Omega Metroid

The Omega Metroid is the seventh and final stage of a standard Metroid's life cycle.

An Omega is a fully grown adult and an extension of the Zeta Metroid stage. As a result, their body structures are very similar. Though they are sluggish compared to their prior form due to their greater size, Omega Metroids more than make up for it with their increase in raw strength, more powerful projectiles and enhanced body armor. Curiously, an Omega Metroid's body can have slight variations depending on unknown factors. One of these factors however may be based on the environment it grows in, similar to how a Larva Metroid adapts outside of SR388.

Samus Aran encountered several Omega Metroids during her mission to SR388. She would later fight another Omega Metroid created by Galactic Federation experiments on the Biologic Space Laboratories research station.

Metroids born with a specific gene can become a Queen, and while it is unknown if these gifted individuals follow the same life cycle as a standard Metroid, the resemblance between an Omega and a Queen suggests the former metamorphoses into the latter.

Metroid II
The Omega Metroids are quite slower than their Zeta counterparts, but can deal an enormous amount of damage. They maintain the basic structure of their last forms, though their posture are less hunched and their tail seems to abruptly end at a short length. They keep the same weaknesses: Samus must shoot them either in the stomach or back, although a shot to the latter causes more damage.

Their artwork presents them with elongated jaws, contrary to their in-game, shorter leech-like mouth. They also feature what appears to be fur under their neck, and their eight compound eyes are colored blue.

Omega Metroids typically levitate around while periodically pausing. Samus can use the Screw Attack to counter a lunge attack from an Omega, and to preserve her health - though this will not cause the Metroid any damage. Omegas also spit deadly acid in battle. Without utilizing their weakness, they require 40 missiles to bring down.

Samus Aran encountered four Omega Metroids during her mission to SR388.

Metroid: Samus Returns
Owing to it being a remake of Metroid II, Omega Metroids make a return and were given a significant redesign. They are now massive in size and do not levitate similar to Metroid Fusion 's Omega Metroid, therefore retconning their small and floaty appearances from the original game. Their arms are far longer in reach and their tail is fully complete as well. They also possess spine-like armor around their torso and five red eyes on each side of their head. Instead of spitting blob-like projectiles, they now fire a fiery red beam from their mouth. Finally, they are significantly more durable: their backside is no longer a weakpoint and causes missiles to harmlessly bounce off, and their membrane is protected by a thick skin-like coating that can regenerate over time, although Power Bombs and Super Missiles can remove the armor on its membrane and it can now be harmed by the Ice Beam. The first Omega Samus encounters membrane is unprotected when it first charges into the room, but it quickly grows armor to protect it before battling Samus, indicating that Omega Metroids may only grow it to protect their membranes while in combat, though given the nearby Zeta Metroid Husk in the background of the room it appears, it is implied that an Omega Metroids is exposed when it emerges from its Zeta husk and grows its protective armor after maturing into its Omega stage. Like in Metroid Fusion, Omega Metroids defend their territory aggressively and are formidable foes, with their attacks being capable of causing decent amounts of damage to Samus even though she has the Gravity Suit by the time of her first encounter with one.

The Omega now attacks using claw and tail swipes in tandem, and can fire a continuous beam from its mouth, leaving fire trails and can either force Samus to Space Jump over the creature or Morph Ball below it. It can fire this beam forwards, though it can also fire it diagonally. Sometimes it will sweep the beam upwards or downwards. However when it sweeps downwards (it will start by firing it diagonally into the air before sweeping it downwards) it inadvertently exposes its membrane allowing Samus to use it as an opportunity to a attack its weak point.

It can also slam its tail into the ground, creating an earthquake that causes rocks to fall from the ceiling, which Samus can shoot for pickups although they will injure her through her Screw Attack. After obtaining Power Bombs from Diggernaut in Area 6, Samus can use a single Power Bomb to destroy an Omega Metroid's armor which makes it easier to expose their membrane. Like past Metroid stages, Omega Metroids are vulnerable to the Ice Beam, Missiles, and Super Missiles, though it is wise to save Super Missiles for attacking its expose membrane and use Missiles or Power Bombs to remove its armor. When its core is exposed Omega Metroids can also perform a bite attack which can be parried with a Melee Counter. If parried successfully and she attacks it, Samus will perform a special counter attack in which she performs flying kick that knocks the Metroid down allowing her to attack its vulnerable core. However like Zeta Metroids, Omega Metroids will attempt to fight back, though Samus will dodge this by jumping into the air before landing back on top of the Metroid which allows her to continue her attack on its core before escaping as the Omega Metroid recovers. Omega Metroids are surprisingly agile for their size, though not as fast as their Zeta stage and can jump forwards and backwards allowing them move around and put themselves in a better position to launch attacks. Interestingly, despite their backs being armored and invulnerable, they tend to turn around if Samus gets behind them which can be useful as they will stop attacking to turn around to face Samus, which can be useful for getting them to end certain attacks early such as their beam breath.

However Omega Metroids become faster and more dangerous once they take enough damage. Additionally they also gain a dangerous new attack where they fire their beam breath at the floor which causes fire to cover the floor, forcing Samus to dodge by Space Jumping, though the Omega Metroid usually combines this attack with its earthquake generating tail slaps which force Samus to dodge the falling rocks as well as they cannot be destroyed by Samus' Screw Attack and can damage Samus.

Samus encounters her first Omega Metroid after activating the first Chozo Seal in Area 6 which shifts the Purple liquid around and traps Samus in Area 6 until she can activate the second Seal which requires the Omega Metroid's Metroid DNA. This Omega is implied to have recently matured from its Zeta stage as a Zeta Metroid Husk can be seen lying in the background of the room. The Omega charges in from the background near where its husk was and after growing armor to protect its exposed membrane, it engages Samus in combat. After it is defeat Samus can use its DNA to activate the second Seal which grants her access to Diggernaut's boss room to acquire the stolen Power Bombs which she can use to remove their armor more easily.

Metroid Fusion
Samus encounters a single Omega Metroid on the BSL research station. It was originally an Infant Metroid from the Restricted Laboratory, developed from the cells of the Baby. It escaped during the laboratory's destruction, and went to feed on numerous X Parasites, rapidly molting through its life cycle until reaching the Omega stage as it made its way to the Docking Bays. Samus begins to find discarded membranes in Sector 1 and passes through several rooms, usually filled with X organisms, empty and in ruins.

Samus enters the Docking Bays, hoping to make a swift escape from the Station. Instead of her ship, however, she finds a giant shell larger than the Baby lying amidst the wreckage of the Docking Bays. As Samus begins to run back, the Omega Metroid bursts through the wall. This specimen is much more powerful than those encountered on SR388, as none of Samus' current weapons seem capable of damaging it, and it reduces her health to critical levels in one swipe. She is left with 1 point of Energy and is unable to move. As the Omega Metroid moves in for the kill, an SA-X, which had recently been defeated by Samus but was able to escape, joins the fight. The SA-X reacts adversely to the presence of its natural predator to the point of ignoring Samus completely. It moves right up to the Omega and shoots at the creature's membrane with the Ice Beam, revealing its weak point to her. The SA-X is then slashed by the Omega's claws, destroying its mimicry and releasing into the air the Core-X Samus had failed to absorb earlier. She leaps into the X, restoring all her health and returning the Ice Beam to her. This scene is likely an homage to the ending of Super Metroid, where Samus is saved from death by a former attacker and is given a powerful weapon to use against her enemy.

The Omega Metroid slowly creeps toward the left side of the docking bay throughout the duration of the battle in an attempt to swipe at Samus with its claws. To avoid this, Samus must use the Ice Beam to drive the creature backwards and move away before the Omega Metroid can counterattack. If the Metroid manages to connect with a claw swipe, Samus will take heavy damage (but not be reduced to 1 Energy, losing instead 100 Energy, ie. one bar) and be hurled backwards and knocked to her knees, exactly as she was at the beginning of the battle. Samus will stand back up after a few seconds, but since there is a countdown until the BSL collides with SR388 in effect, this is a battle not only against the Omega Metroid but against time as well.

Ultimately, Samus succeeds in driving the creature back to the wall through which it came, and is eventually destroyed. Samus's ship returns to the bay, allowing her to leave the station with moments to spare.

Inconsistencies
As previously mentioned, the Omega Metroids featured throughout the few titles in the series have several differences between them. In Metroid II and its remake Samus Returns, Omega Metroids are capable of firing energy-based projectiles from their mouths, however the single Omega present in Metroid Fusion does not demonstrate this and instead relies on physical attacks only. To add to its uniqueness, Fusion 's Omega Metroid has far more devastating power, as it is capable of depleting entire Energy Tanks in a single claw swipe. Furthermore, it is exclusively vulnerable to the Ice Beam, contrary to Metroid II which required Missiles. Samus Returns further defies these by making its Omega vulnerable to both missiles and the Ice Beam, as well as the Power Bomb.

In the official artwork of Metroid II, Omega Metroids possess blue compound eyes, a trait that began with the earlier Alpha Metroid stage. Later released titles have alternated this color between red and blue, as well as the number of eyes. The length of their tails varies as well, with Samus Returns having them at their longest. The most curious physical difference is the presence of four protuberances on the back of Fusion 's Omega. Other differences are subtle, such as larger claws along with fuchsia-colored membrane and nucleus. Similar to Metroid Larvae, these changes in strength, abilities, weaknesses and physiology may be the result of either the environments where the Omegas Metroids developed or the accelerated growth process used by the BSL Station's scientists. Another interesting difference involves the Metroid Husk from its Zeta stage, as the one in the Docking Bay does not resemble the one seen in Metroid: Samus Returns which resembles the shed shell of its Zeta form. The most likely explanation is that the grown process may have effected the way its Zeta husk is shed or the result of it reaching maturity in an area outside of Sector 1 which replicates the natural environment of SR388 as it should be noted that the Docking Bay may have had an effect on its growth as it has been successed that Metroid mature differently depending on their environment. Another possibility is that these differences may imply that it was that rare type of Metroid that might have been able to have matured into a Queen and thus these differences could be attributed as simply part of the life cycle of a Queen. It should be noted that like the Queen Metroid in Other M it may have been one of Baby's clones and thus may have been genetically predestined to mature into one as it is implied that Baby itself may have matured into a Queen as it genetic clone did in Other M.

Metroid II manual
"This mutation is absolutely huge; its power, incredible!"

Nintendo Power issue 31
"A fast and frenzied fight will ensue when you encounter this highly advanced creature. Be ready with Missiles."

Metroid: Samus Returns Official Guide

 * Omega Metroid (p. 22)
 * "The Omega Metroid represents the most advanced stage a Metroid can attain without being a Queen. These Metroids are massive, powerful, and can leap incredibly high and fast. Evolution has also done away with the Metroid’s trademark weak point: the core. While the core is still there, the Omega’s chiton armor plating hides it deep in its chest. The only way to reach it is to force your way in with explosive attacks, but even then, you have a short amount of time to strike before the chiton self-repairs and covers the core once more. Omegas are tough and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Expect to learn how to fight them in the school of hard knocks."

Trivia

 * Danny Richardson made an artwork of an Omega Metroid during the early development of a sequel to Metroid Prime. It went unused when the game changed direction to become Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
 * For unexplained reasons, the Omega Metroid from Metroid Fusion attacked Samus despite the latter having Metroid DNA, whereas the other Metroids in the Restricted Area ignored her. This may be because the Metroids in the Restricted Area were preoccupied with the SA-X who admittedly was attacking them at the time. The Metroid which transformed into the Omega Metroid could also have possibly mistaken Samus for the SA-X, due to their similar appearance. The Omega Metroid may just be a generally violent creature and would have attacked anything that entered the Docking Bay.
 * Its possible that Omega Metroids are simply hostile to other Metroids that enter their territory. This is supported by the fact they tend to live alone in certain areas of SR388 as Alpha, Gamma, and Zeta Metroids do. Presumably, older Metroids (with the exception of the Queen, Infants, Larval, and possibly Phazon created strains) are solitary creatures that may compete with each other for food and territory (Queen Metroids are implied to reproduce asexually thus Omega Metroids have no need to mate). If true, then it likely viewed Samus as a competitor and was simply protecting its territory.
 * The battle against Metroid Fusion 's Omega Metroid is similar to the battles with Crocomire, the Kiru Giru and the Desbrachians, which all consist of a form of "tug-of-war".
 * The Omega Metroid is the only fully organic boss in Metroid Fusion not infected by the X-Parasites (the B.O.X. Security Robot is mostly composed of mechanical components), but this is only due to its natural immunity to the X that it shares with others of its kind.
 * The battle with the Omega Metroid is the second boss battle in Fusion to feature a time limit, after the scientist.


 * This particular Omega Metroid from Fusion is one of the few antagonists that succeeded in outmatching Samus. Mother Brain and Ridley in Super Metroid, Dark Samus in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and an SA-X were all similarly capable of bringing Samus to the brink of death.
 * Ironically, this Omega Metroid is also shown to be capable of defeating SA-X with a single claw swipe, though it is unknown if SA-X was weakened from its previous battle with Samus, which may have contributed to its defeat. However as the Omega Metroid was strong enough to bring SA-X genetic source material to the brink of death, its not surprising that it would be able to do the same to SA-X which was weaker than the original as Samus had managed to defeated it previously.
 * The Omega Metroid in Fusion is only vulnerable to Samus' Ice Beam (stacked with the Power, Wave, Wide, and Plasma Beams). Thus it is the only Omega Metroid to data that Samus' Missiles (Super, Ice, and Diffusion) have no effect on it. The reason for this is unknown.
 * One possible explanation, is that the Omega Metroid that Samus encounters was that rare Metroid genetically destined to mature into a Queen or due to it being a clone of Baby which is implied to be a Queen genetically as its clone in Other M matures into one. This might explain its resilience and strength compared to normal Omega Metroids in Samus Returns. Presumably it was either on its way to mature into a Queen where it not for Samus sending the station on a collision course to destroy both the station and SR388 to destroy the X. However with the exception of its infant and Larval stages the nature Queen Metroid's lifecycle is currently unknown. Of course it is also possible that the accelerated growth process used by the scientists increased its body's durability to the point it could only be damaged by the Metroid's weakness: cold temperatures.
 * The growth process may have altered how they shed their Zeta Metroid Husk, as the husk in Fusion looks far different from the one in Samus Returns which resembles its Zeta Metroid stage.
 * The Omega Metroid in Metroid Fusion drools some sort of substance after killing the SA-X. This may be the acid that others of its kind spat in Metroid II.
 * The Omega Metroid appears towards the end of the Metroid II commercial. It is the only enemy that is featured in stop-motion animation.
 * During the fight with the Omega Metroid in Fusion, Samus can be stunned by the Metroid's claws. The duration of this paralysis can be reduced by tapping up on the D-pad.
 * Oddly, the term "Omega" is usually used to describe the lowest-ranking member of a group, for example, in a pack of wolves.
 * The term omega is also the last letter of the Greek alphabet and is often used to describe the last of something, in this case most likely referring to this being the last stage of a typical Metroid's life.
 * The Omega Metroid in Fusion behaves similarly to the Arachnus-X in the same game. They both have a hunched posture, approach Samus slowly, and die while thrusting their heads repeatedly as they roar.
 * The Omega Metroids that Samus encounters in Metroid II are found in the same locations as their discarded shells, just a few feet away.
 * In Fusion, even if Samus has one unit of energy left following her fight with the SA-X, the Omega Metroid's initial attack will not do additional damage; though she is still knocked down the event is scripted to leave her with one unit of energy no matter how much she had prior to the encounter.
 * The Omega Metroids in Metroid II have blue eyes, while the Omega Metroid in Metroid Fusion, strangely, has red eyes.
 * The Omega Metroid in Fusion is currently the last boss in the Metroid series (chronologically).
 * Interestingly, Samus encounters 3 Omega Metroids in the Chozo facility in Area 7 which may have been where the Chozo originally created the Metroids or at the very least may have had some involvement with their creation as a larval Metroid can be seen on a holographic monitor and the facility has several sections covered with snow and implied to be cold which may have been intentional as the Chozo may have made it cold enough to render the Metroids sluggish without it killing them similar to the Space Pirates use of Phendrana Drifts in Metroid Prime. Of course it may have been an attempt to contain them before the development of the Chozo Seals and Purple liquid. The presence of Omega Metroids in this area would not be surprising as they may have been some of the first Metroids created (presumably along with the Queen Metroid) which had matured into their Omega stage long ago.

References and Footnotes
Metroid Omega Омега Метроид