The alien monster is the internet’s retro gremlin: a pixelated visitor from the arcade era that screams weird, nerdy, and proudly not-of-this-world. It instantly conjures Space Invaders nostalgia, perfect for moments when your vibe is glitchy, chaotic, or delightfully offbeat. People drop it in chats to say “I’m built different,” to lean into goblin-but-sci‑fi energy, or to brand a take as extraterrestrially odd. It’s also a go-to for late-night gamer status updates, UFO/Area 51 jokes, vaporwave aesthetics, and quirky DMs like “greetings, earthling.”
On Apple/iOS, the emoji is a front-facing, magenta‑purple 8‑bit sprite with crisp, blocky edges—two little antenna nubs, stubby raised arms like a pixel crab, and two bright square eyes with no mouth. The shading gives it that classic arcade screen depth, making it look like it jumped straight out of an old cabinet. Even tiny, the silhouette is super recognizable: symmetrical body, chunky pixels, and innocent-but-mischievous stare. Other platforms may tint it green or blue, but the Apple look is unmistakably purple and nostalgically gamey.
Online, it’s used playfully or sarcastically—after an alien-level take, a social-awkward moment, or a “please abduct me from this meeting” mood. It reads friendly rather than scary, so it’s great for flirty nerd banter, Discord chaos, Twitch hype, or marking anything “strange in a fun way.” Bonus meme points when paired with stars, zap, or satellite emojis for full “take me to your leader” energy.
Definition
An alien of the monster type. Looks very similar to an alien from the popular 80s arcade game Space Invaders.
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Emoji History The emoji code/ image log of changes.
This emoji was part of the proprietary / non-standardized emoji set first introduced by Japanese carriers like Softbank. These emojis became part of the Apple iPhone starting in iOS 2.2 as an unlockable feature on handsets sold in English speaking countries.
In iOS 5 / OSX 10.7, the underlying code that the Apple OS generates for this emoji was changed.
