Apone

Master Sergeant Alexander “Al” Apone was a United States Colonial Marine and was dispatched as part of a squad to investigate the sudden loss of communication of the Hadley’s Hope colony. After Lieutenant Gorman, Apone was second in command on the mission. He was abducted by a Xenomorph when the Marines entered the Alien Hive. Apone appears in the 1986 film Aliens and is played by Al Matthews.

Biography

Mission to Hadley’s Hope

In 2179, after contact is lost with the Hadley’s Hope colony, a team of Colonial Marines is dispatched to investigate LV-426 along with Carter Burke and Ellen Ripley. When the Sulaco reached LV-426, Apone motivated his squad as they exited hypersleep. He gathered the squad together to hear Ripley outlining the mission. Apone had to discipline Hudson for his wise-cracking remarks.

Apone oversees the Marines preparing the equipment for the mission in the cargo bay. Ripley asks what she can do to help and says she has a license to use the Power Loader. Ripley gets inside and operates it, much to Hicks’ and Apone’s surprise.

The squad boarded the APC and dropped down into Hadley’s Hope. Apone led his squad into the complex. They found that there had been a big firefight but there were no signs of life except for a young girl called Newt. The squad realised that all the colonists had been taken to the Atmosphere Processing Plant and the squad set off to investigate. Burke, Gorman and Ripley stayed inside the APC and kept in contact with the Marines over the radio.

Apone and his squad soon entered the Alien Hive. Ripley realised that shooting with their weapons would damage the plant so Gorman ordered Apone to confiscate his squad’s ammunition and told them to switch to flamethrowers. At first, he was hesitant but followed Gorman’s orders. The group found the colonists cocooned on the walls. One of them was still alive and the squad watched on as a Chestburster emerged from her. Apone used Frost’s flamethrower and he and Dietrich set fire to Chestburster.

The hive’s Xenomorphs awoke hearing the commotion and Apone and his squad were surrounded. Gorman ordered Apone to lay down suppression fire with the incinerators and fall back to the APC. Apone was struggling to hear what Gorman was saying and didn’t see the Xenomorph above him about to attack. He was quickly attacked and abducted. It is presumed he was taken to be used as a host.

Personality and Traits

Apone was seen to frequently have a cigar in his mouth. Even though Gorman was in command of the mission, Apone had a wealth of experience and had respect from his squad. When Apone was taken by a Xenomorph, the squad quickly fell apart in the absence of his leadership. Even though Apone could be strict, he always had a light-hearted attitude. Many of the other Marines didn’t take Ripley seriously due to her lack of military experience but Apone did try to make Ripley feel welcome in the team.

Weapons & Equipment

Apone had the standard issue M3 Pattern Personal Armor with an M10 Pattern Ballistic Helmet and a Shoulder Lamp attachment. He wore a watch on his left wrist. Apone also had a pair of Infrared Binoculars used to recon the colony during the squad’s arrival. Apone carried an M41A Pulse Rifle as his personal weapon but also used Frost’s M240 Incinerator Unit while in the Hive. As a backup weapon, he carried a Heckler & Koch VP70 sidearm.

Behind-The-Scenes

Actor Al Matthews was a Marine before he became an actor and served with the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam. When he was hired to do Aliens, he used his military experience to help the other actors get into their roles.

Other Media

Aliens Novelization (1986 Novel)

In Alan Dean Foster’s novelization of Aliens, Apone appears like in the film. When the Aliens ambush everybody in the hive, he does actually return the Marines’ ammunition so they can defend themselves. He is actually killed outright in the novel instead of being abducted like in the film.

Aliens: Newt’s Tale (1992 Comic)

Aliens: Newt’s Tale is a 1992 comic book adaptation of Aliens and Apone is killed outright in the hive fight instead of being abducted.

Aliens: Field Report (2014 Comic)

Aliens: Field Report is a 2014 comic book short story that retells the moment that the Marines are the hive.

Aliens: River of Pain (2014 Novel)

Apone appears in the 2014 novel Aliens: River of Pain which covers what happens on Hadley’s Hope when the colonists receive the Derelict coordinates from Burke.

Aliens: Bug Hunt (2017 Novel)

Apone appears in two short stories in the 2017 anthology novel Aliens: Bug Hunt. In the story, Broken, this is a prequel to the events in Aliens and sees Bishop on a different mission. He eventually is reactivated and is tended to by Hudson and Apone. The second story called Blowback is a mission before Aliens where Corporal Dietrich and her squad including Apone are dispatched to a toxic world to kill indigenous lifeforms.

Merchandise

A figure based on Apone was released by Kenner in their 1990s Aliens toy series. NECA released an Apone figure in 2018 as part of Aliens Series 13.

Trivia

• James Cameron worked as a production designer and second unit director on the 1981 film Galaxy of Terror and there was a special effects makeup artist in the crew called Allan Apone.
• There are a lot of similarities between Apone and Sergeant Major Avery Johnson in the Halo series. Bungie did admit that Johnson was based on Apone.
• There’s a bonus multiplayer skin based on Apone in the 2013 game Aliens: Colonial Marines.

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