Samus Aran has worn many different power suits throughout the Metroid series. While some of these power suits are situational, others are total revamps to her iconic orange and yellow power suit that stick around beyond just the first game they appear in. There isn't just one power suit design that's been with Samus throughout the entire Metroid series, with even the recently released Metroid Dread introducing new versions of the iconic suit.
Despite how iconic this set of video game armor is, fans may not know the eleven different unique power suits that Samus has used over the years. Some of these are upgrades that appeared in a single game while others have had multiple appearances across both 2D and 3D Metroid games. From the original game to Dread, here's a quick rundown on every version of Samus's iconic power suit.
Power Suit (Classic)
The classic power suit contains a lot of Samus's most basic weapons and abilities, such as her power beam. Originally created by the avian alien race known as the Chozo, this model was designed to be incredibly modular, allowing Samus to install a huge range of weapons and upgrades. This original Chozo model would be briefly used during the timeline of the Metroid series, though it'd quickly be replaced by the more iconic Varia Suit.
One inconsistency with the classic Power suit is the design of its shoulder pads. The power suit began with flatter shoulder pads, with the more recognizable bulky ones from the Varia Suit would be adapted into the classic Power Suit's design. Throughout the series, the suit swaps between its round shoulder design and its flat shoulder design, making it visually similar to the Varia suit that Samus would find later.
Power Suit (Dread)
In Metroid Dread, Samus's classic Power suit would be redesigned to have a sleeker color scheme and build. Instead of just orange and yellow, this version of the power suit incorporates a blue and white design across most of the suit. Dread's Power suit is less bulky, though it still keeps some of the tank-like qualities of the original Power suit. The biggest difference with Dread's Power suit, however, is with the suit's lore.
Dread's Power suit alters the events of Metroid Fusion by returning Samus's suit to a more metallic design. The Fusion suit replaced the classic Chozo Power suit, but the Dread suit strips Samus of most of her abilities. In both lore and design, Metroid Dread's Power suit brings Samus back to the classic era of Metroid games without completely rewriting the franchise's lore.
Varia Suit
Samus is most frequently depicted wearing the iconic Varia suit. Introduced in the original Metroid, the Varia suit was obtained by Samus as a sort of end-game upgrade that Samus is depicted in at the start of the game. In many ways, the Varia suit represents Samus at her most powerful, as it's typically the suit she's wearing at the start and obtains near the end of each game.
The Varia suit is most notable for its tank-like design and massive shoulder pieces. It has the same color scheme as the classic Power Suit and sometimes even has the same design as that suit. Despite having damage reduction and resistance from high-heat there are still certain suits Samus obtains later that are required for dangerous environments. The Varia Suit may be iconic and powerful, but there's still a place for the rest of her Power suit variants.
Gravity Suit
The Gravity suit serves as a direct upgrade to the Varia suit. It's one of Samus's many environmental protection suits, with its main purpose being to help Samus survive and navigate high-gravity environments. The Gravity suit has had a wide range of uses across the eight different games that it has appeared in, including letting Samus survive the vacuum of space and the crushing pressures of the deep sea.
The suit generally is just a discoverable upgrade that players can find in various Metroid games and doesn't have any lore exclusive to it. Most notably, the Gravity suit adds some distinct purple parts to the Varia suit's arm and leg parts, along with some ice-blue strips of energy running across those parts. The Gravity suit is probably one of Samus's most iconic upgrades that has appeared across several games.
Fusion Suit
The Fusion suit, as the name implies, is actually a horrific fusion between Samus's body and her Varia suit. Introduced in Metroid Fusion, this power suit variant was created by the unexpected reaction between her original Varia suit and X-parasites that had infected her. While some of the Varia suit's parts were able to be surgically removed, the ones that remained had organically fused with Samus's body.
In part due to its origins, the Fusion suit is a much sleeker build that, while providing some increased mobility, actually ends up being more of a disadvantage for Samus. Due to the X-parasites having a weakness to ice, Samus couldn't use her ice beam in this suit. The Fusion suit would eventually be restored, at least in appearance, to be more like the more iconic Varia suit in Metroid Dread.
"Omega" Suit
At the end of Metroid Fusion, Samus defeated SA-X, a clone of her born from the surgically removed parts of her Varia suit. SA-X's core would flee from Samus, only to save her from an Omega Metroid. Samus would absorb SA-X's core and achieve one last upgrade for her Fusion suit that has been dubbed the Omega Suit by fans. This version of the Fusion suit has never actually been given a canon name.
The Omega suit completely removed the Fusion suit's weakness to cold, allowing her to utilize ice-based weapons against the Omega Metroid. Outside of removing the Fusion suit's major weakness, the Omega Suit really didn't provide too much for Samus. Technically speaking, this version of Samus's Power Suit would be the one that would regenerate into the Dread Power suit, though it would lose its cold resistance in the process.
Phazon Suit
Introduced in Metroid Prime, the Phazon suit is very similar to the Fusion suit in the sense that it was created after something infected her original Power suit. In the Phazon suit's case, it was the radioactive substance known as Phazon, which also came from a planet called Phazon. In the Prime games, the Phazon infection was what destroyed the Chozo race and their home planet's environment.
Despite being covered in Phazon leaking from the Omega Pirate, Samus wouldn't actually end up infected by the Phazon. Only her suit was infected, giving it a black and red color scheme that may look familiar to fans of Dark Samus. That's because the Phazon Suit would eventually serve as the body for Dark Samus, with the original red-and-black color scheme making it into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as one of Dark Samus's color palettes.
Light Suit
The Light suit is another Power suit variant that comes from the Metroid Prime trilogy, with the Light suit being the result of Luminoth and Chozo technology coming together. The Light Suit is technically just Samus's Power suit being powered by a mystical force known as the Light of Aether. By the end of the Prime trilogy, Samsu relinquishes the Light of Aether, and her suit reverts back to the Varia design.
The Light suit allows Samus to travel using Luminoth energy transport systems, though it's more notable for its existence to something known as Dark Aether. The suit also has a white and black color scheme and a design that was meant to stand out among the rest of Samus's Power suits. The Light suit is probably one of Samus's most visually striking designs, though it has only appeared in the latter two Prime games.
Dark Suit
The Dark suit serves as an environmental protection upgrade that Samus finds in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, allowing her to better traverse the Dark Aether planet. The suit itself is notable for having an almost brass-like color scheme that makes the suit look far more industrial than it ever had before. Outside of the visuals, the Dark Suit has a fair amount of lore behind it that connects the armor to a champion of the Luminoth.
The Dark Suit was previously worn by A-Kul, a Luminoth champion who did battle against the Dark Aether. Out of ten other Luminoths, she was the only one who successfully completed a mission that would allow the Luminoth to destroy Dark Aether. A-Kul actually sets up the entire plot of Metroid Prime 2, setting up clues before her death that help Samus locate the nine other fallen Luminoths.
PED Suit
The PED Suit is best described as the Prime trilogy's version of Samus's Fusion suit. Much like the Fusion suit, the PED Suit is the result of Galactic Federation technology fusing with Chozo technology. More specifically, the PED Suit is a rebuilt version of Samus's Varia suit that was built to allow Samus to safely utilize Phazon as an energy source. After Samus was corrupted by Phazon, her body began to naturally produce it.
This suit gives Samus access to Hyper Mode, which powers up her moves but also results in her body producing Phazon quicker. The PED Suit may be able to let Samus safely utilize Phazon but it doesn't completely prevent the ill effects. Too much Phazon would lead to Samus being completely corrupted and becoming another Dark Samus, ending the game with a Game Over.
Fully Powered Suit
The Fully Powered Suit comes from only one Metroid game as it was featured in the remake of the original Metroid, called Metroid: Zero Mission. The Fully Powered Suit is actually the first new suit that Samus canonically replaces her classic one with. It serves as an explanation as to why Samus went from her classic design to the Varia suit design, with the Fully Powered suit actually being an older model of the Varia design.
The Fully Powered suit isn't the same Varia suit that would eventually become the Fusion suit, as that would be a new version of the Varia suit. The Fully Powered Suit has a yellow and purple color scheme that's almost as iconic as the orange, red, and yellow design. The Fully Powered suit was acquired by Samus as a replacement for her classic suit, which was destroyed in a crash.