Hyper Beam (Super Metroid)


 * For the Phazon-based weapon seen in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, see Hyper Beam (Metroid Prime 3: Corruption)

The Hyper Beam was first officially introduced in Super Metroid. The Hyper Beam is a special and incredibly powerful beam. The beam itself is a long line of shifting rainbow colors that travels at very high speeds towards its target.

Samus Aran acquired the Hyper Beam when she was losing in her final showdown against the Mother Brain. Her Baby attacked Mother Brain and drained from her the energy used to fire the Laser Brain Attack, giving it to Samus as it replenished her Energy Tanks. Mother Brain killed it, and it exploded over Samus, channeling the energy through its remains into her Power Suit, which presumably created the Hyper Beam. Samus used the Hyper Beam's immense power to defeat Mother Brain once and for all.

The Hyper Beam replaces all other beams in Samus's inventory, and is immensely powerful. It can pass through walls and enemies and it destroys obstacles that are impenetrable to other beams, such as Shutters. The projectile looks like the charged Plasma Beam, but flashes rainbow colors. It also lacks Charge Beam functionality; holding the fire button causes the beam to rapid-fire.

What happened to the Hyper Beam after Super Metroid is unknown, though it seems to be temporary as she never used it in any subsequent games.

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."

Trivia

 * In Other M, Samus says in monologue and in the Art Folio that the Baby gave her the Hyper Beam. How it does so is unknown, as Samus does not flash as she did in Super Metroid when the Hyper Beam was gifted to her. The flashing was likely just an effect used in Super Metroid to signify Samus gaining the beam.
 * Other M presents the Hyper Beam with a bright orange color rather than the original shifting colors.
 * The power of the Hyper Beam is equivalent to a charged Plasma Beam shot in the game's data, though it is canon that the former is far superior to the latter.
 * Samus also acquires a type of Hyper Beam in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption when the PED is built into her armor. It does, however, hold significant difference to the version pertaining to this article. The Hyper Beam in Corruption is a variation of the Phazon Beam, while the Super Metroid version is formed of the energy, and seemingly the weapon tech, stolen from Mother Brain by the Baby.
 * The Hyper Beam shares its name with a powerful move in Nintendo's Pokemon series. However, no connection between the two has been established.