Cooper

Cooper
	;
Name	Cooper
Age	Unknown
Species	Unknown
Family/Friends	Joe Lamb (voice of reason) Thomas Woodward (friend)
Home	Unknown (planet)
Status	Alive

"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 is the monster that wreaked havoc in Lillian, Ohio in the movie Super 8. He is an extraterrestrial alien creature from another world.

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 captured by the military, he was placed in a holding cell for observation and studying.

In 1979 he was transported to another military base near Lillian, Ohio. On the way to the base, the train was derailed and the creature escaped, 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 similar to 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 male in the movie.

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

Abilities

Cooper has telepathic abilities, but can only communicate with humans that it has physically touched. The creature has a connection with Thomas Woodward, who got 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 at 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 it hoards in its cave, while he searches for the cubes to rebuild his ship, the Argus Craft.

Cooper 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 onto the ground.

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

History on Earth

In 1957 the Soviet Union discovered the alien craft after picking up unknown signals from it near Earth when it was watching us. The Soviets sent after the the Sputnik 2 to transmit pictures of the craft. The U.S. Army soon learned about it and sent spies to Soviet to get the files. After a few months the military began Operation Argus to bring the craft down to Earth by detonating a nuclear warhead in the upper atmosphere. After Operation 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 Thomas Woodward. The Air Force also recovered his ship, which they discovered was made of small white cubes 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 trucks into the town's center, hoping to lure it 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 may 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 studied on him, when Woodward tries to feed Cooper, he immediately grabbed him. After that happened, Woodward knew that all Cooper wanted was to rebuild his ship so he may return to his home planet.

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

Colonel Nelec

In 1979, the U.S military was transporting the alien known as Cooper to another base, however when he escapes 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 relation with Joe, expect that right at the end Joe tries to reason with him, Cooper immediately grabs him and faces him after Joe tells him that bad thing happen but he could still live. Cooper finally understands as he shows him his true eyes.

Joe watch as Cooper boards his ship and leave earth to return to his home planet.