Dark Samus (Super Smash Bros.)

Dark Samus (ダークサムス, Dark Samus) is a character from the 'Metroid' series. Originally appearing as a gigantic, heavily mutated Metroid that plagued Tallon IValongside the very toxic mutagen called Phazon, Dark Samus is the primary antagonist of the Metroid Prime trilogy, and one of Samus Aran's greatest foes.

After making cameos as a trophy and sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Dark Samus appeared as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. 4 before transitioning into a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Character description
​​​​​​When Samus Aran defeated the titular creature of Metroid Prime, it took one last grasp at Samus and, in its seeming death throes, stole her Phazon Suit before it dissolved into a pool of Phazon. After Samus was forced to evacuate the collapsing Impact Crater, Metroid Prime had, unbeknownst to her, survived their battle. Some time afterward, the Phazon Suit's hand emerged from the pool of Phazon, albeit with clawed fingers and an eyeball on the back of its palm.

This effectively signaled the rebirth of Metroid Prime as a Phazon-based cyborg: the creature's essence and remnants of Samus' DNA within the Phazon Suit constituted its biological components, while the Phazon Suit itself constituted its mechanical component by becoming the creature's new body.

Thanks to these traits, the reborn Metroid Prime managed to acquire all of Samus' abilities, as well as human-level cognition. However, the creature was also obsessed with absorbing Phazon, a trait it retained from its time as Metroid Prime.

Dark Samus, as she would come to be known by the Space Pirates, is first seen by the Pirates in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. They first believe she is Samus with a new suit and new goals, as she only steals Phazon the Pirates are mining on Aether for her own sustenance. Her actions later result in the Pirates' operation being discovered, leading to Samus' eventual arrival.

Dark Samus fights Samus several times across Aether, prompting the Pirates to consider an alliance with her, though this never occurs. Once Samus defeats the Ing and destroys Dark Aether, Dark Samus confronts her for the last time, but appears to disintegrate after losing.

After her defeat, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption begins with Dark Samus' remains being unknowingly collected by the Space Pirates as they clean up their Phazon mining operation, allowing her to reform. She absorbs all Phazon aboard the ship, and in doing so gains further developed cognition alongside a more streamlined Phazon Suit. Thanks to her further developed cognition, Dark Samus corrupts the few Pirates she leaves alive into serving her and sets off toward her new goal: galactic conquest via the spread of Phazon across any and all planets she comes across.

Using the brainwashed Pirates, Dark Samus captures Aurora Unit 313, a Federation ship's organic supercomputer, and implants it into Phaaze, a sentient planet that is the source of all Phazon, in order to have direct control of the spread of Phazon. Dark Samus then proceeds to attack key Federation planets with Leviathans, sentient asteroids comprised of Phazon that will, in time, corrupt them into Phazon-based planets.

Although Samus manages to stop one of the Leviathans, Dark Samus arrives to infect her and three other bounty hunters (Rundas, Ghor and Gandrayda) with Phazon. The other hunters ultimately fall victim to Phazon corruption, thus forcing Samus to kill them in turn, as well as the guardians of each subsequent Leviathan. In the end, Dark Samus confronts Samus for the final time on Phaaze, first in direct combat and then after merging with Aurora Unit 313. In the end, Samus destroys 313 and, because of its symbiotic connection to both Dark Samus and Phaaze, definitively kills Dark Samus and renders any Phazon inert.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Dark Samus appears as a trophy and as a sticker. Additionally, a "Dark Samus" appears in Co-Op Event 7: Battle of the Dark Sides, though it is merely a blackened version of Samus and not the actual Dark Samus. It teams up with Dark Link against two players that play as their normal counterparts, with Link as player one and Samus as player two.

Trophy information

 * Dark Samus
 * A twin image of Samus, encountered near the beginning of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Dark Samus is identical to Samus in every way but color—she even uses similar attacks. There are many theories on the origin of Dark Samus, but none are proven. Dark Samus uses Phazon for energy and can absorb it to heal damage. Samus encounters Dark Samus a number of times.
 * : Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
 * : Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

As an Assist Trophy
Samus using her forward aerial alongside Dark Samus.

Dark Samus appears as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. 4. Unlike her trophy in Brawl, she uses her design from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Some of Dark Samus' attack animations are similar to Samus', such as her down tilt and up smash. She hops around with long jumps, attacking with three different moves:
 * Her first attack involves firing a volley from her Arm Cannon straight forward, dealing multiple low damage hits and knocking opponents away on the final hit. The volley deals a total of 21% and has low knockback.
 * Her second attack sees her firing four homing laser spheres into the air. Each sphere deals 6% and has moderately low knockback.
 * The third attack only occurs if she is near an opponent. In this case, she generates Phazon tentacles to erupt from the ground, which deal 12% and have moderate knockback.

Dark Samus generating Phazon tentacles as an attack.

Before leaving, Dark Samus strikes a pose in which she holds her Arm Cannon in front of her face. Like several other Assist Trophies, she can be defeated if she takes enough hits. Upon being defeated, Dark Samus will disappear by fading out in a bright blue flash, similarly to when she is defeated in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

Other appearances
Samus' Dark Samus color scheme.

Dark Samus' color scheme is also the basis of one of Samus' alternate costumes. In an event match, this color scheme is used to simulate Samus battling Dark Samus. Similarly, the color scheme appears in a co-op event match that features several playable antagonists as opponents.

Trophy information

 * Dark Samus
 * This terrifying creature is made of Phazon. Along with regenerative abilities, she can also brainwash her victims and clone herself. Summoned into Smash Bros., she resembles Samus Aran and mimics some of her moves, firing Arm Cannon blasts, launching homing missiles, or even unleashing Phazon.
 * An exceptionally strong and terrifying being made of Phazon. She's able to regenerate, brainwash her victims and even clone herself. When summoned in this game, she'll either fire rapid blasts from her Arm Cannon, launch homing missiles, or unleash Phazon across the surrounding area, depending on where her target is.
 * : Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (11/2004)
 * : Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (10/2007)

As a playable character
Dark Samus, as she appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Dark Samus, alongside Chrom, was confirmed to appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable character on August 8, 2018 during the first Ultimate-oriented Nintendo Direct. According to Masahiro Sakurai, Dark Samus and Chrom were included because of significant fan demand from overseas and Japan, respectively.[3]  Unlike in Brawl and SSB4, Dark Samus' design is a combination of her appearances in Echoes and Corruption: her color scheme and organic textures are from the former, while her Phazon Suit's design is from the latter.

As an Echo Fighter of Samus,[3]  Dark Samus is virtually identical in regard to function, although she does deviate from Samus in a few ways. Most notably, Dark Samus' rolls do not involve her transforming into a Morph Ball, but are compensated with slightly less ending lag. In addition, she uses Phazon for all but two of Samus' respective flame-based moves, which is indicated by blue flames with the electric effect.

Trivia

 * Dark Samus is the third of four summonable characters to become playable in a later installment. The first was Charizard, the second was Little Mac, and the fourth was Isabelle.
 * Like Little Mac and Isabelle, she was an Assist Trophy prior to gaining this distinction.
 * She is also the only playable former assist character to have made a appearance in the series prior to her appearance as an assist character, as she appeared as a trophy and a sticker in Brawl.
 * Dark Samus is the second playable character to be created outside of Japan, and the first to be created in the United States.
 * She is also the second playable character not created by Nintendo to be solely created by a Nintendo-owned subsidiary (being Retro Studios). The first was Shulk, who was created by Monolith Soft.
 * She is also the only female character to be created outside Japan.
 * She is notably the only character created outside of Japan not to have been created by Rare Ltd..
 * Dark Samus' Brawl trophy description is not entirely accurate. If the player achieves 100% completion in Metroid Prime, a cutscene will play that shows Metroid Prime's essence being reborn into Samus' stolen Phazon Suit. However, this fact is only hinted at in-universe from Samus' first logbook scan of Dark Samus in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
 * Dark Samus, Palutena, Ridley, Piranha Plant, Wii Fit Trainer and the dog from Duck Hunt are the only playable characters in the Super Smash Bros. series that do not have a playable appearance in any other video game.
 * However, if the Mystery Mushroom costumes from Super Mario Maker are counted, then Dark Samus, Ridley and Piranha Plant are the only characters in the series to hold this distinction.
 * This makes the Metroid universe the only universe that has two characters with this distinction.
 * Dark Samus, Wii Fit Trainer, Bayonetta, and Inkling are the only characters to have never appeared on a handheld console outside of the Super Smash Bros. series. However, if the Nintendo Switch is counted as a handheld, this does not include Bayonetta and Inkling.
 * Dark Samus is the second playable female villain in the Super Smash Bros. series. The first was Wendy Koopa.
 * Dark Samus is the second clone in the Super Smash Bros. series to be a doppelgänger of the character she is derived from. The first was Dark Pit.
 * Unlike Dark Pit, however, she is a cybernetically enhanced hybrid instead of a genetically identical clone.