Gorman

Scott Gorman Biographical information Born 2142 Died July 27, 2179 Rank Lieutenant Serial/ID number A09/TQ4.0.56124E3 Physical description Gender Male Species Human Hair color Brown Eye color Brown Chronological and political information Affiliation USCMC Status Deceased Behind the Scenes information First appearance Aliens (only appearance) Last appearance Portrayed by William Hope

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Scott Gorman was a young Lieutenant in the United States Colonial Marine Corps. In 2179 he was in command of a platoon of Marines dispatched aboard the USS Sulaco on a rescue mission to the Weyland-Yutani owned terraforming colony, "Hadley's Hope" on LV-426.

History

Meeting Ripley

Gorman was a Colonial Marine officer out of the academy and was stationed on Gateway Station in 2179. Gorman was assigned with Weyland-Yutani rep Carter J. Burke; who unknown to Gorman, pulled strings to get the inexperienced commander on the investigative mission to Hadley's Hope. Both men met with Lt. Ripley, who had encountered a strange creature that killed her previous crew. At first Ripley, who was traumatized by her previous experience, refused to go but after reassurance by Burke that the Marines would destroy the creatures and not bring them back to be studied.

Mission to LV-426

Gorman and his squad set out for the colony after enlisting Ripley. After awakening, Gorman gave a briefing regarding the situation and got sarcastic remarks from his squad. Several of his subordinates noted that Gorman sat at the officer's table and was "too good to sit with the rest of the grunts". During the drop Gorman appeared uneasy on the drop and was questioned about his experience; he admitted that this mission was only his second combat drop.

After landing and the squad did a sweep of the administrative building, Gorman came into the facility with his civilian advisors. The squad soon came across a young girl named Rebecca Jorden, who was interviewed unsuccessfully by Gorman. Hudson then comes across the colonist's personal data transmitter signals in the atmospheric processor. Gorman's inexperience also showed by allowing his squad to go in under a thermonuclear piece of equipment with armor piercing rounds that could potentially set off a massive nuclear explosion.

The mission quickly falls apart when the platoon is ambushed by a nest of Xenomorphs at the colony's atmosphere processing plant. Gorman panics and freezes while he watches from the APC as most of his Marines wiped out in seconds. Realizing that Gorman had no idea what he was doing, Ripley took control of the APC to effect a rescue; this briefly snapped Gorman out of his panic and he angrily tried to stop Ripley. While the vehicle is careening down the plant's service tunnels a piece of stowed equipment comes loose inside the cabin and leaves Gorman knocked out with a concussion.

Ambush & Death

Gorman eventually comes to, but instead of taking charge and asserting his authority he accepts that he's no longer in charge and does what he can to assist in the defense of the colony. When Burke attempts to have Ripley and Newt impregnated by the two live facehuggers stored in the medbay, Gorman assisted in their rescue and later guards Burke at gunpoint. During the final battle, Gorman partially redeems himself by sending the others on as he goes back to retrieve a wounded Vasquez from the ventilation ducts, however neither of them get very far as they're quickly surrounded and run out of ammunition. Not willing to be taken back to the nest and determined to take as many Xenomorphs with them as possible, Gorman pulls out a grenade and pops the trigger, killing himself, Vasquez and several Xenomorphs.

Personality & Traits

Gorman was far from a seasoned veteran and not used to live fire action. Weyland-Yutani pulled strings and unknown to Gorman used his inexperience to infect his Marines with the Xenomorphs or fail outright should he or his squad figure out the truth. Indeed this mission would be only his second combat orbital drop. Gorman's inexperience didn't help garner respect among those serving under him in missions. He panicked when his squad was under attack and couldn't issue any orders due to his freezing up. When he regains consciousness after the initial attack he tries to apologize to Ripley, but she simply cuts him off and says "Forget it.". After this, he knows he isn't fit for commanding troops and doesn't try to re-assume command of the mission and leaves Ripley and Hicks in charge. When Vasquez is wounded in the air ducts, Gorman goes back for her and tells Hicks to go on. Whether this was an act of bravery, an act of redemption due to his letting most of the squad get killed due to his inaction is left up to the viewer to decide. In the end it appears he was a good person who simply over-compensated due to his inefficiency.

Equipment

As a Marine officer, Gorman carried a standard-issue Heckler & Koch VP70 as a sidearm. Gorman also carried a grenade with him in his final moments with Vasquez.

Trivia

• In Aliens: Colonial Marines, his name is given as William Gorman instead of S. Gorman
• The VP-70 pistol he used can be found in Aliens: Colonial Marines in the mission "No Hope In Hadley".