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This article is about the creature Metroid Prime. For the game, see Metroid Prime. For other uses, see Metroid Prime (disambiguation).

Metroid Prime Exoskeleton

Core Essence Featured in Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime Pinball

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (as Dark Samus)

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (as Dark Samus; husks on Phaaze) (as Dark Samus)(as Dark Samus; husks on Phaaze) Location Phazon Infusion Chamber

Subchamber 1

Subchamber 2

Subchamber 3

Subchamber 4

Subchamber 5

Metroid Prime Lair

(Impact Crater) Homeworld Zebes, SR388, Unknown (Possibly Tallon IV Phaaze , or a combination of these) Attacks Ultrafrigid Breath, Multi-Missiles, Snare Beams, Wave Projectors, Claws, Maw. Weakness

(Core)

(Core, Pinball) Varying Beam weapons (Exo) Phazon Beam (Core) Force Ball (Core, Life Cycle Unknown Preceded by: Followed by: Dark Samus Stage Stage ? (Mutated): Exo & Core

“ The prophecies tell of the coming of the Worm. Born from parasites, nurtured in a poisoned womb, the Worm grows, devouring from within, until the world begins to rot. The words of the seers have come to pass, for there, in the depths of the world, the ravenous Worm lurks and feeds. From the stars it came, blighting Tallon with its Great Poison. We can but watch as the Worm grows, watch and wait. „ —Unknown Chozo

Metroid Prime was the main antagonist of the game of the same name and is furthermore the main antagonist of the Metroid Prime trilogy as a whole. An extremely mutated Metroid of unknown origin infused with huge quantities of Phazon, Metroid Prime was the guardian of Tallon IV's Leviathan.[1]

Note: The following history is based on Chozo Lore as it appears in the PAL and Wii versions of Prime. For the original NTSC version of Metroid Prime's history, see the Alternate History section.

A Chozo prophecy foretold that their adopted world of Tallon IV would become infested by a great evil, known to them as the Worm. [2] Sometime later, the prophecy came to fruition: a Leviathan from the planet Phaaze crashed onto Tallon IV and released Phazon, a highly poisonous and mutagenic substance. The Phazon seeped into the soil and life of Tallon IV, destroying the ecosystem and violently mutating the life that could endure the substance. The Chozo were also greatly affected; many died, and some returned as malevolent spirits, which the Chozo referred to as "The Turned". At some point, the "Worm" foretold by the Chozo also came into being when a lone Metroid of unknown origin took up residence inside the Leviathan and began to thrive on its Phazon, mutating beyond recognition.

Seeing the evil that was corrupting their home, the surviving Chozo created a temple, known to them as the Cradle, to contain the continued spread of Phazon, and its source, the Leviathan.[3] In order to ensure a seal around the cradle, as well as provide their prophesized Defender access to the Leviathan's Impact Crater, they created and scattered twelve key-like Artifacts known as the Cipher.[4] Their efforts with the Cradle only stopped the brunt of the Phazon; Tallon IV now suffered the fate of a slow death as the exposed poison spread out. The Chozo concluded that Tallon IV was doomed unless it was saved by their prophesied Entrusted One. With this thread of hope, they left behind Power Suit modules with the hope that one day a savior would fulfill the prophecy and deliver the planet from death.

Decades after the last Chozo on the planet had died out, the Space Pirates discovered Tallon IV, and became obsessed with the mutagenic properties of Phazon. The Pirates established multiple research facilities on the planet and began importing Metroids for use in their experiments.[5]

Though the Pirates were never able to break the Cipher sealing off the Impact Crater, they detected the life signs of a massive entity within absorbing enormous quantities of Phazon directly from the Phazon core. [6]

Official data [ edit | edit source ]

Logbook entries [ edit | edit source ]

Metroid Prime (Exo) Temporary scan Morphology: Metroid Prime

Highly evolved, Phazon-producing life-form. Logbook entry The aberration known as Metroid Prime is the source of Phazon, making it immensely powerful. A genetic flaw makes it susceptible to certain weapons for brief periods. Only its head is truly vulnerable: other attacks are a nuisance. Offensively, Metroid Prime has a number of natural and mechanical weapons at its disposal. These include Ultrafrigid Beam, Multi-Missiles, Snare Beams, and Particle Wave Projectors. Its massive strength and barbed carapace make it lethal in melee combat. Recommend maximum firepower when engaging this enemy.





Metroid Prime (Core) Temporary scan Morphology: Metroid Prime

The core essence of Metroid Prime. Logbook entry Scans indicate that the Phazon energy form of Metroid Prime is invulnerable to all conventional weapons: only attacks from a Phazon-fused Arm Cannon will damage it. It generates pools of Phazon when it attacks: use these to fuel your Suit’s Phazon weapon system. The entity can also spawn Metroids to assist it in battle, rendering itself invisible when it does so.





Genesis Chamber, Phaaze "These husks are identical to the bioform you encountered within the crater on Tallon IV."

QUESTION: I heard that Metroids are man-made life-forms created on planet SR388, but just what is Metroid Prime that was in the fallen Phazon meteorite?

ANSWER: I think that due to the effects of Phazon, it had mutated dramatically [into Metroid Prime].

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.[7]

“ Metroid Prime shell was a lot of fun to model and the concept for this boss was very clearly layed out as Andrew did several different views for this design. The part that was actually more challenging was the core of the creature. The main reason the core was challenging was because there were limitations to what could do with multiple layers of transparent polygons. The core had a jelly like outer skin with a glowing brains and arteries underneath the skin. In the end I worked with the programmer who helped by giving me a couple of shaders that enabled me to work around the limitations I was running into with sorting transparent polygons. „ —Mike Sneath[8]

Metroid Prime (Exo) "The form of the Metroid Prime that Samus first encounters. It can become invulnerable to all but one of Samus's weapons at a time. The body color alternates between yellow, purple, white, and red, with the color indicating the weapon that can deal damage. After taking a certain amount of damage, the Metroid Prime exoskeleton reveals its core essence.

GCN Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime (Core)

"The core form of Metroid Prime after losing its exoskeleton. It can make itself invisible for a set time, which requires Samus to make a visor change. Normal hits do not have any effect on it--the Metroid Prime can eventually be defeated by using the Phazon Beam while standing in a Phazon puddle."

GCN Metroid Prime



When Samus arrived on Tallon IV, the planet was significantly corrupted by Phazon. She explored the planet, exterminating many of the corrupted creatures and destroying the Space Pirate base. She eventually collected the twelve Chozo Artifacts and gained access to the Impact Crater, though she had to fight off Meta Ridley beforehand.

Inside, instead of the normal blue Phazon seen throughout the planet, Red Phazon could be seen. This Phazon was 86% stronger than normal Phazon, strong enough to mutate Metroids into Fission Metroids, and to cause damage to Samus' suit, despite the protection given by the Phazon Suit. As she progressed through the Impact Crater, she encountered Metroid Prime.

Samus' battle with Metroid Prime is the last in the game. Metroid Prime has two forms. When scanning Metroid Prime, a close-up of the top of its armored form reveals its Core form is present inside the exoskeleton, exposed only through a small slit that serves as a visor.

Exoskeletal form [ edit | edit source ]

The first form of Metroid Prime is completely encased in a thick black carapace, save for its glowing red eyes. It uses a shielding system where the color of the (initially) grayish-white markings on its body indicate what beam is its weakness. The same can be said of the color and nature of the beam it fires from its massive maw (which spans the bottom of its entire carapace). Purple represents the Wave Beam, blue-white represents the Ice Beam, red represents the Plasma Beam, and yellow represents the Power Beam. Samus must switch to the beam (or beam combo) required and fire at Metroid Prime's human-like visage to damage it. After a set amount of damage, Metroid Prime will retaliate by closing the lid where its visage is exposed before attempting to ram Samus, which she can avoid by entering Morph Ball form and rolling into grooves in the ground under the creature. It will also attack with Ultrafrigid Breath, Multi-Missiles, Snare Beams, and Particle Wave Projectors. As Metroid Prime takes more damage, it retreats into deeper caverns, using stronger and stronger attacks as it goes. Its movements and attacks become progressively more erratic as well, as it will shift screens more frequently and its attacks become more unpredictable. Eventually, it crawls toward one final pit and falls, and Samus follows it.

Core form [ edit | edit source ]

When Samus lands, she finds Metroid Prime's exoskeleton open with its top missing and the armor plating oozing Phazon. Metroid Prime flies out of the cast-off body in its second form, the core essence of Metroid Prime. In its second form, Metroid Prime is only vulnerable to pure Phazon. This core form is a deep, translucent blue, with six tentacles attached to an elongated body shaped like that of a Hunter Metroid, with three overdeveloped nuclei, and a mouthless, gaunt, humanoid face with fiery eyes. It uses its tentacles to shoot waves of energy throughout the room which Samus jumps over to avoid, and it will spawn various species of Metroid; as the battle progresses, it escalates from spawning Tallon Metroids to Hunter Metroids and Fission Metroids. However, when it creates a Metroid, Metroid Prime also creates a small pool of pure Phazon. Thanks to the Phazon Suit, Samus can stand on these pools and enter Hyper-Mode. This allows her to fire Phazon at Metroid Prime through the Phazon Beam, greatly damaging it. Throughout the battle, Metroid Prime attempts to elude Samus by repeatedly shifting out of the visible spectrum. Samus continues her assault by utilizing her Thermal and X-Ray visors to continue targeting Metroid Prime. Eventually, Metroid Prime is overwhelmed and completely destabilizes.

Once Samus has defeated Metroid Prime's second form, it morphs into an odd-looking blob, similar to a Metroid or a Core-X from Metroid Fusion. Tentacles come out of it and grab Samus, pulling her towards it. Samus pulls back and is eventually separated from her Phazon Suit, which is pulled into what remains of the Metroid Prime. This leaves her in her Gravity Suit. All other sources of Phazon in the vicinity explode, causing the entire cavern to collapse. She calls in her ship using the controls on her arm cannon and leaps from the collapsing structure onto her hovering gunship.

Dark Samus [ edit | edit source ]

Despite Samus killing Metroid Prime and causing the cavern to collapse, the "Worm" was reborn. With the absorption of the Phazon Suit and the pieces of Samus' DNA, Metroid Prime was able to reconstruct itself into a body that was similar to Samus'. The Phazon Suit was necessary as a body as, without it, Metroid Prime would have remained in it's destabilized state with no real structure. Because Dark Samus was once Metroid Prime, she was technically a Metroid. She could travel across the reaches of space, and she was more powerful than ever before. Following her rebirth, she also seemed to exhibit intelligence at an almost human level. This sentience also made her far deadlier than the simple beast that she used to be. She was dubbed "Dark Samus" due to the dark color of her suit and her malevolent nature. The Space Pirates called her the "Dark Hunter" because the Space Pirates mistook Dark Samus for the original Samus whom they already called "The Hunter". Samus learned about this in a Space Pirate facility during the events of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Dark Samus was defeated for good in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

Alternate History [ edit | edit source ]

In the original North American GameCube release of Metroid Prime, the history of the Metroid Prime entity was significantly different from the versions presented in further releases of the game. This version of events is considered to be non-canon[citation needed].

"What's the matter? All I said was that Komaytos look like little Metr—"

Non-canon warning : This article or section contains information that may not be considered an official part of the This article or section contains information that may not be considered an official part of the Metroid series in the overall storyline by Nintendo

In this version of events, the Chozo had reached a complete understanding of the universe and left their bodies behind as they ascended to a higher plane. The impact of the Leviathan was initially a curiosity to them, but the violent spread of Phazon soon ripped them back into the physical world in the form of ghosts. The entity that would eventually be known as "Metroid Prime" was not actually a Metroid, having already been present within the Leviathan at its impact, confirming the prophecy of the Worm. Notably, in order for Metroid Prime to have already existed within the Leviathan, the creature must have existed at the Leviathan's place of origin, later revealed to be the distant planet Phaaze.

The Chozo built the Cradle to contain both the Leviathan and Metroid Prime itself and sealed it with their twelve Artifacts. However, in their ghostly forms, the Chozo were severely affected by the corrupting power of Phazon. Many were completely corrupted and became hateful spirits known as the Turned. Those remaining struggled to discern the past from the future and were confused by repeated visions of Samus Aran. While this may have initially implied that some of the Chozo on Tallon IV were originally from Zebes where Samus was raised and were thus familiar with her, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption makes this nearly impossible with the lore data stating that the Tallon IV Chozo had previously inhabited planet Elysia. However, it is possible some Chozo may have lived on Zebes as the Chozo of Tallon IV may have come from different worlds. Alternatively, some of the Zebesian Chozo transcended like the Tallon IV Chozo did, joining their fellow Chozo. Ultimately, it is most likely that the Chozo of Tallon IV were simply seeing the future, when Samus visits Tallon IV during the events of the game, and confusing it with the past or present.

As the ghostly Chozo fought to maintain their sanity, they also witnessed the arrival of the Space Pirates, who began experimenting with Phazon and Metroids. According to Space Pirate Data, Metroid Prime was discovered in a cavern by a Pirate mining crew. It quickly killed the miners, though it was able to be contained by security units and drones. Studies were then conducted on the creature, codenamed Test subject Z-d. Performing tests on the creature to study its energy-draining capabilities led to the discovery that it had genetic similarities to the Metroid species, though Prime was much more advanced than the species created by the Chozo. With this knowledge, the Space Pirates gave the creature its name. It had a limitless capacity for absorbing Phazon, and was not negatively affected by the substance whatsoever. It never stopped growing and had some psychotic behavior, likely due to the Phazon.[9]

Metroid Prime was at one time kept in a stasis tank. There was a large batch of Phazon in the room it was in and, sensing it, the creature destroyed its tank and consumed all the Phazon. It also managed to assimilate several weapons and defense systems from fallen security units and began using its new weapons against the Space Pirates. They were able to contain it, but they were not able to remove the equipment, making them an integral part of Metroid Prime's body.[10] This ability to assimilate weapons into its own body would explain how Metroid Prime was able to absorb the Phazon Suit from Samus, and thus become Dark Samus.

Metroid Prime eventually managed to fully assimilate the equipment, granting it incredible armor plating and powerful defense screens. It began to display a signature ability from the eventual boss battle, in which it can adjust its armour and defence screens to render itself invulnarable to all but one type of weapon at a time. The Space Pirates suspected that Metroid Prime would eventually find a way to correct even this flaw, and become invulnerable to all known weaponry, and speculated that it would become impossible to contain if this occurred - this evidently was incorrect, and an underestimation of the creature's abilities, as it somehow escaped the Pirates without first correcting this flaw, and returned to the Impact Crater by the time Samus encountered it.[11]

Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.

Origin Theory [ edit | edit source ]

Metroid Prime's origin was never fully explained. According to Page 3 of the Art Booklet packaged with Metroid Prime Trilogy, Metroid Prime was originally a Metroid that became corrupted by absorbing Phazon from the Phazon Core present inside the Leviathan that impacted Tallon IV. Based on this information, as well as the Infant Leviathan's logbook entry, one may conclude that the Leviathan attracted a Metroid into its body after landing. However, there is no Chozo Lore on Tallon IV which states the existence of any Metroid living among the peaceful race during their reign, leading to another conclusion: the Metroid that would become the Phazon Core's guardian was among the specimens brought to the planet by Space Pirates many years later. Evidence supporting this are Pirate log entries describing events of Metroids escaping captivity on several occasions, but retconned Pirate Data in later versions of the game firmly established the marauding race's inability to bypass the Cradle's impenetrable containment field, seemingly making it impossible for any outsider to enter the Impact Crater unless one had the 12 Artifacts to the Chozo Temple.

However, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption introduced the existence of several Metroid mutants, all resulting from Tallon Metroids being heavily exposed to Phazon. Two of these, the Phazon Metroid and one of its branching stages of mutation, the Hopping Metroid, are directly reminiscent of Metroid Prime's Core Essence and exoskeleton, respectively. The Phazon Metroid can phase out of existence to become intangible in a similar fashion to Prime's core form, allowing it to traverse through both solid surfaces and weapons fire unhindered. The Hopping Metroid can no longer fly or phase in and out, but it has gained an exoskeleton and legs, all akin to Prime's flightless armored form. Due to these similarities, it is largely believed that the Metroid on Tallon IV which became the Prime creature followed the same stages of mutations witnessed in Corruption and that the Phazon Metroid's defining characteristic of phasing through barriers is what allowed it to bypass the Cradle's force field. Additionally, the loss of abilities seen in the Hopping Metroid potentially explains Metroid Prime's imprisonment inside the Impact Crater. Further evidence is the remains of exoskeletons with an uncanny resemblance to Prime's inside the Genesis Chamber on Phaaze, prior to the final battle with Dark Samus. These seemingly molted husks imply that several Metroid Primes have indeed mutated from Metroid mutants also present on the planet. Interesting to note as well is the early concept art of Metroid Prime in the above right image, sharing features with both its final rendition and Hopping Metroids, with the surrounding environment resembling the inside of a Leviathan with its numerous optical organs.

In summary, Metroid Prime is theorized to have once been a Metroid larva either born naturally on SR388 or born on Zebes via division from exposure to Beta-Rays. Whichever the case, it converted into a Tallon Metroid when it was brought over to Tallon IV by Space Pirates for their Phazon experiments after the events of Samus Aran's Zero Mission. It later escaped and exposed itself to heavy doses of radiation from the mutagen, transforming it into a Phazon Metroid. Instinctively, it sought out more sustenance to quench its relentless hunger, bringing it to the impact site of the Leviathan where concentrated Phazon was located. Using its unique ability, it phased through the Chozo Temple's otherwise impenetrable containment field and continued feeding on the radioactive substance until it grew and mutated into a Hopping Metroid, trapping it within the Impact Crater in the process. Unable to phase through to the outside world anymore, the creature continued to feed and gestate, becoming the Metroid Prime which Samus encountered in the Phazon Infusion Chamber.

Despite this, there are several inconsistencies that exist with the theory above, along with in-game events related to the life form known as Metroid Prime, that have not been explained in the official canon. Below is a list of these, accompanied by potential explanations:

Chozo lore entries appear to describe the Metroid Prime as "The Worm" that arrived to Tallon IV from space and inhabits the Impact Crater as it uses its "Great Poison" to rot the planet from within, which goes against the theory of the creature originating from one of the Space Pirates' many specimens. However, the Phazon Core life form introduced in Metroid Prime 3 has more correlations to the entity described in Chozo lore. The scan for the Phazon Core states that it travels through space via its meteor-like vessel until it crashes on a planet and eventually seeps into the latter, changing the planet's ecosystem with the Phazon it produces inside its body.

has more correlations to the entity described in Chozo lore. The scan for the Phazon Core states that it travels through space via its meteor-like vessel until it crashes on a planet and eventually seeps into the latter, changing the planet's ecosystem with the Phazon it produces inside its body. The Impact Crater on Tallon IV seemingly lacks a Phazon Core, which is the life form tasked with the production of Phazon until the entire planet is corrupted. It is generally believed that Metroid Prime's insatiable hunger, a trait commonly found in all Metroids, compelled it to eat the Phazon Core and steal its role of producing Phazon. The fact that Metroid Prime can create pools of Phazon at will, along with its own log entry describing it as the source of Phazon on Tallon IV, enforce this theory; the Big Metroid from Super Metroid has also demonstrated the capacity to rob the abilities of its devoured prey. This also fits with Samus' ability to assimilate abilities from the X Parasites she absorbs as a result of the Vaccine "Metroid" made from Metroid cells. In addition, Metroid Prime's later form, Dark Samus, absorbs Rundas, Ghor, and Gandrayda in order to use their powers later on.

Metroid Prime 3 states that Leviathans die soon after they have impacted their target planet, requiring them to quickly call upon a local predator to protect the former's Phazon Core. If the Space Pirates brought the future Metroid Prime many years later, the Leviathan was undoubtedly dead by then and should have been unable to secure a guardian into its body, unless the Metroid entered the Leviathan out of its own volition.

Although the first Metroid Prime game features Pirate computers with data entries detailing events of Metroids escaping containment, they always conclude with the creatures being recaptured and/or killed. However, based on the disgruntled personalities and overall unhappiness seen in personal Space Pirate log entries, along with the harsh disciplinary actions reserved for bad performances, it is not unlikely that a Pirate may have intentionally refrained from reporting an escaped Metroid to his superiors; Samus herself witnesses several unreported outbreaks during her mission.

The lack of any Phazon Metroids or Hopping Metroids on Tallon IV. Other than the final boss, the only mutants encountered on the planet by Samus were Hunter Metroids and Fission Metroids, none of which possess strong similarities or the abilities of either of Prime's two forms. It is possible that the larva that would become the Metroid Prime seen at end of the game, was the first of its kind to achieve the Phazon Metroid stage (or something akin to it with the phasing ability) by mere chance due to Phazon's unpredictable mutagenic properties.

The controversial, unexplained sheer magnitude of the Metroid population on Phaaze, which suggests that the species has existed on the living planet for a very long time. Coupled with the presence of husks resembling Prime's near the Leviathan Womb in the Genesis Chamber, as well as the nearby Metroid mutants, have led some fans to believe that the final boss of the first Metroid Prime game traveled from Phaaze to Tallon IV via the Leviathan that impacted the latter planet. Giving credit to this idea is Dark Samus, Metroid Prime's later form, referring to Phaaze as 'her' homeworld in the Pirate Lore The Source Discovered. There is also an unused Space Pirate Data entry (Citadel) found in the game's files that is written in a manner suggesting Metroids are native to the planet, though it is important to note that unused scans/log entries are generally non-canon. Ultimately, given the fact that numerous games state SR388 to be the only Metroid homeworld, and considering that Space Pirates often import the species to different planets, it can be logically concluded that the marauding race and Dark Samus were responsible for introducing Metroids to Phaaze sometime before the events of Corruption. The expansion of their population can be attributed to the mutated strains capable of spawning their lesser kind, such as Metroid Hatchers and/or other Metroid Primes mutating on Phaaze, along with Phazon itself having demonstrated the capacity to multiply the creatures on some occasions. Additionally, Dark Samus being a Metroid herself would have likely encouraged the propagation of other Metroids, thus she may have adopted Phaaze as a new Metroid homeworld.





See also [ edit | edit source ]