10 More Horror Characters We All Foolishly Thought Had Got Away

4. Bishop (Aliens)

Aliens Bishop death
20th Century Studios

Though the Xenomorphs in the Alien franchise were reduced to cannon-fodder pests in some of their later appearances, it's important not to forget how ruthlessly intelligent they are.

The sole monster in Ridley Scott's 1979 original most definitely had its Weetabix in the morning, but it's the Alien Queen in James Cameron's direct sequel, Aliens, that's the most big-brained of the lot - and the end of the movie demonstrates why.

Here, it looks as though Ripley, Newt, and the android Bishop have escaped the horrors of LV-426, with the trio flying away in a dropship as the Xenomorph colony is destroyed in a huge explosion. But unfortunately for them, the Alien Queen is pretty annoyed that all her babies have been barbecued, so, determined to even things out a bit, she stows away on the dropship. Both the characters and the audience don't know this, and it seems like the danger has passed when the dropship lands - until the Queen emerges from her hiding spot and brutally rips Bishop to shreds.

Granted, this doesn't kill Bishop - yet. He succumbs to his injuries in Alien 3, asking Ripley to shut him down after realising he can't be restored. Androids have a bad reputation in the Alien franchise, but Bishop was one of the good 'uns - so it hurt to see him go.

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Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!