Samus Aran

Samus Aran (サムス・アラン (Samusu Aran), is the main character and protagonist of the Metroid series.

Orphaned during a Space Pirate raid on her home of K-2L, Samus was adopted by the mysterious Chozo and taken to Zebes where she was infused with their DNA and raised to become a warrior. Once she reached adulthood, Samus joined the Federation Police where she served under the Commanding Officer Adam Malkovich, but she ultimately left to become a bounty hunter, though she was nonetheless recruited by the Galactic Federation on many occasions. Armed in her cybernetic Power Suit, Samus has become famous for her accomplishments on missions others thought impossible. Her most renowned achievements are the destruction of the Space Pirate base on Zebes, her role in ending the Galactic Phazon crisis, her extermination of the Metroid species, and her disobedience of orders at the BSL station where she chose to destroy the deadly X Parasites rather than turn them over to the Galactic Federation.

Samus broke ground early in the gaming world in the 1986 game Metroid, her first appearance. Originally players were under the impression that Samus was a male, as even the instruction booklet confirmed this. However, completing Metroid under an hour revealed Samus to be a young athletic woman. Although Samus wears the Power Suit throughout most of the Metroid series, it has become a tradition to depict her in much more revealing attire at the end of each game, often as a reward for satisfying certain conditions such as completing the game quickly or with a high percentage of the game’s items collected or even both.

Childhood
Samus Aran was originally a native of the Earth colony K-2L. She was living with her parents, Rodney Aran and Virginia Aran, when, at the age of three, the colony was visited by the Chozo. The Chozo had come in hopes of gaining some of the Afloraltite the colony mined there, but the colony was unwilling to give them any. Samus, however, caught the attention of Old Bird, one of the Chozo elders. The two of them went for a walk, where they began to strike up a friendship. Samus began to call him “Grandpa” and Old Bird introduced her to her new pet, Pyonchi.

However, a Space Pirate raid led by Ridley soon commenced on the colony. Samus herself had an encounter with Ridley, where she asked if they could become friends. Humiliated in front of his troops, Ridley attempted to kill Samus, but her mother pushed Samus out of the way at the cost of her own life. Meanwhile, Samus' father sacrificed himself to destroy Ridley’s flagship. Little did Ridley know that, in killing Samus’ mother and attempting to kill Samus, he had succeeded in creating his greatest enemy.

Samus was the sole survivor of the attack on K-2L. Eventually, the same group of Chozo found her alone and stranded on the destroyed colony, and Old Bird decided to take custody of Samus. The Chozo brought her to their planet, Zebes, and raised her with Chozo influence. Samus was infused with Chozo blood in order to boost her chances of survival on Zebes; she was later given the powerful bio-mechanical Power Suit built entirely from Chozo technology.

Samus trained under the Chozo for many years. By the age of 14, she was already well past the physical limits of ordinary humans. The Chozo were unsure at first of her ability to become a true warrior until they witnessed her compassion for a flock of Iona Faria that had gone insane as a result of exposure to the Bajar Grove. Old Bird told Samus that she had his confidence and she immediately left the planet for the Federation.

Rise of the Hunter
Samus joined the Federation Police, where she excelled far above any at the academy. Eventually, she was promoted to the Star-Trackers, an elite force that only one out of a million police officers is qualified for. She was assigned to the command of Adam Malkovich, who would always finish his orders with the question, "Any objections, Lady?" as a way of cementing the trust between the two of them. As Adam was the only person who truly understood her, Samus grew to view him as her best friend and surrogate father figure. Her squadmates were Kreatz and Mauk, whose admiration of Samus led them to disobey Federation orders and travel to Zebes to help the Chozo.

A few years later, after the death of Adam's brother, Ian, whom Adam sacrificed to save 300 innocents, Samus vanished completely, abandoning her post in the GF Police. In Metroid: Other M, she states her reason for doing so was that she was still young and relatively inexperienced at the time. Samus did not resurface until a few years later; by this time, she had become universally-renowned as a Bounty Hunter by single-handedly hunting down numerous Space Pirates. So much of her life during this time is shrouded in mystery that the public believes her to be a male cyborg, not the same woman who graduated first in her class at the GF Police.

Return to Zebes

 * Main Article: Metroid: Zero Mission

After becoming the most famed and capable of all Bounty Hunters, succeeding in missions everyone considered impossible, Samus was summoned by the Galactic Federation. Previously, a Federation Planet Reclamation Division had been sent to capture Metroid specimens for study, but the Space Pirates had swept in, killed the crew, and stolen the Metroids. The capture of this creature was a disastrous blow to the Federation. A Metroid could leech life from its victims, was impervious to most weaponry, and could be cheaply cloned by exposure to beta rays for 24 standard hours. The Pirates had already tested their potential in a three-way simultaneous attack on several Federation worlds; the attack was a stunning success for the Pirates, who had suffered no casualties at all. With hundreds of Metroids under their power, the Space Pirates would inevitably begin a campaign to conquer the rest of the universe. Galactic Civilization would end.

After a long and harrowing search, the Federation Police tracked the Pirates to Zebes. They launched an invasion, but Pirate resistance was too strong. After much debate, the Federation decided to turn to Samus to infiltrate the base at Zebes. She was given two objectives:


 * ’’’Destroy all Metroid organisms.’’’ and
 * ’’’Defeat the Mechanical Life-Form Mother Brain.’’’

Samus’ “Zero Mission”
Samus arrived on Zebes and soon discovered that in order to access the central Space Pirate base in Tourian, she had to kill the two Pirate leaders situated on the planet: her old foe, Ridley, and his partner Kraid. After discovering various Chozo artifacts located in multiple locations on the planet that served as upgrades for her suit, Samus was finally able to access the lower depths of Brinstar, where she discovered Kraid waiting for her. A fierce battle ensued, with Samus ultimately coming out the winner. Samus then headed into the deep volcanic regions of Zebes, where she had several surprising encounters with Imagos, gigantic insects that grew from enormous grub-like larvae. When Samus arrived at Ridley’s lair, she soon encountered the Pirate leader, who had just arrived moments earlier after being sent to inspect the planet. Samus fought him with a murderous lust, finally being able to avenge her parents’ death. Unbeknownst to Samus, though Ridley was nearly burned alive after their battle, he did not die from his wounds.

After defeating Kraid and Ridley, Samus was granted access to Tourian, where she discovered that the Space Pirates had underestimated the Metroids’ intelligence. A massive breakout had occurred, and all Pirate personnel present at the time of the breakout were dead. Mother Brain herself, however, was protected by her Chozo-built facility and so was completely unharmed. As a result, Metroid cloning had proceeded as though nothing happened, so the Metroid population had risen to an astonishing level. Samus engaged the Metroids she encountered but found that they were impervious to most of her weaponry. Only by exploiting their weakness to cold with the Ice Beam could Samus hope to overcome them.

Samus soon arrived at Mother Brain’s chamber and fought her way past the defense systems. The two engaged in an arduous duel, but Mother Brain was ultimately defeated. Unfortunately for Samus, Mother Brain's death activated a hidden fail-safe that began a countdown for the self-destruction of the entire Pirate base. Samus barely managed to make it out to her gunship in time.

Ambush
Unfortunately, escape was not easy as Samus thought it would be. As soon she left the atmosphere, Space Pirate Fighters ambushed her; during the ensuing chase, Samus was shot down, and her ship crash-landed back on Zebes. Samus survived, but the explosion had destroyed her Power Suit. The only weapon left available to her was a mostly-useless stun pistol. Her only option was to sneak inside the Space Pirate Mother Ship, which had landed in a nearby valley, in hopes of hijacking a ship and escaping. The next morning, Samus climbed in through the ductwork and began her infiltration. Unfortunately, her plans were quickly botched when she was spotted by several Pirates, who quickly set off alarms throughout the entire ship. Though she managed to outwit them many times, Samus was ultimately forced to retreat to the nearby ruins of Chozodia.

In the ruins, Samus discovered a sacred Ruins Test which she had visited once as a young child. Upon her discovery, the Test activated; Samus had to face a mirror image of herself along with powerful bolts of lightning hurled by the heiroglyphic. Ultimately, Samus succeeded in passing the test, and the statue rewarded her with the Legendary Power Suit, and unlocked the three Unknown Items: the Plasma Beam, the Gravity Suit, and the Space Jump. Now more powerful than before, Samus stormed the Pirate Mothership, leaving many dead Pirates in her wake.

Eventually, Samus made it to the bridge of the Mothership where she discovered the Ridley Robot, a gigantic robot built in Ridley’s likeness. The robot engaged her in a fierce battle, but Samus was easily able to destroy it. As it shut down, it activated the self-destruct for the Pirate Mothership. Samus raced through the corridors of the Mothership, battling numerous Pirates along the way, until she managed to hijack a Space Pirate fighter. Samus quickly flew out of the ship and left Zebes as the Pirate Mothership exploded behind her. Samus had fulfilled her Zero Mission.

Mission at Tallon IV

 * Main Article: Metroid Prime



Three years later, Samus’s next mission led her to another planet in the Zebesian system: Tallon IV. She intercepted a distress signal sent from the Space Pirate frigate Orpheon and immediately flew in to investigate. Once inside, she found dead and dying pirates everywhere while vermin ran amok in the ship. It did not take Samus long to discover the source: a Parasite Queen the Pirates had been performing experiments on had broken out and stationed itself in the Frigate’s Nuclear reactor core. Samus killed the creature, but the dying beast slipped into the reactor, causing a malfunction that threatened to destroy the entire vessel. Samus ran for her life through the ventilation tunnels, but to her great surprise, she found herself reunited with Ridley, who had been given many cybernetic implants and been transformed into Meta-Ridley. Samus chased him through the ship, but along the way, an explosion rammed her into a wall, causing her Power Suit to malfunction. Of all its previous functions and upgrades, only the Arm Cannon remained functional. Samus quickly left the dying frigate and chased Meta-Ridley in her gunship, but he proved faster than expected and soon disappeared from her radar. Samus was forced to track him on foot, and so, even in her weakened state, she chose to land on the planet below: Tallon IV.

The Metroid Prime
After passing through the jungles in the Tallon Overworld, Samus discovered an elevator which led to some deserted Chozo Ruins. There, she discovered that 50 years earlier, a colony of Chozo had come to the planet to regain their spirituality. Unfortunately, a mysterious meteor struck the planet, bringing with it a Great Poison and The Worm. The Great Poison quickly began spreading through the area, killing most life in its path and corrupting any beings which it did not kill. Many of the Chozo were driven insane and became menacing spirits; much of the others soon fled to an unknown location. The remainder of the sane Chozo, now reduced to mere ghosts, managed to seal off the Impact Crater within a seal called The Cipher, locking up The Worm and most of the Great Poison with it. The Space Pirates fleeing the destruction of the base at Zebes had then landed on the planet; they began mining the Great Poison (which they named Phazon) after discovering it could be used to enhance the fighting potential of various creatures, including themselves.

Samus journied through Tallon IV, regaining her lost weaponry and collecting sacred Chozo Artifacts, for the Chozo had prophesied that she was the one destined to destroy the Worm and the Phazon there. She also swept through the Phazon Mines the Pirates had set up, destroying the Phazon-infused experiments she found there. Samus eventually confronted the most powerful of these mutated Space Pirates: the Omega Pirate. After a challenging battle, Samus managed to defeat the beast, but in its death throes, it fell on Samus and melted into pure Phazon. The viral radiation dramatically mutated her Power Suit, turning it into the Phazon Suit; fortunately, this mutation proved beneficial as it allowed her to safely come in contact with and harness the power of Phazon.

Endgame
Having collected all the Chozo artifacts and suit upgrades, Samus returned to the Artifact Temple and activated the Cipher in preparation for entering the Impact Crater. Just before the statue's seal deactivated, however, Meta-Ridley flew in and destroyed the statue. He then attempted to kill Samus, but Samus managed to burn off his wings then overload his life-support. Just as Meta-Ridley was brought to death’s door again, the Chozo statues there fired powerful lasers at his chest, blasting him off of the mountain. The Chozo Ghosts within the statues then undid the seal themselves, allowing Samus inside the Impact Crater. Inside, Samus discovered the sleeping Metroid Prime, the source of all the Phazon. Samus managed to destroy its armor, forcing the creature to reveal its true form. Unable to damage it further with conventional weaponry, Samus was then forced to overload it by harnessing pure Phazon via her Phazon Suit. The Metroid Prime began to die, but in a last-ditch attempt to save itself, it shot out a tentacle and absorbed Samus’s Phazon Suit before exploding. Samus ran for her life as the entire Impact Crater burst into flames. Though Tallon IV had been cleansed of Phazon, The Worm was not yet dead and would soon be reborn as Dark Samus.

The Ultimate Power

 * Main Article: Metroid Prime Hunters

Some time afterwards, a mysterious telepathic message was sent out from the Tetra Galaxy saying, "The secret to ultimate power resides in the Alimbic Cluster." Samus was sent by the Federation in order to determine the truth about this message. Unfortunately, the message had also been sent to other recipients and soon many others hunters began heading to the Alimbic Cluster, each with their own reasons for seeking the ultimate power. To gain the ultimate power, one had to find the 8 Octoliths which would power the Alimbic Cannon, allowing access to the Oubliette. The Octoliths were all under guard by robotic beings: the Cretaphids and the Slenches.

Between skirmishes with these beings and the other hunters, Samus discovered that the Alimbics, the former inhabitants of the Alimbic Cluster, had been experiencing a time of peace and prosperity until a monstrous being named Gorea had arrived in the form of a comet and began wreaking havoc upon their civilization. The Alimbics were forced to sacrifice themselves to seal away Gorea within the Seal Sphere, which was kept in the Oubliette. They also left a cryptic prophecy on how one might defeat Gorea.

After collecting all 8 of the Octoliths, and using them to activate the Alimbic Cannon, Samus and the other hunters raced to the now accessible Oubliette. The other hunters got there first, and inside they discovered an immobile structure. They began firing at it, mistakenly believing it to hold the ultimate power. To their great surprise, Gorea instead emerged from the broken structure. Samus arrived just in time to see Gorea shoot out massive tentacles and drain the other hunters of their powers. The defeated hunters vanished, and Samus alone remained to fight Gorea. She first activated the panels around the arena in accordance with the Alimbic prophecy, then began battling Gorea by exploiting its link to the Gorea Seal Sphere. Gorea then revealed its final form and continued its assault. Fortunately, Samus gained access to the Omega Cannon, which allowed her to defeat Gorea's second form. Gorea and the Oubliette exploded, while Samus escaped with her life. Once she was back in the safety of space, Samus received a vision where three Alimbic spirits appeared to thank her.

Dark Echoes

 * Main Article: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Samus was soon given yet another assignment from the Galactic Federation; this time, she was asked to track down a missing brigade of Federation Marines, GFMC Task Force Herakles. Samus headed to the planet Aether located in the Dasha region of space, where the troopers’ distress signal was coming from. Samus attempted to land on Aether, but her gunship was caught in the dimensional storms raging on the planet and was badly damaged. Very luckily, her ship landed not very far away from the troopers’ makeshift base. Immediately upon entering it, she could see that all the troopers had died in some sort of attack. Before she could discover the source, many of the dead troopers rose and began firing at her.

Samus fled the base, with the undead troopers in pursuit, but once she was safely outside, she discovered something very strange. A mysterious black and blue being wearing a suit similar to hers was entering a mysterious Portal to an unknown location. Samus followed the being into the Portal only to find herself in a nightmarish replica of the room she had been in before. The being was absorbing a massive node of Phazon before it. It began firing at her, but ultimately left her to the claws of the savage creatures surrounding them both. Faced with overwhelming odds and exposure to the poisonous atmosphere of the region, Samus was quickly overcome by the dark creatures.

Samus managed to make it back to the portal minus many of her suit upgrades, all of which had been stolen by the creatures that attacked her. She made her way through the catacombs of Aether until she discovered the source of the distress signal: the Federation troopers' damaged ship, the GFS Tyr. Accessing the ship’s log, she discovered that the Task Force had been stranded on Aether when their ship was damaged in pursuit of a downed Space Pirate frigate. Eventually, they were all killed after repeated assaults by Dark Splinters, though one of the troopers managed to send the distress signal before his death.

Samus’s ship was still repairing itself, so she went on a search to identify the cause of the attack and to recover her stolen weaponry. She began finding signs of an intelligent civilization living on Aether and chose to investigate. Her search eventually led to the Great Temple where she found dozens of beings suspended in cryogenic hibernation. Before she could investigate further, she was immediately attacked by an Alpha Splinter, which was almost immediately transformed into Dark Alpha Splinter. Samus managed to kill it, but a strange glowing object emerged from the dead insect and entered her suit.

Samus continued exploring the building until she encountered a being known as U-Mos, the Sentinel of the Luminoth. U-Mos informed her that his species, the Luminoth, had migrated to the planet after being drawn by its unique energy. They had lived in peace until a meteor much like the one that impacted Tallon IV impacted the planet, straining the planet’s fragile dimensionality and thus creating two different dimensions of the same planet: the original Aether and a twisted, corrupted version called Dark Aether. A malevolent race called the Ing had come with the Leviathan; it was the Ing who were responsible for the deaths and possession of the troopers. The Luminoth had been involved in a long war with the Ing for the Light of Aether and were at the verge of defeat when Samus had arrived. U-Mos also revealed that, after her battle with the Dark Alpha Splinter, Samus had recovered the Energy Transfer Module that had been stolen by the Ing years earlier. Now that she had it, she could transfer the planet's energy from Dark Aether to Light Aether; without it the shadowy dimension would collapse forever. Samus agreed to seek out the Energy Controllers to restore the Light of Aether to the Luminoth.

Samus’ mission took her all through Aether and Dark Aether, where she faced many Ing attempting to kill her for assisting the Luminoth, as well as several skirmishes with Dark Samus, the creature she had seen absorbing Phazon in Dark Aether. She also reclaimed her stolen weaponry from the various Ing Guardians who had made use of it, and she received Luminoth upgrades such as the Dark Suit. Once she had restored the three energy controllers to transfer the Light of Aether, U-Mos thanked her with the Light Suit, a suit that contained the Light of Aether within itself. Then, he told her of her most dangerous task: to reach the final Energy Controller, hidden within the Sky Temple. To enter the Sky Temple, though, she had to find the nine Sky Temple keys scattered about Dark Aether.

Within the Sky Temple, Samus faced the Emperor Ing, a mighty behemoth that ruled the entire Ing race. Although she was almost defeated, Samus prevailed, killed the Emperor, and obtained the last of the planetary energy. Without the energy, Dark Aether started to fall apart, leaving her with only eight minutes to escape. Samus raced down to the Sky Temple gateway, but before she could flee the crumbling dimension, Dark Samus confronted her once more. The two dueled it out to the death, but Samus took advantage of her foe's sole weakness -- an overload of Phazon -- and defeated her doppelganger once again. In her weakened state, Dark Samus attempted to steal Samus’ Light Suit, but instead dissipated into thin air. Samus then entered the portal, leaving Dark Aether to collapse behind her. The Luminoth, who had just returned from their cryogenic sleep, rejoiced and thanked Samus for freeing them from the Ing. Samus then gave them back the equipment she had borrowed from them, returned to her gunship, and she flew off into the vast darkness of space.

The Great Invasion

 * Main Article: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Six months later, Samus was summoned to the battleship G.F.S. Olympus in orbit with the rest of the Federation fleet above the planet Norion, where she would receive her instructions for her next assignment. She, along with fellow bounty hunters Rundas, Gandrayda, and Ghor, was ordered to deliver a vaccine to the Federation’s Aurora Units, which were suffering from a Space Pirate-engineered virus. Just as the mission briefing ended, the Pirates launched a surprise attack; all the bounty hunters, including Samus, headed down to their ships to assist with the battle at Norion’s main base, fighting any Pirates they encountered in the corridors. Upon landing there, Samus was informed the Space Pirates had disabled the generators to Norion’s planetary cannon; thus, she and the other hunters were given the responsibility of restoring them while the Federation Marines held off the invading Pirate forces. Samus and the other hunters raced through the base, turning on each generator they found to restore power to the cannon. The situation soon became dire when the Federation discovered exactly why the Pirates where attacking: a massive Leviathan was headed to Norion. The invasion was intended to stall the Federation fleet until the Leviathan could arrive and crash into the planet, spreading Phazon everywhere. Samus headed to the final generator only to find her old nemesis Meta-Ridley waiting for her. In the ensuing melee, Meta-Ridley accidentally broke through the floor and the two of them hurtled down the 1600 meter shaft, dueling all the way. Just as Samus finished off Meta-Ridley, Rundas came down to rescue her and the two flew out of the tunnel together. Samus restored the final generator and she and the other hunters went straight to the control tower to activate the cannon. As soon they made it to the top, Dark Samus, who was resurrected through high Phazon exposure and was responsible for the invasion, blasted them all with a massive Phazon laser to ensure that the Leviathan would not be destroyed. Luckily, Samus, though barely conscious, managed to fire the cannon just before she fainted, destroying the incoming Seed.

One month later, Samus awoke to find that she and her fellow hunters’ bodies were self-producing Phazon with no negative side-effects to their health. The Federation medics working on her had therefore equipped her with a Phazon Enhancement Device. Through this suit, she could take advantage of her own Phazon to enter Hypermode, a function that would allow her to energize her suit and weapon systems with Phazon, giving her access to devastating powers. Samus was then informed by the Aurora Unit 242 that her fellow hunters had awoken two weeks before she had. They had also been given PEDs and were dispatched to the planets Bryyo, Elysia, and the Pirate Homeworld, which had also been struck by Leviathans. Unfortunately, the Federation had lost contact with all of them one week later. Samus was then ordered complete the missing hunters’ missions to destroy each Leviathan, as well as finding out exactly what caused the Federation to lose contact with them.

Samus traveled to the planets Bryyo, Elysia, and the Pirate Homeworld to find upgrades to further enhance her abilities to destroy the seeds. However, she learned that her Phazon corruption, initially thought to be benign, could cause her body to overload with Phazon energy which she must then expel to prevent total corruption. She also learned that each of her fellow hunters had fallen to their own Phazon corruption; to protect herself, she battled each hunter in turn, killing them. As each hunter fell, Dark Samus showed up to drain the Phazon energy and their abilities from their bodies, with Samus powerless to stop her. With the help of her Phazon, Samus was able to successfully destroy the seeds at both Bryyo and Elysia. She also disabled the Pirate Homeworld’s planetary shield, allowing the Federation’s fleet to launch a full scale assault on the planet. Samus herself personally led a team of Demolition Troopers to destroy the security door of the cargo line leading to the Seed. There, she encountered and defeated her old nemesis once again, now reborn as Omega Ridley. All the Leviathans had been destroyed, but Samus had been corrupted to the point that she was now literally glowing with Phazon.

The Aurora Unit 217 then uncovered the location of planet Phaaze, the source of all Phazon and Dark Samus' place of origin. Traveling with the Federation via a wormhole created by the Leviathan Battleship, Samus arrived and descended to the planet. As soon she set foot on Phaaze, Samus absorbed dangerous amounts of Phazon and was nearly corrupted completely; fortunately, she managed to prevent this by venting all her available energy tanks and locking herself in permanent Hypermode. After venturing to the planet's inner sanctum, she encountered Dark Samus, and, after a long battle, Dark Samus fused with the stolen Aurora Unit 313 that was linked with Phaaze's core. Her efforts ultimately proved futile as Samus was able to overpower and destroy both her doppelganger and the Aurora Unit. Since the Aurora Unit was linked to the planet's core, its destruction caused a chain reaction that resulted in the destruction of Phaaze and the erasure of all traces of Phazon from the universe, including the Phazon inside Samus' body. The Federation fleet escaped via another wormhole, but lost contact with Samus in the process. Just as the Federation had given up all hope of Samus' survival, she flew in and reported that the mission had been completed, closing the curtain on the Phazon saga.

After leaving the celebrating Federation fleet, Samus returned to Elysia, where she mourned the loss of her fellow bounty hunters on this mission. Eventually, she left Elysia and headed off to find her next mission, but failed to notice a mysterious gunship following her.

Metroid Extermination Order
Main Article: Metroid II: Return of Samus



What happened after this period of time is unknown. However, it is known that the Galactic Federation soon deemed the Metroids too dangerous to exist. After several failed attempts by their own troops, the Federation ordered Samus to exterminate them herself, given her long experience in dealing with the creatures.

Samus arrived on SR388 and landed her ship at the base of an active volcano, where the Metroids' lair had been traced to. Once there, she found that Metroids mutate into different forms, each stronger than the last. Every time she managed to successfully kill all the Metroids in an area, the lava level inside the volcano would drop, allowing her access to deeper levels where stronger Metroids were hiding. Her search finally led her to the Queen Metroid, which was responsible for the reproduction of the entire Metroid species. Samus managed to kill the beast and thus believed herself to have successfully eliminated the Metroids for good. As she continued down the tunnels, however, she found a single Metroid egg. As she stared at it, an infant Metroid hatched out of the egg and, upon seeing Samus, imprinted on her as its mother. Recalling that she was the only survivor of K-2L, Samus felt compassion for the infant and, going against her orders, took the Metroid Hatchling to her gunship and left the planet.

Final Mission to Zebes
Main Article: Super Metroid



Samus, knowing how valuable the Metroid hatchling could be to the Federation, headed to the Ceres Space Colony, and chose to turn it over to the scientists there, who believed they could harness the infant’s power for the good of mankind. Confident in their findings, Samus proceeded to leave the station. However, she had not even left the asteroid belt where Ceres was stationed before she received a distress signal from the scientists. Returning to Ceres, she discovered that the Space Pirates had attacked the station in hopes of stealing the Metroid. Ridley himself had captured the Metroid and was about to make off when Samus arrived. After a brief struggle, Ridley flew out of the station and set the self-destruct to destroy the entire station. Samus barely made it out alive, but flew away in her gunship, while Ceres exploded behind her.

She managed to track Ridley and the other Pirates to Zebes, and there discovered that the Space Pirates had rebuilt their old base on the planet and had returned to their old plan of cloning Metroids. Mother Brain had returned as the head of the base, as had Ridley and Kraid. Two new Pirate generals had been recruited as well: Phantoon, a ghostly being that haunted the Wrecked Ship, and Draygon, a massive Evir which presided over Maridia. After defeating them all, Samus was granted access to Tourian. She proceeded to exterminate the Pirate-cloned Metroids she found there, but was suddenly attacked by a massive Metroid, far larger than any she had ever seen. All her weaponry was useless against it and soon the Metroid had her down. Just moments away from her death, the Metroid strangely relinquished its hold and fled, and Samus realized that it was the Baby, enhanced through unknown means.

Samus continued through Tourian until she encountered Mother Brain and proceeded to destroy her tank as before. Though she appeared to be defeated, Mother Brain suddenly emerged from the wreckage in a massive new body. Samus fought with all her might, but Mother Brain retaliated with the Laser Brain Attack, leaving Samus near death once more. Just before Mother Brain could launch another blow, the infant Metroid suddenly arrived, sucked the life out of Mother Brain, then began transferring the life to Samus. Mother Brain was not yet dead, though, and it began attacking the Metroid. The Hyper Beam finished off the Baby, but Samus had been revived and used Mother Brain’s own Hyper Beam against her until she was no more. Mother Brain's death triggered yet another self-destruct mechanism, only this time, the entire planet was engulfed in the explosion. Samus escaped with her life, while Zebes, the ancient home of the Chozo, was lost forever.

The Bottle Ship Incident
Main Article: Metroid: Other M

Although she managed to escape from Zebes, Samus was injured from her fight against Mother Brain and from the mission overall, eventually resulting into her admission into a hospital. Samus recovered and flew off, but she still mourned the loss of the Baby. After several weeks of drifting aimlessly, Samus received a "Baby's Cry"-type distress signal directing her to the Bottle Ship. She found that a Federation vessel had also recieved the S.O.S. and had docked on the Bottle Ship. The crew of the ship, to her surprise, was the Federation squad she had been a part of when she had been enrolled in the GF Army, the 07th Platoon, consisting of several soldiers, namely Anthony Higgs and Adam Malkovich. She and the team were forced to cooperate in order to overcome the aparent dangers of the Bottle Ship; Samus was allowed back onto the team provided that she followed Adam's orders. After restoring power to the Main Sector and being sent to inspect the Biosphere, Samus came across a small, furry creature that stopped to stare at her.

After much discovery and exploration, Samus arrived at the Exam Center toward the rear of the Biosphere. There, she met up with her comrades and activated a computer terminal. The data revealed that the Bottle Ship was a research station where bioweapons were being bred under the directions of Madeline Bergman. Noticing a large lizard-like creature attacking the soldiers outside, Samus raced to help them, but was ambushed and almost killed before Anthony shot it off of her, said creature fleeing immediately afterward. They then found the body of Lyle Smithsonian, who appeared to have been mauled by the creature. Samus also found the lifeless shell of the small white creature she saw earlier, which was actually the immature form of the lizard beast that had attacked her. Samus pursued the creature into the Pyrosphere but was soon ordered to go to the Cryosphere to search for survivors. There, she found the body of Maurice Favreau and noticed a young woman staring at her. From events that had taken place, Samus deduced that there was a traitor in the platoon and nicknamed him The Deleter. Returning to the Pyrosphere, she then discovered the beast she was tracking was actually her nemesis, Ridley. He hurled Samus' old friend Anthony into a pool of Lava, angering Samus and empowering her enough to defeat Ridley once again, though he managed to escape.

Entering the Bioweapon Research Center while tracking the Deleter, Samus once again encountered the young woman, who identified herself as Madeline Bergman and explained what was going on. The Bottle Ship scientists were trying to create a special forces unit modeled after the Space Pirates, which was then succeeded by cloning Metroids off fragments of the Baby on Samus' suit. An AI that recreated Mother Brain's thought processes so that the Metroids could be controlled was also developed, and nicknamed MB. Madeline gives Samus the directions to Sector Zero, a secret area on the Bottle Ship containing the Metroids and MB. Samus set off to destroy them, however, Adam raced off to stop her. Samus walked to the entrance and was suddenly shot when about to kill a Metroid, being weakened by Adam so that she couldn't strongarm her way past him. He gave her her next orders and proceeded to detach Sector Zero. Samus mourned his death, but eventually recovered and swore to finish the mission.

Returning to the Bioweapon Research Center to locate a survivor and find and defeat Ridley, she found the latter reduced to a dried husk, and later came across several hatched Metroid Eggs. Samus is then attacked by a Queen Metroid, who spawns Metroids as Samus engages it once again. Samus then chased the survivor, who also identifies herself as Madeline Bergman. Madeline cleared up Samus' confusion: she had actually met MB earlier. MB then stepped in and aimed a Freeze Gun at the two of them before numerous Federation Marines invaded and froze her. She then summoned an army of Ghalmanians, Mighty Griptians and Desbrachians to attack, but is ultimately killed by the Marines. As Madeline mourns, The Colonel steps in and praises Samus' work during the mission, but states that she is now an outsider due to the death of everyone in the platoon, and thus she cannot have any contact with Madeline. However, it turns out that Anthony survived his encounter with Ridley by freezing a Magdollite, revealed when he volunteers to escort Samus back to her ship. Leaving the Bottle Ship with the two of them, Samus reflected on Adam and MB as she flew towards Galactic Federation Headquarters.

Several days later, the Federation decided to destroy the Bottle Ship. Samus returned, however, to recover an important treasure. Progressing through the environments once again, and defeating her old foe Phantoon, she eventually reached Adam's post, finding his left-behind helmet. Embracing it, Samus reverted back to her Zero Suit, and held the helmet as she raced to her gunship.

Becoming Metroid
Main Article: Metroid Fusion SR388 was now free of Metroids, and so the Galactic Federation decided to send in a research party to investigate the planet. Due to her previous experience with the planet and its inhabitants, Samus was hired to serve as a guide to the researchers, to collect samples of life for the Biologic Space Laboratories research station. The researchers and Samus arrived on the planet, and when they were trying to capture a Hornoad, a X|mysterious organism injected itself inside Samus. Thinking nothing of it, the team continued on their mission. After their search was completed and the team returned to their ships, the parasite, which had infested Samus' central nervous system, caused her to fall unconscious. Though her gunship crashed into an Asteroid belt, Samus was safely ejected from the ship and her escape pod was retrieved by the BSL. She was far from safe, however, as the parasites (which would later be named X) continued to spread throughout her body.

The X had infected such large portions of Samus' Power Suit that large portions of it had to be surgically removed, drastically altering its physical appearance. She was initially given a less than 1% chance of survival, but very fortunately the scientists discovered a cure: Metroids. The Metroids were discovered to have been created by the Chozo in order to control the X. With this knowledge in mind, the scientists used a culture of Metroid cells extracted from the Baby to make a vaccine. The vaccine was an astonishing success; the X were completely purged from Samus' body, curing her completely. The vaccine had some unexpected side effects however. Now that she was immune to the X, Samus could absorb them to regain energy and Missiles. She also gained the Metroid’s trademark weakness to cold. More than just her biology changed, however; the surgical removal of parts of her Power Suit had left her with a radically different appearance: the new Fusion Suit. Fortunately, however, her suitless appearance remained unaltered by the operation.

Despite her recent illness, Samus was not given furlough by the Federation. She was immediately issued a new Gunship with an onboard computer to serve as an aide. This computer’s personality reminded her heavily of her former Commanding Officer and so, with irony noted, she chose to name it Adam in his memory. Samus was then sent to the BSL research station where the last batch of creatures from SR388 and the infected parts of her Power Suit were sent. She was to investigate an unexplained explosion in the Quarantine Bay. To her great surprise, she discovered that the X Parasite within her Suit had taken on her form, and it had become the SA-X (short for Samus Aran-X). It was responsible for the breach of Quarantine Bay, and as a result, the X ran amok throughout the station. All the researchers aboard the station were dead, and it was up to Samus to contain this breach. The X and the SA-X made many attempts to kill her, but Samus was always able to outsmart them, even in her weakened state.

Eventually, Samus’s missions through the BSL brought her to the Restricted Lab. After acquiring the Wave Beam, Samus was able to bypass the security door and enter inside. Inside the lab, Samus made a surprising discovery: the Galactic Federation were cloning Metroids. Before she could investigate further, she found the SA-X had followed her inside the lab and was releasing the Metroids so it could attack them. The Metroids soon overpowered it, but the SA-X’s breakout had set off the lab’s self-destruct failsafes. Samus managed to escape, but the lab broke away from the rest of the station and exploded, destroying the Metroids and the SA-X together.

When Samus spoke again to Adam, he was very angry with her for meddling in top-secret Federation research. Adam also informed her that the Federation was very interested in his extensive research on the X and viewed it as a wonderful organism with a variety of uses. Several Federation officials were coming to the BSL in hopes of capturing the X and SA-X (due to asexual reproduction, there were now no fewer than ten SA-X aboard the station) for military purposes. Samus vocally disapproved, insisting that the Federation were underestimating the threat that the X posed, and resolved to activate the ship's self-destruct to destroy the X, and herself if necessary.

Adam was aware of this, though, and thus locked all the doors. Samus reacted with outrage when she discovered what it had done and angrily yelled, “Don’t let them do this! Can’t you see what will happen, Adam?” The computer was confused at this response, as Samus had never disclosed her personal nickname for it. It asked for an explanation as to who this Adam was. Samus only told him that Adam was a friend who understood when sacrifices had to be made. From this, the computer was able to correctly deduce that Adam had given up his life to save Samus. However, it disregarded this, since Samus was incorrectly assuming that destroying the station would defeat the X for good, and curtly decided: “When Adam chose who would live, he chose the wrong person.”

Suddenly, something unusual began happening. The computer began adopting the persona of the former Adam. It unlocked the doors and told Samus that her instructions were to head to the Navigation Deck and change the station’s orbit so that it would crash into SR388, so that when it self-destructed, the planet too would be caught in the field. It ended this sudden command with Adam’s famous clincher: “Any objections, lady?”

Refreshed with a new spirit, Samus headed to the Navigation Deck, but the SA-X burst in once more with murder on its mind. Endowed with her new weapons, Samus managed to defeat the clone, continuing fearlessly even when it mutated into a massive beast and then into a Hard Core-X. Eventually, the SA-X was reduced once more to a lowly X, but before Samus could absorb it, it eluded her and escaped into the ventilation system. Disappointed and tired, but still determined, Samus continued her way up the Navigation Deck until she reached the terminal that controlled the station’s orbit. Samus altered its orbit and set off the self-destruct, then proceeded to return to the Docking Bay. When she arrived, though, her ship was nowhere to be found, and she was suddenly ambushed by an Omega Metroid, the evolved form of a Metroid that had escaped the Restricted Lab before its destruction. The creature defeated her in a single blow, but just before it could kill her, the SA-X appeared and began attacking the Metroid with its Ice Beam. The Omega Metroid recovered in time and attacked the SA-X, giving Samus enough time to absorb her doppelganger. Endowed with her Ice Beam once more, Samus made short work of the Omega Metroid. Shortly after killing it, her ship then returned to the station to save her. Samus flew away just before BSL, and SR388, exploded together.

Back in the safety of space, Samus discovered that it is a common practice for the Federation to upload the minds of great leaders to computers and that this is what had happened to Adam. After this point, it is unknown what will happen to Samus, as she disobeyed a direct order from the Federation, and subsequently destroyed all their research aboard the BSL.

Personality and portrayal
Samus's personality has never been detailed in-depth within the context of the games, a conscious decision by Nintendo to help the player imagine themselves better as the in-game character, as well as allowing them to imagine Samus's personality and backstory in any way they wish. However, Metroid Fusion, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and Metroid: Other M are perhaps the most notable games in the series to give of a glimpse of Samus' personality, as well as other media formats such as comics and manga.

Typically, Samus is depicted as a Byronic hero, who despite her great achievements, is deep down very lonely and brooding, and seeks revenge against the Space Pirates, especially Ridley, who is personally responsible for the death of her parents. Samus is known to have been inspired by Sigourney Weaver's character Ripley from the Alien series. However, unlike Ripley, Samus is never shown to be traumatized by the Metroids she faces on her various missions. She was, however, petrified when she encountered Ridley in the manga, where she is seen to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This affliction surfaced again when she discovered Ridley in Metroid: Other M to the point that she could barely communicate; she could not regain her composure until Anthony Higgs was thought to be killed while trying to defend her.

In licensed Metroid material outside of the games, Samus’s personality is largely left up to the writer in question. As a result, her personality has varied considerably between major publications. The 2002 manga depicts her as suffering from childhood trauma and often thinking heavily about her role and the role of the Pirates. In the Captain N: The Game Master comics, Samus is depicted as brash and money-hungry (as just about any bounty hunter would be), though she is willing to compete fairly with Princess Lana for the protagonist Kevin Keene’s feelings. In the Nintendo Comics System series, Samus unusually has a Southern accent, and commonly uses phrases like "pardner." She also seems to like a presumably alcoholic beverage called Comet Grog. In Metroid II, Samus bonds with a Metroid who was born in front of her eyes, and decides to spare it, seeing her three-year-old self during the attack on K-2L. It later sacrifices itself at the end of Super Metroid to save Samus, leaving her heartbroken as shown in Metroid: Other M. Her relationship with the Metroid, called "the Baby" by her, is comparable to Ripley's relationship with a surviving LV-426 colonist named Rebecca "Newt" Jorden. Like the Baby, Newt dies in the sequel, Alien3, and just like Samus, Ripley feels guilt over her death.

Samus’s lack of defined personality is largely due to the fact that, aside from opening narrations, she has never had a speaking role except in Metroid: Other M. Prior to Metroid: Other M her voice would be represented by text at the beginning narration, as well as throughout Metroid Fusion. Her character depicted in Metroid Fusion, though mostly well received, did garner some criticism from gamers for its depiction of Samus, who they felt should have been better left to their imagination.

While Samus does not have royal heritage in any of the games, she was depicted as the queen of Garbage World in A King of Shreds and Patches in Captain N, and Anthony Higgs gives her the nickname "Princess" in Metroid: Other M. Non-canonically, she is also depicted sitting on the throne in the King Conan Diorama in Corruption. This would seem to indicate that she became an empress to the Reptilicus, although this is never depicted ingame.

Physical appearance
Samus Aran is a Human. She is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 198 pounds (this may or may not include her armor). Her hair color is blond, her eye color is blue and she appears to be Caucasian. Samus wears her hair in a ponytail, except for two locks on either side of her head, a hairstyle that is distinctive to her.

Samus’s appearance has varied between games. In the original Metroid, her hair was brown, though it would turn green once the player acquired the Varia Suit. If Metroid II: Return of Samus was played with a Super Game Boy, Game Boy Player or Game Boy Advance, her hair would be colored red. It wasn’t until Super Metroid that she officially became blond.

Samus’s signature hairstyle first debuted in Metroid Zero Mission, and has been met with both positive and negative critical reception. This hairstyle has been present in every Metroid game released since. The only exception is Metroid Prime Hunters which, though it retained Samus’s ponytail, was missing the two locks of hair on each side of her head. Previously, Samus had been depicted with a ponytail in Metroid Prime and (briefly) at the end of Metroid II and Super Metroid.

Samus’s face structure has also varied between games. Metroid II, Super Metroid, and Metroid Fusion gave her a wider face and larger eyes than later incarnations. In Metroid Prime, her jaw was squarer, her eyes were more deep-set, and her lips were more defined. Zero Mission gave her higher cheekbones and a thinner face than previous installments, and that template has been the basis for every game since. Echoes’s incarnation is possibly the most critically panned appearance of Samus, due to the in-game model suffering from the uncanny valley. Prime Hunters, on the other hand, is currently the most positively received incarnation of Samus. This game gave Samus a face that appeared to be a fusion of Zero Mission’s and Prime’s depiction. Samus retained the deep-set eyes, traditional ponytail, and fuller face from Prime, but also had Zero Mission’s higher cheekbones. Corruption’s is closer to that is Zero Mission, with a thinner, more anime styled face. A common misconception is that this is the same game-model used for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. However, the two games were developed separately and the Brawl model of Samus shows many notable differences from Corruption’s model. Samus’s appearance in Brawl appears to be a Zero Mission incarnation. On the other hand, Metroid: Other M is perhaps the largest change Samus has ever had to her appearance since Zero Mission, as she is depicted for the first time with short hair and a Japanese-looking face. While her adult appearance still gives her a ponytail, the two locks on either side of her head have been heavily reduced in size, her bangs have been altered and her ponytail has been moved to the nape of the neck. She also has the beauty mark that Yoshio Sakamoto alluded to in the Super Metroid developer interview, under the left side of her lip. Before the credits, Samus is briefly depicted with her hair down, the first instance of this in 3-D. With her hair down, she has locks of hair hanging over her shoulders. After Anthony steps in, the lock over her right shoulder is no longer there. She then ties her hair back into her ponytail, mirroring the scenes in Metroid II and Super Metroid where she unties the ponytail.

Powers and abilities


Samus Aran’s infusion with Chozo DNA, as well as her warrior training since her childhood, has turned Samus in a superior athelete. Her training began at the age of 3 and continued up until she was 14 years old. As a result of the Chozo’s influence, Samus is capable of running and jumping heights far past normal human ability, as well as surviving falls that would otherwise kill an ordinary human. Samus is also more adaptive to foreign alien environments that humans cannot survive in. For example, she was able to breathe normally without her Power Suit on Elysia, despite the atmosphere being toxic to humans, though this is due to her alien DNA infusions. While Samus does not exhibit any powers that humans do not naturally have (except for the aforementioned capability of surviving in alien environments), all of the normal human limits have been exceeded to the max.

Samus also demonstrates good sharpshooting skills. She is an excellent marksman, with incredible aim, and is tremendously deadly in combat. She exhibits prodigious puzzle-solving and hacking skills. She also possess a limber figure that allows her to crawl through tunnels and gaps that would normally require usage of the Morph Ball. All of these are, of course, augmented further by her Power Suit. If need be, Samus will engage in physical combat, often using kicks and wrestling tactics to weaken her foe for a point-blank shot.

The extent of Samus’ training after she joined the Federation Police is currently unknown, but it is clear that the Federation has made one major augmentation to her abilities: her infusion with Metroid DNA. This infusion was done in a last-ditch attempt to save her life after she was infected with the X Parasite, and thus it was not completely known at the time what the side effects would be. As a result of the infusion, Samus gained immunity to X Parasites, but also inherited the Metroid’s crippling weakness to cold, though this disability is canceled out with a later Varia Suit upgrade. She does not seem to have inherited their ability to float, and still relies on the Space Jump to do so. It is currently unknown whether Samus has inherited the Metroid’s signature ability to leech life energy from other lifeforms, aside from the well-documented X Parasites, though this is likely to be resolved in any sequels taking place after Metroid Fusion.

Equipment
Samus’ most notable piece of equipment is, of course, her Power Suit, which has become virtually synonymous with her own identity. This suit was given to her when she first began living with the Chozo, and was built to be fused with her mind, body, and soul. The original Power Suit was destroyed when Samus crash-landed on Zebes after an ambush by Space Pirates, but her duel with the Ruins Test gave her a new, upgraded suit, which is able to absorb dozens of upgrades of alien origin. The Power Suit's main purpose is to protect her from adverse environments and enemy fire. The suit itself can be upgraded to dozens of other forms, each with its own different advantages. While some suits are stronger than others and have different abilities, they all maintain the same basic shape and usage.

Beneath the Power Suit, Samus wears a skin-tight body suit known as the Zero Suit. Because of its negligible weight, this suit allows Samus to perform at top physical performance level, and gives some, albeit weak, protection from enemy fire. She also owns a pistol known as the Paralyzer, which auto-charges to fire stunning shots, though unfortunately, it has no lethal capacity.

For transportation, Samus uses her Gunship, which usually resembles her helmet. She has owned a single Gunship that has been with her since her very first Zero Mission and remained in her possession until its destruction in Metroid Fusion. It is a Hunter-class starship made especially for her by the Galactic Federation on Aliehs III. Two other gunships are also shown in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Metroid Fusion.

Concept and Creation
Samus Aran first appeared in 1986, as the playable protagonist in the video game Metroid. Originally, Samus was created solely as a alternate identity for the player to put themselves into and was given no separate personality or defining features, characteristic of the creative treatment of many video game characters of the time. Partway through the development process, one member of the team suggested: "Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if the character turned out to be a woman?” A vote was held and Samus was changed into a woman. Since the film series "Alien" was acknowledged as a major influence in the development of Metroid, it is reasonable to assume that the inspiration for making Samus a woman may have very well come from the film's own Ellen Ripley. Indeed, in the Nintendo Power-published Super Metroid comic, her personality was based on a mix of Ripley and Princess Leia from the Star Wars series. Contrary to popular belief, Samus was not created by Metroid producer Gunpei Yokoi. The original game concepts were done by game director Makoto Kanōh and were designed by Hiroji Kiyotake.

Samus’s true identity as a woman was a heavily guarded secret, and was obscured by the already simple Power Suit’s androgynous appearance. The game manuals for Metroid in Japan uses pronouns like "it" mainly because the Japanese language only has gender-neutral pronouns like aista. The American manuals instead used male pronouns like "he", but it is unknown if this was a botched attempt to keep Samus’s gender a secret or simply a mistranslation. Only by beating the game in under an hour could the player gain access to a secret ending where Samus would remove her Power Suit and reveal herself to be a woman. It has become a tradition for Samus to do so in every Metroid game since, if the player completes the proper in-game requirements.

Super Metroid marked the first time Samus ever spoke in a game, narrating the events directly after Metroid II. Her speaking role was expanded in Metroid Fusion, where she spoke in more narrative monologues, and also conversations with her computer. Though Fusion was well praised, there was some controversy over Samus’s speaking role and as a result, aside from an opening narration in Zero Mission, she did not speak again until Metroid: Other M, the first Metroid game to give Samus voiced dialogue.

Yoshio Sakamoto based the image of Samus Aran for Super Metroid on actress Kim Bassinger. She was also briefly nude when she died in this game with a voice by Minako Hamano, but these elements were reconsidered because of American sensitivity to nudity and the voice sounding "too sexual", so Tomomi Yamane added the bathing suit to her and the voice acting was removed. Sakamoto claimed in a Super Metroid interview that he has "a special version of the ROM" with the original death sequence. Sakamoto also claimed in this interview to be the only person to know "where Samus's beauty mark is," which later turned up in Metroid: Other M under the left side of her lip and was marked in concept art for Metroid Prime, but was not added to the model.

Samus first received a voice actor in the game Metroid Prime, where she was voiced by Jennifer Hale. Samus has no in-game dialogue, however, and speaks only in various grunts and yells when damaged, a scream when killed, and rarely, breathing. Hale has remained her voice actress throughout the entire Prime series and it is unknown if she will return to reprise the role in future games. Her second voice actress was Alesia Glidewell in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Glidewell also voices Knuckle Joe and Krystal in the same game. Most surprising about Glidewell’s depiction of her is that Samus is given a voice-over with speaking lines for the first time. While she is in her Zero Suit, she speaks for all three of her taunts, and one victory cutscene. Her lines are:


 * "Is that all?"
 * "Try me."
 * "You’re mine."
 * "Be still."

Metroid: Other M features Samus speaking again, voiced by Jessica Martin. In the Japanese version, she is voiced by Ai Kobayashi.

In the Japanese commercial for Metroid: Zero Mission, Samus is portrayed by Chisato Morishita.

The name Samus is the female variant of the name Seamus, which is Celtic for James, which means: "He who supplants". Her last name of Aran may refer to the Aran Islands on the west coast of Ireland. Combining the two gives the meaning: "She who supplants an island" or "She who conquers an isolated area by force." Pronunciation of the name over the years has varied from either SAMUHS A-RUHN (as in the verb "run"), A-RAHN (using the "CAT" vowel for the first two As and the verb form of "ran"), but it wasn’t until the release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption that pronunciation of her name was finally cemented as SAMUHS ERR-EN, and it is likely to remain this way since.

Role in other media
Being one of Nintendo’s flagship franchises, Metroid, and Samus with it, have been featured in a variety of other media, as cameos, or in promotional material, as well as being mentioned or spoofed in other games or on television.

Super Smash Bros. series
Samus is one of the original eight characters in the Super Smash Bros. series and has appeared in all three games to date. The wide array of weapons she can use include Missiles, Super Missiles, the Charge Beam, the Grapple Beam, the Screw Attack, and Bombs, as well as a flamethrower. Her Gunship from Metroid II: Return of Samus appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee and returns once more in Brawl.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Samus is given access to a powerful new weapon as her Final Smash: the Zero Laser. It allows her to fire a gigantic laser of incredible strength, but consumes so much energy that Samus’s Power Suit falls apart, leaving her in her Zero Suit. While she is in that form, she becomes far faster and gains access to her Paralyzer, which she can use as an energy whip and to fire stunning shots.

Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary
Samus also plays a role in Brawl's Adventure mode: The Subspace Emissary. In it, she first appears in her Zero Suit, breaking into the base of the Subspace Army on the Island of the Ancients. Soon she comes across a Pikachu being drained of its electrical power. Samus uses her whip to break the container the Pikachu is being held in, summoning a security force of R.O.B.s. The two join forces to retrieve Samus’s Power Suit, but are confronted by two Shadow Bug clones mimicking it.

After reacquiring her Power Suit, Samus and Pikachu come across Ridley. He grabs Samus and starts to drag her against the wall, until Pikachu returns Samus's favor and uses Thunder on Ridley, causing him to drop Samus. An infuriated Ridley attacks. Once they defeat him, the duo exits the base and come across a cave where R.O.B.s are exiting with newly manufactured Subspace Bombs.

Samus and Pikachu make their way through the Subspace Bomb Factory and find the Ancient Minister with the R.O.B. Squad. They prepare to fight, but then realize that he looks very sad. At that moment, Captain Falcon, Olimar, Diddy and DK burst in. A hologram of Ganondorf appears and orders the R.O.B. Squad to activate the remaining bombs. The Ancient Minister tries to stop them, but is set on fire when Ganondorf orders them to retaliate. After the Ancient Minister is revealed to be a R.O.B. himself, Samus and the other characters all rush out to escape the Island before it is engulfed, but are confronted by Meta Ridley and duel him aboard the Falcon Flyer.

Samus groups up with the other fighters to lead an assault on the Subspace Gunship, during which she uses her own gunship as a distraction to buy enough time for Kirby to arrive on the Dragoon. She and the other fighters head into the Subspace Realm, but she is defeated by Tabuu and turned into a trophy when Tabuu arrives and uses his Off Waves to defeat all who are attacking him. King Dedede later comes to save her and she continues with the others to lead the final attack on Tabuu.

Cameos in other Nintendo titles

 * 1) Famicom Wars (1988, Famicom) (Unreleased outside Japan; The Red Star commander on Donut Island is called Samasuun, and her face on the result screen is Samus's helmet.)
 * 2) Tetris (1989, NES) (Cameo, appears playing the upright bass after the player wins a B-type game of level at least 9 and height at least 2.)
 * 3) F-1 Race (1990, Game Boy) (Cameo, appears cheering for the player with four other women before Course 7)
 * 4) Galactic Pinball (Virtual Boy) (Cameo, her ship appears in a minigame where the player must shoot oncoming Metroid enemies, similar to Space Invaders)
 * 5) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996, SNES) (Cameo, after Mario's party defeats Yaridovich and until Mario travels to Land's End, he may find her sleeping in the Mushroom Kingdom Castle. Also, a Samus figurine appears in the toy box of Booster's Room.)
 * 6) Kirby Super Star (1996, SNES) (Cameo, when Kirby uses his stone ability he can become a Samus statue. Also, the Screw Attack icon (called the Screwball) is a treasure in the Great Cave Offense segment of the game.)
 * 7) Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (1997, SNES) (Cameo, appears after level 5-2, which also contains six Metroids. If Kirby defeats them all using an Ice power, Samus will remove her helmet.)
 * 8) Super Smash Bros. (1999, N64) (Playable character)
 * 9) Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001, Nintendo GameCube]) (Playable character)
 * 10) Animal Crossing (Nintendo GameCube) (An e-Reader card called "Samus's Suit" gives the player a Power Suit to wear in the game. This is coded on the card, and not the game, however.)
 * 11) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest (2003, Nintendo GameCube) (Includes a trailer for Metroid Prime.)
 * 12) WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (2003, Game Boy Advance) (Contains a microgame based on NES Metroid called Metroid (microgame), with Samus firing missiles at the Mother Brain. Though she cannot move, the Morph Ball is functional.)
 * 13) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003, Game Boy Advance) (Samus was intended to appear at Starbeans Cafe, among other Nintendo characters, during a scripted event. Dialog remains in the game's code- "Cashier: Whoa! A power outage? Yikes! Samus Aran! I see you're rocking and rolling as usual! ...Looks like your energy tanks are empty! Sorry, but can't you give your Hoolumbian to Samus? Oh! Feeling better?" She would then give the player an Energy Tank in exchange for the drink. Ultimately, most of the items were replaced with similar ones in the final game, though the Energy Tank became a Power Grip accessory.)
 * 14) WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$! (2004, Nintendo GameCube) (Contains Metroid (microgame) from WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!)
 * 15) WarioWare: Touched! (2005, Nintendo DS) (Contains a microgame based on Metroid)
 * 16) WarioWare: Twisted! (2005, Game Boy Advance) (Contains two microgames based on Metroid and another full game called "Mewtroid" starring a rolling cat with an Arm Cannon and Brinstar music.)
 * 17) Animal Crossing: Wild World (2005, Nintendo DS) (Gulliver, the seagull, references Samus saying "Tell me, have you ever heard of the bounty hunter that can turn into a ball?" Also you can get a 1x1 item that is a Metroid in a case. When you touch it, it glows and plays a small clip of Metroid music.)
 * 18) Geist (2005, Nintendo GameCube) (Samus’s helmet and red clothing are seen in a locker within the women’s locker room at Volks Corporation.)
 * 19) Tetris DS (2006, Nintendo DS) (Metroid-based course, Catch Mode; in the title screen, Samus shoots some tetrominoes; A difficulty level on Marathon Mode is Metroid Themed, with Samus to the right, and clips of the original Metroid playing on the top screen, but with a more realistic background.)
 * 20) Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Wii) for the Wii was intended to include Samus and Link, but Nintendo did not allow Activision to include them. A video shows her using many of her attacks from the series, which would have been motion-activated.)
 * 21) WarioWare: Smooth Moves (2007, Wii) (Contains a microgame based on Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Samus also occasionally appears in two other games, with a Super Metroid cartridge in one and Samus playing an upright bass again (as she had in Tetris) in another.)
 * 22) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2007, Wii) (Playable character, Zero Suit Samus is also a playable character. Mainly partnered with Pikachu, she plays a large role in the game's story, The Subspace Emissary.)
 * 23) Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (Japan 2008, Wii) (Zero Suit is one of two unlockable Nintendo costumes.)
 * 24) Kirby Super Star Ultra (2008, Nintendo DS) (Samus statue and Screw Attack, now correctly named, appear in this SNES remake.)
 * 25) Animal Crossing: City Folk (2008, Wii) (Samus Helmet, Metroid, and Varia Suit available in game.)''
 * 26) Phantasy Star Ø (Japan 2008, Nintendo DS) (Samus's Arm Cannon is one of two available Nintendo weapons.)

In other media

 * Samus was also a semi-regular character in the Captain N: The Game Master comic books, published as part of the Nintendo Comics System. In these stories, Samus has romantic feelings for Kevin Keene, the main character, despite his own affections for another woman, Princess Lana. However, as she states in the story "Breakout", Samus prefers to win Kevin’s affections fairly. Samus's gunship also makes an appearance, though in a very different form than in the games. Interestingly, the ship's class in the comic was "Hunter IV", suggesting that the ship's canonical designation ("Hunter Class") may have been derived from the comic.


 * In the Captain N: The Game Master cartoon, Samus did not appear, even though Mother Brain was the show's primary villain. Jeffrey Scott claimed in an interview that he didn’t feature Samus in the cartoon because he "never heard of her".


 * Samus also starred in her own Nintendo Comics System stories, apparently set in the same continuity, titled Deceít Du Jour; it was the only ten-page story to have the Metroid umbrella title. In this story, Samus duels with another Bounty Hunter, 'Big Time' Brannigan, whom Mother Brain has hired to capture her, and who claims to be just as efficient as Samus. In the end, Samus proves her superiority by sabotaging her own gun (after he damages her Arm Cannon) before handing it over to Big Time. When Big Time attempts to kill her with it later on, it explodes, covering Samus's escape.


 * In the 1989 movie The Wizard, Metroid can be seen briefly (in a full-screen shot) on a PlayChoice-10.


 * A super deformed doll in Samus's likeness that Princess Peach desired drove the humorous plot for a Mario VS Wario comic that was published one month prior to the Super Metroid comic.


 * Samus also starred in two comic adaptations featured in Nintendo Power: a 60-page one for Super Metroid and a 24-page one for Metroid Prime.


 * Samus also appeared in the Samus and Joey series of manga, where she meets a boy named Joey and adventures with him.


 * Samus once appeared in a Kool-Aid commercial that advertised Metroid II: Return of Samus. An animated version of her is seen in the back of a bus with two children.


 * In the episode of the show "Code Monkeys" called "Valley of the Silicon Dolls", Larrity searches for bounty hunters to kill the robotic teddy bear that Dave, Jarry, and Black Steve reprogrammed. Towards the end of the episode, a warped version of Samus's ship rises up and Samus jumps out and kills the teddy bear.  She then removes her helmet and reveals that she is actually Marry.  She then morphs into a ball and rolls away.  This version of Samus has the arm cannon on her left arm instead of her right, probably due to copyright issues with Nintendo.


 * Samus can be seen on Nintendo Monopoly representing New York Avenue for $200, and is featured prominently on the box based on Metroid Prime 2: Echoes artwork.


 * Samus is shown on pages 26 and 27 in How to Draw Nintendo Greatest Heroes & Villains.

Super Smash Bros.
"Samus Aran is the toughest bounty hunter in the galaxy. Using a special suit powered by the technology of the bird people which allows her to execute daring acrobatic feats, Samus pursues the airborne life form, Metroid, throughout the universe." Works: Metroid (NES), Metroid II: Return of Samus (GB), Super Metroid (SNES)

Super Smash Bros. Melee
"This intergalactic bounty hunter's full name is Samus Aran. Clad in a Power Suit made by the Chozo race and infused with their enhanced blood, she cleared the planet Zebes of a Metroid infestation. Samus is an orphan, the sole survivor of a Space Pirate raid that destroyed an Earth colony named K-2L."

Metroid, 08/89

"Samus has an abundance of projectile weapons, making her a long- distance attack specialist. The most powerful weapon in her arsenal is the Charge Beam, but be warned: It can be reflected. Her missiles have homing capabilities, but  when fired as Smash Attacks, they fly on a straight trajectory and have boosted power."

[B: Charge Shot] [Smash B: Missile]

"While Samus's arsenal missile weapons is indeed formidable, her enemies are in for a rude awakening if they guard against nothing else. Her grappling beam captures foes and latches on to walls, and the Screw Attack drags foes upward in a series of spins that doubles as a recovery move. Samus can also use her Bombs to perform Bomb Jumps."

[Up & B: Screw Attack] [Down & B: Bomb]

Metroid Prime website
''"The bounty hunter Samus Aran was hired by the Galactic Federation to exterminate the Space Pirate army on Planet Zebes. Samus was successful in not only defeating the Space Pirate army, but in neutralizing the Metroid threat as well. Performance and professionalism were very impressive.

With her Chozo-built Power Suit, Samus prefers hi-tech weaponry to deal with enemy threats, although the bounty hunter also undoubtedly also possesses excellent melee combat skills."

Metroid.com
"Samus Aran is well known throughout the galaxy as an efficient and experienced bounty hunter. Few other hunters can compete with Samus's long history of successful missions, most of which are carried out against seemingly insurmountable odds."

Manual
"One of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy. Her Power Suit has the ability to transform her into a Morph Ball."

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
"The intergalactic bounty hunter named Samus Aran. Orphaned at an early age, she was taken in and raised by the alien race known as the Chozo. The Power Suit she wears is a product of their technology. Her unique combat skills combined with her athleticism and Arm Cannon have seen her through countless missions."

Metroid (1987) Super Metroid (1994)

Stickers
Samus is also featured on several stickers.


 * Dark Suit Samus Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - [Throwing] Attack +16  (All)
 * Gravity Suit Samus Metroid: Zero Mission - [Weapon] Attack +11  (Samus, Zero Suit Samus)
 * Running Zero Suit Samus Metroid: Zero Mission - [Weapon] Attack +25  (All)
 * Samus Metroid Fusion - [Electric] Resistance +16  (Samus, Zero Suit Samus)
 * Samus Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - [Explosive] Attack +18  (All)
 * Samus Metroid - [Specials: Indirect] Attack +15  (Samus, Zero Suit Samus)
 * Zero Suit Samus Metroid: Zero Mission - [Leg] Attack + 9  (Samus, Zero Suit Samus)

Manual
"'One of the most skilled bounty hunters in the galaxy."

Art booklet
"Samus lived with her parents on the planet K-2L, a human colony in the Galactic Federation domain. When Samus was three years old, K-2L was attacked by a band of Space Pirates lead by the brutal ruffian Ridley. When the Space Pirates left and the smoke cleared, a single figure remained standing. It was Samus Aran, the sole survivor of the attack on K-2L.

''Samus was rescued from the charred ruins of K-2L by the Chozo, a race of beings who resemble giant birds. They had received the colony's distress signal during the attack and came to assist. The Chozo took Samus back to their homeworld, Zebes.''

''Being a highly technologically advanced race, the Chozo crafted a power suit for Samus that gave her incredible strength. They trained her to become a fearsome warrior. Once her training was complete, Samus parted ways with the Chozo and became an intergalactic bounty hunter.''

''Samus carried out countless missions. Many that other bounty hunters deemed impossible. She became the most famed and capable bounty hunter in the universe, yet she was not fulfilled. Samus didn't become a bounty hunter to achieve fortune or fame. Her purpose was to avenge the death of her parents by slaying Ridley and the rest of the Space Pirates.''

Before long, the opportunity to fulfill her purpose would arise."

Interactive Web Ad: "See the other side of a hero"
Samus Aran (Young Samus displayed) "A Galactic Federation soldier. Always with something to prove."

Samus Aran (Zero Suit Samus displayed) "The woman within the suit. Haunted by her past."

Samus Aran (Varia Suit displayed) "Intergalactic bounty hunter. Feared by enemies."

Metroid.com
Samus Aran "Strong-willed and fiercely independent, this accomplished bounty hunter has saved the galaxy on multiple occasions from maladies as menacing as Metroids-and beyond. Echoes of her complicated past with the Galactic Federation are about to resurface, following a mysterious distress call."

Story

''Samus Aran is a bounty hunter with a long and complex history-fraught with danger, trauma, and triumph. For the first time, she will have to confront her mysterious past, as well as the Galactic Federation, the military force she left to become a bounty hunter...''

''Having traveled to planet SR388 to destroy the powerful and menacing alien species known as Metroids, Samus battled the ferocious Queen Metroid and rid the galaxy of their threat. One last baby Metroid remained, which Samus took with her, seeing peaceful scientific applications of Metroid biology. Before those experiments could come to fruition the science station was attacked, and the baby fell into the hands of the Space Pirates, led by Mother Brain.''

''Samus infiltrated Mother Brain's stronghold on planet Zebes to rescue the baby Metroid. Taken down in battle by Mother Brain's power, Samus was unexpectedly restored to health by the baby Metroid. Furious, Mother Brain destroyed the baby, only to be defeated by a newly vigorous Samus-with extraordinary powers given by the Metroid. At last, Mother Brain, the Space Pirates, and the Metroid species were obliterated once and for all... along with the entire planet of Zebes.''

''As time passed, so did the memory of Metroids and Space Pirates from the collective consciousness. Samus resumed something of a normal bounty hunter's life, when a mysterious SOS signal suddenly reached her ship. the signal, code named "Baby's Cry," seemed to be calling out specifically to her...''

Young Samus at Galactic Federation Headquarters
"My time as a member of the Galactic Federation Army was bound to end - though I was a soldier, I was also a child with a chip on my shoulder. And I was angry. I felt that if I let my guard down I would easily be broken. So, after a certain incident, I left Adam Malkovich's command and set out on my path as a solitary Bounty Hunter."

Young Samus in Military Dress
"I always had something to prove while enlisted in the Galactic Federation Army - at the time, I felt surrounded by people who treated me like a child, or used kid gloves because I was a woman. In the face of the well-meaning behavior of the other soldiers, my response was to become increasingly bitter."

Other
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Gallery
For concept art, see Samus Aran's Gallery.