Why is Ridley Samus's Archenemy?

[RedLink]

The archenemy of any character, in my opinion, is the villain who can really represent the darker side of the hero's personality. Bowser shows us how Mario could very easily turn his power into ruling the Mushroom Kingdom as a dictatorship while Ganondorf shows us how power can very easily shift anyone's personality to embracing evil, such as Link and his Triforce piece.

But I just don't see that with Ridley. He honestly just seems to me to be a recurring boss in the Metroid titles. Dark Samus on the other hand embodies the archenemy archetype. She literally is Samus's darkside, 'nuff said.

Can someone explain to me otherwise why Ridley deserves the title? And please don't tell me it's just b/c he killed her parents, as that would make Joe Chill Batman's archenemy (cough cough Tim Burton).

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

I think it has more to it than just the fact that Ridley killed her parents. Sure, that's a pretty big thing that would probably justify a main-nemesis spot. I don't think the Batman example you provide really compares, because, as far as I know, the murderer of Bruce Wayne's parents was done by just an ordinary thug (I know nothing about official Batman comic lore, so correct me if I'm wrong). He was a regular guy who didn't have any special powers that made him especially formidable or threatening. Now, in comparison, Ridley represents a much, much larger threat than that ordinary thug. He's a massive life-form that is very capable of causing serious damage to anyone and anything, and thus is a legitimate force to be reckoned with in one vs. one combat. The fact that Ridley, the one directly responsible for not just the death of Samus' parents, but also the death of countless others, is such a monstrous villain both in appearance and action, it fits well enough into the video-game mold to warrant a main archenemy.

That being said, I don't think it's the sole reason he has archenemy status. What I spelled out above is indeed a big part of it, but there's also the fact that he's practically the second in command on the entire Space Pirate organization. And even then, I use the title lightly, because Mother Brain wasn't alive for many of the games, and wasn't shown to have a very pronounced authority over the Space Pirates even when she was alive. Ridley, for all intents and purposes, is the head honcho of the Space Pirates that actually goes out and makes things happen. The Space Pirates are shown to be a very sinister faction in the Metroid universe, relying on overly-dangerous and hazardous means to attempt to achieve their goal (ie Metroids and Phazon, both of which could very easily backfire). The fact that Ridley is the face of the Pirates most of the time means that he's the one that presents the ultimate goal of the Federation, and, on a personal level, Samus, to achieve.

On a side note, I did like what Other M did with Ridley. I really didn't see it coming, with the Little Birdie being the first form of his species. I think the buildup to the Ridley fight, regardless of what people may think about the fight itself and how Samus reacted, was done quite well.

 

[Salem]

Ridley is the leader of the Space pirates, they are the most common enemy Samus fights in the games, that's good enough reason.

Also dark versions of the main characters don't need to be the main archenemy.

 

[ihateghirahim]

Ridley not only kiled Samus's parents, leading to her alien upbringing, but he has also consistently battled her across numerous evil Space Pirate operations. That just spells nemesis. We can also bring up Samus's severre fears of Ridley as shown in Other M. Ridley is cold, evil, and the cause of many of Samus's problems. Maybe we haven't had some absurdly long psychological analysis of the two? There's still archenemies.

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

Also dark versions of the main characters don't need to be the main archenemy.

In all honesty, Dark Samus had almost nothing to her (it maybe? Pretty sure Metroid Prime just copied the armor data, not Samus herself, so it's probably an "it"). Not present for Prime 1, more of a third party anti-hero in Prime 2 with no relation to the Pirates or the Ing whatsoever, and then just kind of brainwashes the Pirates for Prime 3. Altogether just not that much motivation or even character present for her. We at least have the Manga that shows Ridley's personality, but Dark Samus always seemed to me as just an extension of Prime with the instinct first and foremost to spread Phazon and cultivate the extension and survival of her species, even if it's completely parasitic in nature.

I applaud the concept and creation of Dark Samus though. It's a much better method than the stereotypical "this is an evil copy of the hero!", I think. She's not really Samus' opposite, with different morals or ideals; just a copy of her armor, and thus her deadly arsenal, with the desire to continue what the Leviathan was initially set out to do. I actually prefer how she's uncharacteristic, to be honest, as it doesn't sell out the initial idea of what it truly is - a life-sucking parasite than wants to spread out like crazy. That being said, it's a set-up that doesn't deserve "archenemy" status. One of my biggest gripes with Prime 3 is how it starts with the shoe-horning of Dark Samus as the new leader of the Pirates. It would've been much better if they had kept it like Prime 2, with the Federation/Pirate war on the forefront, and Dark Samus just screwing with both of them throughout. Even keep in the whole high-jacking of the Aurora Unit, so Dark Samus has control of Phaaze. Would've made a much better story.

 

[Salem]

In all honesty, Dark Samus had almost nothing to her (it maybe? Pretty sure Metroid Prime just copied the armor data, not Samus herself, so it's probably an "it"). Not present for Prime 1, more of a third party anti-hero in Prime 2 with no relation to the Pirates or the Ing whatsoever, and then just kind of brainwashes the Pirates for Prime 3. Altogether just not that much motivation or even character present for her. We at least have the Manga that shows Ridley's personality, but Dark Samus always seemed to me as just an extension of Prime with the instinct first and foremost to spread Phazon and cultivate the extension and survival of her species, even if it's completely parasitic in nature.

I applaud the concept and creation of Dark Samus though. It's a much better method than the stereotypical "this is an evil copy of the hero!", I think. She's not really Samus' opposite, with different morals or ideals; just a copy of her armor, and thus her deadly arsenal, with the desire to continue what the Leviathan was initially set out to do. I actually prefer how she's uncharacteristic, to be honest, as it doesn't sell out the initial idea of what it truly is - a life-sucking parasite than wants to spread out like crazy. That being said, it's a set-up that doesn't deserve "archenemy" status. One of my biggest gripes with Prime 3 is how it starts with the shoe-horning of Dark Samus as the new leader of the Pirates. It would've been much better if they had kept it like Prime 2, with the Federation/Pirate war on the forefront, and Dark Samus just screwing with both of them throughout. Even keep in the whole high-jacking of the Aurora Unit, so Dark Samus has control of Phaaze. Would've made a much better story.

Why does Dark Samus is even needed to take the form of Samus? Was that explained?

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

Why does Dark Samus is even needed to take the form of Samus? Was that explained?

I believe it was just Metroid Prime's last ditch attempt to latch itself on to something after the Metroid it had lived off of for so long was finally killed. Samus' suit was already completely covered with Phazon due to the Phazon Suit she got after beating the Omega Pirate, so I always just figured Prime absorbed the Phazon off her suit (which is supported by the fact that her suit immediately reverts back to its Gravity form after it happens) and copied the data of it to take a new form it could live off of. I'm not quite sure how it works, since the suit isn't organic..... Or it could have organic properties (was that in the manga? I don't remember) that allowed it to build off of it. Regardless, Prime got immensely powerful from the suit data, since the suit is such a ballin' piece of tech. With that new powerful suit that had all the same weapons as Samus, like Power Bombs and Super Missiles, it just picked off where Prime left off, albeit without the "protect the Leviathan" motive since its Leviathan was destroyed (Impact Crater was its name in Prime 1, I believe).

 

[RedLink]

In all honesty, Dark Samus had almost nothing to her (it maybe? Pretty sure Metroid Prime just copied the armor data, not Samus herself, so it's probably an "it"). Not present for Prime 1, more of a third party anti-hero in Prime 2 with no relation to the Pirates or the Ing whatsoever, and then just kind of brainwashes the Pirates for Prime 3. Altogether just not that much motivation or even character present for her. We at least have the Manga that shows Ridley's personality, but Dark Samus always seemed to me as just an extension of Prime with the instinct first and foremost to spread Phazon and cultivate the extension and survival of her species, even if it's completely parasitic in nature.

That's not exactly true. The way I see it, Dark Samus represents how easily Samus can get corrupted and we even see that struggle in Metroid Prime 3 where she is slowly becoming more and more like Dark Samus till the end.

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

That's not exactly true. The way I see it, Dark Samus represents how easily Samus can get corrupted and we even see that struggle in Metroid Prime 3 where she is slowly becoming more and more like Dark Samus till the end.

Yeah, Prime 3 is called "Corruption" and everything, but I don't think Dark Samus ever represented the "dark version" of Samus in a way that would justify the moniker of "archvillain". It's very easy to create a "dark" version of a character, but that doesn't mean that by default the character represents the polar opposite of the protagonist. Dark Link, for example, can't possibly be called Link's main nemesis. He lacks characterization on all levels, and is shrouded in so much mystery that it's difficult to even determine what exactly he is or where he came from. Dark Samus carries many of the same traits - both are rather emotionless, usually displaying just a cold demeanor with the stereotypical "destroy everything" motive, without really presenting any personal or ethical opposition to their opposing "light" sides. For me, I think Dark Samus would have to be an actual character in order to overthrow Ridley on the villain list.

As another example, let's take Dark Pit from the recent Kid Icarus 3DS game. I haven't completed it personally, but I have seen LPs of it on YouTube. Dark Pit breaks the barrier that Dark Link and Dark Samus couldn't break because of the way his character is structured. He's a complete opposite to Pit personality wise - he's very lacking in humor, has a much deeper voice, isn't nearly as up-beat and positive as Pit, and honestly couldn't care less about the world and everyone around him. No, Kid Icarus doesn't deserve a reward for it, nor do I believe Dark Pit to be Pit's "archvillain", but I think it does a good job of illustrating what a "Dark-version" of a character SHOULD do in order to climb those ranks. If Dark Samus had displayed ethics and morals that were directly opposed to Samus', or if she was connected to Samus' in a more personal way like Ridley was, I could give some validity to it.

I do think you're right when you say Dark Samus serves as an example of what would happen to Samus if she went 100% corruption and let Phazon take over her (Because that's exactly what would've happened - Dark Samus 2.0), but I don't think that trait alone is enough to warrant the "archvillain" title.

 

[RedLink]

Sorry to bump this, but I had a thought- how come Mother Brain can't be considered Samus's archenemy? I now understand that Dark Samus lacks the necessary characterization, but Mother Brain always the main baddie behind instead of Ridley.

 

[Musicfan]

Sorry to bump this, but I had a thought- how come Mother Brain can't be considered Samus's archenemy? I now understand that Dark Samus lacks the necessary characterization, but Mother Brain always the main baddie behind instead of Ridley.

There's a difference between main bad guy and archenemy.
I don't know how to explain it better then this. Other then possibly riddly is in every(almost every?) metroid game where as MB is not(Directly)

 

[Shadow Blade]

Dark Samus was created by Samus's DNA and Phazon suit being combined with the remains of Metroid Prime.

In my opinion Ridley deffinetly qualifies for the title archenemy, he's certainly earned it.

We should be careful when comparing the Metroid Prime Telrilogy to the rest of the series as it is believed that Other M decanonizes the trilogy or sets it in another reality which would potentially render any comparisons to it as no longer being applicable.

On a side note I consider Other M to be a huge mistake and the worst game in the series.