After the success of the Alien movie and the sequel Aliens, the ALIENS name became an unforeseen success and multi-media franchise. Seeing the wave of popularity, Kenner Products, an American toy production company, joined in on this success train by producing a line of toys based on the Alien movies.
What made the Kenner ALIEN Toy Line Special?
In 1992, Kenner Product produced a line of toys and named it “Aliens”. Kenner released these toys in four series from 1992 to 1994, and they were majorly replicas of ALIENs and the Space Marines, with a few numbers of vehicles. They designed each Alien with the defining characteristics of their host animals, making the toys have different Aliens adapted from different animals. Kenner also deliberately designed the Space Marines to look less like the real actors and actresses but more like comic book characters because most of the artists do not give the rights to have their likeness replicated as toys and action figures.
The series of the Kenner ALIENS
The first Aliens series consist of the Space Marines and Aliens. The Space Marines included characters like Lieutenant Ripley, Corporal Hicks, Sergeant Drake, and the likes. These action figurines came with at least two stickers and a gun each. This series featured just three Aliens released in this series: Scorpion Alien, Bull Alien, and Gorilla Alien. Facehuggers of assorted colors and mini-comics came packaged with all three of these toys. Thanks to the success of the toy line, Kenner later released the Queen and Powerloader Vehicle under this series.
Kenner released Series two in 1993, and it consists of Marine; A.T.A.X., Aliens; Rhino Alien, Mantis Alien, Snake Alien, and Queen face-huggers, and three vehicles; The Evac Fighters, Stinger XT-37, and Electronic Hovertread.
Also, Kenner released series three in 1993, which consists of Marines that they exclusively marketed in the United Kingdom like Vasquez, O’Malley, Hudson, and a host of others. This series also has Alien figures like Panther Aliens, Killer Crab, and Wild Boar Alien.
Finally, Kenner released the fourth series in 1994, which consists of Aliens like King Alien, Electronic Swarm Alien, Arachnid Alien, and a lot more. They also released this series with an awesome Queen Hive Playset that gives off real ooze.
Without further ado, here are our top ten Kenner ALIEN toys.
10. Bull ALIEN
Kenner produced the Bull Alien as part of the 1992 Alien toy line series. This figurine resembles the Bull Alien mentioned in Aliens: Stampede. Within the Kenner mythos, these creatures spawned from Alien parasites combining with cattle hosts which created their similarities to a bull. They arm themselves with two very powerful horns and are incredibly fast. They also seem invincible to every weapon except fire, and their bodies are especially durable. Just like the cattle, the Bull Aliens also move in herds, making them one of the most dangerous Xenomorphs to meet.
9. Snake ALIEN
Kenner produced the Snake ALIEN as part of the second series of Aliens toys. Kenner released this series in 1993, and they modeled this toy after the Snake Alien as seen in Aliens: Night Strike. The Snake ALIEN arms itself with a very powerful tail which enables it to strike its victims even while hiding behind a tree. Kenner created the Snake ALIEN design by fusing the looks of the Alien parasites and a Cobra. The Snake Aliens no arms nor legs like the other Xenomorphs. Instead, they have an incredibly large head which is like that of a Cobra. The Snake ALIEN’s heads also spread before emitting acids to attack its victims. These are also attributes of a Cobra. Snake Aliens usually come in gold, black, and dark green colors.
8. Stinger XT-37
The Stinger XT-37 is one of three vehicle toys that Kenner Products produced as part of the second series of the Alien toy line produced in 1993. The Stinger XT-37 is an assault vehicle, fully armored and designed specifically to hunt down, handle and repel Xenomorphs. The double-plated protective body and its tire treads which are specially meant for travel on any terrain, either rocky or sandy, characterize this vehicle. This vehicle will get to its destination. The Stinger XT-37 comes armed with a double-barreled 50mm injection cooled cannon. It furthermore has four surface-to-surface alienator missiles with a target range of about 300m and one hydraulic Alien trapper snare.
7. Flying ALIEN Queen
The Flying Queen is one of the figurines that Kenner released in 1993 as part of the Series two of the Aliens toy lines. These are the only flying Xenomorphs ever released. The Flying Queen is very large and usually black or blue in color. With unspecified origin, hole-riddled wings characterize these Xenomorphs. While they have a pair of normal arms, very prominent talons define their feet. They also have a well-developed and strong axe-like tail and a crest protruding from their carapace.
6. ALIEN Tactical Advantage Explorer (A.T.A.X.)
The A.T.A.X. is one of the action figures released in one of the series two of the Aliens toy line produced by Kenner in 1993. A.T.A.X. (Alien Tactical Advantage Explorer) is a human soldier and a member of the Space Marine. A.T.A.X. who has a reputation of confronting and killing the most Queen Xenomorph with the help of his electronic Hovertread. In Alien: Night Strike, as Lieutenant Ripley and the rest of the squad take their last stand against a horde of Bull Aliens and their Queen. A.T.A.X. swooped in just before the Bull Aliens attacked, and he began to cut them down. With the Aliens’ attention divided, Lieutenant Ripley used that opportunity to kill the Alien Queen. A.T.A.X. then landed and introduced himself to the Marines, much to their gratitude.
5. Scorpion ALIEN
Scorpion Aliens are toys produced by Kenner in 1992 as part of the first series of toys from the Aliens toy lines. The Scorpion Aliens are the extremely close to the original design for the Alien Xenomorph. Within the Kenner profiles, they came into existence when Alien parasites combined with a Scorpion-like animal. Their red-colored spiked body armor, venomous tipped tail, and their exploding upper torso, which occurs when the press of a button, characterize these Xenomorphs. The Scorpion Alien originated from the planet, Tamaka 5. In Aliens: Operation: Rescue, we saw both Bishop and Corporal Hicks fight against Scorpion ALIENs while rescuing Sergeant Apone. These toys also came with a hideous facehugger.
4. King ALIEN (Monstrosity)
The King Alien is one of the final series of Kenner toys. Kenner produced this toy among the series four of the Aliens toy lines in 1994. This toy is one of the largest and rarest of all the Aliens toy lines produced by Kenner. Produced in color green with black arms and lower torso, their enormous size, large tusks, elaborate head crest, dorsal spine, and pincer-tipped tail characterized the King ALIENs. Unlike other Xenomorphs, the King Alien stands upright and has a blade-like hip and a sack on its tail where it stores acids that it could excrete out of its mouth. The King Aliens often act as commanders or are otherwise leading the other Xenomorphs.
3. Sergeant Drake
Kenner produced the Sergeant Drake action figure in 1992 as part of the first series of toys produced for the Aliens toy lines. Sergeant Drake is a human warrior, a member of the Space Marine, and an expert hand-to-hand combatant. He was born in Detention planet 27, a prison planet where he fought his way out to join the elite ranks of Space Marine. Drake and his colleagues were stationed on the spaceship Narcissus where they answered a call for help from a nearby planet, Acheron. On Acheron, they met an Alien infestation, Drake and a handful of Marines managed to retreat to their ship.
Unknown to them, the Alien Queen and her brood were already aboard the ship. These remaining Marines took off, and after realizing they were not alone, they decided to abandon the spaceship and escape using their escape pod. The plan was successful, and they blew the spaceship as they escaped killing the Aliens aboard. After that incident, the marines enlisted Sergeant Drake to a special elite team under the command of Lieutenant Ripley.
2. Gorilla ALIEN
Kenner produced the Gorilla Alien is a figurine in 1992 as part of the first series of the Aliens toy lines. This variety of Xenomorphs spawned from the fusion of Alien parasites and a four-armed primate species that was indigenous to the planet Zeevan. Large, powerful arms characterize this species of Xenomorph. Meanwhile, the Queen Gorilla Aliens have an extra pair of smaller ventrally positioned arms.
Later, Dark Horse featured the Gorilla ALIENs in their 1992 minicomic, ALIENS: Jungle Attack.
1. Lieutenant Ripley
Lieutenant Ripley is an action figure produced by Kenner in 1992 as part of the first series of the Aliens toy lines. Ripley is a human warrior and a member of the Space Marine. Lieutenant Ripley was part of the combat unit that was aboard the Narcissus spaceship and one of the survivors of the horrible events that happened on the Archeron. Ripley was the first human to meet and kill a Xenomorph. She is also the best bug-hunter in the universe. After the events on Acheron and later the Narcissus, Lieutenant Ripley became the Commanding Officer of a special elite unit that respond to Alien threats. Lieutenant Ripley’s favored weapon is the Turbo Touch Flamethrower.
Conclusion
Even though the Kenner ALIENS toy line is beloved by fans, Hasbro, Kenner’s parent company, ended the line after only a few years of production. Although Kenner Product was short-lived, its line of Aliens toy continues to be an awesome creation. Several of the Kenner toys were rebranded, repainted, and released as Aliens: Hive Wars through Kay-Bee Toys, with some unreleased figurines too. Currently, NECA is reviving the legacy of the Kenner toy line by recreating and paying tribute to some of Kenner’s action figures.
About the author
Author: Chris Ingledue
Contact: email
Bio: I am the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab pop Culture and Toy Shop. My vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day, I work in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year. I scour the internet, like when we had the Sears Catalog of yesteryear, for the next great treasure. Then, I await the arrival of the postman as if he were Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their own versions of Christmas. Every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!