Alien: Bloodlines

Alien: Bloodlines, originally titled Alien, also known as Alien Vol. 1: Bloodlines, is a six-issue comic book series that was first published by Marvel Comics from March 2021-August 2021, and was the first comic series in Marvel's Alien comics line. It was written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, illustrated by Salvador Larroca, colored by GURU-eFX, lettered by VC's Clayton Cowles, and edited by Jake Thomas and Darren Shan. Cover art was provided by InHyuk Lee while variant cover art was provided by various artists. The series was preceded by a one-shot tie-in prequel comic titled Alien: Annual #1.

Alien: Bloodlines serves as the first installment of a multi-arc storyline that continued with Alien: Revival.

In Marvel's Alien comics line, Alien: Bloodlines was published concurrently with the one-shot comic Aliens: Aftermath and was followed by Alien: Revival.

Publisher's Summary[]

Original release[]

#1: THE ICONIC CINEMATIC TERROR MAKES ITS MARVEL DEBUT! Gabriel Cruz gave his life to Weyland-Yutani--In the case of an alien attack he barely survived, almost literally! Recently retired, Cruz is trying to patch things up with his abandoned son with the help of his friend, a Bishop-model android, but his re-entry into civilian life is not going smoothly and his encounters with the deadly Xenomorph are far from over. Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Salvador Larroca team up to tell an all-new tale of the titan of horror and science fiction that has scared audiences for decades. No one is safe. No one is innocent. And no one can hear you scream.

#2: THE RETURN TO EPSILON! Cruz has only one chance to save his son from the horrific fate he barely escaped. The clock toward total collapse is ticking. The aliens are loose.

#3: DANGER ON ALL SIDES! Epsilon Station is overrun with danger, not all of it from Xenomorphs! Cruz holds mission information back from his soldiers, but he’s not the only one with secrets. We are not who we say we are.

#4: A BISHOP MAKES HIS MOVE! Will Gabe find his son? And if so…what will be left of him? The clock is ticking. The odds are long. The worst is coming.

#5: ENTER THE ALPHA! The creature that almost killed Cruz is back to finish the job. Everything Cruz has dedicated his life to hangs in the balance. And with his son's life on the line, terrible decisions must be made.

#6: IT ALL COMES CRASHING DOWN! Epsilon Station is losing its orbit. Gabriel Cruz is losing his son. Can anything be saved?

Alien Vol. 1: Bloodlines TPB[]

The iconic cinematic terror makes its Marvel debut! Gabriel Cruz gave his life to the Weyland-Yutani Corporation — almost literally, thanks to an alien attack he barely survived! Recently retired, Cruz is trying to patch things up with his abandoned son with the help of his friend, a Bishop-model android. But his re-entry into civilian life is not going smoothly, and his encounters with the deadly Xenomorphs are far from over! Now, Cruz has only one chance to save his son from the horrific fate he barely escaped. The clock toward total collapse is ticking. The aliens are loose! Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Salvador Larroca team up for an all-new tale of the sci-fi/horror titan that has terrified audiences for decades. No one is safe. No one is innocent. And no one can hear you scream.

Plot[]

ACruznightmare — Cruz's strange nightmare.

January, 2200. Seven years after the destruction of Nishimura Station. While discussing his disturbing nightmares during a counseling session with a Bishop-model android, Gabriel Cruz, chief of security aboard Weyland-Yutani-owned Epsilon Orbital Research and Development Station, is revealed to have been the sole-survivor of a Xenomorph encounter in 2180. The nightmares consist of an amalgamation of Xenomorph creatures within a hive, accompanied by an elusive biomechanical female figure. Bishop notes the importance behind the woman, and suggests that they will uncover the meaning behind her back on Earth. In the meantime, he encourages Cruz to enjoy his retirement party hosted by Wey-Yu executive, Ted Reynolds.

ACruz — Cruz reminisces on his old crew.

Back on Earth, Cruz meets with his estranged son, Danny, who is secretly a member of a pro-United Americas terrorist group known as the Minute Hand Movement, and remains distant with his father due to his relationship with Weyland-Yutani. Although Cruz attempts to connect with his son, the two begin arguing, and Danny leaves, but not before stealing a Wey-Yu security card from Cruz.

ADanny — Danny is attacked by a Facehugger within Epsilon Station.

More nightmares ensue, and Gabriel continues his counseling with a different Bishop the next day. It is revealed that Cruz is suffering from an illness that he withheld from Danny. Bishop encourages to talk to him about his mission and reveal his illness to him.

Meanwhile, Danny and a group of assailants covertly board Epsilon Station in a shuttle and kill two security guards. The group progress further, intent on bombing the station's server farm. However, they instead come across a biolab containing tanks filled with deformed Xenomorphic constructs. They come across two scientists, Dorsey and Jackie, with the latter promptly initiating a vocal override. Jackie is shot before the lab goes into a lockdown, and the group is attacked by facehuggers.

ADrone — A Drone emerges and kills Lewandowski.

Return to Epsilon Station[]

Early in the morning, Cruz is approached by Ted, who informs him of the situation aboard the station. Due to his son stealing his security card, Gabriel is to return to Epsilon, which is slowly falling out of orbit, and retrieve the Alpha Embryo, lest he face life in prison for corporate terrorism. Assigned to the mission with two arrogant Wey-Yu Defence Agents, Hamilton and Lewandowski, they board Epsilon, now in total ruins. After exploring the interior, Cruz is shocked to find the Alpha Embryo absent from the lab. The three suddenly encounter Dorsey, before they are all attacked by Facehuggers. Lewandowski has his ribs ripped out by an emerging Xenomorph Drone.

Reunion[]

The Drone attacks the others, but stray gunfire from the dying Lewandowski distracts the creature, causing it to grab him and retreat.

ABishop6 — The Epsilon Bishop saves Cruz and Hamilton.

The three encounter Mitch, a resident aboard the station morning the loss of his granddaughter, Trudy. Upon noticing Facehugger facial marks on him, Cruz shoots him point blank in the back of the head. He suddenly holds Dorsey at gunpoint. 'Dorsey' reveals herself to be Iris, and accuses Cruz of prioritizing the Alpha specimen over his son. She promptly retreats after a chestburster explodes out of Mitch's corpse, attacking Hamilton and biting off one of his fingers.

A Drone suddenly rips open a door and prepares to attack them. However, the Epsilon Bishop suddenly appears and saves the group, fending off the creature with an M240 Incinerator Unit.

Alpha[]

Bishop directed the two to the station's hive to retrieve a sample and search for Danny. There, they encounter Danny, cocooned and facehugged. Cruz tearfully draws his pistol, intending to mercy-kill his son, but he is stopped by Iris, who holds him at gunpoint and wishes to save him.

Bishop agrees with Iris, but Cruz angrily claims that it is his decision to make, revealing to them that the company first received a Xenomorph sample through the specimen that gestated inside of him after being cocooned decades prior.

Cruz is ultimately swayed into taking Danny's body, and the group retreat back to the docking bay under duress from a Xenomorph horde. Seemingly in the clear, Hamilton dashes towards the airlock and opens the door, only to be met with several Xenomorphs. Cruz locks the door to the airlock after Hamilton is killed, trapping the group within the station. Hearing the sound of the fully-grown Alpha tailing them, Cruz has Bishop and Iris go to one of the station's exec quarters that is outfitted with a life-raft. Knowing that the Alpha is bent on retrieving Danny for the embryo he carries, Cruz opts to take the "long way around" and flees as the Alpha chases after him.

Alien Inside[]

Whilst fleeing from the Alpha, Cruz reminisces on how the original Bishop he knew had saved him years prior, and had put him back into his ship within a hypersleep chamber with 'Alien Inside' written on it. The two had arrived at Epsilon just in time to have his chestburster, revealed to be the Alpha, removed from inside of him.

Meanwhile, whilst escorting Iris to the life-raft, Iris begins berating Bishop on his artificiality, and reveals that she knew about the cause of Lucas' death; that he had suffocated in an unmarked maintenance shuttle whilst he and Danny were playing aboard Epsilon. Cruz' wife proceeded to sue the company, but the latter convinced Gabe to drop the lawsuit, causing her and Danny to leave him.

ABIris5 — Iris shoots Bishop and tends to Danny.

Since then, Cruz had been "on the "company man" fast track ever since" until a recent medical diagnosis caused him to be retired by Wey-Yu.

The two arrive at the executive quarters, only for Cruz to arrive moments after, wounded during his skirmish with the Alpha, the latter and a horde in hot pursuit. The three quickly enter the executive quarters, Cruz throwing a belt of grenades at the Xeno's wake and detaching the life-raft.

Though safe from the Xenomorph threat, Cruz is devastated to discover that the pod's hypersleep tube had been destroyed, and desperately attests to Bishop to perform a manual surgery on him to save him at any cost. Suddenly, Iris shoots Bishop in the head, destroying him and knocking out Cruz. She then cradles Danny and assures him that he's "finally gonna save the world."

The Beginning[]

Iris contacts her superiors, informing them on her and Danny's status. Suddenly, Bishop reawakens and disables Iris with the butt of a Pulse Rifle. It is revealed that Iris herself was actually a synthetic, broken free from her programming and possessing her own will. She subsequently informs Gabriel on the female figure he keeps seeing in his dreams; that she is the "inevitable end result" of what happens when humans attempt to tame the Xenomorph species - "Prometheus' cleansing fire" that "keeps the universe clean". She goes on to blame Cruz for humanity's downfall, and that it was he who doomed the human race for finding Prometheus' fire and bringing it home, before subsequently deactivating.

Cruz begs Bishop to try to save Danny, but they are interrupted by Ted Reynolds, who contacts them on a terminal. Monitoring their actions, Ted warns Gabe that the specimen is Company property, and if he removes the fetus, Wey-Yu will remote lock their pod and deliberately initiate a fall from orbit, killing him.

Gabe angrily rejects his blackmail and observes that Ted, a former Defence Agent, had called in sick prior Cruz and his men's fateful mission twenty-years ago; he asks if Ted had known all along about the Xenomorph threat in their mission, the latter signing off, before cutting Epsilon's engines.

Cruz dons a compression suit to manually separate the raft from the station, but is attacked by the emerging Alpha. The ensuing battle between the two causes an explosion, causing both Gabe and the Alpha to drift into space. As flames from the Alpha slowly engulfs the two, instead of seeing the 'woman in the dark', he reminisces on an old family photo of his Lucas , Danny and his wife "in a world without monsters".

ABBishop9 — Danny reawakens following his surgery.

Hours later, Danny reawakens from a successful surgery performed by Bishop. Bishop notes that the two are entering United American airspace and he will soon brief him on events. Danny subsequently recalls a nightmare he had of the "deepest dark" he had ever seen, and that something in that dark was looking for him. Besides him is a black cat, previously encountered by Cruz and the group when boarding the exec pod, revealed to have small facehugger marks on its face.

Reprint History[]

After its initial comic book run from March-August 2021, the first 6 issues of the series were collected and released in a trade paperback titled Alien Vol. 1: Bloodlines, released on October 19, 2021, and featured Inhyuk Lee's cover artwork from issue 1.