History Franchise / Alien

* Untitled Seventh Film to be directed by [[Film/EvilDead2013 Fede]] [[Film/DontBreathe Álvarez]]. (TBA)

* ''Aliens: Dark Descent'' (2023)

** ''ComicBook/{{Alien|2022}}'' (2022-present)

* ''Aliens'' (1990)

[[folder:Comic books]]

** ''Aliens: Earth War'' / ''Aliens: Female War'' (1990)

** ''Aliens: Hive'' / ''Aliens: Harvest'' (1992)

** ''Aliens: Berserker'' / ''Aliens: Frenzy'' (1995)

** ''Aliens: Apocalypse'' / ''Aliens: Apocalypse - The Destroying Angels'' (1999)

[[folder:Tabletop games]]

[[folder:Video games]]

[[folder:Related franchises]]
* ''{{Franchise/Predator}}''
* ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator''
[[/folder]]

** ''Aliens: Earth War''/''Aliens: Female War'' (1990)

** ''Aliens: Hive''/''Aliens: Harvest'' (1992)

** ''Aliens: Berserker''/''Aliens: Frenzy'' (1995)

** ''Aliens: Apocalypse''/''Aliens: Apocalypse - The Destroying Angels'' (1999)

* ActionGirl: In the Dark Horse post-''Aliens'' comic series, ''Newt'' becomes one hell of an action girl.

** ''Alien: Specimen''

[[folder:Films]]

* AluminumChristmasTrees: the Xenomorph's NestedMouths probably strike most viewers as just a particularly odd bit of BizarreAlienBiology when in fact they are based on moray eels which have that exact feature. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taguVjkRXtI

* TransformationHorror: Of the SlowTransformation subtype. As shown in a scene from the ''{{Film/Alien}}'' - ''[[ReCut Dirctors Cut]]'' and novelization, and explained in ''Alien: The Roleplaying Game'', an alien drone in the absence of a queen will instinctively abduct other creatures, [[AllWebbedUp bind them in its nest]], and [[BewareMyStingerTail inject them via its tail]] with [[ViralTransformation an invasive bacteria which will cause their body to gradually metamorphize]] into a new alien egg.[[note]](This will continue as victims are available until one of the eggs produces a "royal" facehugger, which will in turn implant an embryonic queen into a host. Once a queen is born, she will produce eggs at a faster rate than the ovamorphic conversion and their numbers will rapidly increase as they move into the "hive" stage of their development.)[[/note]] If the creature being transformed is lucky, the alien will have smashed enough of its skull to leave it comatose through this process. If not, [[AndIMustScream the creature may be fully aware of what's happening to it with no ability to move or stop it]]...

* NightmareFuel: In-universe. Encounters with Xenomorphs are known to leave people with heartbreaking nightmares and PTSD for indefinite times, such as Ellen Ripley for example. Facehuggers are themselves {{NightmareFuelStationAttendant}}s in that Alan Meeks, a Facehugger victim from the ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'' tie-in comic, experienced several vivid and distressing nightmares while being implanted, and Kane from [[Film/{{Alien}} the first film]] noted experiencing a dream about himself being smothered.

* NightmareFuel: In-universe. Encounters with Xenomorphs are known to leave people with heartbreaking nightmares and PTSD for indefinite times, such as Ellen Ripley for example. Facehuggers are themselves NightmareFuelStationAttendants in that Alan Meeks, a Facehugger victim from the ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'' tie-in comic, experienced several vivid and distressing nightmares while being implanted, and Kane from [[Film/{{Alien}} the first film]] noted experiencing a dream about himself being smothered.

%%

* ConservationOfNinjutsu: Occasionally (some deleted scenes in ''Aliens'', the flashback in ''Alien Versus Predator'' and many times in ''Film/AliensVsPredatorRequiem''), the Aliens abandon their stealth kill tactics for a ZergRush, which goes about as well for them as one might expect. It actually works pretty well in the first AVP film...[[spoiler:until the Predator SelfDestructMechanism kicks in.]]
* ContinuousDecompression: Used in Part 1 and 2 during the ThrownOutTheAirlock scenes. Part 4 has incredibly big Aliens blown out of incredibly small holes.

* {{Crossover}}:
** Famously so with the Predators in ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator''.

* DeliberatelyNonLethalAttack: The expanded universe (and it was present in the script and novelization of ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' gives the Xenomorph [[BewareMyStingerTail tail stingers]] a coma-inducing venom for use in non-lethally subduing hosts to take back to the hive to serve as incubators for more Aliens.
* DistantSequel: ''Film/AlienVsPredator'' and ''Film/AliensVsPredatorRequiem'' take place in the 2000s, ''Film/{{Alien}}'' is set about a hundred years later, ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' and ''Film/Alien3'' are set 57 years after the events of ''Alien'', and ''Film/AlienResurrection'' takes place another 200 years after that.

* DwindlingParty: Across the films, if you see a main group of characters, expect only one or two survivors in the end
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Ellen Ripley was a normal human who TookALevelInBadass by the end of ''{{Film/Aliens}}'' by destroying an entire Alien hive by herself, fighting against acid-bleeding parasitic Xenomorphs. Then by ''Film/AlienResurrection'' her clone Ripley 8, who shares most of her memories, receives some Alien DNA as a result of a flaw in the cloning process. Ripley's own blood becomes slightly acidic, she gets a psychic connection with the Xenos, has reduced empathy and predatory instincts, shows an increase in strength, and is able to [[MadeOfIron shrug off being hit in the face with a loaded barbell]].

* JustFollowingOrders: Ash in the first movie, and possibly Burke in the second movie (it's never clear whether he's operating on orders from the Company or he's in it for himself). David in ''Prometheus'' may count as well, although [[AIIsACrapshoot he may have let his feelings get in the way]] ''just a little''.
* MachineBlood: The androids in the ''Alien'' films "bleed" a milky fluid when injured. Since these are also RidiculouslyHumanRobots, it works as a RoboticReveal in the [[Film/{{Alien}} first film]], when Ash bleeds white from a cut.

* MercyKill: Often requested by victims of the Xenomorph's parasitic life cycle. Usually granted, if the opportunity is there.

* NightmareFuel: In-universe. Encounters with Xenomorphs are known to leave people with heartbreaking nightmares and PTSD for indefinite times, such as Ellen Ripley for example. Facehuggers are themselves Nightmare Fuel Station Attendants: Alan Meeks, a Facehugger victim from the ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'' tie-in comic, experienced several vivid and distressing nightmares while being implanted, and Kane from the first movie noted experiencing a dream about being smothered.

* RightManInTheWrongPlace: Ripley, particularly in the second film.

* TheHeroDies: Seems to be a trend in the series, starting with ''Film{{Alien 3}}'' and continuing from there since all of the survivors of ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', even including Ripley herself, all die in ''Film/{{Alien 3}}'', Shaw is killed by David at some point after the events of ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'', and the ending of ''Film/AlienCovenant'' heavily implies that the same fate awaits Daniels.

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:A-G]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:H-M]]
* TheHeroDies: Seems to be a trend in the series, starting with ''Alien 3'' and continuing from there. [[spoiler: All the survivors of ''Aliens'', including Ripley herself, all die in ''Alien 3'', Shaw is killed by David at some point after the events of ''Prometheus'', and the ending of ''Covenant'' heavily imply that the same fate awaits Daniels.]]
* HeroKiller: As under "The Hero Dies", a lot of heroic characters die because of the Xenomorphs, including the crews of the ''Nostromo'' and ''Sulcao''. While this doesn't usually extend to heroes in their non-''Predator'' crossovers (though Franchise/{{Superman}}, [[ComicBook/NewGods Orion]], and ComicBook/JudgeDredd had close calls), the creatures being this trope was the case in the ''[[ComicBook/WildCatsWildStorm WildC.A.T.s]]'' crossover -- only not for the [=WildCATs=] themselves, as Creator/WarrenEllis, who wrote the story as well as ''ComicBook/{{Stormwatch}}'', decided to use the story to kill off the ''Stormwatch'' characters who weren't going to be part of ''ComicBook/TheAuthority''.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: In all the films except for ''Alien³'', the Aliens are set loose due to human greed mixed with incompetence. Even in the third movie however the only reason the Company sends a rescue mission to Fiorina-161 is because they suspect [[spoiler:Ripley is carrying a Xenomorph embryo.]] Otherwise they'd basically abandoned their HellholePrison planet because it was unprofitable.
-->'''Ripley 8''' (regarding [[spoiler:Annalee Call]] revealing herself as an android in ''Resurrection''): I should have known. No human being is that ''humane''.

* MachineBlood: The androids in the ''Alien'' films "bleed" a milky fluid when injured. Since these are also RidiculouslyHumanRobots, it works as a RoboticReveal in the [[Film/{{Alien}} first film]], when [[spoiler: Ash]] bleeds white from a cut.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:N-S]]

** Neil Blomkamp's Alien film would have split the timeline again, being a direct sequel to ''Aliens'' and taking place in an alternate continuity.

* SequelEscalation: ''Alien'' has one Xenomorph Drone preying on seven "space truckers." ''Aliens'' has a fully-fledged hive of Xenomorph Drones and their Queen pitted against a platoon of Space Marines. The third movie reverts right on back to the original scenario with only one Xenomorph Runner attacking and killing off twenty-two prisoners and their three local overseers in a desperate attempt to ensure the survival of a Royal ChestBurster currently incubating within none other than Ellen Ripley herself in fact. The fourth movie escalates it to a whole hive of cloned Xenomorph Drones, their also cloned Queen, and even a hybrid Newborn Xenomorph specimen seen near the end of the film again.
* SleeperStarship: FTL travel apparently takes months so they use cryo.

** In ''Alien'', the monitor screen shows static when the connection to Dallas breaks off as he is attacked by the monster.
** In ''Aliens'', each crew member's helmet camera and vital signs are hooked to a screen and any time somebody dies, their screen goes static.
** Happens repeatedly in one scene in ''Alien: Resurrection'', as the Space Marines get picked off one by one.
* SoleSurvivor: Newt in the ''Newt's Tale'' comic series

* SpaceMarine: A platoon of Colonial Marines is dispatched to [[SendInTheSearchTeam investigate a human colony that has gone silent]]. They find a xenomorph hive and are largely wiped out, [[MutualKill destroying the hive and killing the Queen in turn.]] Colonial Marines are frequent characters in expanded universe materials, either actively-serving or retired, and they're frequently pitted against Aliens (more rarely, Predators) and suffer high casualties because of it. The ones who survive become (or already were) unspeakably badass.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:T-Z]]
* ThemeNaming: Each synthetic character has a name from the first three letters of the alphabet, in accordance with their order of appearance: [[spoiler:'''A'''sh, '''B'''ishop and '''C'''all]]. ''{{Film/Prometheus}}'' continues this trend with '''D'''avid.

* ZombieInfectee: Most people who know they're incubated by an Alien Facehugger, and its effects, choose to bite the bullet or die in a HeroicSacrifice. One memorable scene from ''Alien: Resurrection'' involved an infectee bear-hugging the scientist responsible for his infection, forcing the Chestburster to go through his chest ''and'' the scientist's '''head''', [[TakingYouWithMe taking his murderer with him to the afterlife]]. This was actually done in the comic, many years before, but the artists had the creature enter the researcher's chest.
[[/folder]]

* NightmareFuel: In-universe. Encounters with Xenomorphs are known to leave people with heartbreaking nightmares and PTSD for indefinite times, such as Ellen Ripley for example. Facehuggers are themselves Nightmare Fuel Station Attendants: Alan Meeks, a Facehugger victim from the VideoGame/AlienIsolation tie-in comic, experienced several vivid and distressing nightmares while being implanted, and Kane from the first movie noted experiencing a dream about being smothered.

* RecursiveCreators: In ''Prometheus'' and ''Alien: Covenant'', the different species in the overall franchise are established to each be engineered by a preceding one. The known order is Engineers creating Humans, then Humans creating Androids, then Androids creating Xenomorphs.

* RoboticReveal: When someone starts leaking milk-colored MachineBlood, you've got one of these.

* TheQuest: An evil corporate one at that; almost all of the films and most of the related media include references to Weyland-Yutani's attempts to acquire at any cost at least one of the Aliens.

* RuleOfScary: There are plenty of rationalizations of the xenomorph's life cycle, the circumstances, and behavior of various characters, but in the end it all comes down to this.

* SequelEscalation: ''Alien'' has a single xenomorph preying on civilians. ''Aliens'' has a full colony of bugs pitted against a platoon of Space Marines. The third movie reverts back to the original scenario. The fourth movie escalates it to a whole hive of Aliens again.

* SnowyScreenOfDeath:

* [[/index]]Creator/{{Marvel}}[[index]]

* BabyPlanet: * The tiny moon that came to be known as LV-426 was just another dime-a-dozen planetoid barely 1,200 meters in ''diameter'', so small that it's gravity is only 0.86 that of Earth's; another insignificant rock with a primordial and unbreathable atmosphere destined to be forgotten in the vastness of space... were it not for the ghost-ship of an unknown Film/{{Alien}} civilization broadcasting a mysterious warning to ''not'' explore its cavernous innards... a warning unfrotunately ignored by both the crew of the Weyland Yutani towing vehicle ''Nostromo'', [[Film/{{Aliens}} and the colonists of Hadley's hope 57 years after the former mysteriously dissapeared...]]

** ''ComicBook/{{Alien|MarvelComics2022}}''

* MainliningTheMonster: Aliens produce Royal Jelly which has the same role for this species as it has for real-life bees. However, it is also an extremely valuable substance in human society, used as a powerful and mind-enhancing drug for wealthy individuals. Since the only source of Royal Jelly is often deep inside an Alien hive, collecting it can be very dangerous. The ''Hive'' mini-series details such an operation.

* YouKeepUsingThatWord: The Alien "Quadrilogy" DVD set. They invented that word for marketing purposes. It would actually be called a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetralogy Tetralogy]].

* Untitled Seventh Film to be directed by Fede Alvarez (TBA)