Dark Samus

:For other uses, see Dark Samus (Disambiguation).
 was a being of Phazon taking on the form of Samus Aran and the reincarnation of the organism known as Metroid Prime. After making a cameo appearance in the secret ending of the Metroid Prime game, she became the overarching antagonist and the final boss of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and the main antagonist of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
==Biography==
==Boss battles==
===Metroid Prime 2: Echoes===
====First battle====
Samus first battles her doppelgänger in the Main Reactor of the Space Pirate mining facility, after the latter absorbed some Phazon. A cutscene will play where the two encounter, soon exchanging fire before Dark Samus charges her body for the real battle ahead.
For most of the fight, Dark Samus glides around the room, firing her "Shrapnel Beam" in two different orientations; when she is idle, or as a side shot. Dark Samus may also fire Missiles at times which possessing slight homing capabilities and can destroy parts of the scenery along the walls. These Missiles are fired as an idle single shot, a barrage of three in a row, or she may perform a quick thrust closer to Samus before performing an aerial single shot. She may also raise a Phazon energy shield to deflect attacks and damage Samus if she is too close. Rarely at times, Dark Samus will not attack and instead leave behind a brief sinister laughter before resuming her attack pattern once more. This brief opportunity allows Samus to land a free hit on the enemy. Dark Samus can be very difficult to hit, as she possesses greater speed than Samus, and the pillars around the room make aiming and moving somewhat difficult (though they can be destroyed with Bombs, great care should be taken as the explosion can damage Samus). Each time Dark Samus performs a quick Sidestep maneuver, Samus's Lock-on is interrupted. This is commonly seen after every attack Dark Samus performs.
Once half of Dark Samus' health has been depleted, she will begin to glow with Phazon energy. At this point, she will reposition herself in the corner of the room, and as she reaches a specific spot, a brief cutscene will play where she channels Phazon energy into her body. Once she lands, battle resumes. Now with focused energy, Dark Samus gains new abilities and attacks. While in this supercharged state, she will often rise high into the air and hover around Samus to fire a Super Missile at her. Dark Samus may also perform a Screw Attack-like dive aimed directly at Samus, the former being encased in a ball of energy. If the attack lands on the floor, she will be surrounded by a shield of Phazon and be kneeling briefly (resembling her teleporting landings). If Dark Samus hits a wall or the large Kellium case in the center, she will recoil with a backflip before quickly returning to the ground once more. Both the Super Missile and Ball Dive attacks leave Dark Samus immune to weaponry during their execution and which have the capacity to reduce the pillars in the room to flaming wreckage. Dark Samus can only be damaged while on the ground, after the two aerial attacks have concluded. She is still vulnerable during her grounded attacks, though she may now pull up her Phazon barrier more frequently against Missile strikes.
After dealing enough damage to Dark Samus, she will be defeated, collapsing to her knees and then violently exploding, causing massive damage to the room. She then falls and disintegrates, leaving no trace of her behind but floating Phazon particles for some time before eventually dissipating. An elevator then lowers to Samus's position, allowing her to escape the now wrecked room.
====Second battle====
Samus battles Dark Samus again on the Aerie (and in its access) at the Sanctuary Fortress. Unlike the last fight, there is more room to move around, and hitting Dark Samus is somewhat easier. Dark Samus retains most of her attacks from before, along with three new attacks. For the first half of battle, Dark Samus will retain using her triple Missile barrage and her two spread shot attacks (idle and strafe), as well as her usual Phazon Shield. Dark Samus will now use two variations of the Charge Beam: either as a thin long, blue beam that she sweeps across from (her) left to right, or an energy blast that will encase Samus in Phazon. If the latter hits a floor, the Phazon will slow Samus's movement but will not damage her. Dark Samus also utilizes a faster version of the Boost Ball, charging around the arena at blinding speeds (using a Charge Beam shot or a Charge Combo on the ball will instantly stop her attack), after which she will unmorph and fire a Charged Phazon Shot. At times, Dark Samus will perform a taunt, either her usual maniacal laughter, standing in place and charging her body with Phazon energy, or a short scream with her arms raised and body charged. Should Samus step close to Dark Samus while taunting, the latter will immediately retaliate with a Phazon Shield strike. Dark Samus is highly vulnerable to the Dark Beam because she is a being of the light world (and not a Darkling Samus). Super Missiles and the Darkburst can deal heavy damage to Dark Samus, though the former is recommended as the Darkburst is less effective against the speedy target and consumes much ammo. Entangler shots are highly recommended due to its power output. After Dark Samus has lost one quarter of her HP, the battle reaches new heights as the boss switches strategies within the next room.
Dark Samus retains the same attacks, albeit now in a less compact room. Because Dark Samus's Boost Ball has more room to maneuver around, the Lightblast is recommended on it as its homing spheres can easily track Dark Samus's boost ball, automatically interrupting the attack once contact with a single sphere is made. When Dark Samus receives further damage, she will commence with an atomic disruption. Doing so allows her to utilize her stealth field generator, rendering herself invisible to the Combat Visor. Samus must then switch to the Dark Visor to track her opponent. During this phase of the battle, Dark Samus will fire only Phazon Charged Shots while cloaked and airborne and will still make use of her Phazon shield from close range or when attempting to block Missile shots. Samus must wait for an opening after Dark Samus's attacks have concluded to return heavy fire. After being heavily damaged during her invisibility phase, Dark Samus will use an atomic disruption to overload the Dark Visor, forcing Samus to return to her Combat Visor. Regaining her Phazon aura from the first battle, Dark Samus will return to her heavy attacks seen from before, including her dive bomb and airborne Super Missile attacks. Her other attacks gain slightly more speed and the Boost Ball uses slightly more aggression. Dark Samus will repeat her invisibility phase once more when further energy loss from her occurs, then returning under normal spectrum one last time before her demise. 
Once Dark Samus's health has been depleted, Samus will claim victory yet again, with Dark Samus struggling to survive. Her power overloaded, Dark Samus staggers to a nearby elevator wall, destroys it with a thin beam blast, and falls through the chasm, evaporating into tiny Phazon particles once again.
====Final boss====
Dark Samus serves as the final boss of the game, now supercharged with Phazon energy to the point where she is transparent. This battle takes place in the Sky Temple Gateway on Dark Aether. Much like the fight with the Emperor Ing, Phazon ore lines the walls of the arena, damaging Samus on contact. Compounding the difficulty is the countdown timer. Samus must defeat her dark counterpart in under eight minutes or Dark Aether will destabilize with her in it, resulting in a Game Over. Dark Samus attacks by firing a large beam of Phazon energy. She is invulnerable while firing her Phazon laser, but can be damaged once she drops to the ground. As before she is most vulnerable to the Dark Beam and Super Missiles; however, her exposure to Phazon now renders her fully invisible to the Dark Visor, requiring the use of the Echo Visor.
After sustaining enough damage, Dark Samus surrounds herself in a large shield of Phazon, transforming into a being of pure Phazon. The shield is invulnerable to all forms of attack save one: blasts of pure Phazon itself. Samus must use her Charge Beam to draw in and absorb Dark Samus' Phazon bullets, vaguely resembling the recurring The Legend of Zelda mechanic Dead Man's Volley. However, Dark Samus will also fire larger semi-homing blasts that cannot be absorbed. If the shield expands and shrinks, Dark Samus will fire small, absorbable blasts (this is noted by Samus's lock-on aiming above Dark Samus for a few seconds). Once Samus absorbs enough Phazon blasts (her Charge Beam will turn blue), she can fire them back at her doppelganger, damaging her. Occasionally, Dark Samus may retract her shield and fight on the ground for a few more moments, attempting to ram Samus. Dark Samus can be damaged before a ram, but upon making contact with Samus will surround herself with a cylindrical shield of lightning energy. Before long or when enough damage is inflicted during the grounded phase, Dark Samus will swerve back to the center of the arena (invincible once more) and resume her Phazon attacks. Although Dark Samus does receive minor damage from the grounded phase, she cannot be defeated this way and will automatically stick to her hovering phase permanently once her Energy is low enough, requiring the finishing blow to be from a Phazon Blast. By repeating this strategy, Dark Samus will fall for the last time, attempting to reach out and touch Samus but disappearing before she can do so.
===Metroid Prime 3: Corruption===
Dark Samus serves as the penultimate boss of the game. This battle can be challenging as exposure to Phaaze's atmosphere, as well as damage causes the Phazon level to fill; when she becomes full, Samus will die from Phazon corruption. If Samus collected a large number of Energy Tanks prior to the confrontation, this will become much less of a threat. In the first part of the battle, Dark Samus hovers around, using her trademark scattershot beam, firing homing blasts of Phazon, using a Phazon-based ground wave (similar to Ridley's), and creating large Phazite pillars to slow Samus down. The latter attack can be predicted as she will raise her left hand and fire a beam of Phazon in the air. The pillars can easily be destroyed by Hyper Missiles, and often yield Anti-Phazon Units. Dark Samus will sometimes raise a Phazon shield to deflect attacks. All Samus must do is shoot Dark Samus while avoiding her potent Phazon attacks. After enough damage, Dark Samus switches to round two.
Dark Samus will now use Phaaze's energy to heal herself. Samus must shoot her down before she finishes. Samus must be careful as Dark Samus will summon Dark Echoes to confuse her when healing. Samus can easily distinguish Dark Samus from her Echoes via the X-Ray Visor; she will be colored red while the Echoes fade into the monochrome coloring of the Visor. Samus can also look at their visors to distinguish them in the later part of the fight, as Dark Samus' visor is blue and the Echoes have no visors. Dark Samus will also leap into the air and slam the ground, creating a large shockwave of Phazon energy. Otherwise, this phase of the battle is the same as the first. After another round of damage, Dark Samus switches strategy again.
In this phase of the battle, Dark Samus uses her Echoes to attack Samus. The Echoes possess all of Dark Samus's attacks. The number of Echoes summoned increases as the battle goes on (only up to two Echoes). Dark Samus and her Echoes attack in concert, floating in the air and shooting Phazon blasts at Samus, and using Ghor's Plasma Beam while spinning with another Echo. Samus can avoid this attack by using the Morph Ball, as it is impossible for her to jump over the beam each time it comes around. Using the Hyper Ball to kill the Echo can end the attack quickly. Dark Samus may also fire the Plasma Beam from the air and drop down and may or may not produce a shockwave. The Echoes will also spin around the arena, trying to hit Samus. They may also charge Samus at full speed. The Echoes should be immediately destroyed, or they will merge with Dark Samus, granting her temporary invincibility. This also "overloads" the X-Ray Visor, making her appear a very light color, making her extremely difficult to see. So as long as Samus keeps the energy bar from filling and dodges the boss' powerful attacks, Dark Samus will fall with ease. However, this brings up the next fight: Dark Samus will merge with Aurora Unit 313.
If Samus fills the Hypermode/Phazon gauge, she will be terminally corrupted and turned into another Dark Samus, leading to a Game Over.
==Locations==
Note: All locations are non-fight rooms unless otherwise stated.
*Hive Chamber B
*Portal Site
*Security Station B
*Main Reactor (battle)
*Training Access (particles)
*Training Chamber
*Power Junction (particles)
*Sanctuary Entrance
*Checkpoint Station
*Aerie Transport Station 
*Aerie Access (battle)
*Aerie (battle)
*Sky Temple Gateway (battle)
*Control Tower
*Temple of Bryyo (apparition)
*Main Docking Bay (apparition)
*Proving Grounds (apparition)
*Sanctum (battle)
==Physical appearance==
As implied by her name, Dark Samus was an evil Doppelgänger of Samus Aran in her Phazon Suit. When first emerging from the pool of Phazon in the Impact Crater, her arm was wreathed in black and red armor, and an eyeball sat in the back of her hand. Upon meeting Samus for the first time on Aether, her appearance had greatly evolved. Her armor was now black with blue highlights along its extremities, including large growths of Phazon within her shoulder pads. Her visor was considerably narrower than the one on Samus's helmet, and she possessed claws on her feet and hand, while her arm cannon merged seamlessly into the rest of her flesh. Her Morph Ball form had a ribbed texture and an eyeball protruding on either side.
By the end of the mission on Aether, Dark Samus had grown unstable from overfeeding on Phazon and her armor was translucent. This rendered her inner organs visible, including her head which possessed no mouth, as well as three blank eyes laid out in a pattern reminiscent of a Metroid's nuclei. Nerve-like veins ran throughout her entire body, and her arm cannon appeared to be composed of spiny bones. Her hand also still featured the eye from the scene of her rebirth.
After recuperating and beginning her plan to control Phaaze, Dark Samus's appearance evolved further into a more streamlined form. Her smooth flesh became segmented, leathery, and blue, with veins visible along it. Her shoulders and arm cannon had become sleeker, and her feet came to pointed boot-like tips. Overall, she appeared much more condensed and mechanical in nature.
==Powers and abilities==
As Dark Samus, the creature utilized many abilities similar to Samus, in more powerful forms. She could fire two types of Phazon beams (which the scan mentioned to be altered versions of the Power Beam) at enemies in the form of either a continuous stream of small shard-like bursts, or a thin laser Beam which she shot in an arc. She possessed standard Missiles as well as Super Missiles to blast opponents into bits. Also, she used what appeared to be a Phazon-charged Ice Spreader attack. She could also do a powerful dive bomb attack (which could be a Phazon-based Screw Attack, Shinespark or a combination of both), a Phazon Boost Ball that generated vast amounts of kinetic energy in alarmingly short times, raise pillars of crystallized Phazon in this form, is capable of both flight and levitation, and can render herself invisible (a trait Metroid Prime's core form was also capable of); it is interesting to note that her Morph Ball form contained an eyeball on each side of the sphere, resembling the eyes seen on the chest of Metroid Prime's Exo. Mass absorption of Phazon allowed her arsenal to grow more powerful and evolve constantly before every encounter. However, when Dark Samus consumed too much Phazon, she gained the disadvantages she possessed as Metroid Prime: although she was eventually able to render herself invulnerable to all conventional weaponry, Phazon fired at her could overload and destabilize her, resulting in her generating very powerful Phazon attacks to discharge the used Phazon radiation from her body, including a massive beam of pure, highly concentrated Phazon. She also had the ability to short-range warp, which was how she was able to appear on Aether despite being trapped in the collapsed Impact Crater of Tallon IV, and was also implied to be how she was able to escape Dark Aether's destruction. Just prior to her final duel with Samus at the Sky Temple Grounds, Samus noticed that a Phazon root had extended between going to the Sky Temple and returning, and then saw the exit being engulfed in a Phazon mass, causing her to turn around and see a heavily mutated Dark Samus right behind her. This strongly implies that Dark Samus had the ability to manipulate Phazon to at least some degree and caused the increase of Phazon in the area.
In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Dark Samus' abilities are further augmented. In addition to most of her previous abilities, she can now produce near-perfect clones of herself (fittingly called "Dark Echoes") and is much more resilient to Phazon attacks (though Hyper Missiles are still effective on her). Combining with the Echoes temporarily also allowed her to form a purple energy shield around her body which rendered her invulnerable until she had to separate back into herself and the Echoes. After she unleashed the massive blast of Phazon at the four Hunters using what appears to be a version of the Charge Beam, the corruption within them seemed to be connected to Dark Samus; after the defeat of each hunter, a strange, black, wraith-like entity in the shape of Dark Samus would appear above the hunters, and fly off into space, presumably back to Dark Samus herself. This seems to be the manner through which she gained the Hunters' abilities, such as Ghor's Plasma Beam, Gandrayda's ground-based energy wave, and the ability to create giant Phazon pillars like Rundas could with ice. It is also possible that this entity was a form of Dark Samus herself interpreted as some sort of astral projection, which she used to possess the Hunters. She also has the ability to merge with the stolen Aurora Unit at the climax of the game, a technique which may have also been adapted from Ghor or connected with her apparent possession abilities. After this merge, the mutated Aurora Unit is capable of launching out holographic-like Dark Echoes from its eye; these copies will either shoot at Samus or enter Morph Ball mode and boost around the area in an attempt to ram her (reminiscent of her attack in the previous game). She is notably more agile in Corruption than in Echoes, able to perform graceful backflips and cartwheels.
In Echoes, Dark Samus seems to be somewhat incomplete; this is supported by the fact that she is constantly absorbing Phazon, looks slightly deformed, and has a range of chaotic attack moves. In Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime's tentacle was broken off of Samus prematurely, possibly not absorbing enough DNA to create a whole, stable Dark Samus. Dark Samus seems to act mentally unstable in Echoes cutscenes, even laughing maniacally in several instances. In the same game, Dark Samus also became physically unstable due to excessive Phazon exposure. While her physical body continues to be unstable in Prime 3: Corruption, she is surprisingly calm and attacks in a more organized and orderly method, suggesting she has absorbed sufficient Phazon to reach a stable mentality; this also explains how she was able to brainwash the Pirates, plan the coordinates of the Leviathan impact locations, and steal Aurora Unit 313.
Dark Samus is a very durable life-form, able to regenerate from any injury short of total atomic disruption, and traveling unaided through space and freely between the Dark and Light dimensions of Aether, and even showing immunity to the caustic atmosphere of Dark Aether (the last of which was presumably due to Dark Aether's atmosphere being made of Phazon, much like Dark Samus herself). She can survive in the vastness of space, travel through it, and survive the explosions of planets, even dimensions. This is how she has constantly been able to regenerate herself after defeat and fly to another planet for Phazon absorption. Her incredible regenerative abilities combined with Phazon-enhanced versions of Samus' devastating abilites make her nearly impossible to defeat. In fact, she may have temporarily held the place of most powerful being in the Metroid universe. During the events of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, she single-handedly defeated the highly skilled bounty hunters Rundas, Ghor and Gandrayda. Though Samus held up better than the others, Dark Samus defeated all four of them with one blast of Phazon. Considering Samus herself seldom loses battles, even against ten-meter tall opponents, this is an impressive feat. Her massive durability at the climax at Phaaze, even against Hypermode's chaotic and devastating power just furthers this possibility. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption also reveals her to be sentient and capable of long-range planning, as noted through a series of Space Pirate data logs that record the fanaticism she inspires among the mind-warped pirates. They detail her plans and how she reacts to certain events, and credit her with being something near a deity whose rule of the galaxy will be great. She might have been and may still be the greatest threat ever to the Galactic Federation, and Samus's most powerful opponent to date. She may have had some degree of telepathy, using that to create her new body after being defeated as Metroid Prime from her brief contact with Samus Aran as well as absorbing her Phazon Suit, and it was also implied that Dark Samus may have been responsible for causing a glitch in Samus's Cryostasis in the beginning of Corruption.
==Personality==
Dark Samus, as her name implies, was shown to be cold, calculating, sadistic, and utterly merciless. The lives of her opponents held little to no value to her, and she never hesitated to use her allies to her own gain. A prominent example of this was seen in her use of the corrupted Rundas, Ghor, and Gandrayda to battle Samus, only to kill them and absorb their powers after each hunter was defeated. The extent of her cruelty is described in one of the Pirate Logs, where she is said to have ordered her Pirate forces to jettison the surviving crew members of the G.F.S. Valhalla raid into space.
Dark Samus demonstrated compassion only once in her entire lifetime, and only to Metroids: As reported by one Space Pirate log from their occupation of Aether, Dark Samus was observed attempting to free captive Metroids that were being researched in Agon Wastes, leading the author to conclude she was responsible for the recent disappearance of specimens. The cause for her actions were likely due to her origins as Metroid Prime.
Dark Samus also had an insatiable craving for Phazon, likely a remnant of her origins as Metroid Prime. She would kill anyone in her way, as the Space Pirate Logs in Echoes mention that Dark Samus killed any Pirates that impeded her quest for Phazon, but otherwise ignored them. Similarly, she would also kill any Darklings that happened to be in her way, as evidenced by her actions immediately prior to confronting Samus a second time at the Sanctuary Fortress, when she slaughtered a couple of Dark Pirate Troopers before proceeding to absorb the Phazon containers they were guarding. 
Her personality underwent a great change between Echoes and Corruption. In Echoes, she was portrayed as unstable and unpredictable, shown by her maniacal laughter and chaotic attack patterns. By the time of Corruption, she had become significantly calmer. Dark Samus was also shown to be quite cunning, capable of long-range planning, and remained collected even if her plans were not going accordingly: The massive invasion she led on Norion would have succeeded, if not for Samus Aran's intervention. Dummied Pirate Logs also indicated that she intended and may have succeeded in turning at least a hundred planets into new Phaazes before her final defeat. It is possible that her absorption of Phazon on Phaaze was sufficient to stabilize her physical form to a certain extent, allowing her to focus on other tasks besides her hunger for the mutagenic substance.
==Official data==
===Metroid Prime 2: Dark Echoes Q&A===
QUESTION: Please explain just what is Dark Samus.
ANSWER: [The answer for] that can be anticipated in the next installment.Q&A Page 01, as translated by Shinesparkers
QUESTION: So Dark Samus is the hand we see in the cutscene after the ending credits?
ANSWER: Yes. For those who have not yet seen "the hand", please play Metroid Prime 1 first. You’ll only be able to see it if you achieve 100% items however...
QUESTION: How did Dark Samus come from Tallon IV to Aether? Also, despite their scientific achievements such as the defense system, a totally mechanized fortress, and Quadraxis, why could Luminoth not predict the arrival of the meteorite? If it had been predicted, what about destroying it or at least breaking it into smaller pieces?
ANSWER: Dark Samus has the ability to "short range" warp and used this to move to Aether. The Luminoth do not have forecasting capabilities, so they were unable to predict the fall of the meteorite. The meteorite’s destructive power exhausted the Luminoth's power and won.Q&A Page 02, as translated by Shinesparkers
QUESTION: Is there a relation between Metroid Prime stealing Samus' Phazon Suit and the appearance of Dark Samus?
ANSWER: It is extremely likely that Dark Samus was born by reading [into Samus' mind] via the Phazon Suit.Q&A Page 03, as translated by Shinesparkers
QUESTION: Why is it that Dark Samus is able to travel around Dark Aether’s toxic gas?
ANSWER: The toxic gas in Dark Aether is essentially made of Phazon, so it’s not a concern.Q&A Page 06, as translated by Shinesparkers
QUESTION: Is Dark Samus a friend of the Space Pirates?
ANSWER: She's not their friend. If you read the Pirate logs, you can see just the extent to which Dark Samus has troubled them.Q&A Page 07, as translated by Shinesparkers
QUESTION: Why is it that Dark Samus is able to come back to life despite being defeated by Samus?
ANSWER: Dark Samus is very difficult to wipe out entirely. One could wonder if Dark Samus is truly defeated by the end of Metroid Prime 2..?Q&A Page 08, as translated by Shinesparkers
===Logbook entries===
====Metroid Prime 2: Echoes====
;Checkpoint Station:"Bioscan complete. Target DNA confirmed: Dark Samus. Target is energizing herself, building internal supply of Phazon energy to dangerously high levels."
====Metroid Prime 3: Corruption====
* If scanned when she is recharging her energy.
====Unused Galactic Federation Data entry====
===Nintendo Official Guidebook for Metroid Other M===
;Page 173:"Metroid Prime, defeated in Metroid Prime 1, took in Samus' matrix, and transformed into Dark Samus (shown here)."
==Super Smash Bros. series==
Dark Samus began to make cameo appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, becoming an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. 4, and a playable character (for the first time in any game) in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
==Development notes==
==Trivia==
*Although Dark Samus usually glides across the floor, she is seen walking in the cutscenes prior to the first battle in Echoes, as well as in the ambush in the Control Tower in Corruption, and finally, in the above animation videos by Alejandro Roura.
*In Echoes, Dark Samus has different reactions towards a number of Samus's weaponry:
**Dark Samus is vulnerable to the Dark Beam (and by extension the Darkburst) rather than the Light Beam, as she is in fact a life-form originating from the normal (light) dimension. Light-based weaponry may still damage her all the same, albeit under a less damage output.
**The Sunburst is able to damage Dark Samus while her Phazon shield is active.
**During the first battle, Dark Samus is vulnerable to Power Bombs (obtained via Sequence Breaking). She will take considerable damage, much like Samus herself when Power Bombs are used against her in Multiplayer. On subsequent battles however, she is immune to Power Bombs, likely due to enhanced Phazon consumption. It is unknown if Dark Samus was immune to Power Bombs in Corruption, due to Samus not having access to them during that time.
***Despite this, Dark Samus still glows red when hit with the Death Ball (via hacking).
**Likewise, Dark Samus takes 10 times the normal amount of damage from the Annihilator Beam in the first battle (if obtained via Sequence Breaking).
**The Screw Attack (via Sequence Breaking) is capable of damaging Dark Samus during the first two battles and is useful against her Shinespark Ball-like attack. Both attacks cancel each other out similar to two Screw Attacks colliding in Multiplayer (via hacking).
**In all of her battles, Dark Samus will always attempt to deflect a Missile by bringing up an energy wave. It is possible to bypass this by forcing her to use the same shield (either by shooting a Missile at her or getting close to her) and then firing the projectile right after the shield vanishes. In the first half of the first fight, Dark Samus will also receive knockback and kneel down in pain briefly when hit. The same is true in Corruption, where if Dark Samus is hit with a Hyper Missile, she will recoil and scream and/or groan in pain.
**Similarly during the first half of the first fight, Dark Samus can be heard constantly grunting in pain from constant repeated damage from Samus's Power Beam shots. This appears to mimic how Samus herself grunts when receiving damage from enemies. During the second fight, Entangler shots will easily cause Dark Samus to groan in pain from the chasing Dark Energy.
**When defeated, Dark Samus lets out a scream similar to that of Meroid Prime's roar.
*Curiously, the Super Missile appears to be the only non-Phazon based weapon within Dark Samus's entire arsenal, a weapon which she also only uses for the first two battles in Echoes. Dark Samus retains Super Missiles in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate however.
*In Echoes, if Samus is frozen in the second battle by a Phazon attack, when she breaks out, purple chunks can be seen running down her visor. An identical freezing effect is seen during Emperor Ing's Dark Freeze Beam attack and when frozen by the Dark Beam in Multiplayer, suggesting the same frozen escape animation was oddly reused for Dark Samus's Phazon freeze attacks. This may also be an oversight by developers.
*In the first battle, Dark Samus can be seen with the Dark Visor (via Sequence Breaking). During the second battle in Echoes, Dark Samus is able to overload the Dark Visor at all times except when invisible. This is likely contributed to more Phazon consumption. Oddly however, once the battle reaches the top of the Aerie, Dark Samus will not overload the Dark Visor and can be seen with it even before turning invisible, lasting until after the first invisible phase. This is most likely a glitch.
**Despite being overloaded, Samus can still lock-on to and see Dark Samus's Morph Ball with the Dark Visor. Seeker Missile lock-on will not work however.
*One of Dark Samus's attacks strongly resembles the unused Boost Ball homing function seen from the Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc. During the first battle, if the Dark Visor (via Sequence Breaking or hacking) is used while she performs this attack, one can see her body performing a charging/diving posture.
*In the second battle from Echoes, after Dark Samus unmorphs from her Morph Ball, she immediately follows up with a Charged Phazon Shot. This style of attack is later seen to be used by Samus in Metroid: Other M; after Samus has a (near) fully charged meter in Morph Ball, immediately as she unmorphs, she can fire a Charged Beam Shot. 
*Although Dark Samus is said to be wearing a version of the Varia Suit in Echoes scans, the suit she is wearing is technically the Phazon Suit. However, Samus's Phazon Suit is only a slight variation of the Varia Suit, and Dark Samus' is a variation over that.
*As she dies in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the camera pans to Dark Samus' raised left fist. She opens it quickly, mirroring the scene of her "birth" in the ending of Metroid Prime where her open hand clenches into a fist. After her death, the scene cuts to the bubbling Phazon seed within Samus disappearing, completing the imagery of the festering pool of Phazon that Dark Samus was derived from.
*Dark Samus is referred to as a class Platinum-AAA threat level by the Space Pirates in Echoes.
*Another Side Story seems to indicate that Dark Samus acted as a god to the Pirates, and her Phazon was a holy blessing. She is referred to as the Dark One, Black Demon, Esteemed One (similar to Samus being called the Entrusted One in Chozo Lore), and Dark Samus is also implied to have called Phaaze the "Promised Land".
*In Metroid: Samus Returns, Samus's Varia Suit design bears a strong resemblance to that of Dark Samus, especially in terms of the visor.
*Samus's Metroid Suit in Metroid Dread also bears a passing resemblance to Dark Samus. Both were created as hybrids of Metroids and Chozo Power Suits.
*Chronologically speaking, Dark Samus is the first doppelganger/clone of Samus Aran, with the SA-X coming later. While created through different means, both are shown to be powerful adversaries who tested Samus' abilities. However Dark Samus was shown to have more personality, while SA-X was simply an X Parasite mimicking Samus at her full power. 
**Interestingly, both Dark Samus and SA-X granted Samus a beam upgrade of some kind at some point. Samus gained the ability to use the Hyper Beam after Dark Samus infected her with Phazon (albeit through the PED Suit the Federation gave Samus) and the Ice Beam (in addition to the Omega Suit) after Samus absorbed the SA-X.
**Ironically, Dark Samus's species of origin, Metroids, often preyed upon the species of the SA-X's origin, the X Parasites.
**The similarities are reinforced in Ultimate via one of Dark Samus's victory poses, which focused on her visor and showed her eyes in a similar manner to the SA-X's debut scene.
*Dark Samus is referred to with female pronouns mainly in part due to possessing Samus's DNA, whereas Metroid Prime is referred to with gender-neutral pronouns. Oddly enough, an unused Logbook entry from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption refers to Dark Samus with gender-neutral pronouns as well. 
*"Dark Samus" (Samus's alternate costume based on her) is battled alongside Ridley in the Event Match "Galactic Avenger" in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, with the premise being that Samus is fighting them to avenge her parents. However, Dark Samus had no responsibility in the deaths of Chief Rodney Aran and Virginia Aran as the K-2L raid occurred decades before Dark Samus had been reborn from Metroid Prime.
*Elements of Dark Samus's characterization in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, namely her influencing various Bounty Hunters via Phazon (and in the case of Rundas, outright possessing him), resembles the Aurans from the 1956 Italian sci-fi/horror film Planet of the Vampires. This marks one of the few instances where the Metroid series makes a direct reference to Planet of the Vampires rather than the Alien franchise (the latter of which was inspired by that film).
*Just before their first fight at Agon Wastes, Dark Samus and Samus's encounter had them focusing on their eyes in a manner resembling the famous duel choreography for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
==List of appearances==
*Metroid Prime (100% ending & concept art.)
*Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc
*Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
*Metroid Prime: Episode of Aether
*Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Preview
*Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
*Special Mission (mentioned)
*Another Side Story (mentioned)
*Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Trophy)
*New Play Control! Metroid Prime (100% ending & concept art.)
*New Play Control! Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
*Metroid Prime Trilogy
*Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (Assist Trophy)
*Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
==Music==
When Dark Samus is encountered in Echoes and Corruption, she is accompanied by the ambient theme Dark Samus Intro. A variation of this theme, Dark Samus Appears Part 2, is heard during Samus and Dark Samus's first encounter.
Dark Samus's battle music is titled Darkness in Echoes, and was fully remixed for her battle in Corruption. During the final battle in Echoes, the Escape theme is played instead because she is fought while escaping Dark Aether. During the battle against Aurora Unit 313, Darkness is remixed once more.
==Audio==
Sound	Description
 	Speech 1
 	Speech 2
 	Trademark sinister laugh.
==Gallery==
For concept art, see Dark Samus' Gallery.
===Metroid Prime 2: Echoes===
Mp ending3.jpg|Dark Samus is born from Metroid Prime's remains.
Dark Samus eye.png|The eye of Dark Samus.
Dark Samus floating render.png|Echoes model render
Bonus Disc Dark Samus 1 Logbook.png|Model and Logbook entry seen in the Bonus Disc.
Image472.png|Dark Samus aims at Samus at the Portal Site.
Dark samus6.png|Dark Samus - Main Reactor
Echoes Dark Samus 1 face close-up.png|Dark Samus's face zoomed in.
Prime Trilogy Dark Samus.jpg|Samus battles Dark Samus for the first time.
Echoes Dark Samus 1 Dark Visor.png|Dark Samus 1 seen with the Dark Visor (via Sequence Breaking).
Dark samus 2.png|Dark Samus falls.
Dark Samus apparition.png|Samus pursuing the particles of Dark Samus in Torvus Bog.
TorvusDs.jpg|Dark Samus appears in Training Chamber.
Resurrected.png|Dark Samus destroys the Sanctuary Entrance.
Aerie battle.png|Samus battles Dark Samus at the Aerie in Sanctuary Fortress.
Echoes Dark Samus 2 Laser Beam Sweep.png|Thin Phazon Beam sweep.
Echoes Dark Samus 2 Power Flex.png|Taunting; power surging.
Echoes Dark Samus 2 Boost Ball Charge.png|Charging her Boost Ball.
Echoes Dark Samus 2 Atomic Disruption.png|Dark Samus turning herself invisible.
Final Dark Samus Profile.png|Dark Samus challenges Samus to a final battle in Dark Aether in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
Dark Samus_4.png|Samus battles a highly irradiated Dark Samus at the Sky Temple Gateway.
Dark Samus 3 Phazon Laser (sideview).png|Dark Samus firing her Phazon Laser.
Dark Samus approaches Light Suit.png|Dark Samus tries to take the Light Suit.
DSmp2.jpg|Dark Samus reforms from Phazon energy in space near Aether.
Dark Samus Morph Ball.png|Dark Samus's Morph Ball form, used in Echoes and Corruption.
Dark Samus MP2_manga.png|Episode of Aether
Dark Samus 3 model (front).png|Dark Samus's model used during the Sky Temple Gateway battle.
Dark Samus 3 model (back).png|Backside
===Metroid Prime 3: Corruption===
Dark sam2.jpg|Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Dark Samus1 MP3.jpg|Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
DarkSamusGhost.png|The wraith-like figure of Dark Samus appears at Gandrayda's defeat.
Dark samus sanctum.png|Dark Samus in the Sanctum.
MP3C DarkSamus DarkEcho.gif|Dark Samus creating a Dark Echo.
Dark samus 3.jpg|Dark Samus is defeated.
Dark Samus merges AU.png|Dark Samus merges with AU 313, after being repulsed by Samus in Corruption.
Samus Aran Transform Dark Samus.PNG|Samus Aran's terminally corrupted state is identical to Dark Samus.
Dark Samus Sanctum models (front).png|Dark Samus's model (right) when compared to one of her Dark Echoes.
Dark Samus Sanctum models (back).png|Backside (Dark Samus is on the right).
JP Other M Guide 173.jpg|Nintendo Official Guidebook for Metroid Other M, page 173
==Notes==
==References==
de:Dunkle Samus
es:Dark Samus
ru:Темная Самус
Category:Characters
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Category:Tallon IV
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