Luminoth

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In General

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/514px_luminoth_mp2_artwork_01.png

"Through vigilance and strength, we create peace."

Debut: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

"It is told that the Luminoth were not born of Aether, but of the stars. In the early days, we roamed the greatness of the void, bathing in the glorious light of a thousand stars. We met a vast number of enlightened minds... the N'kren, the Ylla, and the Chozo among them. Each of them, we found, had claimed a homeworld and formed a deep bond with it. In time, we decided to do the same. Our search for a home took us through the cosmos. For many a great cycle we roamed, yet a place to call our home eluded us. In time, we began to despair, feeling the search was in vain. We considered remaining among the stars until a scout returned with news of a world unlike any other. When we first beheld Aether for the first time, so great was her beauty that we forsook the stars forever to live upon her surface. From that day forth, the Luminoth were of Aether, our blessed paradise."

— Lore of Light

A race of mothlike humanoids living on the rogue planet Aether. They were a peaceful, technologically advanced race living harmonious lives on their homeworld until a Phazon meteor hit the planet and the Ing emerged from the newly created Dark Aether. They were forced to create weaponry to combat the Ing but were soon overwhelmed. Most of the surviving Luminoth had no choice but to go into hyper-sleep until the time came when a hero could destroy the Ing once and for all.

Always Lawful Good: Although we really only learn about their species wide interactions, founders, heroes and the desperate actions they take in the face of an enemy bent on their annihilation, so anyone could come off like that.
Antimatter: The light of Aether and the atmosphere of Dark Aether have given them a way to contain antimatter and weaponize the energy let off by annihilation.
Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: They are basically humanoid moths. So, it's natural that they would have a deep attraction to light.
Badass Preacher:
- The Luminoth usually speak about peace and all that, through strength and if neccessary war, and come off as a race that would rather not fight. But as soon as the Ing invade, they wasted little time in preparing for war, and while they failed, they still did a pretty good job. Added to the fact that if you scan the bodies of some of the dead ones, you'll see that the grand majority went down fighting, or at least holding their post; a notable example of the latter would be one female Luminoth that held her post even though she was starving to death. The Luminoth are pretty hardcore.
- J-Stl and A-Kul. J-Stl killed at least 100 Ing in his last stand, and who knows how many he killed in total. A-Kul: went into Dark Aether, a terrible dimension filled to the brink with Ing that would kill her the second they got a chance and whose very air was deadly, found one of the ten keys to the temple that had all been hidden by the Ing, fought her way to the Sky Temple, and managed to place it there AND leave clues to the other keys before dying.
- The Sentinels of the Temples are perhaps the epitome of this, especially since they probably really are preachers. Scans reveal every one of them went down fighting. The one in Agon died while fending off innumerable Ing hordes, finally succumbing to superior numbers. The one in Torvus was possessed numerous times, and fought off each of them. The Ing finally realized that they couldn't break his will and killed him. And the one in the Sanctuary Fortress was so badass, the Ing had to turn his own weapons of war against him, unable to defeat him themselves.
Catchphrase: The Luminoth give blessings to Samus by saying some variation of "may the Light of Aether shine on you," or "may the Light of Aether serve you well."
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: The Luminoth structures follow a colour scheme of amber, silver and ruby. The Dark Suit, despite its namesake, shares the same colours as the Luminoth temples, marking Samus as a Luminoth warrior.
Computer Virus: For once, the technology level and earlier compatibility patches pretty much justify the Rezbit's hacking and virus uploading abilities. The question here is why the Luminoth would make the little thing so good at delivering them in the first place.
Cyberpunk: Their Sanctuary Fortress's design seems at least partly inspired by it, especially compared to their stone temples and hive like dwellings.
Deconstructed Character Archetype: Their logs paint them as a more sympathetic deconstruction of the Sufficiently Advanced Alien. The height of their civilization and their fantastical machinery can be seen in the ruins all over the game, but unlike the Chozo, they failed to account for the toll their advancements could take on their planet. It led to them nearly dooming their planet's ecosystem with their reckless usage of the planet's natural energy, and the technology they used to regulate their energy consumption after the fact would inadvertently drive them closer to extinction when the Leviathan interacted with it to create Dark Aether.
Gentle Giant: They appear to be about twice as tall as Samus, but before they were forced to fight the Ing they were a very peaceful and nature-loving race.
Going to Give It More Energy: This is why the Luminoth first designed the Dark Beam in Echoes. It didn't work. They then designed the Light Beam, which was much more effective.
Gone Horribly Right: During the height of their civilization on Aether the world's planetary energy supply reached criticality. If left unchecked, the biosphere would deteriorate leaving a wasteland. Their greatest minds devised a way to preserve and regulate the 'Light of Aether' via the Energy Controllers. Doing so however, nearly doomed themselves as when the Leviathan birthed from Phaaze later arrived to corrupt their world, there wasn't an impact event like on Tallon IV. The crashing Leviathan was unable to spread its Phazon across Aether, instead tearing a trans-dimensional rift which spawned an anomalous "dark twin" planet into being.
Gone Horribly Wrong: They developed the Energy Transfer Module to recover the missing half of their world's planetary energy, but the Ing captured this technology when their warriors failed to invade the Sky Temple, and began using it against them.
Good Is Not Soft: The Luminoth maybe a peace-loving technologically advanced race, they're anything but pushovers, and on par with the Chozo in that regard. Considering their Aether was devastated from the Leviathan impact, they weren't prepared to fight a long war, AND their planet now in state of transdimensional flux meant they couldn't even ask for help. They fought with the war-relishing Ing for decades before Samus even arrived.
Higher-Tech Species: They developed their unique technology through a combination of contact with the Chozo and their own experimentation on Aether. In fact, they might very well have gotten the chance to join the Chozo as Sufficiently Advanced Aliens had they not gotten embroiled with the Ing.
Hopeless War: Both against the Ing and their own machines. The machines as a whole aren't able to combat the Ing well either and are not priority targets for them beyond extra weapons systems. This means whether possessed or free, most of them are against the Luminoth.
Humans Need Aliens: Inverted. Its mentioned in Metroid Prime 3 logs the Galactic Federation are helping the Luminoth clean up and repair their homeworld after the Ing were vanquished.
Human Popsicle: All but U-Mos are in stasis until the crisis is over. In the final scene, they all get out and bow down before Samus in gratitude.
Insectoid Aliens: They're basically giant moths.
Kneel Before Frodo: What they do after Samus destroys the Ing for good.
Light Is Good: Sort of. The light of Aether is supposedly part of what makes their technology possible and it is what kept the Ing from immediately overrunning them, but from Federation data, it can be implied it is also what makes Aether "dimensionally unstable", which is what allowed Dark Aether to form in the first place.
Magnetic Weapons: Mekenobites use magnets to walk on the walls and ceilings of Sanctuary Fortress and to propel projectiles at enemies.
Meaningful Name: Their species' name is a combination of the Latin "lumen" for light and "moth."
Most Writers Are Human: The fact that Samus is fighting to help a species of humanoid moths against a species of very definitely non-humanoid creatures is significant.
Psychic Powers: More than one of them had these, at least, but it is not clear how many.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: They have red eyes and have spent the last 50 years fending off a race of extradimensional monsters with their combat prowess and advanced technology.
Robot War: The machines they created for war, and even those for peace, decided that all living things must die while the Luminoth were already in the middle of the Ing war. Only the most basic maintenance bots remained loyal, though they weren't of much help, having no combat ability.
Space Elves: Of the "Enlightened Mystic" variety, thankfully.
Starfish Language: They have a three dimensional writing system, for starters. Samus's scan visor cannot even break through much of it at first.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: They have advanced technology, psionic abilities, and physiques that give them a strong resemblance to the Chozo, who they had contact with before discovering Aether. The story of their war against the Ing even follows many of the same beats as the story of the Tallon IV Chozo.
The Tape Knew You Would Say That: The temple holograms change their messages based on what Samus has accomplished between each visit. It's unknown whether the holograms are self-aware or simply programmed for a wide variety of scenarios.
Weather-Control Machine: One of the marvels they made use of.

U-Mos

Debut: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

The fifth sentinel of the Luminoth, and the only surviving member of the species not in stasis by the time Samus arrives at Aether.

Death by Childbirth: His mother died giving birth to him, according to scan data on one of the Luminoth statues.
Deuteragonist: In charge of the Luminoth race, and Samus' only ally in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
Hologram: He forms projections on the palms of his hands to provide visual aids when communicating their world's plight to Samus.
Last Stand: Until Samus' arrival, he is left defending the Great Temple from the Ing alone, with no means of defeating them.
Mr. Exposition: Gives a basic overview of the main plot, which is explained in more detail in the lore scans.
No-Sell: He'll casually block anything you try and hit him with, up to and including the devastating Power Bombs or reality-breaking Sonic Boom.

Keybearers

Debut: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

"Do not look unkindly upon their failure, for they died to save us all."

— A-Kul

A group of ten Luminoth warriors tasked with finding the Keys that would unlock the way to the Sky Temple where the Emperor Ing resided. While they were able to find the keys, they were all killed before they could bring them to the lock. The exception was A-Kul, the Champion of Aether, who used her psychic connection to the other nine to leave behind clues to the Key locations for a future warrior to use before succumbing to her wounds.

All There in the Manual: According to a Q&A, some of the keybearers had younger brothers and joined up to try and alleviate their younger sibling's fears of the Ing, only to die in the process.
Ambiguous Gender: It's unclear what gender D-Isl, J-Fme, and M-Dhe are, as A-Kul doesn't use gendered pronouns for them in her clues, the Luminoth don't have any easily discernible sexual dimorphism, and their strange names don't provide any clear hint either.
Battle Couple: B-Stl and J-Stl were a married couple who fought the Ing as they tried to help unlock the Sky Temple.
Dying Moment of Awesome: A-Kul managed to fine one of the Sky Temple keys, and apparently placed it in its lock just before dying.
Heroic Suicide: D-Isl became infected by Ing and killed themselves before the Ing could fully seize control and use them as a weapon against their fellows.
Hero of Another Story: A-Kul led the mission to steal the Sky Temple keys from Dark Aether, and was the only member of the team to successfully complete the task. Additionally, talking to the temple holograms after each suit upgrade Samus acquires reveals that the Dark Suit, Dark Visor, and the Luminoth weapon modules were originally equipped by A-Kul, making her the Luminoth's own version of Samus Aran. The other nine Keybearers were no slouches either, with several killings loads of Ing before dying.
Last Stand: Several of them. J-Stl was caught in an ambush but killed five score Ing before falling, G-Sch massacred the lesser Ing that were sent against him until their leader had to put him down, C-Rch fought until he ran out of ammo and had to resort to blade and fist, J-Fme died fighting the Ing's corrupted machines while the Ing watched from a distance, and S-Jrs died making a fighting retreat to try and gather reinforcements. Played with regarding M-Dhe, whose testament indicates that they planned to make a final stand but was dying of Ing poison and feared they may not have the strength when their foes arrived.
The Leader: A-Kul was the leader of the ten keybearers.
No Sneak Attacks: Averted. S-Dly was attacked and mortally wounded several times by the Ing before she even realized they were there, though she survived long enough to warn the rest of her cadre of the incoming attack.
Posthumous Character: All of them were killed long before Samus came to Aether.
Precursor Heroes: The keybearers were the Luminoth's greatest hope of stopping the Ing before Samus came along. Although they all died in the process, their efforts to obtain the Sky Temple keys and more importantly their ability to record the information on where the keys were hidden would prove vital to their species' victory even if they didn't live to see it.
The Squad: The keybearers were divided into two cadres of five, with A-Kul, B-Stl, G-Sch, J-Stl, and S-Dly forming Cadre 1, and C-Rch, D-Isl, J-Fme, M-Dhe, and S-Jrs forming Cadre 2.
Worthy Opponent: G-Sch describes the Ing commander that he fought as a "foe worthy of a Luminoth warrior".

Quadraxis

Debut: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

A titanic war machine created by the Luminoth, since corrupted by the Ing and turned against its masters. It serves as the guardian of the Ing Hive temple.

A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Presumably, it had joined the war against all living things before the Ing took it over.
Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Nintendo Power had an article on this boss with a side by side comparison of its model with Samus's, asking if that was a fair fight.
Climax Boss: The final Temple Guardian fight and the last fight to give you a power-up. After beating Quadraxis, the focus shifts toward the final journey to defeat the Emperor Ing.
Combat Tentacles: It has several tentacles on its main body, though subverted in that it doesn't actually use them.
Finishing Stomp: There is a good chance you won't be finished, but you deserve to be if you let the robot step on you. Getting hit by its Shockwave Stomp is more understandable.
Flunky Boss: It calls on dark quads when Samus starts to give it trouble.
Foreshadowing: In the light world version of the room you fight it in you can see the disassembled parts of another Quadraxis, hinting at what awaits you in the dark world.
Gate Guardian: For the penultimate energy controller and the last one before the Final Boss.
Homing Projectile: It has the Annihilator Beam incorporated into the Command Module, and gives Samus a free preview of its homing capabilities.
Humongous Mecha: Possibly THE largest boss in Metroid history. The Command Module alone is nearly the size of Samus's ship.
Improvised Platform: You use its remains as one.
Interface Screw: If you don't break the lock-on attack in its first form it hits you with a beam that cancels beam charges, breaks lock-on, prevents you from firing for a short time, and fuzzes up your vision.
King Mook: It is essentially a gargantuan Quad robot. Even down to the Command Module and Main Body being able to fight separately.
Knee-capping: The first step to defeating it is to blow off all its kneecaps. Even for a robot, that's probably not very fun.
Mighty Glacier: It is fast enough to keep you in its sights if you try to run circles around it (and you may end up doing so just to keep from being underfoot) but its forward momentum is less than impressive in its initial state. Indeed it takes a little while for Quadraxis to simply lift a leg. Luckily for it there are walls that prevent Samus from simply running away.
More Dakka: It also has missiles and bullets to spam.
No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup: Averted. You can see disconnected pieces of it in the Sanctuary Fortress Temple. Apparently the Luminoth were building a second one, but ran out of time.
The Paralyzer: It's disruptor can stun Samus, but can be dodged with the boost ball or deflected with a screw attack.
Purple Is Powerful: It briefly takes on they typical purple-centric color scheme of Ing hosts when they infest it before returning to its normal coloration.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Subverted; when the Ing start using it, its eyes go from red to blue. When they start to turn red again, it means you are winning.
Shockwave Stomp: It can leap into the air and come crashing down, sending a shockwave out of each foot.
Some Kind of Force Field: On the control module once it detaches. You need the Echo Visor to turn it off.
Spectacular Spinning: Sometimes, during its first phase, it will stand in the centre of the temple and spin around in a manner reminiscent of the smaller Quads. This has the effect of pulling Samus towards it, and possibly giving her quite a beating if she makes contact.
Third Eye: For whatever reason, it has one.
Yin-Yang Bomb: Its Annihilator Beam, which uses ying and yang to contain a bomb and then lets out the resulting bang. Luckily it doesn't also have the reality shattering charge beam combo of the weapon.

Bryyo

Reptilicus