For other uses, see Dark Samus (Disambiguation).
- "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 overarching antagonist and the final boss of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and the main antagonist of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Biography[]
Death and rebirth[]
The birth of Dark Samus
After Samus defeated Metroid Prime on Tallon IV by overloading it with the Phazon Beam, the creature began to destabilize, and in a desperate move, it absorbed her Phazon Suit and subsequently exploded. Little did Samus know that as she left the planet, a new enemy was born from her DNA and the remains of Metroid Prime. The Phazon Suit was a necessary piece of this fusion, as Metroid Prime had destabilized and no longer had a body. With its acquired human DNA, as well as the Phazon Suit as a body to construct itself into, it formed itself into a new enemy - the creature known as Dark Samus.
Search on Aether[]
Dark Samus, as she appears in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Dark Samus, now with a new form based on Samus' Power Suit and instincts that commanded it to absorb and spread Phazon, managed to leave Tallon IV in search of it in Samus's stolen Phazon Suit, though now black and dark blue in color with skeletal features and Phazon markings. Dark Samus eventually discovered the planet Aether, which was rich with Phazon. A Leviathan from Phaaze had landed on the planet fifty years prior, ripping open a second, darker dimension, Dark Aether. Dark Samus explored Aether and absorbed any Phazon it could find on the planet.
Pirate raids[]
The Space Pirates, prior to Dark Samus' arrival, had established a base on Aether. Once Dark Samus arrived, they initially thought she was Samus Aran, but were perplexed as to its strange dark suit and its actions. It only raided their base to obtain Phazon, killing any who denied it. Some of their Metroid specimens were also reported as stolen, and the Pirates, having spotted it at one time near the containment tanks attempting to breach them, believed that this "Dark Hunter" was to blame for the theft. Dark Samus also destroyed their stealth generator in one of its raids, causing disastrous results for the Pirates.
Encounters with Samus[]
Samus Aran eventually landed on Aether to investigate a missing team of Galactic Federation Marines who had landed on the planet in pursuit of a Space Pirate starship. Samus first encountered Dark Samus in the marine base, where Samus followed it into a portal to Dark Aether. There, she found Dark Samus absorbing Phazon, with several shadowy creatures above which Samus would soon learn were the Ing. Dark Samus fired a shot at the Light Crystal that protected her from Dark Aether's poisonous atmosphere. With the crystal broken, the Ing stole most of Samus's abilities while Dark Samus fled. Samus escaped through the portal with only a few pieces of equipment intact. It was at first unclear if this meant that Dark Samus was working directly for/with the Ing Horde though it was only due to the Ing choosing to attack Samus over the far less vulnerable Dark Samus, as the former could not resist Dark Aether's atmosphere. A Pirate scout witnessed this encounter and believed that they were not allies, but foes. The Pirates then considered employing Dark Samus to kill the real Samus, with precious Phazon as a reward, though unfortunately they did not have time to put this plan into action.
Dark Samus engages Samus in the Agon Wastes.
The next encounter took place in the Agon Wastes, within the Pirate base. Dark Samus appeared in front of Samus, behind a locked gate, and left. Unable to bypass the gate, Samus explored the rest of the base and reached a room full of Phazon collected by the Pirates. There, Samus had her first battle with Dark Samus. Once Dark Samus was defeated, it began to destabilize and unleashed a massive Phazon explosion before collapsing and disintegrating into Phazon particles in the air.
The particles that Dark Samus transformed into managed to reach Torvus Bog. Samus saw the cloud transform into Dark Samus, though it did not fight Samus. Instead, it merely laughed maniacally and disappeared. Samus later saw the same cloud in the Sanctuary Fortress, and it once again transformed into Dark Samus. She then destroyed the bridge to the Sanctuary Fortress and left, forcing Samus to find an alternative route across the chasm.
Samus later saw Dark Samus in the Fortress firing at several Dark Pirate Troopers; this confirmed that the Ing regard her as an enemy and not an ally as thought at the beginning. She disposed of them and began absorbing several canisters of Phazon (showing just what happens if Dark Samus is denied Phazon). Samus pursued her foe, cornering Dark Samus within an elevator and battling it once more. Samus defeated it once again and the doppelganger, losing stability in its body, allowed itself to fall off the top of the tower as a hasty retreat before Samus attempted to stop it.
Dark Samus and Samus face off as Dark Aether collapses around them.
Final battle[]
Once Samus had defeated the Emperor Ing and absorbed the remaining planetary energy, Dark Aether became unstable and began to collapse. Samus, having only eight minutes to escape, hurried out of the Sky Temple and began moving toward the exit. However, her hopes of escape were crushed when Dark Samus appeared, blocking the exit with a Phazon wall. Due to the huge amount of Phazon that it had absorbed, Dark Samus had begun to deteriorate, causing its suit to become transparent and revealing its organs along with a humanoid skull with three yellow eyes inside its helmet. The eye on the back of her hand featured on the arm that reached out of the pool at the end of the first game was also rendered visible (though with a smaller pupil and yellow rather than blue).
Both Samus and Dark Samus engaged in a grueling battle, though Samus managed to defeat it once again by taking advantage of her foe's sole weakness: an overload of Phazon. Samus absorbed Dark Samus' Phazon into her Charge Beam and shot it back. The attack penetrated Dark Samus's Phazon shield, and caused Dark Samus to destabilize, just as it had as the Metroid Prime, and it collapsed, defeated once again by its own attacks. In it dying moments, it painstakingly reached out in an attempt to touch Samus (possibly trying to absorb the Light Suit like she did the Phazon Suit), but de-materialized into a cloud of Phazon particles at the last second. Samus escaped Dark Aether and brought peace to the Luminoth on the planet, and it seemed that Dark Samus perished along with Dark Aether.
Yet, even though Dark Samus lacked a corporeal form, it still existed, and as shown in the 100% ending of Echoes, in which the Phazon particles again reform into Dark Samus's body, it would be only a small amount of time before it would return.
Return[]
Dark Samus at the beginning of Corruption.
Sometime between the events of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the Galactic Federation, seeing great use for the mutagenic substance, took some of the Phazon from Aether. However, they left most of it behind, and the Space Pirate crew of the battleship Colossus soon collected the remaining Phazon. However, they would soon find out to their horror that they had unknowingly taken the particles of Dark Samus as well. Using the Phazon collected by the Space Pirates, Dark Samus regained its physical form (now with a more armored look, as opposed to its previously organic appearance) and wiped out a third of the Space Pirates aboard the ship. It then used its Phazon energy to brainwash the rest into accepting it as their new leader with the promises of incredible riches and power.
The seeds of scheming[]
With the Pirates so suckered into its schemes, a quasi-religious cult began to form around it and they followed its every whim. It taught the crew to turn the Colossus into a mighty Phazon-fueled craft. It then left them for several months to locate the source of all Phazon - the planet Phaaze. During its absence, its followers maintained order by executing those who doubted that it would return. During its journey, it encountered a Leviathan and used its energy to take control of it which led it to Phaaze. For Dark Samus, the chance to control the source of all Phazon was a chance to control the universe. Dark Samus absorbed a tremendous amount of Phazon, increasing its power to new heights. It then returned to the Pirates with the Leviathan and commanded them to follow it through the wormhole to Phaaze. She then revealed its plan to take control of the planet and to speed up Leviathan production, spreading Phazon strategically across the universe. How to do this was a dilemma, but a solution soon presented itself in the form of the Federation's Aurora Units.
Raid on the Valhalla[]
Under its orders, the Space Pirates attacked the G.F.S. Valhalla and stole the ship's Aurora Unit, 313. If the survivors of the raid expected mercy, they did not receive any. Under Dark Samus' orders, the Pirates jettisoned the survivors into the cold depths of space. The Aurora Unit was corrupted with Phazon and implanted into Phaaze, allowing Dark Samus to directly control the planet and all of its assets - including the Leviathans.[1] The first Leviathan that it controlled was sent to the Space Pirate Homeworld. According to Space Pirate Data, the Space Pirates on the homeworld that had not been brought under Dark Samus' control fought back against the Leviathan, but failed. All remaining Pirates were brainwashed. Dark Samus presumably also used 313 to infect the other Aurora Units (in particular, Aurora Unit 242 of the GFS Olympus and Aurora Unit 217 of Skytown, respectively.) with the Corruption virus.
The invasion of Norion[]
Next, Dark Samus sent three more Leviathans to planets important to the Galactic Federation - one to Norion, containing the important Base Sector Zero; one to Bryyo, the Federation's primary source of Fuel Gel; and the last to Elysia, containing SkyTown, a vital research facility. Presumably, it also proceeded to cause an anomaly to Samus' cryostasis while the latter was on her way to Norion. While the Bryyo and Elysia Seeds collided without any trouble, Dark Samus encountered opposition on Norion - specifically, in the form of Samus Aran and three other Bounty Hunters: Rundas, Ghor, and Gandrayda. Just before they activated the cannon to destroy the oncoming Leviathan, Dark Samus confronted them, crashing through a window and repelling the Hunters' attacks with a Phazon shield. Despite the Hunters' efforts, she overpowered them and corrupted them with Phazon. Believing its work to be done, Dark Samus flew off, but Samus, using the last of her strength, managed to activate the cannon and destroy the Leviathan before falling unconscious.
After this, Dark Samus herself stayed on Phaaze and did not appear to the bounty hunters, busy performing their duties of destroying the Leviathans. However, due to its "mark of corruption" that it had left on all four of the bounty hunters, all but Samus succumbed to Phazon Corruption and became completely possessed by Dark Samus (this is most evident in the cutscene just prior to the battle with Rundas). Over the course of the game, Samus is forced to kill all three of them. Each time one of them dies, a shadowy apparition of Dark Samus appears before them, absorbing their bodies and their powers. This form is a black collection of smoke that has what may be tentacles acting as "wings". After each absorption, Dark Samus swoops down and flies away. This form depicts Dark Samus' visor.
The final confrontation[]
Dark Samus was confronted for the final time in its Sanctum on Phaaze, where it challenged Samus to a grand final battle. However, after being injured considerably, Dark Samus called forth the stolen Aurora Unit 313 and merged with it in a last-ditch effort to defeat Samus. After a grueling two-part battle, the Aurora Unit was destroyed, and because it was directly linked to Phaaze's core, it began a chain reaction that culminated in Phaaze exploding. As a result, Dark Samus was ejected from the Aurora Unit while exploding into Phazon dust with agonized cries and thus, was destroyed for good.
Boss battles[]
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes[]
First battle[]
Samus first battles her doppelgänger in the Main Reactor of the Space Pirate mining facility, after the latter absorbed some Phazon. For most of the fight, Dark Samus glides around the room, 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 has been 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, both of which have 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 has returned to the ground. After dealing enough damage to Dark Samus, she will be defeated, collapsing to her knees and then violently exploding, leaving nothing behind but Phazon particles which float in the air for some time before eventually dissipating.
Second battle[]
Samus battles Dark Samus again on the Aerie (and in its 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, 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). Super Missiles and the Darkburst can deal heavy damage to Dark Samus, though the former 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 then 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 has been 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. Much like the fight with the Emperor Ing, 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 invulnerable while firing her Phazon laser, but can be damaged once she drops to the ground. As before she is most vulnerable to the Dark Beam and Super Missiles; however, her exposure to Phazon now renders her invisible to the Dark Visor, requiring 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 one: blasts of pure Phazon itself. Samus must use her Charge Beam to draw in and absorb Dark Samus' Phazon bullets, vaguely resembling the recurring The Legend of Zelda mechanic Dead Man's Volley. However, Dark Samus will also fire larger blasts that cannot be absorbed. If the shield expands and shrinks, Dark Samus will fire small, absorbable blasts. Once Samus absorbs enough Phazon blasts (her Charge Beam will turn blue), she can fire them back at her doppelganger, damaging her. Occasionally, Dark Samus may retract her shield and fight on the ground for a few more moments, attempting to ram Samus. Dark Samus can be damaged before a ram, but upon making contact with Samus will surround herself with a cylindrical shield of lightning energy. Before long Dark Samus will swerve back to the center of the arena and resume her Phazon attacks. 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 damage causes the Phazon level to fill; when she becomes 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, using her trademark scattershot beam, firing homing blasts of Phazon, using a Phazon-based ground wave (similar to Ridley's), and creating large Phazite pillars to slow Samus down. The latter 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 attacks. All Samus must do is shoot Dark Samus while avoiding her potent Phazon attacks. After enough damage, Dark Samus switches to round two.
Dark Samus will now 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 fade into the monochrome coloring of the Visor. Samus can also look at their visors to distinguish them in the later 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, 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 possess 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 attack in concert, 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 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 brings up the next fight: Dark Samus will merge with Aurora Unit 313.
If Samus fills the Hypermode/Phazon gauge, she will terminally corrupted and turned into another Dark Samus, leading to a Game Over.
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 was a doppelganger of Samus Aran in her Phazon Suit. When first emerging from the pool of Phazon in the Impact Crater, her arm was wreathed in black and red armor, and an eyeball sat in the back of her hand. Upon meeting Samus for the first time on Aether, her appearance had greatly evolved. Her armor was now black with blue highlights along its extremities, including large growths of Phazon within her shoulderpads. Her visor was considerably more narrow than the one on Samus's helmet, and she possessed claws on her feet and hand, while her arm cannon merged seamlessly into the rest of her flesh. Her Morph Ball form had a ribbed texture and an eyeball protruding on either side.
By the end of the mission on Aether, Dark Samus had grown unstable from overfeeding on Phazon and her armor was translucent. This rendered her inner organs visible, including her head which possessed no mouth, as well as three blank eyes laid out in a pattern reminiscent of a Metroid's nuclei. Nerve-like veins ran throughout her entire body, and her arm cannon appeared to be composed of spiny bones. Her hand also still featured the eye from the scene of her rebirth.
After recuperating and beginning her plan to control Phaaze, Dark Samus's appearance evolved further into a more streamlined form. Her smooth flesh became segmented, leathery, and blue, with veins visible along it. Her shoulders and arm cannon had become more sleek, and her feet came to pointed boot-like tips. Overall, she appeared much more condensed and mechanical in nature.
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 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 she possessed as Metroid Prime: although she was eventually able to render herself invulnerable to all conventional weaponry, 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, and was also implied to be how she was able to escape Dark Aether's destruction. Just prior to her final duel with Samus at the Sky Temple Grounds, Samus noticed that a Phazon root had extended between going to the Sky Temple and returning, and then saw the exit being engulfed in a Phazon mass, causing her to turn around and see a heavily mutated Dark Samus right behind her. This strongly implies that Dark Samus had the ability to manipulate Phazon to at least some degree and caused the increase of Phazon in the area.
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 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, 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 out holographic-like Dark Echoes from its 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 of Samus prematurely, possibly not absorbing enough DNA to create a whole, 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 she has 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, 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 make her nearly impossible to defeat. In fact, she may have temporarily held the place of most powerful being 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 Samus herself seldom loses battles, even against 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 noted through a series of Space Pirate data logs that record the fanaticism she inspires among the mind-warped pirates. They detail her plans and how she reacts to certain events, and credit 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 had 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 Metroids: As reported by one Space Pirate log from their occupation of Aether, Dark Samus was observed attempting to free captive Metroids that were being researched in Agon Wastes, leading the author to conclude she was responsible for the recent disappearance of 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 mention 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 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 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 she led on Norion would have succeeded, if not for Samus Aran's intervention. 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 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.[2]
QUESTION: So Dark Samus is the hand 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.[3]
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.[4]
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 to which Dark Samus has 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
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.
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
Morphology: Dark Samus
Reborn, enhanced and, vengeful. Enhanced beam system and Boost attacks added to arsenal. Stealth field generator present in armor.
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
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.
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
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.
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
Morphology: Dark Samus
Phazon energy-based entity. Disrupted by Hypermode attacks.
Dark Samus is absorbing energy from Phaaze itself to replenish her own.*
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.
Non-canon warning: This article or section contains non-canonical information that is not considered to be an official part of the series and should not be considered part of its overall storyline.
Unused Galactic Federation Data entry[]
Dark Samus
Galactic Federation Datafile DS-187.
(Dark Samus)
Data moved to Logbook for review.
GFDF DS-187
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[]
This article, section, or file contains text that is unofficially translated by 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 in Samus' matrix, and transformed into Dark Samus (shown here)."
Super Smash Bros. series[]
Non-canon warning: This article or section contains non-canonical information that is not considered to be an official part of the series and should not be considered part of its overall storyline.
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[]
File:Dark Samus Sneaking animation
Development notes[]
File:Dark Samus mp2 Vox 01.ogg According to Clark Wen, Dark Samus's sound clips were taken from unused recordings of Samus's grunts and screams of pain, and heavily processed.[5] He did not specify whether "JH", "VM", or another actress had originally recorded these clips.
According to 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."
Dark Samus was partly inspired by the Ruins Test in Metroid: Zero Mission, during which Samus fights a mirror version of herself.[6]
Prior to the release of Echoes, there was much speculation over whether Dark Samus would be playable in the game. Mark Pacini confirmed she was not in an interview with Electronic Gaming Monthly, albeit one that was published after the game's release.[7]
Vince Joly animated the cutscene of Dark Samus's second defeat in the Aerie.
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 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."[8]
Kensuke Tanabe had not considered making a sequel to Metroid Prime until having seen the game's final scene. [4][citation needed]
The final battle with Dark Samus in Corruption underwent two iterations before settling on the final version. Mike Wikan designed the first version, on which Paul Tozour worked for five weeks. However, Mark Pacini disliked the concept and it was completely rewritten. The second version of the battle took four weeks to finish, but Tanabe rejected it as well. The third version took six more weeks to finalize, and represents the battle in the released game. Tanabe wanted a battle against Dark Samus and dozens of Dark Echoes all at once, but as this would have been too hard on the game's performance, the maximum number of copies on-screen was reduced to three. The first battle with her in Echoes was Retro Studios's attempt to create a boss with Western-style shooter influences.[9]
Paul Tozour design notes[]
Paul Tozour programmed Dark Samus's artificial intelligence in both Echoes and Corruption. His notes are below.:
- "The work I did on Dark Samus on Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was my attempt to introduce a faster and more nimble type of AI opponent to the Metroid Prime series. We weren't trying to replicate a "deathmatch" against an AI, but we wanted to bring something really new to the table -- an enemy that wasn't necessarily a massive boss creature, but which could challenge the player with its speed, its agility, and its tactics.
This type of AI proved successful and served as a general model for many creatures in the sequel, including Rundas, Gandrayda, and the new Dark Samus. Although there are 3 separate Dark Samus battles in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, I've included the second Dark Samus battle here since it really builds on the features that worked in the first encounter very nicely."
- ― Paul Tozour[10]
- "This is the final battle in the final Metroid Prime title, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Dark Samus clones itself repeatedly in this battle and works together with its clones (or "echoes") in many interesting ways. In a lot of ways, this encounter represents a culmination of many things I had been working toward since the original Dark Samus battle in Metroid Prime 2.
Spoiler warning: the Dark Samus part of the encounter ends at about 4:40. From that point on, it's a different boss encounter that I didn't work on. Don't watch the second half of the video if you don't want to spoil the ending."
- ― Paul Tozour[11]
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).
- Prior to the release of Echoes, Nintendo kept Dark Samus's origins a secret to gaming press. Official Nintendo Magazine speculated in their 142nd issue that she was the result of Space Pirate efforts to copy Samus's Power Suit, as seen in Prime with the Trooper Pirates.
- 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 by extension 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 Power Bombs (obtained via Sequence Breaking). She will take considerable damage, much like Samus herself when Power Bombs are used in on her in Multiplayer. On subsequent battles however, she is immune to Power Bombs, likely due to enhanced Phazon consumption. It is unknown if Dark Samus was immune to 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 Sonic Boom (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 Sonic Boom shot, however. She cannot be defeated in Boost Ball form.
- In all of her battles, Dark Samus will always attempt to deflect a Missile by bringing up an energy wave. 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 then 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 she is wearing is technically the Phazon Suit. However, Samus's Phazon Suit is only a slight variation of the Varia Suit, and Dark Samus' is a variation over that.
- 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 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.
- Samus's Metroid Suit in Metroid Dread also bears a passing resemblance to Dark Samus. Both were created as hybrids of Metroids and Chozo Power Suits.
- 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 (albeit through the PED Suit the Federation gave Samus) and the Ice Beam (in addition to the Omega Suit) after Samus absorbed the 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" (Samus's alternate costume based on her) is battled alongside Ridley in the Event Match "Galactic Avenger" in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, with the premise being that Samus is fighting them to avenge her parents. However, 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 had been reborn from Metroid Prime.
- Elements of Dark Samus's characterization in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, namely her 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 (the latter of which was inspired by that film).
- Just before their first fight at Agon Wastes, Dark Samus and Samus's encounter had them focusing on their eyes in a manner resembling the famous duel choreography for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
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 Dark Aether. During the battle against Aurora Unit 313, Darkness is remixed once more.
Gallery[]
For concept art, see Dark Samus' Gallery.
Notes[]
- ↑ Although Metroid Prime is genderless, Dark Samus is consistently described with female pronouns in Logbook scans and Super Smash Bros. trophies.
References[]
- ↑ Space Pirate Data: Purification
- ↑ https://shinesparkers.net/metroid-prime-2-dark-echoes-qa/
- ↑ https://shinesparkers.net/metroid-prime-2-dark-echoes-qa/2/
- ↑ https://shinesparkers.net/metroid-prime-2-dark-echoes-qa/3/
- ↑ "Interview: Clark Wen". Shinesparkers. 2018-06-02 Retrieved 2018-06-02.
- ↑ Mark Pacini: "One of the coolest parts in Zero Mission was when you were fighting yourself. We were like, "That is so cool! What would it be like if we did something like that that utilized our technology and utilized the game mechanics of Metroid Prime." That's kind of where that came from. The dramatic feel of dark and light made it a natural choice. It just seemed to fit." "Retro Studios' Game Director Mark Pacini and President Michael Kelbaugh On Metroid Prime 2 Echoes", 1UP.com
- ↑ File:EGM_187_interview_page_2.jpg
- ↑ 1000 Self-Portrait Poster - Page 5
- ↑ Kiwi Talkz. "#138 - Paul Tozour Interview (Metroid Prime 2 & 3, Boss Design, A.I., Leadership, Four Swords etc.)". YouTube. June 25, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022. (starts at 2:37 and 1:07:37)
- ↑ Tozour, Paul. "Dark Samus (MP2:E)". Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2022. The video linked on this page is no longer available.
- ↑ Tozour, Paul. "Dark Samus (MP3:C)". Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2022. The video linked on this page was uploaded by Jenaro Blando on YouTube and is available here.
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