XENOPEDIA

XENOPEDIA

Michael Bishop
EDIT

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

DATE OF BIRTH 2127[1]

PLACE OF BIRTH New York City, New York, United

Americas[1]

NATIONALITY

RANK Synthetic component designer

Director of Special Projects for
Bio-Weapons R&D division

AFFILIATION Hyperdyne Systems (formerly)

Weyland-Yutani
Corporation

STATUS Deceased as of 2194[1]

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

SPECIES Human[2]

GENDER Male

HEIGHT 5ft 9 (175.3 cm)[3]

HAIR COLOR Dark brown

EYE COLOR Hazel

OTHER INFORMATION

MORE
NOTABLE FACTS Creator of Lance Bishop[4]

“
PORTRAYED BY Lance Henriksen

Bishop (from

Alien3
)

THINK OF ALL WE COULD LEARN FROM IT!

Michael Bishop[1][5] was an executive o?cer of the

Weyland-Yutani Corporation in the late 22nd century.
[6] He notably designed the eponymous Bishop series
of androids.[5] He also bore a striking resemblance to
Charles Bishop Weyland, co-founder of Weyland
Industries.[7]

Michael Bishop was originally employed as a synthetic

component designer and engineer for Hyperdyne
Systems, but by 2179 had assumed a senior position
within the company's bio-weapons division.[6] In this
role he was responsible for the Origin Facility on LV-
426. He was notably dispatched to Fiorina "Fury" 161
to retrieve Ellen Ripley from the Fiorina 161 Class C
Work Correctional Unit.

Biography

Early history

Michael Bishop was born in 2127 in New York, UA.[1]

Not much is known about his early life, except that he
was a synthetic designer at Hyperdyne Systems[6]
where he designed several synthetics including the
eponymous Bishop series, which he modeled on his
own appearance.[4]

Capturing Dwayne Hicks

By 2179, he was catapulted to Director of Special

Projects for the Weyland-Yutani Bio-Weapons R&D
Division,[6] and as such became involved in the study
of the

Xenomorph
species. Following the Xenomorph outbreak at
Hadley's Hope on LV-426, he was dispatched to the
moon to investigate what had happened at the
colony, his ultimate goal being the successful
acquisition of a Xenomorph specimen, apparently at
any cost.[2] Weyland-Yutani PMCs under Bishop's
command were notably responsible for the failed
attempt at capturing Dwayne Hicks aboard the USS
Sulaco.[8]

Retrieval mission and failure

“
Ripley! Think of all we could learn from it! It's the
chance of a lifetime! You must let me have it. It's a
magniAcent specimen!

BISHOP, TO RIPLEY (FROM ALIEN3)

Michael after being assaulted by Francis Aaron.

Following Hicks' escape, Bishop was dispatched to

Fiorina 161 with Dr. Matsushita and a team of
scientists and Weyland-Yutani Commandos aboard
the Patna to retrieve the Xenomorph specimen that
was loose there for the company's bio-weapons
division. He was selected for the mission due to the
involvement of Lieutenant Ellen Ripley; it was thought
that her previous experience with one of Bishop's
android creations in the USCM would make him the
company's best chance of obtaining her cooperation.
He arrived on the planet too late to capture the
Xenomorph, which was destroyed by Ripley and the
prison's inmates.

However, medical data automatically transmitted

following Ripley's scan inside the damaged EEV had
told Bishop of the Xenomorph Queen gestating inside
her, and consequently Bishop attempted to secure
her cooperation as the best remaining means to
obtain an Alien specimen. When his attempts to
convince Ripley that his team of scientists could
safely remove the creature and then destroy it failed,
he was assaulted by Francis Aaron with a wrench and
suaered serious head injuries; Aaron was shot and
killed by Weyland-Yutani commandos for the incident,
against Bishop's orders. As Ripley prepared to commit
suicide rather than allow the Xenomorph to fall into
Weyland-Yutani's hands, Michael let his cover slip and
begged her to reconsider, imploring her to think of the
biological and technological possibilities should they
have the opportunity to study the creature. Ripley
refused, and threw herself into the furnace at the
foundry, killing the Chestburster along with herself.
Bishop's mission was a failure, but he was able to
capture Hicks and Samwell Stone, who had arrived at
the prison facility at the moment Ripley sacribced
herself.[8] Bishop and his team subsequently left the
facility, taking with them their prisoners and the lone
survivor of the Fiorina 161 incident, inmate Robert
Morse, and the remains of Lance Bishop.[9] Morse was
later returned to prison.[10]

Return to LV-426

Bishop interrogating Corporal Dwayne Hicks after the events on

Fiorina 161.

After the events on Fiorina 161, Bishop returned to LV-

426 with Hicks and Stone. He oversaw the
interrogation of the two captives aboard the Resolute
— although Stone was later executed — as well as the
construction of the Origin Facility, which was being
hastily assembled around the rediscovered derelict
ship. There, under Bishop's overall command,
Weyland-Yutani scientists began breeding and
studying the Xenomorphs using the Eggs aboard the
derelict. Bishop's team would also capture the second
Acheron Queen from her Hive in the caves beneath
the moon's surface.[8] However, following the arrival
of the USS Sephora and subsequent events on the
planet, culminating in the destruction of the Origin
Facility by Colonial Marines from the Sephora, Bishop
ded the moon, leaving behind a synthetic double to
buy himself time.

Post LV-426

“
W-Y XOs and corporate agents are numerous on
the Frontier, but the real man in charge out there is
Michael Bishop.

ALIEN: THE ROLEPLAYING GAME

Having suaered severe head trauma on Fiorina 161, he

received extensive corrective surgery and cybernetic
implants to repair the damage to his skull. However,
he became dependent on highly addictive painkillers
because of severe migraine and red-outs that doctors
were unable to control. Since then he still operated on
the Frontier, his ship has been seen making several
transit runs between the Frontier and Anchorpoint
Station, looking for any Xenomorphic materials to
weaponize, [6] he also sent "Dog Catcher"
Commandos and science teams to explore the
Frontier in search of Xenomorph XX121 hive worlds,
archaeological ruins belonging to the Engineers, and
viable alien specimens.[11]

Death

Bishop eventually passed away in 2194, following

complications from surgery.[1]

Creations

One of Michael's creations.

Michael was a synthetic component designer at

Weyland-Yutani in the late 22nd century. He was
known to have designed at least one line of
synthetics after his likeness, the 341-B model. The
android Lance Bishop was one of those models.

Personality and Traits

“
Lieutenant Ripley's death: a selAsh act. The
destruction of the Legato at the hands of some
angry little girl: inconvenient. But let us be frank,
Corporal — and please, believe me when I say this
— there is nothing sacred here. Every resource I
have is expendable when it comes to ensuring the
further study and development of this organism.

BISHOP TO HICKS, REGARDING THE XENOMORPH

(FROM STASIS INTERRUPTED)

Michael Bishop was a highly intelligent individual,[5]

often considered as a narcissistic genius but he was
also manipulative, deceitful and ambitious, qualities
that no doubt endeared him to Weyland-Yutani, those
qualities were also responsible of his sudden
ascension in Weyland-Yutani hierarchy [6]. On Fiorina
161, he openly claimed that he wanted to destroy the
Chestburster inside Ellen Ripley and take her home to
safety, when his real aim was to capture the
Xenomorph specimen at any cost. However, Ripley
saw through his claims and ultimately committed
suicide to prevent him from obtaining the creature.
He later became addicted to painkillers due to severe
migraines.[6]

Trivia

Bishop actor Lance Henriksen is almost certainly

the most prolibc bgure in the Alien franchise. As
well as Michael Bishop, he portrayed Lance
Bishop in

Aliens and Charles Bishop Weyland in

Alien vs. Predator

, and also lent his voice and likeness to the characters
of Karl Bishop Weyland and another Bishop android in
the video games

Aliens vs. Predator

and

Aliens: Colonial Marines

, respectively.

Furthermore, Henriksen appeared as Detective

Hal Vukovich in The Terminator, which was
written and directed by Aliens director James
Cameron. In the blm, his character is killed by the
titular cyborg; this, combined with his deaths in
Aliens and Alien vs. Predator, makes Henriksen
one of two actors who have been killed on-
screen by an Alien, a Predator and a Terminator, a
dubious honor he shares with fellow Aliens actor
Bill Paxton.
In the video game Aliens: Colonial Marines and its
expansion Stasis Interrupted, Bishop's name is
said to be Michael Weyland.[8] However, this
contradicts several other sources (including

Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report), which give his

surname as Bishop.

Henriksen was initially reluctant to appear in

Alien3 (beyond providing the voice of the
damaged Bishop), but did so as a favour to
producer Walter Hill, with whom he was good
friends. He would go on to say that he had "a lot
of fun" making the movie.[12]
The prosthetic head piece used to show Bishop's
injuries was built around an ear originally made
for Jack Nicholson in the 1989 blm Batman.[13]
Since the release of Alien vs. Predator in 2004,
the Michael Bishop character has come to be
considered by some a direct descendant of
Charles Bishop Weyland.

"An Unidentibed Man" as seen in Alien3: The Gun.

In the arcade game Alien3: The Gun, a character

with a very similar appearance and role to Bishop
appears, known as "An Unidentibed Man". He is
the bnal boss of the game and is killed by the
player(s).
One of the text logs that can be found in Aliens
versus Predator 2 is an e-mail written by Michael
Bishop, asking for a convict named Rieser to be
returned to a mining facility on Io. This e-mail is
dated October 3, 2230;[14] this contradicts the
later Weyland-Yutani Report, which states
Michael Bishop died in 2194. His date of birth
given in the same book also means he would be
103 years old in 2230; perhaps not impossible,
but making it seem unlikely he would still be
working for Weyland-Yutani in an active capacity.

Appearances

Alien3/

novel
/

comic
Alien 3 (trading cards)
Aliens: Nightmare Asylum (indirect mention)
Aliens versus Predator 2 (mentioned only)

Aliens: Colonial Marines/Stasis Interrupted

Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report

Alien: Into Charybdis (mentioned only)
Heart of Darkness
Aliens: Bishop

Gallery

Behind the scenes image of

Bishop, alongside a Weyland-
Yutani Commando

A promotional photo of Bishop.

Bishop negotiating with Ripley

Bishop watches in horror as

Ripley throws herself — and the
Queen inside her — to her death

"Michael Weyland" and his Fiorina

161 team in Stasis Interrupted.
Note that PMCs and M41A Pulse…
are standing in for the
Michael Weyland at the Fiorina
Weyland-Yutani Commandos and
161 Correctional Facility during
the black M41As seen in .
the stand-oP with Ripley.

Michael Weyland during the

interrogation of Dwayne Hicks.

References

n. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 S. D. Perry. Alien: The Weyland-
Yutani Report, p. 139 (2014), Insight Editions.
p. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Aliens: Colonial Marines, Microsoft
Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 version,
Gearbox Software, 2013.
q. ↑ Bishop's actor's (Lance Henriksen) height at the
time was 5ft 9 (175.3 cm), so that is also how tall
Bishop would have been.
s. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Vincent Ward (writer), David Fincher
(director). Alien3 (1992), 20th Century Fox [DVD].
v. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Alien3 trading cards — 70. Bishop
II (1992), Star Pics.
w. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Andrew E. C. Gaska. Alien:
The Roleplaying Game, p. 238 (2019), Free
League Publishing.
x. ↑ Paul W. S. Anderson (writer and director). Alien
vs. Predator (2004), 20th Century Fox [DVD].
y. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Stasis Interrupted, Microsoft
Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 version,
Gearbox Software, 2013.
z. ↑ Lee Brimmicombe-Wood. Aliens: Colonial
Marines Technical Manual, p. 146 (2012), Titan
Books.
n{. ↑ A. C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley. Alien
Resurrection, p. 115 (2015), Titan Books.
nn. ↑ Andrew E. C. Gaska. Alien: The Roleplaying
Game, p. 239 (2019), Free League Publishing.
np. ↑ Lance Henriksen. Lance Henriksen Returns in
Style (2010), 20th Century Fox [Blu-ray].
nq. ↑ Paul McGann, Alex Thomson, Richard Edlund,
Alec Gillis, Terry Rawlings. Alien3 audio
commentary (2003), 20th Century Fox [DVD].
ns. ↑ Aliens versus Predator 2 - text log

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