Rundas

Rundas was an ice-wielding Bounty Hunter who debuted in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. He is voiced by Christopher Sabat.

Background
Rundas was born on Phrygis, a moon of the planet Bes III known mainly for ice mining. Phrygisians are commonly able to manipulate and generate ice. However, Rundas was one of very few to use this ability as a Hunter.

A Contract from the Federation
Rundas, along with Ghor, Gandrayda, and Samus Aran, was called to the G.F.S. Olympus, the flagship of the Galactic Federation Fleet orbiting the planet Norion, a major GF military stronghold. They were all tasked by Fleet Admiral Dane of the Galactic Federation to purge the Aurora Units of a virus believed to be of Space Pirate origin, and also to investigate Pirate activity in the system. The briefing was interrupted when Aurora Unit 242 sounded the emergency alarm as a Pirate fleet emerged from a wormhole and began a surprise assault on Norion. Rundas and the other hunters are ordered by Dane to get back to their ships and aid in the battle on the planet's surface. Rundas was forced to battle through boarding Pirates to reach his gunship.

Defense of Norion
As Rundas and the Hunters successfully arrived on Norion, the Pirates knocked out the generators that powered the planetary defense system. The hunters were ordered to bring them back online.

Amid the chaos, Rundas came to Samus' rescue, quickly and single-handedly destroying four Space Pirate ATCs that had surrounded and trapped her on Cargo Dock A. He informed her that the Federation was allowing all hunters to use their ships' Command Visors during the attack and then told her to go on and activate Generator A while he went to take care of Generator B. Rundas completed his portion of the mission and contacted Samus again to offer her his assistance in reactivating Generator C, but became preoccupied with Pirate reinforcements.

Despite this, he did manage to arrive just in time to rescue Samus once again before she plummeted to the bottom of Generator C's Shaft after once again defeating Meta Ridley, flying down after her using his cryokinetic abilities. When he brought her back topside, he remarked that she now "owed him one", before traveling to Norion's Control Tower while she finished the process of activating Generator C.

Once all of the generators are online, the four hunters reached the Control Tower and began the firing sequence of Norion's main planetary cannon in order to prevent the approaching Leviathan from impacting the planet. However, Dark Samus arrived to stop them, crashing through the tower window and firing Phazon blasts at them. Rundas was hit by one, but recovered quickly. Before he and the hunters could retaliate, Dark Samus unleashed a powerful burst of Phazon energy that rendered Ghor, Gandrayda, and himself unconscious. Samus still managed to activate the cannon, saving Norion, before falling unconscious herself.

Awakening, Corruption, and possession
Two weeks later, Rundas awakens to find that, due to Dark Samus' attack, his body is now self-producing Phazon with no apparent negative effect. The Federation had given him a Phazon Enhancement Device during his stupor so that he might harness and use this Phazon. Once he was briefed on the effects and abilities of his PED, the Federation sent him on a new mission to the planet Bryyo to destroy its Leviathan. He easily dispatched any of the corrupted Reptilicus that stood in his way. Over time, however, his cryokinesis became increasingly Phazon-based, until he lost all control of the Phazon inside of his body and was apparently corrupted by it himself, one week following his awakening, making him an easy target for possession by Dark Samus. The Federation lost all contact with him. It is at this point that Rundas apparently becomes a Space Pirate commander, perhaps overseeing the defense of the Leviathan, its shield, and that shield's powering generators. His true role during this period, however, is unclear.

One week after this, Samus awakened as well and was dispatched by the Federation to Bryyo to investigate Rundas' disappearance and to finish his mission. Rundas began to observe her from afar, though he made little to no effort to hide himself from her, as if intending for her to follow him. He even left his gunship in plain view on Bryyo Fire with its engines still warm.

Samus navigated through Bryyo Fire's Fuel Gel pumping and processing centers until she found him looking down at her from a high ledge. Without a word, he walked away. Samus laid pursuit until she was attacked by Space Pirates within the Temple of Bryyo. Once again, she was seemingly rescued by Rundas, who froze all of the Pirates instantly. When she approached him, however, he attacked her as well.

Death
Despite his abilities, Rundas was defeated by Samus, who ripped off his armor with her Grapple Lasso and subdued him. Collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily, and frantically and confusedly looking around as if not being at all aware of what had happened. Rundas notices Samus and, recognizing her, offered his hand, presumably to be helped up. Almost immediately, however, he loses control of his powers and kills himself using a large stalagmite of ice from the ground under him, impaling and killing him instantly. Afterward, Dark Samus arrived in her immaterial form to absorb his remains.

Personality and traits
Rundas enjoyed hunting, to the point that he kept trophies of all the targets that he had successfully captured or killed in his career. He was also considered extremely proud, cocky, and arrogant, believing himself to be unmatched in his field. As if to confirm this, he only spoke once during Admiral Dane's briefing, saying, "That never would have happened if I had been there," referring to the overwhelming of the G.F.S. Valhalla by a Space Pirate raiding vessel. His arrogant demeanor lead him mainly to seek solo missions and he rarely worked with others. Despite this, he seemed to feel an uncharacteristic sense of camaraderie, toward Samus Aran in particular, and had a strong sense of justice. He was arguably quite large, standing at least a foot or more higher than the other hunters (sans Ghor within his battle armor).

By the time of his battle against Samus on Bryyo, however, his personality seemed to have regressed, sounding more animalistic, possibly overcome by his lust for combat that has been greatly increased by his Phazon corruption. Interestingly, the arrogance he had shown throughout his lifetime seemed to have persisted even when under the influence of his internal Phazon, as he seemingly killed his new-found Pirate comrades simply to fight Samus alone on Bryyo.

Rundas was something of a rarity, as Phrygisians apparently do not often become bounty hunters. He spoke in a quiet, somewhat hoarse, yet non-aggressive voice. It was unknown as to whether it was his actual voice or if he spoke through a filter in his helmet (if it was, indeed, a helmet, and not his actual head).

Gandrayda, during her battle, will sometimes morph into Rundas, now known as "Rundas-G". In this form, she retains his ice surfing, sword and firing of ice, but the latter now has electric properties. She takes his form one last time while dying. Finally, Rundas makes his last appearance in the special ending of Corruption, in which Samus takes a moment to mourn her fallen comrades on planet Elysia.

Abilities
As a Phrygisian, Rundas demonstrated his species' cryokinetic ability to generate and manipulate ice. He was known to surf through the air by jumping up and continuously forming ice at his feet in front of him, and proved to be quite maneuverable while doing so. There appeared to be no foreseeable limitation to his ability, nor did he require any water source, for he could create ice even in warm environments such as Bryyo Fire.

In battle, he could fire ice bursts, similar to that of Samus' Ice Beam, to freeze his foes (it even exhibited the same noise). These bursts were powerful enough to render Space Pirate ATCs inoperable midflight. He could form ice pillars and walls to hinder or trap quicker targets. In addition, he could form ice chunks of varying sizes and lob them at his enemies. Otherwise, he could send winding lines of ice after them, freezing them instantly. As a secondary weapon, he carried Ice Missiles for use in disposing of his frozen victims.

Rundas could also form a thin layer of ice armor to grant him some light protection in longer engagements. It was durable, save at the neck, from which it could be pulled off with enough force.

Rundas was also shown to be a quick, if not awkward, sprinter when he needed to be.

Rundas' biggest apparent drawback was his consciousness, which may have been somewhat weak in that he was particularly susceptible to Phazon corruption and mental domination and possession by an external influence, such as Dark Samus. Conversely, it is possible that his will was actually stronger than any of the other hunters (save for Samus), given that Ghor and Gandrayda demonstrated near complete personality changes without any indication of possession by the time Samus met them in battle, whereas Rundas instead needed to be directly possessed. Nevertheless, concentrated weapon fire could daze him for short periods. He tended to make up for this by destroying his opponents quickly, something that he could not do when he fought Samus Aran.

Trivia

 * This is the music heard when battling Rundas:.
 * Rundas is referred to as 'Commander Rundas' in Space Pirate Data, which makes it seem as if he became a commander for them after being corrupted (along with Ghor and Gandrayda, who are also mentioned in logs). Curiously, Rundas kills several Space Pirates just before his battle with Samus, despite having already established at that point an allegiance with the marauding race. He may wanted to fool Samus into thinking he was on her side and finish her off when she'd drop her guard, or he killed the Pirates in order to have a one-on-one battle with her (the latter theory is more in line with his proud personality).
 * The noise that is heard when Rundas shoots ice at enemies is identical to that heard when firing the Ice Beam in Metroid Prime.
 * It is possible to make Rundas become "stuck" in the wall by ripping off his ice armor when he is very close to the wall. While stuck, Rundas will endlessly attempt to run out of the wall, meaning he cannot use his attacks and he is completely vulnerable. Firing missiles or ripping off his armor from a certain angle can free him.
 * During the E3 2006 footage of the game, Rundas had a different, more gravelly voice actor.
 * Masses of ice, which are all that remain of any Reptilicus that attacked Rundas, can be found throughout the Bryyo Cliffside and Bryyo Fire areas. They can be scanned, and as Samus progresses through the areas, the ice starts to contain particles of Phazon, indicating the point where Rundas either became corrupted or simply utilized Hyper Mode.
 * Rundas is the only Bounty Hunter who can be scanned directly before his/her boss fight and give different information (a possible exception being Gandrayda, who "cloaks" herself as a Galactic Federation trooper before her fight). If Rundas is scanned when he appears in Temple of Bryyo, in the 5–10 seconds of gameplay before he attacks Samus, a scan that has the same logbook entry but a different preview appears. It reads "Believed to have gone missing during a Federation mission".
 * Rundas's appearance is vaguely similar to the Eldar Wraithlord of Warhammer 40,000 fame.
 * Should Samus die while fighting Rundas, if the game is continued a checkpoint will be set at the moment when Rundas tries to freeze Samus.
 * When Samus leaves the G.F.S. Theseus, she can see Rundas watching her from a cliff, before jumping off and flying away. This is not in a cutscene, however, so it is easily missed.
 * Little is known about the conditions of the Hunters, but Rundas' case seems, at least, different from Ghor's and Gandraydas' corruption. He attacks Pirates that are supposedly his partners at this point, does not speak a single word during all his corruption, and dies by his own ice attack. These may be signs that Rundas was fighting total corruption. This, however, is a fan-made idea and is not at all confirmed.
 * Nonetheless, it may explain why he was so frantic and confused at the end of the battle, and why neither Ghor nor Gandrayda made an attempt to restore their partnership with Samus.