Space Dragon

Space DragonSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U Little Birdie Trophy (PAL): "Everyone knows Ridley as a terrifying evil space dragon, but would you have guessed he looked like this as a baby?"Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Palutena's Guidance: "I never thought I'd have to fight an alien space dragon in Smash..." refers to pterosaur-like sentient beings that are alluded to in the Captain N: The Game Master comic Breakout, as well as the manga Metroid EX. Both of these sources are not considered canon. Ridley, a common antagonist in the Metroid series, is the only purported individual of the species to appear in the canon of the series. Whether he is canonically part of this race is unknown.
==Non-canon media==
===Metroid===
In the files for the original Metroid, there is an unused fake Ridley which may have been a weak member of Ridley's race impersonating him. However, this enemy does not appear in the finished game, nor was it incorporated into the game's remake; therefore, it has never been considered canon.
===Captain N: The Game Master===
Breakout introduces a judicial member of this race, Judge Racklas. It is said by Mother Brain that every member of the species looks alike, which was how in the comic Ridley and Racklas were easily switched in their plot to imprison Princess Lana and Samus Aran. Both Racklas and Ridley take the latter's physical appearance from concept artwork for the original Metroid, which was the only Metroid game in existence at the time.
===Samus & Joey===
The end of Samus & Joey introduces a new villain, Greed, who appears nearly identical to Ridley. In the series' continuation, Metroid EX, Greed reveals that he wants revenge on Samus because she "utterly destroyed" his race. He elaborates that they were once the rulers of the Space Pirates, a position they had held for ages. Samus quickly infers that he is of the same race as Ridley, and is seeking revenge for Ridley's death during the events of her raid on Planet Zebes. This may imply that, with Ridley dead, he is the only Space Dragon alive.
===Nintendo Land===
In the Metroid Blast attraction of Nintendo Land, Ice Ridley appears as one of the Assault Mission bosses. During mission 28, Ice Ridley teams up with the original Ridley, implying that they are two separate characters rather than different forms of a single character. However, this may also be excused by Ice Ridley and Ridley being animatronics, rather than true Space Dragons, and therefore them appearing together is simply artistic license for the theme park.
===Super Smash Bros. Ultimate===
Pit during Palutena's Guidance on Ridley alludes to this race by saying "I never thought I'd have to fight an alien space dragon in Smash..."
==Role in Canon==
None of the examples above are considered part of the official Metroid canon. However, there are some implications that Ridley is part of a species in the overall story. In Metroid: Other M, the clone of Ridley is shown to have a three-step metamorphic life cycle, first as a small birdlike creature, then a large lizard, and finally his iconic dragon form. Presumably, this life cycle is shared by other individuals of the species. Ridley is referred to as "geoform 187" in Metroid Prime, which may be a designation for this species.
Aside from Ridley and his clone, the only Space Dragons that appear in canon are imitations. Mecha Ridley is a robot that Ridley built in his own image to display his power. Neo-Ridley is an X Parasite that adopted a heavily-distorted form in Ridley's likeness after absorbing the genes of his deceased clone.
In the Metroid manga, Gray Voice accuses Ridley's "people" of being animalistic thieves at heart. It is ambiguous whether his statements refer to Ridley's own species, or simply the Space Pirates as a whole.
==Known Space Dragons==
*Fake Ridley
*Greed
*Judge Racklas
*Ridley
**Meta Ridley
**Omega Ridley
**Proteus Ridley
*Ridley's clone
**Little Birdie
**Mystery Creature
===Imitations===
*Ice Ridley
*Mecha Ridley
*Neo-Ridley
==Gallery==
NES Metroid HQ Ridley artwork.png|Ridley artwork for Metroid
Fake Ridley-0.PNG|Fake Ridley
Judge Racklas.png|Judge Racklas
Greed.png|Greed
MZM art Mecha Ridley.png|Mecha Ridley, a robot built in the image of a Space Dragon
SSBU Spirits Little Birdie.png|Little Birdie, a juvenile Space Dragon
MOM Mystery Creature Concept Art.png|Mystery Creature, an adolescent Space Dragon
MOM Ridley Concept Art.png|Ridley's clone
MF Neo Ridley Sprite.png|Neo-Ridley, an X Parasite that absorbed Space Dragon DNA
NL Ice Ridley.jpg|Ice Ridley, a Metroid Blast Space Dragon animatronic
==References==
Category:Species
Category:Intelligent Species
Category:Space Pirates
Category:Comics