10 Horror Movies That Switch The Main Character Halfway

For over 40 years, Ellen Ripley has been an icon of not just in sci-fi, but of cinema, period. Because of her resilience, independence, and adaptability, it's easy to see how this Xenomorph-killing badass has stood the test of time.

But when she debuted in Alien, there was little reason to believe she was a primary character, not to mention the sole survivor by the end of the film. Although there is no definitive protagonist at first, Ripley is near the bottom of the pecking order. Dallas is the spaceship's captain, Kane is the head officer, Lambert is the navigator, and Parker is the chief engineer. Because Ripley is a warrant officer, she has less responsibility or clout than anyone else.

Despite her low station, Ripley repeatedly proves to be the most resourceful and determined, which is why she outlives her crew and defeats the dreaded starbeast singlehandedly.

Ripley's transition into a protagonist was also unexpected because... well...the 1970s were a different time. Since it was commonplace for sci-fi to depict women as fetishised damsels in distresses, it was groundbreaking for Ripley to break gender stereotypes and triumph over an unkillable antagonist after everyone else failed.