OmegaSupreme
advanced basic bitch
I'd put X2 up there as well for the best sequel ever. It's better in every way compared to the first.
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Marvel Rebooted Alien Comics, Only Alien and Aliens Happened
- Thread starter ManaByte
- Start date
SafeOrAlone
Banned
The Dark Knight is another great one in terms of sequels. I remember when I was younger, it was common to hear people say "sequels are never as good as the original!" but I never found that to be true in my experience.
I mean, you could see it either way, depending on the movies you end up watching, but yeah, that wasn't my experience and I heard it said often.
I mean, you could see it either way, depending on the movies you end up watching, but yeah, that wasn't my experience and I heard it said often.
StormCell
Member
Personally don't get all the hate for Alien 3. It's storyline essentially worked as a wrap up for the trilogy, and unlike everything that comes after it, its story actually makes sense. I don't love the movie like I do its predecessors, but I don't hate it either. I could have done without some of the characters and scenes. The whole prison setting is just kinda off-putting to me.
I don't agree with pretending 3 didn't happen. 3 should really be the stopping point with Ripley's story.
As for aliens being unleashed on Earth, it's the prospect of it happening rather than the reality of it that is so tantalizing and gripping in the trilogy. Attempts to bring this reality into the movies seems destined to come up flat much like the Terminator movies that dared to be that future that was feared in all the previous movies.
Just like in the monsters thread, the thing that is scary is what you can't see. Keeping the scary thing hidden and abstract matters. Aliens that have made their way onto Earth is not nearly as scary as aliens who could make their way to Earth.
I don't agree with pretending 3 didn't happen. 3 should really be the stopping point with Ripley's story.
As for aliens being unleashed on Earth, it's the prospect of it happening rather than the reality of it that is so tantalizing and gripping in the trilogy. Attempts to bring this reality into the movies seems destined to come up flat much like the Terminator movies that dared to be that future that was feared in all the previous movies.
Just like in the monsters thread, the thing that is scary is what you can't see. Keeping the scary thing hidden and abstract matters. Aliens that have made their way onto Earth is not nearly as scary as aliens who could make their way to Earth.
Ulysses 31
Member
Killing a couple of major characters off screen can have that effect.
And the whole premise that they'd missed an Alien on board also flies in the face of the intelligence of the characters.
StormCell
Member
Does it? The queen alien managed to hitch a ride on the ship landing gear and sprung a surprise attack on the remaining survivors of the Sulaco. I don't find it at all surprising that the queen stashed an egg on board the ship prior to facing off with the remaining crew. That seems kinda smart. What were our characters supposed to do after beating the queen? They could have combed the whole ship and never found the egg.
And this is why I like Alien 3 enough to want to protect the trilogy. We wrap up a lot of stories here, including Ripley's.
I can also understand arguments to retcon this thing, though, because the movie had some trouble even getting a story in place. I think they had some solid ideas with the introduction and the ending with Ripley dying. It was everything in between where it struggles.
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ManaByte
Member
As soon as they decided to kill Hicks and Newt off screen the movie was doomed.
Ulysses 31
Member
Sure she could've laid eggs somewhere while Ripley was getting that mecha thing, but after getting surprised by the Queen once, one would think they'd avoid other surprises and comb out that entire section where the Queen had been after it got blasted into space.
I really doubt they kinda forgot the Queen can lay eggs after all.
Also, Bishop was watching the Queen, I doubt he'd forget to mention if the Queen did laid eggs or was acting suspicious in some sections.
Personally I didn't mind the prison setting, it's the rocky start to get Ripley there that kinda sours the movie.
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StormCell
Member
lol
Well, a better Alien(s) 3 then will just have to have a derelict Sulaco or one of its escape pods mysteriously arrive on Earth. People will open up that ship or pod to discover all of its occupants are dead and then BLAMMMM Aliens attack and are out of control on planet Earth!!
Because we know that's exactly what they will probably do now.
I'm with everyone on the first two movies being masterpieces. The franchise needs a proper burial though.
ManaByte
Member
That doesn't seem like what Blomkamp was planning. His sequel had everyone aged up 30 years to how they look now.
StormCell
Member
It took the craft 30 years to return to Earth. Upon arrival, humans discover all of the occupants are dead. Thankfully, Ripley and the others time travel from an apocalyptic future to stop it from happening!!!1!1
/s
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Aliens handles waves of melee goons versus guns very well, all subsequent movies are just apeing it without understanding (The Tomorrow War is just the latest to do this). Xenomorohs are dangerous and scary, but only when you are relatively isolated or in their turf.
Throw a bunch of them in a tunnel or out on a plain and of course modern weaponry is gonna eat their lunch. It irks me to no end that Wakandans never developed artillery, mines, or cluster bombs to mulch an attack piled up on a shield wall.
So in aliens the marines lose but make a retreat in the hive, initially dominate when the aliens try to bum rush the sentry guns, but then get bested again when the xenos bypass the guns and crawl on the ceiling. Xenos are hardly a non threat like the waves of cgi drones we see in modern films today.
Ripley being able to run and gun her way out of the hive is a bit much but hey, it is what it is.
Throw a bunch of them in a tunnel or out on a plain and of course modern weaponry is gonna eat their lunch. It irks me to no end that Wakandans never developed artillery, mines, or cluster bombs to mulch an attack piled up on a shield wall.
So in aliens the marines lose but make a retreat in the hive, initially dominate when the aliens try to bum rush the sentry guns, but then get bested again when the xenos bypass the guns and crawl on the ceiling. Xenos are hardly a non threat like the waves of cgi drones we see in modern films today.
Ripley being able to run and gun her way out of the hive is a bit much but hey, it is what it is.
StormCell
Member
I think this is another facet of what makes Xenomorphs discomforting. They're really only a threat to you if they can infest your home. And they will. You know they will.
I imagine that in a "realistic" earth infestation scenario, humans would have to learn to live out in the open where they are most prone to all the other threats. Our dwellings, our buildings, are the perfect nests for Xenomorphs. Any thoughts of retreating to the caves would also lead us directly into their nests.
Good stuff. We could totally mop the field in their blood, but it's a far different story in close and tight quarters in places like, ya know, where we like to live.
Gonna go check under my bed now... and maybe fire several rounds into my closet just to be safe.
sol_bad
Member
It's literally just called Alien.
Read Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga and More
m.comixology.com
I enjoy all the Alien movies myself, to different degrees.
And with the comic, I can't remember what year Resurrection takes place in but I'm not sure if the book retcons the other films, it just doesn't revolve around Ripley, the events surrounding her may have still happened.
*EDIT*
Resurrection takes place 200 years after Alien 3, so the comic is prior to that.
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IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
A Xenomorph infestation on Earth is certainly an appealing concept. I really hope they go deep into this Earth hive story, either in the comics or in the TV series.
A facehugger will attach itself to anything, so that means Earth will have Xenomorphs sprung from not just human hosts, but hosts from cows, pigs, dogs, deer, fucking lions! Pretty much anything a facehugger can attach to is a host. A Xenomorph sprung from a lion or a saltwater crocodile would be an sight to see.
With a lot of our animals becoming hosts, this would massively impact the planets ecosystem and humanity would struggle to adapt. It would be absolutely apocalyptic.
God, I really hope they run with this story line.
A facehugger will attach itself to anything, so that means Earth will have Xenomorphs sprung from not just human hosts, but hosts from cows, pigs, dogs, deer, fucking lions! Pretty much anything a facehugger can attach to is a host. A Xenomorph sprung from a lion or a saltwater crocodile would be an sight to see.
With a lot of our animals becoming hosts, this would massively impact the planets ecosystem and humanity would struggle to adapt. It would be absolutely apocalyptic.
God, I really hope they run with this story line.
StormCell
Member
May as well run with a Horizon Zero Dawn style of planetary reboot in that event. Best to nuke the earth all to hell and then leave it for a hundred years or longer before reintroducing life to it.
Revolutionary
Gold Member
I don't buy it. Weyland-Yutani could have easily swept Alien 3's events under the rug with their vast resources. WY is basically what Disney aspires to be as a company.
Having said that, the new Aliens game certainly hints at some big things brewing, though it's hard to say if it's for the game's future content or bigger events in the franchise. Massive Aliens Fireteam Elite spoilers: Promethean ruins found with intact jars of Pathogen aka black goo. WY's competitor is aware and may be on their way.
Having said that, the new Aliens game certainly hints at some big things brewing, though it's hard to say if it's for the game's future content or bigger events in the franchise. Massive Aliens Fireteam Elite spoilers: Promethean ruins found with intact jars of Pathogen aka black goo. WY's competitor is aware and may be on their way.
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Shit. That's a good point. Forgot that in the Alien universe, humanity has colonised other worlds, so they could cut their losses with Earth and just nuke the planet.
Okay, hopefully they take some logic out of the series. I just want to see a Xenomorph swam on a city.
QuantumZebra
Member
Alien3 (Assembly Cut) is a movie worth watching, and Aliens is my favourite movie.
Alien 3 gets a lot of hate it doesn't deserve... but I also dislike where it took the story. Then Resurrection completely jumped the shark. I will always love the Ripley playing basketball scene, though.
--
On topic: I'm so happy that Aliens and Predator are returning to the mainstream.
My childhood was literally Star Wars, Aliens, Predator, Terminator, Marvel, and DC. And all are making comebacks or already have (we won't talk about Terminator... though Dark Fate was the best since T2).
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IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Same, although I'm not hyped for the new Predator movie. I have no hope for that after the last trash we got.
Speaking of Predator, and slightly on topic, what happened to the Marvel Predator comics? Are they still coming out? Hopefully we'll see a Marvel AvP comic as well.
StormCell
Member
Alien 3 gets a lot of hate it doesn't deserve... but I also dislike where it took the story. Then Resurrection completely jumped the shark. I will always love the Ripley playing basketball scene, though.
--
On topic: I'm so happy that Aliens and Predator are returning to the mainstream.
My childhood was literally Star Wars, Aliens, Predator, Terminator, Marvel, and DC. And all are making comebacks or already have (we won't talk about Terminator... though Dark Fate was the best since T2).
I can't believe those two titles appeared in the same sentence, actually. It's like comparing a type of feces to bread, really. "Huh, this bear shit is the best shit since before it turned to shit, ya know, back when it was still food."
Seriously, Dark Fate nails some important tones and atmosphere and has a bad ass antagonist. What shouldn't be overlooked is how it completely rewrites the Terminator storyline and basically tosses SKYNET and Sarah Connor out the damn window in favor of some vague notions of a different villain and a new savior of mankind.
For that reason, I kind of hate the movie. They literally replaced the Terminator storyline by literally killing the white guy.
To say it another way, they got rid of the straight white male savior of humankind.
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QuantumZebra
Member
I can't believe those two titles appeared in the same sentence, actually. It's like comparing a type of feces to bread, really. "Huh, this bear shit is the best shit since before it turned to shit, ya know, back when it was still food."
Seriously, Dark Fate nails some important tones and atmosphere and has a bad ass antagonist. What shouldn't be overlooked is how it completely rewrites the Terminator storyline and basically tosses SKYNET and Sarah Connor out the damn window in favor of some vague notions of a different villain and a new savior of mankind.
For that reason, I kind of hate the movie. They literally replaced the Terminator storyline by literally killing the white guy.
To say it another way, they got rid of the straight white male savior of humankind.
I mean... I didn't really see it that way, lol.
Dark Fate (unless I misunderstood) was James Cameron continuing Terminator the way he wanted; they ended up being successful in stopping SKYNET and then one of the Terminators sent to kill him finishes its' job (not a surprising event, tbh, why send just one?).
I'd prefer that to whatever the fuck was going on in Genisys and the T3/Salvation timeline.
Terminator is in a bad spot, the continuity, such as it is, is a total mess and the perpetual retelling of the Sarah Connor story over and over hampers real exploration of the universe. I like the idea of Terminators in an Aliens/Predator side storyline because it adds a cool dimension to the ubiquitous androids in Aliens (maybe they had a sort of Dune-like limitation on just how powerful a synthetic ought to be after a minor Skynet issue that was resolved thanks to the time loop of John Connor, maybe a T-800 gets sent into the future "just in case", etc). But Terminators, Robocop, Batman, etc are really just fun "what if...." moments rather than what I would consider to be a core Aliens story, whereas Predators fit in a bit better.
StormCell
Member
Not sure why or how T3 and Salvation have some special link or timeline when T3 is literally just T2 a decade later and more updated to appeal to changing social norms (aka fem bot villain).
I think that it's a hard concept to catch in Dark Fate, but I think the plot they went for was that the killing of John Connor is ultimately what led to SKYNET never happening. It's been a few months since I watched it, but they seemed to draw a connection between John and the eventual rise of SKYNET. And without John, there is no SKYNET.
James Cameron is just pandering with any sort of claims of this is how he always wanted to go with it. John Connor was a straight white male and was dubbed mankind's only hope against the machines. That's "problematic" in 2020, so, surprise, they let John Connor die. There's the whole story of Dark Fate. The rest was just nostalgia and gap filler. -tips hat-
PS. Salvation sucked hard for precisely the reasons I listed earlier in the thread. When your big scary thing is an abstract concept that is kept just barely out of sight, it is very successful. The moment you bring it into the present and into the light, it's no longer as big or as bad as you thought it would be. Salvation falls flat big time because it shows us a world after judgment day and it is in some ways just like we expected it and in other ways just not nearly as scary as we thought. And then there's SKYNET which is just a collossal let down. It was never going to live up to the logic expected from a superior-human-killing-AI. That is entirely why Salvation is a big fail -- it never should have been.
EDIT: It just now occurs to me that you didn't catch that in Dark Fate, the hybrid sent from the future had never heard of SKYNET or John Connor. None of those events ever take place. John Connor never becomes the leader of humanity. Sarah Conner doesn't give birth to the savior of humanity. The existence of a T-800 is completely out of line with the hybrid's timeline.
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sol_bad
Member
Predator comics are still coming, delayed due to some legal reasons I think but no real details out there.
I think they'll arrive by November.
The entire point of John was to stop Skynet and that's exactly what he did. That's why hybrid had never heard of Skynet, because John stopped it's creation. If there is no Skynet, John Conner is needed for any futuure war, he stopped that future war from happening.
The point of the film is inevitability, what's meant to happen will happen and "life" will find a way. In these films, humanity is destined to be destroyed by AI and there is no stopping it.
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RJMacready73
Banned
With Disney throwing everything after Aliens into the "it never happened" bin, does this mean that pile of watchable shite Ripley spewed out that completely fucking murdered the mystery behind the Aliens is also considered non canon? I mean the idea that some flute playing psychotic android created them really fucking irks me
sol_bad
Member
There is no proof that Alien 3 and Resurrection are binned. The comic just takes place after Aliens and doesn't involve Ripley. The franchise has been rebooted from Dark Horses comic continuity though.
Konnor
Member
They're not nearly as good as the first two but they're still good movies imo. Maybe I've lowered my standards because modern Hollywood is so goddamn terrible but I enjoy them a lot. The same cannot be said about the last two horrible dumpster fires.
Blue whale xenomorph
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
I hope whoever is making this new series is looking at this thread. We need a blue whale Xenomorph.
Dr.Morris79
Gold Member
I bought this a few months back, christ the price has shot up. Wish i'd bought the others now.
I've always had an idea for an alien story that has them infesting a human (maybe from our early pre-FTL period) or alien colony ship that has a lot of internal biomes and species for hybridization. So xeno-sharks in a water biome, panthers, horses, snakes, etc. Basically a lot of stuff large enough to host a xeno but structurally different from the anthropomorophic/canine (or bovine depending on the version of A3 you see) derived xenos we are familiar with.
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Get that idea written down and turned into a script/novel/video game/comic
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Ehh, it's basically SPACE HULK with a xeno dressing, so nothing conceptually new (though I've come up with some really awesome splash page scenes). They've never really done the actual FALL of a space station or colony before (maybe in a comic though) it's always folks coming in to a place that has already been overrun. Aliens, Alien:Isolation, Fireteam Elite, etc. Maybe Aliens 4 sorta shows this but not in a large scale way. Putting this story on a big ass space ship allows for some isolated haunted house type stuff like we see in Alien and Prometheus but widens the scale a bit to have scenes of mass panic, a variety of interpersonal and aliens conflict, etc. Didn't the old Cameron Alien 3 script have xenos loose on that big Gateway station around Earth?
The xeno biology, specifically the rapid growth from chestburster to adult xeno, is hard to explain in a logical way and, for me at least, becomes a breaking point when scaled up to having dozens or hundreds of xenos popping up in just days. Where did all that mass come from? The original idea that humans get cocooned into eggs with multiple facehuggers hatching out solves the exponential spread, but aliens need to consume SOMETHING to grow from a foot to 8 feet in length. Either they access a bunch of meat/protein or they need an entirely different substance, like sand, because they are composed primarily of silicon or something. Insect chitin is almost all protein and we know aliens molt at some points in their growth cycle so it seems likely that they should need to eat a lot. This kinda limits the total biomass of aliens at any point, especially in a resource restricted environment like a colony on a sterile world or on a ship since presumably large quantities of protein are basically the crew themselves and secured food stores. Waste is probably extensively recycled but maybe there is a trash dump/septic tank somewhere the hive can use.
Anyway, more musings on Alien biology than is necessary perhaps.
sol_bad
Member
I bought this a few months back, christ the price has shot up. Wish i'd bought the others now.
Marvel have started releasing omnibu of the Dark Horse comics. Oversized hardcovers. The essential line was cancelled after Marvel acquired the IP anyway. The omnibus books should collect everything.
*EDIT*
Aliens Omnibus HC Vol 01 Nelson DM Var - InStockTrades
Trade paperbacks from Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse and more! Discounted up to 42% off. No shipping on orders over $50.
www.instocktrades.com
First volume may go out of print soon but Marvel are good at re-printing omnibus these days.
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