History Characters / MetroidSpacePirates

->'''Voiced by:''' [[Music/FourTops Levi Stubbs]] (''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'')\\\

->''"Did you finally realize you are nothing but a beast as well? ...No, more accurately -- that you're just a bird that can't even fly."''\\\

* TheHeavy: Despite never fully taking the role of BigBad himself, Ridley is by ''far'' the most recurring and most important villain in the series, being the primary enforcer for the Space Pirates and having a crucial role in Samus' backstory. He's also responsible for stealing the Metroid baby at the beginning of ''Super'', setting that game's plot in motion.

* BigBad: Of the first ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'', being the leader of the Space Pirates on Tallon IV and Samus' primary target. This is notably the only time in the series where Ridley plays the role of a Big Bad.

* InformedAttribute: The intelligence that he exhibits in the manga, and which pretty much all supplementary material talks about, is never really touched upon in-game. Then again, we rarely see him when he's not fighting Samus, so who knows.

* SmarterThanYouLook: Despite seeming to be nothing but a shrieking DumbMuscle, various log entries imply that Ridley is a lot more strategic and intelligent than he appears. Indeed, his attacks show a remarkable level of brutality and sadism (namely, him violently slamming Samus against a wall over and over again), and the entire plot of ''Metroid Prime'' sees him overseeing the Space Pirates' Phazon mining operations, dishing out orders to stall Samus' progress, and even attempting to destroy the path to the FinalBoss to prevent her victory. There's a reason he's earned the nickname of "the '''Cunning''' God of Death"

* TheSociopath: He's a psychopathic, narcissistic monster who prides himself as a weapon of mass destruction and loves to kill people. And when he's not hurting with his claws, he's hurting with his words.

* AuthorityGrantsAsskicking: Just as deadly as commando pirates were when you first encountered them, plus a few extra tricks.

[[/folder]]

[[center:[-[[Characters/{{Metroid}} Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/MetroidSamusAran Samus Aran]] | [[Characters/MetroidTheMetroids Metroids]] ([[Characters/MetroidMetroidPrimeAndDarkSamus Prime]]) | ''' Space Pirates''' ([[Characters/MetroidMotherBrain Mother Brain]] | [[Characters/MetroidRidley Ridley]]) | [[Characters/MetroidXParasites X Parasites]] | [[Characters/MetroidGalacticFederation Galactic Federation]] |\\
[[Characters/MetroidTheChozo Chozo]] ([[Characters/MetroidRavenBeak Raven Beak]]) | [[Characters/MetroidBountyHunters Bounty Hunters]] | [[Characters/MetroidOtherAntagonists Other Antagonists]] | [[Characters/MetroidOthers Others]] | [[Characters/MetroidNoncanonicalCharacters Noncanonical Characters]]-]]]

See Mother Brain in her [[Characters/MetroidMotherBrain own page]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Ridley]]
!!Ridley
See Ridley in his [[Characters/MetroidRidley own page]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kraid]]
[[quoteright:309:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kraid_zm_artwork.png]]
[[caption-width-right:309:"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"\\
[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate (That's probably a greeting.)]]]]
[[caption-width-right:309:[[labelnote:Click here to see him in ''Metroid Dread'']]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/metroid_dread_overview_boss_kraid.png[[/labelnote]]]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/Metroid1''
-->''"Ah, Ridley's comrade. His skin is on par with an anti-optical shield. Your weapons are useless against him."''
-->--'''Mother Brain'''
->'''Voiced by:''' Doug Parker (''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'')
The brutal ruler of Brinstar. Along with his co-captain, Ridley, Kraid is a gargantuan mainstay of the Space Pirate forces and one of the guardians of Tourian. Immense and corpulent, his regenerating organic projectile weapons and sheer girth make him a force to be reckoned with. Luckily, from what we've seen of him, he's [[DumbMuscle not too bright]].

* AchillesHeel: The wave beam in the first game. Stand on the block in front of him, shoot, dodge occasionally and he goes down.
* AmbiguousSituation: ''Dread'' doesn't actually explain the presence of Kraid on ZDR, not even answering if it's the very same Kraid from ''Metroid'' and ''Super Metroid''. ZDR does have a lot of Mawkin cloning facilities and the Chozo Archives depicts Chozo soldiers [[spoiler:not infected with the X Parasites]] restraining Kraid, suggesting it could have been a clone or another species member captured before the events of ''Super Metroid''. On one hand, [[BerserkButton Kraid's reaction]] towards Samus suggests that he most certainly recognizes her... but on the other hand, it may simply be a Pavlovian response to her wearing Chozo armor, seeing as he has perfectly good reason to hate Chozo warriors at this point.
* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: In ''Super Metroid'', ''Zero Mission'', and ''Dread'', Kraid is an enormous monster who stands many, many times taller than Samus and cannot fit entirely on the screen in ''Super'' and ''Zero Mission'', and his ''Dread'' version seems even larger. However, in the original NES ''Metroid'', Kraid was much smaller, only somewhat larger than Samus.
* AttackTheMouth: His major weakpoint, though you usually need to shoot him in the face or eyes in order to make him open his mouth to fire down into it.
* BattleBoomerang: He can toss his claws to act in this manner. They grow back almost immediately, making for an irritating projectile.
* BerserkButton: In ''Metroid Dread'', he goes berserk upon seeing Samus and unlike his previous fights, actually lunges at her... only to be held back by his restraints. It is fair to say that after his previous defeats, Kraid '''''really''''' hates Samus. Even if [[AmbiguousSituation it's uncertain]] whether he's the original Kraid, a clone, or another member of his species, spending who knows how many years imprisoned and tortured by the Chozo would make him instinctively view anybody wearing Chozo armor, such as Samus, as somebody he utterly despises and wants to kill on principle.
* BizarreAlienBiology: A giant dinosaur with the standard claws and teeth? Pretty normal as far as video game monsters go. Three eyes? That's only slightly pushing the envelope. Spikes that shoot out of its belly that Samus can jump on? Alright, now ''that's'' not exactly normal.
* BodyHorror: ''Dread'' shows that he ''has not'' been treated well in [=ZDR=], being shackled and riddled with scars and rot. His middle stomach hole is infected and is oozing purple pus (which he weaponizes to try and kill Samus with globs of the stuff), and his neck is dangerously swollen from the collar shackling him and Samus shooting missiles into his throat. While unseen in-game, his full model reveals that [[https://i.redd.it/vemke8tgx1t71.png his lower body is either severely blackened, or even burnt off]] from the lava he's in. [[spoiler:It later gets worse after his remains were assimilated by an X Parasite]].
* BookEnds: He appears in the [[VideoGame/Metroid1 first game]] of the story arc, and he appears in the [[VideoGame/MetroidDread final game]] of said-story arc. To make it more poetic, Kraid can be the first boss faced in the entire series, and he ends up being [[spoiler:the PostFinalBoss of ''Dread'', albeit as part of an X Parasite monstrosity fused with Raven Beak.]]
* TheBrute: With Ridley in the first game. Since ''Super Metroid'', he's the only one out of the two to remain this way, while Ridley is further characterized with high intelligence and being the arch-nemesis of Samus.
* TheBusCameBack: After being largely absent from the series since ''Zero Mission'' in 2004 (only appearing as a cameo in games outside the series), Kraid returns in ''VideoGame/MetroidDread''.
* ButtMonkey: Subtle, but it's there. When he reappears in ''Metroid Dread'' after such a long absence, Samus' body language doesn't suggest she actually views him as much of a threat (notably, before she recognizes him, she has her ArmCannon at the ready and when she does she just lowers it and charges it by her side as Kraid futilely tries to lunge at her), and the way Kraid's eyes narrow indicates he recognizes this too. Even worse, if the player sequence broke to get the Morph Ball bombs before the fight, they can entirely skip Kraid's second phase, Samus going into his stomach to bomb him from the inside out with Kraid helpless to do anything about it.
* CoDragons: He's the brawn, Ridley is the brains... and a lot of the firepower as well.
* ColorContrast: Of the green-and-purple kind. Kraid has most commonly been portrayed as green, while Ridley has most commonly been portrayed as purple.
* ColossusClimb: Kraid, although you jump on improvised platforms instead of climbing.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: While the usual method for defeating Kraid isn't exactly pleasant for him (firing missiles into his throat), the hidden method for defeating him in ''Dread'' is unusually gruesome and agonizing. If you obtained the Morph Ball bombs early through sequence-breaking, it is possible to defeat Kraid very quickly in the second phase by accessing a Morph Ball launcher that will launch Samus into Kraid's infected stomach spike port like a cannon ball. Said cannon ball then peppers his stomach with a series of explosions. [[spoiler:If he didn't die in that boss fight regardless of how he was defeated, then he certainly died a horrible death being assimilated by an X parasite.]]
* DidntThinkThisThrough: As soon as he sees Samus in ''Dread'', he begins tugging at his restraints, frantically trying to free himself to attack her. At the end of the boss fight, all his restraints are cut, whereupon he immediately sinks into the lava and dies.
* DisneyVillainDeath: You never actually see Kraid die in his boss battles. Whenever he's defeated, he simply sinks to the ground with explosions happening around him. Given that he returns in ''Dread'' with no explanation to his recovery, it is possible he was never truly killed by Samus to begin with. [[spoiler:In fact, the only reason to believe that Kraid is finally dead in ''Dread'' is when the X Parasite mutates Raven Beak into a horrific monstrosity that bears resemblance to Kraid, implying that Kraid was assimilated by an X Parasite after his defeat]].
* EarlyBirdBoss: In ''Dread'', Kraid can be made short work with assuming you have access to Bombs through SequenceBreaking, allowing Samus to beat him in one go in the second phase. Don't have bombs and he becomes a normal, but tough fight as intended. However, it's also possible to stumble into him earlier than planned too, making the fight even tougher since you shouldn't have as many health and missile upgrades as you would like by then.
* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: Kraid was only as tall as Samus in the original ''Metroid'', and he was portrayed with yellow skin, green fur along his back, and only two eyes. ''Zero Mission'' {{retcon}}ned this out when it made him match his gigantic ''Super Metroid'' design.
* FatAndSkinny: Formed this duo with Ridley in the older games, with Kraid being the "fat" to Ridley's "skinny".
* FatBastard: Kraid has a really big gut and given that he's a Space Pirate commander with a similar rank to Ridley, he's not a very pleasant individual.
* FeedItABomb: The only way to damage Kraid is to shoot projectiles into his mouth. Unfortunately, Kraid knows this and keeps his mouth shut... unless you force it open by [[GoForTheEye shooting him in the eye]].
* FinalBoss: In ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'''s {{theme park version}} of ''Metroid'', Kraid appears as the boss of mission 25, the last level of Assault Mission. It's a DualBoss fight against Kraid and Ridley, but while Ridley cannot be defeated and will keep regenerating his armor, Kraid must be defeated to complete the mission.
* FlatCharacter: Even in supplementary materials, his personality has never extended beyond roaring and fighting, and it doesn't help that he has gone OutOfFocus while his partner Ridley continues to grow in prominence. Given his involvements with the Space Pirates and Ridley, however, he may have HiddenDepths.
* GlowingEyes: His eyes glow in some games such as ''Metroid Dread'' and the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series.
* GoForTheEye: Shooting at Kraid's third middle eye will cause him [[EyeScream to scream in pain]], opening his mouth for you to feed him missiles and laser beams down his throat. It's also the only way to harm him...the mouth that is. Shooting his eye bothers him, but does not decrease Kraid's life meter.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: At the end of his boss fight in ''Dread'', Kraid accidentally severs the restraining collar Raven Beak put on him while attempting to strike Samus. Said collar was also responsible for keeping his enormous body from sinking into the pool of lava inside his lair.
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: From serving as one of Mother Brain's top lieutenants alongside Ridley at the beginning of the series, to being locked up and collared as Raven Beak's ''pet'' at the conclusion to the series MythArc in ''Dread''.
* InformedAttribute: Anything about his intelligence and personality is never actually seen in the games or manga.
* {{Irony}}: Out of the three original bosses in the first ''Metroid'' game, Kraid is [[OutOfFocus often overshadowed]] by his popular peers, with Ridley becoming Samus' iconic ArchEnemy and [[BigBad Mother Brain]] defining one of the most iconic Metroid scenes in history. Yet, he ends up outliving both of them and gets his chance to shine by becoming the ''only'' returning boss in the story arc's GrandFinale, ''Metroid Dread''.
* JokerImmunity: Not to the same extent as Ridley, but it's there. Kraid has been blown up by Samus twice on Zebes and since Zebes explodes soon afterwards in ''Super Metroid'', one would think that would be the end of Kraid. But no, Kraid returns in ''Metroid Dread'' with no apparent explanation as to how he survived (whether it's the original Kraid or a clone of him is not really made clear) or even how he got there aside from it presumably being unwilling given how he's chained down in his boss room. Not that Samus cares that much, as if she has finally come to accept that her old adversaries would return no matter how unlikely their survival was.
* {{Kaiju}}: He is one of the largest bosses in ''Metroid'', with his girth taking up two screens and his tail never fully rendered. His dinosaurian appearance and upright position even [[{{Notzilla}} invokes the look]] of Franchise/{{Godzilla}}.
* {{Kevlard}}: Kraid is very fat, but his only weakpoints are his eyes and mouth. and any other body part of his won't be scratched by any weapon in Samus's arsenal. In ''Dread'', one of his stomach spike orifices can be damaged due to an infection, and a hidden method of killing him (if you got the Morph Ball Bombs early) involves Samus firing herself from a Morph Ball launcher into that infected hole and then bombing his stomach.
* KilledOffForReal: Although Kraid had some degree of JokerImmunity before ''Dread'', [[spoiler:he suffers the same fate as Raven Beak when he is absorbed by the X Parasite as the PostFinalBoss, and then Samus obliterates that X Parasite rather than absorbing it.]]
* KilledOffscreen: While he clearly sinks into the lava of his boss chamber after Samus beats him in his boss fight, it's ambiguous whether he is immune to lava. If he did not suffer AMoltenDateWithDeath, then [[spoiler:he was assimilated off-screen by X later on, as shown by Raven Beak X.]]
* KillItThroughItsStomach: A variation on the trope that doesn't involve him eating Samus, but rather her entering another orifice of his. A hidden method of defeating him in ''Dread'' (if you got the Morph Ball bombs early) involves using a Morph Ball launcher to fire yourself right into his infected stomach spike port and then bombing his stomach from within, instantly ending the fight.
* LargeAndInCharge: ''Very'' large and is (or was) a high ranking Space Pirate in Mother Brain's army.
* AMoltenDateWithDeath: Played with. Kraid sinks into the lava of his boss room after being beaten by Samus in ''Dread'', but considering half of his body was already submerged just fine when the fight started, it's indicated this is more to do with him succumbing to his injuries by Samus than dying from the lava itself. Though none of his stomach holes nor his mouth were submerged in lava, also entertaining the possibility that while his ''outer skin'' can sustain lava, his ''insides'' can not.
* MonsterThreatExpiration: He was the most difficult boss in the first game! Ridley and Mother Brain proceeded to get harder in most of the other titles they appeared in while he became easier in both ''Super Metroid'' and the first game's remake.
* NighInvulnerable: His skin is as tough as specialized armor and shielding. All attacks against his body simply bounce off. In ''Dread'', he's fought in the middle of a room where his lower body is submerged in lava and he's unaffected. By comparison, Samus wearing her Varia Suit (by design meant to withstand high temperatures) can only stay in lava for a few seconds.
* OnlyFriend: To Ridley. He is even described as Ridley's [[TrueCompanions "comrade"]]. The fact that [[AxCrazy someone like]] [[PsychoForHire Ridley]] has ''any'' friends makes this an example of OddFriendship as well.
* OutOfFocus: In both the original ''Metroid'' and in ''Super'', he and Ridley seemed to form an EvilDuo as being co-captains of the Space Pirates and CoDragons to Mother Brain. Afterwards, as Ridley's role in Samus's backstory was elaborated upon and his position as one of the series main villains was cemented, with Mother Brain getting a similar if lesser luxury, Kraid was largely left behind, with a planned appearance as "Meta Kraid" in ''Prime'' being scrapped. He wouldn't reappear again until ''Dread'', 17 years after his last appearance in ''Zero Mission'' (a remake of the first game).
* PoisonousPerson: In ''Dread'', but this isn't a natural power of his. Instead, he's apparently shooting out the infected pus and poison from his middle belly-hole to kill Samus.
* PostFinalBoss: In ''Dread'', [[spoiler:after the X parasite infects Raven Beak it combines the DNA of him and Kraid to becomes a monstrosity making Kraid part of the final opponent Samus must face, but at this point she has reached her full Metroid potential and makes quick work of it with one huge laser-blast.]]
* RedEyesTakeWarning: His eyes are usually glowing red.
* RedBaron: His moniker, according to the ''Zero Mission'' website, is "Awakened Behemoth." Not as colorful as Ridley's, but it gets the point across.
* SoleSurvivor: Appears to be the last Space Pirate commander (and last Space Pirate ''period'') alive by the time of ''Dread'', as Mother Brain and Ridley are both long gone. [[spoiler:After his defeat by Samus yet again, he is implied to be eaten by the X Parasite that would later absorb Raven Beak to form a mishmash monstrosity. Said monstrosity ends up being vaporized by Samus' Hyper Beam and [=ZDR=] explodes shortly afterwards, [[DeaderThanDead meaning Kraid will be joining Ridley and Mother Brain in the permanent afterlife]].]]
* SealedEvilInACan: Noticeably, for his boss fight in ''Dread'' he's chained by his wrists and neck down in his boss room, indicating he's not exactly here by his own free will. The Chozo Archives confirm that he was forcibly restrained by the Mawkin Chozo Soldiers.
* SpikeShooter: In each of his appearances, he fires spikes from his belly.
* TacticalSuicideBoss: He would be invincible if he never opened his mouth or shot spikes out of his belly. Granted, you have to make Kraid open his mouth by shooting him the eye, so really he should have stopped shooting spikes after destroying the platform Samus was using to get an easier shot at his head.
* TaughtByExperience: Considering his first action upon seeing Samus is to lunge at her -- and later tries to step on her -- before being held back by his restraints, it's safe to say that by ''Metroid Dread'', Kraid is taking no chances to kill his long time adversary. Either that, or he has learned not to underestimate anyone wearing Chozo battle armor.
* ThirdEye: Shoot it to get him to open his mouth!
* TookALevelInBadass:
** By contrast, if one goes from ''Metroid Zero Mission'' to ''Super Metroid'' and ignores the original game, then Kraid becomes more difficult, particularly due to his use of BoomerangComeback.
** Though Samus doesn't consider him to be a threat and the mighty Space Pirate is reduced to a mere prisoner on ZDR, Kraid is far more aggressive and difficult to fight in ''Dread'' than he was in the past, especially since he can launch spikes, claws, several ball projectiles, fire balls, and a disgusting pink goo from his middle stomach hole pus. And unlike his previous battles, he will actually use his arms to ''punch'' Samus when she's clinging on a spider magnet wall at eye level.
* TrickBoss: His infamous ''Super Metroid'' boss fight, where he pits a smaller version of himself against Samus before confronting her himself.
* UnexplainedRecovery: Like Ridley and Mother Brain, Kraid was blown apart by Samus in ''Metroid''/''Zero Mission'', yet returns fine and dandy in ''Super Metroid'' and later again in ''Dread''. Concept art revealed that he was originally going to appear in '' Prime'' with cybernetic enhancements similar to Meta Ridley, thus justifying his eventual recovery, but Kraid was cut from the final game.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Phantoon]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/phantoon.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''Unknowable. Unkillable.'']]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid''
-->''"The cold silence serves to punctuate the feeling of death that emanates from this virtually lifeless place... Only one thing is alive and well here... Evil."''
--->--'''Samus Aran'''
An ethereal, supernatural, genderless specter that is both intangible and / or invulnerable to any form of attack, except for its single nebulous eye. It is this eye that, when opened, serves as its connection to the material world and can be torn asunder. It feeds on negative emotions and is drawn to the desolate, derelict wrecks of space-vessels; gorging itself on pain, fear and misery to create spirit thralls known as Coverns. From its dwelling in the Wrecked Ship on Zebes, it was appointed as a Space Pirate commander and one of the guardians of Tourian. Some suspect it to be merely ''part'' of a malevolent entity from the different dimension; others, the psychic harmonics of Mother Brain given manifestation once more. Whatever the case: it haunts Samus Aran like a ghost and will ''never'' give up its vendetta.

* AmbiguousGender: As Phantoon has only been referred to as an "it", it is unknown if it has a gender at all.
* AmbiguousSituation: It is apparently assigned a role as one of Tourian's guardians alongside Space Pirate mainstays, Kraid and Ridley. However, given its supernatural origins (and that Mother Brain psychically enthralled it, whether through mind control or Phantoon feeding off her energy), we have no idea if Phantoon officially has any meaningful position within the Space Pirate hierarchy (or if it has any other connections to the Space Pirates at all).
* AstralProjection: It apparently possesses an astral form.
* BerserkButton: In ''Super'', if you hit it with a super missile, it goes apeshit and bombards you with a fireball attack that's very difficult to dodge.
* BulletHell: Phantoon does this using its fire orbs, especially in ''Super Metroid'' if you try to hit it with super missiles. In ''Other M'', they home in on Samus, forcing her to use the Sense Move almost every second.
* TheBusCameBack: ''Other M'' gives it a return appearance for the first time since ''Super'', ''sixteen years and seven games'' earlier.
* CreateYourOwnHero: If Phantoon was responsible for marooning the Chozo on Zebes, it not only led the Chozo to set up their own settlement on the planet, but the same Chozo colony raised Samus Aran to be the bane of Space Pirates, and Phantoon by extension once it was involved with the Pirates.
* {{Cyclops}}: It has one giant eyeball.
* DeathOrGloryAttack: Invoked in ''Super Metroid''; using Super Missiles kills it drastically quicker than using ordinary missiles. But, every time you hit it with a Super Missile, its BulletHell attack patterns get faster and faster, so you may find yourself killed more readily than you would if you took the slower path and used ordinary missiles.
* DisneyDeath: Perhaps unintentionally set up in ''Super Metroid'', it returns in ''Other M'' as the TrueFinalBoss.
* DynamicDifficulty: In ''Super Metroid'', the difficulty of the boss fight is scaled based on the player's actions. If the player hits Phantoon with a Super Missile to deal more damage, it will go into an enraged state and start using much more difficult attack patterns. If the player uses only weaker regular missiles on it, then Phantoon sticks with its easier attack pattern.
* EasyModeMockery: ''Inverted.'' Phantoon, along with the entire Playable Epilogue, is missing in Hard Mode.
* EldritchAbomination: The biggest in Metroid's lore... So far... It exists on multiple planes of reality at once and what Samus has fought so far is only its head.
* EmotionEater: It feeds off negative emotions to increase its own power.
* EyesDoNotBelongThere: It has a single eye contained inside of its mouth. If the Rage Hands are part of its body, it also has eyes in its palms.
* EyelessFace: It looks sort of like a disembodied head mixed with a jellyfish, but it's got a blank space where its eyes should be.
* FlyingFace: According to ''Other M'''s concept art, the part of Phantoon that you fight as boss is actually one of these, and the rest of its body is concealed on multiple planes of reality. In its boss fight in ''Other M'', it also summons multiple [[GiantHandsOfDoom disembodied hands]], effectively making it ''Metroid's'' answer to Nintendo's recurring "floating head and hands" bosses.
* GlassCannon: It hits hard, but all it needs is five Super Missiles in the eye. Even then, choosing to use Super Missiles on it will provoke it into unleashing its deadlier and harder-to-dodge attacks.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Its appearance in ''Other M.'' Since it shows up after the credits with no context, it is unknown if Phantoon was another of the Federation conspiracy's bio-weapons or if this was the original Phantoon and it simply took over what was left after the Bottle Ship operation was shut down (during the BossRush leading up to it, left-over bio-weapons can be seen coming out of portals similar to the ones the Rage Hands come out of).
* GoForTheEye: It has one giant eye in the middle of its jaws. Guess where its only weakness is?
* KingMook: It can be viewed as one for the Coverns in ''Super Metroid'', especially since it created them.
* LoadBearingBoss: Inverted with the Wrecked Ship in ''Super Metroid''. Phantoon's defeat drives away the Coverns and restores power to the ship, with the other robots reactivating and other living creatures starting to move in. Subverted in ''Other M'' from a gameplay standpoint, as while the Bottle Ship's self-destruct sequence happens after Phantoon's defeat, there's no indication that Phantoon was responsible for it and it only starts after Samus retrieves Adam's helmet, as the ship was scheduled by the Galactic Federation to be destroyed anyway.
* MultipleChoicePast: Phantoon's backstory has changed drastically over the years. In ''Super Metroid's'' manuals, it was described as either being the ghost of the Wrecked Ship that [[HijackingCthulhu tapped into Mother Brain's brainwaves and became loyal to her]] (in the English manual), or a [[TheHeartless physical manifestation of Mother Brain's malevolence]] (in the Japanese manual). Another backstory revealed in ''Other M's'' concept art, suggests it to be [[EldritchAbomination a multi-dimensional entity]] that hitched a ride on (and eventually sabotaged) the Chozo vessel that ultimately became the Wrecked Ship.
* {{Necromancer}}: The Coverns[[note]]ghostly enemies comprised of multiple screaming skulls[[/note]] aboard the Wrecked Ship in ''Super Metroid''? Its doing. They used to be the ship's crew. However, it's possible some of them may also be from explorers killed after the crash and Pirates from the Mother Ship in ''Zero Mission'' given its proximity to part of the ship prior to its destruction.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: It exists as both a multidimensional corporeal form and an astral form. And while it can be driven away, it'll always come back. The Coverns, on the other hand, are explicitly ghosts comprised of multiple souls.
* TacticalSuicideBoss: In ''Super'', if Phantoon just kept its eye shut it would remain intangible while dropping random fire orbs. It might take a long time, but Samus would go down eventually.
* TechnicolorFire: Phantoon uses ghostly blue orbs of flame that rather resemble HitodamaLight.
* TentacledTerror: A cephalopod-like monster that has (at least) two tentacles.
* TookALevelInBadass: In ''Other M'', it is huge and is given a promotion to TrueFinalBoss status.
* TrueFinalBoss: In ''Other M'', Phantoon appears in the epilogue as a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere that's detached from the main storyline and is much more challenging than the actual FinalBoss, MB. However, if you play on Hard, you can't access the post-game and, consequently, Phantoon.
* UncertainDoom: It isn't quite clear if Phantoon was killed in any of its battles with Samus (or if it can be killed at all) given its otherworldly nature and its defeat animations.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Or where was the mouse during ''Zero Mission''? A piece of the Wrecked Ship can be traveled through as a gateway between Chozodia and Crateria (and right near the Pirate Mother Ship's landing site). However, it doesn't seem to be haunted by Phantoon or Coverns, is fully powered and inhabited by Zebesian fauna, despite the implications of Phantoon's connections to the ship.
* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: What we see is only a fragment of the true being.

[[folder: Draygon]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/draygon_2.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Watch where you wander...]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid''
-->''"To think I called this place home once, in peaceful times, long before monsters moved in the caverns below..."''
--->--'''Samus Aran'''
A giant Evir that dwells in the watery caverns of Maridia, Draygon was appointed as a Space Pirate General capable of guarding Tourian to the same extent as its fellow captains, Ridley and Kraid when the Pirates rebuilt their base on Zebes. Possesses semi-sentience and full asexual reproduction for future generations.

* AchillesHeel: ''[[HighVoltageDeath Electricity]]''. Consider that it must be filtering water through its shell, gills and body to move so quickly while submerged and its death becomes even more horrific.
* AmbiguousGender: Manuals refer to Draygon with gender-neutral pronouns and the ''Super Metroid Players' Guide'' outright uses male pronouns, but Draygon's behavior and status as a maternal figure for Evirs lead some fans to refer to it as female.
* AmbiguousSituation: It is apparently assigned a role as one of Tourian's guardians alongside Space Pirate mainstays, Kraid and Ridley. However, since all we know about it is that it is apparently an Evir brood mother, Draygon's official position in the Space Pirate hierarchy as well as the Evirs' connections to the Pirates in general are unknown.
* AttackItsWeakPoint: Samus must ''burst'' Draygon's soft under-belly with either a barrage of missiles or by hooking into the electric circuit.
* BewareMyStingerTail: It can do ''massive'' damage with its tail if it manages to grab Samus with its creepy claws. That said, this trope is Played With in that Draygon doesn't so much have a stinger as it's simply slapping Samus with it really, ''really'' hard.
* BodyHorror: It's a giant hybrid of fish and crustacean, with a pustulant bloated underbelly hanging out from its underside. Also, ''both'' of its death animations involve bursting its stomach.
* DeathOrGloryAttack: Invoked; the secret method of defeating Draygon involves using a missile to blast off one of the devices on the upper walls of the arena, exposing a live circuit, and then letting Draygon catch Samus before using the Grapple Beam to grab the exposed circuit and electrocute them both. The maneuver deals a bit of damage to Samus but kills Draygon instantly and is much easier than shooting it down with missiles.
* KingMook: It can be considered one for the Evirs.
* LampreyMouth: Its circular mouth and teeth are line up this way.
* MamaBear: To its Evir twin-breed offspring. Samus getting near them is Draygon's cue to attack.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: In a gaping circular orifice just to increase the squick factor.
* NightmareFace: It's bad enough that Draygon has a nasty leech-like sucker mouth with white, mad glassy eyes that make a Great White's look like a puppy's, but if you look closely at its head-armor, it's shaped to make it appear covered in ''screaming, twisted skulls'', looking almost like Phantoon's [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Coverns]].
* OutOfFocus: Out of all the Space Pirate bosses that were Tourian's guardians, Draygon is so far the only one to have appeared just once in the series, save for being a placeholder image for a scan in the demo for ''Metroid Prime''.
* SeaMonster: An animalistic, gluttonous leviathan that shrieks like Anguirus from ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}''.
* StarfishAlien: Draygon is an Evir KingMook who was appointed to a major position as one of Tourian's guardians alongside long-time Space Pirate commanders, Kraid and Ridley, and the mysterious EldritchAbomination, Phantoon. Therefore, it would seem that Draygon and the Evir species are sapient despite appearing to be giant, water-dwelling, non-humanoid crustaceans. Like the Kihunters, the Evirs may be another race of pirates and not a species native to Zebes.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Pirate Commander]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/commander_pirate_2.png]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption''
-->''[[AC:"A rare breed, Pirate Commanders have lived to rise to the ruling caste on the Pirate Homeworld. Each has been a commando for at least ten years."]]''
--->--'''Scan Lore'''
A high ranking pirate who commanded the forces on Urtraghus. After its troops and Gandrayda failed to eliminate Samus it took to the battlefield in an attempt to do the job itself.

* AmbiguousGender: No mention is ever made of its gender. Given the mystery surrounding Pirate culture, it's just as likely to be female as it is male.
* ArmCannon: As is standard for pirate warriors.
* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Scan data mentions that being promoted to commander means serving at least ten years as a commando.
* AuthorityGrantsAsskicking: Just as deadly as commando pirates were when you first encountered them, plus a few extra tricks.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: It has Phazite blades for close combat.
* BodyguardingABadass: A squad of [[EliteMooks commandos]] accompanies the commander.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: As with all the pirates on Urtraghus, it's under the sway of Dark Samus.
* EarlyBirdCameo: During the assault on Urtraghus, you can see it kill a couple of troopers if you wait long enough. Well, presumably it's the same commander.
* FlunkyBoss: Fights alongside a squad of commando pirates.
* FrontlineGeneral: When the commandos, metroids, and mooks fail to get the job done, the commander goes after Samus personally.
* InvisibilityCloak: Like the commandos, it has a cloaking device.
* KilledOffForReal: Killed permanently by Samus, naturally.
* KingMook: Essentially an upgraded commando.
* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: Its Phazite armor is red compared to the blue of normal commandos, and is far more durable as well as lacking the Nova Beam weakness.
* LightningBruiser: It hits hard, has extra tough armor, and the cloaking and teleporting make it hard to pin down.
* NoSell: By the time you encounter it, you've probably learned how to use the Nova Beam and X-Ray visor to target commando pirate's internal organs through their armor. Too bad the Commander gets the fancy red Phazite armor that makes that tactic useless.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: The red Phazite armor gives it this appearance.
* {{Teleportation}}: Utilizes a personal teleporter to maneuver around foes and retreat if necessary.
* ThereIsAnother: Commander is a rank, you can bet there are others.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Science Team]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' (Mentioned only)
-->''[[AC:"Science Team believes the Metroids can be trained. After several cycles of trying, I believe [[MemeticMutation Science Team has vapor for brains.]] I've lost two assistants to the wretched little things."]]''
--->-- '''Scan Lore'''
The enigmatic and amoral group responsible for the advancement of Space Pirate technology in their conquest of the universe.

* BioAugmentation: Their most common methods of improving their underlings.
* CreativeSterility: Played with. While they steal and reverse engineer a great deal of technology, they also create a good portion of it themselves.
* TheCreon: With the intertwined nature of the high command and science team, not to mention how often Samus kills off high ranking pirates, it would be fairly easy for them to seize power. Instead they go to great lengths to keep the current leadership alive, sometimes even creating entirely new beings like Master Brain solely to give them the responsibility of leadership.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: The most well known statement regarding them is an insult to their intelligence, but there's a reason the pirates have been able to hold their own against the numerically superior Federation for so long.
* {{Determinator}}: If absolutely nothing else, "defeat" doesn't seem to be in their vocabulary. It doesn't matter how many times their experiments die on them, proceed to kill copious amounts of Pirates before being put down or subdued, or get blown to hell by Samus. Science Team will just brush it off and either try again or move on to a similar project without batting an eye.
* EvilGenius: They created all the tech the pirates use that they didn't steal. Everything in the Creations section of this page exists thanks to them.
* EvilutionaryBiologist: They work with living creatures just as much as machines, and it doesn't matter how many times their failures die or go insane in the pursuit of perfecting their bioweapons.
* ForScience: They experiment for the sake of it, even when it isn't at all practical. In ''Prime'' alone, they decided to test the newly-discovered Phazon (which they learned very quickly would kill, mutate, and drive insane anything that comes into contact with it) on tiny parasites (creating the Parasite Queens), inanimate rock and ice (creating Thardus), Metroids (creating the Tallon, Hunter, and Fission Metroids), and even themselves (creating the Elite Pirates, the Phazon Elite, and the Omega Pirate), all heedless of anyone or everyone who ends up dead because Phazon exposure during testing or being in the wrong place at the wrong time when the insane experiments break loose and start killing anything within reach.
* TheGhost: While their lackeys have been encountered, Science Team itself has never been seen in any medium.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Every time the pirates appear, with the exception of ''Corruption'', they're doing something to further one of Science Team's projects. And even in ''Corruption'', when the pirates were all mind controlled, they still made heavy use of their tech like hypermode and phazite armor.
* IWantThemAlive: {{Downplayed}} in regards to Samus Aran. Scanning reports in ''Prime'' make it clear that while the orders are out to subjugate or terminate her, they would much prefer her dead; however, they want her dead in such a way her body or at least her PoweredArmor is left intact for study and reverse-engineering.
* JustThinkOfThePotential:
** What their obsession with [[UltimateLifeForm Metroids]] and controlling them often tends to boil down to. So what if they keep sucking the lifeforce out of all our guys, just imagine how deadly they'll be to our enemies when we ''finally'' get them under control!
** How they justify all of their experiments with [[MutagenicGoo Phazon]] in the ''Prime'' Trilogy. Sure, the subjects keep dying or going insane, but ''look'' at all the amazing mutations they get and how much damage they can do even like that! Just imagine how deadly they would be if we can cultivate those "useful" mutations for combat and keep them obedient and (semi-)controllable? At least until ''Corruption'', when Dark Samus's mental control turns it more towards a religious zeal.
* NoOSHACompliance: The experiments they embark on and some of the engineering decisions they make have zero regard for the well-being of their underlings. They can range from dangerous but successful at best (Phazon experiments) to criminally incompetent at worst (such as their [[BodyHorror attempt]] to replicate Samus's [[ShapeshifterBaggage Morph Ball]]).
* SmugSnake: The logs in ''Prime'' indicate a big reason they're so eager to get into the Impact Crater isn't just to get at the large Phazon supply, but also capture and control the massive lifeform (aka Metroid Prime) they've detected inside. Look no further than the events of ''Echoes'' (where Metroid Prime now as Dark Samus is raiding Pirate bases for their Phazon) and ''Corruption'' (where Dark Samus flat-out takes control of the Pirates, including Science Team, herself) to see how likely they would have pulled that off.
* TestedOnHumans: Probably not actually humans, but they have a habit of using sentient beings as test subjects, usually their own species.
* WeHaveReserves: They are [[LackOfEmpathy extremely callous]] about the loss of life incurred in their experiments. As far as they're concerned, results are the only thing that matter, and they'll happily spend or waste as many beings as possible to get them.
[[/folder]]

!!Specific Pirates
[[folder: Mini-Kraid]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/Metroid1''
[[quoteright:120:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mini_kraid.png]]
Also known as Fake Kraid, False Kraid, or Baby Kraid. Mini-Kraid is a decoy of the real Kraid who lurks in the corridors of lower Brinstar. He is much weaker than the real deal, but woe to the player who mistakes him for the real Kraid and then wonders why the path to Tourian hasn't opened up yet...

* AdaptedOut: Despite being a notorious element of the original ''Metroid'', Mini-Kraid is the only enemy that does not return in the remake ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission''.
* AmbiguousSituation: What is Mini-Kraid? Is he another member of Kraid's species? Is he a clone? Is he a robot decoy? It seems there will never be an answer to these questions.
* BizarreAlienBiology: A dinosaur with the standard claws and teeth? Pretty normal as far as video game monsters go. [[ThirdEye Three eyes]]? That's only slightly pushing the envelope. Spikes that shoot out of its belly? Alright, now ''that's'' not exactly normal.
* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: Much like the real Kraid, Mini-Kraid was portrayed with blue fur on his back and only two eyes in his debut the original ''Metroid''. His appearance in ''Super Metroid'' is likewise updated to match Kraid's iconic redesign.
* FakeUltimateMook: Although Mini-Kraid looks and behaves much like the real Kraid, he dies in one missile and doesn't open the way to Tourian. In ''Super Metroid'', he's a bit stronger and is even fought in a room looking much like Kraid's original room, but this was to add dramatic effect once the player entered the next room and saw just how gigantic the real deal was.
* FatBastard: Mini-Kraid has a really big gut and given that he's a Space Pirate, he's not a very pleasant individual.
* InformedAttribute: Interestingly, a 1991 ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' article refers to the fake Kraid as a "midget monster imposter", even though he is the same height as Kraid in the original ''Metroid''. This seemingly prophesized Mini-Kraid's much smaller appearance (or rather, the real Kraid's much larger appearance) a few years later in ''Super Metroid''.
* MiniMe: He's this to the enormous Kraid, and he's ''still'' almost twice as big as Samus.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: His eyes are red in ''Super Metroid''.
* SpikeShooter: In both of his appearances, he fires spikes from his belly.
* ThirdEye: As part of his updated design in ''Super Metroid'', Mini-Kraid has a third eye in the middle of his forehead.
* TookALevelInBadass: A very minor case in ''Super Metroid''. While he is still much weaker than the real Kraid, Mini-Kraid is more resilient and takes a few missiles to kill.
* TrickBoss: Infamously, Mini-Kraid's role is to trick players into thinking they're fighting the real Kraid. In ''Metroid'', they're located in separate parts of the maze-like Mini-Boss Lair, but in ''Super Metroid'', Mini-Kraid is fought shortly before engaging the real Kraid a few rooms later.
* UnexplainedRecovery: No matter how many times Samus guns down Mini-Kraid, he respawns once she leaves the room. This suggests that Mini-Kraid is less likely a single character and more likely a group of Space Pirates of the same species as Kraid.
* UniqueEnemy: In both of his appearances, he only shows up in a single room.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Weavel]]
An elite pirate warrior nearly killed by Samus and rebuilt as a cyborg. His tropes can be found [[Characters/MetroidBountyHunters here]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Pirate Hussar]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pirate_hussar_8.png]]

Unusually brave Space Pirates who ride ferocious Korakk beasts. One is encountered on Bryyo.

* AttackItsWeakpoint: The entire hussar counts since you can shoot them dead without beating the beast. For the Korakk, shoot the mouth to stun it, lay bombs under it to topple it, then grapple the tail to pull it upright, ''then'' shoot the weak point on its belly.
* TheBeastmaster: Hussars must tame the Korakk beasts to ensure their loyalty.
* BeastOfBattle: The Korakk beast.
* JoustingLance: The hussar wields a Phazon energy lance.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: The hussar's armor.
* {{Synchronization}}: Killing the beast will kill the hussar, though the beast can survive the death of its rider.
* VillainousFriendship: Its implied the hussars have genuine affection for their mounts.
* UndyingLoyalty: The beast will fight on even if you kill the rider in an attempt to avenge their death.

[[folder: King Kihunter]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kingkihuntertrophywiiu_2.png]]
The king of a Kihunter hive. One is found onboard the Bottle Ship.

* CoresAndTurretsBoss: The boss fight consists of shooting the plants that grow on the hive's supports, shattering them and exposing the king.
* EyelessFace: It has a mouth, but no visible eyes. Considering it's fused to the interior of its hive, it's doubtful it would really have much to look at anyways.
* InsectQueen: GenderInvertedTrope. He's the ruler of a hive of giant alien wasps. This is a stark contrast to real life hive insects, which are always matriarchal.
* FlunkyBoss: The fight is primarily dealing with the constantly spawning kihunters long enough to shoot at the actual objectives.
* KingMook: Averted, despite the name. He's much different than normal kihunters.
* MeatMoss: A large section of the hive wall is part of its flesh.
* MotherOfAThousandYoung: Father actually. It's to be expected when you're talking about the head of an insect hive, though it raises some questions about how the heck that system evolved.
* StationaryBoss: He's completely stationary for the whole fight, as his abdomen is actually fused with the hive.

!!Pirate Subgroups

[[folder: Zebesians]]

[[quoteright:154:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zebesian_fusion_art.png]]
The crustacean pirate group that seized Zebes and subsequently used it as a base. The standard troopers of the Space Pirates, the Zebesians have carried out several raids on Federation spaceships, one of which is a deep space vessel that carried the first Metroid specimens. Under the direct control of Mother Brain, they guard her underground fortress and experiment on the Metroids for galactic conquest.

* AmbiguouslyRelated: The design of the [[PoweredArmor ancient Chozo armor]] that Gray Voice wears while [[spoiler: attempting to kill Mother Brain]] in the manga has a [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/metroid/images/1/17/Manga_Armored_Gray_Voice.png/revision/latest?cb=20181027155803 very similar design]] to the Zebesians, specifically their BirdPeople redesign in ''Fusion''. The connection is never stated in the manga, leaving open the question of whether or not the Zebesian space pirates and Chozo might actually be related.
* ArtificialHuman: ''Other M'' has the Galactic Federation creating their own series of {{cyborg}} Zebesian clones to use as bioweapons. Supplementary materials reveal that they lack the intelligence and emotions of natural Zebesians so as to make them more subservient, and because of it are barely a threat unless controlled by a higher power like MB.
* BirdPeople: ''Fusion'' had them redesigned to have more bird-like features, such as the beak and feathers. It's implied in the manga and ''Other M'' that this is their true appearance and the classical insectoid appearance is just their body armor.
* {{Cyborg}}: They are often augmented with environmental survival systems and weapons. The ones made by the Galactic Federation on the BOTTLE SHIP are borderline {{Full Conversion Cyborg}}s, although ironically enough their implants appear to be cruder in design than those made by the Space Pirates.
* DependingOnTheWriter: Are they so dependent on Mother Brain's mind control that if she dies, they'll go feral and collapse as an organization? Or can they operate on their own even if Mother Brain isn't around? Each game gives a different interpretation. Later material such as ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' attempt to reconcile this by saying that the clones made by the Federation in ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' were unintelligent lab specimens unlike the regular Zebesians.
* EliteMook:
** Super Zebesians, which are more durable and more dangerous than the standard version.
** The two Zebesians that guard Ridley's lair. They are more acrobatic than regular Zebesians, and can only be harmed when they change color in mid-air.
* EmptyShell: Supplementary materials reveal the Zebesian clones created by the Galactic Federation in ''Other M'' to be this, having had their intelligence, emotions, and sense of independence bred out so as to be better used as pawns. It's because of this that they're barely a threat to the galaxy compared to natural Zebesians, even less so when they aren't controlled by a leader.
* EnergyWeapon: Their standard armament, launched from their pincers. In ''Super Metroid'' they also have EyeBeams, which results in roughly the same spread as the spazer, but all games released since limit it to the pincers.
* InsectoidAliens: Their exoskeleton and pincers make them appear as humanoid arthropods, although they are more like a cross between a bug and a bird underneath that armor.
* MascotMook: They are the de facto Space Pirate troopers. In official artworks of the ''Metroid'' franchise, the Space Pirates' forces are almost always depicted as Zebesians.
* MeaningfulRename: They took the moniker Zebesians after conquering the planet.
* {{Mooks}}: Out of all Space Pirate troopers, they are most prominent and iconic species.
* NoNameGiven: We still don't know the real name of their species.
* NonIndicativeName: Despite their name, they aren't native to Zebes. Yoshio Sakamoto has compared to this to how most Americans are actually descendants of European colonists, who took up the name after conquering the natives' land.
* PowerPincers: Usually with built-in energy weapons.
* ServantRace: According to the trophy in ''Super Smash Bros 4'', the Zebesians cloned by the Federation have had the ability to act independently removed to make them better pawns for the Federation.
* WallCrawl: They can crawl on the walls like insects, though they don't utilize this ability very often.
* WeakWilled: Every time they're encountered, they're being controlled by a higher intelligence. The Federation's clone Zebesians aren't even a threat to galactic civilization when not controlled by a leader.
* YouShallNotPass: In ''Zero Mission'', a lone Zebesian tries to do this when Samus is escaping the Space Pirate Mothership with a stolen Pirate fighter craft. [[CurbStompBattle It goes as well as you would expect]].

[[folder: Kihunters]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kihunter.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Why did it have to be bugs?]]
An insectoid race of Space Pirates, they hail from another galactic system and helped rebuild the Pirates' operations on Zebes.

* AcidAttack: The Kihunters spit acid as a projectile attack.
* AirborneMook: Their wings can be shot off, but they are still dangerous when grounded.
* BeePeople: Exactly how their social structure runs is not clear but they are bee-like and they have a "king".
* BewareMyStingerTail: They have stingers on their ovipositors, but they also have claws too.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Potentially, the Kihunters' status as sapient Space Pirates. While it's never been explicitly retconned by later games, it was only mentioned in the manual of their debut game, ''Super Metroid''. While Kihunters and Zebesians have both appeared together in later titles such as ''Fusion'' and ''Other M'', the presence of Zebesians aboard the BSL Station and BOTTLE SHIP is treated as an alarming development[[note]]while Zebesians are never acknowledged in-game, the ''Fusion'' website comments on their presence[[/note]] while Kihunters are treated with as little fanfare as any other feral Zebes lifeforms. Later games also tend to portray the Space Pirates as a single species instead of a faction of multiple species, which would have been defied by Kihunters being a separate species under the Space Pirates' banner.
* EliteMooks: ''Other M'' introduces Super Kihunters, which are a more powerful variant of Kihunters.
* EyelessFace: Their Zero larval stage is eyeless, until ''Other M'' depicts them with eyes.
* InsectoidAliens: Compared to other Space Pirates, Kihunters are the most explicitly insectoid and resemble giant wasps.
* MetamorphosisMonster: The caterpillar-like Zeros are revealed in ''Fusion'' to be their larval form. It's significant to that game because, after defeating Zazabi, the Zeroes freeze in their typical spots and form cocoons, blocking off certain passageways until they emerge as Kihunters right before the second visit to Sector 2.
* NaturalWeapon: The main difference between them and the other Pirate footsoldiers is that they never seem to brandish any weapons besides those they were born with.
* PersonalSpaceInvader: Super Kihunters latch on to enemies as a matter of course but thankfully do not explode.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS:
** In the ''Super Metroid'' manual, their name is written as "Keyhunters". In the Japanese ''Other M'' guidebook, it's written as "Ke-Hunter". Otherwise, it's consistently spelled as "Kihunter".
** The larval form, Zero, is called "Zoro" in one ''Super Metroid'' guidebook and the Japanese ''Other M'' guidebook. It is a closer romanization of their Japanese name, but "Zero" is the more common name.
* SuperSpit: The gunk they spit after losing their wings. In ''Other M'' they don't even wait that long, spitting projectiles as soon as they see Samus.
* TakingYouWithMe: In ''Other M'', they try to latch onto Samus and explode if they take heavy damage.
* ThirdEye: A large one in the center of their head.
* WallCrawl: Zeros, their larval stage, are capable of crawling on walls and ceilings.

[[folder: Tallon IV Pirates]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime''
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mpr_space_pirate.png]]
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The reptilian pirate group encountered on Tallon IV. Samus encounters them as they investigate the first known appearance of Phazon and its applications for combat. Besides the standard Space Pirate, they field the stealthy Shadow Pirates, the maneuverable Flying and Aqua Pirates, and the technologically-advanced Trooper Pirates (Power Trooper, Wave Trooper, Ice Trooper, and Plasma Trooper).

* AirborneMook: The Flying Pirates use jetpacks to fly.
* AquaticMook: Aqua Pirates. They're the same as a Flying Pirate except their jetpacks are modified to move underwater.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: All of them except Flying Pirates have energy scythes mounted on their forearms, or replacing their hands in the case of Trooper Pirates.
* BodyHorror: Most of the pirates on the Frigate ''Orpheon'' have clearly seen better days, to the point you can count the number of uninjured ones on one hand. Scanning several bodies show that the Parasite Queens and their brood either directly or indirectly killed or maimed them through such ways as crushing body parts, ripping off limbs, smothering in acid, and eating their internal organs.
* CeilingCling: How the Shadow Pirates like to get the drop on Samus. In the Phazon Mines, beam and normal troopers will hide in ceiling compartments to mimic this.
* CombatPragmatist: They completely avoid MookChivalry and attack Samus in areas where she's at a disadvantage.
* {{Cyborg}}: They have a number of mechanical components grafted into their bodies, including the presence of a prosthetic spinal column.
* EnergyWeapon: All pirates, save the Shadow Pirates, have these.
* GlowingEyes: They have flaming orange eyes.
* {{Invisibility}}: The Shadow Pirates use this and WallCrawl to get the drop on Samus.
* LaserBlade: Of varying colors depending on their role. Orange for normal Space Pirates, blue for Shadow Pirates, and the same color as their beam type for Trooper Pirates.
* LizardFolk: They're very reptilian in design, especially compared to the more crustacean and insectoid pirates of other ''Metroid'' games.
* MechaMooks: More for patrolling than serious combat.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain:
** Their ruined ship broadcast an open distress signal, allowing Samus to discover and destroy their operations on Tallon IV.
** If they hadn't drawn the attention of Samus (and thus the Federation) to Phazon, Phaaze may never have been discovered and destroyed.
* NoSell: The various Trooper Pirates each have complete immunity to everything but one of the beams and its charge combo.
* SinisterScythe: Their melee weapons are called energy scythes, though the name isn't indicative of their actual design.
* TakingYouWithMe: Flying and Aqua Pirates will attempt to crash into Samus when they're defeated.
* TakesOneToKillOne: Trooper Pirates are weak to whatever beam they use, which is explained InUniverse as a flaw in their weaponry giving them a vulnerability.
* TronLines: On the armor of the Trooper Pirates, with the color corresponding to their beam type.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Hardly unwitting, but their actions began the Phazon Conflict. Their creation of the Omega Pirate also indirectly created Dark Samus, which nearly led to the annihilation of the Federation and the subjugation of the Pirates.
* WallCrawl: In the Omega Pirate fight, sometime the Trooper Pirates will cling to the walls and fire down at Samus.

[[folder: Aether Pirates]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/space_pirate_model_echoes.png]]
The reptilian/insectoid pirate group encountered on Aether. They were investigating Phazon on the planet while avoiding the conflict between the Luminoth and Ing. Their efforts were hampered by the appearance of Dark Samus, discovery by the Ing, being followed by the Federation, and eventually the arrival of Samus. Though their forces were greatly reduced by the time they're encountered in ''Echoes'', they fielded troopers, grenadiers, aerotroopers, and commandos that impeded Samus's progress -- and provided useful hosts for the Ing.

* ArmCannon: All of the pirates seen have one of their arms replaced with some sort of projectile weapon.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: The normal troopers and grenadiers have their other hand replaced by a blade, while commandos have a LaserBlade projected from their weapons.
* TheBusCameBack: Where the Tallon IV and Urtraghus pirates were never seen after the games they initially appeared in, the Aether pirate species returns in ''Federation Force''.
* ButtMonkey: They get torn apart between the Ing, Dark Samus, and original flavor Samus.
* {{EMP}}: The pirate commandos have emp grenades that scramble Samus's visor and break target locks.
* EnemyMine: One of the Pirate Log scans muses if they could possibly form this with Dark Samus upon observing her attack Samus, specifically convincing Dark Samus to terminate the Hunter in exchange for Phazon. Given how we later witness Dark Samus murder a bunch of Pirates for their Phazon, it's unlikely she would be willing to talk terms.
* FlashStep: The pirate commandos use their thrusters to dart around in combat.
* LightIsNotGood: The pirate commandos wear white armor.
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Commandos have an energy shield that deflects all attacks, though they can't attack either while they're using it.
* MookCarryover: Many of them are possessed by Ing and used as their mooks.
* OutOfFocus: They control only a small portion of the map, with the Ing serving as the primary antagonists.
* RammingAlwaysWorks: Grenadiers will shoulder check Samus if she gets too close for them to use their grenade launcher. It actually does to, as the knockback from the attack will force her far enough away that they won't catch themselves in the blast radius.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: They bear a distinct resemblance to the Zebesian pirates.
* VillainTeleportation: They teleport their troops into combat.

[[folder: Urtraghus Pirates]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption''
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/500px_mp3_pirate.png]]
The group of pirates fought in ''Corruption''. After Dark Samus struck their planet with a Phazon meteor she used the corruptive influence of the material to enthrall the planet's forces, including Ridley. Under her control they waged war on the Federation alongside her Leviathans in what would be come to be called the Phazon Conflict. They are also the only pirates whose true homeworld has been seen.

* AllThereInTheManual: You'd wouldn't know their homeworld is called Urtraghus just by playing the game.
* ArmCannon: Like the Tallon pirates, one that leaves their hands free.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Retractable ones on their forearm.
* BodyHorror: A common occurrence with all Pirate variants, but the ''Corruption'' Pirates exhibit this to the greatest extent. Many of the militia units seem to have had their limbs replaced with spindly cybernetic appendages, their remaining flesh is made up of exposed skinless muscle, and that's not even getting into the various results of Phazon corruption.
** Maybe justified by the fact that they ''don't'' have actual bodies. Their heads are completely different material from their bodies, plus scan logs seem to indicate their heads are separate organisms. It seems they are just [[LosingYourHead heads]] in biomech frames (more like eels).
* BoomHeadshot: Once you acquire the Nova Beam and X-Ray Visor, you can target pirate commando's ''brains'' through their armor.
* EliteMook: There are several varieties on the standard mook, each with a certain advantage. Later in the game you encounter enemies that have two or more of these advantages.
* ImAHumanitarian: Pirates who fail too often, or militia who fail at all, are rumored to become rations for High Command.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Some pirates carry Phazon grenades that forces Samus into Hypermode. You know, Hypermode, that thing that makes her invincible and deal a crapload more damage than normal. In their defense, Phazon is pretty much guaranteed lethality against any normal lifeform, but you'd think they would learn after the first time.
* HotBlade: Their melee weapons, halfway between the energy blades of the Tallon IV pirates and the solid blades of the Aether pirates.
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Many pirates carry energy shields, which block all projectiles and must be ripped away with the grapple lasso.
* MechaMooks: To a much greater extent than any other pirate group.
* NoSell: Armored Pirates are immune to all beam attacks until you shatter their armor with missiles.
* OrganicTechnology: A number of their machines, such as their boarding pods, Jolly Roger Drones, and "Remorse"-Class Turrets look strangely organic in nature.
* PetTheDog: The militia pirates can be promoted from their SlaveMook status through service.
* PraetorianGuard: A squad of commandos guards the Commander.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: All structures on the Pirate Homeworld follow this colour scheme, and so do the Pirates themselves. Their blue Phazon veins and various armours disguise this fact, but viewing their models in the Logbook makes it apparent.
* ShieldBearingMook: Some carry shields that can block all attacks until you rip it away from them.
* SlaveMook: The militia pirates, who are much weaker than all other pirate types.
* SuperMode: Just like Samus, they can utilize Hypermode. Whether they came up with it first or the Federation did is unknown.
* VillainTeleportation: The commandos use personal teleporters to outmaneuver Samus.

[[folder: Bermuda System Pirates]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeFederationForce''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pirate_trooper_fed_force_render.png]]
A group of Space Pirates that serves as the antagonists of ''Federation Force''. After the fall of Urtraghus to the Federation, they established themselves in the remote Bermuda system. There they sought to construct a superweapon with which to strike at the heart of the Federation.

* AngryGuardDog: They keep zuruburats for the same purpose.
* ArmCannon: Depending on the type, either one mounted on their forearm or replacing it.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Making all their soldiers giant did allow them a much better chance against the Project Golem marines. But against normal troops, it makes them much larger targets and keeps them from entering normal sized buildings and ships.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Projecting from their forearms.
* BoomHeadshot: Unlike previous games, you can actually do more damage by shooting them in the head.
* TheBusCameBack: It's hard to tell because of the art style, but they seem to be the same species as the pirates encountered on Aether.
* DualWielding: Pirate troopers wield two energy scythes at the expense of any ranged weapons.
* EliteMooks: There are elite versions of every variety of pirate. Instead of being enhanced by Phazon like in previous Prime titles, they merely have thicker armour and more powerful weapons.
* GiantMook: All of them. They used technology from the ancient civilization on Bion to alter their own physiology and increase their size.
* LaserBlade: The style of their melee weapons.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: If they hadn't increased the size of their soldiers, and thus scaled up their bases to allow them to operate, the Project Golem marines would have had to abandon their mechs in order to enter the pirate facilities and thus been easy targets.
* TookALevelInBadass: Beyond the obvious, which is that the Federation needed multiple teams of troopers equipped with mechs to take them on. They went above and beyond previous Pirate groups by [[spoiler: capturing ''Samus''.]]

!! Pirate Creations

[[folder: Spore Spawn]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spore_spawn_sm_artwork.png]]
A plant monster that was genetically-engineered by the Space Pirates. It guards the upper levels of Brinstar, attacking intruders with deadly spores.

* HundredPercentCompletion: An odd case for this is that Spore Spawn [[SubvertedTrope is entirely unnecessary to 100% the game]]. Unlike other bosses, its treasure is an item scattered around the map, but with certain movement tricks you can get a "later" Super Missile Tank before fighting Spore Spawn. From there, with camera tricks, you can break into the area containing Spore Spawn's tank and steal it, and since bosses don't add to the percentage, you never have to fight it this way.
* AlliterativeName: '''Sp'''ore '''Sp'''awn.
* BotanicalAbomination: A giant genetically engineered plant.
* PlantAliens: Genetically-engineered though, but still counts.
* ShieldedCoreBoss: Its core is its weak point, so you have to wait for its [=shell/mouth=] to open to hit it.
* SkippableBoss: Unintentionally. By using a trick to obtain Super Missiles earlier than normal, it is possible to avoid fighting the Spore Spawn. You can even go back with Supers and backtrack through the path that exits from the boss's Super Missile Tank to claim the reward.
* WarmupBoss: Probably the simplest boss in the entire series. It's only a challenge due to being fought very early when you don't have much life.

[[folder: Covern]]
[[quoteright:116:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/covern_sprite.png]]

The spectral beings Phantoon used to guard the wrecked ship on Zebes.

* AmbiguousSituation: It's not quite clear whether they were formed from the souls of the crewmates of the vessel they haunt or if Phantoon brought them with it when it moved into the ship.
* BodyHorror: Each Covern is multiple spirits combined into a misshapen mass, resembling a floating mass of tumorous flesh with several skeletal heads.
* MultipleHeadCase: They have no less than three visible heads in their sprites.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Once Phantoon is "killed" they vanish.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: They're malformed, tumorous masses with several screaming heads that flicker into reality just long enough to get a hit in before dissipating.
* WasOnceAMan: They used to be sentient beings (presumably Chozo if they were the ship's crew) before dying and becoming Phantoon's twisted minions.

[[folder: Mecha Ridley]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mecha_ridley_3.png]]
Also known as the Ridley Robot, Mecha Ridley is an incomplete robotic weapon built by Ridley on his own image. It is the surprise FinalBoss of ''Metroid: Zero Mission'', residing inside the Space Pirate Mothership.

* AchillesPowerCord: Because this weapon was not finished, Mecha Ridley is attached to several power cords and is thus unable to maneuver around Samus like the original space dragon it was based upon.
* AllThereInTheManual: Prior to ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', the name "Mecha Ridley" was translated from a name only mentioned in Japanese ''Zero Mission'' guides. Similarly, its only official English name at the time, Ridley Robot, was derived from the official ''Nintendo Power'' guidebook.
* AttackItsWeakPoint: A spot on its chest is vulnerable. Presumably the pirates were going to armor it but didn't get the chance.
* BreathWeapon: It can breathe fire, just like the original Ridley.
* DynamicDifficulty: If you collect all hidden items before confronting it, Mecha Ridley will become three times as tough and powerful.
* EyeBeams: One of its attacks consists of green laser beams coming from its eyes.
* FinalBoss: It is the final major opponent that Samus must defeat in ''Zero Mission''.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: There's just no hint whatsoever that this thing exists before you confront it besides a short cutscene showing [[EyeAwaken one of its eyes opening]], but that could've been anything. It's to the point that a lot of the information we know about it comes from WordOfGod.
* HomingProjectile: Its missiles will target Samus wherever she stands.
* KillerRobot: It's primarily a weapon, after all.
* LoadBearingBoss: Defeat it to start the obligatory self-destruct countdown.
* MacrossMissileMassacre: Another one of its attacks. It fires those from its back.
* PostClimaxConfrontation: It's technically the final boss of the game, but by then the main plot's been wrapped up. It's mainly a nice little bow to cap off Samus's acquisition of the ancient power suit.
* RobotMe: It's Ridley, except as a ROBOT!
* StationaryBoss: It can't move due to the power cables connecting it to the wall.
* TakingYouWithMe: Unlike most ''Metroid'' examples of LoadBearingBoss, Mecha Ridley's self-destruct sequence is clearly meant to take Samus with it, as its eyes start blinking red the moment it's defeated.
* UnfinishedUntestedUsedAnyway: This robot is not even close to being finished, as it was intended to have the walking and flying units installed. But given that Samus is infiltrating the Space Pirate Mothership and slaughtering all onboard, it is sent out to deal with the Hunter as a last ditch effort.
* WhoNeedsTheirWholeBody: It puts up a pretty good fight for a torso.

[[folder: Parasite Queen]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/parasitequeen.png]]

-->''[[AC:"Parasite female, genetically enhanced by unknown means."]]''
--->--'''Scan Data'''
A genetically-enhanced Parasite fought in the Frigate ''Orpheon'' after she broke loose. First boss of ''Metroid Prime''.

* AcidAttack: While the parasites have acidic mouth glands naturally, Phazon exposure caused a mutation that enhanced said glands on the Queen, which is why she's constantly drooling acid from the mouth. Presumably, this is the source of her BreathWeapon attack.
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: Phazon experimenting turned this otherwise rat-sized parasite into a huge monstrosity.
* GoneHorriblyRight: The Parasite Queens were the most successful test of Phazon's effects on her kind, having managed to reach their humongous size without dying from over-exposure. Then two of them broke out and started killing and infesting the crew. By the time Samus [[LateToTheTragedy gets there]], parasites are running all over the now-stricken ship and most of the crew are either dead or in [[BodyHorror such states]] that putting a Charge Beam through their heads is a MercyKill.
* InsectQueen: While not necessarily insects, the Parasites and their method of reproduction are fairly insectoid.
* MonsterProgenitor: Most of the regular parasites you find in your way (presumably some of them are her fellow test subjects) are implied to come from her.
* KingMook: The biggest of the Parasites you find. And the strongest too.
* LoadBearingBoss: Justified. She falls into the Frigate's core reactor after being defeated, causing it to malfunction.
* ShieldedCoreBoss: It uses the reactor's shields to protect itself from Samus's beams. Strangely, the opposite isn't true, as the Parasite's attacks can pass through the shields for no real reason.
* StarterVillain: The first boss of ''Prime''. Also, the first Phazon-infused boss of several Samus meets.
* ThereIsAnother: There are actually ''three'' Parasite Queens on the ship, but Samus only fights the one in the reactor core. Another one that broke free and went on a rampage with it was killed by the Pirates themselves as it reached the evacuation chamber, and the third one was still in stasis before it broke free once the reactor went critical. Luckily, by the time Samus walks into this event during the evacuation sequence, the Pirates themselves kill it before it can do anything.

[[folder: Thardus]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thardus_artwork.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The least of your problems on Tallon IV...]]
-->''[[AC:"East Quarantine Cave has been secured. Specimen remains in the Quarantine area. All experiments have been suspended pending pacification of area. Quarantine specimen exhibits highly aggressive behavior. Its body structure, composed of Phazon ore, appears nearly invulnerable. This has rendered our efforts to train and discipline subject useless as security breaches resulting in massive casualties have occurred. Access is strictly prohibited until further notice."]]''
--->--'''Project Titan'''
A massive RockMonster encountered in Metroid Prime, and truly stunning example of the Pirate's never-quenching desire to subvert science.

* AnIcePerson: Is able to perform an attack that will encase Samus in ice if it hits. Also creates an ice storm as the battle progresses hindering her ability to see.
* AttackItsWeakPoint: You must use the thermal visor to locate Phazon nodes vulnerable to missile attacks, then shoot them enough to shatter the rocks covering them before shooting the nodes themselves until they explode. Rinse and repeat until the boss dies.
* BossArenaRecovery: Breaking the rocks Thardus is trying to throw at you reveals items.
* DevelopersForesight: Thardus has extreme weakness to the Plasma beam while the Ice Beam does no damage; the player shouldn't have these weapons during the fight.
* ElementalPowers: DishingOutDirt and AnIcePerson, all in one.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The fact that Phazon granted inanimate material intelligence hints at [[spoiler: the Phazon itself being sentient]].
* {{Golem}}: It's also a Phazonlem. This results in...
* GoneHorriblyWrong: Subverted. The Pirates realized it was too difficult to control, and in a rare flash of savviness quarantined it and left it dormant rather than attempt to control it or completely scrap the experiment, making occasional tests on it and waiting until a way to control it becomes more accessible. Too bad Samus found it before they finished...
* PowerCopying: You absorb the spider ball from his defeated rubble pile. Because... magnets?
* PsychoPrototype: An early attempt at Phazon animation of inanimate material. It backfired spectacularly by creating a RockMonster which instinctively tried to kill everything and anything in reach.
* ReadingsAreOffTheScale: While Samus needs to the use the Thermal Visor to detect the Phazon nodes in Thardus's rocky body, actually exposing the nodes overloads the visor with the released thermal energy and forces Samus to switch back to the Combat Visor until she destroys them.
* RockMonster: An entity of living ice and rock empowered by Phazon.
* RollingAttack: Will periodically form into a ball and attempt to squash the player. If the player decides to risk dropping some Morph Ball bombs in the path of its attack it can expose Thardus's weak point without needing to use the Thermal Visor.
* ShockAndAwe: Can generate moderate electric attacks as well.
* ShockWaveStomp: The aforementioned ice attack is triggered by smashing the ground with its "fists".
* SoreLoser: Just as Samus is walking away after defeating Thardus, a rock hits and bounces off of her helmet.
* {{Telekinesis}}: The whole "creature" is nothing more than a loose collection of Phazon fused rocks assembled into a roughly humanoid shape. It also throws stones at the player using this ability.
* WeaponizedAnimal: The Pirates attempt, but ultimately fail to turn Thardus into a weapon. He's in the cave where the player finds him because they found it difficult to tame.
* TheWormThatWalks: It is not just one singular lump of rock, ice, and Phazon ore. It's a collection of floating rocks in a roughly humanoid shape.

[[folder: Elite Pirates]]
[[quoteright:243:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/243px_elite_pirate_mp1_artwork_01.png]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime''
-->''[[AC:"Phazon-enhanced Space Pirate. Incredibly strong, armored, and well armed."]]''
--->--'''Scan Data'''
After numerous failures at creating super soldiers through Phazon exposure, several key breakthroughs with the production of the "Phazon Strain Vertigo" allowed the creation of these deadly warriors.

* BodyHorror: Phazon mutations aside, their artillery cannons are ''grafted'' into their shoulders, something that can be seen in more grisly detail on the character model in the Remastered version.
* EliteMooks: It's right there in their names.
* LegacyCharacter: Two of them, in different ways. There are Pirate units that share the name in ''Federation Force'', though they lack any Phazon enhancements, and there are the Berserkers, which have a different name but are clearly the next step in the project.
* MightyGlacier: They aren't particularly fast but they can soak up a lot of fire. One of the scans note it would be wise to field them alongside the far more mobile regular infantry and flying troops to compensate.
* MookChivalry: Averted. One of the scans mentions having them work in concert with other troops in order to circumvent the Elite's weaknesses.
* NoSell: Their energy siphon systems make all beam attacks useless.
* PsychoPrototype: Not them, but the initial test subjects of Project Helix proved disastrous as the regular Phazon injections caused their brain tissue to degenerate even as their muscles were augumented. The ones who actually survived their birth and infancy had unrecoverable psychotic breakdowns as juveniles where they killed anything in reach before expiring. Only once the breakthrough of the "Phazon Strain Vertigo" was achieved were Elite Pirates successfully created, not that it stopped testing alternate methods as the Phazon Elite proved.
* RapidAging: The Phazon infusion seems to have accelerated their aging, going from embryos to adults in only a matter of days. However, it's noted in the Pirate logs that it's highly likely not even the Omega Pirate has very long to live as a result of the Phazon infusion due to cell degeneration, as none of the Elites have survived past "two deca-cycles".
* ShockwaveStomp: They create one with their wave quake generators.
* ShoulderCannon: They have miniature artillery cannons mounted on their shoulders.
* SuperSoldier: Their purpose.
* TykeBomb: According to the Pirate logs, many of the Elite Pirates were infused with Vertigo Phazon when they were just embryos, meaning they were meant to be super soldiers from the moment they are born.

[[folder: Phazon Elite]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/phazon_elite_mp1_screenshot_04.png]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime''
-->''[[AC:"Elite Pirate infused with energized Phazon."]]''
--->--'''Scan Data'''
An Elite Pirate that was directly infused with a variant of energized Phazon at the cost of its sanity.

* EliteMooks: It's a step beyond the Elite Pirates, who themselves were this to the standard Pirate troops.
* MacGuffinGuardian: Samus has to release it from stasis and fight it to the death in order to acquire the Chozo Artifact of Warrior, which was seemingly locked away with it.
* NoSell: It has the same energy siphon systems as the standard elites.
* PhlebotinumOverdose: Unlike the Elite Pirates who were carefully infused with the Vertigo Phazon strand as embryos, the Phazon Elite was directly infused with "energized" Phazon. As a result, it's a walking mass of mutant growths without much if any higher thought. Its not any less vicious though.
* PsychoPrototype: It's the EliteMook of an existing EliteMook, but the direct energized Phazon infusion stripped the Phazon Elite of much of its higher brain functions as a consequence.
* SealedEvilInACan: The Phazon Elite is resting inside a stasis pod when Samus encounters it. She needs to intentionally break it out with Power Bombs in order to claim the Chozo Artifact in the room with it.
* ShockwaveStomp: It can do this more rapidly than the standard Elites to make up for its lack of an [[ShoulderCannon artillery cannon]].
* ThereIsAnother: While Samus only ever fights one Phazon Elite, log book entries use the plural form while describing it, indicating that more of them were made.
* VolcanicVeins: Bright blue veins filled with Phazon.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: The energized Phazon infusion has reportedly drastically reduced the Phazon Elite's lifespan even by the standards of the Elite Pirates, [[LackOfEmpathy not that Science Team actually cares]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Omega Pirate]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/omega_pirate_render.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Finish Her!"'']]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime''
-->''[[AC:"Elite Pirate Upsilon's propensity for Phazon has enabled our research team to infuse it far beyond our safety restrictions, and the results have been extremely encouraging. Its constant Phazon diet has increased its mass exponentially, but it has retained all mental faculties and shows dexterity with all Elite weaponry, including Plasma incendiary launchers and the chameleon manta issued for cloaking purposes. Elite Pirate Upsilon exhibits miraculous healing abilities; when injured, it seeks out Phazon deposits and coats itself in the substance, which instantly mends the creature's wounds. The subject, which we are code-naming Omega Pirate based on these developments, shows potential to be a new standard for our armies. Our only concern at this point is its potential over-dependence on Phazon."]]''
--->--'''Pirate Data Log 11.232.8'''
A living testament to the lengths High Command will go to twist and mutate their own kind.

* AdaptationalModesty: The Omega Pirate has a lot more armor plating in the Remastered version, covering up the mechanical spinal column that all of the Tallon IV pirates seem to have.
* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: Considering how normal Space Pirates are approximately human-sized, it's quite jarring.
* BornWinner: The only reason he's so huge and powerful compared to the other Elite Pirates is because he was just naturally born with a superhigh Phazon tolerance, so the scientists were able to pump nearly limitless amounts of Phazon into him beyond what would kill most. However...
* CastFromLifespan: Science team's research suggests that though he's had literally no adverse effects to the Phazon yet, his lifespan will likely be short judging from even the successful Elite Pirates' survival rates.
* ClimaxBoss: He's the pinnacle of the Pirates' experimentation with Phazon in ''Prime'', and his defeat changes the focus of the plot from disrupting the Pirates' operations to removing the threat of Phazon in general. He also carries the final suit upgrade in the game, the Phazon Suit, although Samus still has to gather the Chozo artifacts across the planet before she can proceed to the [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Impact Crater]].
* CodeName: Was originally just 'Space Pirate Upsilon', before being dubbed the Omega Pirate by the research teams.
* EvilLaugh: He gives a very creepy one while he's cloaked, which is also the cue that he's about to appear in a Phazon puddle and start rebuilding his armor.
* EyeLightsOut: Its flaming eyes go out when it dies.
* FlunkyBoss: And God help you if it summons [[DemonicSpiders Wave Troopers]]. You're warned that it's about to do this when it growls "FINISH HER!"
* HealingFactor: Can absorb raw Phazon to grow back damaged flesh and exoskeleton tissue.
* ImMelting: As it dies, its body begins to crumble apart and melt into Phazon. As it fell onto Samus while doing this, this causes her suit to absorb and merge with its fluids to become the Phazon Suit.
* InvisibilityCloak: Turns one on when his armor is damaged to protect his health bar till it is fixed.
* KingMook: A bigger, better version of the Elite Pirates. Justified as he's an Elite Pirate who's a BornWinner, having the right genetics to safely absorb far more Phazon than his fellows and thus mutate more drastically.
* MonstrousMandibles: He's been given a pair of splitting mandibles near his lower jaw, in the Remastered version.
* PhlebotinumDependence: It will retreat to Phazon puddles to restore its damaged armor. This is also the only performance concern that has been noted by Science Team, as it will prioritize this over continuing combat when possible along with the logistical concerns of even having a sufficient Phazon supply always on hand for it.
* ShoulderCannon: DualWielding them, no less.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: He only shows up for a single boss fight in ''Metroid Prime'', but the circumstances of his death indirectly led to the creation of Dark Samus.
* SuperSoldier: The largest and most powerful of them.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: It's certainly trying to doom Samus, but as a result of the conditions of its death ''Dark Samus'' is essentially born from its remains.

[[folder: Berserkers]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/berserker_2.png]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption''
-->''[[AC:"Berserker Lords are a desperate measure, designed to exploit Phazon as much as possible. The few Berserker Knights that survive the highest level of corruption are promoted to Lord status. Lords are distinguished by their ornate Phazite plating and the Phazon reserves they carry on their backs."]]''
--->--'''Scan Data'''
Berserker Knights and Lords are the newest iteration of Phazon super soldier experiments, replacing the old Elite Pirates.

* DegradedBoss: The first Berserker Lord is also the first boss battle of ''Corruption''. The Berserker Knights are far less formidable.
* DestinationDefenestration: The first Bersker Lord is introduced throwing a federation marine through a window.
* GiantMook: You do get to see Berserker Knights deployed alongside other pirate troops, which does somewhat make up for their short comings. It's still not enough to beat Samus, but [[RedShirtArmy Federation Marines]] got very nervous when pirate troopers had this kind of backup.
* GrievousHarmWithABody: Having built in projectiles does not stop Berserker Knights from throwing other pirate troops at their enemies.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Killing them involves knocking their own projectiles back at them. Samus pretty much has to beat [[ImplacableMan Lords this way]]. With the weaker Knights she can break their armor with a screw attack, by pass it with a nova beam shot while using the x-ray visor or, in open air areas, dispatch them with a shot from her gunship.
* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: Unlike most phazon cases, it's the brown and red Knights that are inferior to the blue and grey Lords. However, the red projectiles the Lords shoot are more dangerous than the blue ones.
* RasputinianDeath: The first Berserker Lord is shot by Samus, electrocuted by a barrier, thrown into the void of space, and rammed with a fighter.
* ShockwaveStomp: This is one of their attacks. The Lords in particular are strong enough, and [[EarlyBirdBoss fought early enough in the game]], that they will almost assuredly [[OneHitKill kill]] Samus if she happens to be underneath one when it does it, although the shock wave itself she can very much survive and they usually use it when Samus is fairly far away. Still, considering her suit can take hits from Kraid, Omega Pirate and Mogenar, all of whom are even larger than Berserker Lords, it's a testament to the strength of the Lords.
* SuperSpit: They can spray liquid Phazon from their mouths.
* UnskilledButStrong: They are not outfitted with any of the equipment used by Elite Pirates, as most berserkers would not have the dexterity to use them anyway. They also are not really in need of energy siphoning, shielding or cannons when it takes half the game for Samus to find anything her cannon can shoot that doesn't bounce off their bodies and those bodies shoot back on their own. That cloaking device would have been nice, though.
* VacuumMouth: Berserker Lords [[AIRoulette may]] attempt this if they see Samus in morph ball mode. For better [[FeedItABomb or worse]] they can't manage to swallow her if she does get caught in their mouths.
* VillainForgotToLevelGrind: The second Berserker Lord is the same as the first. By then you've acquired weapons that make the battle much easier.

[[folder: Master Brain]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/master_brain.PNG]]
-> Debut: ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeFederationForce''
An organic supercomputer created to control the Doomseye and serve as a leader in the Bermuda System.

* ArcVillain: The recurring pirate villains are indisposed at the time of the game, so it serves as the primary threat.
* BigBad: Of ''Federation Force''.
* BrainInAJar: Like its predecessors.
* CoresAndTurretsBoss: It never attacks directly, but it has self-repairing batteries of turrets to defend itself and summons minions.
* EvilKnockoff: It's a pirate-made Aurora Unit, which were themselves good knockoffs of Mother Brain.
* {{Expy}}: It serves the same role as Mother Brain and looks almost exactly like an Aurora Unit.
* FiveSecondForeshadowing: The only clue to its existence is earlier in the level where you encounter it.
* HealingFactor: It has an autorepair function and will regenerate health if not damaged quickly enough.
* HugeHolographicHead: It briefly appears in hologram form, though that's actually how big it is.
* MindControlDevice: Unlike Mother Brain it actually demonstrates this ability in the game, using it to [[spoiler: turn Samus against the marines]].
* MinimalistCast: Besides General Miles, Master Brain is the only character to talk in the campaign.
* OrganicTechnology: It's a living supercomputer.
* PostFinalBoss: It's the final opponent fought in ''Federation Force'', but its only defense consists of weak turrets and it has low overall health.
* PurpleIsPowerful: Its holographic representation is purple, reflecting its imposing nature and mental powers.
* SapientShip: The Doomseye is essentially its body.
* ShrinkRay: Inverted. It controls the enlargement mechanisms used by the pirates.
* WetwareCPU: Its role onboard the Doomseye.

[[folder: Mimic]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/metroid_mimic.png]]
-> Debut: ''[[Manga/MetroidManga Metroid Manga ]]''
A shapeshifting assassin created to kill Federation officials. Appears in the [[Manga/MetroidManga manga]].

* AllThereInTheManual: In never appears in the games, only the canon manga.
%%* AxCrazy: Its sole purpose for living is to kill.
* MadeOfIron: It doesn't even notice the Federation guards shooting it.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: Samus blasts it into ash.
* OvershadowedByAwesome: Something capable of drastically altering its mass and shape, enough to fool the most advanced sensors and security checks before changing into a form specifically designed to kill its target should be terrifying. Instead Samus kills it in seconds.
* ShapeshifterBaggage: When it disguised itself as a bundle of flowers a child could carry it easily, but its combat form towers over humans.
* TooManyMouths: It has extra mouths in its claws.
* VerbalTic: Exactly half of its dialogue is the word kill.

* FlyingFace: According to ''Other M'''s concept art, the part of Phantoon that you fight as boss is actually one of these, and the rest of its body is concealed on multiple planes of reality. In its boss fight in ''Other M'', it also summons multiple disembodied hands.

* EmptyShell: Supplementary materials reveal the Zebesian clones created by the Galactic Federation in Other M to be this, having had their intelligence, emotions, and sense of independence bred out so as to be better used as pawns. It's because of this that they're barely a threat to the galaxy compared to natural Zebesians, even less so when they aren't controlled by a leader.

* MascotMook: They are the de facto Space Pirate troopers. In official artworks of the ''Metroid'' franchise, the Space Pirate forces are almost always depicted to be Zebesians.

* NoNameGiven: We still don't know the real name of the species.

* {{Cyborg}}: They are often augmented with environmental survival systems and weapons.

* EmptyShell: Supplementary materials reveal the Zebesian clones created by the Galactic Federation during the events of ''[[VideoGame/MetroidOtherM Other M]]'' to be this, being unintelligent and lacking a sense of independence so as to be better used as pawns. It's because of this that they are considered to be even less of a threat to the galaxy than regular Zebesians, even less so when they aren't controlled by a leader.

* SpaceJews: WordOfGod says that them being called Zebesians despite not originating on the planet Zebes is a reference to European colonists being called American.

* EvilIsBigger: Their main leaders consistently dwarf Samus despite her being a StatuesqueStunner in PoweredArmor, and even the rank-and-file troops such as the Zebesians are OneHeadTaller than her.

* ComedicSociopathy: In the ''Prime'' games, the Data logs provides a humorous side to their antics. "They were promptly shot." Followed by "They too were shot."

The reptilian/insectoid pirate group encountered on Aether. They were investigating Phazon on the planet while avoiding the conflict between the Luminoth and Ing. Their efforts were hampered by the appearance of Dark Samus, discovery by the Ing, being followed by the Federation, and eventually the arrival of Samus. Though their forces were greatly reduced by the time they're encountered ''Echoes'', they fielded troopers, grenadiers, aerotroopers, and commandos that impeded Samus's progress -- and provided useful hosts for the Ing.

* FlunkyBoss: And God help you if it summons [[DemonicSpiders Wave Troopers]]. You're warned that it's about to do this when it growls "GET HER!"