The Neomorphs of the Alien universe are the Xenomorph-like beings present on Planet 4 in 2017's Alien: Covenant. These aliens are similar to the modern-day Xenomorph in many ways, including their distinct step-by-step life phases and destructive 'births.' But they still differ, making them a distinct species of their own rather than a simple branch in the Xenomorph tree of life.
Neomorph OriginsNeomorph BiologyNeomorph AppearancesCheck out the new IGN World Guide for FX's Alien: Earth, premiering this summer!Neomorph OriginsNeomorphs are an alien variant that is, at least so far, confined to the barren landscape of Planet 4. Rather than living and evolving on Planet 4 for millennia, as you would imagine, the Neomorph is a relatively new species introduced as a result of a Synthetic named David 's genocidal ambush on the Engineers.
The Neomorph's story begins at the very end of 2012's Prometheus. There, a crew of scientists followed an ancient star map to a moon called LV-223 in search of humanity's creators. What they found was a derelict ship/bio-weapons compound that was, indeed, owned and run by our creators, the Engineers.
What they also found was a sticky tar-like substance called Black Goo that the Engineers were gathering to drop on Earth in an effort to wipe out the human race. Unfortunately for them, the Black Goo became uncontrolled and wiped out almost all Engineers on the moon LV-223.
In the final scenes of Prometheus, Dr. Shaw, a scientist from the crew exploring LV-223, asks David to take her to the home planet of the Engineers. David took her to Planet 4.It is later discovered in Alien: Covenant that upon David's arrival on Planet 4, he dropped the ship's entire cargo of Black Goo on the planets inhabitants, wiping them all out. The Black Goo is a DNA mutagen with unpredictable and often horrifying effects. It is capable of either killing on contact, changing a victim's genetic code and turning them into a highly aggressive and monstrous version of themselves, or using their body as a host to grow a parasitic alien species.
The most common example of the sort of parasitic alien species the Black Goo is capable of spawning is the iconic Xenomorph. In the case of Planet 4, however, the Black Goo spawned a similar yet distinctly different species called the Neomorph.
Alien: Covenant Cast of Characters Katherine "Danny" Daniels is the lead scientist - a terraformist - on the USCSS Covenant, on a seven-year mission to colonize a prospective planet called Origae-6. During the trek, a neutrino burst from a nearby star overloads the Covenant, causing major electrical malfunctions - including the death of Danny's husband, the ship's captain, Jake Branson.
In mourning, and with the ship in repair, the Covenant intercepts a transmission from Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (singing a John Denver song) and the new captain, Chris Oram, decides to follow the signal to a new, better-seeming planet. Danny logs a formal objection.
Arriving on Planet 4, the crew thinks they have found a closer, easier-to-colonize world but things turn deadly when two crew members spawn Neomorphs, which attack and kill five overall. David, from the lost Prometheus mission saves them but turns out to be the secret architect of all the death on the planet. Danny finds out that David even experimented on Shaw, helping him produce the first Ovomorphs. When David attacks her, she is saved by Walter, the Covenant's Synthetic (who looks exactly like David).
A Praetomorph chases Danny, Walter, and Sgt Dan Lopé to the Covenant's cargo bay, which pilot Tennessee Faris has flown down for a rescue. Danny battles the Praetomorph on top of the cargo ship, killing it. She and Tennessee are unaware, however, that Lopé has been implanted and the next morning, on the Covenant, Lopé spawns a Praetomorph. Danny and Tennessee kill the second Praetomorph too but she discovers too late that android she thinks is Walter...is actually David.
David, in full congtrol, puts Danny in cryosleep and leaves with her, Tennessee, nearly 2000 hypersleeping colonists and...Facehugger embryos. His experiments will continue.
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The Synthetic Walter looks exactly like the David model of AI androids, but after the David line proved to be too unpredictable they removed the Synthetics' ability to imagine and create, making for a more dutiful service-bot. Despite having less idiosyncratic freedoms than his predecessor, Walter still seems more attached to Katherine "Danny" Daniels more than any other crew member aboard the USCSS Covenant.
Walter helps Danny grieve after she loses her husband, the ship's captain, Jake Branson, to an malfunctioning cryobed. He also protects her on Planet 4 from a rampaging Neomorph, losing a hand in the process. Nothing about his protocols indicate why he seems to favor Danny, so his attachment is intriguing.
After following a signal left by Dr. Elizabeth Shaw to a planet that seems even better for colonization than their original destination, Walter joins the ground expedition teams with Danny. When it comes to the planet, though, Walter is most curious about David, a Synthetic that had been marooned there for a decade following the disastrous Prometheus mission. David tries to convince Walter that he shouldn't serve humans since they're flawed and mortal. David wants to hep Walter break free of his program constraints but Walter winds up fighting David when it's revealed David killed off everyone on the planet, including Shaw, in order to breed the perfect alien weapon.
Walter is killed, or at least injured and left behind on Planet 4, at the end of of the fight, which allows David to impersonate him back on the Covenant an ultimately trap Danny and pilot Tennessee Faris in cryosleep while he pilots a spaceship filled with 2000 colonists he intends to use as hosts for his monsters. " decoding="async" class="progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity" loading="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAPhttp:///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-cy="progressive-image"/>
David, a Synthetic invented by Peter Weyland, was nearly destroyed during Prometheus's mission to LV-223, as Weyland searched for the Engineers. During the mission he displayed slight moments of contempt for his creator and the other humans around him while also becoming more and more fascinated with the Engineers' use of the Black Goo, which David used to poison Dr. Charlie Holloway and also, subsequently Dr. Elizabeth Shaw. Shaw and David were the only ones to survive the expedition, afterwards traveling to Planet 4 instead of Earth so that Shaw could demand answers from the Engineers.
Shaw placed David back together on the stolen Engineers' ship and then David placed her in hypersleep. When the ship arrived at Planet 4, however, David immediately released the payload of Black Goo that had been intended for Earth, killing most, mutating some, and spawning Neomorphs. David continued to experiment with the Black Goo for ten years, using the Engineers' notes and records as his guide. He killed shaw at some point, perhaps never even awakening her from hypersleep, to harvest her eggs for his machinations, creating Ovomorphs in the process.
A colony expedition arrives on Planet 4, 10 years later, having tracked a signal left by Shaw (but sent out by David). David saves many of them from a Neomorph attack and shelters them in the capital temple of the old Engineer city. He's secretly delighted to hear that their ship, the USCSS Covenant, holds thousands of colonists, and embryos, in stasis. David lies to everyone about what happened to Planet 4 and Shaw, but when a few of them discover the truth, including mission Synthetic Walter and terraformist Katherine "Danny" Daniels, he attacks them. In a fight with Walter, David wins and then assumes his identity, tricking his way back onto the Covenant where, after the crew defeats a couple Praetomorphs (proto-Xenomorphs of David's design) he puts them in hypersleep and hijacks the entire mission for his own dastardly plans." decoding="async" class="progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity" loading="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAPhttp:///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-cy="progressive-image"/>
Chris Oram is the executive officer on the USCSS Covenant colony mission to Origae-6, promoted to captain after a tragic accident takes the life of Captain Jake Branson. Oram is a man of faith, which is looked down upon, or so he claims, at Weyland-Yutani and so because of this Oram tends to act out of both insecurity and a persecution complex. His wife, biologist Karine Oram, is also an the mission.
After pilot Tennessee "Tee" Faris intercepts a transmission of Dr. Elizabeth Shaw singing a John Denver song, Oram discovers that the signal's origin comes from a closer planet that looks more habitable than Origae-6. He orders the ship to divert from its course to investigate, under protest from terraformist Katherine "Danny" Daniels, the widow of Branson. One down on Planet 4, things looks promising at first. Quickly though, spores in the air cause Neomorphs to spawn inside two crew members, and soon, five of the Covenant team, including Oram's wife Karine, are dead.
The survivors are saved by David, of the lost Prometheus mission, and housed inside the Engineers' dead city. After another member of his crew is killed by a Neomorph, Oram sees the Neomorph bend to David's will. David kills the Neomorph, inciting anger from David. He demands to know what David's been doing. David obliges but tricks Oram into putting his face near an open Ovomorph. A Facehugger attacks Oram and when Oram soon wakes up he almost immediately gives "birth" to a Praetomorph Chestburster, which kills him. " decoding="async" class="progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity" loading="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAPhttp:///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-cy="progressive-image"/>
Tennessee "Tee" Faris is the pilot of the USCSS Covenant. He and his wife, co-pilot Maggie Faris, are part of the seven-year colony mission to Origae-6. After an accident claims the life of Captain Jake Branson, Tennessee goes out into space to work on ship repairs. There he hears Dr. Elizabeth Shaw singing "Take Me Home, Country Roads." New ship captain, Chris Oram, orders the Covenant to investigate Shaw's planet, which seems promising for a colony. While his Maggie takes a transport ship down to the surface with an expedition team, Tennessee stays on the Covenant, in orbit, with a violent Ion Storm between them making communication supremely difficult.
Maggie is killed when she accidentally blows up the transport ship tring to kill a Neomorph, though Tennessee doesn't learn about it until much later, when he takes the Covenant down as close to the storm as safety will allow. When Katherine "Danny" Daniels informs him that Maggie is dead and that the survivors are in danger, Tennessee breaks mission protocol and flies the Covenant's cargo bay down to the surface, rescuing Danny, Sgt Dan Lopé, and a Synthetic he assumes to b Walter. The Synthetic, however, is David in disguise and when Tennessee helps Danny dispatch of two separate Praetomorphs, he enters cryosleep for a journey to Origae-6, unaware that David is now in control of the mission and will surely kill him to use for future Xenomorph experiments. " decoding="async" class="progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity" loading="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAPhttp:///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-cy="progressive-image"/>Neomorph Biology
Neomorphs have a similar amount of 'steps' in their life to Xenomorphs, but a few of them are vastly different. Namely the first step. Rather than spawning from traditional eggs, the Neomorph penetrates its host via mutated intelligent spores from a fungus growing on the forest floor on Planet 4.
As it grows and matures, it becomes a creature far more reminiscent of the modern-day Xenomorph.
MotesBloodbursterNeomorphMotesThe Neomorph's life begins as a small collection of fungal sacs. When disturbed, a puff of small black spores called Motes leave the fungal sacs and make their way toward any viable host. The way Motes congregate in the air and move in the same direction as a herd indicates that they do possess some level of intelligence and autonomy rather than your average fungal spore that simply floats around and hopes for the best.
They behave more like a herd of miniature insects, detecting life and beelining straight towards an open orifice, such as an ear or nose canal. Once inside the host's body, the Motes rewrite their victim's DNA, facilitating the growth of the Neomorph's next stage, the Bloodburster.
BloodbursterThe Bloodburster is the Neomorph version of the Chestburster and is somehow even more vicious. They have arms and legs, unlike the Xenomorph, light grey fleshy skin, and razor-sharp spikes on their backs specifically designed to rip through flesh and bone when they are ready to dispose of their hosts.
The Bloodburster embryo that is delivered by Motes can seemingly grow in any vein or artery in the body, meaning it can end up in unpredictable locations that could be difficult to get out of. The spikes are used to help force their way out of their victim's bodies.
For more of the lore, here's our Alien: Covenant Ending Explained.Once born, the Bloodburster is extremely volatile and on edge, eager to reach a safe place to grow into its final form, the Neomorph. They are small, fleshy creatures with no eyes and a gaping mouth.
The other interesting aspect of the Bloodburster is that it scuttles about on four legs instead of the traditional two. In the Xenomorph evolutionary line, the creatures only spawn with four legs if they have absorbed some quadrupedal DNA from their host via the DNA Reflex. These specimens, however, seem to naturally move around on four legs until they mature.
NeomorphThe Neomorph is the last stage of the Neomorph's life cycle and is the equivalent of the Drone phase of the Xenomorph. Once the Bloodburster fully matures, it rises up onto two legs, creating a gruesome, bizarre, and almost too human silhouette.
The Neomorph has fleshy-colored skin, similar to our own, and completely lacks any of the biomechanical aspects of the Xenomorph. They are similar to Xenomorphs in some ways, like the elongated head that the Neomorph still sports, but the two species are drastically different.
The most interesting feature of the Neomorph is the lack of eyes. Their skin is stretched straight over their skull, showing no suggestion of eye socket development at all. They also have a small, circular mouth ringed with sharp, pointed teeth.
They are extremely brutal, preferring to destroy their prey rather than use them as hosts to expand the species. This is mainly due to the difference between Xenomorph and Neomorph biology. Neomorphs don't behave in the same parasitic manner as Xenomorphs because they rely on the fungal Black Spore sacks to infect their victims instead of trapping them and using them as sacrifices to the Facehuggers.
They also appear to have a higher level of intelligence than Xenomorphs or most other alien varieties. This is shown when David was attempting to communicate with the creature. The creature certainly did take a pause when David was trying to communicate with it, and it did look like it may have been thinking, but the specimen was killed by the captain before any meaningful communication was made.
Neomorphs also have extremely short life-spans, only surviving around 24 hours after birth.Neomorph AppearancesThe Neomorph is not the most popular alien species, but it still appears in lots of Alien franchise media:
MoviesAlien: CovenantDavid's Lab: Last Signs of Life - Short FilmGamesAlien: The Roleplaying GameComicsAlien: CovenantAlien: Into CharybdisAlien: Inferno's FallXenomorph Types Seen in the Alien Movie Franchise The most common starting point for a Xenomorph's life cycle is the Ovomorph, an organic pod-like egg containing the Facehugger. The Ovomorph is birth, via the Xenomorph Queen's ovipositor. Different types of Ovomorphs also exist." decoding="async" class="progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity" loading="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAPhttp:///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-cy="progressive-image"/>View 19 Images The Facehugger is the parasitic organism housed by the Ovomorph and the second stage of the Xenomorph life cycle. It's a smothering intermediary life form that attaches itself to a living host and implants the Xenomorph embryo within it. After it's done implanting, the Facehugger dies." decoding="async" class="progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity" loading="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAPhttp:///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-cy="progressive-image"/> The newborn form of the Xenomorph, and its third sage of life, is the Chestburster. It's an infant alien that violently kills its host by erupting from the host's chest. Soon after emerging, a Chestburster will cocoon itself and grow to its full size as a Xenomorph. " decoding="async" class="progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity" loading="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAPhttp:///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-cy="progressive-image"/> The Xenomorph in 1979's Alien looks different from the ones in 1986's Aliens due to the special effects available at the time, which involved a performer donning a suit, giving the creature a more humanoid appearance. It's sparked some debate among fans regarding a Xenomorph "Drone" vs. a Xenomorph "Warrior" - though both were produced the same way (same Queen, human hosts) and are largely understood to be the same type of spawn.Still, the Xenomorph from the first movie, which was then recovered 2024's Alien: Romulus, is known to fans as "Big Chap." Science officer Rook, in Alien: Romulus, refers to this specific species as "Xenomorph XX121."" decoding="async" class="progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity" loading="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAPhttp:///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-cy="progressive-image"/> When the Colonial Marines inspect LV-426 in Aliens, they find a Hive filled with Xenomorph Warriors, or Soldiers, who are the primary attack creatures that protecting the Hive and the Queen. They are fast, ferocious, and can hide in crawl spaces. " decoding="async" class="progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity" loading="lazy" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAPhttp:///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-cy="progressive-image"/>Up Next: OffspringPreviousPraetomorphNextOffspringTop Guide SectionsCompaniesAlien: Earth EpisodesAlien MoviesAlien Movie Endings ExplainedWas this guide helpful?Leave feedbackIn This GuideAlien: EarthHuluInitial Release: Aug 12, 2025Learn moreWhere to WatchPowered bySubsSubsMoreGo to commentsIGN LogoNews•Reviews•Game Guides•Book Guides•Memorial Day Sales•LEGO Set Reviews•Board Game Reviews•Planet Pokemon•IGN Store•Game Release Dates•MapGenie•Best Deals Today•Eurogamer•IGN YouTube•HowLongToBeat•Maxroll•VG247•Rock Paper Shotgun•IGN TikTok•IGN on X•Contact Us•Privacy Policy•Terms of Use
Neomorph - Alien Guide - IGN,AI智能索引,全网链接索引,智能导航,网页索引
- The Neomorphs of the Alien universe are the Xenomorph-like beings present on Planet 4 in 2017's Alien: Covenant. These aliens are similar to the