Alien Changes the Franchise Forever with 1 New Reveal About Xenomorphs' Acid Blood

Summary Xenomorphs' acid blood is the cure for cancer in a shocking revelation.

Carter Burke discovered that injecting Xeno acid into malignant cells can cure all known diseases.

Burke died before sharing his research, but the secret is still there to be discovered in Alien continuity.

Warning: spoilers ahead for What If...? Aliens #2!A new change to the Xenomorph's acid blood is changing the lore of the Alien franchise forever. Since its first appearance in the 1979 Ridley Scott film, Alien's Xenomorph has been considered by both in-universe characters and fans as a perfect organism. Not only is it a ruthless hunter that can kill anyone in its path, but any attempts to kill it could prove deadly since its blood is an incredibly caustic acid. This trait has become a defining defense mechanism for the interstellar creature, but a new detail suggests it's secretly beneficial to humans.

In What If...? Aliens #2 by Hans Rodionoff, Leon Reiser and Guiu Vilanova, an alternate timeline shows Aliens' human villain Carter Burke in possession of a Xenomorph egg after sending an android named Cygnus to retrieve it. When the two discuss what comes next, Carter mentions that he made a discovery while working for Weyland-Yutani that the Xenomorphs' acid blood is "capable of overwriting any sequence from another organism's DNA." The two reason that if they isolate these components of the acid, the sample can be "injected directly into malignant cells" and serve as a cure for deadly diseases, including cancer.

This is a remarkable discovery that could alter how fans view the Xenomorph forever. For years, they've been viewed as ruthless killing machines that should only be torched and disposed of. However, this shocking revelation proves they may actually be a long-term boon for humanity.

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The Xenomorphs' Acid Blood Could Be the Cure for Cancer

Carter Burke's Revelation Transforms Xeno/Human Relations

This reveal has huge consequences for Alien, however it also changes how fans view Carter Burke. Since Aliens released, he's been viewed as a despicable villain that was willing to kill Ripley and Newt just to bring home specimens for Weyland-Yutani. However, this revelation shows that he was working towards a greater good. The decision-making process he and Cygnus go through shows that he has a strong amount of empathy for his employees. The only reason he's risking their lives to birth a Xenomorph is because he knows it'll benefit the rest of the human race forever. He's even willing to help save them by asking Cygnus if he can remove the chestburster, preventing the Facehugger encounter from being a death sentence. It's still reprehensible what Carter did in Aliens, but it was for a noble cause that proves he's not the self-serving villain everyone thought he was.

Carter's death in Aliens doesn't mean this major secret will be lost forever...

Is the Cure for Cancer in the Main Alien Universe Gone Forever?

This What If...? Sets Up a Major Secret That Still Needs to Be Officially Discovered

Marvel's What If...? stories ask how things would have turned out if one event had been different - in this case, Carter surviving Aliens. That means that if Xenomorph blood can cure cancer in this timeline, that's true across the entire canon franchise. Tragically, Carter's death in the main timeline means his realization died with him. After all, Ripley's story continues well after Aliens with Alien: Resurrection taking place over 200 years later with no sign of the cure being found. However, this doesn't mean that his discovery will be lost forever. Science presses forward in both the real world and the Alien universe, and Weyland-Yutani is obsessed with plundering the Xenos' DNA. While it may take longer for scientists to learn what Carter knew centuries prior, it's entirely possible that his observations could be found. This is especially true given how prevalent Xenomorphs become following Ripley's saga.

Regardless of when Carter's discovery makes its way to the main timeline, this is still a huge revelation for fans of the Alien universe. The fact that the cure for one of the deadliest diseases is locked within the perfect predator is a game-changer. It's a change that will completely alter how humanity looks at the Xenomorph forever, making some of the most black-and-white actions taken by Alien's villains far more complex in the long-run.

What If...? Aliens #2 Concept Artists: Paul Reiser, Leon Reiser, Adam F. Goldberg, Hans Rodionoff & Brian Volk-Weiss

Writers: Hans Rodonoff & Leon Reiser

Artist: Guiu Vilanova

Color Artist: Yen Nitro

Letterer: Clayton Cowle

Cover Artist: Phil Noto

What If...? Aliens #2 is available now from Marvel Comics!

Alien (1979) Alien is a sci-fi horror-thriller by director Ridley Scott that follows the crew of a spaceship known as the Nostromo. After the staff of the merchant's vessel perceives an unknown transmission as a distress call, its landing on the source moon finds one of the crew members attacked by a mysterious lifeform, and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun.