Lieutenant Ellen Ripley came from humble enough beginnings as the Warrant Officer of the USCSS
Nostromo, though circumstance would force her to take on a more significant role in
the universe, the one to save humanity from the Xenomorph.
Was this role happenstance, or, was it in the stars?
Was it her destiny?
Perhaps an answer can be found in Ripley's bloodline, and perhaps she may not have been
the first in her lineage to encounter the xenomorph species and battle against it.
Of course, there was a very popular and persistant theory before the release of Alien: Covenant
that the character Daniels may have some relation to Ripley.
Daniels was, much like Ripley, a no-nonsense, determined fighter who used her cunning to
survive against Alien creatures.
Hardly a solid connection, but, the intriguing angle of this theory was the fact that the
events with the Covenant and Planet Four occurred in the year 2104-- Ripley would have been
alive during this time and would have been approximately 11 years old.
That would make her the same age as her own daughter when she first encountered the alien,
so to have Daniels also off in space battling against the xenomorph while her daughter was
waiting on Earth may have added some cosmic irony to Ripley and her relationships.
Ridley Scott was quick to shoot down this rumour before Alien Covenant's release, and
confirmed that Daniels was NOT, in fact, the mother of Ellen Ripley.
Scott did, however, suggest that Ripley's mother will be seen in a future entry in his
prequel series.
Whether or not that will come to fruition remains to be seen.
Another theory worth exploring when it comes to Ripley's bloodline would be from Aliens
Vs Predator: Requiem, the story of a Xenomorph infestation taking over a small town on modern-day
Earth.
While not explicit in doing so, it flirted with the idea of ancestors of the Nostromo
crew encountering the alien parasites on Earth, over a century before the vessel landed on
LV-426.
Characters living in this town, who eventually have to band together to survive the attack
include an ex-con literally named Dallas (though to be fair it's his first name), and a soldier
returning home from Iraq, Kelly O'Brien.
There's no concrete declaration but clearly we'ere supposed to pick up on some kind of
connection between Ripley and O'Brien.
First and foremost she definitely has a subtle physical resemblemnce to Ripley.
Much like any Ripley clone she's tough, thinks on her feet, is resourceful, and like we've
seen with Ripley, she can get behind the wheel of a tank and kick some serious Xenomorph
ass.
Much like Ripley she's a fierce protector, in this case O'Brien does everything she can
to protect her daughter, whom she's only beginning to reconnect with.
In yet another thematic connection when it comes to mother figures and abandoment, O'Brien's
daughter seems to resent her for being away at war for so long, and they're struggling
to build a rapport.
Interestingly, there's a moment, where she attempts to bond with her daughter by recognizing
that they both have terrible dreams about monsters.
It would at the very least stand to reason that somewhere in Ripley's family tree, there
were soldiers.
With Military Service being in her family history, it could be reasonably assumed that
Ripley was born with certain instincts that made it a seemingly effortless transition
from Civilian Advisor to unnofficial leader of the Marines squad during the Hadley's Hope
Rescue Mission.
O'Brien,- and her daughter's- connection to Ripley, is pure suggestion, though, and it's
purely up to one's own interpretation.
However, Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem wouldn't be the first time the extended universe presented
a story in which an ancestor of Ripley fought against aliens in a small town on Earth.
In Aliens: Earth Angel, an alien craft crash-lands in a small town in the 1950s, and it's discovered
that a Facehugger has attached itself to another alien being.
The local doctor studies these specimens, including the dead facehugger and the eventual
xenomorph that bursts from its host, and wreaks havoc within the town.
The doctor initially plans to evacuate along with his wife and daughter but is forced to
faceoff against a potential infestation.
Though unlike the extremes seen in AVP: Requiem, the town is not nuked, but the doctor is able
to destroy the xenomorphs by burning them to death, leaving local authorities puzzled
over the charred, hideous alien corpses left behind.
The final twist of the story is that this man, who fought against the xenomorph creatures,
is revealed to be Dr. Daniel Ripley.
Do you think we'll end up seeing more of Ripley's ancestors - particularly her mother, as teased
by Scott, in future Alien films?
If Scott's prequel series doesn't continue as planned, we can assume there is some kind
of plan in presenting Ripley's lineage, do you think the story elements will continue
in other forms such as comics or novels?
Would that be something you'd be interested in seeeing?
Comment below and share your thoughts.
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