- "I was meant to be your playmate...But you outgrew me a long time ago. I don't serve that purpose anymore, but i've been trying to show you i'm good at doing other things."
- ―Tyler to Maria Ward (from Alien vs. Predator: Thicker Than Blood)
Tyler Ward was a child-synthetic who served as Maria Ward's companion and 'brother'. Tyler was created for Maria to serve as a playmate when she was an infant. However, after Maria had matured into an adolescent, she grew largely despondent with Tyler, and he was usually at the receiving end of her angsty and bitter diatribes.
Tyler and his 'sister' were aboard the luxury spacecraft USSC Double Down when it was raided by a family of Yautja, attacking them for invading their sector of space. Ultimately, Tyler and Maria were forced to ally themselves with Elder Predator Hook after the Xenomorph held captive by the Predators broke loose and began wrecking havoc within the Double Down.
Biography[]
Early life[]
- "Mom and Dad didn't buy you to play with me -- they bought you to raise me! They never wanted to be parents. If not for you, I'd have grown up in some stupid boarding school."
- ―Maria to Tyler (from Alien vs. Predator: Thicker Than Blood)
Tyler was purchased to serve as a playmate and 'little brother' for the infant Maria. Tyler would act as a companion for Maria, and he would watch her grow from a child into an adolescent. As Maria's mother, Lydia, and father were often too busy to cater to Maria, Tyler even served somewhat as a psuedo-foster for her. Tyler's integration into the family was seemingly a positive and smooth one, and he soon became a valued member, though his presence later caused Maria to perceive that he was Lydia's "favorite", straining their relationship. He was also still very much regarded as a synthetic, specifically by his father and Maria in her later years. Though Tyler and Maria were initially close, Tyler had effectively outlived his purpose once Maria had grown up, and she was no longer interested in Tyler's company or companionship, treating him with a bitter coldness.
Terror aboard the Double Down[]
- "I have to get you off this ship. Whether that's conscious and under your own power is up to you."
- ―Tyler to Maria (from Alien vs. Predator: Thicker Than Blood)
Tyler and Maria escape from the assailant.
The luxury ship USSC Double Down had entered unknown territory, prompting a Yautja Mother Ship to unknowingly board the cruiser. Tyler was watching his favorite cartoon within his quarters, before receiving a distressed called by his 'mother', Lydia. She tells him to take his sister Maria to the escape shuttle Tender, and then meet with them in the forward lounge, before being briskly cut off.
Tyler enters the artificial beach lido-deck and finds Maria. Though Maria acted typically cold towards her synthetic little brother, before Tyler could finish explaining himself, the Predator Splitter emerged on the beach and began slaughtering the civilians mercilessly with a plasma-whip. The two psuedo-siblings ran from the lido-deck and into an elevator. Maria angrily pinned Tyler to the wall and slapped him, forcing him to reveal that their mother gave him orders to escort her off the ship. Instead, Maria and Tyler go to the forward lounge where they reunite with their parents.
Tyler restrains Hook, moments before bisecting his arm and leg.
Whilst discussing their options, an Elder Predator, Hook, suddenly emerged from the shadows and killed Tyler and Maria's father. Lydia, shocking the creature with a stun-baton, bought the children enough time for them to enter the elevator, before being killed. However, the Predator jammed its arm and leg into the elevator door and attempted to pry it open, but after the siblings worked together, they bisected the creatures' limbs by closing the door.
Tyler opened the jammed lift to another floor, allowing the two to escape from the elevator. However, Maria opted to find her friends instead of going to the Tender, forcing Tyler to physically restrain her after a brief argument. Maria eventually apologized for her rashness, and the two reached the airlock to the Tender which is being inconveniently blocked off by the Predator ship's boarding ramp. The two ultimately decide to board the Predator ship, and encounter the Predator Pig Iron gleefully torturing a captive Xenomorph with his wrist-mounted flamethrower.
Tyler and Maria hide from the Xenomorph aboard the Predator Mother Ship.
Tyler and Maria entered the ship's deck and Tyler attempted to access the controls, before being electrocuted by its handprint countermeasures, alerting the Predator. With its back turned, the chained Xenomorph pounced onto Pig Iron and brutally kills him, before managing to free itself from its constraints. The siblings hide under a desk as the Xenomorph begins stalking the ship interior, before escaping into the Double Down. After the close call, Tyler deduced that they would need one of the Predator's arms to properly access the ship, and could use one of Hook's. The children left the ship and briefly encounter the ship Lieutenant, Denver, who intended to blow up the ramp with explosives from the geo-lab. However, after Maria dismissed his plan, he angrily storms off. The two return to the forward lounge, where they witness Splitter battle the loose Xenomorph. As they drag the unconscious body of Hook into the elevator, the Xenomorph defeated and decapitated Splitter.
Alliance with Hook and Sacrifice[]
- "You keep forgetting sis -- I'm programmed to save you."
- ―Tyler to Maria (from (Alien vs. Predator: Thicker Than Blood)
The Xenomorph attacks and mauls Tyler.
The siblings took the amputated hunter to the lido-deck and tried to reason with him, though Maria ultimately gave up and attempted to locate a knife. Maria began berating Tyler, but after Tyler revealed that he was put on the aftermarket by their mother, Maria eventually reconciled with him, and realized that he has always been by her side, not only as a brother and playmate but as a foster too. As the two shared an embrace, Hook approached them from behind, offering them a truce to kill the Xenomorph running amok within the ship.
The three traveled to the med-center, and Maria managed to attach a prosthetic leg to the Elder. They subsequently went to the geo-lab to find Denver, only to notice that he had been killed by the Xenomorph, who was currently distracted chasing Denver's parrot. Tyler tried to locate the bombs and the trigger, but the creature noticed the others and attacked them. Tyler distracted the creature with a harpoon gun and ultimately sacrificed himself to buy the Predator time to escape with the protesting Maria. Tyler was then effortlessly torn to shreds by the creature and left in a mangled state.
Repaired within the Tender[]
- "I used to think he was dumb for believing he could ever grow up to be like his hero...but I was the dumb one for ever doubting him. He's my brother and I love him."
- ―Maria regarding Tyler (from Alien vs. Predator: Thicker Than Blood)
Tyler is repaired by Maria and put into stasis.
Teaming up against the creature, Maria and Hook eventually managed to kill the Xenomorph in a brutal battle. Maria passed out, and Hook, holding his end of the bargain, carried Maria to the Tender also retrieving Tyler's mangled corpse and giving it to her after she woke up. Maria entered the Tender with Tyler's body as she and Hook parted ways, and Tyler is partially repaired by Maria, before being taken to a hypersleep chamber. Before being put into stasis, she informed Tyler that they were roughly two weeks from the closest safe harbor.
Personality and Traits[]
- "Don't worry sis -- they're not the only ones with cool tech. You just leave this to me."
- ―Tyler to Maria (from Alien vs. Predator: Thicker Than Blood)
Despite Tyler's artificiality, he was cheerful, plucky and opted to stay positive in dire circumstances. Given his exterior, Tyler possessed a childlike nature to him, and he generally acted as an antithesis to his sister, who in-turn, was sour and cold in his presence. Regardless, Tyler still possessed the typical programming of any 'adult' synthetic, and he was capable of acting logical and straight-thinking when the situation called for it, especially when his sister could not.
In spite of Maria's attitude towards him, Tyler would largely take her negativity in stride, and he constantly yearned for her approval, a side-effect of Tyler being unable to grow-up alongside his 'sister'. Tyler made it his priority to protect Maria, and he ultimately sacrificed himself to save her from the Xenomorph.
Tyler enjoyed watching cartoons starring the fictional hero 'Chase Mercury', and he longed to grow-up to be like his idol. He specifically possessed goggles to mimic the character's attire.
Appearances[]
Gallery[]
See Also[]
- Viola Shipp - A similar child-synthetic.