Michael Bishop

"Think of all we could learn from it!"

―Weyland (from Alien³)

Michael Bishop Weyland^[3]^[4] was an employee of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation in the late 22nd century. He bore a striking resemblance to his ancestor Charles Bishop Weyland, co-founder of Weyland Industries.^[5]

Michael Weyland was originally employed as a synthetic component designer and engineer for Weyland-Yutani, but by 2179 had assumed a senior position within the company's bio-weapons division.^{[citation needed]} In this role he was responsible for the Origin Facility on LV-426. He was notably dispatched to Fiorina "Fury" 161 to retrieve Ellen Ripley from the Fiorina 161 Class C Work Correctional Unit.

Biography

Early history

Michael Weyland was born on May 5, 2127. He was born in New York, UA. Not much is known about Michael Bishop Weyland's early life, but what is known is that at sometime prior to 2179, Weyland was employed at Weyland-Yutani as a synthetic component designer. During this time, he designed several synthetics including the Bishop series, which he modelled on his own appearance.^[2]

Capturing Dwayne Hicks

By 2179, Weyland had moved to the company's bio-weapons division and as such became involved in the study of the Xenomorph species. Following the Xenomorph outbreak at Hadley's Hope on LV-426, he was dispatched to the moon to investigate what had happened at the colony, his ultimate goal being the successful acquisition of a Xenomorph specimen, apparently at any cost.^[1] Weyland-Yutani PMCs under Weyland's command were notably responsible for the failed attempt at capturing Dwayne Hicks aboard the USS Sulaco.^[4]

Retrieval mission and failure

"Ripley! Think of all we could learn from it! It's the chance of a lifetime! You must let me have it. It's a magnificent specimen!"

―Weyland, to Ripley (from Alien³)

I am not a droid — Michael after being assaulted by Francis Aaron.

Following Hicks' escape, Weyland was dispatched to Fiorina 161 with a team of scientists and Weyland-Yutani Commandos aboard the Patna to retrieve the Xenomorph specimen that was loose there for the company's bio-weapons division. He was selected for the mission due to the involvement of Lieutenant Ellen Ripley; it was thought that her previous experience with one of Weyland's android creations in the USCM would make him the company's best chance of obtaining her cooperation. He arrived on the planet too late to capture the Xenomorph, which was destroyed by Ripley and the prison's inmates.

However, medical data automatically transmitted following Ripley's scan inside the damaged EEV had told Weyland of the Xenomorph Queen gestating inside her, and consequently Weyland attempted to secure her cooperation as the best remaining means to obtain an Alien specimen. When his attempts to convince Ripley that his team of scientists could safely remove the creature and then destroy it failed, he was assaulted by Francis Aaron with a wrench and suffered serious head injuries; Aaron was shot and killed by Weyland-Yutani commandos for the incident, against Weyland's orders. As Ripley prepared to commit suicide rather than allow the Xenomorph to fall into Weyland-Yutani's hands, Michael let his cover slip and begged her to reconsider, imploring her to think of the biological and technological possibilities should they have the opportunity to study the creature. Ripley refused, and threw herself into the furnace at the foundry, killing the Chestburster along with herself. Weyland's mission was a failure, but he was able to capture Hicks and Samwell Stone, who had arrived at the prison facility at the moment Ripley sacrificed herself.^[4] Weyland and his team subsequently left the facility, taking with them their prisoners and the lone survivor of the Fiorina 161 incident, inmate Robert Morse, and the remains of Lance Bishop.^[6] Morse was later returned to prison.^[7]

Return to LV-426

Hicks ACM3 — Weyland interrogated Corporal Dwayne Hicks after the events on Fiorina 161.

After the events on Fiorina 161, Weyland returned to LV-426 with Hicks and Stone. He oversaw the interrogation of the two captives aboard the Resolute — although Stone was later executed — as well as the construction of the Origin Facility, which was being hastily assembled around the rediscovered derelict ship. There, under Weyland's overall command, Weyland-Yutani scientists began breeding and studying the Xenomorphs using the Eggs aboard the derelict. Weyland's team would also capture the second Acheron Queen from her Hive in the caves beneath the moon's surface.^[4] However, following the arrival of the USS Sephora and subsequent events on the planet, culminating in the destruction of the Origin Facility by Colonial Marines from the Sephora, Weyland fled the moon, leaving behind a synthetic double to buy himself time. His whereabouts subsequently are not known.

Creations

Bishop LV-426 copy — One of Michael's creations.

Michael was a synthetic component designer at Weyland-Yutani in the late 22nd century. He was known to have designed at least one line of synthetics after his likeness, the 341-B model. The android Lance Bishop was one of those models.

Personality and Traits

"Lieutenant Ripley's death: a selfish act. The destruction of the Legato at the hands of some angry little girl: inconvenient. But let us be frank, Corporal — and please, believe me when I say this — there is nothing sacred here. Every resource I have is expendable when it comes to ensuring the further study and development of this organism."

―Weyland to Hicks, regarding the Xenomorph (from Stasis Interrupted)

Michael Weyland was clearly an intelligent man, but he was also manipulative and deceitful, qualities that no doubt endeared him to Weyland-Yutani. On Fiorina 161, he openly claimed that he wanted to destroy the Chestburster inside Ellen Ripley and take her home to safety, when his real aim was to capture the Xenomorph specimen at any cost. However, Ripley saw through his claims and ultimately committed suicide to prevent him from obtaining the creature.

Behind the Scenes

Human or android?

There has been much debate among fans over whether Michael Weyland is a human, or simply another android like the Bishop he created, albeit a more advanced model. This debate has been fueled by the fact that no official, definitive answer has been given either way since the release of Alien³, although several hints from various other sources seem to imply he is human. During production of the film, Weyland was always intended to be human — in fact, Weyland was originally supposed to die as a result of Aaron's attack, although this was later changed when it was deemed an anti-climax^[8] — but the fact it is never explicitly stated in the film has led some to argue he is in fact a synthetic.

Evidence for being human:

Bishop II claims he is human to Ripley.
He bleeds red blood.
He shows emotion in response to Ripley's decision to kill herself along with the Queen embryo.
The novelization of Alien³ makes it clear that Weyland bleeds "real blood" when injured by Aaron.^[9]
In the final scenes of Aliens: Colonial Marines, a character by the name of Michael Weyland is introduced and shown to be an android. However, Dwayne Hicks subsequently points out that the android was not the real Michael Weyland (whom he had met) because he was not visibly breathing, implying the real Weyland is human.

Evidence for being an android:

Weyland survived a wound that would likely have killed, or at least immediately crippled, a normal human.
The cast list in the credits gives him no actual name; he is listed simply as "Bishop II".
Although he claims he is human, he displayed a propensity for lying to Ripley on other issues.
His red blood could be colored circulation fluid or a blood substitute.
The emotions he displayed could simply be as a result of more advanced programming; in Aliens, Lance Bishop was shown to be capable of rudimentary simulation of emotions (albeit with frequent "glitches").
Numerous other android Weylands have appeared posing as humans in the expanded universe (e.g. Karl Bishop Weyland).
Some have cited the existence of Charles Bishop Weyland in Alien vs. Predator as evidence that Michael Weyland is unlikely to also be human.

To further confuse the issue, since the film's release Lance Henriksen himself has gone on record with conflicting opinions on the status of his character; at various points, he has claimed he personally believes Bishop II was human, while at others, he has stated that the character was an "advanced model" android.^[8]

It is worth noting that the extended Assembly Cut of the movie, while still not giving a definitive answer, makes it more clear that Michael Weyland is human. For example, he desperately screams, "I'm not a droid!" after being wounded by Aaron, and is shown to be bleeding profusely and in extreme pain as a result of his wounds. He also shows a greater depth of emotion, becoming more distressed when Aaron is executed by one of the commandos accompanying him, and becoming angry when one of the scientists on his team attempts to film events. In a 1992 interview, Henriksen complained about the removal of this additional footage from the theatrical release, noting how the changes made his character seem impervious to pain and therefore more ambiguous.^[8]

Trivia

Weyland actor Lance Henriksen is almost certainly the most prolific figure in the Alien franchise. As well as Michael Weyland, he portrayed Lance Bishop in Aliens and Charles Bishop Weyland in Alien vs. Predator, and also lent his voice and likeness to the characters of Karl Bishop Weyland and another Bishop android in the video games Aliens vs. Predator and Aliens: Colonial Marines, respectively.
Furthermore, Henriksen appeared as Detective Hal Vukovich in The Terminator, which was written and directed by Aliens director James Cameron. In the film, his character is killed by the titular cyborg; this, combined with his deaths in Aliens and Alien vs. Predator, makes Henriksen one of two actors who have been killed on-screen by an Alien, a Predator and a Terminator, a dubious honor he shares with fellow Aliens actor Bill Paxton.
Henriksen was initially reluctant to appear in Alien³ (beyond providing the voice of the damaged Bishop), but did so as a favour to producer Gordon Carroll. He would go on to say that he had "a lot of fun" making the movie.^[10]
The prosthetic head piece used to show Weyland's injuries was built around an ear originally made for Jack Nicholson in the 1989 film Batman.^[8]
Since the release of Alien vs. Predator in 2004, the Michael Weyland character has come to be considered by some a direct descendant of Charles Bishop Weyland.

WEYLAND3 — "An Unidentified Man" as seen in *Alien³: The Gun*.

In the arcade game Alien³: The Gun, a character with a very similar appearance and role to Weyland appears, known as "An Unidentified Man". He is the final boss of the game and is killed by the player(s).