Dark Samus

This is a featured article.

For other uses, see Dark Samus (Disambiguation).

Dark Samus
Dark Samus, as seen in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Species	Metroid/Human Hybrid, later pure Phazon
Homeworld	Tallon IV
Born	Created on Tallon IV when Samus Aran's Phazon Suit and DNA merged with Metroid Prime's remains in a pool of Phazon
Death	Destabilized into Phazon particles within the depths of Phaaze when Samus destroyed Aurora Unit 313. Eradicated with the galaxy-wide destruction of all Phazon or the explosion of Phaaze.
Gender	Female

“	Horrific as it may sound, there are two of them now.	„
—Space Pirate log from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

Dark Samus (ダークサムス, Dāku Samusu) was a being of Phazon taking on the form of Samus Aran and the reincarnation of the organism known as Metroid Prime. After making a cameo appearance in the secret ending of the Metroid Prime game, she became the secondary antagonist and the final boss in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and the main antagonist of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

Boss Battles

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

First Battle

Samus first battled her doppelgänger in the Main Reactor of the Space Pirate mining facility after she absorbed some Phazon. For most of the fight, Dark Samus glides around the room by firing her "Shrapnel Beam" and firing missiles. She may also raise a Phazon energy shield to deflect attacks and damage Samus if she is too close. Dark Samus can be very difficult to hit as she possesses greater speed than Samus and the pillars around the room make aiming and moving somewhat difficult.

Once half of Dark Samus' health was depleted, she will begin to glow with Phazon energy. While in this state, she will often rise high into the air to fire Super Missiles or dive at Samus while encased in a ball of energy which had the capacity to reduce the pillars in the room to flaming wreckage. Dark Samus is also immune to all attacks while airborne and can only be damaged again once she returned to the ground. After dealing Dark Samus enough damage, she will be defeated, collapsing to her knees and violently exploding, leaving nothing behind, but Phazon particles which floated in the air for some time before eventually dissipating.

Second Battle

Samus battles Dark Samus again on the Aerie and in it's access at the Sanctuary Fortress. Unlike the last fight, there is more room to move around and hitting Dark Samus is somewhat easier. Dark Samus retains most of her attacks from before along with three new attacks. Dark Samus uses two variations of the Charge Beam: Either as a thin, blue beam that she sweeps across or an energy blast that will encase Samus in Phazon. She also utilizes a faster version of the Boost Ball by charging around the arena at blinding speeds (Using a charged Light Beam on her will instantly stop her attack). Dark Samus is highly vulnerable to the Dark Beam because she is a being of the light world and not a Darkling Samus. The Super Missiles and the Darkburst can deal heavy damage to Dark Samus, though she is preferred as the Darkburst is less effective against the speedy target. After dealing enough damage, the boss switches strategy.

Dark Samus now utilizes her stealth field generator, rendering herself invisible to the Combat Visor. Samus must switch to the Dark Visor to track her opponent. Dark Samus will fire Missiles while cloaked and airborne. Once she stops, she is vulnerable to attack. She will also use her dive bomb and boost attack. Once her health was depleted, Samus will claim victory yet again as Dark Samus goes to the elevator wall, destroys it and falls through the chasm.

Final Boss

Dark Samus serves as the final boss of the game, now supercharged with Phazon energy to the point where she is transparent. This battle takes place in the Sky Temple Gateway on Dark Aether. This battle proves to be the most challenging due to the fact that Phazon ore lines the walls of the arena, damaging Samus on contact. Compounding the difficulty is the countdown timer. Samus must defeat her dark counterpart in under eight minutes or Dark Aether will destabilize with her in it, resulting in a Game Over. Dark Samus attacks by firing a large beam of Phazon energy. She is still vulnerable to the Super Missiles. However, her exposure to Phazon now renders her invisible to the Dark Visor, requiring the use of the Echo Visor.

After sustaining enough damage, Dark Samus surrounds herself in a large shield of Phazon, transforming into a being of pure Phazon. The shield is invulnerable to all forms of attack save for one: The blasts of pure Phazon itself. Samus must use her Charge Beam to draw in and absorb Dark Samus' Phazon bullets. However, Dark Samus will also fire the larger blasts that could not be absorbed. If the shield expands and shrinks, Dark Samus will fire small and absorbable blasts. Once Samus absorbs enough Phazon blasts (Her Charge Beam will turn blue), she can fire them back at her doppelgänger, damaging her. By repeating this strategy, Dark Samus will fall for the last time, attempting to reach out and touch Samus, but disappearing before she can do so.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Dark Samus serves as the penultimate boss of the game. This battle can be challenging as exposure to Phaaze's atmosphere as well as the damage causes the Phazon level to fill. When it became full, Samus will die from Phazon corruption. If Samus collected a large number of Energy Tanks prior to the confrontation, this will become much less of a threat. In the first part of the battle, Dark Samus hovers around by using her trademark scattershot beam, firing homing blasts of Phazon, using a Phazon-based ground wave (Similar to Ridley's) and creating large Phaazite pillars to slow Samus down. The attack can be predicted as she will raise her left hand and fire a beam of Phazon in the air. The pillars can easily be destroyed by Hyper Missiles and often yield Anti-Phazon Units. Dark Samus will sometimes raise a Phazon shield to deflect the attacks. All of what Samus must do is shoot Dark Samus while avoiding her potent Phazon attacks. After enough damage, Dark Samus switches to Round two.

Dark Samus would use Phaaze's energy to heal herself. Samus must shoot her down before she finishes. Samus must be careful as Dark Samus will summon Dark Echoes to confuse her when healing. Samus can easily distinguish Dark Samus from her Echoes via the X-Ray Visor. She will be colored red while the Echoes faded into the monochrome coloring of the Visor. Samus can also look at their visors to distinguish them in the part of the fight as Dark Samus' visor is blue and the Echoes have no visors. Dark Samus will also leap into the air and slam the ground by creating a large shockwave of Phazon energy. Otherwise, this phase of the battle is the same as the first. After another round of damage, Dark Samus switches strategy again.

In this phase of the battle, Dark Samus uses her Echoes to attack Samus. The Echoes possessed all of Dark Samus's attacks. The number of Echoes summoned increases as the battle goes on (Only up to two Echoes). Dark Samus and her Echoes attacked in concert by floating in the air and shooting Phazon blasts at Samus and using Ghor's Plasma Beam while spinning with another Echo. Samus can avoid this attack by using the Morph Ball as it is impossible for her to jump over the beam each time that it comes around. Using the Hyper Ball to kill the Echo can end the attack quickly. Dark Samus may also fire the Plasma Beam from the air and drop down and may or may not produce a shockwave. The Echoes will also spin around the arena, trying to hit Samus. They may also charge Samus at full speed. The Echoes should be immediately destroyed or they will merge with Dark Samus, granting her temporary invincibility. This also "overloads" the X-Ray Visor, making her appear a very light color, making her extremely difficult to see. So, as long as Samus keeps the energy bar from filling and dodges the boss' powerful attacks, Dark Samus will fall with ease. However, this brought the next fight up: Dark Samus will merge with Aurora Unit 313.

If Samus fills the Hypermode/Phazon gauge, it's game over. She will fall terminally corrupted, turning herself into another Dark Samus.

Locations

Note: All locations are non-fight rooms unless otherwise stated.

• Hive Chamber B
• Portal Site
• Security Station B
• Main Reactor (Battle)
• Training Access (Particles)
• Training Chamber
• Power Junction (Particles)
• Sanctuary Entrance
• Checkpoint Station
• Aerie Transport Station
• Aerie Access (Battle)
• Aerie (Battle)
• Sky Temple Gateway (Battle)
• Control Tower
• Temple of Bryyo (Apparition)
• Main Docking Bay (Apparition)
• Proving Grounds (Apparition)
• Sanctum (Battle)

Physical appearance

As implied by her name, Dark Samus is a doppelganger of Samus Aran or more specifically Samus in her Varia Suit. However, she possessed some differences from Samus: Most notably, her visor is much thinner, smaller and more angular than Samus's visor and it is primarily darker in color with some traces of blue owing to her connection to Phazon. She also has noticeable toe-like claws on her feet which Samus is not known to have on her Power Suit and her left hand has noticeable claws to her fingers.

During the Aether incident, Dark Samus's physical appearance had her shoulders possessing blue Phazon growths. By the end of the mission, presumably due to her body hitting her physical limit from the excessive Phazon consumption, most of her body was rendered translucent, showing her inner organs. It largely resembled a human skeleton, although the skull possessed no mouth as well as three blank eyes that were similar in pattern to a Metroid's nuclei. In addition, the right arm has the forearm just being composed of spiny bones to form the basis for Dark Samus's arm cannon. Her left hand also features an eye on the back.

During the Phaaze Incident, the suit appears more streamlined.

Powers and abilities

“	The troops now call her the 'Dark Hunter.' It is a fitting title.	„
—Space Pirate scan from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

As Dark Samus, the creature utilized many abilities similar to Samus in more powerful forms. She could fire two types of Phazon beams (Which the scan mentioned to be altered versions of the Power Beam) at enemies in the form of either a continuous stream of small shard-like bursts or a thin laser Beam which she shot in an arc. She possessed standard Missiles as well as Super Missiles to blast her opponents into bits. Also, she used what appeared to be a Phazon-charged Ice Spreader attack. She could also do a powerful dive bomb attack (Which could be a Phazon-based Screw Attack, Shinespark or a combination of both), a Phazon Boost Ball that generated vast amounts of kinetic energy in alarmingly short times, raise pillars of crystallized Phazon in this form, is capable of both flight and levitation and can render herself invisible. It is interesting to note that her Morph Ball form contained an eyeball on each side of the sphere. However, when Dark Samus consumed too much Phazon, she gained the disadvantages that she possessed as Metroid Prime: Although she was eventually able to render herself invulnerable to all conventional weaponry, the Phazon fired at her could overload and destabilize her, resulting in her generating very powerful Phazon attacks to discharge the used Phazon radiation from her body including a massive beam of pure, highly concentrated Phazon. She also had the ability to short-range warp which was how she was able to appear on Aether despite being trapped in the collapsed Impact Crater of Tallon IV.

In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Dark Samus' abilities are further augmented. In addition to most of her previous abilities, she can now produce near-perfect clones of herself (Fittingly called "Dark Echoes") and is much more resilient to Phazon attacks (Though the Hyper Missiles are still effective on her). Combining with the Echoes temporarily also allowed her to form a purple energy shield around her body which rendered her invulnerable until she had to separate back into herself and the Echoes. After she unleashed the massive blast of Phazon at the four Hunters using what appears to be a version of the Charge Beam, the corruption within them seemed to be connected to Dark Samus. After the defeat of each hunter, a strange and black, wraith-like entity in the shape of Dark Samus would appear above the hunters and fly off into space, presumably back to Dark Samus herself. This seems to be the manner through which she gained the Hunters' abilities such as Ghor's Plasma Beam, Gandrayda's ground-based energy wave and the ability to create giant Phazon pillars like Rundas could with ice. It is also possible that this entity was a form of Dark Samus herself interpreted as some sort of astral projection which she used to possess the Hunters. She also has the ability to merge with the stolen Aurora Unit at the climax of the game, a technique which may have also been adapted from Ghor or connected with her apparent possession abilities. After this merge, the mutated Aurora Unit is capable of launching holographic-like Dark Echoes out from it's eye. These copies will either shoot at Samus or enter Morph Ball mode and boost around the area in an attempt to ram her (Reminiscent of her attack in the previous game). She is notably more agile in Corruption than in Echoes, able to perform graceful backflips and cartwheels.

Dark Samus is able to manipulate and channel Phazon energy at will.

In Echoes, Dark Samus seems to be somewhat incomplete. This is supported by the fact that she is constantly absorbing Phazon, looks slightly deformed and has a range of chaotic attack moves. In Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime's tentacle was broken off Samus prematurely, possibly not absorbing enough DNA to create a whole and stable Dark Samus. Dark Samus seems to act mentally unstable in Echoes cutscenes, even laughing maniacally in several instances. In the same game, Dark Samus also became physically unstable due to excessive Phazon exposure. While her physical body continues to be unstable in Prime 3: Corruption, she is surprisingly calm and attacks in a more organized and orderly method, suggesting that she absorbed sufficient Phazon to reach a stable mentality. This also explains how she was able to brainwash the Pirates, plan the coordinates of the Leviathan impact locations and steal Aurora Unit 313.

Dark Samus is a very durable life-form, able to regenerate from any injury short of total atomic disruption and traveling unaided through space and freely between the Dark and Light Dimensions of Aether and even showing immunity to the caustic atmosphere of Dark Aether (The last of which was presumably due to Dark Aether's atmosphere being made of Phazon, much like Dark Samus herself). She can survive in the vastness of space, travel through it and survive the explosions of planets and even dimensions. This is how she has constantly been able to regenerate herself after defeat and fly to another planet for Phazon absorption. Her incredible regenerative abilities combined with Phazon-enhanced versions of Samus' devastating abilites made her nearly impossible to defeat. In fact, she may have temporarily held the place of the most powerful beings in the Metroid universe. During the events of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, she single-handedly defeated the highly skilled bounty hunters, Rundas, Ghor and Gandrayda. Though Samus held up better than the others, Dark Samus defeated all four of them with one blast of Phazon. Considering that Samus herself seldom loses battles, even against the ten-meter tall opponents, this is an impressive feat. Her massive durability at the climax at Phaaze, even against Hypermode's chaotic and devastating power just furthers this possibility. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption also reveals her to be sentient and capable of long-range planning as it was noted through a series of Space Pirate data logs that recorded the fanaticism that she inspires among the mind-warped Pirates. They detailed her plans and how she reacts to certain events and credited her with being something near a deity whose rule of the galaxy will be great. She might have been and may still be the greatest threat ever to the Galactic Federation and Samus's most powerful opponent to date. She may have some degree of telepathy, using that to create her new body after being defeated as Metroid Prime from her brief contact with Samus Aran as well as absorbing her Phazon Suit and it was also implied that Dark Samus may have been responsible for causing a glitch in Samus's Cryostasis in the beginning of Corruption.

Personality

Dark Samus in her Sanctum.

Dark Samus, as her name implies was shown to be cold, calculating, sadistic and utterly merciless. The lives of her opponents held little to no value to her and she never hesitated to use her allies to her own gain. A prominent example of this was seen in her use of the corrupted Rundas, Ghor and Gandrayda to battle Samus only to kill them and absorb their powers after each hunter was defeated. The extent of her cruelty is described in one of the Pirate Logs where she is said to have ordered her Pirate forces to jettison the surviving crew members of the G.F.S. Valhalla raid into space.

Dark Samus demonstrated compassion only once in her entire lifetime and only to the Metroids: As it was reported by one Space Pirate log from their occupation of Aether, Dark Samus was observed attempting to free the captive Metroids that were being researched in the Agon Wastes, leading the author to conclude that she was responsible for the recent disappearances of the specimens. The cause for her actions were likely due to her origins as Metroid Prime.

Dark Samus also had an insatiable craving for Phazon, likely a remnant of her origins as Metroid Prime. She would kill anyone in her way as the Space Pirate Logs in Echoes mentioned that Dark Samus killed any Pirates that impeded her quest for Phazon, but otherwise ignored them. Similarly, she would also kill any Darklings that happened to be in her way as it was evidenced by her actions immediately prior to confronting Samus a second time at the Sanctuary Fortress when she slaughtered a couple of Dark Pirate Troopers before proceeding to absorb the Phazon containers that they were guarding.

Her personality underwent a great change between Echoes and Corruption. In Echoes, she was portrayed as unstable and unpredictable, shown by her maniacal laughter and chaotic attack patterns. By the time of Corruption, she had become significantly calmer. Dark Samus was also shown to be quite cunning, capable of long-range planning and remained collected even if her plans were not going accordingly: The massive invasion that she led on Norion would have succeeded if not for Samus Aran's intervention. The Dummied Pirate Logs also indicated that she intended and may have succeeded in turning at least a hundred planets into new Phaazes before her final defeat. It is possible that her absorption of Phazon on Phaaze was sufficient to stabilize her physical form to a certain extent, allowing her to focus on the other tasks besides her hunger for the mutagenic substance.

Official data

Metroid Prime 2: Dark Echoes Q&A

QUESTION: Please explain just what is Dark Samus?

ANSWER: [The answer for] that can be anticipated in the next installment.

QUESTION: So Dark Samus is the hand that we see in the cutscene after the ending credits?

ANSWER: Yes. For those who have not yet seen "the hand", please play Metroid Prime 1 first. You’ll only be able to see it if you achieve 100% items however...

QUESTION: How did Dark Samus come from Tallon IV to Aether? Also, despite their scientific achievements such as the defense system, a totally mechanized fortress and Quadraxis, why could Luminoth not predict the arrival of the meteorite? If it had been predicted, what about destroying it or at least breaking it into smaller pieces?

ANSWER: Dark Samus has the ability to "short range" warp and used this to move to Aether. The Luminoth do not have forecasting capabilities so they were unable to predict the fall of the meteorite. The meteorite’s destructive power exhausted the Luminoth's power and won.

QUESTION: Is there a relation between Metroid Prime stealing Samus' Phazon Suit and the appearance of Dark Samus?

ANSWER: It is extremely likely that Dark Samus was born by reading [Into Samus' mind] via the Phazon Suit.

QUESTION: Why is it that Dark Samus is able to travel around Dark Aether’s toxic gas?

ANSWER: The toxic gas in Dark Aether is essentially made of Phazon so it’s not a concern.[1]

QUESTION: Is Dark Samus a friend of the Space Pirates?

ANSWER: She's not their friend. If you read the Pirate logs, you can see just the extent which Dark Samus troubled them.[2]

QUESTION: Why is it that Dark Samus is able to come back to life despite being defeated by Samus?

ANSWER: Dark Samus is very difficult to wipe out entirely. One could wonder if Dark Samus is truly defeated by the end of Metroid Prime 2..?[3]

Logbook entries

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Dark Samus 1

Temporary scan

Morphology: Dark Samus
Phazon-powered entity. Powerful distance attacks. Phazon energy shield repels all weapons. Wait until it is down to attack. Avoid close contact with target.

Logbook entry

Scans indicate the presence of Phazon and your genetic material within this entity. She wears a version of the Varia Suit, altered and augmented by the Phazon within her. Primary weapons include the Missile Launcher and a scattershot version of the Power Beam. Boost and Jump abilities are superior to yours. The ability to generate Phazon energy shields is also present.

Dark Samus 2

Temporary scan

Morphology: Dark Samus
Reborn, enhanced and, vengeful. Enhanced beam system and Boost attacks added to arsenal. Stealth field generator present in armor.

Logbook entry

Tactical scans have identified several new battle systems in the armor of Dark Samus. She now wields a potent variant of your Charge Beam. Her Boost attack has been augmented, and the ability to render herself invisible is present as well. Bioscans suggest that Dark Samus can reform her body short of total atomic disruption. Extreme caution recommended.

Dark Samus 3

Temporary scan

Morphology: Dark Samus
Supercharged with Phazon energy. Target's Phazon energy weaponry and defense systems are at full power. Phazon exposure has rendered Dark Samus invisible to your Dark Visor.

Logbook entry

Scans indicate that Dark Samus has absorbed tremendous levels of Phazon into her body: too much, perhaps. She can vent Phazon energy in the form of destructive blasts and protective shields: doing so will help her maintain stability. Exposure to Phazon has rendered her invisible to the Dark Visor. These new abilities, combined with her already formidable arsenal, place Dark Samus at the highest threat level.

Dark Samus 4

Temporary scan

Morphology: Dark Samus
Unstable Phazon energy form. Target can generate shield immune to all forms of attack except Phazon energy. Draw in expelled Phazon for use as a weapon.

Logbook entry

Dark Samus has temporarily become a being of pure yet unstable Phazon energy. She can generate a shield that is invulnerable to all attacks, save one -- blasts of Phazon energy itself. Use your Charge Beam to collect Phazon energy that she expels, then fire it back at her. Direct hits will overload and disrupt her essence.

Checkpoint Station

"Bioscan complete. Target DNA confirmed: Dark Samus. Target is energizing herself, building internal supply of Phazon energy to dangerously high levels."

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Dark Samus

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Temporary scan

Morphology: Dark Samus
Phazon energy-based entity. Disrupted by Hypermode attacks.
Dark Samus is absorbing energy from Phaaze itself to replenish her own.*

Logbook entry

Target is composed of pure Phazon energy and is highly unstable. Scans indicate that Hypermode attacks are capable of disrupting her, likely a result of Hypermode being energized by Samus's body. Dark Samus is capable of generating "echoes" of herself to aid her in battle. These units are used as increased firepower and act as distractions while she replenishes her energy; they should be destroyed immediately. She is capable of absorbing energy from Phaaze to replenish her own.

* If scanned when she is recharging her energy.

"What's the matter? All I said was that Komaytos look like little Metr-"

---

Non-canon warning: This article or section contains information that may not be considered an official part of the Metroid series in the overall storyline by Nintendo.

Unused Galactic Federation Data entry

Dark Samus

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Temporary scan

Galactic Federation Datafile DS-187.
(Dark Samus)
Data moved to Logbook for review.
GFDF DS-187

Logbook entry

Intelligence suggests that the one known as "Dark Samus" is a heavily mutated clone of the hunter Samus Aran. The subject is driven by a lust for Phazon, the alleged source of its powerful abilities. After the Aether incident it was presumed dead, but the subject was recently spotted again. Intelligence indicates that the subject commanded the Pirate Armada which recently attacked the G.F.S. Valhalla.

Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.

Nintendo Official Guidebook for Metroid Other M

Warning: Fan Translation(s) Ahead

---

This article, section, or file contains text that is unofficially translated by Metroid fans. Some information (such as proper English names of characters or items) may not be accurate. If an official translation becomes available, the fan translation(s) may be replaced.

Page 173

"Metroid Prime, defeated in Metroid Prime 1 took Samus' matrix in and transformed into Dark Samus (Shown here)."

Super Smash Bros. series

"What's the matter? All I said was that Komaytos look like little Metr-"

---

Non-canon warning: This article or section contains information that may not be considered an official part of the Metroid series in the overall storyline by Nintendo.

Dark Samus began to make cameo appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, becoming an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. 4 and a playable character (For the first time in any game) in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.

Alejandro Roura animations

Trivia

An image from Metroid's manual that may have been a basis for the design of Dark Samus.

• Dark Samus was known in other languages as Samus Oscura (Spanish and Italian) Dunkle Samus (German) and Samus Sombre (French).
• Dark Samus's voice and laughter are very similar in sound to Samus. According to Clark Wen, this was intentional as Dark Samus's sound clips were taken from the unused recordings of Samus's grunts and screams of pain and heavily processed.
• There was an artwork from the Metroid manual where a police officer was shooting a shadowy figure which resembled Dark Samus or at least her wraith form.
• Andrew Jones did a 1,000 self-portrait series of himself and later claimed that "my portraits are quite a departure from my Metroid concept work, but I think that you would be surprised that there are a few of the portraits that were the inspiration behind the final bosses in Prime 1 and two." [4]
• Kensuke Tanabe had not considered making a sequel to Metroid Prime until having seen the game's final scene. [5]
• Dark Samus is one of the eight beings to ever best Samus in a fight by canon. The others are Ridley and Mother Brain in Super Metroid's opening and ending, respectively along with the four members of the Federation Force in Metroid Prime: Federation Force and an Omega Metroid at the end of Metroid Fusion.
• Although Dark Samus usually glides across the floor, she is seen walking in the cutscenes prior to the first battle in Echoes as well as in the ambush in the Control Tower in Corruption and finally in the above animation videos by Alejandro Roura.
• In Echoes, Dark Samus has different reactions towards a number of Samus's weaponry:
  • Contrary to popular belief, Dark Samus is not vulnerable to the Light Beam. She is in fact weak against the Dark Beam and the Darkburst as she is a life-form that was born in the normal (Light) dimension. However, Light based weaponry may still damage her.
  • During the first battle, Dark Samus is vulnerable to the Power Bombs (Obtained via Sequence Breaking). She will take considerable damage similar to the Power Bombs used in Multiplayer. On subsequent battles, she is immune to the Power Bombs, likely due to enhanced Phazon consumption. It is unknown if Dark Samus was immune to the Power Bombs in Corruption due to Samus not having access to them during that time.
  • In Trilogy during the Dark Samus 2 fight, firing the SonicBoom (Via Sequence Breaking) while Dark Samus is in Boost Ball form will cause her to instantly unmorph and attack. These shots do not have to be directly aimed at her as simply firing a shot will disrupt her boost ability, although the shot may need to hit a nearby wall or surface to affect her. Dark Samus will take damage if she collides with a SonicBoom shot. She could not be defeated in Boost Ball form.
  • In all of her battles, Dark Samus will always attempt to deflect a Missile by bringing an energy wave up. It is possible to bypass this by forcing her to use the same shield (Either by shooting a Missile at her or getting close to her) and firing the projectile right after the shield vanishes. If hit by a Super or Hyper Missile, Dark Samus will recoil and scream and/or groan in pain.
• Although Dark Samus is said to be wearing a version of the Varia Suit in Echoes scans, the suit that she is wearing is technically the Phazon Suit. However, Samus' Phazon Suit is only a slight variation of the Varia Suit and Dark Samus' is a variation over that.
• According to the promotional storyboard designs, the scene where Dark Samus points her Arm Cannon and fires Phazon at Samus in their first encounter in the beginning of Echoes is based on the climax of Aliens: "D.S. points a gun at Samus. When camera is fixed, Samus slightly twists her neck. *Refer to the scene in "Alien 2" climax when Ripley points flame gun at Mother Alien."
• As she dies in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the camera pans to Dark Samus' raised left fist. She opens it quickly, mirroring the scene of her "birth" in the ending of Metroid Prime where her open hand clenches into a fist. After her death, the scene cuts to the bubbling Phazon seed within Samus disappearing, completing the imagery of the festering pool of Phazon that Dark Samus was derived from.
• Dark Samus was partly inspired by the Ruins Test in Metroid: Zero Mission during which Samus fights a mirror version of herself.
• Dark Samus is referred to as a class Platinum-AAA threat level by the Space Pirates in Echoes.
• Another Side Story seems to indicate that Dark Samus acted as a god to the Pirates and her Phazon was a holy blessing. She is referred to as the Dark One, Black Demon, Esteemed One (Similar to Samus being called the Entrusted One in Chozo Lore) and Dark Samus is also implied to have called Phaaze the "Promised Land".
• In Metroid: Samus Returns, Samus's Varia Suit design bears a strong resemblance to that of Dark Samus, especially in terms of the visor.
• Chronologically speaking, Dark Samus is the first doppelganger/clone of Samus Aran with the SA-X coming later. While created through different means, both are shown to be powerful adversaries who tested Samus' abilities. However, Dark Samus was shown to have more personality while SA-X was simply an X Parasite mimicking Samus at her full power.
  • Interestingly, both Dark Samus and SA-X granted Samus a beam upgrade of some kind at some point. Samus gained the ability to use the Hyper Beam after Dark Samus infected her with Phazon (Through the PED Suit that the Federation gave Samus) and the Ice Beam (In addition to the Unnamed Suit) after Samus absorbed SA-X.
  • Ironically, Dark Samus's species of origin, Metroids often preyed upon the species of the SA-X's origin, the X Parasites.
  • The similarities are reinforced in Ultimate via one of Dark Samus's Victory poses which focused on her visor and showed her eyes in a similar manner to the SA-X's debut scene.
• Dark Samus is battled alongside Ridley in the Event Match "Galactic Avenger" in Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS and Wii U with the premise being that Samus is fighting them to avenge her parents. However, technically, Dark Samus had no responsibility in the deaths of Chief Rodney Aran and Virginia Aran as the K-2L raid occurred decades before Dark Samus was reborn from Metroid Prime.
• The elements of Dark Samus's characterization in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and influencing various Bounty Hunters via Phazon (And in the case of Rundas, outright possessing him) resembles the Aurans from the 1956 Italian Sci-Fi/Horror film, Planet of the Vampires. This marks one of the few instances where the Metroid series makes a direct reference to Planet of the Vampires rather than the Alien franchise (Which was inspired by that film).

List of appearances

• Metroid Prime (100% ending & concept art.)
• Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc
• Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
• Metroid Prime: Episode of Aether
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Preview
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
• Special Mission (mentioned)
• Another Side Story (mentioned)
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Trophy)
• New Play Control! Metroid Prime (100% ending & concept art.)
• New Play Control! Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
• Metroid Prime Trilogy
• Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (Assist Trophy)
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Music

When Dark Samus is encountered in Echoes and Corruption, she is accompanied by the ambient theme, Dark Samus Intro. A variation of this theme, Dark Samus Appears Part 2 is heard during Samus and Dark Samus's first encounter.

Dark Samus's battle music is titled Darkness in Echoes and was fully remixed for her battle in Corruption. During the final battle in Echoes, the Escape theme is played instead because she is fought while escaping from Dark Aether. During the battle against Aurora Unit 313, Darkness is remixed once more.

Gallery

For concept art, see Dark Samus' Gallery.

Dark Samus is born from Metroid Prime's remains.

The eye of Dark Samus.

Dark Samus aims at Samus at the Portal Site.

Dark Samus - Main Reactor

Dark Samus vs Samus - Main Reactor.

Samus battles Dark Samus for the first time.

Dark Samus falls.

Samus pursuing the particles of Dark Samus in Torvus Bog.

Dark Samus appears in Training Chamber.

Dark Samus destroys the Sanctuary Entrance.

Samus battles Dark Samus at the Aerie in Sanctuary Fortress.

Dark Samus challenges Samus to a final battle in Dark Aether in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

Samus battles a highly irradiated Dark Samus at the Sky Temple Gateway.

Dark Samus tries to take the Light Suit.

Dark Samus reforms from Phazon energy in space near Aether.

Metroid.com wallpaper for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

Dark Samus's Morph Ball form, used in Echoes and Corruption.

Episode of Aether

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

The wraith-like figure of Dark Samus appears at Gandrayda's defeat.

Dark Samus in the Sanctum

Dark Samus defeated.

Dark Samus merges with AU 313, after being repulsed by Samus in Corruption.

Samus Aran's terminally corrupted state is identical to Dark Samus.

Nintendo Official Guidebook for Metroid Other M, page 173