Baby

This article refers to Metroid Hatchling character within the Metroid storyline.

''For the infant life cycle stage of the Metroid, click here.  Not to be confused with Baby Metroid.''

The baby (also known as the Metroid Hatchling, Metroid Larva, Hatchling or infant Metroid) is best remembered in its Infant Metroid stage from Metroid II: Return of Samus and Super Metroid, though it did not remain in that form.

Metroid II: Return of Samus
Samus Aran was ordered by the Galactic Federation to exterminate the remaining Metroids on SR388, so they could no longer be used as weapons by the Space Pirates. She encountered several stages of the creatures on her mission, eventually defeating the Queen Metroid. Soon after, she came across a Metroid Egg, the last remaining of the species. It hatched as she approached. Samus pondered whether or not to kill it, remembering that she was the last survivor of the K-2L attack that claimed her family. Because of this, she disobeyed her orders and spared its life, taking it with her back to her gunship. Along the way, the infant helped Samus by carving out obstacles as it orbited around its adopted parent.

Super Metroid


Samus dropped the larva off at Ceres Space Colony, where it was to be examined by Federation scientists. Shortly after she departed, the colony fell victim to a Space Pirate raid, led by Ridley. Samus encountered a distress signal, and arrived in time to see Ridley depart, holding the baby in its capsule. Though she tried to kill him, she failed and Ridley fled the station after programming it to explode. Both Samus and Ridley escaped in time to avoid the destruction of the station.

Samus pursued her enemy to the rebuilt base on Zebes, where she destroyed everything in her way in search of the hatchling. Some time after, she found Ridley and destroyed him in fury. However, the capsule that had encased the infant was found broken, with the baby nowhere to be found. During her struggles on Zebes, the Pirates in Tourian used beta-radiation to make it multiply, much like their original operations in Metroid. They also used an unknown technology that created unsuccessful clones from it, known as Mochtroids, which were placed in Maridia.

In Tourian, Samus found dried husks of a Torizo and some Zoomers, Rippers, and Skrees in two of the later rooms. She then watched as a Blue Sidehopper met the same fate at the hands of a Big Metroid. It then turned on Samus, siphoning her health to within an inch of her life before finally recognizing its victim as its "mother". After a few shrieks reminiscent of its squeaks while it was still an infant, the baby fled the room in shame, leaving Samus behind, who realized that it was the baby. Samus continued on through the base to fight Mother Brain, who transformed into an enormous cyborg monster, firing her Laser Brain Attack at Samus until she could no longer move. As the biomechanical menace prepared the final blast, the baby darted in and latched onto Samus's attacker, siphoning her energy to the point where Mother Brain was a brittle husk. Leaving it behind, the enormous Metroid displayed a previously unknown ability and began transferring the recently drained energy into Samus, healing her. This was the ability that had potential for the good of mankind, mentioned by Samus in the game's introduction.

However, Mother Brain was still alive. Somehow recovering quickly, she rose in a rage, firing upon the baby. After fully healing Samus, the baby turned its attention back to Mother Brain; however, it had been badly injured by the pounding it had taken earlier. The baby rushed at Mother Brain to drain her energy once again, only for Mother Brain to fire a final, killing Brain Attack at the baby. As Samus stood to re-enter the battle, she witnessed the baby, the last natural Metroid from SR388, explode into many particles over her, falling over her like snow. As she mourned the baby, she discovered it had left her with one final gift - Mother Brain's ultimate weapon, the Hyper Beam. Enraged, and holding nothing back, Samus unleashed the Hyper Beam on Mother Brain, laying waste to the Space Pirate operations once and for all and avenging her fallen "child". She then escaped from Planet Zebes after Mother Brain's final destruction triggered a planet-wide self-destruct sequence. Samus escaped with her life, falling into depression over the baby's demise.

Its role in the Super Metroid comic was more or less the same, though Mother Brain was shown to have tried and failed to convince it that she was its true mother, not Samus. Also, instead of depicting the ingame death, Chief Hardy shot the baby, mistaking it for another Metroid clone, although an oblivious Samus still blames Mother Brain for the baby's death. Armstrong Houston theorizes in the final issue that that the reason for the Metroid's size was due to it being "exposed to massive levels of beta rays" by the Mother Brain.

Metroid: Other M
A 3-D version of the baby was featured in the Metroid: Other M intro. It is seen giving energy to Samus before it was destroyed by the Laser Beam Attack fired by Mother Brain, recreating its final moments in Super Metroid. Throughout the scene, it is shown carrying Samus in the air while restoring her energy as if it were carrying a corpse. It can be heard screaming as it dies. When it dies, it destabilizes into many particles over Samus, that rain over her like snow and somehow gift her with the Hyper Beam. How it does so is unknown, as Samus does not flash as she did in Super Metroid when she gets the Hyper Beam. It is possible that the Hyper Beam's energy was gifted to Samus when she caught one of the particles in her palm, or was given to her while the baby was restoring her energy. Her visor flashes bright green, turning opaque, before she lets loose the Hyper Beam on Mother Brain. During cutscenes at the beginning of the game, Samus remembers the baby and makes references to it, feeling guilt over how she did not protect it as it protected her. During the training given in the beginning, Samus feels that the baby did not just give her the Hyper Beam after death, but perhaps enhanced her abilities.

The Baby's Cry distress signal that Samus picks up from the Bottle Ship reminds her of the baby and causes her to believe that it was crying for her.

When the 07th Platoon and Samus reach the Exam Center, she reflects on Adam and his strong hatred toward bioweapons, and states that bringing the baby back was something that she knew would have gone against Adam's convictions, and "though [she] might have been left alone, it was a clear and blatant violation of protocol." This is the only time in the game where she refers to it as the "Infant Metroid".

Later in the game, MB reveals to Samus that fragments of the baby were taken off of Samus and used to create a Queen Metroid that she later fights and kills, and the Metroids hatched by it were genetically engineered into unfreezable Metroids and stored in Sector Zero, a recreation of Tourian. She enters the sector and sees another infant Metroid. This gives her a flashback of the baby's hatching, though she realizes she must kill this Metroid due to her earlier thoughts about Adam. Just before she can, Adam shoots her to weaken her (and thus keep her from entering Sector Zero), but he then kills the Metroid before it can drain Samus' energy.

Near the end of the game, The Colonel asks Samus to restrict herself because of her "predilection for transporting illegal cargo, like infant Metroids", referring to Samus' beliefs that bringing the baby back would be considered a use of bioweapons. She can be seen looking at him with an angry expression, indicating either shame or anger towards him.

The game's commercial recreates the baby's birth and death, which Zero Suit Samus looks at as she is walking through moments of her past.

Metroid Fusion


Some time afterwards, Samus is asked to escort Biologic's research team on SR388. They planned to study the changes in the ecosystem since the Metroid extinction. During this expedition, Samus is attacked by an X Parasite. The creature causes her to lose consciousness, and she crashes her Gunship into the nearby asteroid belt. The ship jettisoned the infected hunter in an Emergency Evacuation Pod moments before the crash and she was found by the team aboard Biologic Space Laboratories research station and brought there to be treated. Her Varia Suit could not be removed normally while she was unconscious due to its integration with her nervous system, so parts of it had to be surgically removed. Her chances of survival were very low, until one scientist proposed creating the Metroid vaccine, from surviving DNA of the baby. The vaccine was a success, removing all traces of the X from her system. It also helped to create the Fusion Suit, which made Samus more Metroid-like, now weak to cold temperatures and attacks but able to absorb the previously deadly X Parasites to restore energy and ammunition.

Samus remarked that this was the second time the baby had saved her life; the deceased baby now being within her forever. The baby's DNA was also used again in another secret breeding program by the Galactic Federation, cloning new Metroids and producing the later stages of the natural life cycle up to the Omega Metroid level; this was achieved by reproducing said planet's environment in Sector 1 (SRX). Samus had this section of the ship detached, destroying the cloned Metroids and the SA-X that had followed Samus into the lab. Samus later killed the remaining Omega Metroid that bred outside of it before she rammed the entire complex into the Metroid and X Parasite homeworld. A new "ultimate warrior", Samus carries the last of the Metroid DNA from the baby, acting as a single fusion of the two greatest products of the Chozo civilization.

Super Metroid manga
The baby appears in several strips in the Super Metroid manga:
 * The Scientists - A scientist and two boys study the baby. One of the boys volunteers to wear it as a hat, only to be leeched of his energy.
 * The Scientists Cont. - The scientist and the other boy decide to turn the baby upside down and use it as a salad bowl. However, it starts to eat the salad, and so they propose using it as a garbage disposal.
 * I Don't Wanna Work! - Someone at Ceres calls Samus to aid them. In the background, Ridley can be seen flying away with the baby.
 * She Sure Likes O - Samus sits next to a Save Station talking to her commander. He asks her why she is taking a break when anything could be happening to the baby. She realizes he is right and then sets out.
 * Little Baby - Samus tells two scientists about the baby's bond with her. One states that it looks exactly like her, and an enraged Samus burns him to a crisp.
 * Find the Baby!! - Samus orders Mother Brain to hand the baby over. Below the panel is a puzzle featuring many Metroids, challenging the reader to find the baby.
 * Going to Bed - Samus turns her television off and locks the door, before turning the light off and going to bed. The baby is in a bowl, chirping.

References in other games in the series

 * Xenome Containment Units in Metroid Prime often contain Metroids and resemble the containment tank of the baby on Ceres. The baby is also present on a texture for a Space Pirate terminal in the game code. Whether or not it is used in-game is unknown, but highly unlikely.
 * Certain corpses on SkyTown and the G.F.S. Valhalla will crumble to dust if shot, referencing the corpses of the various species that were killed by the baby.

In other games

 * The intro for Super Smash Bros. Melee has a scene that appears to depict the fight between Samus and Ridley on Ceres. The baby, in its capsule, can be seen in Ridley's talons. Part of the intro image for Super Metroid can be seen on the reflection of the Metroid trophy, minus the capsule. This may imply that the Trophy is representing the hatchling.
 * A possible reference to the baby is seen in the Catch Mode of Tetris DS, where falling Metroids in capsules similar to the baby's are an obstacle.
 * Sounds made by the Pokémon Cyndaquil are similar to the baby's in Super Metroid.
 * The baby also appears in Animal Crossing: Wild World, City Folk, and New Leaf. The Metroid item in the three games is based on the baby, and features it in its signature capsule. In New Leaf, interacting with the capsule causes it to emit the same music and Metroid chirps as featured on the title screen for Super Metroid.

Appearances

 * Metroid II: Return of Samus
 * Super Game Boy Player's Guide


 * Super Metroid
 * Super Metroid comic
 * Super Metroid manga
 * Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide


 * Super Smash Bros. Melee (cutscene)
 * Metroid Fusion (mention)
 * Metroid Fusion Special Edition: Rebirth of Samus (picture)


 * Metroid Prime (texture hidden in programming)
 * Metroid: Zero Mission (present in special unlockable ending)
 * Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc
 * Animal Crossing: Wild World
 * Animal Crossing: City Folk
 * Metroid: Other M (cutscene, mention)
 * TV Commercial :60 Spot


 * Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide
"There's nothing you can do to get it off of you."

Mother Brain and the Baby Metroid
"A dream - I was reliving the tragic moments of my recent past. The Baby Metroid that had emerged from its egg in front of me so long ago was protecting me from the assault of Mother Brain. It would sacrifice its life to save me, and in doing so, give me the power of the Hyper Beam that would spell Mother Brain's doom."

IGN interview
IGN: "The story feels quite maternal - Mother Brain is simply called 'mother' in the introduction, Samus calls the baby Metroid 'baby'...

'Yoshio Sakamoto: ''Yes, Samus calls Mother Brain simply Mother in the introduction, but I would not over-interpret this. I just felt that letting Samus shout "Mother!" instead of "Mother Brain!" would sound more natural. But when it comes to the baby, it's different. I didn't want Samus to think of it as Baby Metroid or anything like that – it's simply the baby. I also told the people localizing that they should stick with simply "baby" and not add anything. I put particular emphasis on the translated term having the same meaning as "baby"."''

Trivia

 * Samus states that "only special infants have the genetic coding to become Queens". This means that, as the Metroid Queen in Other M is an exact clone of the baby, the baby would have grown into a Queen if left on SR388. This would also explain why it was the last Metroid to be found on the planet, as it was a replacement Queen.
 * In total, the baby was cloned thrice: on Zebes, on the Bottle Ship and on the BSL station.
 * Samus is referred to as "The Hatchling" by the Chozo of Tallon IV, foreshadowing her "fusion" with the character's final remains later on.
 * The baby's internal nuclei turn purple as Mother Brain damages it in Super Metroid. This also seems to occur in the flashback in Other M, although it is not so noticeable. This does not happen to any other Metroids, although the Omega Metroid fought at the end of Metroid Fusion changes colour to blue and then pink the more Samus damages it.
 * In Other M, the baby's Big Metroid form is much smaller than it originally was. In Other M it is only about 1 or 2 sizes bigger than Samus and does not take up a lot of space, although in Super Metroid it was much larger and took up a lot of the room.
 * In Other M, although the Baby restores Samus' energy, it does not seem to repair the physical damage to her suit (it is still shown to have burn and scratch marks in various areas) and Samus still needs to rest for a long period afterwards, suggesting that the baby's restorative abilities did little more than restore the suit's energy. However, Samus does note that it may have enhanced her abilities slightly.
 * When the Metroid hatched, the on-screen Metroid Detector did not rise up to "1" in Metroid II: Return of Samus. This may be due to the baby's inhostility, an error in the code or that it was never a scripted event. Since the detector did take into account the additional 8 mature Larval Metroids, it might have detected the baby if it had grown to its next stage.
 * Curiously, if Samus meets the hatchling and returns to the Queen's room, the baby will not follow her. However, if she returns to its chamber, it will seem to squeal with delight when it sees that she has returned.
 * The reason the baby does not mutate into a new stage was to be explained in a scan (written by Matt Manchester) found in the room Metroid Processing in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, but did not make it into the final game. Because the Metroid is on Zebes instead of SR388, the climate and atmosphere of Zebes let the Metroid grow to gigantic size without evolving. This would have also explained why other Metroids on Zebes during the Zero Mission did not transform. The Metroids in Metroid Fusion which were created from the DNA of the baby did mutate however, because the BSL recreated the environment of SR388. It is believed that the reason for the baby's size was also due to constant exposure to beta rays because of the Super Metroid comic adaptation.
 * The Metroid series has borrowed many elements from the Alien film series. Due to this, it is highly possible that the baby was inspired by the character Newt from the film Aliens. In Aliens, Ellen Ripley rescues Newt from hiding on Acheron LV-426. Newt was the last survivor of the colony, and escaped the planet with Ripley. Like the baby, Newt dies in the sequel, Alien3, when her cryochamber crashes into the ocean on Fiorina "Fury" 161 and fills with water, causing her to drown before she can regain consciousness. Just like Samus, Ripley also feels devastated about letting Newt die after rescuing her. Also similar to the baby, memories of Newt have a role in Alien Resurrection (albeit only in deleted scenes).
 * The baby in Metroid Fusion may also reference the Alien Queen embryo that Ripley was impregnated with in Alien3, which dies along with Ripley in Fury 16's blast furnace, and in Alien Resurrection is extracted from the Ripley clone, leaving behind DNA which turns Ripley into an Alien/Human hybrid similar to Samus and the baby.


 * Other M is the first game and occurrence in English media where the Metroid is called "baby". It was previously called "baby" in Japanese media.
 * Samus periodically refers to this Metroid in Other M as "The baby". In an interview stated above, it was said the referral was to make the scene more "natural", exemplified in the line "The baby died above me!" It has become a running joke among fans.
 * The baby also appears in artwork for the Japanese Super Metroid strategy guide where Samus (wearing a towel as it was implied that she took a bath/shower) is looking sternly at the baby moving away with her clothes hanging on a clothesline and saying "Don't look at me, I'm a good kid!", as well as a scene where Samus (with half of her armor on) looks down at baby with the latter saying something in Japanese with the subtitle "unmarried woman."