Who promoted Ripley?

Cafe Society
1

I’ve been watching the new Alien Quadrilogy, and I’ve been reminded of a problem I don’t think I’ve ever seen addressed.

Who keeps promoting Ripley?

In Alien, she’s clearly in a position of some authority on the ship, but isn’t the Captain (Dallas) and in fact ranks somewhere below Executive Officer (Kane).

In Aliens, we learn (in the special edition, at least, I can’t remember if it’s in the theatrical edition) that Ripley is, in fact, a warrant officer. My dictionary says that warrant officer ranks between commissioned and noncommissioned officers. Assuming naval ranks, I’m guessing that’s lower than an ensign but higher than a chief petty officer.

However, she then is stripped of her license or whatever it is and grounded, and only later do they get her back into space, this time as an advisor (no rank at all, as far as I can see, especially since they go so far as to make an issue of the fact that Corporal Hicks has command after Lieutenant Gorman is wounded).

So how come by Alien[sup]3[/sup], she’s suddenly, magically “Lieutenant Ripley”? With no argument, yet! “Lieutenant? Oh, hell, no, I’m just a military advisor!”

But it doesn’t stop there! By Alien Resurrection, she’s “Lieutenant First Class Ellen Ripley,” which may or may not even be a naval rank (don’t naval ranks do that “junior grade” stuff?).

It’s maddenning, I tell ya. Maddenning!

2

I don’t know about the third and fourth movies, but in the first two, my impression was that the ranks aboard the Nostromo, a cargo vessel, were more like merchant marine grades than military ranks.

3

It’s true that Ripley is a Warrant Officer. As such she occupies a space between Dallas, Kane, Ash and the others.

She is, however, merchant marine…not navy.

But all bets are off once she’s stripped of rank. At that point she’s a civilian and shouldn’t be addressed by any rank.

4

Of all the things wrong with Alien 3 & 4, you’re focusing on rank?
:slight_smile:

5

Ellen Ripley was the first officer on the Nostromo, holding a commercial (ICC) rank of “Warrant Officer”. In Aliens, Burke offers her the reinstatement of her commission – which warrant officers, by definition, do not have! – and a return to flight status. Presumably this is where she gets the rank of Lieutenant, which may be an abbreviated/courtesy title for Lieutenant First Class (like calling a LTjG in the Navy “Ell Tee” or “lieutenant” and not sweating the details).

Alternatively, she could have been commissioned as a Lieutenant and promoted to L/1C at the end of Alien^3 for her outstanding contributions to the field of biological warfare…

Aside: In Aliens, after Gorman’s injury, Hicks outranks her because her rank is ICC / Commercial rank, not military rank. She’s kind of like an Carnival Cruise Lines “Captain” shipwrecked with a team of enlisted Navy SEALs. That Hicks takes her advice to “nuke the site from orbit” is a sign that he (1) respects her experience with these creatures, and (2) wants to get home alive.

6

No, I don’t think that’s right. Kane was the exec. Ripley became second in command when he was incapacitated. Prior to that she was third in line after Kane but before everyone else. Note that Ash was an ‘officer’ but was staff grade and not command. Command wouldn’t devolve to him (such as he was) unless all other chain officers were out of the picture.

7

Well, I think, “Ellen Ripley; Mother of Destroyer Aliens and Nuker of Worlds” is a big step up from Lieutenant, anyway.