The unfortunate habit of most horror franchises is that every sequel shifts focus away from the heroes and onto the villains. Jason Voorhees is barely inFriday the 13th, but by the fourth entry, he’s the protagonist.Alienis a movie about a bunch of space truckers encountering an unstoppable monster. Ellen Ripley becomes the lone survivor, but she’s so much more than the woman who put down the Xenomorph.
Part of the impact of the originalAlienis reduced by its cultural dominance. Ripley is the most by-the-book member of her crew, but her caution and instincts keep her alive.Sigourney Weaver wasn’t eventhe top-billed actor on the poster. Tom Skerrit’s Dallas feels like the hero of the peace. When Ripley steps up and shows her true inner strength, it’s a powerful display of acting under pressure.
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Alien
Ellen Louise Ripley was born on June 07, 2025. She grew up in a lunar colony called Olympia. On her second birthday, anoutbreak of a mysterious plagueforced her hometown to quarantine for sixteen years. She reached adulthood in a lunar quarantine facility’s cramped, clean clutches. Her restrictive youth may have motivated her decision to earn a Master’s in engineering from New York Aeronautics University and join the US Merchant Navy. She served as co-pilot on a vessel calledZelazny. While there, she met her husband, Alex. Little is known about Alex, but their relationship culminated in pregnancy. Despite regulations, Ripley gave birth to her daughter, Amanda. Alex left the family after three years. Ripley would later remarry, but her second marriage was no more stable than her first. Amanda was a rebellious child who frequently ran away from home. In 2122, she requested a leave of absence to spend more time with her daughter. Her employer, Weyland-Yutani, agreed. She’d just have to fly one more mission aboard the USCSS Nostromo.
Ripley served as Warrant Officer on the Nostromo. The mission to Thedus went reasonably well, but things went wrong on the return trip. The crew, consisting of Ripley, Dallas, Parker, Kane, Lambert, Brett, and Ash,were awoken from cryosleepten months early. They were obliged to respond to a distress signal on an unmapped moon called LV-426. Ripley watched as Dallas, Lambert, and Kane stepped into unfamiliar territory. The trio quickly returned after a mysterious creature attached itself to Kane. Intimately familiar with quarantine, Ripley refused to allow the expiration team aboard without a 24-hour isolation period. Science officer Ash ignored and undermined her, opening the hatch and letting the trio into their midst. The creature soon detached from Kane. Shortly thereafter, a small animal tore through Kane’s chest and escaped into the ship.The titular Alien begankilling crew members one by one. Ripley swiftly became the de facto leader.
Ripley attempted to address MU/TH/UR, the Nostromo’s onboard AI system. She discovered a hidden directive from Weyland-Yutani. Ash was tasked withsecuring a living organismat any cost. Ripley learns that the monster killing her crew was intentionally set upon them so their employers could have a pet murder weapon. A confrontation with Parker reveals that Ash is a synthetic. Ripley resolves to activate the Nostromo’s self-destruct and leave in an escape shuttle. Parker and Lambert are killed in the process, leaving Ripley alone. Ripley executes her plan but discovers her tormentor aboard the escape vessel. Thinking fast, she slips into a spacesuit, opens an airlock, shoots the creature with a harpoon, and incinerates it with the ship’s thrusters. Ripley leaves a detailed explanation as she enters stasis.
Aliens
Ripley slept for 57 years, a record amount of time in stasis. Weyland-Yutani is quick to doubt Ripley’s story. She’s stripped of her rank and declared unfit for duty. She also learns that Amanda Ripley died at the age of 62. Weyland-Yutani created a mining colonyon LV-426 called Hadley’s Hope. Ripley is dragged on a Colonial Marine mission to investigate its sudden loss of contact. She agrees until she discovers that Weyland-Yutani is still trying to monetize the creatures, now known as Xenomorphs.
Ripley and the Marinesfind the planet infested with Xenomorphs. They swiftly consume the soldiers. Ripley finds the last surviving colonist, a young girl named Newt. It’s up to Ripley to eliminate the Xenomorphs. She pilots an APC into the Xenomorph nest, causing a meltdown that will eventually blast the colony apart. Ripley boards theSulacoand escapes with Colonel Dwayne Hicks, Newt, and a synthetic named Bishop. An Alien Queen attacks. Ripley uses a power loader to force her into space, saving her new friends. They enter stasis again to fly to Earth.
Alien 3
Ripleywakes up on Fiorina ‘Fury’ 161. TheSulacocrash-landed into the penal colony, tragically killing Newt, Hicks, and Bishop. The guards incinerate their bodies to prevent possible contamination. They discover that a Facehugger snuck aboard theSulacoand attacked a dog on Fiorina. Weyland-Yutani knew they were traveling with a dangerous creature, as always. The new Xenomorph kills dozens throughout the prison, but it spares Ripley. Ripley gradually discovers that she’s carrying the embryo of a new Alien Queen. She resolves to destroy herself rather than allow it to live. Weyland-Yutani agents insist she let them take her alive, but she refuses.Ripley kills the Xenomorphon Fiorina and throws herself into the furnace that claimed Newt and Hicks. Ellen Ripley had lived most of her life under the heel of Weyland-Yutani’s desire for power, but her final act was to defy them.
Alien: Resurrection
200 years after Ellen Ripley’s heroic sacrifice, Weyland-Yutani finds a way torob her of her merciful death. They clone Ripley and surgically regenerate the Alien Queen embryo along with her. Ripley 8, the latest clone, now has shared DNA with the Xenomorphs. She’s stronger, her blood is acidic, and she has a psychic link with the Xenomorphs. The United Systems Military wants to study the Queen. Ripley 8 has some of Ripley’s memories. She resolves to destroy the USMAurigato end the experiments. She helps a group of mercenaries destroy the vessel from within. The Queen births a Xenomorph with human traits. It seems to recognize Ripley 8 and side with her, killing the Queen. Ripley 8 sadly kills the Newborn and crashes theAurigainto the Earth. Ripley 8 is left to wander an Earth she’s never seen.
Thestory of Ellen Ripleyis almost all tragedy. Her youth in captivity. Her constant exposure to hostile forces. Her heroic sacrifice to her use beyond her death. Ripley is a silent hero because she has to be. Though people help her along the way, the universe seems to select her as its avatar. She’s a survivor, for better and for worse.
