#even if on the surface she's a typical '80s scifi hero but genderflipped

[beevean]

How would you characterize Samus? Considering how her character is largely left up in the air I wanted to hear your two cents on it, as well as some headcanons maybe :)

Honestly I think that the games do a very good job at painting Samus’ simple but compelling personality, even if she’s largely a silent protagonist.

Samus is a quiet, introvert, serious, more-action-than-words woman who always strives her best at anything she does, whether it’s a mission or a personal goal of hers (like in SM where she decided to chase Ridley on her own volition). She doesn’t have many friends, but not because she actively shuns company - she does well with allies, as shown in MP3, but it’s obvious that she feels more comfortable working solo (you won’t hear Samus promoting the Superpower of Teamwork™ anytime soon, unlike another blue guy we know :P). And considering the kind of planets she explores completely on her own, this is only a testament of how brave and confident in herself she is.

We don’t see Samus talking much (although there’s one single game that more than makes up for it), but in Fusion you get the impression that Samus is actually introspective, and under that stoic demeanor she takes her time to reflect on past and present situations when possible.

On a scale from lawful to chaotic, I’d say she’s firmly neutral: she’ll follow orders without question, but only if her superiors don’t give her any reasons to mistrust them. After all, who would be able to stop Samus Aran if she decides to do things her own way?

On the surface, she looks like a hardass warrior, ready to shoot anything on sight and sparing no mercy for any alien creature that might be dangerous. And yes, it’s true. But she also has a soft side, most evident in the finale of Samus Returns - after spending who knows how much time hunting down every single Metroid to exterminate the entire species, as her superiors demanded, not even she could kill an innocent baby. Ignoring OM because fuck it, it’s interesting how, in the intro of SM, Samus seems to look at the Metroid in a more pragmatic fashion, talking about its potential to be used for good and little else. You could even argue that she went through the hell that is Zebes simply because Ridley could not be trusted with a Metroid, which is a valid reason. But the way she absolutely slaughters Mother Brain after the bitch kills it... well, I don’t think Samus was simply angry because the scientists lost a potential way to use Metroids for good.

As for what she does when she’s not on the clock, I like that image in Zero Mission showing her chilling in a bar. It looks like she likes gambling to gain even more money :P