Captain Jim Hopper was the commander of a United States Army special forces unit. In 1987, Hopper and his unit were dispatched to Guatemala to rescue several Central Intelligence Agency agents whose helicopter had been shot down by guerrillas. However, the operation failed when the team was ambushed and slain by a lone Yautja, with Hopper himself being flayed and gutted alive by the Predator.
Biography[]
Background[]
Hopper attended boot camp with Alan "Dutch" Schaefer in 1967[1] and the two quickly became friends. In 1979, they were serving in Malaysia, by which time Hopper had become a helicopter pilot. The two men took part in a disastrous mission that almost cost them both their lives, with Hopper risking his own safety to evacuate Dutch from the combat zone.[1] While close, Dutch and Hopper apparently fell out of contact some time after this.
Guatemala[]
In 1987, Hopper and his team, six men in total, were assigned by Al Dillon to rescue several CIA agents captured by rebels when their helicopter was shot down over the jungles of Guatemala. During their trek toward the guerrilla camp, Hopper's team quickly discovered the wreckage of the agents' helicopter. After investigating the remnants of the helicopter, they continued their advance on the camp.
Death[]
At some point whilst moving towards the guerrilla camp, Hopper and his men were attacked by a lone Yautja. Unable to determine the position of their enemy due to its Cloak, they desperately fired in all directions, but ultimately all of them were either incapacitated or killed by the Predator.
Jim Hopper and his men, skinned.
The Predator then brutally skinned and disemboweled Hopper and two of his men alive before hanging them from the trees by their ankles to be displayed; the fate of Hopper's remaining three men was never discovered.[2] Notably, the Predator did not collect the skulls from the three skinned bodies, possibly indicating that they had not been enough of a challenge to warrant this.
Billy picked up the trail of the guerrillas who had captured the hostages and began to follow them, also noting that a six-man team with American equipment had been pursuing the rebels ahead of them. The three corpses were later discovered by Dutch and his private mercenary team, Dutch identifying the men with Hopper's dog tag, becoming the first indication that something unknown was hunting in the jungle in that area.
The fate of the three remaining Army Special Forces from Jim Hopper's team was never discovered. Although they never recovered their bodies, the circumstances surrounding the deaths of these SF team members convinced Dutch and his men that they had been killed by whoever hunted Hopper and his team.
Behind the scenes[]
Although dialogue identifies him as Jim, the name seen on Hopper's dog tag in Predator is actually C. E. Hopper. In the film's novelization, Hopper's name is said to be J. S. Davis.[1]
Appearances[]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Paul Monette. Predator, p. 37 (1987), Jove Books.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jim Thomas, John Thomas (writers), John McTiernan (director). Predator (1987), 20th Century Fox [DVD].