↠ What are 'Stalkers' in Mortal Engines?

What are the Stalker Soldiers in Mortal Engines?

CAUTION: EPIC SPOILERS BELOW FOR BOTH THE NOVELS AND THE FILM

The Stalkers of Mortal Engines are a form of "universal soldier"—a terrifying blend of Robocop-style cybernetics and reanimated remains. Engineered for relentless warfare and assassination, these "Resurrected Men" serve as the most chilling antagonists in Philip Reeve’s post-apocalyptic world.

Stalkers and their variations play pivotal roles throughout the Philip Reeve Quartet, appearing in Mortal Engines, Predator's Gold, Infernal Devices, and the grand finale, A Darkling Plain.

What are the origins of the Stalkers?

The dark history of the Stalkers predates the era of Traction Cities. Originally, the technology was designed as a method for humans to transfer their consciousness between bodies, effectively defeating death. However, following the cataclysmic 60 Minute War, this "Old Tech" was weaponized.

The first true Stalkers were built by the Nomadic Empires that fought across the volcano mazes of Europe. They would recover dead bodies from battlefields and bring them back to "life" using machines physically hardwired into the corpse's nervous system. By the time of the Traction City Era, this process had been refined into a gruesome science.

During resurrection, internal organs are removed and replaced with machinery, and a metal carapace is grafted directly onto the bone. While the movie version of Shrike lacked the signature claws from the novel, most Stalkers are equipped with lethal built-in weaponry. They are characterized by their towering height and piercing glowing green eyes.

In the City of London, the Guild of Engineers manufactures their own Stalkers from prison convicts in the "Deep Gut." These models are often less sophisticated than "Shrike," lacking the advanced "stalker-brains" found in older, more autonomous units. The true nature of these machines is explored deeply in the prequel novels Fever Crumb and Scrivener's Moon.

Shrike was played in the film by Stephen Lang.

What is the Shrike in Mortal Engines?

The Shrike is the most iconic Stalker in the series. Originally under the command of London’s Lord Mayor, Magnus Crome, he was tasked with hunting down Hester Shaw and Tom Natsworthy.

However, Shrike is unique. He harbored fragments of his former life as "Kit Solent," a man whose tragic story is a centerpiece of Fever Crumb. Because he once cared for Hester, Shrike's twisted logic compelled him to try and turn her into a Stalker so they could coexist forever in a state beyond human suffering.

Are Stalkers invulnerable?

While heavily armored and incapable of feeling pain, Stalkers are not gods. They are susceptible to high-caliber weaponry and "Old Tech" explosives. In Mortal Engines, Tom Natsworthy eventually defeated Shrike with a sword through the neck, though only after the Stalker had been significantly weakened by being run over by a Traction City.

Anna Fang as a Stalker in the sequel novels

One of the most tragic turns in the series involves Anna Fang. After her death at the hands of Thaddeus Valentine, her body was salvaged by the Green Storm (a radical splinter of the Anti-Traction League).

Resurrected as a Stalker, the new Fang became a cold, tactical leader who features heavily in Predator's Gold and A Darkling Plain. Her character eventually commands the terrifying ODIN device, threatening to reshape the world in a final, apocalyptic conflict.

Shrike fan art