Prey (2022) presented a neat concept. fanfic, attempting to improve (despite not having watched the movie):
backstories, not sure what order they should go in.
Predator hunts a grizzly bear. Predator struggles mightily but is victorious. (because grizzly bears are monstrously strong, monumentally tough animals.) (mostly unrelated comment from elsewhere: is it wrong to root for the bear in The Revenant?) depower Predator as necessary so that the fight is close: Predators of this era have yet to develop all the technologies seen in the 1987 film. it takes its hard-won bear skull as a trophy.
a Comanche hunting group hunts anything but a bear (that comes later). the group is mostly male and is lead by a male, but the protagonist, Naru, is one of several female hunters in the group. the group treats the inclusion of females as completely unremarkable. Naru demonstrates extraordinary skill. the hunting group leader retires. the tribe chooses Naru to be their new hunting leader by universal acclamation based on respect for her skill.
the retired hunting group leader mentors Naru on leadership and teaches her more hunting wisdom. this all establishes context that the group functions well, including transferring knowledge. perhaps there is a little bit of gender commentary: the elders note that it has been many generations since the hunting group has been lead by a female, but it is not without precedent. it has been foretold that when a female rises to leader, something special will happen.
Naru leads the group to hunt a grizzly bear, because reasons. unlike Predator's earlier struggle, the Comanche are efficient and effective. they use teamwork; they use terrain to their advantage; they anticipate the grizzly's behavior; they get maximum effectiveness out of their weapons and technology. the grizzly never stands a chance. perhaps Predator in camouflage witnesses the hunt. perhaps this is the moment it decides that humans, not grizzlies, (not xenomorphs), are the most worthy opponents on the planet, or in the universe.
the Comanche take and use all parts of the grizzly.
despite having killed the grizzly smoothly, Naru reviews the hunt, identifies weaknesses and inefficiencies, and works -- leads -- at correcting and improving them. the contrasting grizzly hunts foreshadow that the Comanche are going to win the plot-inevitable battle against Predator. perhaps the audience even wonders how badly Predator is going to get destroyed by this well functioning hunting team.
(this mirrors the setup of the 1987 film. Predator did not go up against a random group of humans, but rather a competent military team.)
Predator goes (FTL is involved) and gets some tech upgrades, so maybe it won't be defeated so badly. the upgraded Predator steps off its ship and the showdown begins, or so it believes.
surprise, the Comanche, in part through Naru's extraordinary perception, have already long been aware of Predator, both from the obvious clue of the decapitated abandoned bear carcass from earlier, and through using their tracking skills to discern Predator's presence, behavior, abilities, and habits, despite its camouflage. this was one of the reasons Naru pushed her team to keep getting better, even though their grizzly hunt had been a walk in the park. they have already deduced much about Predator despite no direct interaction. perhaps they have modified the environment to their advantage, constructing traps.
surprise, one of the first things the Comanche do is disable Predator's ship, having deduced its existence, capabilities, and weaknesses. Predator is now trapped on the planet. both parties must now kill or be killed. who is predator? who is prey? title card drop.
action happens, the Comanche win, yay. legacy, denouement, etc.
perhaps a subplot about even though hunting is glorious, killing kills a little bit of your soul each time.
post-credits humor: Predator has an easy time killing idiotic French fur traders in Rube Goldberg-style human traps.
meta gender commentary: is it better to depict a world functioning well without gender discrimination, or a world with discrimination but women battling it and succeeding? our fanfic does the first, original Prey did the second. (Star Trek did the first and was lauded for it.) in original Prey, the protagonist having to simultaneously fight the patriarchy and Predator, and succeeding against both stretches credulity. but our fanfic invites accusations of Mary Sue (future post ihbpggqd).
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