Toy manufacturer NECA is bringing an obscure blast from the past to Comic-Con International: San Diego this year in the form of a yellow Xenomorph, the twisted alien monstrosities first glimpsed in Ridley Scott’s 1979 horror film Alien. While the Xenomorph species is known for adapting its appearance based on its host, this particular creature has never appeared in any Alien media -- not the subsequent movies, graphic novels or games that followed the original film. Instead, this particular yellow Xenomorph was first introduced in the ‘80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles children’s cartoon series.

NECA’s figure is called the Sewer Mutation Warrior Alien, a reference to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode “The Case of the Killer Pizzas,” in which series antagonists Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady attempt to thwart the turtles by hiding alien eggs on pizza – the eggs look a lot like meatballs, so there was at least some chance the turtles might have fallen for it. When the pizzas are heated in a microwave, though, an immature version of the alien threat sprouts out of the foodstuff and scurries away. More creatures inevitably burst out of more pizzas, and the monsters make their way to the sewers where a fight against the turtles ensues.

The episode shares some loose resemblance to the plot of the original Alien film, in which a spacefaring human host is seeded with alien embryos that escape upon revealing themselves, terrorizing and slaying the spaceship’s crew. The whipping tails, banana-like heads and vaguely human shape of the Pizza Monsters have long suggested the creature’s design origins rested in Alien. Now, courtesy of NECA, the Pizza Monsters are rendered in a way that leaves no doubt about their original inspiration.

That being said, here's a look at the original monsters. On second thought, the NECA statue might be a stretch:

The figure stands at 9 inches tall and has over 30 points of articulation. They will be available at NECA’s Comic-Con booth to Alien Club members. The NECA Alien Club can only be joined by purchasing a NECA Alien action figure series in a single, bulk purchase. Additional information about joining the club and its benefits can be found on NECA’s website.

Alien Club members looking to get their hands on the Pizza Monster figures at Comic-Con should move as fast as their favorite Xenomorph. The company only plans to make 3,000 available, and they can only be purchased at the convention. The Pizza Monsters won’t go up for sale on NECA’s online Comic-Con presale.

(via Bloody Disgusting)