Summary
The lone survivor of the sordid adventure of the doomed ship Nostromo, along with her cat, Ellen Ripley is the unlikely hero ofAlien. Written and created by Ridley Scott, and brought to life by Sigourney Weaver, Ripley was one of the most famous action heroes of her time. Her story of survival is part of whyAlienwas such a great movie that spawned an entire franchise.
The xenomorph library is a vast and varied one, and includes comic books, video games, and various television shows along with the famous movies.Alien: Romulusis the most recentaddition, and although Ripley doesn’t appear as a character, her legacy lives on. She might be the original Alien killer, but here are a few things not every fan knows about her.
7Born In Olympia
A Lunar Colony On The Moon
In the year 2092, Ellen Ripley was born in Olympia, a colony on the earth’s natural satellite now referred to as Luna. There was a lot of drama in the colony in the years after she was born because of a viral outbreak that quarantined the colony for 16 years.
In 2094, the XMB Virus was detected in the colony and Ripley had to spend most of her life there until she tested negative for the virus and was allowed to leave. After such a long time in a bubble, it was no wonder she was anxious to head to Earth and outer space.
6Earned A Master’s In Engineering
A Degree For A Space Traveler
Ripley attended the New York Aeronautics University, where she got her Master’s in Engineering before moving on to work for the US Merchant Navy. Part of the lore of theAlienuniverse is that anyone who can do so moves away from Earth or works off-planet, since it’s not exactly the green-and-blue paradise of ancient times. TheBladerunnerseries, which takes place in the same universe, shows this desperation up close.
Ripley’s first job was on the ship Zelazny, where she was the ship’s co-pilot. Eventually, she would take on the additional title of Civilian Liason, and this would be her title when she took her contract for the Nostromo.
5Holds The Hypersleep Record
Not On Purpose, But It Still Counts
The bit of trivia that Ripley spent 57 years in hypersleep between the first two movies,AlienandAliens, is a matter of contention depending on whether one has seen the Director’s Cut. When she awakes, she has a dream in which an attending doctor states it’s been 57 years, but viewers also learn it’s been 20 years since the colony on the nearby planet was wiped out.
The Director’s Cut is more explicit, including a sequence in which it is explained to Ripley that her daughter has long since died of old age, indicating the dream sequence number is accurate. The obscure part is that this much time in hypersleep is a galactic record. Ripley intended her trip to last only a few months and return her to Earth, but a malfunction stretched this into decades.
4Rank Of Warrant Officer
A Civilian Designation
When Kane was brought back to the ship with a face-hugger still attached to him inAlien, the other crew members were only concerned with getting him to the Infirmary. Warrant Officer Ripley, however, was the one person who insisted they remain in decontamination for 24 hours first.
Ripley’s title is one of a non-Commissioned, or civilian officer, which is probably why theother officers could override her orderwithout much pushback. Kane was delivered to the Infirmary, the face-hugger died and fell off his face, and he awoke from his comatose state. The crew, thinking that all was well, planned a final meal together before returning to hypersleep, and the rest is history.
3Married Twice
Neither Marriage Was A Happy One
Given that most people in this universe and time have the kind of employment that keeps them off-world and often separated, it’s not a surprise how seldom relationships work. Ripley mentioned her daughter in the movies, but she doesn’t reveal that the pregnancy went against Weyland-Yutani employee regulations.
Ellen Ripley’s first husband was named Alex. He fathered Amanda, but left them when his daughter was only three. Ripley’s second husband, Paul Carter, raised Amanda after Ripley went MIA, but the twoalways had a strained relationshipbecause of Paul’s alcoholism and generally destructive behavior.
2Has Descendants
Not many of even the most dedicated fans are aware of it, but Ripley’s descendants would forever carry a genetic marker that the xenomorphs would recognize. This bit of loreis what drives the plotof the novelAlien: Sea of Sorrows.
Alan Decker isn’t aware of his famous ancestor, but he does know that he has low-level telepathic abilities inherited from his father. These abilities eventually connect him with the aliens that have a covert nest underneath the new Earth colony of New Galveston. Like others in his family, his search for the truth puts him at odds with the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, who end up being more dangerous than the fearsome xenomorphs.
1Cloned Eight Times
Although Only One Of Them Made It
The movies that make up the first three installments of theAlienfranchise close a chapter with Ripley’s death at the conclusion ofAlien 3. She chooses to sacrifice herself and ensure the death of the queen gestating in her body, making her official death date June 27, 2025, according to Weyland-Yuanti records.
The character of Ripley has madea few notable returnssince then, with one example being her role inAlien: Resurrection. This was accomplished through the science of cloning, along with the morbid curiosity of the United Systems Military, a full two hundred years after her death.
The plot ofAlien: Resurrectionis about how the USM had the intention of taking the living queen from her cloned body as part of an experiment that obviously goes horribly wrong. Six previous clones were so malformed they died before reaching maturity and had to be destroyed. The seventh was killed by “Ripley 8,” the star of the movie and the only successful clone.
