Tweet

Aliens: Defiance, Volume 1

By Brian Wood

(Dark Horse Comics, 160pp)

Brian Wood’s Aliens: Defiance is a simple work, yet it is expertly done. The plot is light, efficient, and to the point, which allows the dark atmosphere of the work to dominate.

Volume 1 collects the first half of the twelve “episode” series, telling the story of Private First Class Zula Hendricks of the Colonial Marines. We are provided with a character who has sharply contrasting features: she is a 5′ tall black woman injured in combat, yet she has an indomitable will that drives her constantly forward to show that she is stronger than those around her.

In Episode Two, we watch Hendricks raid an armor for supplies in LV-44-40, a Seegson-owned science station, as she muses on the difficulties of her basic training. She worked far harder than her peers to succeed, yet she was injured during her first mission and removed from normal duty. Relying on a special back brace, she goes through a rigorous rehabilitation treatment process, but she is constantly struggling to get back to a normal physical condition.

Hendricks has a chip on her shoulder, but it pushes her to work harder to compensate. It is her body, not her mind, that is damaged, and she exhibits a level of mental strength that places her among the top heroines. It is no wonder that she is able to stand up against the xenomorphs, the ultimate killing machines, even though she thinks of them “Like a demon. Like death itself.”

The comic is quick to jump from location to location as we follow Hendricks’s attempt to protect Earth from the threat of the xenomorphs and the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. This is possibly due to the nature of the comic format, with each jump following the lines of the individual publications collected in this trade paperback. This creates an episodic feel that limits the need to read the other works in the series, but it can be a bit jarring. Fortunately, there is enough action to draw you in, making each episode worth while on their own.

The artwork, by Tristan Jones, Riccardo Burchielli, and Ton Brescini, is on point. It is dull, dark, and creepy, providing an atmosphere that emphasizes the crushing despair that comes with the Aliens universe. The xenomorphs lack the bone-chilling terror that radiates from their live-action counterparts, but the grotesque statuary that graces these pages is able to convey the nightmarish horror.

As for the plot itself, the work is efficient. There is nothing new in having characters attempt to prevent the Weyland-Yutani Corporation from obtaining and then using the xenomorphs as a biological weapon. This plot line informs every Alien movie to this date, and it is a constant refrain in the comics.

Also, the notion of an evil, conspiratorial military industrial complex has been used so many times in modern media that it has become cliche. Aliens: Defiance has an adequate storyline, but it is liable to seem stale to many. Fortunately, the characters are compelling enough to transcend these limitations.

The notion of a rebellious security synthetic, Davis, and the fight between him and his fellow Davis drones adds a little spice to the general story. The in-fighting between various androids has been hinted at within the series proper, but a major plot focus on such disputes, especially over an important moral issue, adds a mature tone to Aliens: Defiance when it comes to a head in Episode Three.

Although this conflict is not as fully developed as it could have been, it adds another layer of complexity and moral development that is necessary to the overall storyline. Neither Hendricks nor Davis can be compelled to facilitate a grave evil upon humanity, which suggests that there will always be heroes to stand in defiance against evil no matter how fallen we’ve become.

The appearance of multiple Davis drones in the short story “Extravehicular” confuses the nature of the earlier fight between the Davis synthetics, blurring the number of combatants and their sides. In the story, Hendricks is joined by Dr. Hollis, who first appears in Episode Five (Sept 2016), as the Europa is possibly about to crash onto Planetoid W76.

These details suggest that this story must have taken place sometime after Episode Six. But it was suggested that the other Davis drones could not be trusted and were possibly killed off. We don’t really know who is remaining or not, or who can be trusted. The rebel Davis stresses how he had to rewrite his own programming, so it seems unlikely that others did the same. There is no explanation for this discrepancy.

However, “Extravehicular” was released in May 2016 as part of “Free Comic Book Day,” just one month after Episode One was published, and it is most likely not an official part of the Defiance storyline. This is not a major problem, but it does raise some minor continuity questions within Volume 1. Ultimately speaking, the tone of the story emphasizes the tenacity of Hendricks, but it provides little else in terms of ramification to the overall plot.

The only other flaw within the main storyline is the use of Amanda Ripley, daughter of the original film heroine Ellen Ripley. She serves as an allusion to the greater Aliens mythos, but she seems forced and too coincidental in her appearances.

Hendricks does not need to rely on another strong female character, and Amanda is seemingly added to Aliens storylines simply because her mother cannot be included. The use of Amanda in the video game Alien: Isolation further suggests that the character is mentioned in the comic more as a tie-in to the game rather than as a vital aspect of Hendricks’s storyline.

Aliens: Defiance is properly named. Half of the book is devoted to the xenomorphs, and the other half is devoted to defiance. The work itself shows the power of individuals against a world of horror. Although a universe dominated by murderous aliens and evil corporations would seem Lovecraftian, the ability of a few individuals to fight back deflates any feeling of cosmic horror.

This is a work of hope. It is a work that shows how the human spirit is able to fight back when all is lost. It is a solid addition to the Alien mythos, even if it does not add anything truly groundbreaking.