William Gibson’s Alien 3 #3: Not Bad For an Artificial Being

The crew of the Rodina serve a dual purpose here, aside from the obvious Cold War implications that were prevalent at the time. Firstly they offer another location for the unfolding horror that is the aliens true purpose. And secondly they also give some narrative insight into the workings of the creature and the fact that, even though humanity is attempting to utilise the genetic wonder that is the xenomorph for their own ends, it is already a pretty perfect organism in its own right thanks to the work of the Engineers AKA Pilots or Space Jockeys.
And while all this is unfolding it is of course lucky Bishop arrives on Anchorpoint in one piece to take over the reins, just as the scientists there also begin to realise to their cost that they are dealing with something pretty resilient and tenacious themselves. The political intrigue and previous villainy of the Company is beginning to take a back seat at last and becomes the underscore to the resounding crescendo that is the birth of the chitinous xenomorph.
But this is not the only showing, as we discover not only there is trouble on the UPP station, but also the hidden creature on Anchorpoint is finally beginning to brave the surrounding area. Finally a glimpse of the genetic horror itself, let the screaming and shooting begin. We are at the halfway point of the story here and so far there has been very little in the way of a body count, but Johnnie Christmas more than makes up for the lack of blood and gore with this clever scene alone as the xenomorph unfurls from it’s hiding place in the workings of the Sulaco’s machinery. This of course echoes back to that iconic image that was first shown in the Nostromo escape pod at the end of the movie and then again in Aliens in the hive shootout scene.
The arrival of the creature is perfectly announced right from the cover, which boasts an eye catching image that is stunning in its simplicity, as Johnnie Christmas and Tamra Bonvillain give us the glory that is the harbinger of so much chaos and destruction exploding onto the scene. And explode it does. And while the xenomorph is doing what it does best it’s also a nice touch within Gibson’s scripting, seeing some more linking to the previous Aliens movie as Hicks and Newt are taking some affirmative action of their own with a touching goodbye. This alone is reassuring in that it means Newt is safely on her way home before things become chaos on Anchorpoint, which is something that would please Ripley. If she were awake. But this brings us to the crux of the dilemma for me with this story. There is still no sign of Ripley. For a comic or even novelised story this is a true thriller and William Gibson has expertly kept the menace on a slow burn. But thinking in cinematic terms I’m sure that wouldn’t have gone down at all well at studio board meetings. We were of course rewarded with a well known and dramatic entrance in Mark Verheiden’s 1989 Aliens comic series as Ripley showed up in the final panel to join Hicks and Newt and begin her crusade in his follow up series Aliens: Earth War. If you’ll allow me the indulgence of showcasing that glorious 90’s moment here.
Sigh….But I’m not simply digressing here. I’m sure I’m not alone in wondering now if she will ever be a part of the drama or even awake to save the day in the final reckoning as she did before. There is a slim glimmer of hope in the fact that Hicks encourages Newt to leave a message for her. This at least is a small comfort and may be a reassuring indication that she will at least make an entrance into the life of Newt. Maybe arriving at her new home in the final moments of the story using the map as a guide, much as she did the PDT in her rescue of Newt in Aliens.
So with this omission, coupled with the late showing of the xenomorph I can maybe see now why Gibson’s script might have been passed over for the Fincher version. After the creeping claustrophobia of the original 1979 Alien the sequel was a total adrenalin rush when it arrived in 1986. And so maybe the feeling was that the third instalment needed to keep up the impetus and the body count, so this script may have seemed a backward step. For myself I see it as a return to form and the true focus being the inability of mankind to resist tampering. But Hollywood is a fickle animal when it comes to blockbusters and I can’t help feel we lost out on something with the final decision.