Phantoon[1][2] (ファントゥーン Fantūn) is a spectral entity that is mostly intangible and thus invulnerable to any form of attack, except for its single eye. It is this eye that, when open, serves as its connection to the corporeal world and can be damaged. Ranging in size from four meters tall to ten times as large as Samus's Gunship,[citation needed] Phantoon resembles a giant cephalopod with a single eye inside a large mouthlike eyelid.
It feeds off raw energy[3][4] without directly interfacing with wires or equipment and has only been seen drawn to sources of energy from abandoned ships, such as the Wrecked Ship and BOTTLE SHIP. The specter also taps into Mother Brain's "vicious brainwaves,"[1] meaning that Mother Brain may have some control over it, or that Phantoon simply feeds off of her energy. Nevertheless, based on its portrayal among the bosses in the Golden Statues, Phantoon appears to be allied with the Space Pirates in some capacity.
Background[]
Phantoon's origin has received alterations from several sources over the years. The English and Japanese manuals for Super Metroid both gave a different background of Phantoon, describing it as either being the ghost of the Wrecked Ship itself that taps into Mother Brain's thought-waves[1] or as being the physical manifestation of Mother Brain's malevolent consciousness,[5] respectively.
Another version of Phantoon's background is given in its concept art for Other M, which describes it as an entity who was hidden within a vessel used by the Chozo long ago - it apparently traveled with the ancient race through space for an unknown amount of time until they reached planet Zebes, where the vessel would eventually become the Wrecked Ship. The same concept art further describes Phantoon as a multidimensional creature whose entire body cannot exist in a single dimension, thus giving it its ghost-like characteristics. This signifies that the body that Samus sees as Phantoon in both games is but a portion of its overall structure, in which its full size, mass and appearance remain unknown.[6]
Interesting to note is Super Metroid's manual describing the Wrecked Ship as having crashed on Zebes. Given Phantoon's malevolent nature and its tendency to absorb the energy of starships, it may very well have been responsible for the Chozo ship's arrival on the planet.
Super Metroid[]
"The Wrecked Ship has been shut down by the floating ghost, Phantoon." It absorbs the power from everything throughout the ship, including the internal power of Work Robots,[7] leaving everything dark and inoperable, in order to feed its strength and gluttony.[4] On top of that, its presence appears to bring out the souls of those who died in the crash, converging together and becoming evil spirits known as Coverns.
Shortly after Samus enters its chamber, several flames will ignite, floating in the center of the room. They will form a circle and start rotating around before closing in on each other. As they fade away, Phantoon begins to materialize to battle Samus.
Battle[]
Samus battling Phantoon.
Phantoon has two attacks; the creation of phantom eyes and ramming against Samus. It uses these two attacks in conjunction with its two abilities; becoming intangible and invisible.
It uses its phantom eyes in two ways: shedding a few from its mouth like tears that bounce along the ground, and creating waves of different patterns (circular burst, stalactite style, crescent). However, phantom eyes can either be destroyed for ammunition, or simply jumped through using the Charge Attack, making even the faster phantom eyes easy to dodge.
Phantoon's first ability, intangibility, will be the entire theme of his fight. With its eye closed, it detaches itself from the physical realm, and only when its eye is open can Phantoon be hurt. Whenever the creature gains a physical presence, it can harm Samus on contact. It will float around with intangibility, and drop phantom eyes that bounce along the ground. When Phantoon finally opens its eye, it will create a circular wave of phantom eyes. It may return to this pattern, or suddenly vanish from sight.
Its invisibility is used often as well. After opening its eye, it will disappear, damaged or not. It may either float around while invisible to spawn bouncing phantom eyes, or suddenly appear with its eye open and create a wave of phantom eyes. While unnecessary, Phantoon can be tracked with the X-Ray Scope.
When damaged by Missiles or a charged shot from the Ice Beam, Phantoon will behave normally. However, disabling the Ice Beam will not make the ghost disappear, but instead return to floating around erratically with its eye wide open and its gaze locked on Samus, attempting to ram her. On the opposite spectrum, Super Missiles will send Phantoon into a fury; it will vanish, and reappear at the top of the screen and remain intangible for eight crescent waves of phantom eyes at very high speeds. These waves can be dodged by Samus in many different manners: by using the previously mentioned Charge Attack, by using the Morph Ball and sticking to the bottom corners of the room (PAL only), though she'll need to be switching from left to right with each corresponding wave, or by jumping forward or backward in the middle of the eyes. Samus can also Wall Jump over the crescents, or shoot the components separately to avoid damage.
As Phantoon takes more and more damage, its color will gradually shift from green to a hot red-orange. Upon its defeat, its eye will remain looking in the same direction as it begins to fade in and out rapidly, before a series of small explosions erupt across its body. Finally, Phantoon will begin waving around like its entrance, except wider and more violent until it stretches across the entire screen and dissipates.
With Phantoon's presence no longer dominating the energy crystals, power immediately returns to the ship. Lights turn on, both map and save stations begin working, conveyor belts start moving, Metal Doors release, Work Robots return to life, and severed wires start sparking dangerously. Coverns also vanish from the Wrecked Ship, either from the light, or from being freed of Phantoon's malevolent control. However, the return of the craft's energy releases a variety of creatures that were seemingly dormant or locked away in the ship.
Metroid: Other M[]
Phantoon emerges from space outside the Control Bridge of the BOTTLE SHIP to battle Samus once more.
Phantoon returns as the true final boss of Metroid: Other M. No explanation is given for its reappearance. It is possible that Phantoon may have survived the encounter from Super Metroid, given that it is not seen explicitly dying.
When Samus returns to the BOTTLE SHIP, and reaches the ascent to the Control Bridge, enemies will begin to spawn from dark, swirling vortexes to hamper her progress. These vortexes are created by Phantoon, who has assumed control of the creatures of the BOTTLE SHIP, and has its eye set on revenge against Samus.
As she finally enters the Control Bridge, a massive tentacle suddenly smashes against the reinforced glass, and smashes into it again, creating thousands of cracks throughout one spot, and breaking off an overhead screen from its support. A gigantic bulbous head rises into view, pulsating visibly and audibly. Its double jawlike eyelid opens, and a piercing red eye leers at Samus.
Battle[]
Samus performs a Lethal Strike on one of Phantoon's Rage Hands.
Phantoon wastes no time in raising its bottom half and releasing more dark vortexes, summoning its Rage Hands to deal with Samus. It will continue to wail onto the cracked window panes with both tentacles, and summon more in between until it finally smashes through. Alarms start sounding off, and oxygen is violently drained from the room, but Samus remains unaffected, her Gravity Feature keeping her feet steady.
Phantoon now attempts to defeat Samus with its improved phantom eyes. Still like blue eyes in a spiritual flame, they spread minimally and now focus on homing directly in on Samus. While these and Rage Hands distract her, Phantoon moves left to right, tearing more window panes open with its massive jaws.
After the top three window panes are shattered, Phantoon's eye becomes obscured by one of his swirling vortexes, only to suddenly peak through it for a moment by extending its eye out on a prehensile eyestalk. It hides its eye again, and reaches right, smashing through the lower windows with its tentacle, and then repeats the same for the left side. The vortex hiding Phantoon's eye fades, and it unveils the rest of its attacks.
With the windows completely gone, Phantoon sweeps one of its tentacles at a time across the floor in an attempt to hit Samus aside. It will also shoot laser pulses from its eye that do not hurt Samus directly, but rather spawn swirling red vortexes on the ground that erupt into a Pillars of Agony when stepped on.
Samus defeats Phantoon once again, and the monster is sent floating back into the depths of space before exploding in a burst of bright light.
When Phantoon becomes weak enough, its eye will collapse into the room and become primed for a Lethal Strike, though it is possible that this doesn't happen at all. By performing Lethal Strike, Samus will grab onto its eye and hold on as she's flung around on it, until she finally blasts the eye with a Charge Beam. She jumps off, and Phantoon floats away into space before bursting in a piercing white light and a loud bang. If she fails to fire the shot during the Lethal Strike, Phantoon will instead slam her into the floor under its eye.
However, if the Lethal Strike isn't performed, Phantoon will begin to lose control, smashing its own eye into the floor over and over, until holding it up and simply bursting into an orange goo. Phantoon will float away and explode, but without its eye.
Either way, a Grapple Point floats into the room so Samus can leave.
Powers and abilities[]
Befitting a ghost, Phantoon has the power to turn intangible to avoid attacks, which is done by closing its eye. It can also turn invisible to elude opponents. Offensively, Phantoon has several powers to fight, powers that have been augmented in Other M. Its signature move is to create Phantom eyes, ghostly eyes shrouded in a blue flame. Phantoon can also create Rage Hands; floating, disembodied hands that serve as extensions of its consciousness and are used to physically attack opponents. Phantoon can create large vortexes of dark energy to damage Samus if she walked too close to them, and can use said vortices to teleport the bioweapons to fight her. Phantoon seemingly has the ability to control bioforms, as it was able to turn the BOTTLE SHIP's bioweapons against Samus in the postgame events.
Other appearances[]
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.
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[]
Phantoon makes a cameo as an unlockable Trophy, based on its appearance in Other M. The Trophy description reaffirms the additions to the lore made by Other M concept art, stating that only Phantoon's head can be seen in the physical plane.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
Phantoon is an unlockable Support Spirit, using its artwork from Super Metroid. It is Advanced class, and provides the Sticky Floor Immunity support skill. It can be equipped alongside any Primary Spirit with at least two open support slots.
On the Spirit Board, Phantoon's Spirit possesses an Inkling Puppet Fighter in her yellow costume, referencing its squid-like appearance. She is fought on the Frigate Orpheon stage, with Lockdown Battle Theme as the background music. During the battle, the Clear Inkling is always invisible, referencing Phantoon's ability to turn invisible during its battle in Super Metroid. Hotheads spawn frequently as items throughout the match, likely referencing Phantoon's phantom eyes. Although Support Spirits do not normally have types, Phantoon is classified as a Shield type during this match, giving it advantage over Attack Spirits and disadvantage against Grab Spirits.
Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.
Official data[]
Super Metroid manual[]
- PHANTOON
- "(The Boss of the Wrecked Ship)
The ghost of the ship taps into the vicious brainwaves of the Mother Brain and attacks adventurers with deadly plasma."
Super Metroid Players' Guide[]
"On arrival upon this dilapidated hulk, you'll notice that nothing works. Nothing unusual about that you might think - the thing's been lying here for countless centuries. Unfortunately, there's a more sinister reason for it's [sic] systems being dead than simple metal fatigue. Phantoon, a sinister alien being, had made the wreck his lair and is draining its power for his own survival. In order to re-activate vital terminals, such as the map and save units, you need to kill him!
Phantoon's only weak spot is his eye, which he keeps closed most of the time. Dodge his attacks and the small blue projectiles until the eye opens, then hit him with your most powerful weapon - super missiles if possible. If you run low on ammo or energy, try zapping his shots as they often leave goodies behind when destroyed. A minimum of five super missiles are required to put an end to Phantoon's evil."
- Battling Phantoon
- Hit him smack in the middle of his eye.
- Use Super Missiles to wipe him out.
- Zap his shots to gain bonuses.
Nintendo Power Volume 95[]
- PHANTOON
- "Phantoon's blue drops cause the most problems, but you can shoot them to get Missiles and energy. Blast Phantoon when it is solid or when its eye is open. Use Super Missiles, Missiles or the Charge Beam to be effective."
Metroid: Other M Premiere Edition[]
- Bosses (p. 20)
- Phantoon and Phantoon's Rage Hands
- "This mysterious ethereal space monster dwells in space and has a nasty tempter. When angered it attacks using phantom eyes and its Rage Hands. If it gets its Rage Hands on you, it will crush the life out of you. Use your Screw Attack to cut through the Rage Hands and SenseMove out of the way of the phantom eyes. Use a combination of Charge Beam and Super Missiles to wear down the Phantoon's main eye. If it shoots a laser with its eye, avoid the radiating circle the laser creates before the circle erupts near you. Either bring Phantoon's main eye crashing down and terminate the monster with a Lethal Strike, or continue blasting it with Super Missiles until it's dead."
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U trophy[]
"Samus originally faced this life-form in Super Metroid, but it appears again as a secret boss in Metroid: Other M after finishing the main story. Although the mysterious ethereal creature can only materialize its head in the physical world, its true form is said to be that of a giant."
Development notes[]
According to Yasuhiko Fujii and a development map, Phantoon's original name was オバケーン (Obakeen). This was derived from "obake", the Japanese word for "ghost" or "phantom".[8][9]
Phantoon's roar in Super Metroid is a stock roar sound effect previously heard in films such as The Land Unknown (1957) and King Kong (1976). This roar is shared with Kraid and Crocomire.
Concept art from Other M depicts Phantoon as the head atop a vaporous humanoid body, with two larger Rage Hands as its hands. It also depicts Phantoon in its Super Metroid appearance despite it having a different design in the game, as well as a smaller size. Samus is also seen in the artwork battling Phantoon in the same manner as Andross from Star Fox. Phantoon's "body" shown in the concept art is referenced in its Trophy description in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, mentioning that its "true form is said to be that of a giant."
Trivia[]
- If Phantoon is indeed responsible for the Chozo's Wrecked Ship crash landing on planet Zebes, then the multidimensional creature is indirectly the instigator of numerous, major future events in the entire Metroid series: the Chozo would build their civilization on Zebes following their forced landing, in time building the Mother Brain (if she was not already constructed prior to the crash), eventually two Chozo individuals from Zebes would find the orphaned Samus Aran on K2L and bring her back to their colony, where she would be raised and trained to become the heroine of the series, followed by the Space Pirates taking over the planet after detecting the Chozo inhabiting it, leading to the Mother Brain's insertion into the Pirate armies, which leads to the events of Metroid: Zero Mission and all the incidents that follow afterwards which cover the rest of the Metroid chronology, including the Metroid Prime subseries, all the way to Metroid Dread.
- In Super Metroid, Phantoon shares its battle theme with Kraid, Crocomire and the Big Metroid. In Other M, Phantoon shares its battle theme with the Queen Metroid.
- Phantoon's cephalopod-like body, supernatural and multidimensional traits are likely a reference to H.P. Lovecraft's cosmic entity, Cthulhu.
- Phantoon's physical appearance is heavily similar to the Powamps from Maridia.
- Sound effects still play regularly during the open-space portion of the Phantoon fight in Other M, despite the fact that this is impossible in real-life. This is consistent with other instances in the series when sound still travels in the vacuum of space, such as the Exterior Docking Hangar and Docking Bays.
- As previously mentioned, Metroid: Other M offers no explanation for Phantoon's return after its defeat in Super Metroid. Because the Ringleaders were responsible for the presence of other Space Pirates within the BOTTLE SHIP, such as the Zebesians, Kihunters, Ridley, and Mother Brain, it has been speculated that they may have been involved in bringing back Phantoon. However, this doesn't explain how did they manage to clone a phantom that shouldn't have DNA, and how did they manage to contain it given its gigantic size and power compared to other large creatures in the BOTTLE SHIP.
- Taking the Japanese Super Metroid instruction booklet into account, Phantoon may be the physical manifestation of Melissa Bergman's malevolent consciousness, since she is a recreation of Mother Brain.
- Curiously, Phantoon in Other M uses one of its portals to bring out its eye, even though the eye is clearly attached to the eyestalk connected to the body.
- In Other M, if Samus finishes off Phantoon with a Power Bomb, its eye will be colored red.
- Although it might seem like Samus performs an Overblast on Phantoon rather than a Lethal Strike, this is not the case. She must fire manually, otherwise Phantoon may eventually push her off, but the move is activated by running towards the eye and holding the 1 button on the Wii Remote - the way to activate a Lethal Strike. To perform an Overblast, Samus must actually jump on to the enemy, which she does not do in this case.
- Phantoon cannot be fought on Other M 's Hard Mode, since the game ends after the MB battle.
- Phantoon in its Other M appearance is one of the largest bosses Samus has encountered.
- Phantoon is, in a number of ways, similar to the boss Bellum from The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass - among other things, both creatures possess an eye surrounded by teeth.
- In Super Metroid, if the Spacetime Beam is used to start the game again fully powered with the Plasma Beam, Phantoon will only take three fully charged shots to kill.
Gallery[]
![Unused Phantoon model that served as a reference for unreleased artwork. It can be assumed that the reason for this is because the eyestalk is different from the final game's depiction of Phantoon.[1]](/wiki/File:Unused_Phantoon_model.png "Unused Phantoon model.png (111 KB)")
References[]
- ^ a b c "PHANTOON/(The Boss of the Wrecked Ship)/The ghost of the ship taps in to the vicious brainwaves of the Mother Brain and attacks adventurers with deadly plasma." Super Metroid Instruction Booklet, Pg. 33
- ^ "Phantoon and Phantoon's Rage Hands/This mysterious ethereal space monster dwells in space and has a nasty tempter. When angered it attacks using phantom eyes and its Rage Hands. If it gets its Rage Hands on you, it will crush the life out of you. Use your Screw Attack to cut through the Rage Hands and SenseMove out of the way of the phantom eyes. Use a combination of Charge Beam and Super Missiles to wear down the Phantoon's main eye. If it shoots a laser with its eye, avoid the radiating circle the laser creates before the circle erupts near you. Either bring Phantoon's main eye crashing down and terminate the monster with a Lethal Strike, or continue blasting it with Super Missiles until it's dead." Metroid: Other M Premiere Edition, Pg. 20
- ^ "PHANTOON/The ship, even though it's wrecked, is still producing power. However, none of that power is being directed where it should be. Something is diverting power just after the source. That something is Phantoon." Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide, Pg. 9
- ^ a b "C) GET THE MAP DATA/Phantoon is sucking up all the power that the ship's energy-producing crystals can make. Therefore, none of the systems are operational. This includes the Map Computer. Hook up with the Computer after Phantoon gives up the ghost." Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide, Pg. 84
- ^ "PHANTOON/"Boss of the Wrecked Ship. Mother Brain's consciousness given substance. The evil thought-waves surrounding her soul have turned into an evil spirit that has suspended the ship's operations." Super Metroid manual, Pg. 40
- ^ Gallery Mode (translation by Metroid Database)
- ^ "D) MOVE THAT ROBOT!/The robots, while internally powered, are not functioning either as a result of Phantoon's gluttony." Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide, Pg. 85
- ^ http://shmuplations.com/yasuhikofujii/
- ^ [2]
| Dimensional | |
|---|---|
| Species | Alimbic • Boost Guardian • Chozo (Ghost) • Craftsmen • Dark Pirate Commando • Darkling • Darkling Tentacle • Gorea • Ing (Hunter, Emperor, Warrior) Ingsphere Cache • Kralee • Leviathan • Luminoth • Metroid Prime (Core essence) • Phantoon • Warp Hound • Phazon Metroid |
| Gateways | Alimbic Cannon • Artifact Temple • Interdimensional void • Portal • Stronghold Portal • Wormhole |
| Alternate Dimensions | Dark Aether • Infinity Void • The Locker • Oubliette • Stronghold Void |
| Other | Black fog • Dark Visor • Darkburst • Multidimensional Stealth Warship • Transdimensional energy • Transdimensional flux |