History Characters / IndependenceDay

* MamaBear: When things start blowing up she goes from Stripper to Sprinter getting her son the hell out of there.

->'''Portrayed by:''' Deobia Oparei

* SoleSurvivor: When he realizes that the battle in the skies over the ruins of Los Angeles has turned into [[CurbStompBattle a one sided slaughter in favor of the Invaders,]] Hiller tells his wingman, Jimmy, to make a break for it, and are chased by two defender craft. Eventually, the rest of Black Knight squadron are systematically destroyed, and Hiller sees Jimmy being shot down and killed over the desert. In Area51, after Hiller is told El Toro was destroyed, among the survivors Jazzmine rounded up and set up camp in the ruins of El Toro, no military personnel were present, suggesting that Hiller was the only one stationed in El Toro to survive until the film's end.

* SacrificialLion: She survives the destruction of LA, but is seriously injured when she's found by Jasmine's dog Boomer. After Steve rescues them, she's brought back to Area 51 and soon dies after seeing her family one last time.

* ForMeItWasTuesday: They don't seem to particularly find any pleasure in the annihilation of other races. They simply see the extinction of a planet's natural population to be a standard step in their harvesting process.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: He seems to be a combination of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy and UsefulNotes/BillClinton, minus the marital infidelities.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: His last missile jams before he can take out the primary weapon of the alien ship. Instead, he flies his plane directly into the weapon, setting off a chain reaction that destroys the entire ship.]]

* PetTheDog: For all his disagreements with Russell, Miguel does express pride in him after his father [[spoiler: sacrifices himself to destroy the alien destroyer]].
-->'''Mitchell''': What your father did today was very brave. You should be proud of him.
-->'''Miguel''': I am.
* PromotedToParent: After his mother died and with Russell suffering from PTSD [[spoiler: and eventually pulled a HeroicSacrifice]], he takes responsibility for looking after his younger siblings.

* PosthumousCharacter: in ''Film/IndependenceDayResurgence'' compliments of a big heroic painting of him in the rebuilt White House.
* SemperFi: A Marine F/A-18 pilot

* MistakenForGay: In a brief hilarious scene at the El Toro base, when Jimmy and Steve discuss the latter's application for working as an astronaut at the NASA, which got a reply mail saying Hiller was rejected, Jimmy comments on how one needs to be a bootlicker to get what one wants, and jokingly crouches down to have his face staring right at Hiller's butt. Then Hiller casually shows the wedding ring he was going to propose with to Jasmine, and Jimmy requests to see it (without getting up from his crouched position), and Hiller gives it to Jimmy who opens the ring's box and looks back at Hiller while saying "it's beautiful"... at the exact moment when another fellow Marine pilot passes by and watches the two of them.

* AlienAbduction: As part of his backstory. He claims to have been abducted by the aliens, who made experiments on him... but no one believes him, partly due to the severe alcoholism he developed after the experience. While aliens do eventually arrive to Earth and attack mankind, the truth about Russell's story is never verified or explored.

* HiddenDepths: It's hinted that Hiller actually wanted to be an astronaut, rather than an USMC fighter pilot. He applied for the chance to be an astronaut at the NASA, but his appliance was rejected (Jimmy believes it's because Hiller dates Jasmine, who works as a stripper). When he and David get into space on their way to the alien mothership, Hiller remarks on how he waited his whole life to see space and Earth from orbit while being in awe as he looks on.

* MistakenForGay: In a brief hilarious scene at the El Toro base, when Jimmy and Steve discuss the latter's appliance for working as an astronaut at the NASA, which got a reply mail saying Hiller was rejected, Jimmy comments on how one needs to be a bootlicker to get what one wants, and jokingly crouches down to have his face staring right at Hiller's butt. Then Hiller casually shows the wedding ring he was going to propose with to Jasmine, and Jimmy requests to see it (without getting up from his crouched position), and Hiller gives it to Jimmy who opens the ring's box and looks back at Hiller while saying "it's beautiful"... at the exact moment when another fellow Marine pilot passes by and watches the two of them.

* AlienAbduction: As part of his backstory. He claims to have been abducted by the aliens, who made experiments on him... but no one believes him, partly due to the severe alcoholism he developed after the experience. While aliens do eventually arrive to Earth and attack mankind, the truth about Russell's claims is never verified or explored.

* GoOutWithASmile: "Hello boys, I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!"

* HumansAreSpecial, HumansAreWarriors: A believer of this trope. The Sphere entity notes that mankind the first species to strike back successfully at the Harvesters, and so it asks the humans, not only to join, but to lead the intergalactic resistance against them.

* SacrificialLion: His death helps Hiller get more focused on winning the fight.

* ForgottenFallenFriend: To Hiller. The two of them are shown to be best of friends, and yet Jimmy is promptly forgotten after his death in the Black Knights massacre.

* ClosestThingWeGot: When [[spoiler:the counter-attack requires someone to pilot an alien fighter, the Secretary of Defence protests that nobody on Earth is qualified to pilot the ship, at which point Hillard observes that he's seen the ships in action and at least has an idea of their manoeuvring capabilities]].

* AscendedExtra: Okun's role in the first movie is basically to be a meat puppet for the alien that takes over his mind and explains the alien's motivations. In ''Resurgence'' his role in fighting back the aliens is much important.

* FamousLastWords: Twice! In the film, [[spoiler: [[MeaningfulEcho "There will be no peace."]]]] In the novelization: [[spoiler:(when addressing the Queen) "I know I won't live to see it, but we're gonna beat you again, you ugly bitch!"]]

* FamousLastWords: "Oh crap." Said [[spoiler:right before he is crushed by a car that was flung by the advancing wall of fire.]]

* FamousLastWords: "It's so pretty..." as the underbelly of the alien ship begins to open up.