What is the significance of human skull in aliens?

[Abombz!!]

Alien 3 was supposed to resemble the comic much more. But I don't know how much fun that would be either..... it would also involve a mercenary alien, one of those found in the original ship, plus earth was supposed to be over run by Aliens.

[joke-machine]

I was always under the impression that the Alien took on certain characteristics of the host organism... hence the upright, bipedal appearance in the first 2 & the 'skull' in the first one (really, the basic head shap is close in the second, its just the dome isn't tranluescent... probably on account of budget concerns, not genetics ) ... the more dog-like, quadraped appearance in the 3rd... and the grotesque humanoid abomination of the 4 film.

That is exactly right, well at least according to the Alien comics. The Xenomorph takes on characteristics of the host. Hence why the first aliens (from human hosts), bear a striking resemblance to the human form. And why the alien that took the dog in Aliens 3 looked more like a dog.

If you remember the action figure line from a while back, this explains why there was a bull alien, a snake alien, and a couple of other species. The host species contributes some of the genetic makeup of the new alien.

[Isamu Atreides 86]

Alien 3 was supposed to resemble the comic much more. But I don't know how much fun that would be either..... it would also involve a mercenary alien, one of those found in the original ship, plus earth was supposed to be over run by Aliens.

some of the Dark Horse Comics had that happen. pretty great stuff. they were later also adapted into some novels. the comics, of course never had Newt and Hicks die, so they were the focus of the stories, with ripley showing up late in the story to help retake earth, after a religious cult smuggled alien eggs to earth, as i recall....

i always did wonder where the "Space Jockey" alien from the first movie came from...that thing was huge.

[Abombz!!]

I was always under the impression that the Alien took on certain characteristics of the host organism... hence the upright, bipedal appearance in the first 2 & the 'skull' in the first one (really, the basic head shap is close in the second, its just the dome isn't tranluescent... probably on account of budget concerns, not genetics ) ... the more dog-like, quadraped appearance in the 3rd... and the grotesque humanoid abomination of the 4 film.

That is exactly right, well at least according to the Alien comics. The Xenomorph takes on characteristics of the host. Hence why the first aliens (from human hosts), bear a striking resemblance to the human form. And why the alien that took the dog in Aliens 3 looked more like a dog.

If you remember the action figure line from a while back, this explains why there was a bull alien, a snake alien, and a couple of other species. The host species contributes some of the genetic makeup of the new alien.

To a certain extent. The presure exserted(sp) by the facehugger limbs is optimized for a humanoid host. Thats why the dog was horribly scarred. There would be never a Snake Xenomorph simply because, unless we are talking about an anaconda, the host would be too small for the face hugger.

We have to take anatomy and size into consideration. A small host would never provide enough food for the embryo to mature.

[EXO]

Nah. Like someone said before: In Alien, Giger design and limited technology couldn't avoid the "man in suit" syndrome. In Aliens They were done crouching to make them more feral and scary. They mostly human hosts there in LV-426(?) so in theory they would look just like the one from the first Alien. It wasn't until Alien3 that the whole host characteristic proposed. They didn't even use that in the fourth movie, because by then they were all genetically altered. Don't know much about the comic books, speaking specifically in movie terms.

[Abombz!!]

Nah. Like someone said before: In Alien, Giger design and limited technology couldn't avoid the "man in suit" syndrome. In Aliens They were done crouching to make them more feral and scary. They mostly human hosts there in LV-426(?) so in theory they would look just like the one from the first Alien. It wasn't until Alien3 that the whole host characteristic proposed. They didn't even use that in the fourth movie, because by then they were all genetically altered. Don't know much about the comic books, speaking specifically in movie terms.

Honestly.... we don't get to see much of the first Alien. Watch the directors commentary on the DVD and you will see that the main point was to show the alien as little as possible to add to the atmosphere. In Aliens that was thrown out of the window for a more action, lighter toned, movie, with plenty of Aliens to go around.

[Isamu Atreides 86]

obviously, the comics are not canon, since Hicks and Newt are alive. i guess the only things that can be considered canon are the movies. afterall, if they took the comics into account, Hal Jordan, Kyle Raynor (both Green Lanterns), Superman and Batman, along with the Terminators would all have mixed it up with the Xenomorphs.

edit: oops, forgot the Wild C.A.T.S and Stormwatch.....other teams which have fought the Aliens....

Edited August 25, 2003 by Isamu Atreides 86

[Abombz!!]

obviously, the comics are not canon, since Hicks and Newt are alive. i guess the only things that can be considered canon are the movies. afterall, if they took the comics into account, Hal Jordan, Kyle Raynor (both Green Lanterns), Superman and Batman, along with the Terminators would all have mixed it up with the Xenomorphs.

It could be the other way around.... as the comics were around before the movies. And most ppl agree..... the comics are by far more canon then Alien 3 and 4, simply because they were how the story was supposed to play out. <_<

[EXO]

Honestly.... we don't get to see much of the first Alien. Watch the directors commentary on the DVD and you will see that the main point was to show the alien as little as possible to add to the atmosphere. In Aliens that was thrown out of the window for a more action, lighter toned, movie, with plenty of Aliens to go around.

That still wouldn't explain the missing transparent dome difference, if you leave it up to the host characteristic thing. Unless people on LV-426 all had some kind of receding hairline syndrome, in which case I wouldn't stand too close to those athmosphere convertors.

[Nightbat]

We have to take anatomy and size into consideration. A small host would never provide enough food for the embryo to mature.

Please let it be a detail they won't forget

Those moviemaker might have ideas to make acid-blooded mice or fleas with an attitude

Then again, maybe a cameo of The Holy Grail's "Rabbit of Caerbannog" would save such a movie B)

*Run Away!!! Run Away!!!*

In space, No one can hear you count to 5

...3 Sir!

[Abombz!!]

Honestly.... we don't get to see much of the first Alien. Watch the directors commentary on the DVD and you will see that the main point was to show the alien as little as possible to add to the atmosphere. In Aliens that was thrown out of the window for a more action, lighter toned, movie, with plenty of Aliens to go around.

That still wouldn't explain the missing transparent dome difference, if you leave it up to the host characteristic thing. Unless people on LV-426 all had some kind of receding hairline syndrome, in which case I wouldn't stand too close to those athmosphere convertors.

Hmmm.... I don't really remember the transparent dome. Maybe it was just because the first Alien was only 1 so they could go nuts with details while the Aliens in Aliens were "mass produced". Sort of like the RX78 and the GM.

[NERV]

i dont remeber actually seeing the skull underneath the shiny part in the first movie, what scene do you actually see the skull?

[EXO]

Whoops, just to correct myself, the Bat fanflick is called Dead End.

Highlander 5 is called Endgame.

<_>

[Isamu Atreides 86]

obviously, the comics are not canon, since Hicks and Newt are alive. i guess the only things that can be considered canon are the movies. afterall, if they took the comics into account, Hal Jordan, Kyle Raynor (both Green Lanterns), Superman and Batman, along with the Terminators would all have mixed it up with the Xenomorphs.

It could be the other way around.... as the comics were around before the movies. And most ppl agree..... the comics are by far more canon then Alien 3 and 4, simply because they were how the story was supposed to play out. <_<

theres absolutely no arguing with that since 3 and 4 were absolutely horrible. i would like to think Hicks and Newt, two of my favorite characters from the series, were still alive. i couldn't and still can't believe that they killed off these characters.

Edited August 25, 2003 by Isamu Atreides 86

[Phyrox]

If the comics are canon - as some here suggest - how do you work out inconsistancies.

In the Dark Horse "Aliens vs. Predator" series aliens hatch from huge snakes (issue #0), giant cow/rhino beasts (issue#1), and humans...and they all look the same.

Personally, I found that a few of the early comics were interesting, but they seemed to get increasingly lame as time went on.

I also refuse to accept Alien 3 or Ressurection.

Alien, Aliens, AvP comic...that's really all I need.

[JsARCLIGHT]

i dont remeber actually seeing the skull underneath the shiny part in the first movie, what scene do you actually see the skull?

The only place that the skull is really visible in are production photos with good lighting and on that scary-ass 12" alien toy.

[cobywan]

Well, Alien3 is banned from my personal vid list, but I'll drop in the ol' resurrection DVD to try and see what you mean about the costumes. With every film, it becomes harder and harder to scare the audience... but I did enjoy the way the 3 captive aliens "conferred" with each other before sacrificing one to make the break out.

You have that all backwards! Alien 3 was a more moody suspenseful film than Resurection. (David Fincher is almost as good as Ridley Scott.) Resurection was way over the top however. Everything Resurection did with the Ripley character was awesome. Everything it did with the Aliens was $*!+.

The suits for Alien 3 and 4 were dome by Amalgamated Dynamics. They were founded by two Stan Winston Studios employees. Alec Guilles and Tom Woodruff I believe. They are the ones that are slated to work on AvP. They are not going to be the downfall of the AvP film. The director is.

[bsu legato]

They are not going to be the downfall of the AvP film. The director is.

Shush, you! Paul Anderson is...is...well, he's a hack. There, I've said it.

[EXO]

The only thing good about Paul Anderson is...

his wife. Milla Jovovich.

[bsu legato]

The only thing good about Paul Anderson is...

his wife. Milla Jovovich.

Did he marry Milla, presumably after he directed her in Resident Evil? Now I hate him even more! Ah well, I'm sure it will last as long as any other Hollyweird marriage.

[Vostok 7]

mmm milla jovovich.

Vostok 7

[EXO]

mmm milla jovovich.

Vostok 7

Stay away you green hair lovin' freak!!!

Well, she is one letter away from Millia...

[Mechwarrior]

The whole Alien story was nothing more than creative ideas based on the fact that another movie was going to be produced. There is no canon. There are hundreds of websites claiming that theirs adhere to there idea of what they believe as canon. The fact is , is that writers and creative department personal made up crap as they went along, in order to make the next movie. I like all the Alien movies for what they are, Entertainment.

[Isamu Atreides 86]

The only thing good about Paul Anderson is...

his wife.  Milla Jovovich.

Did he marry Milla, presumably after he directed her in Resident Evil? Now I hate him even more! Ah well, I'm sure it will last as long as any other Hollyweird marriage.

i thought she was married to Luc Besson??

[EXO]

not anymore...

[bsu legato]

i thought she was married to Luc Besson??

They broke up sometime after Joan of Arc tanked at the theaters.

[cobywan]

That still wouldn't explain the missing transparent dome difference, if you leave it up to the host characteristic thing. Unless people on LV-426 all had some kind of receding hairline syndrome, in which case I wouldn't stand too close to those athmosphere convertors.

I always attributed the midding dome to age. The Aliens on Hadley's Hope were weeks or a month old where the one in Alien was a day or two tops.

[Abombz!!]

That still wouldn't explain the missing transparent dome difference, if you leave it up to the host characteristic thing.  Unless people on LV-426 all had some kind of receding hairline syndrome, in which case I wouldn't stand too close to those athmosphere convertors.

I always attributed the midding dome to age. The Aliens on Hadley's Hope were weeks or a month old where the one in Alien was a day or two tops.

LOL! You hit the nail in the head!

But i always saw the Alien in Alien as a scout kind. One that goes out in the wild and scouts ahead, while the ones in Aliens were like the royal guard or something.

I guess the embryo changes as the facehugger distances itself from the hive.

[cobywan]

I personally proscribe to the original senario where the creature in Alien was turning the victims into eggs. It is a very nice circular lifecycle. Although it requires two victims per Alien. Anything else is conjecture. I was a huge fan when there was little to nothing known about the Alien. The comics delved into thier home world ecosystem and I just thought that leaving it a mystery was better. For all we know they were engineered creatures. I figured for the creature to mature so fast and have a "glass" exoskeleton, it wouldn't subside on organic material. I figured they used the host for warmth.

If you think about it too much it becomes quite rediculous.

[EXO]

There's a lot that was thrown away from the original Alien script and Cameron took advantage of their omission to better his own script, fortunately. The first one was suppose to end with the Alien swallowing Ripley's head and using her voice to get entry into earth. Fox executives said 'no' to that ending and we ended up with the booster finale.

Some execs get things right. Some. But they only come out at night.

Edited August 26, 2003 by >EXO<

[Isamu Atreides 86]

There's a lot that was thrown away from the original script and Cameron took advantage of their omission to better his own script, fortunately. The first one was suppose to end with the Alien swallowing Ripley's head and using her voice to get entry into earth. Fox executives said 'no' to that ending and we ended up with the booster finale.

Some execs get things right. Some. But they only come out at night.

in my opinion, the cutting of the sentry gun scene in Aliens was criminal....

"maybe we got them demoralized"...classic Hudson...

[EXO]

in my opinion, the cutting of the sentry gun scene in Aliens was criminal....

I meant Cameron took advantage of the parts that Ridley Scott didn't get to put into the film, like the cocooning of their victim and later it turns into an egg.

Most of the parts James Cameron edited out and later replaced in the Director's Cut wasn't his choice and did enhance the movie when they were brought back.

[Max Jenius]

LoL, for someone that acts like they know a lot about Aliens, to not know what a Praetorian is... ain't right.

Praetorians are the queen's elite guard, hence the name. They have nothing to do with the Predators. IIRC they are created by the queen giving them a small amount of Royal Jelly. The predaliens are the hybrids with the legendary hunter.

Why deny snake aliens? Its already been established that other creatures exist on different planets(according to the comics and books) why not giant snakes?

[Isamu Atreides 86]

one of the comics, Genocide, i think, deals with what happens after USCM kidnap the supreme alien queen and two lesser queens come up and vie for control of the Alien Homeworld. the USCM goes back because of some kind of pharmacuetical use to the royal jelly. pretty cool if i recall correctly. the USCM even comes up with a way to neutralize the Alien acid blood with a new type of reactive armor....

[Max Jenius]

one of the comics, Genocide, i think, deals with what happens after USCM kidnap the supreme alien queen and two lesser queens come up and vie for control of the Alien Homeworld. the USCM goes back because of some kind of pharmacuetical use to the royal jelly. pretty cool if i recall correctly. the USCM even comes up with a way to neutralize the Alien acid blood with a new type of reactive armor....

yeah, that 'big friendly jellyfish'