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"Bad things happen, but you can still live... you can still live."

-Joe Lamb reasoning with Cooper as he tells him how he feels.

Cooper
CooperHD

Name

Cooper

Age

Unknown

Species

Unknown

Family/Friends

Joe Lamb (voice of reason)

Thomas Woodward (friend)

Home

Unknown (planet)

Status

Alive

Cooper is the monster that wreaked havoc in Lillian, Ohio in the movie Super 8. He is an extraterrestrial alien creature from an unknown planet.

Cooper is far more advanced and intelligent compared to humans, and he uses advanced technology to build his own ship so he can move through space.

In 1958, he crash landed on Earth and was captured by the military. He was placed in a holding cell for observation and study.

In 1979, he was transported to another military base near Lillian, Ohio via train which was seemingly owned by the U.S Air Force. On the way to the base, the train was derailed by Dr. Thomas Woodward's pickup truck, allowing the creature to escape. Cooper soon began to evade the Air Force and reconstruct his lost ship.

Characteristics[]

Smsuper8-568x590

J.J. Abrams approved this fan art of Cooper. (Source)

Body[]

Cooper has six limbs and generally moves like a spider, but can also stand up tall on his two hind legs. He has two long-jointed arms that are capable of grabbing objects and throwing them long distances, and can also use his six limbs to climb. It is small enough to fit into a train car, and was confirmed to be male in the movie.

Cooper can breathe on Earth, but is subterranean and prefers to live underground. His species is also presumed to be nocturnal since Cooper is never seen in the daytime and is always seen in the film at night.

Abilities[]

Cooper has telepathic abilities, but can only communicate with humans that he has physically touched. The creature has a connection with Thomas Woodward, who was attacked by the creature during feeding time whilst it was in the captivity of the U.S. Air Force. It can also understand human reasoning, but his time in captivity has made him angry and violent toward humans. It possesses incredible superhuman strength, able to manually upturn a bus in a violent rage and rip metal structures apart, as well as easily lift grown human beings off the ground with one hand. It also violently savaged a gas station whilst out hunting, and humans frequently remark on its incredible strength.

Cooper is a carnivore and eats all types of meat, including humans. He sometimes collects humans and keeps them alive but unconscious in his underground cavern. He is also extremely intelligent and collects machines, which he hoards in his cave while he searches for the cubes to rebuild his ship, the Argus Craft.

He is also able to rudimentarily understand human communication. He can also telekinetically control weapons and make them misfire. He seems to interfere with electrical fields, as the power flickers when he is near. In addition, when the military battles the creature in the town, the alien interferes with the sensors and guidance systems, jamming them, causing the missiles to misfire and land on the ground.

Animals are afraid of the monster, as most local dogs in Lillian run away to other counties.

History on Earth[]

Picture 7

A scientist is grabbed by Cooper

In 1957, the Soviet Union discovered the alien craft after picking up unknown signals from it near Earth when it was Sputnik 2. The U.S. Army soon learned about it and sent spies to the Soviet Union to get the files. After a few months, the military began Argus to bring the craft down to Earth by detonating a nuclear warhead in the upper atmosphere. After Belttrap, the retrieval mission of the craft, the alien was taken to Area 51. There the U.S. Air Force imprisoned it to study and observe it, as well as its ship. During this time, they kept it in a cage and fed it meat, but it managed to attack Dr. Thomas Woodward. The Air Force also recovered his ship, which they discovered was made of small white [1] bound together via electromagnetism. For some unknown reason, in 1979, Cooper was being transported in a train to another facility and passed near Lillian, Ohio. Woodward had learned of the train's schedule and drove his truck on the tracks, causing the train to derail and the monster to escape.

Cooper ran loose through Lillian, kidnapping some people and eating others. He stole engines, microwaves, power lines, and other mechanical items and kept them in an underground cavern with entry holes in the cemetery and under some houses. The U.S. Air Force pursued the alien, going as far as evacuating the town by making the excuse of Operation: Walking Distance, where a massive forest fire burned throughout the outside land area.

They brought the Cubes in the trucks into the town's center, hoping to lure them into a trap. Cooper managed to out-power them. Using electromagnetism, he drew all the cubes and other metallic items toward the water tower, where the cubes reassembled into his ship, Cooper then boarded his ship and left Earth so he might return to his home planet.

Cooper vs the monster in Cloverfield[]

Cloverfield monster comparison

Cooper (left) vs. Cloverfield monster (right)

In numerous interviews, J.J. Abrams has stated that the alien in Super 8 has absolutely nothing to do with the monster in the 2008 film Cloverfield which he also produced. The monsters both have some similarities, but he has stated that they are not the same creature, nor are they the same type of creature. Film stills and models released show they have different faces and bodies. (Source)

Relationship with others[]

Thomas Woodward[]

In 1963, Dr. Woodward had Cooper locked up and was studying him. When Woodward tried to feed Cooper, he immediately grabbed him. Due to Cooper's ability to create psychic links with other sentient organisms via physical contact, Dr. Woodward immediately understood Cooper's motivations and allied with him.

16 years later, the U.S. was transporting Cooper someplace else, but Dr. Woodward drives a truck right into train, destroying it, which also frees Cooper.

Colonel Nelec[]

In 1979, the U.S. military was transporting the alien known as Cooper to another base, but when he escaped the cargo, Nelec and his men began searching for him. The colonel was able to retrieve the alien's cubes for his spaceship.

Near the end, Cooper eventually gets his vengeance on Nelec after he kills the colonel by biting his own head clean off his body.

Joe Lamb[]

While little is known about Cooper's relationship with Joe—except that right at the end, Joe tries to reason with him—Cooper immediately grabs him and faces him after Joe tells him that a bad thing happened but he could still live. Cooper finally understands as he shows him his true eyes.

Joe watched as Cooper boarded his ship and left Earth to return to his home planet.

[]

Videos[]

Super_8_-_Air_Force_Archive

Super 8 - Air Force Archive

U.S. Airforce Archive Video

Super_8_Monster_Roar

Super 8 Monster Roar

The audio of the Monster's Roar

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