SAMUS & JOEY
Today, we cover Samus & Joey, a Metroid comic series that looks like a weird direction to take Samus in at first, but it ends up being a really solid story in its own right. It tells the story of Joey Apronika, a little boy living on a planet in the Federation, who encounters Samus after Space Pirates invade his planet, and he convinces her to take him on as an apprentice. The story seems to take place generally after the events of the game series, at least after Fusion, and explores the world of the Federation with more wiggle room.
After Samus, Joey is our main character, who uses special Field Knuckles that he inherited from his father to deliver devastating punches and to create energy barriers as shields. He also has wheels on his shoes that he uses to get around fast, attacks with a stick and sparklers, steals a Space Pirate gun at one point, and steals a Space Pirate's skin to disguise himself and wave around as a flag.
Another major character is Diesel, an engineer working on Junk Quixote, a run-down refueling station where Samus stops for a tune-up and treats as a general home base. Diesel can fly around on a little flotation device, weld and fix things, detonate bombs remotely, upload viruses, and has a ship called the Junk Hawk. Joey's mother, Diana, also appears in the story, having been gone for several years on a relief mission.
The major space pirates appearing in the opening story arc are the general Dragud and the warrior Doruba. Doruba has a giant mech and can shoot lasers, but that's it for him. They turn out to be cloning what they call a Megaroid from the DNA of dead Metroids, which then turns against its captors and breaks loose, draining energy from the Space Pirate ship to get even bigger. The Megaroid can also break apart into a dozen little pieces, which then come alive as living shards to drain the people of the planet.
Samus and Joey later find Diesel held captive by a Space Pirate named Jealousy, using a bounty hunter named Bomad as protection. Bomad kicks, punches, and uses a special item called a gravity bomb to keep the two heroes at bay. Later, Samus and Joey go on a mission to rescue Joey's mother and her team after they become stranded on an icy planet, where their lives are hounded by carnivorous penguin things called Amokmaw, who can slide around, eat ravenously, jet forward at high speed, shoot lasers and disrupt things with strong sound waves, and a giant one appears at the end.
Another story features a dangerous robot called U-Ton that Joey befriends but ultimately has to be destroyed (a la Iron Giant). U-Ton can extend its arms out really far, shoots laser blasts, strikes with claws, and has a very powerful attack called the Delta Mirage. Yet another features Dangelo, an escaped convict from Samus's past, who steals a suit similar to hers but can also turn invisible.
Toward the end of the series, Samus starts to track down a group called Dominion, behind many of the events of the story. They first have to face Integra, a giant mech that attacks by grabbing, using underarm blasters, and dropping power bombs. Then a bounty hunter named Zegan Doh is hired to kill them using a blade hand and a shield. Finally, the true mastermind is revealed as a former pirate named Greed, of the same species as Ridley, come for revenge against her. He uses mind control on Joey, forcing him to electrocute himself unless Samus willingly gives up all of her suit's abilities to him. The series then ends on a cliffhanger, leading into a sequel series.
And that's about it. Here's what we've got so far:
Characters:
Samus
Joey: Field Knuckles, punches, energy barriers, wheels, stick, sparklers, Space Pirate gun, Space Pirate's skin
Diesel: flotation device, weld, fix things, detonate bombs, viruses, Junk Hawk
Kreatz: energy strings
Mauk: slam, lift, bazooka, shoulder guns
Armstrong Houston: possible Samus/Federation Marine echo basis
Pyonchi
Damara
Commander Nemo
Chairman Keaton
Captain Hardy
Adam Malkovitch
Rodney and Virginia Aran
Old Bird/Gray Voice/Platinum Chest: float, healing bubble, armor, staff, staff blast
U-Ton: extendable arms, laser blasts, claws, Delta Mirage
Mother Brain
Ridley
Greed: Mind control, electrocution, drain
Dragud
Doruba: mech, lasers
Big Time Brannigan: arm cannon
Jealousy
Bomad: kick, punch, gravity bomb
Zegan Doh: blade hand, shield
Dangelo: Samus's suit, invisible
Megaroid: drain energy, break apart, living shards
Amokmaw: slide, eat, jet, shoot lasers, sound waves, giant
Integra: grab, underarm blasters, power bombs
Stages:
Federation headquarters
K-2L
Junk Quixote
Liberty
Degrade
Next up, the sequel to Samus & Joey!
