Samus & Joey (サムス＆ジョイ) is a manga series of 3 volumes, written and illustrated by Idzuki Kouji. It has only been released in Japan, and the storyline takes place at some point after Metroid: Zero Mission. However, whether it has a place in the canon Metroid timeline has not been confirmed. This series introduces the characters Joey Apronika and Diesel, as well as several others. An unofficial translation took place from 2011-2015 by the Metroid Database.
One chapter recounts the intro of Metroid Fusion.
Comic BomBom, a monthly manga magazine, ran Samus & Joey (17 Issues, December 2002 - April 2004) which continued into Metroid EX: Samus & Joey (12 Issues, May 2004 - April 2005) for a total of 29 months. Metroid EX was never bound into a collection like Samus & Joey, which delayed completion of the MDb's translation. The covers were designed by Takahiro Takeda.
Plot[]
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.
Volume 1[]
Chapter 1: Legendary Bounty Hunter[]
The story begins on the frontier planet Liberty with Joey, having run out of other mischievous ideas, antagonizing a Rock Sheep, only for him to end up being chased by it. Later, he stands nearby a tower under construction, complaining that there is nothing to do anymore. He wonders if Space Pirates will invade, saying that he wants to become strong so he can protect his Grandpa. Suddenly, a villager runs in, screaming about invaders.
Joey attacks the Space Pirates, being offered to become a corpse or a slave. He attempts to shoot them, only to find out that the trigger won't move. At that moment, Samus intervenes, saying not to worry if "the kid can't shoot". Samus, called a "he" by the villagers and Space Pirates, (as in the English manual for Metroid and in the 1986 manga) finishes the Pirates off with one shot, much to the villagers' delight. She then notices one Space Pirate just barely alive, and demands to know who his boss is. The Pirate pleads with Samus to spare him, though she refuses. In retaliation, he threatens to kill Joey as well. Samus tricks him into believing that she will allow him, though when he attempts to shoot Joey, Samus quickly grabs the bullet (apparently too fast for him to comprehend) and kills the Pirate.
After Samus is thanked by the villagers and begins to leave, Joey realizes who she is and runs after her, wanting to go with her. He desperately tries to convince Samus to let him join her, calling her awesome. She declines the requests, apparently wanting to work alone. After she tells Joey to have his "old man" train him, he reveals that he had died. Shortly after, they come across Doruba, who threatens Samus as well as Joey. Joey yells at Doruba, telling him not to mess with Samus' "first disciple", and that he shoots like an amateur. This enrages Doruba, but when he tries to shoot Joey, he always misses because of the boy's speed. Samus then attempts to shoot Doruba, but her shots don't damage him. Then, Doruba launches a powerful shot that Samus and Joey manage to dodge. Samus says that if she uses a Super Missile, Joey would be caught in the blast. Joey tells her to shoot Doruba anyway, saying that he doesn't want to be a burden to her. Samus then fires the Super Missile, which destroys Doruba.
Chapter 2: Terrible Bioweapon[]
Joey with the molted skin.
Having just defeated Doruba, Samus orders Joey to return to the village immediately. He objects, reminding her that they beat Doruba together (when actually Joey did nothing other than distract him). She then states that those Pirates aren't a problem, but that Dragüd posesses a life form that might be: the Metroids she had been fighting until that moment. She explains them to Joey and tells him what they are, that more exist in the galaxy, much to his dismay. Samus says Dragüd has been bragging that he possesses a power beyond that of the Metroids.
Meanwhile, Dragüd reveals how he lost many of his minions when exploring a planet (possibly SR388) that was inhabited by Metroids. By researching a dead one, he was able to create a Megaroid. Joey then states that it is imperative he comes with Samus, saying that guns were dropped by the Pirates in the village, and that he may be able to use them. In response, Samus aims her own gun at him. She then says that if he knew anything about guns, he would know how easily they could kill someone, and whoever he points his gun at would point one back. Pushing it aside, Joey screams that he isn't afraid to die. Enraged, Samus lifts him into the air and shouts at him, stating that if he wasn't afraid of dying in the future, then he won't fight for his life in the present. Throwing him away, she calls him a burden, before running away with her boosters accelerating.
Joey then begins to whine like a brat, disappointed at Samus' remark. He then decides that he will come with Samus whether she likes it or not. Meanwhile, Samus is seen fighting several of Dragüd's forces. Joey then arrives, fooling the guards with a molted Pirate skin, remarking about the smell. Soon, he is caught by a guard, who hands him a gun, though Joey turns it down, lying that he left it while going to view the Megaroid. Revealing that it has finished hatching, the guard orders Joey to prepare it for release.
The Megaroid escapes, despite its indestructible glass containment. Meanwhile, Joey starts to search for the Megaroid, during which he accidentally loses his Pirate skin. When he realizes this after seeing himself in a mirror, he screams before being caught. The Megaroid then sucks the energy out of several Pirates including Joey's captors. He then screams Samus' name, who comes in and sees Joey running around carrying Dragüd's candle stick, with his rug attached to it as well. Calling Joey an impossible child, Samus decides that she will be responsible for him.
Chapter 3: Multiply! Megaroid[]
Joey attempts to bait Dragüd's soldiers using his own bear-skin rug, which protects him from gunfire as the Pirates refuse to shoot at the risk of damaging the rug. Soon, a giant beast comes and attacks the Pirates. It is revealed that this was the Megaroid, having absorbed enough of the energy from Dragüd's ship to grow to its gigantic size. Samus soon discovers that her weapons are ineffective against it. When Joey begins to despair, she reveals that she has one last "special move" up her sleeve. She performs what appears to be the Shinespark before taking out the cloned mutant Metroid with the preferred Ice Beam/Missile method for dispatching Metroids. It shatters into billions of crystals which multiply and create armies of Megaroids. They engulf Samus, draining her Energy, and then threaten the village. Joey, remembering his promise to become a man, uses a nearby Space Torch and reaches the village. He then fights the threat in honor of his father's legacy.
Chapter 4: Joey's Secret Plan[]
The terror-stricken villagers demand that Joey stop his seemingly useless attempt to repel the Megaroids, though he ignores them as he has thought of a plan (hence the chapter's title). Joey uses the flares of his Space Torches to distract the Megaroids and draw them away from the village, to a volcano called Mount Pagos. On the way there, Joey becomes distracted when looking at his father's grave and desperately races from the Megaroids. Meanwhile, Samus destroys the Megaroids trapping her using her Plasma Beam and Ice Beam, via thermal shock.
Joey manages to reach and climb Pagos, and tumbles down into the center. He finds that he is both fortunate in that he is not burning in lava, but also unfortunate as there is no lava to commence his plan with, and the Megaroids are soon to surround him. As they close in on him, Samus comes to the rescue while stating that Joey is her partner, and as she jumps while grabbing him, she fires a Power Bomb from her Arm Cannon into the center of Pagos, which succeeds in awakening it. From midair, Samus fires a Super Missile at the Power Bomb, which succeeds in destroying all Megaroids.
While standing atop a cliff, a stammering Joey explains that he believed he had a good plan, but was far too reckless, until Samus tells him he did well. The pair returns to the cheering village, while Samus informs Joey that she is returning to space. While sitting at his father's grave, Joey realizes that he lost sight of his goal once more, having a flashback where Samus refuses to bring Joey with her into space, since it is far too dangerous. He then notices a glint in the grave, and digs up a parcel addressed to him, which contains a letter from Joey's father, encouraging him to shoot out into space by his own power. This causes Joey to realize why it was so impossible for him to follow Samus on her adventures: he wasn't safe with her. He openly calls Samus a cheapskate, unaware that she had not left Liberty and had heard his remark. She states that though he has discovered his readiness, the dangers of space have not changed.
Samus promises Joey that she will take him as far as a refueling station she plans to visit, which she says is inhabited by an "acquaintance".
Chapter 5: Father's Memento: Field Knuckle[]
In space, Joey complains about his seating on Samus' ship; because it's a single-seater, she was forced to fasten him in on the ceiling. Joey takes the time in space to open the parcel his father left for him, and while accidentally dropping the lid on Samus' head, he finds his father's old battle gloves in the parcel. At this time, Samus pulls up to the massive space station and informs Joey that she'll be leaving him in the care of a friend of hers, Diesel, and that she often stops by to resupply and retune her ship, so Joey won't need to fear of never seeing Samus again. Samus finds that a signal jammer is preventing her from talking to Diesel.
Samus takes Joey to Diesel's junk shop, but finds Jealousy inside, with Diesel in captivity, Jealousy having stolen his inventory. The Pirates quickly realize that they are speaking to Samus, and shout to Bomad, Jealousy's bodyguard. Bomad proposes to Samus that she not use any of her weapons in combat, which she accepts silently, as she will not use it when a hostage is in the room. He then begins to attack her, quickly finding that she has poor counter attacks. All the while, Joey climbs up to Diesel's location and rescues him, questioning whether what is really Diesel himself is actually Diesel's pet. Diesel attempts to insult him, but finds that Joey cannot hear what he says through his container.
Joey is quickly ambushed by Pirates, and he uses Diesel's container as a shield, before bringing out his father's technology: the Field Knuckle, a body of armor that protects even exposed skin. He beats back several Pirates, until one points a gun at him, at which point he equips a field wall and informs Samus that she can now use her firearms. Samus does so and knocks Bomad onto his back, though she is shot by a gravity bomb, which annihilates everything in the room using extreme gravity. However, Samus survived using her Morph Ball, and she annihilates Bomad.
Both Joey and Diesel survived the explosion as well using Joey's magnetic knuckles, and Joey explains to Samus that Diesel's "pet" was the hostage. Samus laughs as she explains that the hostage was indeed Diesel himself, causing Joey to drop Diesel, thus allowing him to torture Joey.
Volume 2[]
Chapter 6: Emergency! Rescue Mission to an Evil Planet[]
A medical spaceship, Otowa, performing surgery on the President of Kankeh goes missing. The ship was carrying Dr. Diana Apronika, Joey's mother, who he has not seen over a year since his father's death. Joey learns of the disappearance on television and sets off with Diesel in his Junk Hawk for the Beta System, the last known location of the Otowa.
The Junk Hawk crashes onto a mysterious planet known as Degrade. At the same time, Samus, who was hired by someone from Kankeh to locate the ship, also crashes on the planet. Samus locates the survivors and saves them from attack by Giants. One attempts to eat Diana, but Joey uses his Field Knuckle to kill the creature. Mysteriously, the surviving Giants flee the scene. The reason is soon revealed as a swarm of mysterious creatures approaches in the distance.
Chapter 7: Approaching Shadows: Mad Devil Beasts[]
The creatures, Amoks, are shown to be large penguins. Diesel is not frightened, though the survivors stated that the Amoks ate 54 of their crew members (65 down to 11). The Amoks then swarm around a Giant that failed to escape and brutally kill it. The Amoks then turn on the survivors, who manage to repel the attack. Business returns to normal as Joey grieves and Diesel and Samus plan their escape. Two days later, as Samus and Joey are conversing about parental issues, the Amoks return. Diesel unveils his Junk Hawk trailer to help with defense.
Chapter 8: Lost! And a Determined Attack[]
The Amoks attack the ship. Samus demands that Joey use his Field Wall to protect the ship, but he finds himself unable to activate it. Failing to defend the ship, it falls into a pit. Joey finds Samus and his mother dead, but awakens and realizes this part was a dream. However, having woken up in the medical ward he sees the doctors operating on the man who saved him in his dream. Joey pleads with the doctors to do their best to save the man as he leaves the ship. He realizes fear kept him from using his Field Wall and accepts advice from Samus to keep fighting despite his fear. Just then, they hear Diana screaming as the Amoks chase her. Fueled by fear of losing his mother, which scares him more than the Amoks themselves, Joey rushes off to save her.
Chapter 9: Mother Protected by His Father's Fists[]
Joey manages to weaken the Amoks with the waves of his Field Knuckle's power. The Junk Hawk manages to escape the pit and discovers it was right on top of a KI-1 Class Ship. Joey discovers a nest of eggs and is ambushed by Amok Mommy, the mother of the Amok creatures. Samus' beams have no effect and she is too close to the ship to use her more powerful weaponry, but Joey manages to block the Amok Mommy with the Field Knuckle. Samus kills the Amok Mommy with a Super Missile when they are far enough away. The Amoks feed on the corpse (off-screen) as the survivors escape in the KI-1 ship and Junk Hawk (which is towing Samus' ship). Diana comforts an exhausted Joey and reflects on his father, remarking that her son is so much like him.
Chapter 10: Handshake of Friendship: Bioroid Delta III[]
The next chapter begins in the Junk Quixote, where Diesel orders Joey Apronika to look for scrap metal in town. While doing so, he runs into a disheveled man who seems to know him, about to destroy a robot. The man decides to kill Joey instead, but he escapes. Later, while searching for scrap, he reflects on his mother, Dr. Diana Apronika. Nearby, Joey finds two men attacking a weakened robot, and defends it, though he returns home with no scrap for Diesel. The next morning, he sets off in search of it again, once again encountering the robot. As thanks, it gives Joey good scrap, which pleases Diesel. Joey gives the robot, who introduces itself as U-Tristam Delta III (or as Joey nicknames it, U-ton), part of his pay, and they become friends.
Samus reveals to Diesel that she is hunting a combat bioroid who destroyed a ship en route to a demolition site, and that the bioroid has taken refuge on Diesel's station. Suddenly, the Moriyushi Factory explodes farther away. A shadowy, robotic figure uses an attack Samus calls a Delta Mirage and escapes from Samus before she can destroy it. Meanwhile, U-ton appears to be damaged to Joey, but it passes its "injuries" off as mere exhaustion. U-ton calls itself a bioroid, the exact type of robot Samus was hunting. She realizes the scrap U-ton has been giving Joey is identical to components from the factory, and the chapter ends with Samus shooting U-ton and declaring that she will destroy Bioroid Delta III, in front of Joey.
Chapter 11: Heavy Trigger: To Stop a Friend Gone Berserk[]
Joey frantically attempts to reason with Samus as U-ton goes berserk with rage. Samus explains that the bioroid was a defective weapon created by an unnamed corporation, scheduled for dismantling, but it had lost control. Samus' client appears as U-ton begins destroying the area and enters its "final phase". The Client, the CEO of the corporation reveals that it doing so would result in it setting off the nuclear power generator and destroying the station. Before Samus can destroy U-ton, Joey attempts and appears to succeed in reasoning with it. However, U-ton's destruction countdown is still a threat. Samus destroys it.
Volume 3[]
Chapter 12: Suspicious Dark Shadows, Different Interiors[]
Volume 3 opens with a destructive bank heist on an unknown planet. An army official recognizes the perpetrator as none other than Samus Aran, who announces herself and promptly throws him aside. The news reports that this is the fifth incident which Samus has supposedly been involved in over several days. Joey and Diesel quickly come to her defense on the news, believing someone is impersonating her. Samus, they say, is currently on a mission. When Samus returns from the Sakaard Sector, she is confronted by the police. Suddenly, gunshots are fired. Though Samus maintains her innocence, the police try to arrest her, although she escapes with the help of Diesel and Joey. Samus plans to wait until the imposter strikes again, and then she will hunt them down.
An attack occurs on a hospital. Samus leaps into action and discovers that Dangelo, a convict from her past that has acquired a Power Suit similar to hers, is the true terrorist. They engage in a fight in which Samus is disadvantaged, as he is able to render himself invisible to Thermal Imaging and x-ray scans. She is ordered to destroy her Arm Cannon or people left in the hospital will be killed. Samus does damage it, but Dangelo moves to kill the hostages anyway, although Samus takes the hits while they escape with Joey. Dangelo attempts to kill her, but she continues to stand her ground. He finds himself unable to reactivate his invisibility and is killed by Samus.
Chapter 13: Demon Planet - A Dash for Hope[]
Samus wears a cloak over her Varia Suit in this chapter.
Diesel and Joey awaken in a mysterious location with no memory of how they got there. Joey recalls studying a false Power Suit before being subdued. They discover that they have become prisoners in some sort of test site, with other captives explaining they are from all over the galaxy. Suddenly, something in the shadows begins killing off the prisoners. Diesel comes to believe that they are in the weapons testing site of a dangerous arms dealer, part of a rumored "dark organization that manipulates wars from the shadows usin' high-tech weapons!", and that they were abducted because they discovered the false Power Suit.
A mysterious creature with mandibles then appears and explains that it will play "Lucky Darts" with the captives. The prisoners explain to Joey that this is a game where they are selected for use as guinea pigs. Joey attempts to reassure everyone that Samus will soon be here to save them all, but is astonished to find that not one prisoner knows of her. The captor throws a dart and it lands on a "lucky spot", which means the prisoners will be freed, but the dart comes alive and implants into a "white ace" spot. Diesel and Joey discover they are marked with white ace, meaning they will be used in the experiments.
The prisoners are given the chance to escape in eight minutes or face Hunter-Killers, but there is really nowhere to run. Despite the odds against them, Joey urges the prisoners to run. As promised, a massive army of the Hunter-Killers, led by a Samus Tank appears after only five minutes and chases down the prisoners. Joey assists several prisoners but is shot in the leg. As the prisoners are cornered, Samus appears, wearing a cloak and destroys the Hunter-Killers with a Power Bomb. The Samus Tank unleashes a thousand plasma shots at her, but she evades them with a Shinespark, and then Screw Attacks into the Samus Tank, destroying it and the owner.
Chapter 14: An Invincible Warrior Appears![]
Samus forces Joey and Diesel to board the escape craft, saying the planet is still very dangerous. As the ship is taking off, however, they escape and follow Samus' trail, which leads them to the laboratory of an arms dealer she was hunting. The three enter the lab of Dominion and encounter a robot of the same model as U-ton, as well as imitation models of Samus' Power Suit. A mysterious figure speaks to Samus over an intercom and reveals he is interested in her fighting prowess. When Samus challenges him to show himself, he instead unleashes Integra, a large mechanoid. Though Samus vows to make it "feel as much remorse as U-ton did", she is quickly overpowered. However, she uses its lack of intelligence to her advantage, planting a bomb in its arm cannon without its knowledge. Samus' strength somehow increases and she is able to destroy the robot with a Super Missile.
Chapter 15: A Hammerblow of Justice![]
Following the battle, Samus, Joey and Diesel happen upon a Bunker-Busting Annihilator, a massively destructive weapon. Joey had seen the devastation this weapon caused to a planet he visited with his father. Samus leaves while Joey and Diesel support her from the facility's main computer terminal. Diesel manages to hijack the Dominion's computer system and call off reinforcements for Samus, who he instructs to destroy the planet's nuclear reactor. Samus fights her way through mass produced Integras and confronts the Dominion's leader. Samus is subdued in a trap that begins to disintegrate her atoms until Joey saves her. The confrontation sets off the nuclear reactor and the Dominion leader escapes, leaving Samus, Joey and Diesel trapped. The base explodes.
However, as the leaders of Dominion are discussing new plans, Samus' Gunship rises from the planet armed with the Annihilator, which is pointed at the Dominion's escape ship, obliterating it. The Dominion members say that there are more of the organization posted throughout the cosmos, to which Samus replies, "In that case... we'll fight you everywhere!"
Chapter 16: The Chopper Approaches - A Trap Begins to Close[]
Samus, Joey and Diesel arrive on Jasdam, an important planet to the Galactic Federation. Samus is congratulated for her work in exposing the existence of the Dominion, but is asked to continue fighting to repel the organization, which has reaches far across the galaxy. The President of Kankei, who is now alive and well following the incident on Degrade, thanks Joey for his assistance and asks him to be a part of the alliance's resurgent efforts. Humorously, he also gives Joey a stack of missed homework from his mother. As they leave, whispers are heard among the crowd praising Samus as the greatest Bounty Hunter in the galaxy. Another Hunter named Zegan Doh appears and arrogantly proclaims that he will surpass Samus as the number one. Samus, who does not let this status go to her head, says he can call himself #1 if he wishes. Zegan later has an explosive meltdown at the Bounty Hunter Commissions Office when he is denied a job on the scale of the missions Samus undertakes. The Dominion approaches Zegan and offers him status and wealth if he kills Samus.
Back at the Junk Quixote, Samus' ship undergoes repairs. Diesel says they need a new B-Unit and Samus offers to buy one. She is confronted by Zegan, who reveals his purpose is to defeat her in battle. As they fight, Joey intervenes. The distraction allows Zegan to slice a piece off the barrel of Samus' Arm Cannon. Zegan challenges Samus to stand her ground, threatening to kill Joey if she dodges his hit. This works against him when Joey uses his Field Knuckle to block the hit. Samus then kills Zegan using her Ice Beam and Super Missile. Two Dominion members collect the severed Arm Cannon piece to use as a sample in further experiments.
Chapter 17: Lost Power - A Determined Voyage[]
Samus receives a call from Joey, who reports that he is being chased by a suspicious man at the Marine Park. Samus rushes to his side, only to be thrown into a machine by him. A cat-like Dominion member appears and reveals he has possessed Joey. He reveals that the device Samus is trapped in is a data transfer machine, which they will use to torture her and extract her abilities starting with her Missiles. The data theft continues until Samus' Varia Suit reverts to the basic Power Suit. Before they can use the machine to kill her, Joey comes to his senses and refuses to continue. He jumps in front of the electrical current, sacrificing himself. The electricity overloads the machine and destroys it, freeing Samus. The cat-like Dominion member attempts to kill Samus himself, taunting her by saying she has no firepower left. Samus corrects him, saying that Joey's death has empowered her to continue to fight, and she blows a hole through the sapient with a single shot, killing it. A cloaked figure approaches and mocks Samus' courage and memories, before revealing itself to be a dragon-like being. Samus mistakes him for Ridley, but he introduces himself as Greed. Greed sets off for the galaxy with her abilities, taunting her to come after him.
Some time after this, Joey is revealed to be alive but wounded. Samus is preparing to pursue Greed, and Joey is hesitant about asking to go with her. Samus then asks if he is coming, saying that she converted her ship to carry two passengers.
Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.
Trivia[]
- The Ghalmanians from Metroid: Other M strongly resemble the draconian Space Pirates depicted in this manga.
- In Chapter 3, Joey's father's grave is seen marked with a cross. It is unknown if this is merely a grave marker or if it implies Christianity.
- Volume 1 contains an eight page manga based on Metroid Fusion, titled Metroid Fusion Special Edition: Rebirth of Samus.
- Flashbacks to Samus's past depict Metroids, Mother Brain, and Ridley. In another chapter, they depict Old Bird, Chief Rodney Aran, and Virginia Aran.
- In chapter 12, Samus gives Dangelo a thumbs down and asks him "Any objections?" This is likely a reference to Commander Adam Malkovich's catchphrase "Any objections, Lady?". Because the thumbs down appeared in the later-released Other M, it is possible that Yoshio Sakamoto was either influenced by, or had a hand, in this scene.
- In chapter 14, Diesel calls Samus the "Ultimate Warrior". This is what the word Metroid translates to in Chozo.
- Some characters talk about "praying for a true peace in space." This was the final line on the ending screen in the original Metroid.
Links[]
- English scan translation of Volume 1.
- English scan translation of Volume 2.
- English scan translation of Volume 3.
- Japanese Wikipedia article (Google Translation)
Gallery[]
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