Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

The Alien

So… right? The alien is Ripley and co.'s antagonist because it stands in conflict with them. Either the humans kill the alien or the alien will kill all humans. It's like his Prime Directive.

The alien's entire character stands in opposition to his human opponents, too. Whereas the humans are social creatures, it is a lone predator. Whereas the humans have developed art and technology, its only concern is evolutionary survival. Whereas the humans are mammals, it displays traits that are more…insect? We're going with insect.

Also, it bleeds acid. We don't want to stereotype here, but as a general rule, if it bleeds acid, it's not a good guy.