Omega Metroid

The Omega Metroid is the seventh and final stage of a standard Metroid's life cycle. They appear as enemies in Metroid II: Return of Samus, its remake Metroid: Samus Returns; and as the final boss in Metroid Fusion.
In both Metroid II: Return of Samus and Samus Returns, Samus Aran encounters four Omega Metroids during her mission to SR388.
==Description==
An Omega is a fully grown adult and an extension of the Zeta Metroid stage. As a result, their body structures are very similar. Though they are sluggish compared to their prior form, Omega Metroids more than make up for it with their increase in size, power and body armor. Curiously, an Omega Metroid's body can have slight variations depending on unknown factors. One of these factors however may be based on the environment it grows in, similar to how a Metroid larva adapts outside of SR388.
Samus Aran encountered four Omega Metroids during her mission to SR388. She would later fight another Omega Metroid created by Galactic Federation experiments on the Biologic Space Laboratories research station.
It is never stated upon if a Metroid with the genetic capacity to become a queen must first reach the Omega stage, or if it follows a different life cycle.
===Metroid II: Return of Samus===
The Omega Metroids fight identically to their Zeta counterparts: levitating around and periodically pausing to spit an exploding projectile. This projectile, which behaves similarly to Ridley's fireball shockwave, is assumed to be a fireball but is never explicitly referred to as such in official media, although a magazine print cell depicts it as resembling a burning rock. While slower than the previous form, the Omega can deal a very high amount of damage. Samus can Screw Attack into the creature, which causes no damage to her, but this will also not harm the Metroid. They keep the same weaknesses: Samus must shoot them either in the stomach or back, although a shot to the latter deals triple the usual damage, and shots fired straight up from underneath do no harm. Without utilizing their weakness, they require 40 missiles to bring down.
They maintain the basic structure of their last forms, though their posture are less hunched and their tail seems to abruptly end at a short length. Their artwork presents them with elongated jaws, contrary to their in-game, shorter leech-like mouth. They also feature what appears to be fur under their neck, and their eight compound eyes are colored blue. All Omega Metroids in the game are fought in Phase 8, an area that was split into and renamed Area 6 and Area 7 in the remake.
===Metroid: Samus Returns===
In the official remake of Metroid II, Omega Metroids make a return and were given a significant redesign. Similar to the Omega Metroid from Metroid Fusion, this remake's Omega Metroids are now massive in size and (like the previous Zeta Metroid stage) no longer levitate, therefore retconning their small and floaty appearance from the original game. Their arms are far longer in reach and their tail is fully complete. They also possess spine-like armor around their torso and five red eyes on each side of their head. Instead of spitting blob-like projectiles, they now fire a flame-based beam from their mouth. Finally, they are significantly more durable; their backside is no longer an exploitable weakpoint and their weak membrane is protected by a thick rib-cage coating that can regenerate over time. This protection can be removed with any of the Omega's standard weaknesses (Ice Beam,Missiles, Super Missiles, Beam Burst), but can otherwise be destroyed instantly with a Power Bomb. Its leech-like mouth is also a weak point, though significantly less so than the aforementioned membrane.
Like in Metroid II, Omega Metroids defend their territory aggressively and are formidable foes capable of causing high amounts of damage to Samus despite her Gravity Suit's defenses. They can attack using their claws and tail swipes, sometimes in tandem. On occasion, Omegas might immediately smack Samus with the back of their hands if she positions herself too close behind them. The continuous red fire beam they unleash from their mouth leaves the surface it touches on fire. This beam is fired straight ahead, though they can also simply aim at Samus' position in the room, requiring Samus to Space Jump over it. Occasionally, the Omegas will sweep the beam upwards or downwards; when they do the latter, they inadvertently leave their membrane vulnerable but also force Samus to roll under them in Morph Ball form. The Metroids can also slam their tail against the ground, creating small earthquakes that cause debris to fall from the ceiling. Interestingly, the falling hazards can damage Samus through the Screw Attack even though they can be destroyed with her other weapons for Energy Capsules and ammo pickups. The earthquake attack can be used simultaneously with a variant of the red beam attack in which they fire straight down and spread fire across the entire floor. This forces Samus to continuously remain in the air by Space Jumping while also dodging the rocks falling from above. Despite being more sluggish than their prior form, Omega Metroids are surprisingly agile for their size, as they are capable of making large jumps. Finally, they can also perform a bite attack that can be parried with a Melee Counter. If parried successfully, Samus can followup with a Grab Sequence consisting of Samus landing on top of the Metroid's chest and taking point-blank shots at the membrane.
Samus encounters her first Omega Metroid after activating the first Chozo Seal in Area 6 which incorrectly shifts the Purple liquid around and traps Samus in the same area. This Omega is implied to have recently matured from its Zeta Metroid stage, as the latter's husk can be seen lying in the background of the room before it is trampled as the creature charges in from that same background and engages Samus in combat after creating its rib-cage armor. After its defeat, Samus uses its DNA to activate a second Chozo Seal, correcting the previous' shifting of the hazardous liquid and granting her access to the the rest of Area 6.
Like in the original game, three more Omega Metroids are fought in the penultimate Area 7. The Omega Metroid fought in the final Omega's chamber has a unique color scheme, resembling the Evolved forms of Alpha and Gamma Metroids.
===Metroid Fusion===
Samus encounters a single Omega Metroid on the BSL research station. It was originally an Infant Metroid from the Restricted Laboratory, developed from the cells of the Baby. It escaped during the laboratory's destruction, and went to feed on numerous X Parasites, rapidly molting through its life cycle until reaching the Omega stage as it made its way to the Docking Bays. Samus begins to find discarded membranes in Sector 1 (SRX) and passes through several rooms, usually filled with X organisms, empty and in ruins.
Samus enters the Docking Bays, hoping to make a swift escape from the Station. Instead of her Starship, however, she finds a giant shell larger than the Baby lying amidst the wreckage of the Docking Bays. As Samus begins to run back, the Omega Metroid bursts through the wall, smashing the molted shell. This specimen is much more powerful than those encountered on SR388, as none of Samus' current weapons seem capable of damaging it, and it reduces her health to critical levels in one swipe. She is left with 1 point of Energy and is unable to move. As the Omega Metroid moves in for the kill, an SA-X, which had recently been defeated by Samus but was able to escape, joins the fight. The SA-X reacts adversely to the presence of its natural predator, to the point of ignoring Samus completely. It moves right up to the Omega and shoots at the creature's membrane with the Ice Beam, revealing its weak point to her. The SA-X is then slashed by the Omega's claws, destroying its mimicry and releasing into the air the Core-X Samus had failed to absorb earlier. She leaps into the X, restoring all her health and returning the Ice Beam to her. This scene is likely an homage to the ending of Super Metroid, where Samus is saved from death by a former attacker and is given a powerful weapon to use against her enemy.
The Omega Metroid slowly creeps toward the left side of the docking bay throughout the duration of the battle in an attempt to swipe at Samus with its claws. To avoid this, Samus must use the Ice Beam to drive the creature backwards and move away before the Omega Metroid can counterattack. Both charged and uncharged shots will damage it, but only if they are direct shots to its chest region (which may require the use of the L button for diagonal firing). Contact with the creature inflicts heavy damage and knockback. If the Omega Metroid reaches too close to the left side of the room, it will make a huge leap back toward the right side of the room, repeating its pattern. If the Metroid manages to connect with a claw swipe, Samus will not only take heavy damage (but not be reduced to 1 Energy, losing instead 100 Energy, i.e. one full tank), she will also be hurled backwards and knocked to her knees, exactly as she was at the beginning of the battle. Samus will stand back up after a few seconds, but since there is a countdown until the BSL collides with SR388 in effect, this is a battle not only against the Omega Metroid but against time as well.
Samus's best approach is to rapidly fire at its chest, then take a few steps back to avoid its claw lunge. The creature will not claw lunge until it is standing perfectly straight; it cannot attack if it takes a step forward with its left leg until it finishes its movement with its right leg. Enough damage will cause the creature to stumble backwards, interrupting its pattern briefly. As it receives damage, it changes its color to a purple shade of hue, followed by a pink body coloring when near death. Ultimately, Samus succeeds in inflicting enough damage to drive the creature back to the wall through which it came, and the Omega Metroid is destroyed in the process. Samus's Starship then returns to the bay, allowing her to leave the station with moments to spare.
==Inconsistencies==
As previously mentioned, the Omega Metroids featured throughout the few titles in the series have several differences between them. In Metroid II and its remake Samus Returns, Omega Metroids are capable of firing energy-based projectiles from their mouths, however the single Omega present in Metroid Fusion does not demonstrate this and instead relies on physical attacks only. To add to its uniqueness, Fusion's Omega Metroid has far more devastating power, as it is capable of depleting entire Energy Tanks in a single claw swipe. Furthermore, it is exclusively vulnerable to the Ice Beam, contrary to Metroid II which required Missiles. Samus Returns further defies these by making its Omega vulnerable to both missiles and the Ice Beam, as well as the Power Bomb. The inconsistencies in Metroid Fusion could be a result of genetic manipulation on station.
In the official artwork of Metroid II, Omega Metroids possess blue compound eyes, a trait that began with the earlier Alpha Metroid stage. Later released titles have alternated this color between red and blue, as well as the number of eyes. The length of their tails varies as well, with Samus Returns having them at their longest. The most curious physical difference is the presence of four protuberances on the back of Fusion's Omega. Other differences are subtle, such as larger claws along with fuchsia-colored membrane and nucleus.
Similar to Metroid larvae, these changes in strength, abilities, weaknesses and physiology may be the result of either the environments where the Omegas Metroids developed or the accelerated growth process used by the BSL Station's scientists. Another interesting difference involves the shed husk left behind by the Metroids when they reach the Omega form, as the one in the Docking Bay does not resemble the one seen in Metroid: Samus Returns. In fact, the husk seen in Metroid Fusion simply resembles the membrane of a Giant Metroid.
==Official data==
===Metroid II: Return of Samus manual===
;OMEGA METROID
:"This mutation is absolutely huge; its power, incredible!"
===Metroid II: Return of Samus Virtual Console manual===
;Metroids (p. 16)
:Omega Metroid
:"This Metroid has reached adulthood. It is massive and incredibly powerful."
===Nintendo Power issue 31===
;OMEGA METROID
:"A fast and frenzied fight will ensue when you encounter this highly advanced creature. Be ready with Missiles."
===Nintendo Power issue 37===
;OMEGA EXTERMINATION
:"Omega Metroids are one of the most sophisticated Metroid strains. You'll have to fight four of them in this phase. These monsters attack in a similar pattern to the Zeta Metroids though they are much faster. Fire off a quick load of Missiles when they stop and hover. It'll take a lot of firepower to check these creeps off your list."
=== Metroid: Samus Returns Official Guide ===
;INHABITANTS & ECO SYSTEM OF SR388 - METROIDS (p. 22)
:OMEGA METROID
:"The Omega Metroid represents the most advanced stage a Metroid can attain without being a Queen. These Metroids are massive, powerful, and can leap incredibly high and fast. Evolution has also done away with the Metroid’s trademark weak point: the core. While the core is still there, the Omega's chitonThe guide mistakenly uses chiton instead of chitin. armor plating hides it deep in its chest. The only way to reach it is to force your way in with explosive attacks, but even then, you have a short amount of time to strike before the chiton self-repairs and covers the core once more. Omegas are tough and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Expect to learn how to fight them in the school of hard knocks."
==Trivia==
*The fact that the BSL Station's Omega Metroid left behind a husk resembling a Giant Metroid's membrane may imply that its larval form did not metamorphose into an Alpha, Gamma or Zeta Metroid and instead simply skipped to its adult stage when the larva reached a sufficient size. If it is the case, this is likely the result of the rapid growth process mentioned by Adam.
*Danny Richardson made an artwork of an Omega Metroid during the early development of a sequel to Metroid Prime. It went unused when the game changed direction to become Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
*For unexplained reasons, the Omega Metroid from Metroid Fusion attacked Samus despite the latter having Metroid DNA, whereas the other Metroids in the Restricted Area ignored her. This may be because the Metroids in the Restricted Area were preoccupied with the SA-X who admittedly was attacking them at the time. Alternatively, the Omega Metroid may just be a generally violent creature and would have attacked any non-Metroid organism that entered the Docking Bay. The latter explanation is supported by the Chozo Memories, in which the Chozo lived in harmony with Metroid larvae but were attacked as soon as the Metroids molted into more aggressive Alpha Metroids.
*The battle against Metroid Fusion's Omega Metroid is similar to the battles with Crocomire, the Kiru Giru, and the Desbrachians, which all consist of a form of "tug-of-war".
*Due to its natural immunity, the Omega Metroid is the only enemy killed by Samus in Metroid Fusion that was uninfected by the X Parasites.
**Curiously, Metroid Dread's recap of events from Fusion features an image of the same Omega Metroid standing alongside several X-infected bosses as they confront Samus, giving the false impression that the Metroid was allied with the X Parasites. It is important to note that the image is a dramatized depiction and in actuality the Metroid would attack any X it'd come across, as it seemingly did when it escaped the Restricted Lab and wiped several rooms clean of its X inhabitants. 
*The battle with the Omega Metroid is the second boss battle in Fusion to feature a time limit, after the scientist. Incidentally, Sector 3 Restore the Cooling Installation Timer Mission plays during both battles.
*The Omega Metroid in Fusion is only vulnerable to Samus' Ice Beam (stacked with the Power, Wave, Wide, and Plasma Beams). Therefore, it is the only Omega Metroid to date that Samus' Missiles (Super, Ice, and Diffusion) have no effect on it. This may be the result of the BSL's scientists tampering with its genes and/or using the aforementioned rapid growth process.
*While Omega Metroids have previously appeared as bosses in Return of Samus and Fusion, Samus Returns is the first time a music track was composed specifically for battling Omega Metroids. In Return of Samus, Omega Metroids shared their battle theme with most other Metroids; in Fusion, the Omega Metroid reused Sector 3 Restore the Cooling Installation Timer Mission as its boss theme, with Environment Sound (Shock) playing during the cutscene in which the SA-X "rescues" Samus.
*The Omega Metroid in Metroid Fusion drools after attacking the SA-X; it does not do so while fighting Samus. Since X are preyed upon by Metroids, it may have been salivating at the prospect of feeding upon the Core-X.
*The Omega Metroid appears towards the end of the Metroid II commercial. It is the only enemy that is featured in stop-motion animation.
*During the fight with the Omega Metroid in Fusion, Samus can be stunned by the Metroid's claws. The duration of this paralysis can be reduced by tapping up on the directional pad.
*Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet and is often used to describe the last of something. In this case, the Omega Metroid's name most likely refers to this being the last stage of a typical Metroid's life.
*The Omega Metroid in Fusion behaves similarly to the X-mimicked Arachnus, who also appeared in Metroid II. They both have a hunched posture, approach Samus slowly, and die while thrusting their heads repeatedly as they roar. They're also the only bosses Samus can damage with uncharged beam shots.
*In Fusion, even if Samus has one unit of energy left following her fight with the SA-X, the Omega Metroid's initial attack will not do additional damage; though she is still knocked down the event is scripted to leave her with one unit of energy no matter how much she had prior to the encounter.
*The Omega Metroid in Fusion was chronologically the last encountered boss in the Metroid series for nineteen years. This changed with the release of Metroid Dread. It is also the final Metroid to be encountered and killed in the series.
*Although the original Chozo Memories never depicted Omega Metroids, the Metroid Dread reenactment of memory 9/11 replaces the Gamma Metroid with an Omega Metroid.
*The Omega Metroid in Fusion and Samus both have the genome for becoming Queens due to being cloned from the Metroid hatchling.
==Gallery==
M2 art Metroid Omega.png|Artwork of an Omega Metroid from Metroid II: Return of Samus
Omega Metroid in Phase 8.gif|The first Omega Metroid in Phase 8 in Return of Samus
Commercialomega.PNG|A comic book-style Omega Metroid in the commercial
Commercialomega2.PNG|A stop-motion Omega Metroid in the commercial
Commercialomega3.PNG|The Omega Metroid opening its mouth
Commercialomega4.PNG|The Omega Metroid lunging at Samus
Commercialomega5.PNG|An Omega Metroid reflected off of Samus's visor
M2 Samus vs Metroids and Drivel Print Cell.jpg|Magazine print cell depicting the Omega Metroid spitting a burning rock-like projectile
Eight Metroids growing.jpg|Promotional artwork for Samus Returns
Metroid Samus Returns Metroid (Stage 7) Omega Metroid Charges In (Cutscene).png|Omega Metroid charging into the chamber where it confronts Samus in Area 6 in Samus Returns
Metroid Samus Returns Metroid (Stage 7) Omega Metroid Growing Chest Armor (Cutscene).png|Omega Metroid growing armor over its membrane in Samus Returns
Metroid Samus Returns Metroid (Stage 7) Omega Metroid (Cutscene).png|Omega Metroid after growing thick armor over its membrane in Samus Returns
Metroid Samus Returns Metroid (Stage 7) Omega Metroid Roar (Cutscene).png|Omega Metroid roaring at Samus in Samus Returns
Metroid Samus Returns Metroid (Stage 7) Omega Metroid VS Samus (Cutscene).png|Samus confronting the first Omega Metroid in Area 6 in Samus Returns
Samus Returns Omega Metroid fight sequence.jpg|Samus mounts an Omega Metroid and fires into its membrane.
MSR dying Omega Metroid.jpg|The Omega is killed.
MSR Area 7 Evolved Omega.jpg|An "evolved" Omega Metroid roaring at Samus
MSR Area 7 Evolved Omega Tail Slam.jpg|An "evolved" Omega Metroid slamming the ground with its tail
Ice beam V.S. Omega METROID!.jpg|Samus fighting a Omega Metroid as the final boss of Metroid Fusion
Fusion Omega Metroid sprite (colors).gif|Sprite from Fusion, possessing three colors signifying its remaining health (full, half, near death).
Metroid Dread Chozo Memory 9 reenactment.png|An Omega Metroid attacking Chozo Warriors in Metroid Dread
File:SA-X, Arachnus, Zazabi, Nightmare and Omega Metroid in Dread intro.jpg|Fusion flashback in Dread.
MD Ending Rewards 02 - MSR.jpg|Ending Reward 02
==References and footnotes==
es:Metroid Omega
ru:Омега Метроид
Category: Unused Bosses and Species
Category:Bosses
Category:Final Bosses
Category:Metroids
Category:SR388
Category:Area 6
Category:Area 7
Category:BSL
Category:Main Deck
Category:Recurring Species