Ridley (Metroid)
Often considered one of the most memorable Nintendo villains, Ridley has been a mainstay of the series, having appeared (through various incarnations) in almost every "Metroid" game to date (all but "", "Metroid Prime Hunters" and ""). He has also appeared in the "Super Smash Bros." series, however, he had not been made a playable character until "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" in 2018, making it also the first game overall to have Ridley as a playable character.
Characters in the Metroid series
A hostile group known as , or , serve as the antagonists of the "Metroid" series. They are a group of "interstellar nomads" resembling humanoid reptiles, insects or crustaceans, who plunder colonies and ships and exist in an insect-like hive society. Considering their appearance throughout the series, especially the "Prime" series, they could be considered arthropod-like reptiles. A single Pirate may have many biological differences between individuals of their own species, most likely because of their willingness to perform self-experimentation and mutation. Important leaders include Ridley, the Space Pirate commander, Mother Brain, the biomechanical defense of Zebes controlled by the Space Pirates, and Kraid, a recurring boss. The organization also includes a winged, mantis-like species, the Ki Hunters. The Space Pirates are interested in Metroid research, especially in using Metroids for energy generation, as soldiers, and for experimentation – their Phazon experiments produced all the Metroid variants seen in the "Prime" games with the exception of "Metroid Prime" itself. The organization is destroyed during the climax of "Super Metroid", however a group within the Galactic Federation itself resurrects the Space Pirates, along with Ridley and the Metroids, to be used as bio-weapons explaining their continued presence in "Other M" and "Fusion".