The dark I see is a truer shade than just the absence of light. You can't find it just by clapping your hands over your eyes. Dark like this gets into you. Penetrates you. Tightens around your skull. Presses into your eye sockets until something pops and even the memory of light—even the belief in light—drains away.
— Gabe Cruz, Alien #1
Alien is a 2021 comic published by Marvel Comics set in the Alien universe. It is written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and illustrated by Salvador Larroca. It takes place in the year 2200, years after Ripley's first and second encounter with the Xenomorphs.
Gabriel Cruz had been the security chief for Weyland-Yutani's Epsilon Station for years before he was forced into retirement due to illness. During those years, however, something happened to him and his original team. Something which he can't remember fully. But now that he's retired and back on Earth, he is trying to reconnect with his remaining son, whom he hasn't seen in years.
But when his son, Danny, turns out to be involved with some anti-Weyland-Yutani terrorists and steals his badge to get inside Epsilon Station, things go pear-shaped. Because Epsilon Station isn't holding data about cyber warfare like the terrorists think — it's holding something much, much worse.
Tropes that are in Alien (2021):
- Adaptational Badass: In keeping with recent changes to the Alien franchise, as seen in Alien: Isolation, Aliens: Fireteam Elite, and Alien The Role Playing Game, the Xenomorphs are a lot less bothered by weapons fire than previous entries indicated. They can be wounded, even killed, they can walk off even a burst of pulse rifle fire. And if you prove you've got weapons that can hurt one, it'll retreat and find an alternative path to get you where you can't just shoot it.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Both sides are shown as they follow their programming; in the first mini, Bishop does his best to help Cruz get his son off the station while in the second Weyland-Yutani synthetics are shown to be intentionally spreading the Xenomorph infestation to hasten the colony's destruction.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: The Xenomorphs altering based on their hosts. We see a few strange potential forms of them in Gabe's dreams, but this really kicks in in the second arc, where apparently they somehow hosted in small worm-mole things to create small worm-like Xenomorphs that stuff themselves in new hosts.
- Bloodier and Gorier: From the Xenomorph killing someone in the first series by tearing his ribs out to the numerous examples of someone being graphically torn in half in the second, this series is not afraid to show how apex predators like the Alien operate.
- Continuity Nod: Iris refers to the Xenomorphs as "Prometheus' cleansing fire", while showing the notorious Deacon mural and canisters of black goo accelerant from that film.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: One of the Marines accompanying Cruz dies when a Xenomorph tears out some of his ribs.
- Dark and Troubled Past: The reason that Gabe wasn't there when his other son Lucas died was because a mission went south. But before he can tell Danny how it went south, Danny cuts him off and says he doesn't want to talk about it.
- Disappeared Dad: It's clear that the years Gabe was gone, working for Weyland-Yutani, have taken their toll on his son.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Subverted. Gabriel has visions of something humanoid leading the Xenomorphs, speaking to him when he's originally facehugged. However, Iris reveals it's actually a vision of the future - all organic species that encounter the Xenomorphs (or the accelerant goo from Prometheus) first try to weaponize them, then try to improve themselves with Xenomorph DNA.
- It Can Think: A chestburster evades containment in a stasis chamber by retreating into its host's chest, then popping out his mouth to scurry away.
- Large and in Charge: The Alpha Xenomorph that leads the infestation is, judging by the group shot in issue #5, at least twice the size of the regular Xenomorphs surrounding it.
- Lockdown: The first issue ends with one of the Weyland-Yutani scientists initiating lockdown on Epsilon Station, making sure that none of the specimens escape, but also trapping Danny, Gabe's son, onboard.
- MegaCorp: Weyland-Yutani has roots everywhere. Even the therapist Gabe sees, a Bishop android, can just ship his memories to another Bishop android near Gabe on Earth and continuing the same therapy sessions.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Gabe's girlfriend shoots the security personnel immediately. When Danny points out that they didn't need to do that, they brought restraints, she says that she says "he was reaching," even though he clearly wasn't.
- Mythology Gag:
- There is a cat named Stubbs on the station, just like there was a cat named Jones on the Nostromo.
- The Alpha's elaborate crest, size and role leading the hive are strongly reminiscent of the Praetorians from other Aliens media.
- The second arc, with Aliens brought by a crashing ship to a neo-Luddite world populated by very religious people, is basically a take on Vincent Ward's "Wooden Planet" idea for Alien³.
- Non-Standard Character Design: The original Xenomorphs Gabe dealt with were spawned from a goat-type of future livestock with enormous horns, explaining the Alpha having an prominent horned crest instead of the smooth dome of the human-spawned Aliens. Flashbacks show another distinct type spawned from these - quadrupedal, sporting hooves on their rear legs instead of feet and with varying horn arrangements.
- Retired Badass: Gabe, who was forced to retired due to his illness. But even Weyland-Yutani recognizes that there wouldn't be an Epsilon Station without him.
- The Reveal: Iris is actually a synthetic. And the cat in the survival pod is carrying a chestburster.
- Robotic Psychopath: In the grand tradition of Ash and David, Iris turns out to be a synthetic - and unlike Bishop, she's perfectly willing to kill humans or let them die to secure a Xenomorph.
- Retirony: One of the members of the security team on Epsilon Station says her contract is up in a few weeks and will be moving back to Earth. She gets killed first.
- Sacrificial Lamb: When the story cuts back to Epsilon Station, the audience is introduced to two new characters who work in security, including one who has a cat, just like the crew of the Nostromo. As soon as the terrorists get on board the station, however, they kill them both immediately.
- Western Terrorists: The group Danny belongs to are specifically "pro-United Americas" and think that Weyland-Yutani have ruined the world.
