't get too cute with their references. They do kind of show what we would like to consume on Earth, to eat on Earth.

[00:22:06] And Beatrix Maloney is the leader of the rage and the architect of the invasion of human space. So, yeah, the main, main, main, main bad apple. And. Oh, yeah. So. Oh, no. Yeah. Yeah. She's totally ruthless, too. You know, it's just like. It's just like. You definitely see how like, like, like, you know, like one of the things the book kind of really. Definitely underscores is that, you know, she's insane, you know, from like for living hundreds

[00:22:35] of years and that, you know, like and it's it's really it like definitely implies that like all the stuff that she blamed the humans for was mostly just like. Of her own creation. You know what I mean? It's like. Like she kind of like, like when they live for so long, they all just kind of. Oh, totally. She kind of they kind of take a terrorist approach with her where she's self-loving. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's definitely scary. That's one of the scariest parts of the book, too.

[00:23:05] You know, just like we're like the like it's not really just about how scary the Zenos are and the predators, but the scary things people can do, you know, like or, you know, if they really put their minds to it and stuff like that, you know. Totally. It's just like you have to think is like combine, you know, it's like and they do a good job. They avoid kind of the exploitation level of ABP to where they're mixing with, you know, other species.

[00:23:35] They don't do that. They just are just like, hey, let's give you some sci-fi stuff. Yeah. And much like Star Trek, they do the whole. Hey, the predator is now translating. It's now going to start speaking human automatically, you know, automated from this point forward. And it's like, cool. It's like and. Yeah, I mean, I know there was some stuff in book two that I'll get to about critique, but an overall pretty solid thing.

[00:24:05] And I think it was just interesting how, like you said, is like what we're seeing the insanity kind of consume everybody. No one as well. Like you can only imagine what it's like being in space. Oh, yeah. Like that's and this takes place. What in like 26 hundred years or something? Yeah. Like, you know, and it's just it's just crazy to think how different that world. How different they make that world out to be, you know, because I mean, it's definitely

[00:24:34] like, you know, like a world where there's aliens hunting you and stuff like that. And then you're living light years away from like other civilizations. And it's like they those books definitely put you in it. Kind of, you know, you're just like. But when they definitely take a submarine in space approach. So, yeah. Yeah. And it's kind of just like there's nowhere to go, you know, like like where do I go? Yeah. Yeah. Like it's like, what do you do?

[00:25:00] You know, and it really makes it it's it's it feels so fast, but also so claustrophobic at the same time. Mm hmm. You know, like it's it's it's just like that's kind of like that that that dichotomy of those space futures and stuff, you know, like like everything's so far away. But when the shit hits hits the fan, you know, they say it's like, where are you going to go? Like, you know, surrounded by thousands of miles of space.

[00:25:27] And if and if you can't stay where like where you are, you know, you got to figure out how to get out of there. Oh, totally. And I was half and half on some of the other alien books. I liked most of the predator books, but those were people remember how back in the 2000s. And then they did one leading up to some of the other predator books that saw the reunion of Dutch mixed with Danny Glover's character from predator to well.

[00:25:54] And for those who forget, his name was lo and behold, Harrigan, Harrigan. Yeah. And I like there was some reasonable alien books. Some of them are very slow burn. So only make time for him if you got free hours other than that, you know. And then there were others where I'm like, this is fun, but you're taking way too long to get there. And this one was pretty good at, OK, here's the same person without restating the obvious. Yeah.

[00:26:25] And that's something I loved about it, too. It jumps from person to person, like or from character to character. And it states it a different way. So it doesn't avoid repetition is like, remember, this is the person who's the scientist. Remember, this is the colonial second in command gal who, you know, is following the captain around. And then and I think that's the other thing, too, that's different from any other space opera. You know, this isn't like the Mercs and like the Riddick movies or Star Wars. This isn't like any of these other things.

[00:26:54] It's like, yeah, an alien is like the colonial marine captain. He has his orders and then he has to decide if he wants to break them. But he's not the one commanding the ship itself or piloting it. And he needs the scientists as much as they need his firepower. So I was like, yeah, there's everybody knows they need each other. This isn't as hostile as some of those others where some of them are committing war crimes, basically. Yeah. They're put in their place or gladly killed by the creature.

[00:27:24] And it is cool. Yes. We needed a predator to be on our side here because otherwise we're like, yeah, we're just not going to buy into this. We're just going to see them slowly succumb to death. Yeah. Basically. I mean, like that's, yeah, it's, it's like, it's like seeing how the humans work, work together and then they got to work together with predator. And then it's just like, it's, it's definitely this whole thing where, you know, when, when

[00:27:50] everyone has a common enemy, you know, like you have to, you know, like we're all like, like even like with other aliens, we're all part of the same universe, you know, like, like the universe is massive and there's so many different things and stuff, but it's kind of like, you know, like us living here on this planet now, like we're all from the same place, you know, like there's little differences and stuff, but like the one thing

[00:28:15] we have in common is we want to survive and, you know, like, and kind of just like fight for the same thing. And that's kind of what I feel like it turns into there. It's like joining with the predators. It's like, how different are you from the predators? I mean, they are like, like humanoids and stuff, which is probably the closest thing. And they ask these questions and they engage it. They open up the concept instead of just, and I think that's why they've been careful. Titan books has with picking people who are just writers.

[00:28:44] First movie fan second is like, good. I need that because the last thing we want is someone who's just like, well, this is fine, but it only appealed to, you know, hardcore fans and fan service. You know, I was like, no, I got to make it be feel like a complete book. Yeah. Like be like, like, like you, you can't believe what these characters are going through. You can't even believe what the out there. Go on. Don't they? That there was some rude alien books where I was impressed how they investigated

[00:29:12] Waylon Yutani more implied the Blade Runner cities because many people implied, you know, that's part of that same or the Scott universe. And then there was some examining kind of the politics, what goes on in those office board meetings before they, and then there's plenty of others, which have much like the Terminator and Star Wars expanded universe have had their own recurring colonial Marines who recur, you know, and there's plenty of fan favorites as a result to where the

[00:29:41] authors who work on it from that point on love incorporating those same characters. Like, I'm going to do it better. I'm going to give this character a new set of weapons, a new set of badass skills, a new set of. But still a heavy part in the upcoming plots, you know, and it's all to look forward to. It's all pretty rewarding. So just summarizing some of the stuff and these recaps at the beginning of each book were pretty good.

[00:30:12] So with Incursion, we get the Predator attacks, the human spear space grow in frequency. The colonial Marine units are put on high alert and soon the invasion is feared. The android Lily escapes from the Rage and known as the Founders. But yeah, the Rage are humans who fled beyond the human spear over the course of centuries.

[00:30:42] They're now led by Beatrix Maloney and they are on their way back to bearing alien inspired technology and weapons far exceeding those possessed by the Marines or Weyland-Yutani. Beatrix Maloney's aim is the subjugation and control of the human sphere. When Lilia flees, she carries with her a sample of this technology that could help humanity fight back. Maloney sends Alexander, one of her best generals in pursuit.

[00:31:07] Isa Pallant is a research scientist fascinated with the Predator and slowly learning their language. Isa is almost killed in a terrorist attack on the base where she is stationed. It's one of many of the attacks instigated by the Rage across the human spear in preparation for their return. Excursion unit leader Johnny Maines of the Colonial Marines unit here keeps watch on the Predator habitat beyond the spear.

[00:31:33] When someone or something attacks the habitat, Maines and crew crash land there. What they discover is beyond belief. The Predator aren't invading the human spear. They are fleeing an assault by weaponized Xenomorphs. This is the army of the Rage. At the end of Book 1, Isa and Major Okoyo Halle, the Colonial Marines sent to rescue her, confront the Predator Elder Kalata and broker a non-study peace between the humans and Predators.

[00:32:01] Lilia is taken into custody on a Predator ship and tortured by the hands of a warrior called Hashori. She escapes with her capture when the Rage General Alexander closes in and attacks them. Lieutenant Johnny Maines and his surviving crew member, Leader, are trapped on the Predator habitat UMF-12. They have witnessed and fought the weaponized Xenomorphs in a Rage General, Padden, who's also aboard seriously injured. Maines and Leader witnessed evidence of ancient human colony ships returning from the dark

[00:32:30] depths of unexplored space. They theorize that these can be used as birthing grounds for tens of thousands more Xenomorph soldiers because the Rage are coming. Oh yeah. Yeah. So then we get to Book 2 and, well, actually that was Book 1, but yeah. So after we get Incursion, then we go straight into the second book, Invasion, and it's like

[00:33:00] mains and Leader are rescued by another excursion unit and they send a warning into the human spear. Someone or something is launching. Weaponized Xenomorphs using the ancient fine ship as nurseries. The Rage Invasion has begun. As the forces take control of the drop holes, the ships penetrate further into human space. The attacks are brutal. The Colonial Marine defenders are stunned by the terrible defeats.

[00:33:22] But after the uneasy Predator Alliance, Scientist Palat is convulsking and quickly finds herself drawn to the heart of the conflict. Scientists, Giango and Yvette Tan, the couple, who have a grudge against the Weyland Yutani, find themselves hunted by indie mercs hired by the company. This is definitely where it gets a little confusing. I think so. The Rage War is bigger than all of them, and when Lilia lands on their space station, chased

[00:33:51] by Rage General Alexander, the enemies join forces to protect her. The Rage sweep for the human spear, destroy all the forces allied against them. Gerald Marshall, a Weyland Yutani company man, proposes an unthankable option. Shut down all the drop holes to avoid the Rage penetrating deeper into space. This will isolate the billions of humans across the frozen void of space. It's a Doomsday scenario, but as more time passes, the closer the Doomsday appears to be.

[00:34:18] At the end of the book, Isaac Palant and the Indy mercs are taken on board the Predator Asteroid Habitat. This was cool. Where they studied the captured Rage General together. Mainz and Leder sacrifice themselves to destroy the Othello. This was upsetting. A major blow to Beatrix Maloney and the Rage. But even this might not be enough, because Beatrix now plans to drop directly into the soul system and take the word to Amanity's house. Yeah.

[00:34:47] For more on that, read book free. Bum, buh, buh, buh. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, that was just like... And that second book is really where everything starts really picking up. Like, there's just random attacks, you know, like, pretty much it switches to a character to them, like, and then the chapter will end with, like, a bunch of Xenomorphs just breaking in, kind of. And then, like, well, I guess that's it, you know? Like... This is it, boys.

[00:35:16] To quote the doors, the end is near. Like, what are you going to do? You know? Like, and the Xenomorphs really are like... My dog's drinking water over here, so... No, it's fine. I can hear it. But, uh... For all I know, there's a predator in this recording book. Yeah. My cat purring, I swear. And I mean, you know, Xenomorphs to me are really just, like, one of the greatest sci-fi creations.

[00:35:45] Why do you think everyone gets a sexual undertone? It's like, I can kind of get where... Oh, yeah. ...the creator took that. It's like, it's supposed to kind of embody kind of a rapist almost, you know? Oh, yeah, yeah. Kind of like what he did with the species creatures. But I don't really focus on it because I'm too busy being horrified by it. Oh, yeah. And then, of course, you know, Geiger, the creator of the Xenomorph, was definitely a twisted guy, you know? So he definitely...

[00:36:10] Like, when he made the first Alien, you know, like, for the first movie, like, one of the scariest things he thought is just the idea of being violated and stuff like that. And that's kind of why there's that imagery with the Alien kind of, you know, like, all of the kind of sexual dimorphic... Or, like, kind of like both aspects of sexuality where, like, you don't really know what it is. Like, male, female or something.

[00:36:38] But what you do know is it's going to do something horrible to you, you know? And, like, that's, you know, that's definitely still there. There, yeah, because, like, the Xenomorph is still horrifying, you know, like any iteration I see it, like in any movie or anything like that or in any book, you know, like to be somewhere dark and shine a flashlight. And there's a Xenomorph there, I got to imagine, is one of the most horrifying things you could ever, you know, kind of imagine, you know?

[00:37:07] And that's why that creature, like, lasts for so long, why there's so many movies about him, books featuring Xenomorphs and comics and stuff like that. Because it's really just like a timeless kind of fear from that thing, you know? It doesn't have eyes. It can blend in anywhere. It's virtually unkillable, you know? Because it's got acid for blood. And if you stab it or shoot it or something, it's just going to get all over you and you're going to die anyway, you know?

[00:37:36] Well, that's just it. There's like the theory of knowing you will die regardless. It was really heartbreaking in book one when they had those other two Marines who were like trapped in like the control room. And it's like if space doesn't suck, it's like space isn't going to suck them out or anything. But it's like the aliens are slowly coming through the windows. And so they're just like, I love how we it's left to our imagination. But it's like and the grenade imploded. It's like, oh, shit. Oh, yeah.

[00:38:04] And that that that happens a couple of times. So I have to imagine in my mind, the gory explosion that filled that entire bridge is like, well, and they didn't have a choice. It's like, yeah, because otherwise it's going to kill us and then, you know, take over the human race and then a creature will be boring. It's like, no, not having that. And there is no way out. Like, there's no way out. But killing the alien is first priority.

[00:38:31] I do like some of the confusion, like when we see the predator first introduced and its head gets decapitated by one of the other deadly warriors. I can never remember which one. It goes so fast. But it's like, yeah, as as a summary I have in my notes, I I really dug the nanobot technology and book one incursion and a cool setup to take over the station. So it was a four out of five for me.

[00:38:59] I gave invasion kind of a two and a half out of five. It just I dug the concept. I dug that. But some of the bad gal, as well as the good gal trying not to have her people die, it kind of got a little soapy on intentionally. So it's stretched out the second installment just to get to the third one. So just a mild complaint. It's still readable. We'll return after these messages.

[00:39:25] All right, folks, how's that here? We got a 90-minute weekly shack stop. It's growing all over the world. Find it at 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern time on Mondays. Then 3 p.m. on Wednesdays. Then 7 p.m. on Thursdays. You can catch it on many more radio stations.

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[00:40:43] If you like small-town mystery, crazy news, and wild history, then the Florida Men on Florida Man Podcast is for you. Each week, Josh Mills and Wayne McCarty bring you the absolute best Florida has to offer. So if you're looking for a show that's safe for the family but funny enough to help you escape everyday life, then listen to the Florida Men on Florida Man podcast. That's Florida Men, plural, on Florida Man podcast.

[00:41:10] Do you ever find yourself thinking about who would win in a fight between Goku and Superman? Hi, I'm James Gavsey, and on the Who Would Win show, me and my co-host Ray ignore anything important happening in the outside world and debate fictional battles between characters from comics, movies, and video games. We got a new show every week, and almost always am I the winner. Yeah, not true, Ray. In the past, we've discussed such matches as Captain America vs. Darth Vader, Solid

[00:41:34] Snake vs. the Iron Giant, classic matchups like Robocop vs. Terminator, and even the Muppets vs. Sesame Street. That one was crazy. So if you're a fan of geek culture and love a spirited debate, check out the Who Would Win show wherever you get your podcasts, or check us out at whowouldwinshow.com. And then Armageddon kind of redeemed it. It was a free and a half out of five for me. Just reasonable space floating, tech talk, and rescue-fueled final standoff against the

[00:42:04] Xenomorphs. Despite, again, some melodramatic speeches by the commanders. But... Of course, yeah. Gotta have it. I get it. No, I love a good set, but there are times where sometimes it's like, all right, all right. Let's go. No, like, there are definitely things that, like, I feel like you can't really avoid. Sadly, and that's why, you know, I'm glad I read this at my time in my life. Had I read this years ago, I would have just been like, eh, ho-hum.

[00:42:33] And it's like, yeah, no, you gotta be patient with some of them. And some of them is like, hey, it is going somewhere. I'm the problem, not the author, you know? I gotta be patient, baby, you know? And... Oh, yeah. I mean, like, yeah, it's like, it's kind of... Of course, like, the main themes of the stories and just the main situations. There's always so many things that... Either you're gonna get killed by a Xenomorph, or you're gonna get killed by a Predator.

[00:43:03] And you gotta band together with, like, everyone you're with. And you gotta bring the morale up. And you gotta... These are just always gonna be part of these stories where you're facing these... This is almost like sports. Horrifying threats. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, you kind of know what's going to happen. Right. It's just kind of like how it's gonna happen, right? It's like... What can we do differently?

[00:43:29] I did see some cool trivia here on the AVP fandom. So take this Wicca with a grain of salt. But they did note how it's a distant follow-up to James A. Moore's Alien Sea of Sorrows. Which includes the Weyland Yutani recovering samples of the Xenomorph species. From the planet New Galveston. Hell of a name. And these samples form the background plot point in the Rage War as the basis of research. I was not crazy about that particular book.

[00:43:59] Good idea. Just... You couldn't tell half the rescuers and Marines apart, sadly. But... Yeah, yeah. But that's basically what leads into the Rage War. But I'm cool with that. I love it when everyone... They don't pull a James Bond saying, by the way, inconsequential to next adventure. New boyfriend. New girlfriend. New... Oh, no. Exactly. New boss. Yeah. What happened to the last boss? No, but that's cool, too. How they just tie in.

[00:44:29] Because I feel like you can't really have the Predator universe without aliens in it. You can't really have aliens without predators, right? It's like... Those two things just go... How good that Fox... Yeah. Fortunately, owned both. So fans didn't have to do this whole... It would have been way more hostile. Everyone had been like, you know, it feels like you're ripping off someone else's thing. You know, they would have had studio PR guys attacking each other. It would have been a Babylon 5 versus DS9, and we don't need... Yeah.

[00:44:59] It would have been like all these twin movies that come out where someone clearly heard someone else talk at a pitch meeting. It's like, we don't need that. So another good point is that the 2014-2015 Fire and Stone comic book crossover by Dark Horse... It was a four-parter, and it was basically blending the aliens, Predator... Aliens versus Predator and Prometheus storylines.

[00:45:27] So that sounds like the ultimate... Like, someone was like, gotta keep everyone happy. So for those in the minority, like some of those ones that were divisive... We're just gonna do a big crossover because it is all somehow canon. So... Mm-hmm. And then there's a wise-ass remark saying, despite being branded Predator and Alien, respectively, they feature all species. So I'm like, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, yeah, it's kind of like, you know, with Marvel Comics, you know? Mm-hmm.

[00:45:56] You start a story in, like, Amazing Spider-Man 351, and then it goes to... Yes. Then it goes to the Hulk, and then it ends up, you know, and the rock just rolls until it becomes, like, Infinity War or something. And all those stories kind of, like, end up meeting up, you know? Mm-hmm. And, like, that's definitely a cool thing that I feel like they always start trying to do. Even with, like, Predator 2 from, like, the 90s, right? Like, 1992 or whenever that...

[00:46:25] Yeah, 1990s. So it was like, yeah, I can only imagine. So that means they filmed it around 88, 89s. Yeah. And then in that final scene where, like, they're in the spaceship, you see an alien skull there. It's like, they're already kind of doing it and being like, yeah, you know? And fortunately... On the aliens, you know? Well, in visual form, fortunately, they were one of many franchises that, even when critics weren't crazy about them,

[00:46:51] they still had more respect in the industry than most because, in fact, still told the story. The suspense was still electric, so it was like, yeah. And then we got these other elements. We got, you know, Aliens is going to be a war movie in space. Alien is going to be, like, Night of the Living Dead, but trapped on a spaceship instead of in a haunted... Not a haunted house, a house with zombies. Yeah. Yeah. Then we got, yeah, Predator movies is, like, they also take the form of both a war movie,

[00:47:19] and then the movie, too, is, like, a bunch of buddy cops in Escape from New York-type alternate 97. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which is, like... Go ahead. Sorry, yeah. Oh, no, I was just going to say how, like... You know, Predator 2 is definitely one of my favorite of the Predator movies, too. Like, it always has been... I think I've appreciated more, yeah. No, yeah, yeah. And, you know, not just because I saw it when I was little, too, but... Definitely, it was, like, the next logical step.

[00:47:47] It was, like, the first movie, he's in the jungle, so then the next one's got to be in the city. Bring it into the city. Yeah, yeah. And then, you know, and then the next one was, what, on Predator's homeworld, you know? Mm-hmm. It's really, like, taking the Predators into different... The hunters have to go and gather. Yeah, yeah. And, like, just see, like, what they do in, like, these different terrain and all that stuff. Totally. Honestly, I... It didn't hit me right away, but fortunately, people were taking notes.

[00:48:18] And basically, this is the third book trilogy. You know, originally, we had the Aliens novel trilogy written by Steve Perry and Stephanie Perry, published by Titan Books. That began in 1992. Those were interesting. Some of them I couldn't... I didn't really mess with much because they were novelizations of the Dark Horse comic books. Oh, yeah. Then there was Nightmare Asylum. Same thing.

[00:48:47] Just a novelization. So I kind of skipped over those because I was like, if I want to... I'm not going to read it. I'm going to read the comic. But then there was the 2014 Alien Novel Trilogy. And I definitely read those because I was like, yeah, these are books only. And they're also referred to as Out of the Shadows. And so this is where we first see Tim Levin, James A. Moore, and Christopher Golden work on these. I've already done some of those.

[00:49:15] But yeah, they were loosely connected and show the Xenomorphs spread across different eras. The first and second are set on New Galveston, the planet housing the human mining colony in ruins of the civilization known as the Drakati. The Canid-like species, which is a furry four-legged dog. And then they apparently are establishing them as having a connection to the Xenomorphs. It's all kind of crazy.

[00:49:44] But yeah, I would argue that Rage Wars is the best of the book trilogy. Because there's more variety of characters and it's just a little easier to get into. Tim Levin would later write two prequel short stories featuring Major Okoko Snow Dog Halle. The first was Spite. Then the character appears in the anthology Aliens Bug Hunt.

[00:50:10] And the second, Devil Dogs, appeared in the anthology Predator If It Bleeds. And that was a cool one. Like, that had everybody. Like, Brian Thomas Schmidt and Kevin J. Anderson, I know, contributed to one of them. So it's like that. Talk about the king of tie-in guys. I think Timothy Zahn... Let me see. Did Timothy Zahn do an Alien Predator novel? I swear. Yep. Kathy Tires. Everybody was in on this.

[00:50:41] But yeah, I mean... The Vince Hawley experiences in these short stories are basically mentioned in passing in Armageddon and Incursion, respectively. So... Yeah, I mean... That's pretty good. So it's like if I... If anyone missed out on those other books, because it's not like they say, featuring this character, it's like, yeah, you gotta do some digging. Many ships and minor characters are named after other Alien Predator and AVP authors.

[00:51:11] The Vordlock ship. The Osh is named for author Weston Osh. The Hellspark ship, the Navarra, is named for Yovani Navarro. The Marines named Moore is obviously James A. Moore. And Golden is after Christopher Golden. So see, that's a family. That's... That's commitment. That's... That's cool. These are people that definitely understand that world, you know? And like that universe. That's like a writer's room. They did that on movies and shows. Or it's like, hey... And it's not being too cute.

[00:51:40] It's like, that's just an Easter egg. You know? Yeah, yeah. It's like, you know... I mean, if you're following those books, you will know that stuff. You know? Like, you'll recognize it. This isn't too cute for its own good. Where you see like a spaceship or a Navy craft named after, you know, the USS Eisenhower or Kennedy. You're like, oh, give me a break. You know? Even if that exists, this is a little too... You know, we're talking about the future here. So it's like... Instead of referencing a centuries-old character, who is ingrained. Exactly, yeah.

[00:52:10] I also kind of like how... I think the reason this was a good escape from reality is we... We legit just... We bought into it. Like, the Colonial Marines are actually thinking... Like, even these two romantic guys. Like, guy and gal. Like, they are thinking with their guts. Which is all you have when you don't have logic on your side. You have your gut. And they're not a fear-monger society. They're also...

[00:52:39] Again, they are not soapy. It's like... You get a sense that... Aside from Marines dating other Marines... Like, they legit just... How to word this? Like... They legit have taken a liking to each other. But again, they're tough and rough and tough. So they don't know how to specify that until near the end of their lifespan. Yeah. So that's kind of cool. Because it's like... We are avoiding doing the dreaded... I love you. You know?

[00:53:09] And we're also doing the whole... We're just having each other just for easy sex. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's what kind of... Like... It definitely makes it a little kind of realistic, too. Kind of the way... The people... I mean, like... Like, the Marines seem like a family. And, like, the mercenaries hired by Tan and stuff. Like, Ware and those people. They seem like they have, like, a close-knit... Yeah. Kind of like... How our other movies and shows show scientists dating other scientists.

[00:53:38] Doctors sleeping with other doctors. But... Yeah, yeah. Eventually, they're going to draw the line. It's like, I am serious about you. You're the only one who thinks and acts like me. Not really a dating circle for my crazy kind of lifestyle. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly, yeah. It's like... There wouldn't be any place for my own man... On Earth. Because, like, that's all I'm protecting. By the time I go back, I better have someone who's with me who survived. Yeah, yeah. And that's how... Like, those relationships form because they're so close. And they're together all the time and stuff.

[00:54:08] You know? And that's definitely, like, a realistic element, I would see it as. Because that's just kind of how things happen, kind of, too. You know? Like, you... Spur the moment. Yeah. And it's kind of like... You don't really know it until... It kind of happens. And you're like, oh, yeah. You know? Like... Like, you get me more than... Like, you're probably the only person who gets me. You know? Like, this is what we do. You know? Mm-hmm. And then, you know, there's that moment where Leader and Main sacrifice themselves.

[00:54:38] Or, like, they sacrifice themselves on the Othello and stuff because... It really is heartbreaking. Because, like, they're kind of surprisingly in voice of reasons. Like, good. I hate it when I have to follow... I mean, don't get me wrong. There's plenty of good narratives, both in literary and movie form, where you have the redemption of the asshole. But it's like, in this case, like, no. They're ready to go. They know what they need to be doing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And it's definitely genuinely upsetting. Like, when that... Like, when that happened, I was like, what?

[00:55:07] I was like, oh, man. Like, no way. You know? It wasn't, like, a lesser Aliens sequel after Aliens where you're like, okay, this person was always, you know, brain fodder, though. You know? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, yeah. And that's what... That's one of the things that made that book kind of just, you know, like, stand out for me. I was just like, wow. Like, these characters are really... They're kind of, you know? Like, you follow them all the way.

[00:55:35] And then when they get to where they're going, you're either... Like, the ending of the book is kind of like, well, it's not really bleak. You know? But it kind of leaves it in a place that... A place where you don't expect. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, wow. So, yeah. Like, what else are you going to do? You know, when they shut down all the drop holes and stuff. Yes. And now civilization is just spread out across millions of light years of space. You know?

[00:56:03] It's like, man, like, that really kind of changes everything from where the book started. You know? Yes. And I was satisfied with that, actually. Yeah. I'm like... I was like, all right. You know? It's not too, like... Like, not too much of a sappy, happy ending. But... I like the word sappy. It's just like... Yeah, yeah. It's like... That is... That could not be described better. And, guys, trust me. Like, we love a good story. We love good drama. But what we're just saying is, like... To quote St. Brian Ryder, earn this. You know? It's like, yeah.

[00:56:33] It's got to have a moment where it's like... They're breathing. Now they know what they want. Now they know what they're doing. Okay. Cool. It's like... Now we're ready to go. Yeah. It's like... Like... Like, the enemy's defeated. But it kind of gives you this whole other set. Or this whole other thing now. That... That really, like... Like, the book could still keep going. But it ends on that note. It's like... You know? Like, where do they go from here? Yes. And that's... Yeah. Like... Like, I definitely liked the ending of it.

[00:57:03] Just it being, like, not this predictable. Kind of... Yeah. Like, happy ending for everybody. Where it's... Because that's not really how things would probably be. Like... You know? If this was a real thing, most people would be dead. You know? Like... Just... If... If... If xenomorphs existed, I don't think happy endings would be... No. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's like... No. Like, xenomorphs are real. And... You gotta deal with it. Deal with it. For sure. You know?

[00:57:33] Well... Kudos that... They're taking this seriously, though, too. I mean... Yeah, yeah. Because... I don't know if you realize the creators of the new Battlestar Galactica... Actually... Yeah. Yeah. Made in-universe references. Like, they cited the Marines as colonial Marines in that show. Oh, really? And they refer to the... Cylons as skin jobs. So, a Blade Runner thing. Oh, yeah. Of course. I do agree with what they... And Edward James, almost from Blade Runner, worked on it. Both in front of and behind the camera.

[00:58:03] So, it's like, yeah. They... They pretty much imply it's like, this is... After Aliens, before Blade Runner. And... Yeah. If we want to count Terminator, I like to think that Skynet started that. And then... Mm-hmm. The Cylon, Weyland-Yutani, Android, killing army. But... It's wild, though. It's like... Like... Then when you see stuff that's inspired by this, like the Doom video game, and movies that parody those, like, Starship Troopers, you know, it's like... You need to have that kind of just camaraderie.

[00:58:33] You need to have everyone kind of all just clicking together. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, because, like, in... You know, these are all made-up worlds. And if you really wanted to, you could tie them all in. You know, like, that's the beauty with sci-fi and stuff, you know? Like... And just, like, you know, great stories like that. Like, you know, with, like, The Predator or, like... You know, like, The Magnificent Seven, even. Just very basic stories where, like, someone made that up, you know? And if you want to get...

[00:59:02] You know, it's like... Like, oh, if, like, say, a Predator shows up and wants to take on some other famous character from... Like, once they started throwing Predators with, like, Batman and all that stuff. And now that they're in Marvel and stuff, it's like... That's one of the beauty about the Predators and aliens. You kind of just throw them in anywhere. And it really makes for, like, a very exciting story. You know what I mean? Like... Mm-hmm. And that's why I love, like, those franchises kind of, like, in general.

[00:59:32] You know? Like... But... And, yeah, just what they're doing with all the Marvel stuff is great. You know? Like, there's... Now they're doing Aliens vs. X-Men now, which is just, like... Yeah. Like, just the idea of Wolverine fighting a bunch of Xenomorphs and getting acid. Like, just... Like... You know? Just, like, covering his... Like, his entire body and his anemium skeleton, like, exposed, you know? Just so many possibilities with that stuff.

[01:00:02] Oh, well... And it's, again, earned this. Oh, yeah. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. This is, like... And... They definitely thought this through. It was, like, yeah. Oh, yeah. Like, they definitely knew... Just... And one of the cool things, too, is that there's a lot of female predators in this. Which you've never really seen. Oh, and the cyborg arms kind of just shows how, like, she... They're free with it, you know? Oh, yeah. Like...

[01:00:30] And then she has, like, the long dreadlocks that, like, drag you across the floor when she's floating around in her little mobile kind of thing. Like... It's just cool that they kind of went there, too, and really just... Tried to explore things that you hadn't really seen before. Yeah. Well, and... That's all I can ask for, because it's like, yeah. Eventually, when a creator dies, I gotta have someone do their own thing. Oh, yeah. Exactly.

[01:01:02] Yeah, I mean... Overall, I mean... I really don't see what they could have done differently other than just had... Just... Maybe cutting down book two, but I get it. Yeah. But, yeah, I mean, like, they... It's crazy, too, because, like, it's this wild story. And you kind of know what you're getting, right? Like, you know what you want when you get into an Aliens vs. Predator novel, right?

[01:01:28] Like, you want, like, Predators taking out Marines, Marines fighting xenomorphs, like, Predators fighting xenomorphs. And they definitely do that with, like, these books. You know, there's some harrowing battles in there that get pretty violent and, like, horrifying. You know? And, like, once... When I was reading those parts, I was just like, oh, my God. Like, it's a massacre. Like, you know? Like, this is insane. Yeah.

[01:01:57] Like, what's the one chapter? There's one specific chapter. The one called Victims. Where, like, it's just from, like, the perspective of a... That girl, Jemima. Who's, like, one of their cousins or something. One of the main character's cousins. I think it's, like... Yes. Like, Seth Allen's cousin or something. And it just jumps to her. And it's just, like, right when she's about to die. You know? Like, she's out in the woods with, like, her dog and stuff. And it's, like, snowing. And, like, the xenomorphs get dropped in.

[01:02:26] And, like, they kill her dog in front of her. And then she knows that she's gonna die. And then it jumps to the next victim. Yeah. Like, the guy who's, like, hooked on Frail. Or, like, whatever the drug is. And, like, he, like... He downs all the drugs, like, right... Like, right after watching the xenomorphs kill all his friends. And then he's about to get killed. You know? And you're just, like, wow. This is just, like, non-stop right now. It's just, like, everybody's getting killed. And that kind of, like...

[01:02:56] I just, like, imagine that as, like, a movie. Or, like, a three-part series or something. You're just, like, wow. Like, all these characters that were kind of... Like... Well, Jemima was definitely mentioned. But it just ties in all these things that were kind of going on throughout the book. Respect for the dead. They give you a moment to ponder it, just like you would a real-life thing. Instead of just feeling like, okay. But I haven't even had a chance to breathe. Yeah. No, yeah.

[01:03:26] It's, like, kind of, like... Like, the real horror of the situation really starts to change. You know? It's, like, man. Like, no one is safe. You know? Like, what would you do? I really don't know. I know. Like, I would probably do the same thing. I downed a bunch of drugs before the aliens got me. You know? Like, made sure I wasn't... And it's not made to make me unlikable or cynical either. It's, like, yeah. Just... Yeah. Like, that's kind of what it is. Like, that's what it is. Or that's what it would be, you know? In a situation where, like... Mm-hmm.

[01:03:56] In a war with these biomechanical weapons that are, like, unstoppable and unkillable. You know? Like, the only thing you could do is kind of... Because, like, what's crazy about the book, too? Like, this is, like... I don't know if you ever read Aliens vs. Predator World War III. It's, like, a comic book. It's on my to-do list. It's, like, yeah. So, in that comic, there's a race of predators called killers.

[01:04:22] And one of the things that they learn how to do is that they learn to control the xenomorphs. And that's what they do. They go around, like... And the killers, too, don't have, like, a code of honor or anything. They just want to kill everything. You know? So... Yes. And that was the first time I saw, like, you know, someone or something using the xenomorphs as a weapon. You know? So then when I heard about this book, I was like, ooh, yeah. You know?

[01:04:50] Like, that's one way to take over the galaxy or the universe. Like, have an army of xenomorphs. You know? Like, who's going to stop you? Well, and they're getting wise about their thing. It's like, yeah. For a good villain, I have to believe that that is what you say it is. They are getting wiser. They're getting enricher. They're... They've actually taken this into consideration. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's definitely something that works in the book for me.

[01:05:19] Like, it's just... Yeah, and, like, really just taking that... It's just rare for them to think this out, though. Because you're... We're so used to seeing them do it wrong. Where you're just like, okay, hold on. I haven't had a moment to breathe yet. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So... No, yeah, when, like, you're just like... But that's what I like about it, too. Like, when it ramps up, it really ramps up. And you're just like... Ramping's the best way to put it. Like, we're literally seeing the plane take off here, actually. Yeah, yeah. And there's not...

[01:05:49] Yeah, like, once it's in the air, it's like, all right. Like, we're going. You know? Like, there's no stopping it now. Until you really take some, you know, dramatic steps. You know? Like, what they do. Like, everyone sacrifices themselves. You know? Like, Lilia. You know? Like... Yeah. Mains. And just, like... Like, all the main people really just do what they need to do. Just like... You know? And that's...

[01:06:18] And because, like... We're so used to seeing this dude in Bad. Where we're just like... Really? The character didn't matter? And it's like, no. It's like, I'm feeling it. And... If anyone gets tears in their eyes, then they up to their job. Because I did feel kind of glummed where I actually had to stop reading. Like, on the first part. Yeah, yeah. And it's like, okay. You know? And that's earned. You know? A good book. And so, if any... I'm just going to address the Elf in the Room.

[01:06:45] Unfortunately, there are some AVP guys who just like the Mindless Carnage. If you're looking for just that, this is not the book for you. So, don't go around trashing this novel. It's meant to actually build the universe. Of course, it's popcorn. But it's also got some strong, strong visuals in the universe. So, that's what bumped at least that first book up to a four out of five. And while I was a little harsh on book two, I didn't deny reading it.

[01:07:11] I just kind of found it a little just excessively overlong. But I did find... I get it. They had to connect the dots. They had to connect A to C. And this was part B. And that's usually what a second part usually kind of does. I feel, right? Like, it's like... That's usually where you're kind of joining all the characters up and really kind of getting to know them. And they're really getting the plan together after the initial strike. You know? And I had plenty of time, though, too.

[01:07:39] Because, like, I was doing a road trip and I was switching off. Oh, yeah. Friends and family. So, I was like, yep. I got all the time in the world. All that matters is finishing this book and looking at it objectively, subjectively. And making notes. Because I know we're doing a podcast episode. That's the future stuff. And also, I just was like... Like anything, it's so much more healing when you can actually put into words what you've just read and conceived. It's rewarding in and of itself.

[01:08:09] So, it saves you time from having to redo it. Your notes. Yeah, yeah. And, of course, the thing about these books, it's not like reading... Bram Stoker or something. You know? It's like... Yeah, it's like... Unless you want it to be.

[01:08:26] I wasn't expecting this kind of very deep kind of psychological kind of life crisis kind of thing while reading these books. Like what I was expecting. Yeah. All right. Let's get to these xenomorphs and let's take them out. Let's do the news. Yeah, yeah. And that's definitely what I feel like it did. You know? It definitely gave me all the visuals that I wanted.

[01:08:56] You know? And it definitely got me picturing like, man, this would make a cool movie. You know? Just like... And just like all the... You know? Just like the whole idea of the human sphere. And all the ships and stuff. Like what does the Satan Savior's ship look like? You know? Or like... Or the giant predator ships and stuff. Like... Totally. You know?

[01:09:23] And one of my favorite parts of the book was... Where I was like, oh shit. Was when Alexander... After he gets ambushed by the predators. And like they like blow him apart and stuff. And then he starts grabbing parts of xenomorph bodies. That was very visual. It was like, see? No. Yeah. This is what you do with every good space opera. Make it feel like an actual real life. You know? Western or war movie. No. Yeah. We're like...

[01:09:51] We're like that one nemesis like just comes back. And kind of like starts really like... You know? Being scary and like kicking ass. And you're like, oh yeah. Like this guy's... Like not gonna stop. You know? Like this guy's gonna keep coming. You know? Mm-hmm. And yeah. When he takes up the parts of the xenomorphs. And then he starts killing predators easier than ever. You're just like, oh crap. You know? Like... When I read that part, I definitely had like this feeling like... Oh man.

[01:10:20] This is getting to another level now. Like now it's really gonna hit the fan. You know? Because this guy is just like still coming. And he's like even more badass than he was. You know? And that was definitely one of those moments. Yeah. Where you're just like... You know? Things can just keep getting worse and worse. And you're just like... And that's just it. It's like the character's just been static and just done. Oh no. It's like no. We keep changing. Yeah. Yeah. Again.

[01:10:49] These books that... They do good at always introducing them in capital letters back to, you know, Lieutenant So-and-so at Weyland Yutani. Scheming, you know, for... You know? I'm really surprised that douchebag did not nuke them from orbit or whatever. You know? He didn't have that on his side. But you know he totally would have. Which is why we hate him even more, you know? Yeah. Yeah. He is pretty much an oil tycoon equivalent, like in the real world, where once he... He's the guy who, you know, created the COVID-19 virus. You know?

[01:11:18] Once he's had his fun and murdered enough people, set enough of an example to fund his other installment saying, see? I fear-muggered. Now can I justify spending on this cause and this creation? Oh yeah. It's like never enough. Never enough. He's going to go back into the shadows. And fortunately, a lot of these bad guys do get their comeuppance. It's not like some of those other lesser alien signals where you're like, oh, good gravy.

[01:11:47] This person had to die. What a... You know? And it isn't like, you know... Each franchise has had to really balance so many things. Like when you think about it, some of those brother and alien movies are almost like the first Terminator where they kind of take a slasher subtext after a while where they're hunting people. And it's all about who gets away. And it's like, here, you know, we're pretty much in full form.

[01:12:14] Corporate thriller, space war, and then some science and understanding each other as a society. And the aliens get enough to do, but they don't over-focus on them. It's like, okay. But again, the xenomorph queen, when she unexpectedly gets defeated also is like, yeah. Because she's not the main bad apple. You know? Yeah, yeah. She's not the main breeding ground. She's almost just like there. She's the face. We're not realizing that the rage...

[01:12:43] No, yeah. It's like the alien queen after the aliens movie is basically either just being used by the predators to make aliens or they're used by the rage to make aliens. You know? Or like an alien resurrection. You know? They're using her to make clones and stuff. Or, you know, it's like basically that's always where she starts kind of. I feel like every other time you see the queen alien, she's like... She's in chains and being forced to reproduce kind of, you know? Because that's...

[01:13:13] Because the aliens, yeah, are kind of like... They're really just like insects that you can farm them. You know? And then, you know, eventually you lose control because you can't control the aliens. You know? Like they aren't... Like they aren't totally mindless either. You know? Like they definitely have the hive mind, but they're really just like very resourceful. And, you know, they're... Like their intelligence always gets like underestimated. You know?

[01:13:41] And like they're really just this inevitable kind of thing. You know? Where like once they're loose, you know, you're going to have to find a way to take them out because you're just going to start taking over. You know? Busting loose. Yeah, yeah. Every time. Like you can't stop. Fancy partner. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, overall, I don't know what we would really do differently, really. I mean... Yeah. So kudos to these authors.

[01:14:09] Hey, you did exactly what you set out to do. You brought this to life. Some of these characters I'm still actually thinking about. So that's good. Yeah, yeah. And again, the nanotechnology, that's where I was in. I'm like, okay, cool. We got more than just the cryopods, the sleeping pods, and the smart scientist who knows everything. He's like, yeah, we got something for everybody here. And the android was really good at discovering its humanity. So I was like, okay, cool. You know?

[01:14:38] Because for a while, you know, they were... Some of those in the universe were either just discount versions of like Bishop, you know, Lance Hendrickson's character in the universe, or even Data on Star Trek. You're like, no, no, no, no, no, no. You gotta make this cyborg stand out. Like, why does the Terminator stand out? Because it's, you know, it's not saying unintentionally stuff. It's actually studying human behavior and its mission. It's like, that's cool.

[01:15:05] And it's like, and this android is slowly rebelling against what it's been programmed to do, because there's just a few other things that trigger. And at first, they do a good buildup of, I want to be accepted as a human. I've never, you know, I've had all this prejudice. And so that's how I kind of got roped into this cause by this other mad gal who, you know, thinks she's been wronged, you know? Yeah. And again, that's what I need for an unstable villain.

[01:15:30] You have to show I was wronged, and somehow I took that bullying to mean this and that. And then I had this nefarious diabolical plan, and then, you know, followers, and then, you know, breeding these kinds of aliens. I can mind control. Boom. I got it. Yeah. I don't know where I found this lab. That's fine. I can set that all aside in my head. She did some serious experimenting. And mad scientists make for the best kinds of villains. Yeah, yeah.

[01:15:59] And there, like, there is one kind of thing, one theme I kind of noticed, too. Like, there is, like, the androids becoming more human. Yeah. And then, but then there's also, you know, the founders. The founders. The founders who were human and became something else, kind of, you know? Or, like, you know, like, after living for hundreds of years, and they kind of became more soulless, you know?

[01:16:25] So there's, like, that dichotomy of, you know, of, you know, from humans to soulless things. And then soulless things. Oh, that's a zit. That's what's so ironic. The android is the hero. And not necessarily even by choice, either. Like. Oh, yeah. And, and, and, and, like, at first, she, she was one of the bad guys. Yeah. Yeah. So this goes back to the whole, like, yeah.

[01:16:55] Joseph Campbell thing. It's like the character takes an unusual growth and journey. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and that's, yeah. She, she was one of my favorite characters, too, really, you know? And, like, and, and just, and really, like, just when people, her, her and Issa Palin, just kind of, like, they, they have all those scenes with, like, them and the Predator. Studying each other from head to toe. And, yeah. The Predator is, like, playing referee at this point. So that's a cool thing. It's like, good.

[01:17:25] Because there's the evil ones that are just here for sport. But that's what was so ironic, too, is, like, they got ambushed, so they're getting their asses handed to them. It's like, wow. Oh, yeah. From, from Predator to Prey. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and, and, again, those, those are things that, like, I, I love seeing, like, in, in, in Aliens vs. Predator story or any Predator story. Yep.

[01:17:50] Just, like, yeah, those, those themes kind of, like, how different are we from these completely alien creatures? Kind of, you know, like, sometimes we're really different. Sometimes we're not that different, you know? Like, some, some, sometimes you want the same thing. Sometimes you're going to be at odds. I like how you brought up the Solus thing. It's like, yeah. Especially in a post-AI world. It's like, yeah, I, this Android wants to actually do better.

[01:18:16] And eventually the right words and reprogramming allow it to go above its nature. And it's usually loud. And it was really surprising. I really was surprised. I was just like, yeah, right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And, like, you know, what are those, like, like a lot of conversations about AI and Androids are really just kind of a mirror to ourselves, too, you know? As, as, as, like, humans, you know? Like, like, can, like, can we be better than, than, than an Android?

[01:18:46] Or are we, you know, or, or Androids better? You know? Like, like, are, are they really a superior creation? Did they dream of an electric sheep? Yeah, yeah. Like, like, like, do they think of, do they want the same things? You know? Like, you know, what, what, what do you, what, what do we really want? You know, like, it's just, yeah, it, it, it, it, it brings up so many, like, philosophical kind of questions and stuff.

[01:19:11] And, and, and really with, with this book, even if it's a very straightforward book and kind of, you know, not too much, you know, like, like thinking or, or, or not too much fat on it. Like, those, those, those questions are right there. Like, like they're on the surface kind of, you know, like you don't need too much subtext to, like, really get to that. When you're talking about alien species and robots and people kind of interacting, kind of. It's like, those are just natural parts of those stories.

[01:19:40] So that's kind of why, like, this, this book was, was cool to read too. Cause it's just like, it's all I need. Yeah. Like, yeah. Like you don't need that, that, that much. You already know what predators are. You already know what aliens are. If you know, you're getting into this because you're fans of those franchises or friends of those. And it's not trying to outdo the kinds of kills and characters have remarks, but they're not in one liner territory. Like, and if it is, it's never to the point of, oh yeah.

[01:20:09] But they're just having a poor man's Danny Glover, Arnold or Sigourney Weaver. Yeah. It's like, no, that we, we just have the colonial rates. Yeah. We can't be super, more super than those characters. Yeah. Yeah. Like those are tough guys who've been dealing with aliens already, you know? So it's like, you know, they're, they're, they're, they're coming from somewhere, you know? Really all you have to do is just kind of let them do their thing, you know? Yep. Yeah.

[01:20:38] It's, it's, it's crazy too. Like, cause you were talking about Terminator too. And like Terminator, Predator and Alien, all those. All pretty connected, similar science, similar. Yeah. And, and, and like, they all started as like one-off films basically. Right. Yeah. And, and, and like, no one thought that like, oh, we were going to make more movies about this. And then that's when people start just kind of making up the lore and kind of really starting to like explore these things on what if, you know, and like, you know, that all the Terminator movies are different.

[01:21:07] They have like some different, like, like Terminator Genesis and goes like one place Terminator Dark Fate goes to another place. It's the same thing with like the Alien and Predator movies. You could just keep opening up that lore and like without giving too much away and still keeping them scary, you know? But yeah. But that's really what's great about those creations. Like there's just so much to them that you can just keep making stuff up or like taking stuff away, you know?

[01:21:36] And like making it like kind of mysterious again, because like people talk about like Prometheus and like, there's still people who are fans of those movies and think like, well, I don't really like the idea that like the engineers came up with aliens. Like it's still possible that aliens were something that already existed. And then the engineers kind of harness that or something, you know, like that's still kind of like a possibility because. I had less trouble with the concept, just the execution and like how later went.

[01:22:06] So it's just like, yeah. And then they hired filmmakers who never want to wrap it up. So it's like, well, then why do I continue? So yeah. Yeah. It's like. But yeah, I mean, I kind of like with other universes, they've done everything from video games to even other books is like, if we can get someone else to flesh it out, then that's a win. Yeah. That's where we got to go. Yeah. And people thought you couldn't go anywhere else with Predator, but then. Yeah.

[01:22:35] And like, like, like, like, like once I saw Prey, I was like, oh, wow. You know, no one's done this yet. You know? Not yet. Just like, and then, you know, they prove that like, no, you could still make a really good Predator movie. You know, like, and you could still make a great alien story. You know, like there's still there. There's always going to be someone else's interpretation of it. And that's really what's always keeps it fresh. Kind of, you know, like aliens always come back and like the Predator comes back, you know, it's just like.

[01:23:06] It's what I'm hoping for is like, yeah, just let's flesh it out just a little tad more. And let's also remind everybody, have fun with the concept. Don't just do it just for, you know, randomness. Yeah. Yeah. I'm like, you know, like remind people what makes what made them cool in the first place. You know, I'm like. Just be the depth of perception, be wanting to actually contribute all this, you know?

[01:23:36] Yeah. I mean, all I can ask for also is just wanting to feel like the, you know, regardless of what is or isn't accepted, just don't be messy with the introduction to it. No. Yeah. It's like. It's crazy how like things how they can make all these stories that weren't good and then someone will come along and be like, no, this is what it's kind of. Let's restart. Let's reboot. Kind of like. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:24:05] A bad storyline that's introduced in a show. And then they're like, you know, we need let's redeem that character. Let's read. Yeah. I'm back for two parter. Just so. So even though I can't undo the messy beginning, but I can make it just be good over time. Yeah. Yeah. Like, like, like there's always more. There's always a fresh take, you know, like someone's always going to have one. Totally. Yeah. And yeah. And that's what always keeps me, you know, that's what.

[01:24:33] Instead of now I'll pretend it doesn't exist. I'm like, no. Yeah. Yeah. Too late for that. So might as well start over if you're going to be that cynical. Yeah. But yeah, definitely a recommended book trilogy. I mean, remember guys, a book trilogy, you know, like that doesn't happen every day. No, yeah, definitely. Yeah. So it's especially with this kind of. With these characters, you know, like and with these.

[01:25:03] Creations and stuff like that. I mean, I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next to reading something great from Terminator again. You know, like. Yeah. Like just make a really good movie, you know, that, you know, it doesn't have to have. Arnold all the time. You know, like. Does not need to even go there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's like you can do it from like what's the one Terminator comic by. Chris Warner. Oh. It's like Terminator. It's supposed to be a sequel to like the first movie.

[01:25:31] I promise we'll talk about those books also. But. Oh, yeah. Like. But yeah, that was. Yeah. And that we're talking about like the 1990 run. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That was a. But it was just basically, you know, like it was a sequel to Terminator, but it had these brand new characters. It was pretty good at the movie. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, whoa. You know, that's super intense. Like. And it had nothing to do with with the first movie's characters or anything like that. It was just a good story. You know, it was just fun. You know, I'm like.

[01:26:01] That's really what. You know, is. Is really like the most important thing. Like, if you just have like a good story with good characters and keep it thrilling, you know, and scary. Yeah. Yeah. That's all you really need to do. And then like. You don't need to. Standard round. So endless comparisons. Yeah. It's like, you don't need to bring back the same characters from the first movie just because that movie worked, you know, like. Yeah. It's like, no, man. The story has been told now. Now we move on to the next thing. Yeah. Yeah. Like we want to the next part of the story.

[01:26:31] Stop trying to rehash the same story over and over. You know, like you would think that that'd be the easiest thing, you know, but don't overstay. You're welcome. Don't. Yeah. Yeah. Make you remind you. Hey, why don't I just, you know, watch the movie now is like, no, no, no. Like it's the next best thing. This is where we're going. Yeah. And who does those who take note and, you know, want to.

[01:26:58] Be their own thing, because that that's not easy either. It's like because you got the pressure, you got endless time. Well, you don't have endless time. You have X amount of time to get done. Oh, yeah. Like, and it's always like that studio interference. Yeah. Too often. Oh, yeah. We're like, they're like, well, you know, this one's got to have Arnold in it again. We don't know why it works. Kind of like. It's like we had the Terminator producers who deliberately ripped themselves off. It's like, let's collect that money.

[01:27:25] Let's have two muscle men face off with explosive stunts. Even though the story is not there. Let's do universal soldier. It was like, well, that's a whole different kind of movie. So it's funny. That's that's why Predator 2 like works for me, too, because it takes like from part one, like all the big muscle bound guys. And it goes to to like Danny Glover, you know, like just some cop, you know, and then his fellow officers were just, you know, like they just live in the city and stuff and try to do their job.

[01:27:54] They aren't like these commandos or anything. You know what I mean? But I mean, they're like police officers who are trained and can use weapons. That's why they're, you know, they're hunted by the Predator, obviously. But it just takes it to a whole different place. You know, you're just like and that was that's why I love that movie still always. And what a way to open up a movie. Oh, yeah. With like the huge like gang war fight and like tons of explosions and, you know, like you're like, oh, man.

[01:28:23] Yeah, that's definitely just like that's that's always what I look for. You know, like when when the the last Shane Black Predator came out, it's just like, oh, man, like you're really going to try to just do the same thing as the first Predator kind of like it's wild is like because then they were connecting the Predator planet. And then they did the whole let's have that is like I would like to say director's cut of it is like what did they take out that would have made it better?

[01:28:50] Because like Edward James almost was like a base commander who gets destroyed or something that there was some backstory on what exactly they were trying to do with the captured Predator. And it's like, yeah. And then it was even more confusing because like the earlier preview had like a what looked like Ripley's body with an alien on it. He's like, oh, we're going to go with that. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's like which like like they say to.

[01:29:15] You know, it would make or like I was I was watching a review about that movie and it's like, oh, yeah, one of the alternate endings was they find Ripley and it's like, it doesn't make any sense. You know, like what is she go back in time or something? Well, when that pod opened, which will never be elaborated upon, my sister and I joked, maybe it's Arnold's Dutch. It's like, no. Oh, yeah. They're bringing him back, but not in that movie.

[01:29:39] And apparently the sign displayed by Jake Busey was supposed to be implied as being the son of Gary's character, Keys. Yeah. And they omitted that dialogue. It's a shame. No. Yeah. I mean, it's such an obvious thing, too. You know, I mean, you've got Jake Busey in a Predator movie. He's definitely going to be related to, you know, Gary Busey's character. Like, that's just that's just what you have to do.

[01:30:05] But I mean, yeah, it's just like overall that movie just really didn't didn't land. Kind of, you know, you're just like, man, what are they going to do now? But then, yeah, of course, you get Daniel Trachtenberg, right? Like Dan Trachtenberg. Yeah. Trachtenberg. Yeah. It's a tough name to say. Yeah. He is now the king of the franchise. Yeah. It's like, OK, you've proven yourself. You know, that's definitely something that is working.

[01:30:35] And and it looks like they're going to and they already tied in Arnold and Danny Glover's character at the end of the killer of killers. Yeah. So it's like. It's like, yeah, you know, let's see that they're going to bring him back in animated form. Like. That could definitely work. But. Yeah. I mean, like, I'm always excited to see where they're going to go with these characters. And like and these universes. Because it's just.

[01:31:04] It was there a book after the Rage trilogy or were these like the last? It looks like that's the last one for now. I doubt it'll be the last ever. I mean, if they're doing to get these comic book crossers and gone back and forth. I'm sure they're going to have to continue it at this point. Yeah. Like, like, like there's got. Yeah. It's just it's just too good. You know, you just keep. It's too good. Like. Let's keep going. You can't stop the. You can't stop the aliens.

[01:31:33] Well, so, Eric, I'll let you promote your Insta page where we first met. And what got you into posting different stuff related to the AVP verse and embracing the good side of Insta? Oh, yeah. I mean, that's basically. I've always written and drawn my own comics ever since I was a kid and stuff, you know, like as like a hobby, you know, like, you know, like whenever I have time, I'll just make stories and stuff.

[01:32:01] And when I that's like, I started collecting action figures specifically to kind of make stories with them. You know, like first I started with like the actual dioramas and stuff. And but then eventually I just started using all Photoshop. Like I was just like and I kind of put like more like animation on on the on the photos. So then it looks like a comic book.

[01:32:23] And then like once I saw like my I started collecting figures because I wanted I saw the figures of the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie figures. You know, like like. And I was like, I've got to own these. Before the Predator, we had Ninja Turtles. No, yeah. Which, you know, like there's a crossover. Yeah. Yeah. And I've I've have I've done I did a Leonardo Predator crossover story.

[01:32:52] On my Instagram. Where like like Leonardo goes on one of his. Like like like like a retreat or something where like he like goes to South America to like train and stuff. And then he runs into a Predator, you know, and like and once once I got those Ninja Turtle figures, then I saw that like, oh, they got the Predator one figure and the Predator two figure. And I was just like, oh, man, I could own all the Predators from all the movies, you know, and like those NECA figures.

[01:33:21] Really get the details, you know, down, you know, like I've got most of the Predators from the end of the Predator two movie. Like like Greyback and like all those dudes. And it was just something that I've always wanted to have physically. And now I can make stories of them, you know, and do my own thing. And that's basically what my Instagram is. You know, like some like some sometimes I'll just have like pictures of them. But that's usually while I'm writing a story.

[01:33:49] Like I've got several stories I haven't even posted yet of just, you know, like Batman meeting a Predator. Or like I did a Punisher Predator story, which is something I always wanted to see. Like the, you know, like first the Predators hunting the Punisher. But then, of course, the tales get turned and the Punisher hunting the Predator. You know, that's always something that, you know, just like my favorite characters taking on Predators or taking on aliens. And one of my other stories was Mandalorian versus aliens, you know.

[01:34:19] There you go. And like you kind of bring in Boba Fett, you know, and like would Boba Fett be able to take on like an alien queen? Especially after they kind of went that way with the new Predator. No, yeah. It's like how tough are these characters against these adversaries, you know. Don't know until I know. No, yeah. And that's really if you want to really see like how tough these characters are. How tough?

[01:34:49] Yeah, it's like you just put them up against the Predator, dude. You know, like. I mean, those are what we got. You know, they're kind of Klingons, but they also have a samurai code and then they also got. No, yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. This is the classic battle almost like. Despite the disfigured faces, they also. Yeah, yeah. I mean, like once you like like Batman and Predator is such an easy.

[01:35:16] Like it was like when those comics came out when I was a kid, I was like I was I was totally obsessed. Like that was one of Batman's greatest adversaries was a Predator stalking Gotham City. That was wild. And he still lost. And I call foul. I call bullshit. Batman doesn't kill. The Predator never does it not kill. I know. No, no. But but but then the Predator, I guess, like recognizes a good adversary, you know, like so. So so so then Predators like keep on coming to Gotham.

[01:35:45] But I mean, he already at least he could have blown himself up and killed Batman with. Oh, yeah. No, like like like there's definitely or the Joker. That would have been a half a half away. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, yeah. Like and of course, you know, like Batman does his best to not kill anybody. So even the Predator just like killing himself, you know, which is usually, you know, like when when like the Predator loses, they when in doubt, blow yourself up or like, you know, it's like, OK.

[01:36:15] And then it just, you know, it's just another way for them to keep it going, too. Got to keep it going. I mean, yeah, not once, but twice. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, no. There was a third one, too. There's a third Batman Predator. We're like, oh, with a Robin in it, too. You know, we're like the Predator starts. Oh, well, they must have collected it into different volumes then. No. Yeah. Like like like that one definitely wasn't as good as the original one to me, because it

[01:36:45] was like less gory and stuff. They kind of tried to make it like, oh, well, kids are going to be reading this. Let's make sure it's not too violent. You just kind of like, well, I mean, it's a Predator story. There's going to be spines ripped out and stuff like that's got to happen, you know? But yeah, that's basically what my Instagram is. It's just like just like a tribute to Predator fighting everybody or alien fighting everybody, you know, with with with with some other stuff thrown in just fan fiction.

[01:37:13] But it's not just on the fan fiction site anymore. Basically, yeah, it's like it's just like stories I've wanted to see with these characters, you know? But yeah, if you be versus the world. Check it out. Yes. Like AVP versus the world on Insta. Check Eric's out. And you're welcome back anytime, buddy. And I promise we will definitely get into some of the Terminator books and comics. Oh, yeah. No. Yeah, definitely. I would love to talk about those, too. Whenever you.

[01:37:42] Well, we're never not recording. Yeah. Oh, man. Thanks again. Oh, great. Great talking to you. Yeah. Let's definitely do it again. Promise. Follow us on the web on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The podcast is available on Podbean, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Anchor, Apple and anywhere else. Podcasts are available.

[01:38:12] Feel free to review our show and leave comments on any of those sites. Thanks a million for listening.