Samus broke the video game glass ceiling in her debut title Metroid for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Since taking on the dreaded alien pirates, the intergalactic bounty hunter went on to become one of the Big N's most iconic characters. While conspicuously absent for a long time, gamers didn't forget about Samus and rejoiced once the eponymous hunter made her grand return to the Nintendo 3DS.
2021 marked the release of Metroid Dread, the final entry in a story arc that started with the original Metroid. Of course, Samus didn't start out as the tough-as-nails warrior that fans have come to love. These events were instrumental in shaping the moral compass and inner strength that would define Samus Aran.
10 She Met The Chozo At Age 3
Samus spent the first years of her childhood on the space colony K-2L. One day, the Chozo visited the colony on an expedition for a crystal known as Afloraltite. This crystal was being mined on the planet for its use as fuel for the ship's ignition module. Old Bird, a high-ranking member of the Chozo, was to negotiate terms with Chief Rodney Aran- Samus' father.
Old Bird caught the attention of the then three year old Samus, who quickly took a liking to the elder Chozo. This marked Samus' first encounter with the race that would come to rescue her and raise her as one of their own.
9 She Had A Thing For Small Animals
During Old Bird's visit on K-2L, he and Samus took a leisurely walk through the forests of the colony and encountered a small furry animal. The creature proceeded to steal Samus' backpack and climbed up a tree where the young girl could not reach him.
Noticing the child's distress, Old Bird consoled Samus and suggested to her that she become friends with the animal. Samus did just that and gave the creature a name — Pyonchi. This event helped shape her regard for those who were smaller and more defenseless.
8 She's The Sole Survivor Of K-2L
One fateful day, a legion of space pirates launched a deadly raid on the colony. Led by the evil Ridley, the pirates sought the precious Afloralite that dwelled within the planet. Rodney Aran detonated the crystals in a vain attempt to stop them. When cornered by Ridley, Virginia Aran created a distraction to save her daughter from the space pirate's wrath.
Ridley took the life of Virginia before Samus' very eyes. Shortly afterward, the Chozo returned to the colony to find Samus as the sole survivor of the massacre. They took pity on the child and decided to take her with them to raise her as one of their own.
7 She Has Chozo DNA
The planet Zebes was inhospitable to humans. Unfortunately, it had to serve as Samus' home after K-2L had been ravaged by the evil space pirates. In order for the young girl to survive the planet's harsh conditions, Samus had to be infused with the blood of the Chozo.
This not only served to make the planet more habitable for Samus, but it also increased her speed and agility. By the time Samus had reached pubescence, she had far exceeded the physical capabilities of any human her age.
6 One Of Her First Assignments Was A Planet Called Jigard
After rising in the ranks of the Federation Force, Samus was enlisted to an elite division within known as the Star-Trackers. So selective were the Star-Trackers that only one in a million officers could qualify for the division.
On the orders of Chief Hardy, one of Samus' first missions was on the rocky planet Jigard, which was under control by the space pirates. Samus and her team disobeyed orders not to attack in an effort to rescue a child slave that was to be executed. This led to the first capture and interrogation of a space pirate by the federation.
5 She has PTSD From The Murder Of Her Parents
After joining the Federation Force and becoming one of the top officers, Samus thought that she had successfully moved on from the tragic events that shaped her life, but that was all shattered when she encountered what appeared to be an old enemy. She proceeded to go through an emotional breakdown that confused her teammates.
It turns out that she suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder flashbacks from her first encounter with the dread alien pirate Ridley. While she's bravely faced him time and time again, it's evident that the pain and sorrow for their first encounter will never fade completely.
4 Her Surrogate Father Seemingly Betrayed Her
Grey Voice was a friend of Old Bird and, despite his reservations with the idea, agreed to take the recently orphaned Samus in and donate his blood to the young girl. He became a surrogate father of sorts to Samus during her training on the planet Zebes. Years later, he joined forces with Mother Brain in the space pirate invasion of the Chozo planet.
He gave Samus an offer to join them, but she adamantly refused. However, it turned out to be a ruse as Grey Voice attacked Mother Brain in power armor. Before he was killed by Ridley, Grey Voice pleaded with Samus to use her strength to save those less powerful than her.
3 She Once Thwarted An Assassination Attempt
Before embarking on her Zero Mission, Samus thwarted an assassination attempt on the high-ranking Federation Chairman Keaton. Keaton was worried that the Federation Force was becoming too militarized and had voiced those concerns to the Chozo before becoming elected chairman. He had also earned the wrath of Mother Brain, who plotted to have the upcoming chairman eliminated.
During his ceremony, a student presented the chairmen with some flowers to show her thanks. However, the flowers turned out to be a mimic in disguise. Before it could kill Keaton, Samus rushed in from the crowd and dispatched it.
2 She Was Confused For A Man In-Universe As Well
After leaving the Federation Force, Samus became a widely renowned bounty hunter. So impressive were her fights against the space pirates that word spread throughout the galaxy of a mysterious unknown hunter.
Since much of her was shrouded in mystery, the public could only speculate who or what this bounty hunter was. Many mistook her for a male cyborg. This is very likely a reference to how Samus was mistaken for a man in the real world by gamers and publications at the time of the original Metroid for the NES.
1 She Once Saved A Girl Who Reminded Her Of Her Childhood
On the planet Jigard, Samus disobeyed orders in order to save the life of a young slave girl. The space pirates had deemed her unfit for work and would have executed her if Samus had not intervened. She and her comrades had killed all but one of the pirates.
The scared young girl reminded Samus of herself during the raid of K-2L, convincing her to stay her hand and arrest the pirate instead. This young girl was named Darmara and would later travel to the planet Daiban to join the Federation Academy.