Samus Aran (Metroid Prime 3)

Samus Aran is the main protagonist of the Metroid series.

Appearance
She wears a suit of armor, called the Power Suit, to do battle. Her right arm is encased in a cannon from which she fires projectiles.

History
Samus was born to normal human miners on the colony K-2L. She met the Chozo, a mysterious race of enlightened bird-people, when she was very young. At age 3, she was orphaned when the Space Pirates, led by Ridley, attacked the colony and left her as the sole survivor. She was then raised by the Chozo on their planet, Zebes, given some of their blood to enhance her abilities, and given the Power Suit.

Gender
Samus's gender is a large part of her character. She was the first famous female protagonist in a video game. The original game claimed that Samus was a male cyborg. Many speculate that this was done to trick buyers, who would not have otherwise purchased the game had they known they were playing as a woman, as females and video games had a negative connotation at that time. In all Metroid games, Samus is seen, without her helmet or entire suit, at the end of the game(often for finishing quickly or with many items). Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is the first game in which Samus is seen without her suit at the begininng of the game.

Weapons
Main article: Items in Metroid Prime 3 Samus has many weapons at her disposal, including beams of various kinds of energy, missiles, a grappling beam, and, most famously, the ability to roll into a small sphere called the Morph Ball. While in the Morph Ball, Samus can drop bombs and roll into small spaces.

Allies and Enemies
Samus is notoriously a loner, and only associates with the Galactic Federation when she does jobs for them. Metroid Prime 3 will be the first game in which Samus has true allies. Some of these helpers includ bounty hunters Rundas, Gandrayda, and Ghor. She has many enemies, but the most famous ones include Ridley, Mother Brain, and Dark Samus.