Gabriel Cruz’ story of survival is even more fascinating because the series’ mightiest heroine, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) does not manage to survive hosting a Xenomorph embryo. In “Alien 3,” Ellen, knowing all too well the fate ahead of her, sacrifices herself by pitching her body into the foundry of the Fiorina “Fury” 161 to keep the universe safe from the queen she’s gestating just as it bursts forth from her body.
Yet fate still isn’t done with Ellen. Two centuries later, the character is cloned using partial DNA from a Xenomorph queen in “Alien: Resurrection.” This version of Ripley isn’t entirely human, having been grown within a Xenomorph queen — just one more reason why the biology of the Xenomorph makes no sense. She displays physical abilities and endurance that go beyond that of your average human and does not have the socially angular manner of her progenitor. The queen is kept alive so scientists might harvest its eggs, and Ellen knows precisely what will happen. Her warnings fall on deaf ears, but she ends up being entirely correct — just one more reason why fans laud her for being the character behind the smartest decision ever made in the “Alien” franchise.
Audiences will find out whether humanity will finally be able to outsmart their Xenomorph enemies when “Alien: Romulus” debuts on August 16.
