Chozo Elders

CHOZO ELDERS

When Samus is seriously wounded in battle, Armstrong will take her to a planet where an ally of hers lives. This is where we get our first glimpse of the Chozo who helped raise her: Old Bird.

Old Bird, and many other Chozo Elders such as Gray Voice and Platinum Chest, have always been implied to exist in the games, but it was through the comics that they managed to come to life. Old Bird would reappear in Magazine Z, which would tell Samus’s full backstory, with both Gray and Platinum playing major roles as well.

As fighters, they’ll be pretty low on offense, choosing more pacifistic leanings such as defense and healing, though occasionally delving into full combat as Gray Voice did to take on Mother Brain. Their moveset will pull from across the two comics.

Likelihood rating: Does this count as Non-game? Because part of me wants to give it a Could happen.

Character Sheet: Chozo Elders

CHOZO ELDERS

And now we have a long list of character who appear exclusively within the Metroid comics, manga, and other non-game media. These will all act as a roster on their own, separate from the standard game roster. They are:

1. Joey Apronika

2. Kreatz

3. Mauk

4. Diesel

5. GFS Tyr Crew

6. Armstrong Houston

7. Zegan Doh

8. Bomad

9. U-Ton

10. Papa Lightning

11. Chozo Elders

12. Greed

13. Bishop

14. Knight

15. Dangelo

16. Pirate Boss

17. Amokmaw

18. Integra

19. Megaroid

The Chozo are among the most important race in the Metroid series, but it's a complicated issue as the bulk of the most important members never appear in the series, having been long dead before it ever got started. Thankfully, we have the Magazine Z comics to fill in those gaps. When Samus was a child, she befriended an old friendly Chozo named Old Bird. After the Space Pirates attacked and killed everyone on her home, she was found by Old Bird and was taken in by him. His companion Gray Voice initially resisted taking her to Zebes, but over time came to love and care for her himself, donating the genetic material that would enhance her enough to wear the power suit and taking on Mother Brain himself to give Samus a chance to survive. Old Bird would survive Mother Brain's betrayal, while Gray Voice would ultimately be killed. Another member of their race, Platinum Chest, would play a major role in the evacuation of the survivors of their people, and is revered by Mauk for his support of his people being accepted into the Federation.

Old Bird is shown with the ability to float in midair, and he also has a healing bubble that he uses to heal a seriously wounded Samus. Gray Voice, during his battle with Mother Brain, dons an ancient suit of armor resembling their statues, complete with a staff that he uses as a melee weapon and with which he can fire energy blasts.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Energy Blast

Gray Voice's staff will be used to fire a blast of energy forward as a projectile.

Side B: Armored Strike

The elder will strike forward with Gray Voice's staff, giving him a long range. His armor will go up during this time, making him invincible temporarily.

Up B: Ascension

The Elder will take up a meditation pose and rise into the air, calling upon their enlightened powers to lift themselves.

Down B: Healing Sphere

The elder will project a healing sphere directly in front of themselves. This sphere will heal anyone caught inside it. Great for team battles.

Final Smash: Chozo Technology

Considering how many times activating ancient Chozo tech plays an important role in the outcome of a given game, I think you could pull from literally any one of them. I kind of like the circle of Chozo statues from Metroid Prime.

Entrance: The elder will appear in meditation.

Taunts: Up, the elder will rise into the air for a second. Side, Pyonchi will appear and run around the Elder. Down, the elder will sit and meditate.

Kirby Hat: Their beaks.

Kart: Based on Chozo tech.

Special Move: They can cast a healing bubble around themselves that protects them from harm and heals them from all status effects for a while.

Spirit Battle: On Tourian, a horde battle.

Victory Screen: A group of Chozo Statues will rise and activate, projecting a sphere of protection around them.

Losing Screen: The Elder will re-enact Gray Voice's death scene.

Color Swaps: Old Bird, Gray Voice, Platinum Chest, Quiet Robe (why not), all in robes. Then all four, but in armor.

Thanks for reading! Now, let's cover the main villain of the Samus & Joey saga.

Magazine Z

MAGAZINE Z

Today, we cover Magazine Z, one of the best Metroid comics, and possibly one of the only Nintendo comics to be considered canon to the games, as several characters and plot points from the comic have been referenced in games since. The comic essentially tells the origin story of Samus, from her young childhood all the way down to the start of Metroid: Zero Mission, with the destruction of her home planet and the death of her parents, her adoption by the Chozo, and her brief stint as part of the Federation.

Major characters include Rodney and Virginia Aran, Samus's parents and miners from the planet K-2L. When Ridley and his pirates attack the planet for the precious resource Afloratite, Rodney sacrifices himself by detonating an entire cargo shipment of the stuff to prevent the pirates from taking it, and Virginia is killed defending Samus after the naive little girl comes across Ridley and tries to befriend him.

After them, we have the major Chozo characters. Old Bird, who we met already, is Samus's first Chozo friend and a wise pacifist who teaches her about life. Gray Voice is more serious and stern with her, but as we come to discover, came to care about her deeply and supplied the genetic material used to enhance her, making him her surrogate father. Gray Voice is especially notable for taking up an ancient suit of armor and taking on Mother Brain alone, wielding a staff that he can fire blasts from. Platinum Chest is also important, but not as ingrained in the story as Old Bird and Gray Voice.

Chairman Keaton and Captain Hardy return from the previous comic as well, as major players in the Federation. Samus also has a pair of partners working with her in the federation, Kreatz and Mauk. Kreatz comes from an alien race responsible for a previous war and Mauk's species was only recently recognized as sapient, and both face discrimination for it. Kreatz shoots energy strings from his fingers and uses them in several creative ways, while Mauk is big and huge, slamming and lifting with his immense strength, and later wields a bazooka and shoulder guns. Samus also has a pet named Pyonchi who follows her around, and a young girl named Damara was saved by Samus early on and she crops up again as a new recruit to the academy.

And that's pretty much it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Samus

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

Mother Brain

Ridley

Big Time Brannigan: arm cannon

Stages:

Federation headquarters

K-2L

Next up, a weird concept for a story, but ended up being a really good time all the same.

Super Metroid (Nintendo Power)

SUPER METROID (NINTENDO POWER)

Now, let's cover a five-issue comic series released by Nintendo Power comics that somewhat followed the plot of Super Metroid and seems to be set in the same universe as the Magazine Z comics that we will cover tomorrow. Samus heads to Zebes, but she is accompanied by a fellow bounty hunter named Armstrong Houston who really, really, really wants to become her partner. He doesn't do much to help fight, except to cut a spike once in her defense, and mostly exists to receive exposition about Samus's backstory. However, there are aspects that might give us something to work with, in that he wears a blue suit similar to Samus's power suit with the same colors as the Federation marines seen in Other M. Many have even theorized that those designs were directly inspired by him. We will see how it goes.

Other supporting characters include Chairman Keaton, the leader of the Federation, and Captain Hardy, Samus's somewhat incompetent dispatcher, who will reappear in Magazine Z. There is also Old Bird, the Chozo who rescued Samus as a child and will play a massively pivotal role in Magazine Z, who Armstrong takes Samus to to be healed after she is severely wounded in battle.

And that's about it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Samus

Armstrong Houston: possible Samus/Federation Marine echo basis

Commander Nemo

Chairman Keaton

Captain Hardy

Old Bird: float, healing bubble

Big Time Brannigan: arm cannon

Stages:

Federation headquarters

Next up, one of the best Nintendo comics out there, and possibly the most canon comic as well!