Xenomorph

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Template:Infobox fictional creature

The alien, also called the xenomorph,[1][2] is a fictional parasitoid extraterrestrial species that is the primary antagonist of the Alien film series. The creature made its debut in the 1979 film Alien, and reappeared in its sequels Aliens (1986), Alien³ (1992), and Alien Resurrection (1997). It has also appeared in the series' two spinoffs Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), as well as the series' subsidiary literature and video games.

Unlike many recurring enemy extraterrestrial races in science fiction, the aliens are not an intelligent civilization, but predatory creatures with no higher goals than the propagation of their species and the destruction of life that could pose a threat. Like wasps or termites, aliens are eusocial, with a single fertile queen and a caste of sterile warriors.

The aliens' disturbing life cycle, in which their offspring are violently implanted inside living hosts before erupting from their chests, is in many ways their signature aspect. Their design deliberately evokes many sexual images, both male and female, to illustrate its blurring of human sexual dichotomy.

The alien design is credited to Swiss surrealist and artist H. R. Giger, originating in a lithograph called Necronom IV and refined for the series' first film, Alien. In that film, the alien was played by an actor in costume (7 foot 2 inch Bolaji Badejo) and make-up, a technique used in later films of the series. The queen was depicted in Aliens and Alien: Resurrection using animatronic puppets and in Alien vs. Predator using computer-generated imagery. The species' design and life cycle have been extensively added to throughout each film.

Name

The creature has no specific name, and has been referred to most often onscreen, and in the credits of each film, simply as the alien. It was called an alien, an organism and Kane's son in the first film. It has also been referred to as a creature,[1] a beast,[2] a dragon,[2] a monster[1] or a thing.[3] The term xenomorph (lit. "alien form") was used by the character Lieutenant Gorman in Aliens[1] and by Ellen Ripley in a deleted scene from Alien³.[2] This term has been adopted by fans[4] and is used on merchandising[5] as a convenient name. The species Binomial name has been said to be Linguafoeda acheronsis ("foul tongue from Acheron") in some comic books[citation needed], while the Alien Quadrilogy DVD suggests Internecivus raptus (literally "murderous thief").

Creation and design

File:NecronomiconIV.jpg
Necronom IV, Giger's surrealist painting that formed the basis for the alien's design

The script for the 1979 film Alien was initially drafted by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett.[6] Dan O'Bannon drafted an opening in which the crew of a mining ship are sent to investigate a mysterious message on an alien planetoid. He eventually settled on the threat being an alien creature; however, he could not conceive of an interesting way for it to get onto the ship. Inspired after waking from a dream, Shusett realised that the alien could "screw" one of the crewmembers, planting its seed in his body, and then bursting out of his chest. Both realized the idea had never been done before, and it subsequently became the core of the film.[6] "This is a movie about alien interspecies rape," said O'Bannon on the documentary Alien Evolution, "That's scary because it hits all of our buttons."[7]

File:Hrgigeralien.jpg
Giger's Alien design, inspired by his earlier painting Necronom IV, for the film Alien

Previous to writing the initial script for Alien, O'Bannon had been working in France for Chilean cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky's planned adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic scifi novel Dune. Also hired for the project was Swiss surrealist artist HR Giger. Giger showed O'Bannon his nightmarish, monochromatic artwork, which left O'Bannon deeply disturbed. The Dune film collapsed, but O'Bannon would remember Giger when Alien was greenlit, and suggested to director Ridley Scott that he be brought on to design the alien, saying that if he were to design a monster, it would be truly original.[6]

Giger's alien, as portrayed by Bolaji Badejo in Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien.

After O'Bannon handed him a copy of Giger's book Necronomicon, Scott immediately saw the potential for Giger's designs, and chose Necronom IV, a painting Giger completed in 1976, as the basis for the alien's design, citing its beauty and strong sexual overtones. That the creature could just as easily have been male or female also a strong factor in the decision to use it. "It could just as easily fuck you before it killed you," said line producer Ivor Powell, "[which] made it all the more disconcerting."[7] Fox were initially wary of allowing Giger onto the project, saying that his works would be too disturbing for audiences, but eventually relented. Giger initially offered to completely design the alien from scratch, but Scott mandated that he base his work on Necronom IV, saying that to start over from the beginning would be too time-consuming. Giger signed on to design the adult, egg and chest-burster forms, but ultimately also designed the alien planetoid LV-426 and the Space Jockey alien vessel.[6]

Giger conceived the alien as being vaguely human but a human in full armor, protected from all outside forces. He mandated that the creature have no eyes, because he felt that it made them much more frightening if you could not tell they were looking at you.[7] His design for the creature was heavily influenced by a design aesthetic he had created and termed biomechanical, a fusion of the organic and the mechanic.[7] His mock-up of the alien was created using parts from an old Rolls Royce car, rib bones and the vertebrae from a snake, molded with plasticine. The xenomorph's animatronic head, which contained 900 moving parts, was designed and constructed by special effects designer Carlo Rambaldi.[6] Giger and Rimbaldi would both go on to win the 1980 Academy award for visual effects for their design of the alien.[8]

Scott decided on the man-in-suit approach for creating the creature onscreen. Initially circus performers were tried, then multiple actors together in the same costume, but neither proved scary. Deciding that the creature would be scarier the closer it appeared to a human, Scott decided that a single, very tall, very thin man be used. Scott was inspired by a photograph of Leni Riefenstahl standing next to a 6'4" Nubian.[9] The casting director found 7'2", rail-thin graphic designer Bolaji Badejo in a local pub. Badejo went to tai chi and mime classes to learn how to slow down his movements.[6]

Continuing advancements made in the field of special effects technology as the series progressed has lead to numerous variations in the aliens' design, including varying numbers of fingers, limb joints[2][10] and head design.[1][11]

Characteristics

Described by Science Officer Ash as "...survivor[s], unclouded by conscience, remorse or delusions of morality",[3] aliens are primarily predators. They do not demonstrate any motivations higher than that most basic to all living things, reproduction. They are roughly humanoid in form, with a skeletal, biomechanical appearance. They possess both an endoskeleton[12] and an exoskeleton which is usually in muted shades of black,[3][13][11] bronze[2] or blue.[1] Aliens do not radiate heat as their body heat matches the ambient temperature.[1][13] In several of the films, adult aliens are shown running along ceilings and walls.[1][2]

Aliens have a segmented, blade-tipped prehensile tail. The sharp tip was initially a much smaller barb,[3] but from Aliens onwards the blade has increased in size and changed in appearance to more closely resemble a slashing weapon.[1][13] From Alien: Resurrection onwards, the tails have a flat ridge of spines at the base of the blade. This was introduced to help them swim convincingly,[14] and was left intact in subsequent films. The original shooting script for Aliens and the novelization both featured a scene in which Lieutenant Gorman is "stung" by the barb of an alien's tail and rendered unconscious.[15] In the final cut of the movie Gorman is instead knocked out by falling boxes.

They have an elongated, cylindrical heads but possess no visible eyes; in the original Alien film, the top of the creature's head was semi-transparent, with empty eye sockets of human appearance visible within. This element was dropped in later movies. How the creatures see is uncertain. In Alien³, a fisheye lens[citation needed] was used to illustrate the alien's point of view. In the novelization of the movie Alien, the creature is held mesmerized by a spinning green light for several minutes. In Aliens, the adult creatures have a more textured head rather than a smooth carapace. In the commentary for Aliens, it was speculated that this was part of the maturation of the creatures, as they had been alive far longer than the original alien. But elsewhere in the DVD extras Cameron would explain how he choose the ribbed head design. While preparing for Aliens he was allowed access to many of the original props used in Alien by Bob burns, and when the alien head prop arrived the smooth translucent cover piece had become detached revealing the ribbed details underneath. Cameron liked the ribbed appearance so much that he decided to keep the look for the design of his Aliens. Giger also gave the elongated head another logical function, the aliens mouth contains a second inner set of jaws which are located at the tip of a long proboscis which can extend rapidly for use as a weapon.

File:AR Swim.jpg
An alien swimming, as shown in Alien Resurrection

Alien blood is an extremely potent acid and is capable of corroding on contact almost any substance with alarming speed. The Alien novelization suggests that, at least at the "facehugger" stage, the acid is not blood but a fluid maintained under pressure between a double layer of skin.[16] In later films in the series, the aliens are shown to be conscious of the effects of their acidic blood, and use it to their advantage, such as in breaking out of confinement,[10][13] or as a weapon.[13]

Aliens can produce a thick, strong resin, which they use to build their hives and cocoon victims. They also salivate profusely. In Alien³ and Alien Resurrection, this saliva is mildly acidic, although not to the same extent as the blood, and is used to blind victims, much like a spitting cobra.[2][10]

Although they do not demonstrate human-level intelligence as a species, events on the LV-426 colony and the USM Auriga showed that the species excels at observational learning.[1][10] In both cases, the aliens managed to learn how to operate the machinery of their mechanized environments at a very basic level. In the director's commentary for Aliens, James Cameron noted that the creatures in Aliens had been alive for far longer than the alien in the original, and so had more time to learn how to manipulate machinery.[17] Aliens have demonstrated little actual emotion, though they are not totally devoid of fear, especially for their eggs.

Aliens have been alternately portrayed as both plantigrade and digitigrade organisms, usually in accordance to their caste or host. However, although the standard human spawned Alien warriors were usually portrayed as having humanoid hind limbs, they would become double jointed in Alien 3. This was explained by the host creature in Alien 3 being a dog. This characteristic would also be carried over into Alien Resurrection despite the creatures in that film having been born from human hosts.[18] The human spawned Alien warriors would revert back to a plantigrade posture in Alien vs. Predator.

According to critic Ximena Gollardo, the alien's combination of sexually evocative physical and behavioral characteristics creates, "a nightmare vision of sex and death. It subdues and opens the male body to make it pregnant, and then explodes it in birth. In its adult form, the alien strikes its victims with a rigid phallic tongue that breaks through skin and bone. More than a phallus, however, the retractable tongue has its own set of snapping metallic teeth that connects it to the castrating vagina dentata."[19]

Life cycle

Aliens are depicted as eusocial lifeforms with a defined caste system which is ruled by a queen.[1][10][13] Their life cycle comprises several distinct stages: they begin their lives as an egg, which hatches a parasitic larval form known as a facehugger, which then attaches itself to a living host by, as its name suggests, latching onto its face. The facehugger then "impregnates" the host with an embryo known as a chestburster, which, after gestation, erupts violently from the host's chest, killing it. The chestburster then rapidly matures to an adult phase.

Queen

File:Anguish.jpg
Ripley's first encounter with the Queen.

Queen aliens are significantly larger than the warriors, approximately 4.5 m (15 ft) tall.[20] Their body structure differs also, having twin sets of arms and being built more similarly to a theropod than a humanoid. Queens have a much larger braincase than the average adults, protected by a large crest above their heads. Pregnant alien queens possess an immense ovipositor on their lower torso, which is responsible for creating facehugger eggs (similar to a queen termite). The queen is able to detach from the ovipositor. When attached to her ovipositor, the queen is supported by a "biomechanical throne"[21] that consists of a lattice of struts resembling massive insect legs. Unlike insect queens, there appears to be no need for drones to fertilize an alien queen's eggs.[10][13]

Concept and design

File:Queen wiki avp.jpg
The Queen from Alien vs. Predator.

In the initial cut of Alien, the alien possessed a complete life cycle, with the still-living bodies of its victims converted into eggs. However, the scene showing this final stage was cut for reasons of pacing, leaving the ultimate origin of the eggs obscure. This allowed Aliens director James Cameron to introduce a concept he had initially conceived for a spec script called Mother,[22] a massive mother alien which laid the eggs and formed the basis for the aliens' life cycle. Cameron conceived the Queen as a monstrous analogue to Ripley's own maternal role in the film.[22] In that vein, some critics[23] have compared her to Grendel's mother.[24]

The design of the queen was created by Cameron in collaboration with special effects artist Stan Winston, based upon an initial painting Cameron had done at the start of the project. The Winston Studio created a test foam core queen before constructing the full hydraulic puppet which was used for most of the scenes involving the large alien. Two people were inside working the twin sets of arms and puppeteers off-screen worked her jaws and head. Although at the end of the film the queen was presented full-body fighting the power-loader, the audience never sees the legs of the queen, save those of the small-scale puppet that appears only briefly. In Aliens, Cameron used very selective camera-angles on the queen, using the 'less is more' style of photography. Subsequently the movie won an Oscar for Visual Effects.[25]

In the climax of the 2004 film Alien vs. Predator the queen's basic design was altered to make her more "streamlined" in appearance and her over-all size was increased to 6 meters (20 ft) tall. Other changes include the removal of the "high-heel" protrusions on her legs, altering the joints so she could run faster, and making her waist thinner because there was no need for puppeteers inside her chest. The new Queen was built from scratch. The legs were made proportionally larger to the body, giving the new queen a sturdier appearance.[citation needed]

Egg

File:Bye bye.jpg
Kane inspects an alien egg.

The eggs laid by the queen are large, ellipsoidal leathery objects about one meter high with four-lobed openings at the top. As a potential host approaches, the egg's lobes unfold like flower petals, and the parasitic facehugger explodes from within. Giger initially designed the eggs with a much more obviously vaginal appearance, complete with an "inner and outer vulva".[26] The producers complained that Catholic countries would ban the film if the allusion was too strong, so Giger doubled the lobes to four, so that, in his words, "seen from above, they would form the cross that people in Catholic countries are so fond of looking at."[27] The interior of the original egg was composed of "Nottingham lace", which is the lining of a cow's stomach. The quick shot of the facehugger erupting from the egg was done with sheep's intestine.[6] Initially the egg remained totally stationary save for the hydraulic movement of the lobes; however, by Alien: Resurrection the entire eggs were made to undulate as they opened.[14]

Facehugger

File:Alien facehugger.jpg
The facehugger seen in Alien.

A facehugger is the second stage in the alien's life-cycle. Its bony finger-like legs allow it to crawl rapidly and its long tail can launch it in great leaps. These particular appendages give them an appearance somewhat comparable to Chelicerata arthropods such as arachnids and horseshoe crabs.

File:Gigerfacehugger.jpg File:Gigerfacehugger2.jpg

Giger's original facehugger design (top)

Giger's revised facehugger design (bottom)

The facehugger is a parasitoid; its only purpose is to make contact with the host's mouth for the implantation process, by gripping its long, bony finger-like legs around the victim's head and wrapping its tail around the host's neck. Upon making contact, the facehugger tightens its tail around the host's neck in order to render it unconscious through oxygen deprivation. The facehugger then inserts a proboscis down the host's throat, supplying it with oxygen[3] whilst simultaneously implanting an embryo. Attempts to remove facehuggers generally prove fatal,[1] as the parasite will respond by tightening its grip, and the facehugger's acidic blood prevents it from being safely cut away.[3] Over time, a facehugger's outer epidermis becomes solidified and hardened by a chitinous layer of silicon[3]. Once the alien embryo is safely implanted, the facehugger detaches and dies.

Giger's original design for the facehugger was a much larger creature with eyes and a spring-loaded tail. Later, in response to comments from the filmmakers, Giger reduced the creature's size substantially.[28] At first Giger assumed that the facehugger would wrap around the outside of the astronaut's helmet, but Scott decided that it would have far more impact if the facehugger were revealed once the helmet were removed. Scott and Giger realised that the facehugger could burn through the helmet's faceplate with its acid blood; subsequent redesigns of the space helmet included a far larger faceplate to allow for this.[29] Dan O'Bannon initially conceived the facehugger as somewhat resembling an octopus, possessing tentacles. However, when he received HR Giger's designs, which substituted tentacles with fingerlike digits, he thought Giger's design concept superior. Since no one was available at the time, O'Bannon decided to design the facehugger prop himself. The technical elements of the musculature and bone were added by Ron Cobb. Giger's initial design for the smaller facehugger had the fingers facing forward, but O'Bannon's redesign shifted them to the side.[28] When the foam rubber sculpture of the facehugger was produced, O'Bannon asked that it should remain unpainted, believing the rubber, which resembled human skin, was more plausible.[30].

Chestburster

File:Alien chestburster.jpg
The chestburster that grew to be the adult in Alien.

After implantation, facehuggers die and the embryo's host wakes up afterwards showing no considerable outward negative symptoms. Symptoms build acutely after detachment of the facehugger, the most common being sore throat, slight nausea, increased congestion and moderate to extreme hunger.[3] In later stages where the incubation period is extended in preparation of a queen birth, symptoms will include a shortness of breath, exhaustion, and hemorrhaging (detectable through biological scanners and present in nosebleeds or other seemingly random bleeding incidents), as well as chest pains inflicted either in lack of chest space due to the chestburster's presence, or even premature attempts to escape the host.[2] The incubating embryo may take on some of the host's DNA or traits, such as bipedalism, quadrupedalism[2] or also having mandibles[11] and other body structure changes. Over the course of 1-24 hours (indeterminable in some cases, and sometimes up to a week, in the case of some queens), the embryo develops into a chestburster, at which point it emerges, violently ripping open the chest of the host.

File:Gigerchicken.jpg
Giger's "plucked turkey" chestburster

The chestburster was designed by Alien director Ridley Scott and special effects artist Roger Dicken.[19] Giger had produced a model of a chestburster that resembled a "degenerate plucked turkey"[31] and was far too large to fit inside a ribcage. Much to Giger's chagrin, his model reduced the production team to fits of laughter on sight.[7] Scott drafted a series of alternate designs for the chestburster based on the philosophy of working "back [from the adult] to the child" and ultimately produced "something phallic," so Dicken was given the task to design it.[7] The chestburster in the original Alien was armless but arms were added in the subsequent films.

Alternate life-cycles

In Alien: Director's Cut, the creature has a second method of reproduction, whereby it could transform humans into eggs, as shown when Ripley discovers Brett and Dallas, cocooned in a viscous liquid, with Brett almost completely enveloped by a distinctly egg-like mass. This method of reproduction allowed an alien a complete individual life-cycle, without the need for a queen.[32] The alien was described in the bonus DVD as being "ambi-sextrous". However, since this scene was cut in the final released version of the film, allowing the queen to appear in Aliens, its canonicity is uncertain. The same way of reproduction was also presented in Alien Versus Predator game for Atari Jaguar. There, while playing as Alien, player could transform humans into egg-like cocoons, similar to that shown in the scene from the movie.

In another omitted scene from the script for Alien³, these eggs were actually cocoons, inside of which a human was painfully transformed into a full-grown alien, which then emerges from the cocoon like a perversion of a butterfly. This non-canon tertiary version of reproduction bypasses queens and facehuggers entirely. However, this scene was never filmed.[citation needed]

In Alien³, another addition, a 'super facehugger' that would carry the embryo of the queen alien, was planned but ultimately dropped.[33] The super-facehugger is briefly glimpsed in the Assembly cut of Alien³', but not identified as such.[33][34]

Interspecific hybridization

'Runner'

File:Adult Fiorina036.jpg
The quadrupedal Alien variant from Alien³.

The 'Runner', also known as the 'Dog alien', was introduced in Alien³. The creature itself shares the same basic physical conformation and instincts as the other aliens shown in the previous films, although there are several differences due to the host it was spawned from (a dog in the theatrical cut, an ox in the extended edition). The Runner alien in its larval form is a miniature version of the adult, unlike the larva-like human spawned chestbursters. The adult is primarily quadrupedal, has double jointed hind legs and lacks the dorsal tubes of the human-spawned variety.

Concept and credit controversy

Originally, H.R. Giger was approached on July 28th, 1990 by David Fincher and Fred Zinnemann, and was asked to redesign his own creations for Alien³. Giger's new designs included an aquatic face-hugger and a four-legged version of the adult Alien. Giger said in an interview; "I had special ideas to make it more interesting. I designed a new creature, which was much more elegant and beastly, compared to my original. It was a four-legged Alien, more like a lethal feline - a panther or something. It had a kind of skin that was built up from other creatures - much like a symbiosis."

However, when Tom Woodruff and Alec Gillis of Amalgamated Dynamics told Giger that they had their own design, Giger expressed himself as "very upset" and that the creature he had especially designed was his "baby". Even after the production severed contact, Giger continued to fax suggestions to Fincher because of his enthusiasm for the project, and made full-scale drawings and a sculpt of the Alien, all of which were rejected.

David Fincher neglected to inform me that Woodruff and Gillis were also contracted to take care of the redesign of the Alien - I found out much later... I thought I had the job and that Woodruff and Gillis would work from my plans. On their side, they were convinced that it was their job and accepted my 'suggestions' with pleasure. They believed that all my effort was based on a huge love for the matter, because I worked hard even after my contract was over.

Giger would later be angered by the end credits of the released film presenting him as merely the creator of the original creature, and the fact that ADI personnel gave a series of interviews that minimized Giger's contribution. Fox eventually reimbursed Giger, but only after he refused to be interviewed for their behind-the-scenes documentary of Alien³.

The Academy Awards overlooked Giger's contribution to Alien³. Although Ridley Scott included Giger's name along with nominees Carlo Rambaldi and Richard Johnson in the 1980 Academy Awards, Fox at the time Alien³ was released pointed out that studios are precluded from submitting nominees in the effects category directly to the Academy. This upset Giger so much that at one point he sent Academy president Karl Malden a fax with this closing comment: "I am under the strong impression that my contribution to the visual effects of the nominated movie has been intentionally suppressed," signing the letter with a large black pentagram.

Giger however would comment that he thought the resulting film was "okay" and that the Alien was "better than in the second film."[35]

'Newborn'

File:Aliennewborn.jpg
The Ripley clone embraces the Newborn.

In Alien: Resurrection, due to significant genetic tampering in an attempt to recover DNA from the deceased Ellen Ripley and the alien queen within her, the resulting cloned aliens show a number of minor human traits. The cloned Queen eventually ceases to lay eggs and gives live birth to a humanoid mutant.

Physically, the human-alien Newborn is very different from its brethren, being much larger, with pale, translucent skin, a skull-shaped face with eyes, a human tongue and complete absence of a tail. The Newborn fails to bond with its alien queen mother and kills her. Instead, the Newborn sees the Ripley clone as a surrogate parent.

Concept and creation

The Newborn creature was originally scripted by Joss Whedon as being an eyeless, ivory-white quadruped with red veins running along the sides of its head. It had an inner jaw, with the addition of a pair of pincers on the sides of its head. These pincers would have been used to immobilise its prey as it drained it of blood through the inner jaw. The creature was also meant to rival the Queen in size.[36] Jean-Pierre Jeunet later asked ADI to lean towards making the human-alien hybrid, known as the Newborn, more human than alien. An early concept was to replicate Sigourney Weaver's image, although the crew felt it was too similar to Sil from the 1996 movie Species. The Newborn's eyes and nose were added to improve its expressions to make it a character, rather than just a "killing machine", and give it depth as a character. Jeunet was adamant about the Newborn having genitalia, a mix of both sexes. However, Fox was uncomfortable, and even Jeunet felt "even for a Frenchman, it's too much."[14] The genitalia were digitally removed in post-production. The Newborn animatronic required nine puppeteers and was the most complex animatronic in the film.[14]

'PredAlien'

File:Alienvspredator-2-d-1.jpg
The PredAlien as depicted in AvP: Requiem.

The result of a facehugger impregnating a Predator and in Expanded universe stories, genetic experimentation by human scientists, the "PredAlien" made its debut in the Aliens versus Predator video games, but it is not until Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem that an adult hybrid makes its first movie appearance. The PredAlien shares many characteristics with its host, such as tentacle-like dreadlocks, mandibles, skin color and similar vocalizations. It is a large, bulky creature, and is more powerful than regular human spawned aliens. In Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, it reproduces by seizing a female victim's face with its exterior mandibles, the PredAlien forcefully deposits up to five chestburster embryos down its victims throat and into their abdominal cavities.

Though maintaining the basic design shown in the Aliens versus Predator video games, numerous changes occurred in its film portrayal. One abandoned concept was to have the PredAlien reproduce by injecting victims with "DNA acid" through its tail. The injection would result in the victim's stomach swelling and exploding, birthing a new predalien hybrid. Another unused concept was to have the PredAlien inherit its host's tendency to skin victims.[37]

Cultural impact

File:Avptpb.jpg
Front cover of the first Aliens versus Predator comic book.

In the years since the release of Alien, the alien has become one of the world's most recognized movie monsters and a pop-cultural icon. In 2007, the alien was voted as the 14th most memorable screen villain by the American Film Institute.[38] Blondie co-founder Chris Stein, who is a friend of Giger, pondered in interview, "I'd like to see someone even vaguely compile how many versions of the Alien are floating around the world in models and stuff; there must be close to 100,000–little toys, things. All the Japanese horror comics just plunder his style."[39] Examples of alien-inspired works include the classic arcade game Contra.[40]

The Aliens have appeared in many crossovers (including a large number of intercompany crossovers) in comic books and other media such as novels, toys and video games. Crossovers include encounters with Terminators, Judge Dredd, Batman and Superman. The largest of these crossovers is the Alien vs. Predator franchise, in which the Aliens encounter the Predators. This was an idea that came to comic book artist Chris Warner in early 1989. He and other people at Dark Horse Comics were trying to come up with a good character combo for a new comics series. Dark Horse had been publishing Aliens comic book under license from 20th Century Fox since 1987. In 1990, the first depiction of the idea in film appeared in Predator 2, when a an Alien skull appeared as one of the trophies in the Predator spacecraft.

Aliens have also been comically featured in science fiction parodies. Examples include Mel Brooks' Spaceballs, in which a Chestburster imitates Michigan J. Frog and The ChubbChubbs!, in which an adult Alien warrior is shown drinking from a straw through it's inner jaws.

See also

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l James Cameron (writer and director) (1986). Aliens]] (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Vincent Ward (writer) and David Fincher (director) (1992). Alien³ (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Cite error: The named reference A1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "planetavp". Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  5. ^ "Forbiddenplanet.co.uk". Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Star Beast, the Alien Quadrilogy boxset
  7. ^ a b c d e f Alien Evolution, in the Alien Quadrilogy box set
  8. ^ IMDB: Alien: Awards
  9. ^ HR Giger (1979). HR Giger's Alien. Sphinx. p. 60.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Joss Whedon (writer)and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (1997). Alien: Resurrection (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  11. ^ a b c Shane Salerno (writer) Colin and Greg Strause (directors) (2008). Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  12. ^ Jim Thomas, John Thomas (writers) and Stephen Hopkins (director) (1990). Predator 2 (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Paul W.S. Anderson (writer/director) (2005). Alien vs. Predator (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  14. ^ a b c d Unnatural Mutation - Creature Design, Alien Quadrilogy, 2003, 20th Century Fox
  15. ^ PlanetAVP URL last accessed 23 February 2006.
  16. ^ Foster, Alan Dean; O'Bannon, Dan, Alien, ISBN 0354044362
  17. ^ James Cameron, director's commentary, Aliens, Alien Quadrilogy boxset
  18. ^ Hochman, David (1997-12-05). "Beauties and the Beast". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-01-31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ a b Alien Woman: The Making of Lt Ellen Ripley Ximena Gellardo, 2006
  20. ^ Sideshowtoy. URL last accessed 15 February 2006.
  21. ^ James Cameron, Alien Evolution: Aliens
  22. ^ a b Aliens, film commentary, Alien Quadrilogy boxset
  23. ^ The Alien Trilogy: A New Beowulf
  24. ^ Alien Queen in Cameron's Aliens (1986).
  25. ^ IMDB: Aliens: Awards
  26. ^ Giger p. 46
  27. ^ Giger p. 46
  28. ^ a b HR Giger, The Beast Within: The Making of Alien, Alien Quadrilogy Box-set
  29. ^ Giger 52
  30. ^ Dan O'Bannon, audio commentary, Alien, from the Alien Quadrilogy DVD set
  31. ^ Giger p. 56
  32. ^ From Alien Director's Cut. 1:30:20-1:32:30 - (hours:minutes:seconds)
  33. ^ a b Alien3: Adaptive Organism: Creature Design, from the Alien Quadrilogy boxset.
  34. ^ Alien3: Assembly cut
  35. ^ http://www.hrgiger.com/frame.htm
  36. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118583/trivia
  37. ^ Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr (2008). Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem - Inside the Monster Shop. pp. pp.128. ISBN 1845769090. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  38. ^ "AFI's 100 YEARS...100 HEROES & VILLAINS". American Film Institute. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  39. ^ Romy Ashby (2000). "The Talented Mr Giger". space.com. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  40. ^ "History of Contra". Gaming Target. Retrieved 2008-02-25.

References

External links

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