Theme
Nemesis was originally themed as an excavation site in which a dormant, alien creature has been discovered. The ride and the surrounding area were decorated with post-apocalyptic, scrapyard features. The station building was designed as the alien creature's body. At the entrance to Forbidden Valley was an old roadheader partly encased in alien flesh. The waterfalls beneath the coaster were also initially dyed red to resemble blood.[27]
At the original launch of Nemesis, guests could purchase a souvenir audio narration on CD or cassette, narrated by Tom Baker, known as the 'Nemesis Legend'. This described Nemesis as a mysterious alien creature from another dimension, found buried underground during excavation work at Alton Towers.[28] Upon its discovery, steel was used to pin the creature down, becoming the steel that forms the coaster track today. In 1995, a limited run comic book was produced further imagining an extended story based on the ride.
The opening of Nemesis Sub-Terra in 2012 introduced the 'Phalanx' as a fictional organisation brought in to control Nemesis, taking its name from an organisation mentioned in the 1995 Nemesis comic.[29] In Nemesis Sub-Terra, the Phalanx find an egg underground belonging to the Nemesis alien, which is being housed in their facility P-A1X. A large nest containing multiple eggs is later revealed to be in a cavern directly beneath the facility.
In the lead up to Nemesis Reborn, Alton Towers released several promotional videos beginning on 6 November 2022, when Alton Towers held its annual Fireworks Spectacular event. At the end of the show, a video was played that featured a Phalanx spokesman announcing the closure of Nemesis, confirming the start of an investigation. A promotional video released in April 2023 depicted surveillance footage from what appears to be a Phalanx testing facility, in which workers are examining the new Nemesis track.[30] In November of that year, a further promotional video depicted scientists extracting DNA from a Nemesis egg before they are attacked and lose control, signaling the upcoming return of the Nemesis roller coaster.[31]
The redesigned attraction reopened in March 2024, now featuring a re-awakened Nemesis with the Phalanx theme introduced to the area, with the creature creating chaos in the Phalanx research facility. The roadheader was replaced with a black helicopter and helipad. All the structures around the area were also repainted in solid black, with added tentacles. Parts of the station were repainted and revamped, and a screen with a video of an eye was added, with 2 rows of moving claws surrounding it.
