Mother Alien

For the creature also referred to as "Mother Alien" in the Appaloosa Interactive games, see Mother Alien (Appaloosa Interactive).

Mother Alien
Mother Alien as she appears in Contra: Hard Corps.
Japanese name(s)	マザーエイリアン Mazā Eirian
Type(s)	Alien
Abilities	Generates a multitude of flying eyeballs that home toward the player Features two tentacle-like appendages that fire lightning bolts
Location(s)	Alien Space (HC)
Appearances	Contra: Hard Corps
Theme(s)	Alien's Den

The Mother Alien (マザーエイリアン, Mazā Eirian^?) is a boss in Contra: Hard Corps and C: The Contra Adventure.

Description

A grotesque monstrosity that resembles a giant female humanoid face held by two equally giant alien hands. Two masses of tumorous lumps (possibly her exposed brain) sprout out from each side of her head, giving them the appearance of a Victorian era hairstyle. These lumps could also be a collective mass of Eggrons, from which her eyeball-like creatures spawn from, further befitting her name. Two clawed tentacle-like appendages come out from each side of this "brain", which in conjunction with her other features make the Mother Alien resemble Emperor Demon Gava to some extent, both in appearance and in attack capabilities and behaviors. Despite her initial calm expression, after sustaining enough damage her skin will eventually peel off and reveal her atrocious true nature: a giant alien skull.

The Mother Alien seems to be the result of Colonel Bahamut's inexperienced research team performing several failed experiments in their attempt to reproduce a potential bioweapon from the alien cell. Evidence found in the location where she is encountered at indicates that she hatched from an egg or cocoon, hinting she might have quickly grown up from a larval state and mutated into her more recognizable adult stage.

Appearances

Contra: Hard Corps

After an intense battle against a series of minibosses, the Mother Alien emerges as the first phase of one of the final bosses of the game. A grotesque monstrosity featuring a giant female humanoid face as some sort of "mask" covering her real face. The top of her head is what appears to be her brain (or a mass of tumors resembling one) sprouting out from each side, giving it the appearance of a Victorian era hairstyle. If the player doesn't damage her for a while, she will start making smirks and moving her mouth, possibly taunting the player by "blowing kisses" at the screen. Her eyes also blink and constantly track the player's movements.

She begins the battle by rising from below and then slowly moving near the center while revealing two tentacle-like appendages with clawed hands attached to each side of her "brain". These arms will constantly encircle around the general area, harming the player if they get too close. The hands can be damaged, and the entire arm can be slightly pushed back each time its hand is struck by weapons fire. As the battle progresses, each hand will alternate to charge up energy and then release it in a powerful lighting blast straight below it. Dealing enough damage to a hand will cause the entire limb to be destroyed, permanently removing its threat from the battlefield.

During the course of the battle, repulsive looking flying eyeballs filled with more eyeballs inside will constantly be released from within the Mother Alien's head, causing yet another threat to watch out for. These large blue eyeballs constantly float near the player, attempting to bump into them. These eyeballs are easily dispatched by weapons fire, but can mean trouble if a large number of them are allowed to populate the screen.

The Mother Alien's deceitful serene expression will start twisting in a most horrible grimace every time she takes damage, and after sustaining enough damage her skin will eventually peel off, revealing an alien skull underneath still covered in tender skin. At this point, she will start bouncing from side to side in the background, and the hands (if still present) will become more of a threat, as they'll become harder to avoid while they travel along with the mobile boss. She'll also produce eyeballs at a much faster rate, potentially swarming the field as she bounces around.

When the Mother Alien has received enough further damage, all eyeballs and her hands (if present) will explode, with her stopping and then warping vertically on the screen, blurring the vision to a white fade. When vision is regained, the heroes will be in front of the final boss of this route.

The background theme that plays during her boss battle is "Alien's Den".

Gallery

Screenshots

The Mother Alien's lightning attack.

Her spawned orbs flood the screen. One of her limbs is also caught in a glitch (stuck in the ground shooting infinite lightning).

Sprites

Sprite with her monstrous face exposed (minus limbs).

Orb projectile released by the Mother Alien.

Trivia

Li I
(H. R. Giger, 1974)

• The Mother Alien, as well as her battlefield, seems to be inspired by H. R. Giger's famous 1974 piece, Li I. The female figure that appears in many of Giger's works from the era is based on Li Tobler, an actress with whom he had a romantic relationship at the time. Giger himself has also been known for creating artworks and designs for several of the Alien films (a series that heavily inspires the Contra series), including the first film's xenomorph design.
• The Mother Alien and the Huge Robot's overall appearance and attack methods in conjunction resemble those of Emperor Demon Gava.
• According to Doctor Geo Mandrake, the Alien Cell was acquired from the Mother Alien herself during the Alien Wars by a group of researchers led by the doctor himself. Even though further details aren't mentioned, it is believed that Gava (or its brain Searle) was the "Mother Alien" the doctor was referring to, and that he and a group of researchers acquired a cell from the deceased leader during or at the end of the Alien Wars. This would explain the similarities seen throughout the Alien Space stage, with the Mother Alien's appearance altered due to a mutation caused by Bahamut's inexperienced research experiments performed on the Alien Cell.
  • Despite this statement, however, in the game, it is hinted the Mother Alien had recently hatched from an egg or cocoon (probably as a result of a failed experiment), and then quickly developed to her adult stage. There is also further large eggs seen in the background of where the Mother Alien apparently hatched from; whether any of these eggs could also have potentially hatched into another Mother Alien remains unknown.
• In Contra: Hard Corps, due to hardware limitations, the Mother Alien's pupils may vanish briefly, with her eyes sometimes displaying part of the background.
• In Probotector (MD), the Eggrons present in the stage resemble the egg lumps on the Mother Alien, hinting a connection.
• The room where the Mother Alien is encountered in could be a reference to the 1986 science fiction horror film Aliens, where Ellen Ripley discovers the xenomorph Queen in a room filled with the Queen's eggs. The shape of the Mother Alien's head also bears a slight resemblance to the Queen's head.
• The lesser form of Chimera from Contra: Rogue Corps bears a distinction of having its humanoid female face transform into a grotesque monstrous face, a feature the Mother Alien is known for.

See also

• Emperor Demon Gava
• Mother Alien (Appaloosa Interactive) - An alien creature also referred to as the "Mother Alien" in C: The Contra Adventure.