Ripley 8
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- "I'm the monster's mother."
- ―Ripley 8 (from Alien Resurrection)
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Ripley 8, also known as Number 8, was the eighth and first fully successful clone of Ellen Ripley created by the United Systems Military aboard the USM Auriga. She subsequently became involved in the Xenomorph outbreak and infestation aboard the Auriga.
Ripley 8 was the by-product of a top-secret USM project to recreate the Xenomorph species by cloning the deceased Ellen Ripley, thereby gaining access to the Queen embryo growing inside her at the time of her death. While outwardly human, cross-contamination of DNA during the cloning process endowed Ripely 8 with several Xenomorph attributes; essentially, she was neither human nor alien, but something in between. She was one of four survivors of the Auriga incident, along with John Vriess, Johner and the Auton Annalee Call.
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Biography
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Onboard the AurigaEdit
Ripley 8 was cloned from frozen samples of Ellen Ripley's blood, recovered after her death, from Fiorina 161. The United Systems Military knew of the Alien Queen inside Ellen Ripley at the time of her death, made several attempts to clone Ripley, and after seven failures, they finally got the process right, effectively creating Ripley 8. They surgically extracted the Queen from Number 8 and began to teach her how to use her powers onboard the USM Auriga. During therapy sessions, one of the scientists brought back repressed memories of Newt.
Human-Xenomorph Hybrid (Newborn)Edit
The Queen gives birth to a new lifeform (The Newborn). Shortly after birth, the newborn kills the Queen, instead having imprinted Ripley as its true mother. The newborn follows Ripley on board the Betty, closing the jammed door and saving the spacecraft from the vacuum of space. After another encounter with Ripley, she uses one of the being's sharp canine teeth to cut her hand. Splashing the acidic blood onto the plexiglas viewing port of the Betty's cargo bay, she succeeded in her attempt to breach the window and cause the air to be sucked out along with the newborn which caught against the glass as it tries to return to Ripley. Subsequently is sucked out into space piece by piece, unable to properly free itself from the suction.
New LifeEdit
The Military research vessel where she was created is set to crash land into Earth. After this happens she finds herself in Paris, though it is obvious that something catastrophic happened there as the city is in ruins.
She then wonders what new world awaits her.
Personality and TraitsEdit
Ripley 8 was an exact copy of Ellen Ripley, but that was only partly skin deep as her personality was much different. She is apathetic, cold, and, seemingly, enjoyed the havoc the aliens were causing. She was also able to "feel" the Xenomorphs despite this she was on the side of the humans. This may not be out of morality but the fact that she was still a target of the aliens as a facehugger latched on to her in the flooded section of the ship, and alien warriors tried to kill or capture her despite the fact she was part xenomorph herself. Dr. Gedimen said that she has something of a predatory behavior as she toys with the Betty crew in the basketball court. Some of the original Ripley's personalty does reside in her though, as when a female scientist shows Ripley a picture of a young girl, Ripley smiles but then quickly becomes saddened as she remembers both Newt, and her daughter, and realizes what the memories mean.
Hybrid CharacteristicsEdit
Due to the crossing of Ellen Ripley and an Alien Queen, Ripley 8 has traces of the Xenomorph genes that she continually exhibits throughout the movie. Below are a list of such characteristics:
- Physical Appearance: Being her clone Ripley 8 looks identical to Ellen Ripley however because of her Xenomorph genes there are some physical differences which includes glossy metallic teeth, naturally dark fingernails, and a slightly altered skin tone.
- Psyche: Ripley 8 displayed a very violent and ferocious behavior. Her general outlook and mindset were notably vicious and obviously reminiscent of the Xenomorph behavior. Even her body language speaks of the alien DNA she possesses, as her movements are feral and almost cat-like.
- Superior Strength: Numerous times Ripley 8 demonstrates a superior strength that is not natural to humans. Such example is just after a few drones escape their cages and begin to take over the USM Auriga: Ripley 8 is locked in a small, barren quarters and an Alien is trying to break in to capture her. Quickly acting, Ripley 8 uses her bare hands and fists to punch through a sealed metal panel so that she can trip wires to a back door. Another example was during the swim through the flooded area of the USM Auriga, when a facehugger attached itself to her after the group had surfaced, and after a struggle she managed to pull it off, though being in the water could have helped because facehuggers can subdue the physically powerful Predators.
- Rapid Cell Regeneration Another ability given to Ripley 8 due to the gene crossing is her ability to rapidly heal from injuries. From her confines, she is visited by Annalee Call, who brandishes a knife in an attempt to kill her. But Ripley 8 runs the blade through her right palm without pain then after removing the blade, the wound heals within moments.
- Jumping Skills She is shown to be able to leap large distances.
- Endurance: Ripley 8 is able to have a higher endurance rate than any human. An example is during the unexpected swim through the USM Auriga's decks that Ripley 8 shows the uncanny ability to stay underwater longer. Additionally, she is never shown as having shortness of breath or any weariness during the frantic escape from the ship like her human counterparts.
- Caustic Blood : Much like the Xenomorphs, Ripley 8 has acidic blood that can burn through metal, skin, clothing, aluminum silcate glass, and fused silica glass. However, Ripley 8's blood does remain crimson red like that of humans and is much more mild than the pure Xenomorph's yellow-tinted blood.
- Alien Empathy: Due to her half-Xenomorph genetics, Ripley 8 is able to sense the presence of other Xenomorphs as well as their motives and emotions, and possesses an apparent mental connection with the Xenomorph hive.
- Genetic Memory: The Xenomorphs possesses the ability to pass on their memories genetically, and because of this, Ripley 8 has "inherited" vague memories that belonged to the original Ellen Ripley as well as the Xenomorph. An example of this is when a scientist on board the Auriga inadvertently triggers Ripley's memories of Newt and her daughter. These confiding memories results in Number 8 suffering a crisis of loyalty until the original Ripley’s hatred for the aliens breaks through and she sides with the humans.
EquipmentEdit
Though Ripley 8 primarily uses her abilities, she momentarily used a shock rifle to kill a Xenomorph and a flamethrower to burn down the clone lab.
AppearancesEdit
- Alien Resurrection/novel/comic (First Appearance)
- Aliens: Original Sin
- Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator
GalleryEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Joss Whedon (writer) and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (director). Alien Resurrection [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
