This is a list of notable fictional characters in Metroid, a series of video games developed by Nintendo.

Protagonists

Samus Aran

Samus Aran (サムス・アラン, Samusu Aran) is the bounty hunter protagonist of the series.

Chozo

The Chozo are a mysterious and sage-like species featured throughout the Metroid series. The origins and age of the Chozo race and civilization are unknown, but they were once spread across several planets in the Metroid universe. Lore entries in Metroid Prime suggest that the race may have traveled to a higher plane of being as opposed to dying out. The Chozo were extremely advanced in technology, but took pride in their elaborate statuary. They also exchanged knowledge with other species, including the Luminoth of Aether, the Reptilicus of Bryyo, and the Elysians of Elysia (robots which the Chozo themselves built). Lore found in Metroid Prime 3 specifically mentions a fellowship of enlightened species that once existed between the Chozo, the Luminoth, the Reptilicus, and another race called the Ylla. While the former three have been expounded on in the series, the Ylla are only mentioned in this piece of lore and have yet to be seen.^[1] The Chozo were also responsible for the creation and breeding of Metroids.^[2] While in the Japanese versions of the games, the beings are only ever identified by the generic term chōjin-zoku (鳥人族, lit. "bird-folk race"), a misunderstanding during the localization process led to the mistaken adoption of the descriptor chōzō (鳥像, "bird statue"), rendered "Chozo," in the English versions instead. In Super Metroid, some of the Chozo statues would rise up and attack Samus; these bosses are called Torizo, substituting the native Japanese word tori "bird" for the usual, Chinese-derived chō. In Metroid Prime, in later areas in game play, Chozo ghosts appear and attack Samus. Although originally allies, they have been maddened by the Phazon corruption of their planet, and can no longer distinguish friend from foe.

Galactic Federation

The Galactic Federation (銀河連邦, Ginga Renpō) is the governing body of the galaxy formed by an alliance of alien species^[3] and often contracts Samus with difficult missions to complete, with the aim of eradicating the Space Pirates. Samus trained in the Federation's military before becoming a bounty hunter, leaving some time after a disagreement with her commanding officer, Adam Malkovich.^[4] The Galactic Federation's troopers also use powered armor, and their technology usually bears multiple versions of their symbol, a stylized cross-shape. Troopers are also given a basic repeating assault weapon, and in Metroid Prime 3, some are equipped with the Phazon Enhancement Device.

Super Metroid

The Metroid larva is chronologically the last Metroid of its race following the events of Metroid II: Return of Samus. Samus describes how a Metroid larva hatched from an egg and immediately imprinted upon her, believing her to be its mother. She brought the larva to Ceres Space Colony, where scientists learned that they could harness its power. Just after she left the colony, she received a distress call and returned to find the scientists dead and the larva stolen. The Super Metroid is used as the driving theme of the game as Samus tirelessly searches through Zebes and eventually the Space Pirate's base on Tourian for her Metroid hatchling. Once encountering the Super Metroid in Space Pirate clutches, it attacks Samus and nearly drains all her energy. During the final battle against Mother Brain, the Super Metroid comes to aid of Samus by recharging her energy, but Mother Brain destroys it in retaliation. Samus avenges its death by destroying Mother Brain with an extremely powerful weapon given to her by the Metroid. After a plantet-wide self-destruction, Samus for once mourns the death of a Metroid.

In Metroid: Other M the Super Metroid is mentioned in the opening cutscene as it serves as a reminder for Samus' loss of loved ones in her life. Later in the game, on Bottle Ship's Sector Zero, she encounters a Metroid that resembles something similar to the Super Metroid, but immediately attacks her only to be saved by Adam Malkovich.

Antagonists

==

The eponymous in-game ' (メトロイド) are large parasitic jellyfish-like organisms with tripartite nuclei. They are capable of siphoning an undetectable life energy from any life form, generally causing the death of the victim in the process.^[5] This energy can also be siphoned from the in turn, allowing it to be used as a living power source. The original '' establishes that exposure to beta rays would cause them to multiply very quickly.^[2] ' established a five-stage life cycle in which those native to SR-388 go through two stages of ecdysis followed by two stages of mutation, thus maturing through five previously unknown forms: Alpha, Gamma, Zeta, Omega, and Queen.^[2] They are frequently shown to be vulnerable to ice-based weaponry such as the and freeze guns. These weapons can freeze instantly, and often all it takes to finish them off after this is a strong impact such as one from a missile.

Prime introduced three new, [[#|]]-mutated forms: Hunter , Fission , and Prime itself. Prime 2: Echoes has a -mutated strain of , the . Instead of siphoning all of their power from victims, they can feed directly off . They are born as Infant from cocoons and mature into adulthood when exposed to . The game also introduces Dark , corrupted by the Ing. In Prime 3: Corruption, three new mutations of appear: , which is almost exactly like a common , except that it is capable of phasing in and out of local timespace; Hopping , which cannot hover, phase out of local timespace, or drain energy, but can fight using its claws as melee weapons and armor for defense; and the Hatcher, a boss which can float and spawn , but cannot phase out of local timespace. Corruption also introduced , infant who have not yet grown to a point of being able to defend themselves. With the exceptions of the Hatcher and the Fission , the mutations have not erased the species' vulnerability to extreme cold. It is believed that the (and their mutation) and (and their mutations) died out after the destruction of , due to their dependency on .

Though are deadly parasitic creatures, they are presumably not intrinsically sinister or evil, but act only on instinct (however due to their abilities they are viewed as potential bio-weapons by the & the ). At the end of the second game in the series, spares a baby , which imprints on her, seeing her as its parent. This later reappears in the sequel Super , where delivers it to scientists on the station who plan on finding a way of using its energy absorbing properties for good intentions. The larva is soon stolen by , who takes it to where it is exposed to beta rays and multiplied, which may explain why it grew abnormally large, becoming the eponymous Super . later encounters it in where it attempts to drain her energy, before recognizing her as its mother and fleeing. It later reappears in time to save from the rebuilt by draining her energy and reviving a wounded . revitalizes however, and kills it while it is reviving .

In Other M, on the space station called the , discovers the space station is an illegal bio-weapons research facility.^[6] While investigating in Sector 2, finds the frozen carcass of a that shows sign of predation, however she dismisses this notion as Sector 2 is a sub-zero environment which is lethal to and the last of the died on .^[7] However she eventually discovers that the was planning to use cloned from the DNA remnants of the Super on her suit as bio-weapons.^[8] These had been genetically modified to be resistant to freezing, making them nearly indestructible. The unfreezable are apparently wiped out in an explosion caused by 's former commanding officer.^[9]

In Fusion, is injected with DNA from the infant recovered from the station in order to save her from being killed by the X parasite (giving her the ability to freely absorb X, but also their weakness to extreme cold), effectively making the last of the . It is also revealed that the was breeding in the in B.S.L. (most of these were killed by one of the SA-X, resulting in the lab's ejection and destruction). An Omega appears as the final boss (having escaped the ), during B.S.L.'s collision course with SR388.^[10] According to Fusion's instruction manual, the name "'" is a word meaning "'" and it is assumed that the created the to keep the X parasites of SR388 in check, resulting in the 's becoming the top predators of SR388 (' extermination of the on SR388 resulted in the re-emergence of the X on the planet).^[11]

also made an appearance in 's  3. They appear as in-game enemies in a certain level, retaining their vulnerability to cold:  needs the ice ability to freeze them and defeat them, similar to the  games. They also appear in the Kid Icarus series under the name "", although the goddess  breaks the fourth wall to insist that  is a completely "different game world".  In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for  3DS and Wii U, a  appears as a character that can be summoned through an Assist Trophy. Like in the ' games, it will attack by attaching itself to a character's head and sucking his/her life. The 3DS version also has the  as enemies in the exclusive Smash Run mode.

Bio-Weapons Research Projects

A small group within the government was responsible for the events in Other M and were a behind-the-scenes antagonist in Fusion. Secretly, this unnamed group within the planned to breed and other creatures, like the , to be used as bio-weapons, employing various methods to keep their activities a secret from the rest of galactic society.^[6] In Other M, they are revealed to have used genetic remnants of the baby obtained off ' powersuit after her mission on to genetically engineer a new breed of immune to the effect of cold temperatures.^[8][9]

However, this project was foiled by the accidental cloning of and the rebellion of MB, the -like android created to control the .^[12] This leads to the interference of 's team of soldiers and . However, one of their operatives called "The Deleter" by , infiltrates 's squad to remove any evidence of the project. While it is not explicitly stated, the Deleter was in fact , the squad's communications expert. The presence of derails ' mission, though he does manage to kill several members of 's squad before he himself was found dead in the : it can be surmised that he tried to eliminate MB, but failed.^[13] The actions of and 's heroic sacrifice put an end to their bio-weapons research on the , but their secret bio-weapons research and breeding program continues on the B.S.L. research station until it is overrun by the X parasites. In Fusion, discovers the continued bio-weapons research and learns that they foolishly plan to capture the X parasites and the SA-X for the bio-weapons research, and crashes the station into the planet SR388 with the help of her ship's AI, which was based on .^[10]

It is also believed that they are also responsible for the creation the powersuit, weapons, and ship stolen by the -hating bounty hunter, from Prime Hunters.^{[14][15][16][17]} They could also have created , another Hunter from the same game.

Prime and Dark

Prime and its alternate form Dark is the main antagonist of the Prime subseries. It is a strange, black-carapaced, red-eyed creature with a humanoid face within its shell and the ability to control and horribly mutate anything it attaches to. Prime appears in Prime as the final boss, and after its defeat, reforms itself as Dark , a black-colored doppelgänger of , by stealing her " Suit".

Prime appeared in  shortly after the impact of the , a living  meteor, fused with a  unfortunate enough to cross its path.[18][19] It caused severe damage to the  colony before the  was built to contain  Prime inside the impact crater of the . According to the  version of  Prime,  miners eventually discovered the creature, eventually dubbing him " Prime", and after containing him with security units and drones brought to their laboratories to perform experiments.[20]  Prime eventually broke free, and managed to assimilate several weapons and defense systems from fallen security units before going back to the impact crater[21] (the PAL version denies this, with the  only stating the  picked up life signals coming from within the ).[22] After  gets all artifacts, she is able to enter the impact crater and fight  Prime. After its defeat, the creature takes '  Suit to reconstruct itself into a body similar to , the being called "Dark ".

In Prime 2: Echoes, Dark arrives in chasing the planet's . Shortly after, arrives and encounters Dark many times, eventually defeating her as Dark was destroyed - but a post-credits scene shows Dark reforming herself in deep space. Prime 3: Corruption shows a team of returned to to pick up , and eventually found Dark , who killed a third of the and brainwashed the rest to be their leader. After discovering , Dark begins her mission to spread across the universe - one of the planets hit was the , in order to turn the rest of the into followers of Dark . In an attack to the vessel G.F.S. Valhalla, Dark steals a supercomputer, the 313, and corrupts and other bounty hunters with . After destroys the of four planets, she goes to , where she finally defeats Dark , who then merges itself with the in a last-ditch effort to defeat . After the is destroyed, explodes, and all in the galaxy is rendered inert.

Dark appears in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U as an Assist Trophy.

[[]] listed Dark as the 88th best video game villain.^[23]

==

' (マザーブレイン) is a recurring game boss and a main antagonist in the series. Its exact status has always been unclear, as it has been referred to as the general of the , a supercomputer that operates the -occupied world of , or a councillor of the .^[2][24] is depicted as a very large brain with cybernetic spikes and a single eye; usually contained in a glass tube which must break to attack it. In Super , also rises from the floor with a grotesque body after her tank is destroyed. seemingly destroys in the original ', but again confronts it in Super ; in this game, is almost defeated, but the baby intervenes, and once again defeats . It was revealed in Prime 3 that the had constructed biomechanical supercomputers called Auroras, and that there were plans for a "", which appears to be the depicted in Super .^[24] In the first cutscene for : Other M, the scene of destroying the baby is reenacted in an cutscene, and one of the antagonists, MB, is an android housing an AI based on .

==

' (リドリー) is the archenemy of , an intelligent and sadistic pterodactyl-like extraterrestrial that despite being killed multiple times by her, is always revived by the (or accidentally by the in :Other M) using cloning or robotics. Other than and the titular , is the only character that has appeared consistently throughout most of the games in series (the exceptions being II for the Game Boy, Prime 2: Echoes for the GameCube, and Prime Hunters for the DS). He is directly responsible for the invasion of ' home planet, and the death of her parents, and is the franchises primary villain, despite not typically acting as the main antagonist in an individual game.

==

' (クレイド, Kureido) is a gigantic dinosaur-like beast and a member of the 's High Command. His most prominent feature is his grotesquely oversized belly.^[25] First appearing in the original ', he is the first part of the mini-boss duo along with .^[26] In Super he appears in his giant form, two screens tall and almost a screen wide. : Zero Mission retconned his size and appearance, showing he did not grow between games.^[27] He was also slated to appear in Prime as a boss in the Mines, with a metal dome covering his head and blue veins on his belly, but was removed due to time constraints.^[28] also makes a guest appearance in the background of the Depths stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee where he periodically slashes and rotates the stage.

==

A hostile group known as Space pirate (スペースパイレーツ, Supēsu Pairētsu), or ' (ゼーベス星人, Zēbesu), serve as the antagonists of the ' series. They are a group of "interstellar nomads" resembling humanoid reptiles, insects or crustaceans, who plunder colonies and ships and exist in an insect-like hive society. Considering their appearance throughout the series, especially the Prime series, they could be considered arthropod-like reptiles. A single Pirate may have many biological differences between individuals of their own species, most likely because of their willingness to perform self-experimentation and mutation. Important leaders include , the commander, , the biomechanical defense of controlled by the , and , a recurring boss. The organization also includes a winged, mantis-like species, the Ki Hunters. The are interested in research, especially in using for energy generation, as soldiers, and for experimentation – their experiments produced all the variants seen in the Prime games with the exception of Prime itself. The organization is destroyed during the climax of Super , however a group within the itself resurrects the , along with and the , to be used as bio-weapons explaining their continued presence in Other M and Fusion.

Series director [[]] stated that the that invaded took "" as a general name for themselves after the conquest of the planet, comparing it to people who referred themselves as "[[]]" when they (mainly the Anglo-Saxon/ White who colonized and pillaged the Native ) emigrated to the [[]].^[29]

==

The ' (ナイトメア, Naitomea) is gravity-controlling, monster cyborg originally created by the 's secret bio-weapons project.^[30] In Fusion, an X parasite infects contained in Sector 5-. It escapes and destroys 's data room.^[30][31] confronts -X, defeating and absorbing its Core-X, obtaining the upgrade.^[32] In Other M, encountered the while on her journey to on the . The creature fights twice; once when she tries to enter , and again when she tries to exit the same sector.^[33]

MB

Voiced by: Itō (Japanese); Sarah Naid (English)

MB, nicknamed Bergman (メリッサ・バーグマン, Merissa Bāguman) by her adoptive mother Dr , was created by the scientists of the as a copy of the original in order to control the and the , an off-shoot form of , that were being mass-produced in of said starship.^[12][34]

Originally, MB was only a computer software, but due to its inability to interact personally with the , the scientists decided to give her an artificial human body, so as to have her bond in a more organic way with the , mimicking ' mother-son-like relationship with the "baby".^[35] As MB gained emotions of her own just like the original once did, the scientists decided to reprogram her AI; something initially opposed to but ultimately accepted when faced with the dangers of keeping her active.^[36]

The heavy trauma of having rejecting her safety and finding out that the actually created her for military purposes caused a meltdown in her mind and she decided to take judgement on humanity for their misdeeds, forcing the in a collision course.^[37] was confronted by both and after her Queen had been killed. Although both of them tried to persuade her, she did not listen and tried to kill , only to get shot down by the under the colonel's orders.

==

' is a powerful, malevolent being that crashed in the a millennia ago. In Prime Hunters, the lore mentions that it came by a comet and struck the planet (), thus shattering the Alimbic Utopia. The creature copied the cellular structure of the , physically mimicking them and their weapons, and destroyed their civilization. In a final attempt to stop 's rampage, the last of their race focused their telepathic energy to confine into a "", which they placed in a starship called the Oubliette. The ship was launched into a dimensional rift called the , to be released only when eight keys called "" were assembled. During battle it is revealed that 's formless matter comes from a shapeless gas (possibly a new form of ), and can therefore undergo several different forms in battle.

X Parasites

The X is a unique parasite witnessed only in Fusion and the Manga.

The appearance of an X is simple: a basketball-sized, floating gelatinous life form. The structure of their bodies allow them to slip through the tiniest crevices of any organism or synthetic surface; their soft form also allows projectiles to harmlessly pass through them. Additionally, they have the ability to split into smaller colonies via asexual reproduction.

X are capable of infecting other organisms and mimicking their prey's DNA and memories. They do this by infecting the organism's nervous system where they then start reproducing at an exponential rate, killing the host creature in the process. Once that is accomplished, the X absorb the DNA of their host and are then able to use it to mimic their prey perfectly.

Phantoon

Phantoon is a boss in Super Metroid and Other M.

Supporting characters

Adam Malkovich

Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama (Japanese); Dave Elvin (English)

Samus' former commanding officer in the Galactic Federation army. He only appears in person in Other M, but plays a major role in the events of that game. At first, he does not accept Samus' assistance, but lets up after she defeats a hostile on the bridge. After this, he is responsible for authorising the use of Samus' weapons, with the exceptions of the Seeker Missile and the Diffusion Beam, which are found instead, and the Gravity Feature, which Samus activates herself while leaving Sector Zero. He is generally cool and collected even when under fire, but some of this is temporarily lost when he sees Ridley on the control room monitor. He was nonetheless able to outwit James when he suddenly appears in the Control Room. Samus and Adam are shown to have had a very close relationship: Samus does not explicitly mention it herself, but he sees her as a daughter as she saw him as a father. It was this that drove him to first detach his ship and a space liner with three thousand passengers on board from a repair ship with his brother on board in the past, and enter Sector Zero of the Bottle Ship in Samus' place in the present: both of these actions were taken for the greater good, and for the good of Samus herself. Upon entering Sector Zero, he activates the laboratory's self-destruct protocol, sacrificing himself. While Samus vows not to grieve his death, she also vows not to forget him, and gives him a thumbs up sign instead of a thumbs down, indicating that she knows what he would have wanted: for her to live her life for the both of them. In Metroid Fusion, it is revealed that the Navigation Computer of the ship is Adam Malkovich's consciousness in computer form.

Kanden

One of Samus' rivals in Metroid Prime: Hunters, he is a frequent enemy. He was born in an attempt to create the perfect soldier, and as a consequence is unpredictable and dangerous. He seeks to prove he is the best Hunter by attaining the ultimate power in the Alimbic Cluster, but he is unaware that what seems to be a Phazon monster is sleeping there. His special weapon is the Volt Driver: it shoots bolts of lightning that disrupt Samus' visor should they strike her.

Aurora Unit 242

An organic supercomputer who only appears in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. It has been installed on the G.F.S Olympus, and was originally intended to be part of an Aurora Complex before Dark Samus' intervention.

Rundas

Voiced by: Christopher Sabat

A bounty hunter hired by the Galactic Federation in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. In the beginning of this game, he is shown to be arrogant, but nonetheless willing to help his friends. As a member of an alien race from the moon Phrygis, he is able to control and create ice, an ability that would make him incredibly effective against Metroids due to their weakness against cold, and helps him save Samus from Meta Ridley. Unfortunately, like Samus, he is corrupted by Dark Samus' phazon attacks on the planet Norion. Unlike her, he succumbs to the corruption while investigating the planet Bryyo and is fought there as a boss enemy. After he is defeated, Dark Samus ruthlessly kills him, punishing him for his failure.

Ghor

Voiced by: Edwin Neal

A bounty hunter hired by the Galactic Federation in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. He is first seen in the biohazard scan area. He is a cybernetic creature able to interface with mechanical devices, not the least the suit of armor he wears into battle. This suit grants him incredible physical strength and powerful weaponry. He seems to grow more aggressive when he wears it. The Phazon corruption changes this, however: his personality after he is utterly corrupted is always his more aggressive battle persona. Despite this, Samus defeats him in battle, and although she tries to prevent it, he dies in the same way as Rundas.

Gandrayda

Voiced by: Claire Hamilton

Another bounty hunter who was hired by the Galactic Federation in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. She is a shapeshifter with a playful nature, often referring to Samus as "Sammy" and being shown to see her as a rival. When she succumbs to Phazon corruption, she remains playful, but is far more vicious and calculating with stronger shapeshifting abilities, making her a dangerous boss opponent. Unfortunately, like Rundas and Ghor, she fails to kill Samus, prompting Dark Samus to take her life as a punishment.

Anthony Higgs

Voiced by: Kenji Nomura (Japanese); Mike McGillicuty (English)

A soldier assigned to Adam's platoon, and an old acquaintance of Samus'. He was the squad's point man, and carries a plasma gun which does extraordinary damage to creatures but takes a long time to recharge. He generally has a jocular nature, but is also caring and dependable. He seemingly dies in Sector three's geothermal power plant when pushed off the platform by a sudden tail attack from Ridley, but cheats the odds by using a freeze gun to freeze a fire creature and jettisoning his plasma gun. He was thought to be the deleter by Samus, but this is proved to be wrong.

Madeline Bergman

Voiced by: Miho Hino (Japanese); Linda K. Morris (English)

The adopted mother of MB and director of operations on the Bottle ship. In addition to nicknaming MB Melissa, she gave her a hairpin which she wore until the end of the main story (this hairpin was trampled on by the GF colonel). On the day MB's programming was to be changed, Madeline had at first resisted the decision, but relented, leading to MB's rampage through the Bottle Ship. This rampage had caused a great fear in Madeline, but she overcame it and reaches out emotionally to MB, promising to not let her down again, but was rejected. When MB was killed, she breaks down, kneeling before her adopted daughter and crying uncontrollably. She then accompanies Samus and Anthony back to Earth. She falls asleep along the way, muttering softly that MB was not insane, a sentiment echoed by Samus herself.

References