Summary
The Predators—or Yautja as they’re sometimes known—have been around for over 35 years now, ever since audiences got their first glimpse of the alien whohunted Arnold Schwarzenegger and his platoonthrough the jungle in 1987. Unlike the Xenomorphs to which they’re often compared, the Yautja are not all identical. They’re each an individual with unique abilities, technologies, and motivations.
Although, by now,the Yautja should probably have learnedthat traveling to Earth (or messing with humans at all) is a bad idea, their search for a dangerous hunt keeps them coming back. While some never posed much of a threat beyond their intimidating appearance, others put up one hell of a fight. Here are all the franchise’sYautja hunters, ranked by who’s strongest.
Updated on November 11th, 2024, by Evan Regan:While every primary on-screen or playable Predator has been previously included on this list, the lore of the Yautja goes much deeper. There are several Predators with background roles in the franchise who may not come across as all that powerful when they’re encountered. However, upon exploring their backstory, they reveal themselves to be deadly and experienced hunters. Be they in video games, movies, or tie-in comics, this list has been updated to include some unsung—and possibly underappreciated—Predators in this ranking to further flesh out the canon of this fascinating alien race.
Runtime
1h 41min
Out of any Predator to appear in any medium across the series' history,Chopperis by far the least memorable one to ever make an on-screen appearance. He is literally just a target for a Xenomorph kill, and beyond that, has no memorable characteristics or moments.
In total, Chopper probably owns a grand total of one minute of screen time. He plants his boot firmly into a human when he first appears and then is impaled by a Xenomorph tail mere seconds later. So ends Chopper, the least impressive Yautja ever.At least his bio-helmet is kind of cool.
1h 47min
It’s a shame thatThe Predatorturned out to be sucha down moment for thePredatorfranchise,and a big part of that was the focus on theUltimate Hunter. Shane Black’s directorial entry into the franchise (he also played Hawkins in the 1987 film) was a significant misstep, reportedly brought about by the studio meddling with Black’s vision for the film.
The Ultimate Hunter lacks any kind of backstory or motivation for being on Earth (or any justification for being called “Ultimate”). He has next to zero impressive kills, no unique abilities or technology, and even though he looks cool visually, it’s not in a particularly noteworthy way. There’s just not a lot that draws in (or scares off) viewers with this Yautja.
Another Predator that doesn’t get a lot of screen time, at least theFalconerhas a strong enough showing to deserve a bit more attention. His standout bio-helmet and unusual drone technology make him unique among the Yautja on this list, and although he doesn’t survive for long, he puts up a great fight.
That fight is against Hanzo, the Yakuza enforcer who was kidnapped and brought to the Yautja hunting grounds where the movie takes place. Hanzo and The Falconer have an epic showdown, exchanging blows that demonstrate the combat skill of both parties. The Falconer also demonstrates some adherence to the Yautja code of honor, something his fellow Super Predators fail to do.
Some of the most apparent evidence for the idea thatThe Predatorsuffered from studio meddling is the film’s use ofThe FugitiveYautja, who is by far the more intimidating Predator in the movie but is killed off midway through and replaced with the aforementioned Ultimate Hunter. It’s hard to know if that was director Shane Black’s original intention or not, but it was certainly a letdown.
The Fugitive explodes onto the scene, effortlessly killing several armed human guards while he himself is unarmed. Killing more dangerous enemies while not making use of Predator technology is worth serious clout among the Yautja. Then there are his parkour abilities, which would make a Predator significantly more deadly in an urban jungle environment, but oddly, it is not something that other Yautja hunters make much use of in the franchise.
As far as any Yautja not named Berzerker goes,Trackergives the fugitives inPredatorsthe most trouble in the movie’s early going, and he does so without even revealing his presence. True to his name, Tracker employs a pair of hunting hound-beasts that flush out his prey. The beasts themselves are no pushovers, and once they’re vanquished, in comes Tracker and his awesome bio-helmet to finish the job.
Tracker does manage to isolate his prey, trapping Nikolai away from the rest of the group, stunning him, and impaling him on a wristblade. It’s only Nikolai’s willingness to blow himself up in order to take his enemy down with him that catches Tracker off guard. It’s a memorable death, but it’s unfortunate that Tracker isn’t given more screen time before he goes down.
There is an unfortunate lack of backstory for this Predator, who is one of the most prolific killers in thePredatorfranchise. After earning the title of Elite,Darkis dispatched to investigate a distress call sent by a squad of youngbloods hunting on an alien world (BG-386). Dark arrives with a significantly reduced arsenal—just a wrist blade, shoulder cannon, and a bio-helmet with reduced vision modes—and instead claims his weapons from the corpses of other Yautja.
Dark kills dozens of Xenomorphs and human Marines while he is on BG-386, and even takes down a Predalien (a cross between an Elite Yautja and a Xenomorph) while taking minimal damage himself, all before destroying the Yautja hunting grounds and escaping the ensuing explosion alive. He acquires the mask of a Legendary Predator and is last seen making his way to the Xenomorph homeworld. A brave venture indeed.
Chopper’s presence inAlien vs. Predatorreally only serves to provide motivation forCeltic, his youngblood brother. After Chopper’s death, Celtic seeks revenge on the Xenomorph that killed him, and while he doesn’t quite get it, he certainly gets his shots in.
Wearing one of the coolest-looking bio-helmets in the entire franchise, Celtic’s battle with the Xenomorph is a showcase of the brute strength and fighting prowess of the Yautja. Using a unique reversible wristblade, Celtic very nearly takes down the alien but was seemingly unprepared for the creature’s acid blood, which eats through first his body armor, and then the net he captures the Xenomorph in. Eventually, one misstep grants the Xenomorph the upper hand, but prior to that it was anyone’s fight, and it’s hard not to root for Celtic as hetosses the Xenomorph aroundlike a child’s toy.
This is an example of a Yautja who makes use of a small amount of screen time to leave a huge impact, both in terms of his character and the lore of the Yautja species.The Crucifiedis discovered by Royce and the remaining human survivors, and Royce makes the bold decision to set the imprisoned Predator free.
That decision is rewarded, as the Crucified adheres to his code of honor and protects Royce from the attacking Berserker Yautja who arrives shortly afterward. While the Crucified is eventually killed in that battle, he exemplifies the Predator code and drives homethe raging conflict between Yautja sub-racesthat would otherwise have remained a mystery.
12Spartan
The Leader Of The Elite Clan Who Trained Dark, Among Others
Most of the lore behindSpartancomes from a single introductory scene inAliens versus Predator,along with a few comms messages, but his background is more than enough to earn him a spot on this list. His lone appearance in the game is a scene where he puts a youngblood through a series of trials to determine if he is worthy of joining the Elite Clan. The youngblood slaughters a pair of Xenomorph hordes, earning himself a place among Spartan’s warriors.
That youngblood eventually takes the name “Dark,” who is the protagonist of the Predator campaign inAliens versus Predator.While Spartan’s position as the trainer and leader of a Yautja as deadly as Dark is commendable, there is more to suggest Spartan’s formidable past. For one, he recognizes the Yautja Pyramid that Dark later finds on BG-386, and is aware of the Ancient Predator laid to rest within, as well as the planet’s overall history. This was not common knowledge among Yautja, suggesting that Spartan may be old enough to have witnessed the Ancient Predator’s burial first-hand. The older a Yautja is, the more powerful they are, as a Yautja does not make it to old age without surviving many successful hunts.
1h 48min
TheGreyback Elderthat appears inPredator 2may be the same one that appears inAlien vs. Predatornearly 15 years later. The Yautja are virtually immortal, and the Greyback is confirmed to have visited Earth as far back as the 1700s, where he hunted pirates. He is also the oldest Predator to ever appear on-screen.
The Greyback Elder is unique in that his laser sight is mounted on his plasma weapon, rather than on his shoulder. His adherence to the code not only allows Detective Harrigan to escape the Predator ship before it takes off, but also pushes Greyback to present Harriganwith a flintlock pistol, a trophy for his successful hunt of the City Hunter Yautja.
