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Queen
Acm5
Queen
Location:
various
Planet:
0.8g Atmosphere
Command:
Queen
Organization:
alien
Level:
n/a
Deep space:
xenomorph
Stats:
Active service:
n/a
Gender:
female
Height:
450/600cms
Weight:
5500kgs




Name

The Alien Queen is an Xenomorph on Earth, LV426 and BG386. Queen Xenomorphs lay Alien Eggs, from these emerge Face Huggers, these xenomorphs wait or go in search for prey which they then lay an embryo inside a host from which a Chest Burster emerges.

In most cases the Queen can be recognized by her distinctive increased size head armour (carapace) as compared to a Praetorian with increased intelligence and control of her off-spring. The Alien Queen herself evolves through the stage of a Praetorian with some that start Hives being equipped with the necessary egg sac which can be detached when needing to flee, like in the film Aliens as the Atmosphere Processor is about to explode and in the film Alien v Predator as most of her off spring are being killed she calls them back to release her from her securing chains and the game Aliens: Colonial Marines after being used by scientist for producing Alien Eggs.

Characteristics

Reference stats table.

Appearance

Appearances in the following;
LV426
Aliens (film)
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Aliens Extermination
Aliens: Infestation
Aliens: Arcade
Aliens v Predator
Aliens v Predator Gold
Aliens v Predator Classic 2000

Earth
Alien v Predator (film)
Alien vs. Predator: Arcade

BG386
Aliens v Predator 3

Pluto
Alien Resurrection (film)

LV742
Aliens v Predator: Extinction

Fiorina 'Fury' 161
Alien 3 (MD)
Alien 3 (SNES)

Vega 4
Alien vs. Predator (SNES)

LV412
AVP: Evolution

Various
Alien Trilogy
Alien vs Predator (Jaguar)
Alien v Predator (Mugen)

Features

Distinctive increased size armour as compared to a Praetorian with a larger size and greater strength.

Interactions

Earth

Alien v Predator (film)
The Alien Queen is awakened from her stasis as Weyland, mercenaries and guides enter the underground Pyramid, warmed by heat sources which had been activated she soon starts laying eggs which are then conveyed to the Sacrificial Chamber.

As the team split some are left in the Sacrificial Chamber, the group of Predators soon arrive and as they do the walls and doors of the Pyramid start shifting and trap the group as the Face Huggers emerge they become hosts releasing Chest Bursters who then grow into adults.

Later after the Plasma Castors are returned Scar uses them against the grown Aliens, the Queen sensing the loses calls the rest of them back to release her from the restraints that have held her for centuries. A short time later Alexa and Scar are attacked before escaping, they survive as other Aliens approach so Scar sets his Wrist Communicator on destruct and they both jump on the sledge which conveys them to the surface just as the explosion destroys the shaft and Pyramid killing the Aliens but not the Queen who emerges and a battle ensues that results in Scar dying, Alexa ties a cable still connected to the Queen to a water tower, it then falls and slips beneath the surface of the water pulling and dragging the Queen.

LV426

Aliens (film)
Ripley first encounters the Alien Queen in the Atmosphere Processor as she heads for the exit after finding Newt, she unexpectingly enters the liar as the Queen is laying eggs, both pause momentarily before Ripley lets loose with her Flame thrower and Pulse Rifle destroying and burning the eggs. After she fires off all her ammo she drops her weapon and they turn and run for the elevator as the Queen follows along behind her. They reach the landing pad and as Bishop arrives in the Dropship jump aboard and all escape back safely aboard the Sulaco.

As they unload in the cargo bay the Queen who has stowed aboard appears and grabs and tears Bishop in two before turning towards Newt and chasing after her. Ripley turns and escapes and powers up a Power Loader reappearing seconds later to battle against the Queen, the battle continues until they both fall into the airlock, Ripley unlocks the airlock doors and holds the ladder as the Queen drifts into space before then shutting them again.

Aliens: Colonial Marines
A Queen Xenomorph appears in the game Aliens: Colonial Marines in the levels Rampart, Derelict Reclaimed and Home (but these could be different Queens), on LV426 the Alien Queen is held in a Security Module in the Weyland-Yutani Facility near the Derelict and is used for producing Alien Eggs. As the surviving crew escape the Security Module a Queen (possibly from Security Module) appears and attacks them there before disappearing, later a Queen appears aboard the last W-Y FTL and needs to be killed to complete the level.


BG386

Aliens v Predator 3
In Aliens v Predator 3 the Rookie fights and kills the Queen Xenomorph in the level Research Lab to continue in his missions.

The Alien Number 6 releases a Queen Xenomorph in the level Research Lab in her gameplay and she herself mutates into a Praetorian before finally mutating into a Queen.

Dark battles a Praetorian in the level Ruins as a right of passage and again in the level Research Lab.


Pluto

Alien Resurrection (film)
The Queen's embryo extracted from Ripley's DNA was cloned and allowed to grow aboard the USM Auriga. She produced eggs which were then allowed to impregnate miners brought by the Betty's crew, these then developed into adult Aliens along side the Queen.

Later after the escape of the bred Aliens, Ripley herself escapes and after a shoot-out with military personnel linked with the Betty's crew, they then set off for the Betty for their escape. As they neared the spacecraft Ripley senses the Aliens and is drawn along towards them and the Queen in her liar who continues to lay eggs. As she is there the Queen stops laying eggs and then gives birth to the Newborn, a creature part Queen and part Ripley. The Newborn first takes an interest in Ripley, then turns to kill Gediman and then the Alien Queen during this Ripley takes the opportunity to escape.

Continuity

Various
The queen dubbed the "Matriarch" is the oldest known alien queen in the games Aliens versus Predator and Aliens v Predator 3. The Alien Queen appears in the game AVP: Evolution as an enemy that the Jungle Hunter needs to defeat, this completes a Predator missions and also in Alien gameplay needing to be freed from her restraints, saving her and freeing all other Aliens. From version 1.3 of the game an Alien player can play as a Queen in the level Overpowered.

The adult Queen that reappeared in the film Alien Resurrection with the original mechanical head previously used in Aliens was provided by Bob Burns. This was repainted with a blend of green and brown, giving it a shimmering, insect-like quality, this colour concept was then abandoned in the film Alien vs. Predator in favour of the original black color scheme.

Winged aliens like the Alien Queen can appear in the games Alien v Predator (Mugen), Alien vs. Predator (SNES), Alien vs. Predator: Arcade, Aliens: Arcade and Aliens Extermination. In Alien vs. Predator (SNES) this alien is called the Bat Alien, in Aliens Extermination the alien is also called a dragon and different from the Alien Queen in the last level.

In Aliens v Predator 2 instead of a Queen there is an Empress and Praetorians.

"An immature female, one of the first to emerge from hosts, grows to become a new queen, while males become drones or warriors. Subsequent female larvae remain dormant or are killed by males... or biochemically sense that a queen exists and change into males to limit waste. The Queen locates a nesting spot (the warmth of the atmosphere station heat exchanger level being perfect for egg incubation) and becomes sedentary. She is then tended by the males as her abdomen swells into a distended egg sac. The drones and warriors also secrete a resinous building material to line the structure, creating niches in which they may lie dormant when food supplies and/or hosts for further reproduction become depleted (i.e. when all the colonists are used up). They are discovered in this condition by the troopers, but quickly emerge when new hosts present themselves." The novelization as well as The Dark Horse comics published in 1988 suggested that a regular Alien changes into Queen with the help of the so called Royal Jelly - a special food high in certain nutrients." From the novelization, "The chemicals in the jelly act to change the composition of the maturing pupa so that what eventually emerges is an adult queen and not another worker. Theoretically, any egg can be used to hatch a queen." ~ James Cameron - 'Where did the queen come from?'

Alien vs Predator (Jaguar)
In the game, both a Predator and Marine needs to fight and defeat the Alien Queen in her hive aboard the Alien Ship.

Vega 4

Alien vs. Predator (SNES)
The Alien Queen is the last alien to battle against, her attack is like any other alien in the game.


BG386

Aliens v Predator 3
The Alien Queen on LV426 is similiar to size to the Alien Queen on BG386 from Research Lab and Refinery and aboard Weyland's personal craft.

LV426

Various
Xenomorph Queens appear in the game Aliens: Colonial Marines and other Queens appear in the film Aliens and the games Aliens Extermination, Aliens: Infestation, Alien vs. Predator: Arcade, Aliens: Arcade and Aliens v Predator.

Aliens: Infestation
A number of Queens appear in gameplay, they differ in size from 12'/14' and 24' tall. These Queens are the bosses and they appear aboard the Sulaco as a marine nears completion of the level, mostly appearing in the cargo bay and following plot lines from the film Aliens. One can be defeated with a power loader, the airlock needs opening for one and a battle using all the weapons a player carries.

Aliens: Arcade
The Alien Queen appears in the game as a boss, she is in her hive surrounded by eggs and face huggers. The Queen is attached by the ovipositor very much like in the film Aliens, also in the Atmosphere Processor.


Aliens Extermination
In the fourth level a marine will make his way into Hadley's Hope air ducts and then into the Weyland-Yutani Research Facility complex, before reaching the loading bay where the Alien Queen is located.

In chapter mode a fifth level is available, a marine using the APC battles the Alien Queen through the lower levels of the Atmosphere Processor before escaping in a UD4L Cheyenne on the landing pad.

Alien Trilogy
In the game Alien Trilogy, Ripley encounters and must fight 3 Queens, one at the end of each area, these areas follow the films Alien, Aliens and Alien 3, with a Queen in the Derelict, Hadley's Hope and Fury's installation.

Aliens: Colonial Marines
The Queen Xenomorph that appears aboard the W-Y FTL spacecraft in the game Aliens: Colonial Marines is finally killed by Cruz as he flies the Dropship off the spacecraft with the Queen attached, they are most likely both killed as they reach the surface.

With the addition of the final DLC map (Stasis Interrupted), the Queen has been captured by Weyland just as Stone and Hicks gets a distress signal off. The Queen herself was first encountered by the Derelict on LV426 as the Weyland-Yutani Facility and the Security Module was being constructed which would hold her and appear constructed in the following levels.

Aliens (film)
Winston Studio built a test foam core queen before constructing the full hydraulic puppet which was used for most of the scenes involving the large Alien. Two crew inside operated the two sets of arms and puppeteers off-screen worked it's jaws and head. Although at the end of the film the queen was presented full-body fighting the power-loader, the audience never see the legs of the Queen, apart from those of the small-scale puppets that appear briefly.

Concept

Aliensproduction22

The design of the Queen was created by Cameron in collaboration with special effects artist Stan Winston, based upon an initial painting Cameron drew at the start of the films' project.

On-set

Aliensproduction21
Aliensproduction20
Aliensproduction19

Scenes involving the Alien queen were the most difficult to film according to production staff, a life-sized mock-up was created by Stan Winston's company in the United States to see how it would operate. Once the testing was complete, the crew working on the Queen flew to England and began work creating the final version. Standing at fourteen feet, it was operated using a mixture of puppeteers, control rods, hydraulics, cables, and a crane above to support it. Stuart St. Paul and Malcolm Weaver were puppeteers inside the suit operating its arms, and sixteen more puppeteers were required to move it. All sequences involving the full size Queen were filmed in-camera with no post-production manipulation.

In total twelve Aliens were built by production crew, for the Alien Queen John Rosengrant sculpted the full-size Queen's body, Shane Mahan sculpted the full-size Queen's head with Lindsay Macgowan painting the Queen's tail.




Production

Aliensproduction23

For the scene in the Queen's Liar and Egg Chamber different colour eggs were used in the egg sac including transparent and painted paper cut outs, these would be pulled along the Queen's ovipositor. Puppeteers controlled the Queen, ovipositor and eggs with some being controlled from underneath, with heat and mist controlled over the set from steam boilers.

In some shots the Queen on screen was controlled by puppeteers from slots cut in the floor including the Queen in her liar, in the Atmosphere Processor and aboard the Sulaco.

Aliensproduction18

In the Atmosphere Processor the full sized Queen ran on rails with control wheels operating the arms, head and legs connected and controlled by cables as it appeared after Ripley destroyed her liar, then was filmed with the 1' model as it ran along gantries after Ripley. On the Sulaco a crane lowered the Queen off the Dropship, a silicon tail on a cable connected to Bishop as the Queen first stabbed Bishop then Bishop was connected on cables in a tail rig which lifted him up before a silicon animated Bishop connected by cables was used as he was pulled apart, using milk and cream crew slid his dismembered body across the cargo bay.

Aliensproduction24
Aliensproduction25
Aliensproduction13

Don Beswick and Phil Retaro and company built both the 1' and 2' high Queen and Power Loader models, using the groves in the floor that allowed control of the scaled models using a few puppeteers.

The Queen and Power Loader models for the cargo bay battle were 2' high and in cut scenes the full size model was used again with the Power Loader controlled by Joss Williams. The 1' model Queen and Power Loader was used for filming the air lock scene. The Queen and Power Loader in airlock was filmed horizontal along the floor with a camera making it appear as if it was vertical. When the Queen was finally ejected from the Sulaco as the spacecraft was only modeled on one side the scene with the Queen falling out of the air lock was produced with stop motion photography.




Earth

Alien vs. Predator: Arcade
The Alien Queen appears in the game in the fourth and seventh level as the boss, Attack on the Queen and Hunts End. The Alien Queen would use all her ability in a defense and attack, including calling upon other aliens, using her tail and her arms by lifting up a character for a head bite.

Alien v Predator (film)
In the 2004 film Alien vs. Predator the Queen's basic design was altered to make it more "streamlined" in appearance and it's overall size was increased from 4.5 to 6 meters tall. Other changes include the removal of the "high-heel" protrusions on its legs, including additional spines on its head and making its waist thinner because there was no need for puppeteers inside it's chest, with the animatronic laying Queen having 47 points of hydraulic motion.

Concepts

Designs of the Queen were drawn by Farzad Varahramyan these included a thinner waist, new colour, new carapase and six spines added along the back, due to time restraints the Queen's carapace from the film Alien Resurrection was also used.

On-set

Avpproduction

The Queen was made on set by a small team at ADI, including Alex Gills and Tom Woodruff Jr. Like Grid the Queen had a number of carapaces which were dressed for each scene including a battle damaged carapace during the fight with Scar and Alexa which had added yellow colouring signifying acid blood. For these scenes damaged carapaces were scaled for each model. Three different size models were created including a quarter scale (1.5m), a third scale (2m) rod puppet and a full scale (6m) hydraulic Queen.

The full scale was made from a light colored fiberglass shell with a foam latex skin, damaged carapases involved parts cut out and scaled into each model, these were painted and dressed and included chain, explosion and shuriken damage.

After made in clay and moulds cast, the quarter scale and the third scale models were made from a similiar fiberglass shell and painted matching the carapace and body colouring of the full size Queen.

Production

The Alien Queen on set was filmed using three variations, a 6m practical version, 1.5/2m puppets, and a CGI version of these. A practical version required 12 puppeteers to operate, puppeteers mostly controlled the arms, legs and the creatures movement, CGI tails were added to the Aliens and the Queen as they were difficult to animate using puppetry.

In the underground Pyramid only part of the laying Queen was constructed and controlled animatronicly by puppeteers giving movements to the arms, body and carapace with the rest is CGI.

CGI was produced by Moving Picture Company (MPC) who also added visual effects for the other alien and predator creatures.

Aliens v Predator: Requiem (film)
The Predalien seen in the film Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem was also a Queen, as it also possessed the ability to impregnate human hosts with multiple Alien embryos. This scene in the film involved both actor (Tom Woodruff Jr.) and CGI, the impregnated female was a silicon model produced on set which also included some CGI.

Pluto

Alien Resurrection (film)
In Alien Resurrection the cloned Queen inherits a womb, and as a result it ceases to lay eggs and gives birth to a humanoid mutant.

On-set

Alec Gills and Tom Woodrow Jr. with their team at ADI created a collection of small scale sculptures for Jean-Pierre Jeunet (director) who decided which ones were to be produced into full scale. From the chosen models full scale silicon creatures and suits for Aliens were produced.

Production

ADI based their designs and modifications of the Alien creatures on the film's script, which included the creatures having pointed tails for swimming, making their domes and chins more pointed, and establishing them to appear more vicious using techniques of camera angles and shot duration. After receiving the director's approval, ADI began to create small sculptures, sketches, paintings, and life-size models.

Fiorina 'Fury' 161

Alien 3 (SNES)
The Alien Queen appears in the last level Red Hot, after killing the Mother Alien outside on the surface, activating the control in the console starts the furnace which pushes the Alien Queen into the liquid lead.


Alien status

Drone
Warrior
Guardian
Praetorian
Queen

See also

Character Planet Level Status Campaign
Xeno Soldier LV426 n/a Warrior Aliens: Colonial Marines
Queen LV426 n/a Queen Aliens: Colonial Marines
Xeno Crusher LV426 n/a Guardian Aliens: Colonial Marines
Xeno Lurker LV426 n/a Drone Aliens: Colonial Marines
Face Hugger LV426 n/a Xenomorph Aliens: Colonial Marines
Chest Burster LV426 n/a Xenomorph Aliens: Colonial Marines
Xeno Boiler LV426 n/a Drone Aliens: Colonial Marines
Xeno Spitter LV426 n/a Drone Aliens: Colonial Marines




References

Citations

Aliens: Colonial Marines
Aliens (film)
Aliens: Colonial Marines, gameplay
Aliens: Colonial Marines, Gearbox
Alien Queen
Aliens v Predator (video game)
AVP: Evolution

Footnotes

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