Spin-Offs & Sequels

Like any grotesque B-movie monster, Nemesis has inspired two "straight-to-video" sequels.

Located just outside of London resides another park owned by Alton Towers' modern parent company, Merlin Entertainments. Thorpe Park is a little less storied than Alton Towers; agreeably, more "amusement" than "theme park," and featuring many of the U.K.'s more explicit thrill rides. (That includes the new Hyperia, set to be the U.K.'s tallest and fastest roller coaster at 236 feet and 80mph.) There resides 2002's pseudo-sequel and spin-off Nemesis Inferno.

Opened 8 years after Alton Towers' Nemesis, Inferno might share a name and a ride system (a B&M invert) with the original, but beyond that, the two don't have much in common. Inferno is a much more standard, by-the-books inverted coaster with a standard 95 foot lift over the park's midway, a first drop leading into a vertical loop, and then a layout that includes a zero-G roll and a pair of interlocking corkscrews.

The only things that make Nemesis Inferno notably different from any other B&M inverted coaster around the globe are that it departs the station and swings through a short enclosed tunnel designed to resemble a volcano en route to the lift hill, and that it's set in a rather lush, tropical, jungle-like setting. Fans have tried to invent mythologies as to what this volcano and the maroon-tracked ride has to do with Nemesis, but the hard likelihood is that that name was simply chosen to drum up interest and connect to a sister park's ride of the same type, with or without the detailed backstory enthusiasts crave.

The second pseudo-sequel to Nemesis is in a much more fitting place: the Forbidden Valley right back at Alton Towers. Since Nemesis' appearance in 1994, the Forbidden Valley area had changed quite a bit. In 1997, it gained The Blade – a swinging ship ride redecorated to match the area's industrial fallout warzone vibe, appearing as a sort of rusted pendulum.

Along with it came Ripsaw – a HUSS Top Spin of twisted metal drills and militaristic warning stripes, all flipping over a pool of fountains, creating a sort of mini land of dark, industrial thrills built around the Nemesis creatures. (In 2002, Forbidden Valley gained a "sub-section" with the opening of a green oasis within the Valley, untouched by Nemesis' reach, anchored by the prototype B&M flying coaster, Air). 

But in 2012, Alton Towers returned to the Nemesis mythology with one of Merlin's signature, mysterious marketing campaigns asking of Nemesis, "What lies beneath?" 

Insiders quickly figured it out. Basically, Merlin had purchased a number of drop towers from the small Swiss attraction manufacturer ABC Rides to serve as the thrilling finales of the walkthrough family comedy / haunted house / living history "Dungeon" attractions they operate across the U.K. Rumors quickly asserted that Alton Towers' new spin-off of Nemesis would be the same: an enclosed, relatively minor (about 20 foot) drop tower with riders boarding at the top, plummeting, then rising back up to exit.

The ride – dubbed Nemesis: Sub-Terra – may not have been a major E-Ticket, but it did expand the mythology of Nemesis and the mysterious, quasi-governmental agency – The Phalanx – dedicated to the creature's containment. Entering their corrugated steel base, guests were ushered through chambers where operatives of the Phalanx set up the story: that we have been invited for a rare opportunity to view an egg apparently found deep underground that may have originated from the Nemesis creature, suggesting that it's not alone. 

A simulated elevator descent into the vast sub-levels of the Phalanx base then brought riders to the "deep-earth cavern" where four 10-person ride towers all faced inward toward the giant egg. But of course, as the spotlights on it flicker, the egg "cracks," the "viewing chambers" plummet 20 feet, and riders find themselves in a subterranean cave where countless eggs are piled up, suggesting that we are truly in the early moments of an unstoppable takeover of Nemesis creatures. In a clear match of Disney's Lost Legend: Alien Encounter, "back-pokers" and "leg ticklers" were accompanied by sprays of water, suggesting the hatched creature is already on riders' tails. Then, the vehicles ascend once more as Phalanx operatives rush riders out the doors.

Given that it cashed in on the Nemesis name, fans were particularly perturbed by the entire experience ending in a just a two-story drop. Sub-Terra underwent waves of significant reinvestment over 2012 meant to add intensity to the experiences surrounding the ride itself. By the summer, the ride culminated in an entire "scare maze" style experience of live actors playing Phalanx military operatives seemingly zombified by the hatched Nemesis creature's sting. 

Even so, a high profile accident on the park's Smiler roller coaster saw a major drop-off in attendance in 2015, and the still-relatively-new-Sub-Terra was an easy attraction for the park to mothball. It didn't re-open in 2016, and by 2019, was off the website altogether, suggesting that a drop tower ride was just sitting in the dark in the closed off facility.

Sub-Terra made a surprise re-opening in 2023. (The elaborate pre-show has been significantly shortened to get to the point faster, and the scare maze on the back end has allegedly been walked back, creating a less intense and less-team-intensive "decontamination zone.") Whether Sub-Terra will stick around or not, we don't know. After all, it may have just been re-opened to add capacity during "The Year Without Nemesis"... Speaking of which...

Reemergence

The Phalanx doesn't usually go on the record. But in fall 2022, announcements from the shadowy organization unveiled that Nemesis was closing. It might've made sense. We are, after all, approaching the 30 year anniversary of many B&M's, and even the most trusty, reliable steel coasters can develop wear and tear after three decades. But any fears about the permanent closure of the legendary ride were short-lived. 

On the ride's closure date, we received another download of information from the Phalanx:

Long story short? The Phalanx's investigation into Nemesis had found the need to safeguard the "complex beast" and "her well-being." Yes, following in the rare footsteps of another '90s B&M legend (Universal's Incredible Hulk), Alton Towers had filed permits to conduct a major rebuild of Nemesis, including full replacements of nearly every section of track, and 89 of the 117 support columns bored into the hillsides and canyons blasted into the park three decades earlier.

Nemesis would rise again, and in as exact a duplicate of the original as one could imagine. Well, except for one significant and divisive change...

The new Nemesis would abandon the iconic white track with rust-colored detailing in favor of something slightly more evocative: stark black track with a painted, pulsing "vein" of blood stretching across the ride's length. A new take on the mix of biological and mechanical that's always defined Nemesis, the look is a major change, with major fans and major haters. 

The black track will certainly be a very drastic difference for this ride and the environment is occupies. In some ways, it's an embrace of the B-movie monster element inherent in the ride. But it's also a significant edit to an iconic, recognizable ride, and an unusual mismatch to the still-boney-white crustacean creature that serves as the ride's anchor and station. (Though it, too, may become black by time Nemesis makes its official reappearance in 2024.)

In any case, Nemesis wasn't defeated. It's merely in the midst of a metamorphosis. This iconic coaster won't just live to see another day; it'll come back better than ever, and ready for at least another 30 years of life. And by the way, pay careful attention to the process of Nemesis' reemergence and re-marketing as a brand new, refreshed thrill. After all, we're about to see a lot of rides born of the '90s Coaster Wars reach their 30-year marks, when parks will need to get serious about upkeep or decide to cut their losses...

In the case of Nemesis, we're lucky to know that this alien phenomenon will ride again, and that a landmark, flagship ride has been given an extension on life. An absolute icon of what we call the New Coaster Wars, this personality-packed, totally custom coaster infused with home-grown mythology and a completely-original IP is clearly a classic. And in Nemesis, we all have a ride that should either top our coaster counts, or our bucket lists.