So what exactly do Colonial Marines do?

[Valaquen]

Well, to stop the confusion about the usage of "third world", the term used by Ron Cobb was actually Three World Empire. 

I believe both were used, "third" in an interview/article with Cobb. "3 world" sounds quite off grammatically (it comes from a note after all) but both are fine.

[SM]

Cobb or Mollo wrote a WY memo on insignia usage that said "Third World Empire".

[Xenomrph]

Okay, so obviously the Colonial Marines protect space colony settlements and whatnot.  But what threats do the colonists normally face that would require such a heavily armed force to deal with?  Space pirates?  Terrorists?  Are we to assume Dropship 1's "We endanger species" sticker refers to hostile extraterrestrials the Colonial Marines have fought before"? (An idea I never liked, to be honest)

I never quite got why the USCM needed a gigantic battleship with rail guns and laser cannons.

Anyone have any info/ideas?

Seek out the Leading Edge 'Aliens' RPG sourcebook - pretty much the entire book is devoted to what the Colonial Marines do when they're not facing parasitic rape monsters that are 8 feet tall, have acid for blood, and are generally unpleasant.

Some scenarios that get mentioned:

- protecting US assets (from opposing militaries, pirates, criminals, etc)
- settling armed corporate disputes (by force, if necessary)
- protecting colonists from indigenous lifeforms (basically what was intended in 'Aliens')
- quelling violent colonist uprisings

[Xenomorphine]

We never know what threats there are, because there's never a reason, on screen, to reference them. Obviously, some exist or the expense (hardware, wages, training, etcetera) wouldn't be justified.

Some clues exist, however...

1: Dallas and others are meant to have fought in some type of war(s), going by their DVD biographies.

2: Prometheus' Captain mentions combat in, I believe, deleted scene.

3: Possible intelligent extraterrestrials represent at least potential threats which need to be guarded against. Ripley's query to Dallas, about whether the signal is ET in origin, is, tellingly, not greeted with mockery, indicating contact has happened before. Ripley's hearing has an official lazily ask if any "hostile organism" like those she described, has been encountered before and receives an answer just as casual in its nature, indicating dangerous life is routine. 'Arcturians' are, of course, strongly suggested to be some other species (indicated by the use of 'male', rather than 'guy' and amusing casual reference to all of them collectively having interesting gender differences).

4: A character in the third film mentions the explosives put a ship in drydock for ages... Warship? Can't remember. Does reference a "bunker" being able to be destroyed by them, though. If there are bunkers, there are potential hostilities, too.

5: Vasquez: "How many combat drops?" The rest are not impressed Gorman's got no experience of being under hostile fire. That very unit clearly has lots of experience of being so - they've seen action within their service lives. Gorman's first mention of a high number, before admitting they're simulated, is actually accepted casually, too... This suggests it's not uncommon to have seen that many drops while under combat conditions. Going by this, combat seems to be fairly commonplace - and they're apparently expecting - even hoping - that this mission might have them see action.

Then, of course, Paris has been famously laid waste to, by the fourth film... And why would lowly troop transports have the capability to commence nuclear orbital bombardment, as well as carrying mere APCs which can "wipe out half a city", if there was no reason for them to potentially need those abilities?

So, yeah, there are a lot of hints as to warfare being a part of life.

[Eva]

I always imagined that Arcturians were a moniker/slang for humans living at an already established off-world colony. You know, these marines scored at some local titty-bar and sexual preferences are different and more varied in the future, sooo...

I'm fairly certain that someone involved with creating this universe, expressed how we've had no contact with intelligent alien civilizations yet, just the occasional bug hunts at best...

[SpreadEagleBeagle]

I always imagined that Arcturians were a moniker/slang for humans living at an already established off-world colony. You know, these marines scored at some local titty-bar and sexual preferences are different and more varied in the future, sooo...

I'm fairly certain that someone involved with creating this universe, expressed how we've had no contact with intelligent alien civilizations yet, just the occasional bug hunts at best...

This.

[Xenomorphine]

I always imagined that Arcturians were a moniker/slang for humans living at an already established off-world colony. You know, these marines scored at some local titty-bar and sexual preferences are different and more varied in the future, sooo...

I'm fairly certain that someone involved with creating this universe, expressed how we've had no contact with intelligent alien civilizations yet, just the occasional bug hunts at best...

It's possible, but the wording of 'male' would be strange in that context. It should've just been 'guy' or 'dude' or whatever. 'Male' implies some kind of other species - and the context in which it's spoken, more so.

Could even extrapolate, by even the nature of the joke, itself, that sexual preference is still very much an object of humour and jibes, at that point, as much as it is today. Doubt anyone's worried about gay marriage, but it's clear he's getting jokily ripped on for accidentally sleeping with his own gender. Especially when he's saying it "doesn't matter" when it's Arcturian - implies it would be a problem if the other person was from Earth. And I can't imagine why that would make sense, unless they are some kind of attractive alien species.

I mean, let's assume they are just human colonists from some other location, right? In taht case, the joke would read like this, if it was present-day:

"Hey, I wouldn't mind getting some more of that Spanish poontang!"
"Yeah, but the one you had was a guy!"
"It don't matter when they're Spanish!"

Like... What? You'd expect one of them to just go, "No, it totally counts, dude..."

If they're so accepting of bisexuality, why are they even ripping on him for it, in the first place? And why specify 'poontang' instead of something more gender-neutral, like 'ass' or whatever?

To me, it just makes more sense if they're referring to some other species. Unless, obviously Arcturians are somehow mutated human beings, but... 99.9% of the time, genetic mutations aren't exactly attractive. Especially across an entire colony's worth of people.

Either way, we're definitely seeing a lot of combat, as a species, by that time. Just how localised it is, is another matter.

[Layorz]

I don't draw as big of a connection to the use of "male" as others are. I'd probably refer to a Thai hooker with a penis as a "male" when talking shit with my mates too. In fact, in all it's guyish-childish glory, a common joke in my circle of friends in high school years ago was calling each others mothers a "male $2 hooker". I just can't see the use of the word male as definitive proof of anything. Perhaps thats just the way Frost speaks, maybe it was used for effect (sounds harsher to say male instead of guy/man, doesn't it?). I personally wouldn't assume it's evidence of an alien species that marines would have sex with. Maybe Arcturia(?) is just the space version of Thailand.

[Kimarhi]

Or androids.

[Xenomrph]

I'm willing to accept Arcturians as humanoid aliens of some kind, but I won't deny that Cameron's original intent behind the line was a "sci fi" version of the common Thai ladyboi cliche that cropped up a lot in Vietnam, seeing as how 'Aliens' is one big Vietnam allegory in space.

[whiterabbit]

I assumed the Arcturians were all Eunuchs. They all have vaginas but yet retained their male/female identities independent of that.

[ChrisPachi]

I assumed the Arcturians were all Eunuchs. They all have vaginas but yet retained their male/female identities independent of that.

Eunuchs. Vaginas. Does not compute.

Are we to assume Dropship 1's "We endanger species" sticker refers to hostile extraterrestrials the Colonial Marines have fought before"? (An idea I never liked, to be honest)

I thought that that was a bit of a joke - a Cobb 'flourish'?

Call it hammy, but the idea of the USCM dropping in to clear a planet of its indigenous life so that the Company or some other entity can take advantage of that planets resources is a great subversion of the typically haughty ideals of more serious science fiction, and that's possibly where the conflict is.

[Eva]

The android idea or human/android hybrids could work. They could be living in a star system that required some genetic modifications in order for them to survive and multiply, perhaps causing gender specifics to become blurred...

While I can't dismiss the idea that the Arcturians could be... aliens... that thought has just never ever crossed my mind since the very first time I watched ALIENS and heard that exchange.

To me, the whole setup of Camerons plot included the notion that we've still not discovered nor made contact to intelligent species out there. That's why Ripley's report is met with massive disbelief at the inquiry, that's why the lady remarks that they've never found anything like what Ripley talks about in 2-300 surveyed worlds. Same with the marines when Ripley tells them of her encounter in the hangar bay - they are highly suspicious and don't look like they could be remotely bothered to read her fantasy report.

Why would everybody be so dismissive of Ripley claiming to have encountered an intelligent alien species, if other intelligent alien species have been encountered already and have become part of 'everyday life', it seems? Doesn't make sense to me.

Let's not forget the discussion that lead directly into Frosts remark about Arcturian poontang in the first place; Apone joking that they're on a mission to save some colonists daughters from their virginity. Dumbass colonists... 

[SiL]

I mean, let's assume they are just human colonists from some other location, right? In taht case, the joke would read like this, if it was present-day:

"Hey, I wouldn't mind getting some more of that Spanish poontang!"
"Yeah, but the one you had was a guy!"
"It don't matter when they're Spanish!"

Like... What? You'd expect one of them to just go, "No, it totally counts, dude..."

No you wouldn't, if they were just joking around.

[Kimarhi]

The android idea or human/android hybrids could work. They could be living in a star system that required some genetic modifications in order for them to survive and multiply, perhaps causing gender specifics to become blurred...

While I can't dismiss the idea that the Arcturians could be... aliens... that thought has just never ever crossed my mind since the very first time I watched ALIENS and heard that exchange.

To me, the whole setup of Camerons plot included the notion that we've still not discovered nor made contact to intelligent species out there. That's why Ripley's report is met with massive disbelief at the inquiry, that's why the lady remarks that they've never found anything like what Ripley talks about in 2-300 surveyed worlds. Same with the marines when Ripley tells them of her encounter in the hangar bay - they are highly suspicious and don't look like they could be remotely bothered to read her fantasy report.

Why would everybody be so dismissive of Ripley claiming to have encountered an intelligent alien species, if other intelligent alien species have been encountered already and have become part of 'everyday life', it seems? Doesn't make sense to me.

Let's not forget the discussion that lead directly into Frosts remark about Arcturian poontang in the first place; Apone joking that they're on a mission to save some colonists daughters from their virginity. Dumbass colonists... 

Mostly agreed.  The dialogue makes it seem like they have went up against a few XTs in their time, but they were more oversized vermin than they were threats to the Marines.  Bug hunt, the dropship logo, the disdain for being on a bug hunt over an actual mission against human enemies. etc

I always took it that they had went up against a few XT's but that they were simply not much of a threat to armed Marines.  Thus they met Ripley's report of an actual super monster with skepticism as being more of the same.