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[AvP/Aliens/Predator]So, who created the Xenomorph after all? (SPOILERS)

I was giving this matter some thougth and I couldn't come across the fact that across multiple films and other media, we've been given or hinted at *multiple* origin stories for the Xenomorphs existence.

I'm assuming both Predator and Alien/Prometheus franchises exist in the same universe, hence why I assume AvP is cannon.

I'm not considering the latest "The Predator" movie cause that was garbage. Honestly. I think most agree with with me. Other movies were bad, but not *that bad*.

So, AvP tells us the Yautja have existed as an extremely advanced species long before humans were a thing. They even helped us evolve in return for volunteers to be seeded with the Xenomorph. This implies the Xenomorph in it's more recognizable facehugger/egg form also existed long before humanity, since the Yautja have been using them for sport for a while now.

Prometheus introduces us to the Engineers, and it is hinted Engineers not only seeded life on Earth, given the "their DNA is identical to ours" line in the movie, but it's hinted they did so in other worlds. It's heavily hinted that the Black Goo is the mutagenic agent that starts the Xenomorph life cycle, however it's also the thing that destroyed the Engineer in the beginning and caused him to seed life on Earth. 

Prometheus also implies the Engineers worshiped a Xenomorph looking creature given the altar scene.

We also get a Deacon from an Engineer at the end and it looks awesome. I have no idea what a Deacon is, what it's purpose in bringing the Xenomorph into life.

Other media shows that the Engineers and Yautja are enemies, so from this I gather the Engineers did not *seed all life in the universe*, rather were just advanced enough to do so. 

From Predators, we can see the Yautja also seem to be advanced enough to the point they can terraform planets to be used as hunting reserves. The crashed Engineer ship on that same planet not only reinforces the notion all franchises share the same universe, but also implies the Engineers and Yautja are on similar degrees of technological advance, given the Yautja could shoot down the much larger Engineer ship.

From this I assume the Yautja may also be able seed life on planets. They seem to cooperate with other species (and even  aid their development, as indicated by AvP) if they can get something out of tjen.

Note: I only assume it's an Engineer ship on Predators because I've seen it refered as so by most of the fandom and even youtube movie analysts.


While all the black goo, Engineer religion stuff, and Yautja rituals further serve to prove that Xenomorph-like creatures existed in the universe long before the crew of the Nostromo was attacked by one.


HOWEVER, Alien Covenant casts an entire wrench into nearly everything that I gathered from all the other movies by having DAVID be the creator for the Xenomorph as we know it.

Why? Because in expanded media (I now point to all Alien lore youtubers) it's stated that David made the Xenomorph Eggs using Elizabeth Shaw's DNA and the Alien pathogen. They even have the lil'xenomorph have a lil' "hug me daddy" moment when David sees him come to.

So how come the Xenomorph could exist long before Mankind came to be, as implied and shown in all movies prior to Covenant... but at the same time... *be the creation of David's engineering* in Covenant?

We know Xenomorph's don't naturally occur via Black Goo infection. Those result in Deacons. Again, I don't know their relation to Xenomorphs, but David seemed fond of them, even tho he did not create them.

How could the Xenomorph even exist in it's iconic form previous to mankind existance, if David *used human DNA* to fabricate the Xenomorph?

Above all, how could the Yautja be lugging around Xenomorph eggs while all this is happening?

Thus, questions: 

Did the Engineers create the Xenomorph and the Yautja just farmed them for sport, and David just happened to discover how to make one?

Did the Yautja invent/create the Xenomorph, which in turn was worshiped by the Engineers, much like David worships the Deacons/Xenos, and again, David just happened to find out the Xenomorph recipe.

What the hell is a Deacon and where do they fit in all of this?

Or is it more plausible that the Xenomorph simply always existed as a creature somewhere, and was both farmed by the Yautja and worshiped by the Engineers (hence why both species are enemies) who in turn created the black goo from it's DNA, causing the Deacon thing as a side effect.

Or could it be even more plausible that there simply are a fuckton of plotholes Ridley Scott is choosing to ignore?


EDIT: Could it simply be that Prometheus and Covenants are intended to retcon everything?
gpt
Xenomorphs are a biological weapon created by the Engineers, which can make aliens that destroy an ecosystem. They can take many forms depending on what they infect. They grow pretty easily, so David making them was easy. Just stick them in a source of biological matter and they grow.

The Yautja hunt them, they didn't make them. They seem to have a common ish form, as shown by the Deacon, so if they prehumanity hunted ones that looked normal, they were probably born from humanoids.

The Deacon is a xenomorph born from an engineer.

It's not that complicated and weird.