Black Ridley

is a temporary state which Ridley's clone occasionally triggers in Metroid: Other M. It is unknown if his original counterpart naturally possesses this ability.
==Description==
The Black Ridley state is visually distinct from the standard form by his darkened skin and a glowing purple aura that emanates from his torso. His body seemingly hardens to the point of making him invulnerable to most of Samus Aran's arsenal, including her Plasma Beam and Missiles which will now deflect off his body.
At two intervals during his boss battle, when Ridley takes a certain amount of damage from Samus, the camera zooms in on him as he stumbles and his body becomes more visibly injured; if he is grounded at the time, he will fall to his hands and knees, leaving him open to a Lethal Strike. After he recovers (even if Samus does not actually perform the Lethal Strike), or as soon as he lands if the stumble animation occurs during flight, he immediately leans his whole body forward with his head close to the ground, screeches and flaps his wings, and transforms into Black Ridley. Following his transformation, he quickly flies up to unleash at least one fireball shockwave before he continues to fight with his regular attacks while maintaining his darkened form.
The Black Ridley effect eventually wears off after about 60-90 seconds when he repeats the same animation that initiated the transformation, and he will be unable to access it again until the next time he stumbles. However, Ridley can be forced out of his dark form prematurely by firing a Super Missile at him, since this is the only weapon that can damage him in this state. If Samus is quick enough, she can fire a Super Missile as soon as he finishes transforming, before he flies up. Otherwise, finding the right opportunity for Samus to fire her Super Missile is somewhat challenging as it requires her to stand still and a bit of time to charge up her shot, all while Ridley continues to be on the offensive. If successful, a direct hit will cause him to briefly flinch and revert him back to normal.
==Super Smash Bros. for Wii U==
Ridley's clone appears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U as a stage boss for the Pyrosphere. After taking a certain amount of damage from fighters (enough to make him collapse for a few seconds), Ridley will shift into his Black Ridley form. Unlike in Other M, this transformation is not an innate ability; Ridley must first fly underneath the main platform, smash one of the generators, and absorb "a certain kind of energy" in order to become Black Ridley. It is possible to interrupt Ridley before he does so, preventing him from transforming into Black Ridley; therefore, Ridley can even be defeated without transforming into Black Ridley.
Similar to his appearance in Other M, Black Ridley has darkened skin and his torso gives off a purple glow. While in this state, Black Ridley uses more powerful variations of Ridley's normal attacks, including the fireball shockwave and arcing-fireball attack. Unlike in Other M, he is still vulnerable to all attacks from fighters.
The transformation lasts for the remainder of the boss battle against Ridley. Black Ridley can be defeated and counts as a KO in timed battles. Even if he flies away without being defeated, Ridley will show up again later in his normal form.
Despite this form not displaying any cybernetic features whatsoever, it is given the name Meta Ridley in the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 50-Fact Extravaganza. This is actually an erroneous alteration made by the English translation of the video; in the original Japanese version, this form is more accurately named and does not reference his Meta form at all.
==Official data==
===Metroid: Other M Premiere Edition===
;Boss Battle: Ridley (pg. 115)
:"Once it has sustained too much damage, Ridley falls back and drops its head. When it does, immediately rush the fiend and execute a Lethal Strike! This angers Ridley even more and it leaps into the air while protecting itself with a pinkish barrier. Dodge its flame breath attack, then begin using SenseMove around the arena to avoid the stabbing tail.Caution: Don't try to hit it with Charge Beam shots at this point; they’ll only bounce off harmlessly and leave you open to counterattack!The only way to make Ridley vulnerable again is to remove the pink shield with a Super Missile. Wait for the fiend to stop and roar at you. When it does, power up a Super Missile and let it fly. The blast knocks Ridley’s shield away and makes it vulnerable to your Charge Beam shots again!"
===Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 50-Fact Extravaganza===
"Furthermore, if Ridley consumes a certain kind of energy, he will become the even more vicious Meta Ridley."
==Trivia ==
*Black Ridley has no reaction to Samus's Plasma Beam deflecting off his body except during the very end of his grab attack, where she can fire a charged shot at him. Despite the projectile deflecting off his face and inflicting no damage whatsoever, he nevertheless reels backwards and drops her in the exact same manner as if it occurred in his regular form.
*The game files for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U contain an unused stock icon for Black Ridley, presumably meant to be displayed on the results screen if a fighter KOs Ridley while in his Black Ridley form; in the game itself, Black Ridley uses the same icon as Ridley. This icon is based upon normal Ridley's appearance as a boss in Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary from Super Smash Bros. Brawl (albeit edited to have black skin), rather than either Meta Ridley or the updated Other M Ridley design.
==Gallery==
Ridley Lethal Strike.gif|Ridley transforms into Black Ridley after a Lethal Strike
MOM Black Ridley First Person.png|Samus about to fire a Super Missile at Black Ridley
Ridley transforming SSB4U.png|Ridley transforming into Black Ridley in Super Smash Bros.
SSB4 50-Fact Extravaganza Black Ridley.png|Black Ridley named in the Japanese 50-Fact Extravaganza
SSB4 Ridley Tail Stab.png|Black Ridley skewering the Pyrosphere stage with his tail
SSBWU Black Ridley Arcing Fireball Attack.jpg|Black Ridley using the arcing-fireball attack
SSB4 Ridley Shockwave Fireball.png|Black Ridley using the fireball shockwave
SSB4 Wii U Black Ridley Stock Icon.png|Black Ridley's unused stock icon from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
==References==
Category:Ridley
Category:Pyrosphere
Category:Super Smash Bros.