and its sequels. Below is a list of the different xenomorph forms ever mentioned in various films, computer games, comics, etc.

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We continue our acquaintance with the most dangerous, vile and incredible creatures that inhabit the darkest corners of known space. In past videos we have come face to face with xenomorphs, arachnids, headcrabs and other creatures. Today, in my humble opinion, one of the most terrifying creatures of darkness is next in line - necromorphs from the Dead Void or Dead Space. We will find out what they are, where they came from, how they reproduce, how and why they kill, what their life cycle is and, of course, how to kill them. Recently, I asked you a small riddle for mindfulness on YouTube, Instagram and VK, what this video will be about. Many of you guessed right, so look for your names and nicknames as the video progresses! Necromorphs are a dead form of life. Deprived of pity, pain and compassion, these creatures exist to spread an alien extraterrestrial bacteria that transforms dead flesh into something terrible and hostile. If you don’t delve too deeply into the nature and history of Necromorphs, then you might think that they are just another very dangerous zombie, but this is an erroneous point of view. Behind the threat of lesser Necromorphs is something truly amazing and unimaginable, capable of destroying all life in the universe, turning it into a dead void - the Brother Moons. But first things first. Converted into Necromorphs, they immediately attack any uninfected life form for the purpose of killing and subsequent transformation. Infection outbreaks occur where mysterious extraterrestrial Obelisks appear, which resemble huge dildos from hell. Their study revealed the secret of such structures: Obelisks are sent to various planets by Brother moons, which are the final stage of development of Necromorphs, as far as it is known. They are huge planetary-scale accumulations of dead infected flesh, the purpose of which is to absorb all living things. All Necromorphs are united in a common intelligent telepathic network. Fewer creatures are devoid of reason as such, and they are ruled through the Obelisks by the Brother Moons. So, the infection goes through several stages: as soon as the Obelisk lands on a planet where life exists, it starts relaying a signal that turns dead flesh within a certain radius of the obelisk into necromorphs. This signal affects sentient creatures in a completely different way: it drives them crazy, transmitting terrible images to the mind, including drawings of obelisks. This is done so that creatures affected by the signal create copies of the obelisks, thereby spreading the influence of the signal to new territories, further increasing the coverage of the pandemic. In addition, insanity manifests itself in aggressive actions towards others and towards oneself: the victims of the signal become dangerous, they try to kill everyone around, and at the same time themselves, becoming biological material for the subsequent replenishment of the Necromorph army. In addition to the signal of the Obelisks, the source of infection is the pathogen itself, which is spread by various types of Necromorphs, for example, Infectors or Swarm. As already mentioned: directly living organisms do not turn into necromorphs. First they must be killed. If the bacterium comes into contact with a living person, then he experiences only some mental and motor disorders: catatonia, paralysis, breathing problems. On the other hand, such disorders can cause death, make a person an easy prey for other Necromorphs, and so on, that is, they still contribute to the spread of infection. Consuming the flesh of nephromorphs also leads to infection, death, and subsequent transformation. Infected corpses turn into Necromorphs extremely quickly, and the rebirth effect itself is simply terrible. The cells of a dead organism begin to rebuild, which is expressed in a change in the shape of both individual organs and parts of the body, and the whole organism. Internal organs are unnecessarily recombined into additional muscles, and bones break and often become some kind of huge knives. This alone makes Necromorphs very dangerous. The process of rebirth takes a matter of seconds, and at the same time a huge amount of heat is released, because of which the blood literally boils. The flesh of the Necromorphs also spreads the infection, growing to the floor, walls and ceiling, it is very similar to the living earth among the zerg. This flesh, injected directly into the human circulatory system, starts the process of transformation. Necromorphs in their species are very diverse. If you want to know in detail about the features of all types of Necromorphs - write in the comments "Come on Dead Space!". As I said, Necromorphs kill and spread infection for a reason. Their ultimate goal is to devour all life in the universe. The culmination of the infestation of an entire planet is the birth of a new Brother Moon, the final form of Necromorph evolution. Once the pandemic reaches sufficient proportions, the Convergence begins. All necroforms, the entire biosphere of the planet and all the Obelisks rush into the stratosphere, where the birth of a perfect dead creature takes place - the Fraternal Moon. After that, the only goal of the creature is the absorption of all life in its path. All Necromorphs have amazing damage resistance. What kills a human will not stop a Necromorph in any way due to the lack of vital organs and the feeling of pain. They also don't need air to breathe. The main and most effective way to deal with Necromorphs is to dismember or completely destroy their bodies. Since there are a huge number of types of necromorphs, amputation is not a universal method, but in most cases it is the limbs that should be shot or cut off: arms and legs, since without them they become practically harmless and die. But I repeat, there are exceptions. A Necromorph that has lost its head, in most cases, on the contrary, will not be particularly upset and will continue to try to kill you. In some cases, a powerful stream of flame, explosion or electrical discharge can also help. But there are types of Necromorphs that are able to quickly regenerate lost limbs, or simply mutate after losing them, becoming even stronger and more dangerous. In general, Necromorphs have absorbed all the most terrible and deadly, becoming one of the most, or perhaps the most dangerous creatures in the universe. Who else would you like to hear about in the next video? Write in the comments and watch other videos on the channel! Don't forget to turn on the bell, otherwise many subscribers miss new videos! Also subscribe to my second streamer channel and support with money, if you don't mind! Links in the description! Thank you for watching! And remember - no one will come to the rescue.

Soldiers and Drones

They are responsible for protection and hunting, as well as expanding living space, building a hive, collecting food, feeding the queen and caring for eggs. Under normal conditions, these individuals are not capable of reproduction, however, in the absence of a queen, they can lay from one to three eggs (more precisely, using the bodies of living beings to create eggs, like wasps). At will, the queens can evolve into the Praetorian - a larger, smarter and less mobile individual with a shield on his head, similar to the shield of the queen [ ] .

Outwardly, the drone and the soldier differ in size (the soldier is slightly larger) and integuments of the head (smooth - for the drone, ribbed - for the soldier). Drones appear in the films Alien and Alien vs Predator, soldiers appear in Aliens and Aliens vs Predator: Requiem. In each of these films, the appearance of the creatures is different. It's also possible that the xenomorphs from the Alien Testament movie are also drones.

In comics and computer games, there are several castes among drones that differ in appearance and behavior.

cloned xenomorphs

A special kind of drone that appears in the movie Alien Resurrection. This subspecies originated from the eggs laid by the queen cloned with Ellen Ripley and is a kind of hybrid due to the fact that the genes of Ripley and the queen were mixed during cloning. Outwardly, they are quite different from ordinary drones - they are brownish in color, their legs are adapted to digitization, not plantigrade and have five segments, and their heads are shorter and more pointed. A characteristic feature of cloned xenomorphs is that they periodically exhale steam.

Queen

Queen or Uterus- the main and largest individual in the colony (several times larger than an ordinary Alien). The rest obey her implicitly, even if it costs them their lives. Moves only on two large limbs. Her exoskeleton is so strong that standard 10mm kinetic weapons cannot penetrate it. Unlike constantly changing soldiers, from the moment of growing up, the appearance of the queen remains practically unchanged: the head is decorated with a huge comb-shaped “crown”, turning into a head case, the presence of additional limbs on the chest, the presence of huge spikes on the back instead of small breathing tubes, but her main feature - the presence of the umbilical cord of the ovipositor. This translucent biopolymer bag filled with eggs is so huge that because of it the queen cannot move independently and therefore is located in the "cradle" - a kind of hammock made of salivary threads and strips of biopolymer resin that support the queen and her ovipositor in limbo. However, in case of danger, the queen is able to cut off the ovipositor and move independently. Example: in the game Aliens versus Predator  (2010) , the old queen cuts off the ovipositor to escape captivity, but after some time grows a new one.

Also known is the fact, mentioned in the books of Ridley Scott, that an adult queen, who has fully completed her development, has an intelligence that surpasses an ordinary human. Also signs of reasonableness are visible in the movie "Aliens". When Ellen Ripley first demonstrated the action of the flamethrower, and then pointed the barrel at the eggs laid by the queen, the queen understood her intentions and, in order to save them, ordered the two soldiers who were about to attack Ripley to retreat. On another occasion, the queen realized the transport purpose of an elevator and then used it.

There is also an Alien King figurine.

Runner

Ripley's clones

Hybrid (Alien Predator, Alien Predator)

queen mother

Various Queen Mothers are supreme leaders of all xenomorph species, other Queens and Empresses are subordinate to them. Each Queen Mother controls her own variety of Aliens, such as the black ones or the red ones. They have telepathy and empathy. They are distinguished by five spikes on the edge of the crest instead of three, like ordinary queens.

They appear in the Aliens: Earth War and Aliens: Genocide comics and the book Aliens: The Female War.

Varieties that appeared only in games

• Empress:

The Empress appears in Aliens Online and Aliens vs. Predator 2". Especially large and ancient queen. Even stronger and more durable. Perhaps the queens in Aliens versus Predator (2010) , the 2004 movie, and Aliens: Infestation are also Empresses.

• Flying Alien

The Flying Alien appears in Aliens: Extermination and Alien vs Predator (SNES) as one of the bosses and in the Kenner toyline as a flying queen.

• Xeno Borg

• mutant alien

Alien warriors mutated by the nuclear explosion on LV-426. Absolutely blind. Focus on noise. The attack is self-detonation. Appears in "Aliens: Colonial Marines".

• Spitter

Another kind of mutated Aliens. Their heads glow in the dark. They spit acid from a distance. Very fast. Appears in "Aliens: Colonial Marines".

• Crow

Very similar to an incompletely developed Praetorian. A distinctive feature is the head like a warrior. There is only one individual. Only large-caliber weapons are suitable against him. Serious damage can also be caused by a hand blow - a forklift manipulator. Appears only in Aliens: Colonial Marines.

• Large Alien

• Alien Tarkatan

It is generally similar to a normal drone, but has retractable blades on its arms and a much wider mouth than a normal xenomorph and is studded with long conical teeth. All these traits are inherited from Tarkatans. Other distinctive features are a short head, and a lower stature, compared to classical xenomorphs, about the size of an average person. Blood has acidic properties, but more limited, for the sake of game balance. Variations:

1. Acid. The most that neither is a classic Alien. External differences - a smooth head, like a drone, and acid oozes from the tail. Special attacks are focused on the use of acid, and in terms of gameplay, this variation is a typical zoner.
2. Tarkatan. A kind of replacement for Baraka in the roster of the game. External differences - a corrugated head, like a soldier. Uses Baraka's typical special moves, minus the projectile.
3. Trickster. Something between a praetorian and a queen. External differences - the presence of a crown-collar on the head. Specializes in summoning eggs and other xenomorphs.

Appeared as DLC as part of Kombat Pack 2 in Mortal Kombat X.

Varieties that appeared only in comics

In the Aliens comic. Apocalypse: The Destroying Angels" (rus. Aliens. Apocalypse: Angels of Destruction) Space jockeys are presented as a kind of Aliens.

Hive

To create a hive, one facehugger can be enough to get into the inhabited space (planet, spaceship, station). After the xenomorph reaches the adult stage in the absence of a queen, it will turn first into a praetorian, then into a queen. After finding a suitable isolated area, usually in the warmest place, and having eaten, she will grow an ovipositor and lay the first eggs. The first facehuggers will either attack those who approach or leave the hive and find the carriers on their own. Hatched xenomorphs, having reached the adult stage in freedom, will return to the hive, where they will feed the queen and take care of the eggs as soldiers and drones. From now on, the facehuggers will not have to leave the hive, as the adults themselves will deliver future carriers there.

Who are these xenomorphs? What appearance do they have? Who owns the idea of ​​creating a story about these creatures? What are the varieties of aliens (xenomorph)? The answers to these and other questions can be found in our publication.

Creating an image

The idea of ​​a story about an alien xenomorph monster belongs to the scriptwriters of the film "Alien" - Ronald Shusett and Dan O'Bannon. Initially, the horror film was planned to be presented to the audience under the name "Star Creature". However, the producers of the picture decided to refuse this option. The definition of "Alien" quite by accident came from the pen of the writers. It was this word that later became the name of the bloodthirsty alien creature and appeared in the title of a whole series of successful films.

Xenomorph - this term appeared after the release of the second film "Aliens" (1986). Later, the definition was often applied to space creatures in the presented MCU. In particular, these creatures were called so in the film "Alien vs. Predator". Also, the term was found in the most numerous video games.

It is worth noting that the xenomorph is an image that belongs to the famous artist Giger. It was he who worked on the creation of the appearance of the monster in preparation for the filming of the first film. In addition, the artist is the author of sketches, on the basis of which the interior of spaceships and the appearance of the scenery in the popular franchise were developed.

Appearance

Xenomorphs are fantastic bipedal creatures whose body has the ideal biological qualities necessary to survive in the harsh environment of space. Being predators, such creatures have a wide arsenal of devices that bring death to any enemy. First of all, attention is drawn to their second jaw, which extends like a piston from the main toothy mouth. However, before biting the prey, xenomorphs prefer to grab it with long clawed paws.

Another deadly part of the xenomorph's body is a powerful tail, divided into numerous segments. At its end contains a sharp tip that resembles a dagger or spear point. The tail often acts for the alien not only as a stabbing weapon, but also as a device, which allows you to knock down and disorient the enemy.

Xenomorphs have an elongated skull shape, where there are no clearly defined facial features. The main part of the head is occupied by a huge mouth. The organs of sight and hearing in such creatures are not externally observed. However, according to assumptions, xenomorphs are able to navigate in space thanks to rudimentary sense organs. In the back area, such creatures contain breathing tubes.

Types of xenomorphs

Then comes the stage of embryonic development, which takes several days. During this period, the young individual adopts some of the genetic features of the intermediate host.

Mature xenomorphs are called "breastbreakers". The latter break the shell of the carrier's body, as a result of which he will certainly die. Such a creature leads a secretive lifestyle until it reaches the size of an adult.

Mentions in films

Xenomorphs appear in the following paintings:

• "Alien" (1979).
• "Aliens" (1986).
• "Alien-3" (1992).
• "Alien 4: Resurrection" (1997).
• "Alien vs. Predator" (2004).
• "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" (2007).
• "Prometheus" (2012).
• "Alien: Covenant" (2017).

: reproductive female and infertile workers (workers, soldiers, and others). The biological life cycle involves the implantation of endoparasitoid larvae within living hosts. Having completed their development, the larvae break out of the host, causing its death, then quickly mature from juvenile to adult age within hours and begin searching for new hosts for reproduction.

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Creating an image

Name

The appearance of the image

In the summer of 1977, O'Bannon contacted Giger and informed him that a new science fiction film was being made. Just at that time, the third book of the artist called " Necronomicon". This collection of posters, shown by O'Bannon to Ridley Scott, caught the attention of the director. Scott brought in Giger to work on the creature concept, art design for his film, and Aliens. True, Giger's candidacy did not cause much encouragement among the film's producers. As a result of the fact that Scott insisted on attracting this particular artist to the shooting, a contract was signed with Giger in 1978. Over the course of three months, he made more than two dozen drawings of Aliens and sent them to the UK, where, according to them, a full-length figure of the Alien was to be created. The sculptors failed to bring the idea to life, which is why Giger was personally invited to the UK to directly participate in the preparations for filming. For 5 months, the artist worked at the Shepperton Studio on the design of the interior of the spaceship, inside which, according to the script idea, the characters of the film found Alien eggs. There, Giger created concept art for the dead pilot and the scenery of the desert planet (LV-426) where the ship was found. Giger also worked for four months on the creation of the Alien costume, each element of which was made individually for the figure of the non-professional actor Bolaji Badejo, who played his role. On several occasions, Giger reworked his work due to the explicitly sexual nature of certain details, such as the shape of the head.

Giger's chest-breaker design was considered unsuccessful in this case, and the final image of the chest-breaker was created by Ridley Scott and Roger Dicken.

The Alien Queen was already drawn by the director of the second film - James Cameron - together with artist Stan Winston. Winston's studio created a foam model with full hydraulic control specifically for the film. It was this model that was shot in almost all the scenes of the film that required the presence of the queen in the frame. For this work, the film received an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Only in the 2004 film Alien vs. Predator was computer simulation of the queen running and fighting.

Life cycle

Facehugger

Alien structure

Anatomy

Alien is a bipedal upright individual capable of moving quickly on four limbs, as well as jumping and swimming, its body consists of both organic and inorganic compounds and is a synthesis of silicon-metal and carbon structures. The exoskeleton is composed of polarized organic silicates, the silicate cells have the metal in the bound state. In addition to the external exoskeleton, there is an internal bone structure.

Physiology

Alien blood is highly acidic and can corrode almost any substance on contact. Its color is dull, yellowish green. Concept artist Ron Cobb, when designing the Alien for the first film in the franchise, proposed the idea of ​​an alien with acidic blood in order to create a plausible means of making the creature "invulnerable". If one were to use traditional firearms or explosives to kill, their blood would corrode the hull of the spacecraft. In the novelization of the same name of the film "Alien" it is said that, at least at the stage of "face-grab", the acid is not blood, but the cavity fluid under pressure between the double layer of skin.

List of games about aliens

• Aliens (FDS,MSX)
• Alien 3 (SNES, Sega MegaDrive 2)
• Aliens versus Predator: Extinction
• Aliens vs. Predator (arcade)
• Aliens vs. Predator (video game)
• Space Station 13 (assembly "Colonial Marines")
• Aliens Infestation (Nintendo DS)
• Mortal Kombat X (Plays as one of the fighters)

Influence on other works

Animated series

• "American Dad! ". The robot in the series "Adult Deal" (1.17) is a copy of the robot from the movie "Aliens". The Big Space Brazier episode (5.18) is a parody of the movie Alien with Roger as the Alien and Stan Smith as Ripley.
• Griffins. In Peter's Daughter (6.07), Peter Griffin admits that he treated Meg Griffin as an Alien; a parody scene with the Queen, Ripley and Newt is shown. In the movie, in the series “You May Now Kiss the… Uh… Guy Who Receives” (4.25), it is shown that a gay man has acid instead of blood, and then a monster similar to an Alien crawled out of him. In the bar in the Blue Harvest episode (6.01), one of the patrons is an Alien.
• "Duckman". In "Where Duckman Hasn't Gone Before" (4.27), the Alien is one of the members of the spaceship's crew.
• "Lilo and Stitch ". Experiment 627 in the series of the same name (1.19) sticks out its tongue like an Alien.
• "Masks". In the series “New Year on a farm near Dikanka. From Dusk Till Dawn ”(Episode 7) an Alien appears on the TV screen.
• "Monsters versus Aliens". The Vornikarn series is a parody of the movie Alien.
• "Pinguins from Madagascar ". In Alienated (2.51), an alien like an Alien bursts out of Lemy's robot chest, quickly grows and spits paralytic fluid.
• "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius". In a cave on a lifeless planet in the episode "Who's Your Mother" (3.05b), Carl disturbed an unusual egg; a spider-like creature jumped out of the egg and stuck to Karl's face; when the creature was disposed of, it turned out that a new organism began to grow inside Carl, causing Carl to feel hungry.
• "Adventures cartoons". In Quacks in the Universe (1.02), Buster Bunny said, "In space, no one can hear you quack" (a reference to the Alien movie tagline).
• "Flattened space". In the pilot episode "Love and Darph" ( love and gift) parodies the fight with the queen aboard the ship in the movie Aliens. Two supporting characters in the Shock Period Park series (2.11) are parodies of Aliens.
• "Robot Chicken". In "A Piece of the Action" (1.07), Alien and Predator play chess.
• "The Simpsons". In the episode "Stole the First Kiss" (21.15) in one of the scenes, the Alien kisses Ripley.
• "Futurama". In "The Prisoner of Benda" (6.10), Dr. Zoidberg was shown to have a second jaw on his tongue. The bone vampire in "Fry the Egg Guardian" (6.22) has an Alien-like appearance and acidic saliva. At the beginning of the Naturama episode (7.13), the facehugger jumps out of the egg and clings to the person's face.
• "Ninja Turtles" (1987). The Killer Pizza Case (2.11) is a parody of the Alien movies. Shredder learned that the turtles are passionate about pizza. He put eggs from Dimension X creepy creatures on his pizza. That's just pizza did not get to the turtles, but to ordinary people.
• "Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers ". In Dale Alien (1.03), a horror scene is shown on TV that parodies the Alien's fight with Ripley.
• "South Park". The alien at the beginning of the Scary Fish series (2.15) is a parody of the queen (an episodic character). In "Cat Orgy" (3.07), Eric Cartman watches the movie "Aliens" and repeats Newt's line several times: "They usually come at night. Usually”, changing it every time. Alien is one of the evil characters of Imaginationland in the series "Imaginationland, episode II" (11.11) and "Imaginationland, episode III" (11.12).
• "Hunter × Hunter". In the reboot, the main antagonists are chimera ants - carnivorous insects that take on the features of the victims they absorb.
• "Transformers Prime ". In the eighth episode of the third season, "Thirst", during the scientific experiments of Starscream and Knockout with dark and synthetic energon, vampire terrorcons appear, resembling zombies in their behavior - the infected experience a great thirst to kill and drink someone else's energon, lose their intellect (although Airachnid is an exception), they can be infected with a bite, they can also be killed with a shot, but not in the head, but in the Spark. Terrorcons have an internal jaw like those of the Aliens, but the muzzle is more like the mouth of an Outlander.
• In the animated series "People in Black" in one of the episodes, an Alien appears, who starred in the film as an Alien.
• In the animated series Kid vs. Kat" in the series "Cinema Without Borders" at the moment when Lorne and Harley are laughing at Coop, Mr. Cat crawls out through his shirt in the chest area, which parodies the appearance of chest breakers.
• Chazhlings from "Friendship is a miracle" have a lot in common with Aliens: they are dark in color, live in a hive, spit a viscous liquid and also have a queen.
• "Ninja Turtles" (2012). In "Invasion of the Belconoids", while searching for mutagen canisters, the turtles discover a mutant squirrel that multiplies in humans, after which it enters the stomach through the mouth, which is a direct reference to the development of the Alien. Subsequently, they discover that the squirrels themselves grow to enormous sizes and look very similar to adult Aliens.

Full-length movies

• One of the scenes in the movie "Spaceballs" parodies the scene with the breastbreaker in the movie "Alien": the monster jumps out of the stomach of Kane, played by the same actor as in "Alien". Immediately afterwards, Kane says, "No, again!"
• Alien - a page on a spaceship in the cartoon "The Lord of the Beans: Attila's Long March" (episodic character).
• In film "".
• The monster in the horror movie "Alien 2: On Earth" is partially copied from the Alien.
• Turkey Teddy in the movie "Ticket to Space" is a parody of Alien.
• The Puss in Boots attack on Shrek in the cartoon "Shrek 2", when the Cat gets under the shirt and then crashes out through the fabric torn on the chest - a parody of the moment of "coming into the light" of the chestbreaker.
• Two Aliens (a queen and a breastbreaker) appear in The Haunted World of El Superbeasto cartoon ( The ghostly world of El Superbisto).
• In the cartoon "Khan to everyone!" on the space station during lunch, the Frenchman's stomach began to swell, creating the feeling that a breastbreaker was about to appear.
• One of the monsters in the cartoon "Who's Afraid of Monsters?" - a parody of Alien.

Games

• In the game "Fallout 2" there are very strange and very strong creatures - Wanamingo(the name is taken from the Wanamingo mine in Redding, where their hive is located), they breed with eggs laid by the "queen". Outwardly, they resemble "strangers". When destroyed in Pip-Boy, they are defined as "alien" (aliens). Also, these monsters appear in the hold of the Exxon Valdez ship, where they are directly called "Aliens".
• Space Station 13 has an Alien mode based on the Alien movie, and you can also win an alien costume in the slot machine.
• The Zerg race from StarCraft is loosely based on the Aliens.
• The image of Aliens is also found in the games of the Contra series. The first two parts featured facehuggers, drones with one red eye (a reference to Giger's depictions), and a flying drone with an eye and a retractable jaw. In subsequent parts, the image began to change, but only slightly, leaving the recognizable image of the Aliens from the films.
• In the game "Space Quest 5" there is a facehugger as a favorite of the protagonist.
• Perhaps the influence of facehuggers on the concept of headcrabs from the games in the Half-Life series.
• In the game Gradius 2 (NES version), a ship called the Prometeus (which looks like a Jockey ship from the inside) comes across eggs that spawn facehuggers.
• Genestealers from the Warhammer 40,000 universe were copied from Aliens and are similar in both appearance and lifestyle. Also in the images of many Tyranid models since the third edition there are features of Aliens, both drones and the Queen.
• In Grand Theft Auto V, there is a frozen alien at the beginning of the game that closely resembles Alien from the film of the same name. During the second mission, Franklin drives past a set that appears to be filming an Alien movie.
• In the fantastic game mode "Agony of Power 2", at a certain stage, the antagonist Deidran orders the release of "beasts", which, escaping from the bowels of the mines, which are the main source of the player's income, threaten a premature "game over". These very animals are very similar to Aliens, and their uterus, sitting on eggs, is an exact copy of the uterus from the movie "Alien 3".
• In Sacred Underworld, the appearance of the Aliens is based on the image of the Hell Guards - typical monsters of the fifth act.
• The demons of the Vulgara from the Resurrection of Evil addon for the game Doom 3 have a certain resemblance to Aliens.
  • in the game LEGO star wars 3 the clone wars in the mission "legacy of terror" there is a uterus of rebellious Joanisians and also power armor in which Riley fought the alien queen

on the Alien. Also, one of them is called Giger, which is a reference to the artist Hans Giger, who was one of the creators of the original monster.

Movies

Soldiers and Drones

They are responsible for protection and hunting, expanding living space, building a hive, collecting food, feeding the queen and caring for eggs. Under normal conditions, these individuals are not capable of reproduction, however, in the absence of a queen, they can lay from one to three eggs. Also, in the event of the death of the uterus, an ordinary Alien becomes first a praetorian, and then a new queen, and begins to lay eggs, like a full-fledged uterus.

Outwardly, the drone and the soldier differ in size and head covering. The drone first appeared in the movie "Alien", the soldiers - in the movie "Aliens".

Queen

The queen or uterus is the main and largest individual in the colony. The rest obey her implicitly, even if it costs them their lives. Moves only on two large limbs. Her outer exoskeleton is so strong that standard 10mm weapons cannot penetrate it. Unlike constantly changing soldiers, from the moment of growing up, the appearance of the queen remains practically unchanged: the head is decorated with a huge comb-shaped “crown”, turning into a head case, the presence of additional limbs on the chest, the presence of huge spikes on the back instead of small breathing tubes, but her main feature the presence of the umbilical cord of the ovipositor. This translucent biopolymer sac filled with eggs is so huge that it prevents the queen from moving independently and therefore is in a “cradle” a kind of hammock made of salivary threads and strips of biopolymer resin that support the queen and her ovipositor in a suspended state. However, in case of danger, the queen is able to cut off the umbilical cord of the ovipositor and move independently, after which, after some time, she can grow a new ovipositor and fulfill her destiny. Example: In Aliens versus Predator 3, the old queen cuts off her ovipositor to escape captivity, but grows a new one after a while. The queen's biopolymer pouch becomes leathery as she ages, a phenomenon that was discovered in the movie Alien vs. Predator. Also known is the fact mentioned in the books of Ridley Scott that an adult queen, who has completely completed her development, has an intelligence that surpasses an ordinary human. Also, a sign of reasonableness is seen in the movie "Aliens". When Ripley threatened the queen with a weapon, the queen realized her intentions and, in order to stay alive, ordered the two soldiers who were about to attack Ripley to retreat. On another occasion, the queen used the elevator herself.

Runner

The Runner is a four-legged form of the Alien, the result of the development of an embryo in an animal body. It is smaller and slightly faster than normal specimens, spits acid, and has no visible breathing tubes on its back. It was first shown in the movie "Alien 3", where the carrier is a dog. In the hive, thanks to their agility and speed, the runners play the role of scouts and food getters.

Ripley's clones

From the remains of the deceased Ellen Ripley, infected by the Alien, in the movie "Alien: Resurrection" she was cloned 8 times. The clones combined the properties of an Alien and a human to varying degrees, and also possessed Ripley's memory and Alien instincts. In the Alien: Resurrection comic, unlike in the movie, they have dark green blood. 7 clones were not viable and soon died. The last clone also appeared in Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator.

Newborn

The newborn human/Alien hybrid from Alien: Resurrection.

As a result of human genetic interference in creating a clone of the dead Ripley, the infected queen of the Aliens, the cloned queen at some point stops laying eggs and gives birth to a new creature. However, the newborn does not feel kinship with the queen and kills her, and considers a man a clone of Ripley to be his mother.

A newborn is very different from ordinary individuals - it is larger, covered with translucent skin, and has no tail. Its short skull resembles that of a human. Eyes, nose, teeth and tongue are also more human. Able to express emotions through facial expressions.

outlander

Alien - a special kind of Alien, a product of the development of the embryo in the body of the Predator. They have both the features of ordinary Aliens, and some signs of a Predator, such as mandibles and dread-like processes. It was first depicted by artist Dave Dorman in an illustration in 1992. Later he became a character in books, comics and computer games. Later, in 2003, he appeared at the end of the film "Alien vs. Predator", in the form of a chestbreaker, and in the sequel "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" he became an adult, or rather even a queen. In the film, it has the ability to directly implant the embryo into the human body, and in an amount of up to 4-5 pieces.

Expanded Universe

In the expanded Alien universe created by books, comics and computer games, there are other varieties of Aliens.

space jockey

In the Aliens comic. Apocalypse: The Destroing Angels" Space Jockeys are introduced as a type of Alien.

Praetorian

Praetorian - Elite Hive Soldier. The Praetorian is many times bigger and stronger than the Alien Drone and Alien Soldier, but smaller than the Queen. When the hive population grows to a significant size, the queen chooses from among her subjects the Outsiders who will become her personal guards, the Praetorians. Having received "permission" for further development, future Praetorians must leave the hive as soon as possible, otherwise they will be torn to pieces by their own, as their bodies in the process of development begin to produce pheromones that irritate the rest of the Aliens. During molting, Praetorians live separately from the community, getting their own food and avoiding meetings with other xenomorphs. Most of the candidates for praetorian perish, but the best are selected in this way. At the end of the molt, the praetorian returns to the hive, becoming the inseparable guard of the queen. The Praetorian no longer participates in the main life of the hive. You can meet a Praetorian either if he believes that there is a threat to the queen, or if you got to dinner with her. Praetorians develop only from soldiers, drones and sometimes runners, outlanders due to genetic differences cannot become guards. Now about physiology: outwardly, he resembles a soldier who has grown 2 times, in addition, he has a powerful bone crest, like a queen. Such a monster has great strength, powerful horny cover and higher intelligence. However, due to their heavy armor, they cannot move on walls and ceilings. Praetorians have the right to command the rest of the Aliens, setting up ambushes and traps for opponents. Appeared in the computer games "Aliens versus Predator", "Aliens versus Predator 2" and "Aliens versus Predator 3".

Xeno Borg

The Xenoborg from Aliens versus Predator is a human-created security cyborg based on the Alien. It is a drone with a laser target designator implanted in its head and two continuous-action laser weapons in its forelimbs. Automatically turns on when a live object approaches.

Large Alien

Boss in Alien 3. Looks like a soldier, but about the size of a queen. There is no tail. Moves on hind limbs. Jumps well. Periodically splashes with acid.

Varieties that appeared only in comics

• In the Aliens: Purge comic, the gynoid Eloise was raised from an Alien egg infected with a biological computer virus using leprosy spores as an intermediary carrier. It was a prototype - no behavioral restrictions were included, only a basic morality code. In this comic, the leprosy slows down the development of the Alien embryo into the lepers, but they can safely work in the Alien's nest. Eloise herself began to feel maternal feelings for Aliens. Outsiders perceive her as a queen. The laboratory in which it was created belonged to the merged companies - the Alliance of Adelaide and Bombay. When the Alliance soldiers shot the scientists involved in the creation of the android, and began to shoot lepers and Aliens, Eloise killed the soldiers and, together with the remaining "subjects", left the planet on the Alliance ship.
• In the Aliens comic, the rank-and-file Aliens are somewhat different in appearance, and attack without concern for their own survival. The "Queen" looks like a huge crystal city and has hypnosis skills.
• In the Alien Loves Predator comic, Alien Abe acts like a human, more like a teenager in temperament. Despite the fact that he does not hide his appearance, people do not pay attention or simply do not realize that he is an alien. In one of the issues they talk about him as a dark-skinned young man. His two younger brothers and the queen mother also appear in the comic.

Alien, or xenomorph - a terrible alien monster with an elongated skull, two pairs of jaws, a sharp tail and acidic blood - is known even to those who are not familiar with the film of the same name and its sequels. But they are definitely worth a look. Indeed, in addition to the legendary monster, "Alien" gave rise to an original and gloomy universe that is developing to this day, and not only on movie screens.

The appearance of the Alien

It's hard to imagine that such a huge franchise was born due to a fortunate combination of circumstances. While working on the Alien script, Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett did not expect their names to go down in cinema history. The original plot of Alien was far from what the audience saw: producers David Giler and Walter Hill rewrote it more than once. It was they who included the android Ash in the plot, adding notes of sci-fi drama to the horror. The result was an incredibly beautiful and bold for its era film about how seven space truckers find an abandoned ship with larvae of unknown creatures on a distant planet. One of which gets on board their vessel and arranges a bloodbath.

The idea to make ordinary hard workers the heroes of the film turned out to be successful. It was easy for viewers to associate themselves with such characters, empathize with them and understand the motives for their actions.

With the design of the film, unspeakably lucky. O'Bannon was involved with Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune, and although the project was cancelled, he gave the screenwriter exposure to Hans Rudy Giger's work, both terrifying and erotic. Alien director Ridley Scott also liked Giger's work. The artist was instructed to come up with the appearance of an alien at all stages of development, the environment of an alien ship and views of another planet. His facehugger models were so realistic that when he tried to bring them to the US filming, Giger was detained at customs. Couldn't believe it was just decorations.

Frighteningly realistic and at the same time alien to our world, the biomechanical designs of Hans Rudi Giger impress at first sight. It is unlikely that Alien would have become a cult hit if a less eccentric and talented artist had worked on its design.

The director Ridley Scott, the make-up artists, the decorators, and, of course, the cast did their best. Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley has become no less vivid image of a strong fantasy heroine than Princess Leia from Star Wars.

History opened up huge opportunities for creating sequels and prequels for every taste. The space of the "Alien", according to the canons of the good old science fiction, is not at all friendly and fraught with a lot of dangers and discoveries - like the Earth with sinister corporations that have seized power and robots that are indistinguishable from people.

Alien Biology

Alien, or xenomorph (from a combination of the Greek words “alien” and “form”), is an upright creature that consists of both organic and inorganic matter and has two powerful jaws, a sharp tail, a strong exoskeleton and acidic blood. The life cycle of an Alien consists of several stages.

The colony of xenomorphs resembles an anthill or a beehive in its structure. There are several varieties of Aliens that differ in appearance and abilities. The largest and smartest - queen. She lays eggs for procreation and manages the hive. Its inhabitants are divided into workers and larger and more aggressive warriors. The appearance and abilities of Aliens can vary depending on whose body they used to develop. There are more types of Aliens in comics and games than in movies, and they can change their specialization if necessary. But it is not entirely clear which species, in addition to those shown in the films, can be considered canonical.

From horror to action

Despite Alien's excellent box office, Fox was in no hurry to green-light a sequel. Few people imagined in which direction to develop the series. As a result, David Giler made a bet on the budding director James Cameron. His script for The Terminator impressed the producer, and Cameron became both writer and director of a sequel called Aliens.

Through the efforts of Cameron, the series turned from a horror movie into an action movie. The director was a longtime fan of Heinlein's Starship Troopers and wanted to make a film not about helpless victims, but about future soldiers ready to face an unknown threat. Their story reflected Cameron's interest in the Vietnam War. Like the American soldiers, the Marines in the film are well armed and trained, but meeting with an unknown enemy in foreign territory turns into a real nightmare for them.

After Ripley defeated the Alien queen with the help of a loader robot, such devices became a popular weapon to fight evil creatures.

The Alien universe was perfect for an action movie, and even Ripley, who survived the first part, fit into the plot without any problems. For fifty years, while she was in cryogenic sleep, a colony was founded on the ill-fated planet where her team encountered the Alien. Communication with its inhabitants is cut off, and an armed detachment is sent there to investigate. Ripley flies with him, hoping that defeating an old enemy will help her restore her reputation and get rid of her nightmares. What happens next is easy to guess. Instead of one natural born killer, the squad meets a whole brood of creatures that have made the colony their home.

"Aliens" became a rare sequel that surpassed the original in popularity. Fast paced, bloody action and a brave heroine impressed audiences and critics alike. In addition, Cameron's fantasy expanded the Aliens universe. It turned out that xenomorphs have an intelligent queen capable of laying eggs, and they themselves are divided into soldiers and workers, like ants or bees. Not only strong and tenacious, but in addition smart and organized aliens have become worthy opponents for people.

After Aliens, Ellen Ripley was jokingly nicknamed Rambolina. And what, she looks no worse than the hero Stallone. And he can deal with enemies, and save civilians

Evil Corporation

The Weyland-Yutani Corporation is constantly trying to get a sample of the Alien. The main direction of its activity is the exploration of new planets and the production of all the equipment necessary for this, from spacecraft to spacesuits and on-board food. She also produces androids indistinguishable from humans. The corporation appeared as a result of the merger of the American company "Weiland" and the Japanese "Yutani". And although the history of the company is set out differently in Prometheus and the original tetralogy, its business model remains unchanged. Weyland-Yutani is a classic evil corporation that is ready to do anything to get new technologies and make money from them. She sends colonists to a planet inhabited by Aliens, puts inhuman experiments and eliminates their witnesses. According to Ripley, it is not clear who is worse: Aliens who kill out of instinct or people who are ready to kill each other for profit.

Fall and oblivion

By the beginning of work on the third part of the saga, luck turned away from the authors. The producers couldn't decide how to develop the story. Several scripts were written for Alien 3. But Shusett and O'Bannon weren't happy with stories of two powers vying to develop bioweapons, of animals on an agrarian colony being turned into Aliens, or of hermit monks meeting with xenomorphs.

As a result, the film was based on a plot about criminals on a prison planet who are fighting a monster. Ripley gets there in the company of a facehugger, who, upon arrival, infects a dog with an Alien larva. Ripley again has to hunt the monster, this time especially fast, and local prisoners are not eager to help her. In addition, the embryo of the alien queen is developing inside the heroine herself, followed by unprincipled agents of the corporation.

Unfortunately, due to a conflict between the producers and director David Fincher, it was not possible to adequately present the story. The disagreements were so strong that the young director left the project as soon as he finished filming, and the film was edited without him. As a result, instead of a masterpiece, a medium-sized action movie with chaotic ideas came out. The film did not add anything new to the Alien universe. Just confirmed that xenomorphs can use not only people for reproduction, and hybrids with other creatures will look a little different.

At the end of the third film, Ripley sacrifices herself to destroy the larva of the Alien queen living in her. On this story, the heroine could have ended beautifully. But the greed of the film company won over common sense

The final scene of "Alien 3" could put a spectacular end to the history of the series. But, despite the protests of the authors of the franchise, the studio decided to earn extra money. The next script was ordered from Joss Whedon, and the director's chair went to the Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jeunet. They tried to find a fresh look at the losing series, but instead they got a tape that only Ripley and xenomorphs associated with Alien. Interesting themes that the plot could have touched on did not find expression in a typical story about tough guys exterminating evil aliens.

In the new movie, the military clones the Alien queen (and Ripley for company) and breeds several xenomorphs. They scatter around the research ship and start hunting for the crew. This time, Ripley has to get rid of them in the company of space pirates. Moreover, the cloned Ripley is practically a superheroine. Thanks to the alien genetic code embedded in her DNA, she became much faster and stronger, and her blood turned into acid. This is not the end fans were expecting. And the ordinary viewer was not particularly impressed by another typical action movie, as evidenced by the modest box office.

Ripley's clone, combining the features of a man and an Alien, is an interesting character. But he failed to pull the "Resurrection" out of the abyss of banality and mediocrity alone.

Alien on paper and monitor

After 1997, Aliens disappeared from movie screens for a long time. But the franchise was not forgotten: video games and comics continued to be released about xenomorphs, a crossover with the Predator appeared.

Games in the Alien universe began to come out shortly after the premiere of the first film. First, adventure games appeared for antediluvian computers and consoles, later arcade machines came into fashion, where xenomorphs could be shot with light pistols. From the mid-nineties to the beginning of the 2000s, the hybrids of horror and shooter Alien Trilogy and Alien Resurrection and the online team shooter Aliens Online were ahead of their time.

Alien: Colonial Marines was one of the biggest game failures of 2013

Of interest to modern audiences may be the 2D side-scroller Aliens Infestation for Nintendo DS, the questionable shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines, released on PC and past generation consoles, and, of course, Alien: Isolation - an excellent horror game in retrofuturistic scenery that you can play on modern consoles and PC. The plots of the games do not stagger the imagination, but allow you to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the series.

Another thing is the amazing Alien: Isolation, designed in the spirit of the first film

In addition to films and games, many novels and comics based on Alien have been released, both included in the canon and remaining in the status of fan fiction. There are a variety of texts - from stories about how Ripley saves another group of colonists from the clutches of xenomorphs (and in the final, in order to avoid inconsistencies with the plots of films, loses his memory), to large-scale panels about the capture of the Earth by aliens and people's attempts to recapture the planet. In the books, such characters undeservedly forgotten in films as Marine Hicks and the colonist girl Newt from Aliens were developed.

Alien and Predator

There were many crossovers featuring the Alien, but only one has grown into a large-scale series. In 1989, the idea of ​​playing off the ideal killer and the born hunter was thought of on the pages of the Alien vs. Predator by Dark Horse. On the big screen, they met only in 2004, in the film Alien vs. Predator. The spectacle turned out bloody, but stupid. However, this did not stop three years later to release a sequel of even lower quality. It is not surprising that the creators of "Alien" disowned this dilogy and it is considered to be non-canon.

Alien vs. Predator crossover not considered canon for the Alien series

But the conflict of Aliens and Predators with people has become an excellent topic for video games. A series of first-person shooters developed by Rebellion Developments was especially successful. It was possible to play as a hero of any faction, and each of the three had not only their own plot, but also an individual style of play. They loved these games for the frightening atmosphere and off-scale cruelty. Well, where else can you personally tear out the spine from the back of a living person? Except in Mortal Kombat. In the last part of which, by the way, you can play for Alien and Predator.

But if the stories about the fights between Aliens, Predators and people still look convincing, then it’s hard to look at the comic book covers about the struggle of Batman, Superman, Judge Dredd and the Green Lantern with xenomorphs without a smile. But they were published not as a parody, but in all seriousness. Superman, for example, had to face the Alien on a planet where there is little sunlight, because of which the superhero lost some of his strength and could not quickly deal with the monster.

Forward to the past

The series really returned to the big screen in 2012 with the release of Prometheus, an ambitious sci-fi film directed by Ridley Scott. Although it doesn't lead directly into the story of Alien, it's easiest to describe it as a prequel to the main series.

The spaceship Prometheus is on a scientific research mission to a distant planet. Scientists have calculated that on the numerous drawings left by ancient civilizations, the gods pointed to it. Hoping to find answers to questions about the origin of humanity and the meaning of its existence, the crew explores the ruins of alien buildings, one of which turns out to be a spaceship. He headed for Earth, but his entire team, with the exception of one humanoid sleeping in a cryogenic chamber, died. An attempt to establish contact with the alien fails: he attacks the people who spoke to him. In addition, the hold of his ship is full of vessels with black goo, causing terrible mutations in people. At the end of the film, this leads to the appearance of a creature similar to the Alien ...

Thanks to the beautiful video sequence, Prometheus leaves a pleasant impression

Prometheus is not shy about raising eternal questions about faith and the meaning of life, while at the same time discussing such popular topics in science fiction as the relationship between robots and people. Android David performed by Michael Fassbender, seemingly friendly, but in the depths of digital consciousness holding a grudge against his creators, became the main pearl of the picture. The rest of the characters also came out likable, although they acted illogically for professional researchers. But this is perhaps the only significant claim to "Prometheus". The film is imbued with the spirit of good old science fiction, whose universe is full of alluring and at the same time deadly secrets. And walking along the dusty paths of a distant abandoned world in the company of heroes turned out to be very pleasant. Not least thanks to the film's beautiful production, which combines Giger's design and modern expensive special effects.

"Prometheus" complemented the universe of "Aliens" quite well, lifting the veil of secrecy over the origin of the pilot of the alien ship that the heroes of the first film stumbled upon. At the same time, the picture left many questions unanswered, hinting at the possibility of a sequel. And he didn't have to wait long. Alien: Covenant was the first in a trilogy of films connecting the events of Prometheus and Alien. The film was released in May and got rid of some of the shortcomings of "Prometheus" - returned the Aliens proper, answered several old questions of the universe, and besides, it was just as beautiful. But his heroes were also at odds with logic ... Maybe they will fix it in the next film?

* * *

The Alien series turned out to be tenacious, like the monster of the same name. And although the first two films raised the bar of quality so high that it is almost impossible to repeat their success, you still want to see their background and continuation. Created almost forty years ago, the universe, inhabited by bizarre monsters, insidious robots and unscrupulous employees of giant corporations, continues to excite the imagination. And I want to believe that the skill of screenwriters and directors will allow the world of Aliens to develop further, and not sink into oblivion.