On 21st December 1992 my 15th birthday came to an end with Aliens on TV. Initially, I’d sat down to watch it with my mum because Sigourney Weaver was in it and I was a Ghostbusters fan, but we were both quickly drawn in. I’ve scoured the TV schedules on my birthday every year since but there’s never been a movie to match it. Now, 34 years later, and for the third year in a row since my mum passed away, I’ll mark that night with what has become one of my traditional Christmas watches.
Paul Reiser played Carter Burke, the company man we were led to believe was a decent guy. Paul’s performance is so likeable that the slow reveal of his true intentions made for compelling viewing. I grew up watching Paul on the sitcom My Two Dads and his famous “This is not my…” line from the Beverly Hills Cop movies was very quotable back in school. Decades later, on October 2024 he appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers , a show I watch every day over breakfast.
A few minutes in I was thrilled to hear the two of them discuss a new Aliens: What If…? comic from Marvel with the premise of telling a story following Burke if he had survived the movie. Paul collaborated with his son and there are some funny stories in the interview about that aspect of the project. You can also see some of the covers and Paul’s general reaction to the idea and what he thought of working on it.
The actual scripts are by Hans Rodionoff (Man-Thing, Damage Control) and Adam F. Goldberg (The Goldbergs TV show, the movies The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz and How to Train Your Dragon), Giui Vilanova (The A-Team, Dark Shadows, The Punisher) is the artist, Yen Nitro (Venom, Catpool & Mousepool, Predator Vs Spider-Man) the colourist, Clayton Cowles (Adventureman, Shang-Chi, Thor) the letterer and Phil Noto (Batgirl, Grendel, G.I. Joe) the cover artist.
However, as well as their input on the idea and plot, the scripts would also be sent back to Paul and his son Leon to add to or edit the character’s speech to make sure it flowed in his natural voice, and to add in some comedy. In hindsight this works really well. It doesn’t take away from it being an Aliens horror tale but it can also be very funny. It’s easily the funniest Aliens comic you’re ever likely to read thanks to Burke’s reactions to the ever-worsening situation around him.
There’s a famous deleted scene from the movie which involved Ripley discovering Burke in the Alien nest, trapped in the walls. He tells her he can feel one growing inside him and begs her to help. She simply hands him a grenade and moves on. It was cut because director James Cameron realised that Burke would still have had the face hugger on his head by this point so it didn’t make sense. However, you can still see the scene in the comics adaptation, Newt’s Tale, in #7 of the 90s UK Aliens comic (coincidentally enough the first Christmas issue).
What If…? begins by replaying his last moments in the film but he isn’t killed as we assumed from his final seconds. Instead he’s captured, but unlike the deleted scene the face hugger doesn’t get a chance to attach itself. Instead, the explosion set off by Vasquez and Gorman rocks through the ventilation shafts and shatters the alien resin holding Burke captive. We then see him hiding in the shadows of the final scenes of the film, witnessing it all play out. The opening scene from Alien³ even gets a look in.
In the aftermath, Weyland-Yutani sees him as the perfect fall guy so the company declares that their wish to capture aliens for biological weapons research was all his idea. We catch up with him decades later as the boss of an all-but-forgotten mining planet with a workforce that hates him, his estranged daughter Brie who hates him and soon Yutani’s son Hiro, who hates him.
Burke has a plan to redeem his name, mend things with Brie and get off the godforsaken rock. Of course, the plan involves a xenomorph. You’d think he’d have learned his lesson, if not from his own experiences then from all the movies! (I jest.) As it turns out, his wife has been cryofrozen to stop her cancer from advancing any further and alien DNA holds the answer to create a medical panacea.
We know from previous Aliens comic strips in the 90s that their slime contains potential medical applications and a recreational drug. Although, the modern Marvel comics are ignoring all of those strips so whether this is still true in the Alien universe anymore I’m not sure. His synth Cygnus (who hates him) secures an alien egg after decades in space and Burke is ready to make his move. Apart from having this character back from the dead it all sounds oh so familiar.
After watching the movies and reading Dark Horse International’s 90s Aliens comic this just feels like more of the same. The key human beat that’s different is the link between the predictable plot and Zoe, Burke’s wife. While he does have a larger plan to clear his name and get his revenge on the company, the story has a heart at its centre and a surprisingly emotional thread for Burke and his family.
We sympathise while at the same time wanting to scream at him for making the same mistake every single human has ever made in the Alien franchise, that of thinking they can control any outcome that involves the creatures. If the descendants of Dr Ian Malcolm existed in the Alien universe they’d be very, very busy.
I’ve spent most of this review summing up the creation of this mini-series and the storyline. Have I left enough room to sum up my opinions? The thing is, I can pretty much do so by telling you about one specific moment. Or rather, moments, plural. At one point they capture the face hugger only for them to lose hold of it and watch it escape through a vent into the larger mining area. Then it happens again, and again.
It’s presented as a recurring joke about the ineptitude of Burke. His reaction to it continually happening is certainly funny. But, no matter how much I might have giggled at what he says, the fact it keeps happening just gets repetitive. After a while it stops feeling like a recurring joke and more like lazy plotting. With several throwbacks that copy moments and dialogue from the movie that feeling doesn’t really go away.
For the first while in the movie we liked the character of Burke. (We were also used to Paul playing likeable characters.) In the end though, we all loved to hate him. Here, the reader’s feelings for him go in the opposite direction, which I’ll admit is clever. By the end we’re back to liking him again despite everything he tried (and caused) in the film. Paul’s input is clear. Burke has great comic timing, feels like a fully developed character, is fallible and we believe he has atoned so his comedy really lands.
But unfortunately all of this potential is tied to a storyline that does nothing new. Burke himself feels like the only original element, which is ironic given he’s an already established character. Apart from his reactions everything that happens around him is wholly predictable. As such, when it all ends it’s strange that the only memorable thing in an Aliens horror tale is the humour.
It’s great humour though and really benefits from the unique way in which this was written. It’s a shame the comic team couldn’t come up with something just as unique for Paul to collaborate on. If you can grab the five issues (or the collected graphic novel) for cheap somewhere I’d recommend it as an interesting concept, for the central character and for Paul’s input. The ending is also left open, so there’s always hope that we’ll see more from Burke in a story that’ll do him justice.
