Ripley

Ripley

Background

Ellen Ripley is a Warrant Officer and the Third Officer of the commercial towing vehicle, the Nostromo. Her daughter was Amanda Ripley McCLaren. Ripley graduated from the New York Aeronautics University and has a class 2 rating with the Power Loader.

During the events of Alien (1979) played by Sigourney Weaver

Ripley and the crew of the Nostromo are returning to Earth from outside the Outer Rim Territories when they are woken up from hibernation by their ship. They are required to investigate a transmission they receive that may be a distress signal. They land on the planet LV426 and Dallas, Lambert and Kane investigate the signal. Ripley tells Ash, the spaceship computer, Mother has decoded part of the message and it appears to be a warning and not a distress signal. She wants to warn the search crew, but Ash says it would be pointless.and while investigating a spaceship, Kane is attacked by a Facehugger. Ripley and Dallas argue about letting the search crew back into the Nostromo. Ripley wants to follow quarantine protocols, but Dallas demands she open the door to let them in, which Ash eventually does. The Facehugger eventually becomes unattached from Kane's face and he appears to recover. While eating their final meal before going back into hibernation, Kane starts choking and screaming and a Xenomorph erupts from Kane's chest. Ripley, Parker and Brett are sent as a group to find the Xenomorph using a tracking machine and after Brett lets Jones go after they catch him, he is told to catch Jones himself. Brett is attacked by the Alien and Ripley and Parker watch as he is dragged into the air ducts. After Brett is killed by the Xenomorph, Dallas comes up with a plan to force the Xenomorph through the air ducts to the air shaft and then shoot it into space. As he is trying to find and trap the Xenomorph, Dallas is ambushed and attacked by the Xenomorph. Ripley decides to continue Dallas' plan and while searching for answers from the Nostromo's computer, called Mother, she finds out the crew was knowingly sent by the company to recover the life form and that all crew have been deemed expendable. As Ripley is returning to tell the rest of the crew, she is attacked by Ash. Parker saves Ripley and it is revealed Ash is a robot. The remaining members of the crew, Ripley, Parker and Lambert, decide to take their chances in the escape ship. While getting the ship ready, Ripley hears Parker and Lambert being attacked by the Xenomorph and finds them dead. She continues with the plan that also includes setting the Nostromo to self destruct. Ripley eventually finds Dallas and Brett cocooned and after he begs her to kill him, she burns Dallas to death with a flame thrower. On her way back to the escape shuttle Ripley finds Jones and almost runs into the Xenomorph. She tries to shut off the self destruct, but is too late and she runs back towards the escape shuttle. She takes off in the escape shuttle and the Nostromo explodes. Before she is about to go into the hibernation pod, Ripley finds the Xenomorph hiding inside of the space shuttle. She gets into a space suit and opens the outdoor hatch and the Xenomorph is sucked into space. The Xenmorph tries to climb back into the ship by the rocket thrusters and Ripley turns on the engine, shooting the Xenomorph once again into space. She leaves a final message relaying the destruction of the Nostromo and its crew before she goes into the hibernation pod.

During the events of Aliens (1986) played by Sigourney Weaver

Ripley is rescued by a salvage crew and brought to the Gateway Station. She meets Burke who represents the Weyland-Yutani corporation and he tells her that her daughter died of old age two years ago. After an inquisition in which Ripley is stripped of her pilots license, Van Leuwen tells Ripley that there are colonists on LV426. Later, Burke and Lieutenant Gorman of the Colonial Marines go to Ripley's apartment and ask her to go as an adviser to LV426 due to a break in communication between the company and the colony. Ripley initially refuses but after continuing to have nightmares she agrees and leaves Jones to join Burke and the Colonial Marines. Once they arrive on the planet they find the colony seemingly abandoned except for Newt. Ripley stays with Gorman, Burke and Newt in the armored personnel carrier while the marines go to a location near the processing plant where there are strong readings for colonists. The marines are ambushed by Xenomorphs and Ripley takes charge when Gorman freezes. Ripley drives the APC to the location of the marines and picks up the remaining marines, Corporal Hicks, Private Vasquez and Private Hudson. Everyone returns to the operation center and Hicks decides that they are going to leave and nuke the site from orbit. Before Ripley and the others can be rescued, the drop ship crashes. They gather what they can salvage and return to the operations room. They set up a perimeter and Bishop tells them that the reactor is going to blow up due to damage it sustained. Bishop leaves to try and get communication with the remaining drop ship to remote pilot it. While taking a nap, two Facehuggers are released that attack both Ripley and Newt. Vasquez and Hudson save them and Ripley accuses Burke of trying to get her and Newt impregnated by the Facehuggers so he could get the alien species through quarantine. The xenomorphs attack once again and Hudson, Vasquez and Gorman are killed while Newt falls into a shaft while her, Ripley and Hicks are running away. Ripley and Hicks make it to the drop ship and she tells Bishop she is going back for Newt. Ripley finds Newt cocooned and about to be impregnated by a Facehugger and she frees her. While leaving they encounter the Xenomorph Queen and Ripley shoots her egg sac and the eggs. Ripley and Newt make it to the drop ship right before they are about to be killed and Bishop flies off. When they return to the Sulaco, the Xenomorph Queen, who hitched a ride in the landing gear, rips Bishop in half and attacks Ripley and Newt. Ripley uses a power loader to fight the Queen and opens the hatch door, and the Queen is sucked into space. Newt hugs Ripley and calls her mommy and after putting Bishop and Hicks in their crytubes, Ripley and Newt get into theirs and fall asleep.