‘Predator: Killer Of Killers’ Is A True Franchise Mashup
by Frank Martin
At its core, the Predator franchise has a very formula premise. The Predators — an alien species driven by a sense of pride to conquer the mightiest prey — enters a war zone to prove its worth. All of the Predator films in one way or another address this premise. However, the first animated feature in the franchise takes this concept to the extreme as it doesn’t just showcase one Predator but three. Then it tops the entire experience off by leaning into a varied premise from another entry into the franchise.
Predator: Killer of Killers is broken up into four sections. The first three follow the standard Predator format with the first featuring a Viking woman named Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy), the second a ninja named Kenji (Louis Ozawa), and the third a mechanic on an aircraft carrier during World War II named John (Rick Gonzalez). In each story, a Predator enters the war zone and is dispatched by each opponent. However, these victors are collected and transported to an alien planet in the future, where they have to battle in a gladiator-like setting.
Predator, Predator 2, and Prey all inspired the format employed in the first three sections of the film. They are essentially short stories give fans a taste of the Predator in different eras. The fourth section combines the protagonist from each era and utilizes them in a setting very similar to Predators. That film was about gathering killers together on an alien game preserve for Predators to hunt. Although it is slightly different, it is very similar as it involves bringing together human champions, what the Predators may consider the best of the best. By mashing different formats and ideas together into short sections, Killer of Killers is a satisfying taste of the Predator franchise.
Predator: Killer of Killers is now streaming on Hulu.
