Aliens: Colonial Marines No Man Left Behind: Plot & Lore

Published: July 2012
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Patric Reynolds
Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Lettering: Nate Piekos
Cover: Menton Matthews III
Editors: Scott Allie and Daniel Chabon
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Format: San Diego Comic-Con 2012 exclusive
Setting: USS Sephora

Aliens: Colonial Marines - No Man Left Behind is a short 2012 Dark Horse comic written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Patric Reynolds, given away at San Diego Comic-Con as a tie-in to the Aliens: Colonial Marines video game. It follows a Colonial Marine medic called Doc and Private O'Neal through a ship overrun by Xenomorphs, as they search for a man whose distress signal had reached their captain. Doc tells the story himself, and by the end the medic has learned that his real job out in space is to survive.

Plot Summary

Holding The Line

Colonial Marines firing on Xenomorphs over a barricade inside the USS Sephora in Aliens: Colonial Marines - No Man Left Behind

The story opened inside the USS Sephora, where a squad of Colonial Marines fired on the creatures pouring over their barricade. Doc said the horrors of war were not foreign to him, since he had served in the field many times and tried to save the lives of a lot of good men, but he had never experienced anything like this. The marines shouted to keep the creatures back, and one of them swore they were not leaving until they found their guy.

Caught In The Crossfire

Doc and Private O'Neal running through a firefight with Xenomorphs in Aliens: Colonial Marines - No Man Left Behind

Armored Weyland-Yutani troopers then appeared and opened fire on the creatures, and one of the marines cursed the company as the fighting spread. O'Neal told Doc to move it or lose it, and the two ran through the crossfire. Afterward O'Neal said the company troops were going scorched earth to cover their tracks. He added that they had been lucky, and that the man who had sent the signal to Captain Cruz should be close by.

No Way To Go Down

Xenomorphs closing in on Private O'Neal in Aliens: Colonial Marines - No Man Left Behind

Deeper in, the pair found the dead lying in a corridor covered in resin, and the creatures came for them from the walls and ceiling. O'Neal had only just found where their man should be and started to say they should grab him and get out when the ambush came. They seized O'Neal, who swore he was not going down like this, while Doc could only cry out. As the creatures dragged at him, the medic picked up a fallen marine's smartgun, which had the word ADIOS painted on its side, and lifted the heavy weapon for the first time.

The Medic Opens Fire

Doc firing a smartgun at the Xenomorphs to save O'Neal in Aliens: Colonial Marines - No Man Left Behind

Doc screamed as he opened fire and cut down the creatures holding O'Neal. O'Neal called it a nice save and joked that they might turn him into a jarhead yet. Doc said he had never killed anyone before, and O'Neal told him he still had not, because the creatures were just things. Then a weak voice called out for help, and they followed it to a wounded man from the company.

The survivor said he had thought the leathernecks would never show up. His own comm had gone down, so he had borrowed one from a dead marine to call for help. O'Neal was furious that they had marched through that nightmare for one of the enemy, but Doc answered that a life is a life and that they could still save him. The man said he only wanted to go home and see his wife, then told Doc that he did not feel so good.

A Chestburster Strikes

A chestburster bursting from the Weyland-Yutani survivor under BLAM BLAM BLAM gunfire, beside Doc and Private O'Neal with his flashlight declaring him dead, in Aliens: Colonial Marines - No Man Left Behind

A chestburster burst out of the survivor's chest in front of the two marines. Doc could only raise his hands and stammer as O'Neal fired three shots into the creature, and its small body fell to the floor in a pool of green blood beside the dead man. O'Neal said the man was dead as a doornail. He told Doc he was sorry, but still said good riddance. He then ordered them back to the hangar bay, where more marines were being thawed out of cryosleep and would need the medic. The two walked back through the ship, past the bodies of fallen marines and creatures lying in the corridors.

Learning To Survive

Doc in Colonial Marine armor with a pulse rifle beside O'Neal and his squad in Aliens: Colonial Marines - No Man Left Behind

Back with the squad, Doc wore Colonial Marine armor and carried a pulse rifle, standing beside O'Neal and the others as a dropship flew overhead. He still wore the armband that marked him as a medic, but now held his rifle like the rest of the squad. He said that every day he saw something new out in space, and that today had taught him something. This was not a war, he said, and it was not just his job to save lives. His job was to survive, and the story closed on Doc and his squad ready for the next fight.

Key Characters

Doc was the Colonial Marine medic who tells the story. He had never killed before, but he picked up a smartgun to save O'Neal and ended the story armed like the rest of the squad.
Private O'Neal was the marine in the bandana who led Doc through the ship. He distrusted the company and killed the chestburster, and he later appears in the Aliens: Colonial Marines game.
Captain Jeremy Cruz was the commanding officer who received the distress signal. He is mentioned but does not appear in the comic.
The Weyland-Yutani survivor was the wounded company man who called for help on a borrowed marine comm. He died when a chestburster burst from his chest.

Editions

Dark Horse Comics released No Man Left Behind in July 2012 as a free exclusive at its booth at San Diego Comic-Con, in partnership with SEGA and Gearbox Software. Joshua Williamson wrote it, Patric Reynolds drew and inked it, Michael Atiyeh colored it and Nate Piekos lettered it, with a cover by Menton Matthews III. Scott Allie and Daniel Chabon edited it. The book also included an advertisement for the game and a gallery of pin-ups by artists including Atiyeh, Kyle Hotz, Christopher Mitten, Chris Scalf and Dave Stewart.

Marvel later reprinted the story in Aliens: The Original Years Omnibus Vol. 4, a 1,072 page hardcover released on March 14, 2023. The omnibus also gathered other Dark Horse stories from the same years, including Aliens: Fast Track to Heaven, Aliens: Dead Orbit, Aliens: Defiance, Alien: Isolation and Inhuman Condition. Before that, the story had only been available in the free convention edition, and copies of the original giveaway are now hard to find.

Behind The Scenes

No Man Left Behind was made to promote the Aliens: Colonial Marines game from Gearbox Software, which was released in February 2013. The comic calls the ship the USS Sephora, the marine vessel that in the game came looking for the Sulaco, and the fighting against company troops ties into the game's story. Joshua Williamson later became known for The Flash at DC and Nailbiter at Image Comics, and Patric Reynolds signed the final page of the story.

The story is one of several Colonial Marine comics, and it is one of the shortest, since the whole tale takes twelve pages. Its title echoes the phrase Captain Cruz used throughout the game. Fans have pointed out that the encounter between O'Neal and the company troops does not quite match the way the two sides first meet in the game. The whole story is told from Doc's point of view, and his real name is never given.

Conclusion

Aliens: Colonial Marines - No Man Left Behind is a short convention comic by Joshua Williamson and Patric Reynolds that served as a prelude to the 2013 game. It follows Doc and O'Neal through a ship full of Xenomorphs to rescue a company man who dies anyway when a chestburster bursts from his chest. The medic ends the story with a new lesson, that out in space his job is simply to survive.