Hicks

A Senior Corporal who assumed command after his squad fell and survived the crash on Fiorina 161 via retcon.

Corporal Dwayne Hicks, known mononymously as Hicks, is a fictional character in the Alien franchise portrayed by Michael Biehn. Serving as a Senior Corporal in the United States Colonial Marine Corps aboard the USS Sulaco, he was one of only four survivors of the LV-426 expedition alongside Ellen Ripley, Newt, and Bishop. Initially appearing in Aliens, Hicks assumed command after his squad was decimated by Xenomorphs. While Alien 3 initially depicted him as impaled and crushed by a support beam during a crash on Fiorina 161, resulting in his cremation, the video game Aliens: Colonial Marines later retconned this death. In that timeline, he awakens from hypersleep to fight Weyland-Yutani forces before being rescued by the USCM squadron aboard the USS Sephora.

Quick Facts

Series: Alien
First: Aliens (1986)
Last: Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013)
Gender: Male
Occupation: Senior corporal
Portrayed by: Michael Biehn; James Remar (initial production)
Creator: James Cameron

Lore & Background

In Aliens, Hicks and his unit were dispatched to LV-426 by Lieutenant Gorman, accompanied by Weyland-Yutani representative Carter Burke. After discovering Facehuggers and a young girl named Newt in the Hadley's Hope colony, the marines descended into the hive where they faced a massacre. With Sergeant Apone deceased and Gorman unresponsive, Hicks automatically assumed command of Ripley, Hudson, Vasquez, Newt, Burke, and Bishop. Following a dropship crash that killed pilot Corporal Ferro, the survivors fortified the Operations Center.

When Bishop revealed the Atmosphere Processor would explode, Hicks formulated a plan for Bishop to remotely pilot a second dropship from the Sulaco. Hicks responded to a fire alarm in the medical lab and rescued Ripley and Newt, who were trapped inside with two live Facehuggers. In the final escape through ventilation ducts, Vasquez and Gorman sacrificed themselves with a grenade. Cornered in an elevator, Hicks suffered severe facial burns and chest armor melting from Xenomorph acid blood. He was sedated by Bishop before entering cryosleep on the Sulaco.

Reader's Guide

Corporal Dwayne Hicks functions as the narrative anchor of human resilience within the franchise's military chapters. During the LV-426 crisis, he instructed Ripley on using the M41A Pulse Rifle for self-defense and formulated plans to escape despite overwhelming odds.

Did You Know?

Actor James Remar was originally cast as Hicks and filmed for two weeks before being fired due to a drug arrest.
James Cameron replaced Remar with Michael Biehn, who rejected the 'padlock heart' motif on his armor because it looked like a bullseye.
In Alien 3, Hicks was killed off at the start of the film, a decision that led actor Michael Biehn to file a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox for unauthorized use of his likeness.
The game Aliens: Colonial Marines retconned Hicks' death by revealing that colonist Turk was knocked into his cryotube and died in his place during the crash on Fiorina 161.