History Analysis / Metroid

When ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' first came out, I was confused by the game's massive emphasis on the theme of motherhood. To little teenage me, ''Metroid'' was about exploring planets and fighting aliens. I was just a boy, so it's no surprise I ignored something that I had no way of relating to at the time. But as I've grown older, I've realized that motherhood really ''is'' a frequent theme in the series. Let's talk about some examples.

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. Forces such as the Space Pirates, the Ing, Phazon, and the Mawkin are depicted as totally evil. But still.

* In ''Prime'', the pkayer is led to believe the Chozo Ghosts are territorial demons and total nuisances. This is subverted when they reappear to grant Samus access to the Impact Crater.
* This gets a dark twist in ''Dread'', as Samus thinks ADAM has her best interests in mind only for him to actually be the ruthless Raven Beak in disguise. Then the pattern continues as the Quiet Robe-X saves Samus from her Metroid powers to help her escape ZDR.

The Space Pirates are really only pirates in name. They do raid and rob ships in space, that is certain, but they're hardly the kind of pirates you'd see in ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', ''Literature/PeterPan'', or even ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''. They don't have fancy clothes, peg legs, unkempt facial hair, or funny accents. They don't plunder for booty and make treasure maps. If anything, they're a lot more like a marauding group of totalitarian imperialists.

!! ''Metroid'' and Seeing Good in Chaos

It's a common trend in ''Metroid'' games for Samus and the player to assume an enemy is a heartless monster, only for it to later reveal a higher level of compassion and morality. Here are some examples from each game:

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