Gilbert Ward Kane Biographical information Rank Executive Officer Physical description Species Human Gender Male Height 5'9" Hair color Brown Eye color Brown Chronological and political information Affiliation Weyland-Yutani USCSS Nostromo crew Status Deceased[1] as of June 3, 2122[2] Portrayed by John Hurt
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Gilbert Ward Kane^[3] was the Executive Officer aboard the commercial towing vehicle USCSS Nostromo. He was serving on the ship during its fateful voyage in 2122 when it encountered a Xenomorph on LV-426, an incident that eventually led to the destruction of the ship and the loss of all but one of its crew.

Kane was the crewmember who was attacked by a Facehugger, and as such it was he who brought the Alien aboard the ship.

BiographyEdit

Early lifeEdit

Kane was a star pupil throughout his early education, graduating with honors from Weatherly Private School before becoming top of his class at Gunning Foss Military School.^[3] However, during his time studying medicine at Bryce-Watkins Medical University he developed a medication addition, eventually leading to an embolism that hospitalized him for 107 days. After being expelled from the university and with his plans to enter the medical profession ruined, Kane attended Wellington Academy in Suffolk, England, where he obtained a Masters in engineering and a GBUK pilot's license.^[3]

Following this, he was posted as Executive Officer aboard the UKMS Outreach hospital ship, although while there his medical addiction resurfaced. He was relieved of his post, and though he was able to get clean of his addiction, he subsequently descended into alcoholism. He was transferred (despite ostensibly being promoted to Captain) to the UKCS Powell, a commercial towing vehicle, before serving as Executive Officer aboard the USCSS Giler.^[3] By the time of his posting to the Nostromo, Kane had been clean of his addictions for some time.

Landing on LV-426Edit

When the Nostromo landed on LV-426 in response to a mysterious signal detected on the moon, Kane volunteered to be part of the team sent out in search of the signal's origin. Kane, Captain Dallas and navigator Lambert soon tracked the signal to a derelict spacecraft. After discovering the fossilized remains of the ship's pilot, Kane elected to investigate a lower area, accessible through a hole burned in the floor. As the others lowered him down, Kane found himself in a huge, cavernous chamber filled with what looked like eggs.

As Kane investigated further he slipped and fell into one of the numerous shallow pits in the cargo hold's floor, disrupting a blue mist suspended above the Eggs as he did so. While inspecting one of the Eggs it opened, and as he peered incautiously inside a Facehugger leapt out and quickly burned its way inside his helmet before subduing him. Dallas and Lambert carried the comatose Kane back to the Nostromo, gaining access despite Ripley's refusal to let an unidentified alien lifeform aboard.

Last MealEdit

Surgery to remove the Facehugger failed, although the creature later detached by itself and subsequently died. Kane awoke from his coma apparently unscathed. Before returning to hypersleep, Kane and the others elected to eat one final meal, and while they ate, Kane began choking, before violently convulsing and collapsing on the table. As the rest of the crew attempted to restrain him, the Chestburster inside him emerged, gruesomely killing Kane and subsequently escaping the mess hall.

After his death, the crew held a short funeral for Kane before they jettisoned his remains into space.

TriviaEdit

• One of the vessels Kane was assigned to prior to the Nostromo, the USCSS Giler, is an obvious reference to David Giler, one of the producers on Alien and Aliens. Giler would go on to produce Alien³, Alien Resurrection Alien vs. Predator and Prometheus also. Several other vessels listed in the Nostromo crew's résumés reference other crew members on Alien and Aliens.
• Kane was the first on-screen kill in the Alien film franchise.
• John Hurt, who portrayed Kane in Alien, had a cameo appearance in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs and did a spoof of the Chestburster scene in a space diner, stating, "Oh no, Not again."
• Jon Finch was originally cast as Kane but due to severe diabetes he dropped out and was replaced with John Hurt.^[4]
• In the novelization of the the film, Kane's first name is listed as Thomas.^[5]

AppearancesEdit

• Alien/novel/comic (First Appearance)
• Aliens (picture only)
• Aliens: Nightmare Asylum (indirect mention)
• Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual (mentioned only)

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett (writers) and Ridley Scott (director). Alien [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
2. ↑ Colonial Marines Technical Manual
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Crew dossier seen in Aliens, available as bonus feature on Alien Anthology Blu-ray
4. ↑ Alien Quadrilogy
5. ↑ Alan Dean Foster (1979). Alien novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 132. 

External linksEdit

• http://jimsmash.blogspot.com/2007/08/alienss-recasting.html