Ripley's Escape

Lore & Background

According to the source, the story of Ripley continues 200 years after her death when military scientists aboard the USM Auriga create "Ripley 8" using DNA from blood samples taken at Fiorina "Fury" 161. This cloning process combined Xenomorph queen DNA with Ripley's, resulting in a clone who grew up with an embryo inside her. The extraction of this embryo led to the birth of a Xenomorph queen, which was then used to lay eggs while Ripley 8 remained alive for study. Due to the alien genetics, she possesses enhanced strength, reflexes, acidic blood, and a psychic link to the creatures. Her genetic memory even allows her to retain some memories of the original Ellen Ripley. The source notes that seven failed attempts to clone Ripley resulted in grotesque survivors before the successful eighth iteration was achieved.

In Their Own Story

In Alien Resurrection, the group led by Ripley 8 and mercenary Annalee Call attempts to destroy the USM Auriga after Xenomorphs escape their enclosures. During the chaos, Ripley 8 discovers a lab containing the failures of previous cloning attempts, where one survivor begs for euthanasia. Later, as the survivors navigate the flooded kitchen, they are pursued by two Xenomorphs; Christie sacrifices himself to kill one after being blinded. The android Wren betrays the group, shooting Call and revealing she is a synthetic. Ripley 8 discovers Call's true nature but helps her interface with the ship's computer to set the Auriga on a collision course with Earth. After Wren is killed by his own emerging Xenomorph embryo, Ripley 8 escapes the nest where the Queen gave birth to a human-Xenomorph hybrid. The newborn kills the Queen and Gediman before attacking Call on the escape vessel Betty. Ripley 8 saves Call by distracting the creature and using her acidic blood to melt a hole in the window, pushing the hybrid into space where decompression eviscerates it.

Reader's Guide

The source describes the climax of Alien Resurrection rather than the original escape. To survive the Xenomorphs on the USM Auriga, Ripley 8 and her allies must utilize the Betty shuttle to destroy the ship before it reaches Earth. Key moments include Call interfacing with the station's computer to force a collision course with Earth while cutting off Wren's escape. The survivors must navigate zero-gravity flooded sections of the ship, where Christie dies saving them from a Xenomorph. Finally, Ripley 8 must confront the human-Xenomorph hybrid on the Betty; she uses her unique acidic blood to breach the hull and eject the creature into the vacuum of space, ensuring its destruction before the Auriga explodes upon impact with Earth.

Did You Know?

• Alien Resurrection was filmed at the 20th Century Fox studios in Los Angeles, California, and released to the public on November 12, 1997.
• The film grossed $47.8 million in the United States and Canada, making it the least successful entry in the Alien series for that market at the time.
• Joss Whedon originally wrote five versions of the final act set on Earth, but none were included in the final film because Sigourney Weaver was not interested in an Earth-based setting.
• The character Ripley 8 possesses a psychic link with Xenomorphs and retains some of Ellen Ripley's memories due to genetic contamination from the Queen's DNA.