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
The Metroid larva is chronologically the last Metroid of its race following the events of "" and "". Samus describes how a Metroid larva hatched from an egg and immediately imprinted upon her, believing her to be its mother. She brought the larva to Ceres Space Colony, where scientists learned that they could harness its power. Just after she left the colony, she received a distress call and returned to find the scientists dead and the larva stolen. The Baby Metroid is used as the driving theme of the game as Samus tirelessly searches through Zebes and eventually the Space Pirate's base on Tourian for her Metroid hatchling. Once encountering the enlarged Baby Metroid in Space Pirate clutches, it attacks Samus and nearly drains all her energy. During the final battle against Mother Brain, the Baby Metroid comes to aid of Samus by recharging her energy, but Mother Brain destroys it in retaliation. Samus avenges its death by destroying Mother Brain with an extremely powerful weapon given to her by the Metroid. After a planet-wide self-destruction, Samus for once mourns the death of a Metroid.