I’m not saying that your response is erroneous, but I am skeptical to simply using what the movies have shown us as the bible-like proof of what we know – or need to know – about the Predators. After all, I am using both movies and novels as reference; with a bit of added speculation to fill in some gaps. True, I have no right to strut around like a peacock in heat claiming that what I say is correct and cannot be questioned, simply taken into mind as a possible answer to those queries that the movies and novel and even comic books and games cannot answer– in fact, I rather enjoy a good discussion struggle. I’ll play the devil’s advocate to your responses:
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1. Chopper: I've heard many say that this pred wasn't experienced enough because he decided to kill Lex, but she was about to get an axe-like weapon to use on Celtic. Chopper saw this and realized that Lex was formidable. And some have also said that he could've fought Grid as he was lifted by his tail. Well, he seemed paralyzed. Maybe Grid's tail secreted a powerful stunning toxin.â€Â
Ok, let us start from the beginning of AvP. There is no denying that Celtic, Chopper, and Scar were Unblooded. Anderson may have stated that these particular specimen were older, but an Unblooded Yautja, no matter the age, is still considered equal in strength/experience amongst other Unblooded – this may in fact be superstition amongst Yautja. With that in mind we may add that the Yautja trio may have had better training that the rest of their Blockbuster counterparts, which would undoubtedly give them an advantage for their Blooding ritual. Chopper, specifically, seemed to be on the lower rank of the group. One only need to look at how this particular youth seemed to always be at the end of the pack, literally picking off what was left to him by Scar and Celtic (killing the man after he became injured from falling down the tube; Scar and Celtic walked past him but Chopper finished him off). With Lex, I highly doubt he saw her as a truly formidable opponent, but when a Yautja is a aware how unpredictable humans can be and saw that a human was reaching for a weapon, well, it kinda put him on edge and merely wanted to discourage the human from getting an advantage, no matter how small. And I believe that anyone – human or Yautja – that had an Alien tail implanted through their chest cavity may become shocked enough to be paralyzed by the blow. I doubt Chopper, or anyone, could react under such a situation while his mind was stunned from the unexpected attack.
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2. Celtic: I agree wholeheartedly that this was the most experienced Yautja warrior in the film. He fought HARD, and if you have seen the unrated edition of AVP, you know that he was apparently the leader because he was seen directing Scar to go a certain direction after the chestburster sequence. The thing that makes everyone classify him as inexperienced is of course when he had the chance to kill Grid in the net, but instead simply walked up to him suspensefully. Overconfidence doesn't mean inexperience, in some cases it hints at the direct opposite, but the thing is that he is a PREDATOR. He, unlike xenomorphs, has emotions and standards. After a long and painful fight, it was natural for this predator to be so into himself for finally, after years of practice, defeating an alien (temporarily), to want the creature to suffer pain caused by the net. Either that, or the predator was just showing something aliens do not possess - fear. I'm not saying at all that aliens are invincible, but they are pretty darn formidable and intimidating to a creature like a predator without his plasma gun. I know for a fact that if a human was facing something like a tiger, with his shotgun lost, and only having weapons like knives and pellet guns, that he would be having at least some fear. That is a weakness of the Yautja. They have emotion. But even with that weakness, I have no doubt in my mind that all of the aliens in AvP would've been killed by all three warriors if they had had their higher calibur guns that were stolen by the humans. As Deathdrop said, aliens are not invincible. They are simply formidable, but can be killed.â€Â
Finally, someone who agrees that Celtic was the top dog of the group and not Scar, as so many fans had been lead to believe. Celtic, the enigma Predator. Why DID he go for the suspenseful kill? Let us think that this Yautja was trained under the same Leader as both Scar and Chopper did (Anderson said that these three Yautja belonged to different clans). Let us think that a good Leader would teach his students the dangers out the Hard Meat: barbed tails, claws, dual maws, acid blood… Would this Leader also managed to point out that most of their weapons and armor, like any Unblooded’s gear, would NOT be acid-proof? Even if Celtic had never even known of the Alien’s acidic blood he would not only have gotten a neat surprise when his chest armor started melting away after his Hard Meat opponent spewed the toxic concoction from its tail wound; one may want to believe that some alarm may have gone off in his head saying, “Note to self: Metal does not work.†What made Celtic believe that a Net, given to an Unblooded and knowing the way it would cut into the prey’s flesh, would be enough to subdue the Alien while being aware of its corrosive blood? Overconfidence? Maybe. He may have been the boss of this little pack, but such a big mistake would not have made him a good Leader had he survived.
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3. Scar: This predator was a die-hard individual in a heavy combat situation. Even without his gun, he $ucked it up, and obliterated a hive of xenos. And before then, he was doing it more honorably, listening intently with great experience as an alien came at him quietly from the wall behind him. He was experienced in fighting in my opinion, but his emotions of a LONG day of brutal war got to him as he desperately tried to bring the Queen down with Lex's help and was pierced by the Queen's serpentine barbed tail. He, like all of the predators in this film, fought with great honor, such as when he took a huge leap into the air and stabbed the Queen in the head with his combi-stick.â€Â
While Chopper seemed to be overcompensating for something and Celtic became a little too confident, Scar seemed to be the only level-headed one of the group. He knew what to do and how to do it, but he seemed rather clueless when it came to how to properly deal with an Alien infestation. Let’s think upon this: The Blooding Temple was located on a frozen wasteland – considering after the major civilization wipeout of ancient times – where three Unblooded students had to pass or fail the Hard Meat trial with what seems to be a Yautja Mothership hovering above. Should the Aliens escape, their options would be limited. There would be little to no hosts available in such a harsh environment. The Mothership or more experienced Warriors could have very easily picked them off from there; maybe kill the queen and bring in a new Matriarch for the next Hard Meat trial. The students get killed by the Aliens, the Aliens get killed by the Mothership, and the Blooding temple maintains standing. Seems a pretty fool-proof way to deal with an infestation for me. Scar, on the other hand, panicked. After he became Blooded, his responsibility to the temple ended. There was nothing left but to fight his way to freedom to save his own skin, with the help of a certain female human in tow that is. No one questions help; not even a Yautja. Someone is willing to lend you a hand in a life-or-death situation, you don’t sit down with them and ask them “Why?†You grab them by the hand and say, “Let’s go!†Lex helped Scar, and Scar helped Lex. There was a mutual understanding there. But who could safely say that Scar wouldn’t have abandoned Lex, or even kill her, had he survived?