Chief Rodney Aran

, affectionately nicknamed , was the father of Samus Aran, and the husband of Virginia Aran. Rodney's only canonical appearance is in one of the Child Mode endings of Metroid Fusion, wherein he is seen firing a gun at Ridley in an attempt to hold him and the Space Pirates off during the K-2L raid. While this is not available internationally in Metroid Fusion, all versions of Metroid: Zero Mission include a Metroid Fusion Gallery featuring this artwork. Rodney Aran makes his most notable appearance in the Metroid manga published in Monthly Magazine Z. Volume 1 depicts Rodney's life and death on K-2L, while Volume 2 shows Samus struggling with PTSD after her parents' deaths.
==Biography==
In the cosmic year 2000, the Galactic Federation was founded, and the human colony on K-2L mined the afloraltite needed to establish a caravan between planets. Rodney Aran lived and worked on K-2L with his wife Virginia Aran and their daughter Samus Aran.
During this time, Chief Rodney worked long hours and hardly slept as he oversaw the mining of afloraltite. Virginia, concerned for his well-being, visited him and brought him lunch.
One day, the Chozo visited K-2L and asked for the colony's afloraltite. Rodney reminded the Chozo that the afloraltite was reserved for the Galactic Federation caravans. His three-year-old daughter Samus interrupted the meeting, and although Rodney scolded her, Old Bird befriended the young girl. Gray Voice was left to continue the negotiations with Rodney, who refused to hand over any afloraltite.
Shortly after the Chozo left, Rodney Aran suspected that there was a problem when the Beatrix III was not taking off, and he quickly realized that they were about to be raided by Space Pirates. During the attack, Rodney sneaked aboard the pirates' cargo ship as they took off with the afloraltite. He was approached by two Zebesians, with only a welding laser for defense. They quickly realized that the weak laser would be enough to detonate the afloraltite aboard the ship. Rodney decided to sacrifice himself, firing the laser and destroying the ship in a massive explosion, wiping out the Space Pirate raiding party and severely injuring Ridley.
Later, during Samus's mission to rescue the Chozo from Zebes, Ridley angrily insulted Samus by telling her that he had to eat the corpses of the dead colonists to survive while stranded on K-2L since Rodney destroyed his vessel. During Samus's PTSD episode, she briefly hallucinated Ridley crushing Rodney and Virginia's heads in his hands.
===Other appearances===
Samus's unnamed father was first seen in a flashback in Nintendo Power's Super Metroid comic, which told Samus' backstory for the first time. In this version, Samus's parents were both killed when Zebesian Pirate Ships fired upon their shelter during an air raid. This story is told to Armstrong Houston by an elderly Old Bird.
Rodney Aran appears briefly in Samus & Joey: Volume 2 chapter 8. Samus remembers Rodney, Virginia, and Old Bird as she tells Joey Apronika about her own fears, declaring that she fights even when she is afraid so that she will not lose anyone else important to her.
Rodney is occasionally mentioned (albeit not by name) in the Super Smash Bros. series. Ridley's trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mystery Creature's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U identify Ridley as the one who murdered Samus's parents. In the Galactic Avenger Event Match in Wii U, Samus must defeat Ridley and "Dark Samus" in order to avenge her parents, according to the description written from Samus's perspective.
==Personality and portrayal==
Rodney Aran is shown to be a determined hard worker. His commitment to his work leads him to go without sleeping for a long time. He is more than willing to make personal sacrifices to help others, whether it is ensuring the Galactic Federation receives enough afloraltite in time or sacrificing his life to stop the Space Pirates. He can be stern, as seen when he scolds Samus for intruding, and while he trusts and respects the Chozo, he is not willing to simply hand over the afloraltite without justification. His last thoughts were expressing his sorrow for Virginia and his love for Samus.
In the Super Metroid comic, Samus's father expresses his hatred for Space Pirates. He is shown wielding a large firearm with a scope, and he tells his family to hide while he defends them during the air raid.
==Trivia==
*Nintendo Power volume 84 features an excerpt of Samus Aran's backstory, as written by the Nintendo Power Source writer who created the frame story for Blood of the Chozo. In this excerpt, a character named "Chief Avram Aran" is implied to be Samus's father. However, the article implies that this backstory was never used in Blood of the Chozo, and it should not be regarded as part of the official series canon.
*The deaths of Samus's parents was depicted in the original script for "Past is Prologue", the live-action commercial for Metroid: Other M. However, Yoshio Sakamoto requested that the scene be replaced with a shot of Ridley threatening a young Samus.Interview: Micky Coyne. Shinesparkers. September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
==Gallery==
K2l5.PNG|Super Metroid comic
Image:Rodney_Shoots_the_Afloralite.png|Metroid Fusion/Metroid: Zero Mission
SAJ Old Bird Virginia Rodney.png|Samus & Joey
==References==
ru:Командир Родни Аран
it:Rodney Aran
Category:Characters
Category:Galactic Federation
Category:Aran Family
Category:Deceased
Category:K-2L
Category:Recurring Characters
Category:Manga
Category:Engineers