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- "Trick or treat, your Highness!"
- ―A.T.A.X. (from A.T.A.X.'s Aliens Bio-Data)
The Alien Tactical Advantage Explorer, often shortened to A.T.A.X., was a member of the Space Marines, part of a secret elite special forces unit. A.T.A.X. had the highest possible mission success ratio and his insertions have had significantly lower casualty rates than air/ground offensives alone.[1]
A.T.A.X. notably assisted Lieutenant Ripley's squad on TerraForm 3 and its Lunar Installation in combatting various Xenomorph lifeforms. He quickly gained their respect after rescuing them from a horde of Bull Aliens and then defeating a slew of Snake Aliens single-handedly.[2]
Biography[]
TerraForm 3[]
Saving the Marines[]
- "I love the smell of Bug-BQ in the mornin'!"
- ―A.T.A.X. (from Aliens: Night Strike)
When Lieutenant Ripley's squad made their last stand against a horde of Bull Aliens and their Queen, A.T.A.X. swooped down in a Hovertread and began to cut down the Xenomorph horde. With the Xenomorphs distracted, Ripley seized the opportunity to kill the Queen. A.T.A.X. then landed and introduced himself to the Marines while Bishop scouted the perimeter and was attacked by a Snake Alien.[2]
The Flying Queen[]
- "What a bunch of greenhorns!"
- ―A.T.A.X. thinking about the Marines (from Aliens: Night Strike)
Bishop, being an android with extremely fast reflexes, dodged the Alien and ran back to warn the others. The Marines got ready to fight but A.T.A.X. donned his Bio-Boost Armor and told them to save their ammo before eliminating all the Aliens, single-handedly. This prompted praise from the Marines, with even Ripley calling him the best. However, celebrations were cut short as a Flying Queen flew down and picked up A.T.A.X. with her talons, carrying him off. [2]
A.T.A.X. managed to force the Flying Queen to let go of him and land, where he then managed to kill her at a colony on the planet. When the Marines caught up with him they asked if he was alright, to which he said he was fine but he couldn't say the same for the Queen. However, after a brief talk, Sergeant Apone noticed that all the colonists were missing. Bishop noted that they seemed to be evacuating as he had detected their PDTs at the shuttle launchpad. Sergeant Drake soon noticed a Mantis Alien jump clear over the wall of the colony.[3]
The Mantis Alien Swarm[]
- "These bugs just never give up, do they?"
"Nope. And neither do we." - ―Ripley and A.T.A.X. (from Aliens: Swarm)
Shortly after identifying the new Xenomorph variant, a whole swarm of Mantis Aliens attacked the Marines, who returned fire. A.T.A.X. fought alongside Ripley, commenting that they'd never give up the fight. After a brief firefight, the Marines decided to pull back to the launchpad to make sure the colonists safely evacuated.
The Xenomorphs followed them and a Mantis Alien ambushed Drake and lifted him up into the air, causing Drake to throw his smartgun, A.T.A.X. quickly caught the gun and saved him by blasting the Xenomorph with his arm cannons. After Ripley checked on the colonist's shuttle, she ran back to the others to inform them that something was wrong. The Marines then prepared to take the fight to the planet's Lunar Installation.[3]
Lunar Installation[]
Giant Facehuggers[]
- "It's gonna be rainin' bugs!"
- ―A.T.A.X. (from Aliens: Terrordome)
The Marines landed their dropship on TerraForm 3's Lunar Installation after not being able to contact anyone on the surface. After landing inside the installation, Ripley discovered the place had been turned into one giant hive. The Marines prepared for a standoff as multiple Giant Facehuggers began to attack them. A.T.A.X. was ambushed from above by a Giant Facehugger but he was saved by Bishop, though his Bio-Boost Armor was damaged in the process. After the battle, the Marines recuperated before Ripley discovered a little girl who revealed the presence of a new breed of Xenomorph.[4]
Rhino Aliens[]
- "How do you like your eggs, Queenie? Scrambled or fried?"
- ―A.T.A.X. to the Queen (from Aliens: Ice Storm)
While A.T.A.X. waited for Bishop to return from his reconnaissance mission, he recorded a log regarding Kim and her story of the Rhino Aliens. When Bishop returned, missing an arm, A.T.A.X. and Apone got into a brief altercation before Bishop explained the situation and his plan. A.T.A.X. and Bishop then entered the Agricultural Dome and initiated the plan by creating a crack in the dome to cause the air to cool down rapidly.
While Bishop was busy freezing the Rhino Aliens, A.T.A.X. donned his Bio-Boost Armor and headed inside the hive. The Rhino Aliens walked right past him, his disguise worked perfectly. While A.T.A.X. scanned the Queen's chamber with his virtual reality scanner, the Queen's guard got a bit curious and walked up to A.T.A.X. He quickly reacted by launching the guard up out of the hive with his pummel-arm. He then blasted all the Ovomorphs and killed the Queen with an Alienator missile. He rescued Kim's parents and carried them back to the airlock where they were reunited with their daughter.[5]
Personality and Traits[]
- "Looks like your synthetic couldn't do the job, huh?"
"Can it, A.T.A.X.! He's a better man than you'll ever be." - ―A.T.A.X. and Apone (from Aliens: Ice Storm)
A.T.A.X. was overly confident and headstrong, thinking of himself as vastly superior to the other Space Marines, who he looked down upon. This caused quite a bit of conflict between him and the Marines, even when they helped him or otherwise did things right. He especially hated being shown up, which he admitted to during a log he made on TerraForm 3's Lunar Installation. While he was extremely boastful, he could back up his claims for the most part and showed great skill in fighting the Xenomorph threat. A.T.A.X. was particularly fond of making quips, even in the heat of battle and while he is supposed to be stealthy.
Equipment[]
- "Wow, what a craft! I've never seen hardware like that!"
"Ha! It's nothin' to what I got in store." - ―Hicks and A.T.A.X. (from Aliens: Night Strike)
A.T.A.X.'s most important piece of equipment is his Bio-Boost Armor, which allows him to disguise himself as a Xenomorph. The helmet of this armor is designed to resemble a Xenomorph Queen and features a built-in Alienator missile inside the crest. The face mask portion of this helmet includes a scanner with Virtual-Reality augmentation. The armor includes a hypo-draulic power-ram arm and a pincer arm. On A.T.A.X.'s actual arms, he possesses high-power energy blasters at the wrist. The armor also makes him much taller. He also made use of a Hovertread vehicle.
Trivia[]
- Unlike the majority of the Kenner Marines, A.T.A.X. is an original character not based on anyone from the Aliens movie. He shares this distinction with O'Malley. Interestingly, both him and O'Malley possess orange hair.
- It is implied that A.T.A.X. is actually a unit and not just the codename of the individual seen in the toyline and mini-comics.
- In the mini-comics, A.T.A.X.'s armor is much more of a gold color compared to his black and bronze figure.
- Another difference between the figure and mini-comics depiction is the arm guns that the mini-comics A.T.A.X. possesses.
Appearances[]
Gallery[]
Figures[]
References[]
- ↑ Aliens Bio-Data trading cards — No.10. ATAX (1992), Kenner Products.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dan Jolley (writer), John Nadeau, Steve Moncuse (illustrators). Aliens: Night Strike (1992), Dark Horse Comics.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Dan Jolley (writer), John Nadeau, Steve Moncuse (illustrators). Aliens: Swarm (1992), Dark Horse Comics.
- ↑ Dan Jolley (writer), John Nadeau, Billy Ray Marimon (illustrators). Aliens: Terrordome (1992), Dark Horse Comics.
- ↑ Dan Jolley (writer), John Nadeau (illustrator). Aliens: Ice Storm (1992), Dark Horse Comics.