Ridley (Metroid)
Ridley's status within the ranks of the Space Pirates is unclear, with some sources stating that he is the leader of the entire Space Pirate race, whereas others portray him as simply the Pirates' military commander or even a mere enforcer within the Pirate military ranks, subservient to Mother Brain or Space Pirate High Command. Regardless, he is consistently depicted as a ruthless and cunning tactician who never passes up an opportunity to bring his considerable ferocity to bear on the battlefield, opting to overwhelm his opponents with an unwavering onslaught of attacks from his mouth, claws, and tail. He is also incredibly cruel, actively taking pleasure in the killing and torment of others; at one point in the official manga he taunts Samus by claiming he may have devoured her mother's corpse after killing her, and a Space Pirate log entry in "Metroid Prime" notes that being the mainstay of the Pirate security force is "a job he will certainly relish."
Characters in the Metroid series
is the archenemy of Samus Aran, an intelligent and sadistic dragon-like extraterrestrial that despite being killed multiple times by her, is always revived by the Space Pirates (or accidentally by the Galactic Federation in "") using cloning or robotics. Other than Samus and the titular Metroids, Ridley is the only character that has appeared consistently throughout most of the games in the series (the exceptions being "" for the Game Boy, "" for the GameCube, "Metroid Prime Hunters" for the Nintendo DS, and "" for the Nintendo 3DS). He is directly responsible for the invasion of Samus' home planet, and the death of her parents, and is the franchise's primary villain, despite not typically acting as the main antagonist in an individual game.