PREDATOR’s Legendary Flintlock Pistol Returns in PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS
If there’s one piece of Predator lore that’s captivated fans, it’s that weathered flintlock pistol. First seen in Predator 2, later expanded on in Prey, and now, thanks to Predator: Killer of Killers, that same firearm officially cements its legacy as the franchise’s most iconic Easter egg.
Killer of Killers isn’t your standard Predator story. This animated anthology spans centuries, following three human warriors that include the Viking leader Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy), Japanese ninja Kenji (Louis Ozawa), and WWII pilot Torres (Rick Gonzalez).
They each encounter a Predator hunter in their respective eras, and their stories eventually converge in a twisted finale that drops them into a Yautja gladiator arena lightyears from Earth.
Each warrior gets a weapon that reflects their origins: Ursa gets an axe, Kenji a katana, and Torres… a humble flintlock pistol. It turns out that it’s the same one fans saw in Predator 2, and later in Prey. While Torres barely has time to load the thing, let alone figure out how to load it, during the battle, its appearance ties Killer of Killers directly into decades of Predator mythology.
in Predator 2, Danny Glover’s Mike Harrigan defeats a Predator on its own ship, only to be surrounded by others. Rather than attack, they honor him. One of the Elder Predators tosses him the flintlock pistol and says, “Take it.” The inscription reads: "Raphael Adolini, 1715."
Years later, Prey reintroduced the pistol, showing how it changed hands. The film follows Comanche warrior Naru (Amber Midthunder) as she battles the “Feral Predator” and clashes with a band of French fur trappers.
One of those trappers, English-speaking interpreter Raphael Adolini (Bennet Taylor), gives Naru the pistol after a brutal fight. She uses it as part of her final stand, offering a glimpse into how this weapon entered Yautja hands in the first place.
But Killer of Killers pushes the timeline even further. In the film’s final chapter, Torres is given the flintlock as his arena weapon. While it doesn’t play a huge part in the action, its presence begs a big question… how did the Yautja get it, and why does it keep resurfacing?
The movie gives us at least part of the answer. At the end of the movie, a cryogenically frozen Naru is revealed to be one of many human warriors in stasis implying that the Yautja abducted her sometime after the events of Prey, likely during the closing cave painting-style scene that hinted at more Predators arriving. The flintlock? Confiscated and recycled for future bloodsport.
So how does it end up in Harrigan’s hands years later? One possible theory, after Ursa sacrifices herself so Kenji and Torres can escape on a Predator ship, the pistol gets left behind. Perhaps another human wields it in a later arena match, one that ends badly.
The Elder Predator who wins that fight might’ve claimed the pistol as a trophy… only to pass it on to Harrigan as a token of mutual respect. That’s one potential thread. But given the elastic nature of Predator timelines and cryostasis, Killer of Killers could actually take place after the events of Predator 2, pushing the entire continuity into more ambiguous, time-jumping territory.
Whether the flintlock has traded hands between humans and Predators for decades or centuries, its reappearance in Killer of Killers is a connective thread that bridges eras, characters, and lore in a way that deepens the mythos while leaving the door wide open for more.
