About

Alien is a science fiction horror franchise centered around the predatory extraterrestrial lifeforms referred to as "Xenomorphs," which were designed by deceased Swiss artist H. R. Giger.

History

The original Alien film series, which consists of four installments released between 1979 and 1997, focuses on Lieutenant Ellen Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver) and her battles with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as the "Alien". In addition, the two crossover films produced in collaboration with the Predator film franchise and released in 2004 and 2007, respectively, depict an intergalactic conflict between the two species. The franchise has also spawned numerous, books, comics and video game spin-offs.

Aliens vs. Predator

On August 12th, 2004, the first crossover film Alien vs. Predator was released, in which a group of researchers visit an ancient pyramid to discover a training ground for the Predator extraterrestrial species, who prove themselves by hunting Xenomorphs (shown below, left). On December 25th, 2007, the sequel Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem was released, a Predator tracks a Predalien hybrid creature to a town in Colorado and attempts to kill all Aliens that it encounters (shown below, right).

Video Games

On February 16th, 2010, the first-person shooter game Aliens vs. Predator was released for Windows, PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, in which the player can assume the role of a Xenomorph, Predator or Colonial Marine (shown below, left). On September 29th, 2011, the sidescroller game Aliens Infestation was released for the Nintendo DS handheld console.

On February 12th, 2013, the first-person shooter video game Aliens: Colonial Marines was released, in which the player assumes the role of a Colonial Marine who battles against Xenomorphs during events occurring directly after the 1984 film Aliens. In January 2014, a trailer was released for the upcoming first-person survival horror game Alien Isolation, set for release in October 2014.

H. R. Giger

The Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor and set designer Hans Rudolf Giger completed the illustration Necronom IV in 1976, which was later selected by Ridley Scott as the foundation of the Xenomorph design (shown below, left). Giger redesigned the alien without eyes, a second inner set of extendable pharyngeal jaws (shown below, right). On May 12th, 2014, Giger died in a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland due to injuries suffered from a fall.

Online Presence

On May 26th, 2006, the Xenopedia Wiki^[5] was launched for entries related to the Alien and Alien vs. Predator films. On November 16th, 2007, a Facebook^[2] page for fans of the franchise was created, gathering over 2.9 million likes in the next seven years. On October 27th, 2010, the /r/LV426^[1] subreddit was launched for discussions related to the Alien franchise. On February 29th, 2012, the Alien Anthology Wiki^[4] was created, gathering upwards of 480 entries about the franchise in the next three years. In November 2013, the online retailer Think Geek^[3] began selling a Xenomorph plush doll with extendable jaws (shown below).

Fandom

As of May 2014, there are over 1,000 Alien and Predator stories submitted to the fanfiction database FanFiction.net^[6] and more than 7,700 Alien-related DeviantArt^[7] submissions.

Related Memes

Kill Me

Kill Me is an image macro series in which people, animals or objects are depicted as if they’re suffering from pain, such as “implied” physical deformity, or otherwise uncomfortable conditions. The images are often accompanied by the caption “Kill me”, reflecting the subject’s desire to be put out of misery. The phrase stems scenes in both Aliens and Alien Resurrection in which Ripley encounters people who plead for her to kill them.

Kill It Before it Lays Eggs

Many have speculated that the expression "kill it before it lays eggs" was inspired by the egg-laying creatures from the Alien franchise.

Search Interest

External References