Alien (franchise)/Characters

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WARNING! There are unmarked Spoilers ahead. Beware.

Characters from Alien (franchise) include:

Nostromo Crew

A.J. Dallas

"Standard procedure is to do what the hell they tell you to do!"

Portrayed by Tom Skerritt

Dallas was the leader of the three to investigate the Space Jockey. Nominally laid-back and nonchalant, but easily capable of making the hard decisions once the shit hits the fan. Has access to the ship's computer Mother. Often cared for Ripley, and he took it to the extreme when he volunteered to be the one to flush out the Alien in the Nostromo's ventilation system.

In Aliens, part of his first or middle name says "Lenz".

• And I Must Scream: In the Directors Cut, Ripley finds him and Brett after they'd encountered the Alien. He and Brett are cocooned to the wall, completely immobile and being forcibly mutated into alien eggs. Barely able to even speak, much less scream or actually move, he begs Ripley to kill him and Brett (who is even further along, with all that remains being part of his head). Ripley obliges.
• Decoy Protagonist: Tom Skerritt had the first name on the cast list (though he does lead the Jockey investigation), but Ripley's the main protagonist.
• Fate Worse Than Death
• The Hero
• Heroic Sacrifice
• Idiot Ball: The guy opts to go crawling about in dark, terrifying shafts in order to search for a creature they know absolutely nothing about and which killed one of his crew being born. And he does this by himself. He mainly does it because Ripley volunteered, and he insisted to be the bait for the airlock trap.
• Just Following Orders: As he explains to Ripley, he doesn't question the company's orders regardless of how strange they might seem. All he wants is to do the job, get paid and go home. He has no desire to make waves.
• Team Dad: Of the Nostromo.

Ellen L. Ripley

"I don't want to hear your god damned explanation!"

Portrayed by Sigourney Weaver

Primary protagonist no matter how much Dallas was supposed to be the hero, Ripley is probably the most famous character in the franchise. Probably the most level-headed member of the crew, demonstrating an impressive amount of bravery and taking a few levels in badass when dealing with the Xenomorph. De-facto leader of the crew on the basis of being the most proactive member.

The sole human survivor of the Nostromo Incident and the only constant character in the franchise apart from the Xenomorphs, Ripley is awakened from hypersleep 57 years later. She gets suspended by the Weyland-Yutani company for "questionable judgment" regarding the ship's self-destruction, finds out her daughter died a while ago (well, in the Director's Cut...) and that LV-426, the planet where they encountered the Xenomorphs, is now colonized.

Once the colony predictably loses contact with Earth, Ripley accompanies the Badass Crew of Space Marines as a civilian adviser, and finds herself as de facto leader alongside Corporal Hicks due to unforeseen consequences. In the resulting struggle with the Xenomorphs, Ripley gains more levels in badass and becomes one of the most awesome Action Girls in cinema.

• Action Girl: One of the most important and revolutionary in all of cinema.
• Action Mom
• Action Survivor: After her tangle with a Drone, Ripley Took a Level in Badass in the sequels.
• Always Save the Girl: Soldiered into the heart of a Xenomorph hive in Aliens to rescue Newt while it was minutes away from going nuclear.
• Badass and Child Duo: With Newt in Aliens.
• Badass Normal: The original Ripley was only a human, but managed to take down a Queen.
• Bald Women: Everyone on Fury-161 must shave their head.
• Big No: Lets one out during especially traumatic events.
• Cassandra Truth: The prison superintendent doesn't respond favorably to her warnings of an "eight foot creature with acid for blood."
• Duct Tape for Everything: With this trope, Ripley combined a Pulse Rigle to a Flame Unit into a single weapon, circumventing the decision of whether she should bring just one or the other into The Hadley's Hope Reactor Hive to rescue Newt.
• Fantastic Racism: She's doesn't trust Bishop an inch once she finds out he's an android. She gets over it later.
• Final Girl
• Heroic Sacrifice: To keep the company from getting their hands on a Queen.
• Honor Before Reason: Hive of monsters? Snarling Alien Queen? Imminent thermonuclear holocaust? Still not gonna stop Ripley from saving Newt.
• I Cannot Self-Terminate: Seems to believe this for a while and asks Dillon to help out.
• I Gave My Word: "...and hope to die."
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: She liked the Nostromo's cat.
• Knight in Sour Armour: (Wearily) "You have been in my life for so long, I don't remember anything else."
• The Lancer
• Mama Bear: Provides the page image.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: Subverted: Ripley was doing the right thing trying to institute quarantine.
• Only Sane Man: In comparison to most of her comrades, she's this.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: Whenever Burke tries to invoke the rules.
• The Spock: It's most apparent in the first film when she comes across as rather cold-hearted, but she never loses a certain ruthless pragmatism.
• Statuesque Stunner
• Survival Mantra: You are my lucky star... lucky, lucky, lucky...
• Took a Level in Badass: Or, more accurately, levels.
• You Are in Command Now: Ripley takes control of the military expedition in Aliens and the prison in Alien 3 solely because she has prior experience fighting the Xenomorphs. She is also a Lieutenant in the Merchant Navy and was third in command of the Nostromo.

J.M. Lambert

"I say that we abandon this ship! We take the shuttle and just get the hell out of here!"

Portrayed by Veronica Cartwright

The second of the three to check out the Space Jockey, Lambert is pretty much the whiner in the whole movie. Scared shitless of the entire situation, she pretty much withdraws into the Damsel in Distress. She starts breaking into hysterics with the now-famous dinner scene and doesn't really do anything else until the end... well, okay, sometimes she shuts up for a few seconds.

Highly resentful of being part of the team that checks out the Space Jockey (Kane volunteered, and Dallas said she was part of the group), and highly pissed at Ripley for trying to keep them outside the ship in quarantine after Kane got Facehugger'd.

• The Chick: Yeah, Ripley's a woman too, but Lambert is definitely The Chick of the crew.
• Damsel in Distress: Parker gets killed trying to save her.
• Deadpan Snarker: She keeps up with the rest of the crew in this regard until the dinner scene. After that, she's doesn't snark much, and after Dallas is taken, she becomes the Hysterical Woman.
• Deer in the Headlights: Freezes up when she sees the alien near the end of the movie. Unfortunate, as Parker had been trying to hold it off...
• Hysterical Woman: A classic example, but probably justified. How many co-workers do you know who would act exactly the same way if a deadly alien was crawling around the air ducts in your office and had just offed your boss?
• The Load: As mentioned above, she's pretty useless after the dinner scene, save for the fight against Ash, where she finishes him off with the cattle prod.
• Neutral Female: During the fight between the alien and Parker.

Thomas Kane

"I do remember some horrible dream about smothering…"

Portrayed by John Hurt

The third of the three to check out the Space Jockey (and the only one who volunteered), Kane was the one to check out the derelict's egg chamber. Sadly, he was the victim of the Facehugger, and later on during dinner after getting off the planet, he was the man who ended up with the Chest Burster.

Not really much is known about his personality since he doesn't get much screen time before becoming facehugger-bait and getting chestbursted. He really hates spaceship food, but who can blame him? Otherwise, we know he's an overachiever.

Probably the only character in the movie besides Ripley to have a known first name: Thomas (despite his profile picture in Aliens showing his initials to be G.W., but argued since it was only viewable in the special features).

• Dramatic Space Drifting: During the Burial in Space.
• Name of Cain: Yeah, you should have figured this the instant Ash uttered "Kane's son" to mention the Xenomorph...
• Number Two: To Dallas, apparently. He's in charge when Dallas is off the ship, although this never happens.
• The Smart Guy: He was indicated to be this on his record screen on Aliens (it indicated he had multiple flight and science majors, but had to drop from one school due to medical treatment abuse). However, he doesn't get to use it to full effect.

Ash

"I can't lie to you about your chances, but... you have my sympathies."

Portrayed by Ian Holm

The doctor, chief science guy on the ship and also the man responsible for all the incidents over the course of the film, from reminding the crew that they're ordered by the Weyland-Yutani company to stop and investigate the Space Jockey to breaking quarantine protocol and letting a facehugger-infested Kane on board the ship.

We later find out he's a traitorous android who is following the company's Special Order 937, which is that the Alien must get to Earth and that the crew is expendable. He tries to kill Ripley after she finds out about Special Order 937, but is stopped by Lambert and Parker, the latter of whom bashes his head in with a fire extinguisher and later incinerates him.

• Artificial Human: Notably the rest of the crew is surprised that Ash in particular is a robot, but not surprised at the existence of human-appearing robots.
• Evil Brit
• Face Heel Turn
• Faux Affably Evil: Just look at him gleefully waving at his friends as they march to their doom.
• Go Out with a Smile: Gives one last winning smile before Ripley yanks out his plug, freezing his expression in place.
• Logic Bomb: Once found out, Ash drops the facade of being human and starts behaving erratically. Some have theorized that the conflicting orders of "Do not kill" and "Bring back lifeform, all other priorities rescinded" proves too much for him.
• Losing Your Head: His crewmates knock his head off, but it's still capable of spouting exposition if you hotwire it.
• Mad Doctor: He seems more interested in his specimen than in general safety.

Ripley: You're still collating?!

• Marionette Motion: After sustaining damage. Also, his body starts making insane whirring noises.
• The Mole: Ash was placed on the ship specifically to ensure Special Order 937 was carried out.
• Mr. Exposition
• Names to Run Away From Really Fast
• Not Quite Dead: Parker breathes easy once the android is decapitated... only for it to rear back up and come at him with karate-hands.
• Percussive Maintenance: "Ash, can you hear me?" (SMACK!!)
• Reliable Traitor
• Remember the New Guy?: Dallas told Ripley he went out with another Science Officer in five of his previous trips. Said officer was replaced with Ash two days before the Nostromo took off from Thedus (the planet the ship received the ore refinery from) on their trip to Earth.
• Robotic Reveal: A milky substance from his forehead after Ripley throttles him.
• The Smart Guy: Well, duh, he is the scientist.
• Smug Snake
• The Social Darwinist: "I admire it's purity. A survivor. Unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality."
• You Have No Idea What You're Dealing With

Parker

"I'm not for drawing straws. I'm up for killing that god-damned thing right now."

Portrayed by Yaphet Kotto

The only black guy in the film, Parker holds his own, and is also best friends with Brett. Much more assertive than Brett, but still focused on getting paid. Frequently complains about not earning enough money and criticizes Ripley's plans.

While he's at odds with Ripley at first, this falls to the wayside once the Alien gets on board the ship. He also saves Ripley from Ash, with Lambert's help.

• The Big Guy: Technically, the Genius Bruiser as he is the Chief Engineer, able to make flamethrowers for himself and Dallas.
• Black Dude Dies First: Averted. He is the second-to-last to die, third if you count the infamous deleted scene if you saw what happened to Dallas and Brett.
• Doomed Contrarian
• Heroic Sacrifice: Tried to save Lambert, but doesn't really have any effect.
• Only in It For the Money: Same as Brett.
• Those Two Guys: Him and Brett, arguably.
• Token Minority: Parker is the only non-white crew member.

S.E. Brett

"You see, Mr. Parker and I feel that the bonus situation has never been on a-an equitable level."

Portrayed by Harry Dean Stanton

The regular guy who just does his job to get paid, and wants a larger share with the money, along with Parker, as it's revealed that they don't get as much of the share as the officers. Arguably more apathetic and laid-back than Dallas, and best friends with Parker.

• And I Must Scream: See Captain Dallas.
• Catch Phrase: "Right". Lampshaded by Parker and Ripley.
• Fate Worse Than Death
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice
• Only in It For the Money: Like Parker, he'll take any chance to chime in if he thinks there's an opportunity to inflate his paycheck.
• Those Two Guys: Him and Parker, arguably.

Jones the Cat

"Meow."

The ship's pet, and the only non-human being to survive the movie. Ripley's particularly attached to him, even going back to retrieve him before leaving the Nostromo.

• Damsel in Distress: Former Trope Namer.
• Team Pet
• What Happened to the Cat?: Doesn't show up anymore after the first arc of the second movie. Ripley tells him he's staying there while she leaves for the colony with the marines, so presumably she left him with someone else while she was away (she had expected to come back, after all).

Sulaco Crew

Lieutenant Gorman

Ripley: "How many drops is this for you, Lieutenant?" Gorman: "Thirty eight." (Beat) "Simulated." Vasquez: "How many combat drops?" Gorman: "Uh, two. Including this one."

Portrayed by William Hope

Commander of the Space Marines sent to investigate LV-426, recruited by Burke. Disliked by the marines, very inexperienced (two combat drops...) and very slow to understand situations (Burke has to explain to him why it's a really bad idea to use guns in the colony's heat exchanger). Gorman relies heavily on the experienced Sergeant Apone from the start: when he dies, you can guess what happens. He loses it in the general confusion from the first Alien ambush and gets knocked out. Later regaining consciousness, Gorman learns his lesson and lets Ripley and Hicks deal with the whole "organizing the colony's defence" part. Vasquez hates him because she thinks he's responsible for Drake's death. He redeems himself when he goes back for Vasquez during the air duct escape, and winds up blowing the two of them to smithereens when they realize the only alternative is to be captured by the Aliens.

• Armchair Military: Gorman commands from a comfy chair, far away from the real danger. However, he's inexperienced and incompetent when it comes to giving orders and seems to dislike the responsibility. He does much better when personally faced with danger and when others are left to make the decisions.
• Better to Die Than Be Killed
• Ensign Newbie: Only his second combat mission, and his greenness shows.
• General Failure: His entire command is basically a massive failure.
• Heroic Sacrifice
• The Neidermeyer
• You Shall Not Pass

---

Sergeant Apone

"Alright sweethearts, what're you waiting for, breakfast in bed? Another glorious day in the Corps..."

Portrayed by Al Matthews

Senior NCO of the team sent to investigate LV-426, and the real leader of the unit. Much better liked by the marines than Gorman, and more competent to boot. Doesn't really get much screen time before dying in the first Alien ambush, but that didn't stop him from getting not one, but two epic speeches and generally being the codifier for Sergeant Rock. When he goes down in the colony, chaos ensues, Gorman freezes up, and Ripley has to take action. Despite his quick death, Apone seems to have had a big influence on pop culture depictions of the military... Halo anyone?

• A Fate Worse Than Death: APC readouts show he wasn't killed in the attack, making it more likely he was cocooned by the Xenomorphs. Though his chestburster probably didn't have time to burst before the reactor blew.
• A Father to His Men: Loves his Marines to death.
• Sacrificial Lion: You'd be forgiven for thinking he was gonna impact the story more than he did.
• Sergeant Rock: Practically the classic example.

Corporal Dwayne Hicks

"We're all in strung out shape, but Stay Frosty, and alert. We can't afford to let one of those bastards in here."

Portrayed by Michael Biehn

The guy who ends up in charge after Apone gets captured and Gorman gets knocked out. Much more level-headed, impartial and less macho than his colleagues, even if he's not very comfortable becoming leader. Hicks and Ripley end up calling the shots. Later wounded by a stray burst of xenomorph acid, but manages to survive. Until Alien 3.

Trope Namer for Stay Frosty.

• Ancestral Weapon: In the novelization of Aliens, it is revealed that Hicks' shotgun ("I like to keep this handy for close encounters") is an heirloom that has been in his family for generations; Hicks' great-great-great-grandfather used it during the Vietnam War.
• Chekhov's Skill: He teaches Ripley how to use a pulse rifle, which comes in handy later.
• The Lancer: To Apone and later Ripley.
• Stay Frosty: Probably the most famous use of the phrase, and it fits Hicks very well. He even starts falling asleep during the drop ship ride!

Apone: Somebody wake up Hicks!

• Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: He dies in the opening of Alien 3, unless you count Aliens: Colonial Marines as canon.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Ripley.
• You Are in Command Now

Private Hudson

"GAME OVER, MAN! GAME OVER!"

Portrayed by Bill Paxton

The marine team's computer technician, played by a pre-fame Bill Paxton. At first, he acts all arrogant and overconfident, but once the marines get totally pwned by the Xenomorphs, loses his shit completely and becomes the movie's Lambert-equivalent, being all scared and whiney. He later regains his composure and redeems himself via Heroic Sacrifice during the aliens' attack on the med-lab. Really pissed off once he finds out the truth about Burke.

• Badass Boast: Hudson attempts one that even uses the word "badass" as often as he can. He does not deal well with the loss of the high-tech gear that he describes in said boast. He does go down shooting while spitting out even more 'heat of battle' boasts, as well. An Alien has to ambush him from below to take him down.
• The Berserker: After recovering from his Heroic BSOD and before his Heroic Sacrifice.
• Deadpan Snarker: Even more so when he's losing his shit.

Bishop: I'm afraid I have some bad news. Hudson: Well, that's a switch.

• Doomed Contrarian: Constantly questions the actions of his teammates, and meets a grisly (but brave) end.
• Heroic BSOD: Though Ripley snaps him out of it enough that he is still useful to the team.
• Jerkass Facade: Hudson is obnoxious, overbearing, immensely arrogant, and can come across as a coward who crumbles under pressure. Despite all this, he's a good, loyal man at heart.
• Non-Action Snarker: Though, in this case, "Non-Action" refers more to not taking action or doing anything constructive, rather than not kicking ass, which he does do later.
• Took a Level in Badass: He's a whiny spaz for most of the movie. Then his unit starts dropping. And so do his balls.
• You Shall Not Pass: It doesn't take.

---

Private Vasquez

Hudson: "Hey, Vasquez, you ever been mistaken for a man?" Vasquez: "No, have you?"

Portrayed by Jeanette Goldstein

The team's smartgunner and the other Action Girl. Much tougher and more aggressive than Ripley, and arguably gets the funniest insults in the movie. Doesn't take the death of her smart-gun partner Drake too well, and mainly blames Lieutenant Gorman for it.

Trope Namer for Vasquez Always Dies.

• Action Girl: Vasquez is a Blood Knight with a massive gun, always willing to throw herself into the action.
• Badass Normal
• Bash Brothers: With Drake, her fellow M56 Smart Gun operator.
• Better to Die Than Be Killed
• Butch Lesbian: According to Alternative Character Interpretation. When she first sees Ripley, she twice comments on how pretty she is, and Drake has a twinge of regret in his voice when he tells her "You're just too bad."
  • On the other hand, the reference to Ripley as "Snow White" could be taken as having a vague hint of disdain, as if thinking "what the hell is she doing here?", rather than finding her attractive. There's also signs that her bash brother Drake may be more than that.
• Heroic Sacrifice
• The Ladette: She's noticeably the butchest female in the film.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Nice Job Shooting that Alien With Exploding Rounds and Killing Your Boyfriend, Vasquez.
  • Of course, if she hadn't shot, the alien probably would have gotten him, anyways.
  • This leads to a minor Heroic BSOD where she wants to go back for him, but circumstances prevent her from doing so.
• Spicy Latina: Through a Race Lift. Jennette Goldstein is actually Jewish.
• You Shall Not Pass: Achieved through a Heroic Sacrifice.

Private Drake

"They ain't payin' us enough for this, man."

Portrayed by Mark Rolston

The other smartgunner in the Marine squad, and Vasquez's best-friend-maybe-something-more-it's-really-more-implied-than-anything. Got plenty of establishing screentime as a hardass, but that didn't stop him from being the last one to go down in the hive when he got by blood spray from an Alien. One that Vasquez shot trying to save him.

• Bash Brothers: With Vasquez.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Also with Vasquez.
• The Big Guy: Don't mess with Drake... or he'll mess you up.
• Mauve Shirt: Plenty of screentime, dies as easily as the rest of them.

---

Bishop

"Not bad for a... human."

Portrayed by Lance Henriksen

The team's resident Artificial Human, and the only one qualified to pilot dropships. Completely "Three Laws"-Compliant, pointing out that unlike Ash (whose model was always "a bit twitchy"), he has behavioural inhibitors.

Ripley doesn't trust him at first since he's an android, but he still tries to be friendly to her. Her distrust eventually evaporates after Bishop rescues them before LV-426 explodes, and he saves Newt during the obligatory Thrown Out the Airlock moment.

He survives the movie despite the severe handicap of being split in half. Last of the four survivors.

• Artificial Human: He's even gooey inside.
• The Cavalry: For Ripley and Hicks.
• Deadpan Snarker
• Made of Plasticine: The alien queen quite literally rips him in half. Good thing androids aren't susceptible to shock. Or blood loss.
• Ridiculously-Human Robots: Not only does he look like a perfectly average human, but he's one of the most genuinely likable characters in the film.
• "Three Laws"-Compliant: He quotes the First Law almost verbatim.

Corporal Ferro

"We're in the pipe, five by five..."

Portrayed by Colette Hiller

The squad's pilot. Doesn't get much establishing character moments other than a lot of technobabble during the drop and being a bit of a bitch to her co-pilot. The latter results in her death: when Spunkmeyer finds some goo inside the dropship (from an Alien), she tells him to seal the ramp rather than look for the source. She's sliced-n-diced a couple seconds later.

• Asshole Victim: Arguable.
• Cool Shades: She wears nifty reflective aviator shades while flying.
• Danger Deadpan: An excellent example thereof.
• Danger Takes a Backseat
• Ice Queen: She's pretty cool and collected to the point of being rude to Spunkmeyer.

---

Corporal Dietrich

"Top! Top, get over here, we got a live one!"

Portrayed by Cynthia Dale Scott

The medic of the Marine team, and that's pretty much all we know about her. Also rather unusual for having fairly long nails in a combat situation. The first member of the team to go down in the hive, grabbed by an Alien hiding in the wall. She takes down Frost when she fires her flamethrower in a panic.

• Kill It with Fire: One of the team's flamethrower operators. Unfortunately, "it" in this case is Frost.
• The Medic: Duh.
• Team Kill

Private Frost

"Man, I'm telling you, I got a bad feeling about this drop."

Portrayed by Ricco Ross

A rifleman, Frost is one of the more hard-living---and hard-loving, if the Arcturian tale is true---of the Marine squad. Got a fair deal of screentime due to his closeness with Hicks. His duties apparently included weapons management: he's seen handing out rifles early on, and when Apone collects the ammo in the hive, he's the one who carries it (which doesn't work out so well when Dietrich incinerates him).

• Black Best Friend: With Hicks, it seems.
• Black Dude Dies First: Well, second, but still...
• Deadpan Snarker: "Guess she don't like the cornbread either."
• Kill It with Fire: How he goes down.

Private Spunkmeyer

"What's this crap supposed to be?"

Portrayed by Daniel Kash

Ferro's co-pilot on the dropship. Got fairly little screentime. Not a big fan of the cornbread.

• Danger Deadpan: Has moments of this in the cockpit.
• The Load: How Ferro seems to view him.
• Too Dumb to Live: You see evidence of an Alien in your ship, you do not seal yourself in.

Private Crowe

"You always say that Frost, you always say, I got a bad feeling about this drop..."

Portrayed by Tip Tipping

Rifleman in the Marine squad. Fairly quiet guy. Had one line of dialogue, but was offscreen when it happened so few know that it's him. Went down in the hive when Frost's ammo bag exploded, killing him. He had just enough time to mouth "oh shit" before it blew.

• Curse Cut Short: Averted: he actually has enough time to swear before the ammo blows.
• The Quiet One: Doesn't talk much.

Private Wierzbowski

Hicks:"Wierzbowski? WIERZBOWSKI?!"

Portrayed by Trevor Steedman

Flamethrower operator in the Marine squad. Has no lines other than screaming when the Aliens grab him. Logically, this led to an Internet phenomenon known as the "Wierzbowski Hunters" who would search for his appearances in the movie in background footage or what-have-you.

• The Big Guy: Seriously, he's pretty darn big. Apone even sends him off alone when in the colony.
• Red Shirt: Exists basically to fill space and then go down.
• The Voiceless: Doesn't talk, only screams.

Rebecca 'Newt' Jorden

"They mostly come at night. Mostly..."

Portrayed by Carrie Henn

Rebecca "Newt" Jorden is the only survivor of the former LV-426 colony after it loses contact with Earth. Her survival is largely due to her propensity for hiding and moving through ducts and air vents. Doesn't say much at first, what with the whole hiding from Aliens for over seventeen days. Once she actually regains her voice, she quickly becomes attached to Ripley. Driving force behind Ripley's Big Damn Mama Bear moment at the end. Nobody calls her Rebecca except her dead brother. The Directors Cut of Aliens shows that her dad was the first to investigate the Space Jockey and get implanted with a facehugger.

Third of the four survivors.

• Broken Bird: She's thoroughly scarred from her experiences. Newt didn't just lose her entire family, she lost her entire community, and the trauma weighs heavily on her. She's often silent and pessimistic.
• Cute Mute: At first, when she doesn't say anything.
• Damsel in Distress: Arguably. Justified since, hey, kids.
• Heroic BSOD
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Only her brother called her Rebecca.
• Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Poor kid doesn't make it through the dropship crash in Alien 3. It's massively jarring, to say the least.

Carter J. Burke

"I'm Burke. Carter Burke. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy."

Portrayed by Paul Reiser

Corporate executive guy and the Special Projects Director for Weyland-Yutani, Burke was the first person to see Ripley after she was retrieved from hypersleep, and convinces her to accompany the marines by promising to help her regain her flight license in exchange. He accompanies the marines as well, to represent the company's commercial interests.

With the marines, Burke shows his real colors as a Dirty Coward, planning to smuggle an alien back to Earth for bioweapons research by locking Ripley and Newt in a room with a Facehugger and trying to get them impregnated. This is right after Ripley discovers that Burke sent the LV-426 colonists to check out the Space Jockey without any prior warning just so they could all get impregnated with chestbusters, making him basically responsible for the entire film's conflict.

He gets the most satisfying Karmic Death in the movie, running directly into an alien while trying to run away from the incredibly pissed-off marines. He even suffers a worse fate in a hidden scene when Ripley and Newt see him cocooned in the LV-426 Reactor.

• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Very interested in making it to the executive washroom.
• Dirty Coward
• Greedy Jew: Fits this unfortunate stereotype to a tee in all but surname; even the actor who plays him, Paul Reiser, is also Jewish.
• Jews Love to Argue: Rebukes accusations of irresponsibility with condescending and patronizing sarcasm, and pours oil on the fire of hopelessness after Ferro's personnel carrier crashes by unnecessarily quipping "Why don't we make a fire, and sing a song."
• Karmic Death
• Smug Snake

Fiorina-161 Residents

Dillon

"You're all gonna die. The only question is how you check out. Do you want it on your feet? Or on your knees... begging?"

Portrayed by Charles S Dutton

The man who is unofficially in charge of the Fiorina-161 prison, Dillon holds his own against others and manages to take charge when the situation with the Xenomorph goes south.

• Badass: He fights a Xenomorph to a draw single-handedly.
• Berserk Button: When Dillon finds some of the other inmates attempting to rape Ripley in violation of their religious vows, he proceeds to beat the crap out of them with a metal pipe.
• Better to Die Than Be Killed: Agrees to this with another character that is... pregnant.
• Face Death with Dignity: His penultimate speech on this subject (of which the above quote is only a part).
• Heroic Sacrifice: He fights a Xenomorph to a draw single-handedly before they're both doused in molten metal.
• Offscreen Villainy: His past crimes are discussed, but by the time of the story, he seems past all of that.
• Religious Bruiser
• Sympathetic Murderer: Granted, this is only because we haven't seen the crimes he committed to end up on this prison planet in the first place...
• Think Nothing of It: A belligerent example:

Ripley: I just wanted to, um, say thanks for what you said at the funeral. My friends would have appreciated it. Dillon: Yeah, well you don't wanna know me, lady. I'm a murderer and rapist of women.

• Took a Level In Kindness: Toward Ripley, sort of.
• With Friends Like These...: Even after stopping some of them from attempting to rape Ripley, Dillon is still close to his prison buddies.

Dr Jonathan Clemens

"I really appreciate your affections. But I am aware that they deflected my question. In the nicest possible way, of course."

Portrayed by Charles Dance

A doctor that befriended Ripley in the first arc of the film, Clemens is the resident doctor of the prison.

• The Atoner: Clemens was a top medical student who had a secret morphine addiction. When the victims of a boiler accident where admitted to the hospital and were under Clemens’ care, 11 of them died when Clemens prescribed the wrong type of painkillers to them in a morphine-induced stupor. Clemens remained on Fury 161 even after his sentence was up as penance.
• Deadpan Snarker: Just look at the quote above.
• The Medic
• Nice Guy
• Sacrificial Lion

Superintendent Harold Andrews

"This is rumor control, here are the facts..."

Portrayed by Brian Glover

A description of the character goes here.

• And There Was Much Rejoicing: Subverted. While no one particularly likes him, due to his position as Superintendent his death causes some problems.
• Asshole Victim
• Catch Phrase: See the quote above.
• Deadpan Snarker: Mostly just with this line:

It's an eight foot creature of some kind, with acid for blood... And it arrived on your spaceship. It kills on sight and is generally unpleasant.

• Obstructive Bureaucrat: Doesn't believe in Ripley's tale, but his Surprisingly Sudden Death quickly convinces everyone else.

Robert Morse

"We ain't got no entertainment center, no climate control, no video system, no surveillance, no freezers, no fucking ice cream, no rubbers, no women, no guns. All we got here is shit!"

Portrayed by Danny Webb

A description of the character goes here.

• The Cynic
• Deadpan Snarker
• Jerkass
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold

Golic

"In an insane world, a sane man must appear insane."

Portrayed by Paul McGann

A description of the character goes here.

• Apologetic Attacker: Apologizes (a little frantically) after slitting another prisoner's throat to get to the alien.
• Ax Crazy: Was originally sent to prison for multiple violent murders. He mentions that he "knew lots of pretty girls, back home" and that they liked him "for a while".
• Blood-Splattered Innocents: Well, sort of. He winds up splattered with a hell of a lot of blood through no fault of his own, so he's technically innocent. In that, at least.
• Cassandra Truth: Nobody believes him about the alien but Ripley. The rest think he murdered the others on his crew.
• The Cuckoolander Was Right: And is proven right in a really gruesome way.
• Insane Equals Violent: While when the film starts he has become much more composed, his encounter with the Alien sends him straight back into this territory.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In the Recut, the prisoners actually did manage to trap the alien. Unfortunately, Golic, who worships the thing as a kind of dragon, kills the guard and lets it out again. Oops.
• Psychopathic Manchild: He's easily excited, easily upset, and apologizes frantically to his murder victim like a misbehaving child.
• Talkative Loon: Halfway. He doesn't say a lot, but when he does speak, he tends to babble.

Francis "85" Aaron

"You all keep telling me how dumb I am. Well, at least I’m smart enough not to have a life sentence on this rock!"

Portrayed by Ralph Brown

Superintendent Andrews’ assistant, Aaron is mocked by the prisoners for his low I.Q. (Nicknamed 85 for his I.Q. level) and his total faith in the company.

• Fatal Family Photo: The moment he mentions his family, it’s clear he’s dead meat.
• Redemption Equals Death: Aaron dies when he assaults Bishop II after realizing Weyland-Yutani never cared about him or the prisoners.

David

Portrayed by Pete Postlethwaite

A description of the character goes here.

• Affably Evil: While he definitely committed some sort of violent crime to be sent to Fury 161, he’s rather amicable and easy to get along with.
• The Smart Guy: Much smarter than some of the other prisoners.

Ted "Junior" Gillas

Portrayed by Holt McCallany

A description of the character goes here.

• Redemption Equals Death: In the Assembly Cut, he sacrifices himself by luring the Alien into the nuclear waste tank and having the door closed behind him. Predictably he is torn to shreds, but the Alien is still trapped.

Gregor

Portrayed by Peter Guinness

A description of the character goes here.

• The Chew Toy: Gregor is subject to being beaten up by Dillon, punches in the face by Ripley, severely burnt during the quinitricetyline explosion, and finally gets one of the most brutal deaths in the entire film. Of course, since he was one of the prisoners who tried to rape Ripley the audience doesn’t feel too badly for him.

Michael Bishop II

"Think of all we could learn from it!" Portrayed by Lance Henriksen

A Weyland-Yutani executive that the Bishop model was based off of, this Bishop wanted his hands on a Xenomorph

• Big No: When Ripley falls into the fires to stop the Company from getting the Alien Queen inside her.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive
• Robotic Reveal: Averted. While he tells the other people he's human, 85 hits him in the head calling him a robot... Causing him to bleed red.

Betty Crew

Annalee Call

"You're a thing, a construct. They grew you in a fucking lab."

Portrayed by Winona Ryder

A description of the character goes here.

• Its Pronounced Tropay: It's spelled "Call," but it sounds more like "Cole."
• Last-Name Basis: Probably the only way you'd know her first name is from the credits or her toy.
• Ridiculously Human Robot: Lampshaded by Ripley:

"Only an android would be that human."

Johner

"I'm not the mechanic here, Ironsides! I mostly just hurt people!"

Portrayed by Ron Perlman

A description of the character goes here.

• Anything That Moves: Invoked. While he claims to draw the line at automatons, Vriess thinks differently:

"Yeah, like you never fucked a robot."

• The Big Guy: A given for any character played by Ron Perlman.
• Deadpan Snarker: Dolls out a lot of angry, bitter sarcasm.
• Fantastic Racism: Let's just say that when Call is revealed to be an android, he's not very polite about it.
• Jerkass: Really living up to your physical description there, Johner.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: While it's true that he helps his teammates in a pinch, it's only because he kinda needs them to, y'know, survive.
• Kick the Dog: See Wheelchair Woobie in the YMMV page.
• Last-Name Basis: According to the novelization anyway.
• Pet the Dog: After Vriess successfully pilots the Betty and saves their butts, Johner gives him a big ol' kiss.
• Psycho for Hire

Vriess

"Wanna check the chair?"

Portrayed by Dominique Pinon

A description of the character goes here.

• All Love Is Unrequited: Implied for Call.
• Butt Monkey: Whenever Johner is around.
• Handicapped Badass: He was at one point trapped in a room alone with an Alien in his weelchair, yet still got his way out alive.
• Super Wheelchair: It's designed to seamlessly hide his Scaramanga Special.

Captian Frank Elgyn

Portrayed by Michael Wincott

A description of the character goes here.

• The Captain: Of the Betty.
• Deadpan Snarker: Giving his authorization code as EAT ME, among other moments.
• Sacrificial Lion: You think he'd survive the film, but he's the first to die.

Christie

Portrayed by Gary Dourdan

A description of the character goes here.

• Guns Akimbo: Wields dual "disposable" derringer type pistols, spring-loaded and attached to his arms.
• Heroic Sacrifice: To save Vriess.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Initially comes off like a thug, but turns out to be one of the nicest and most levelheaded characters in the film, becoming de facto leader, allowing Ripley to join them despite Call's protests, humoring Destephano when asked about his weapons and more prominently carrying Vriess when they have to "ditch the chair".

Sabra Hillard

Portrayed by Kim Flowers

A description of the character goes here.

• Ms. Fanservice

Auriga Crew

Ripley 8

"My mommy always said there were no monsters. No real ones. But there are."

Portrayed by Sigourney Weaver

A description of the character goes here.

• Badass Abnormal: If you consider her the same character than original Ripley. Considering she seems to share her memory, that would count.
• Came Back Wrong: Well, for one thing, now she also has acid for blood...
• Creepy Good: Her whole attitude is pretty creepy, especially the way she has more empathy for the aliens than the humans. As if this wasn't enough, she now shares the Alien's super-strenght and acidic blood. Yet, she does mean well, and helps the Betty Crew to get out alive.
• Deadpan Snarker: When compared to the original Ripley, this one is notably more sarcastic and cynical (even though the original Ripley wasn't exactly naive), displaying a dark sense of humor and almost enjoying the irony of seeing what's happening onboard.
• Heroic BSOD: When she discovers the previous failed Ripley clones. She's so horrified that she ends up destroying the lab. She has a second one when she is forced to kill the Alien-human hybrid. In the Special Edition, when shown a picture of a little girl during her testing, Ripley becomes silent and starts crying, obviously remembering Newt.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Is even more bitter and cynical than the original.

General Martin Perez

"Ellen Ripley died trying to wipe this species out. For all intents and purposes, she succeeded!"

Portrayed by Dan Hedaya

A description of the character goes here.

• Boom! Headshot!: From an Xenomorph's second head no less, and the man doesn't notice it until he checked the back of his head.
• General Ripper: He thinks breeding the aliens is a good idea so he must be this.
• Jerkass: Not only does he oversee illegal experiments, he's a dick about it.

Dr. Mason Wren

"I think you will find that, uh, things have changed a great deal since your time."

Portrayed by JE Freeman

A description of the character goes here.

• Big Bad: Of the fourth film.
• Karmic Death: Killed by the chestbuster of one of his victims.
• Mad Scientist: Breeding xenomorphs and tampering with their DNA can't possibly go wrong!

Dr. Jonathon Gediman

"You are... a beautiful, beautiful, butterfly."

Portrayed by Brad Dourif

A description of the character goes here.

• Nightmare Fetishist: The above quote is said to the Human/Alien hybrid.
• Sanity Slippage: Becomes extremely unhinged after becoming part of the Queen's hive.
• Tempting Fate: It takes a special kind of Asshole Victim to do a Window Kiss to one of the aliens.

Vincent DiStephano

"Begging your pardon, sir, but FUCK YOU!"

Portrayed by Raymond Cruz

A description of the character goes here.

• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: He defects from the USM and helps the heroes to destroy the aliens and escape.

Dr. Carlyn Williamson

Portrayed by Carolyn Campbell

A description of the character goes here.

• Big No: When Gediman gets pulled under by an alien.

Larry Purvis

"What's in-fucking-side me?"

Portrayed by Leland Orser

A description of the character goes here.

• Face Full of Alien Wingwong: Done offscreen.
• Heroic Sacrifice: The way he utilizes his Chest Burster for the greater good is a sight to behold.
• Human Resources: Specifically, he and his crew mates are the cargo that the Betty delivers to the Auriga.
• Innocent Bystander: Though in the end, he takes advantage of his impending doom to become a Heroic Bystander when he dispatches Dr. Wren by placing Wren's head directely in front of where his chestburster comes out.
• Only Sane Man: Illustrated in this exchange:

Call: "It's not right!" Purvis: "I've been saying that all day."

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