The Mind of Samus Aran

Samus Aran Quick Navigation Links:
Character Breakdown: Samus Aran
The Samus Aran Workout
The Skills of Samus Aran
The Mind of Samus Aran

Sorry about the lack of post yesterday, guys, some family stuff came up again.  Seems November is the month for that sort of thing.

Anyhoo, let’s peer into the mind of the unparalleled bounty hunter, Samus Aran!  What makes her tick?   What goes on inside her head?  It’s somewhat tough to get a true bead on this, due to her somewhat lacking in-game dialogue and introspection.  We can pick up some bits and pieces from some of the games, though, like the intro to Super Metroid, the ongoing storyline and epilogue in Metroid Fusion, the bits and pieces in Metroid Prime 3 and Zero Mission, and, yes, even the immature and stilted storyline of Other M.  Warning: Spoilers ahead!

First off, Samus is, for the most part, a loner.  This does not necessarily mean she is lonely, however she does spend a lot of her time in solitude and/or self imposed exile.  We know she experienced great loss in the form of her CO, Adam Malkovich, dying to save her life.  We also know that she is not completely cold or ruthless, either, evidenced by her sparing the baby metroid that imprinted upon her.  She experienced loss, again, when this baby went on to sacrifice itself to save her life against Mother Brain.  Early in her life, she lost her parents to the Space Pirates led by Ridley, and that she later lost her mentors in the Chozo when their race went extinct.

It is quite possible the Samus willingly subjects herself to isolation due to all of this loss.  Allowing yourself to be close to someone and having them taken away from you again and again can be painful.  Sometimes solitude is not loneliness, but rather, a method of collecting oneself and regaining your footing.  Samus is obviously a strong, determined, and resourceful woman, capable of taking care of herself in dangerous situations.  However, it can be difficult to be so strong and not be able to save the people you care about.

The other emotion Samus may be dealing with from these losses is guilt.  Most of those close to her that she has lost sacrificed themselves to save her life.  In this, her relative solitude and reticence to work with other organizations may stem from a feeling of responsibility for others’ deaths.  In this sense, her isolation is most definitely unhealthy in the long term, as self-imposed guilt for others’ actions is toxic when not dealt with.

What do we take from this, then?  Well, I have experienced some loss in my life, probably not as much as others, but enough to know that withdrawing within yourself is a perfectly normal reaction, for a time.  There is nothing inherently wrong with needing time for yourself.  However, you need to eventually accept loss, and surpass your own boundaries to come out of your shell, again.  A healthy life can be lived alone, but not if the motivation is pain of loss, fear of being close to people again, or guilt over past deeds.  If you find yourself feeling these emotions, I urge you to take the time to have a conversation with yourself, and figure out where your motivations for isolationism come from.

There’s  a whole world of great people out there that want to get to know you, and you should get to know them, as well.   Spending time alone with yourself is fine, but don’t forget, humans are social creatures.  Don’t spend your whole life lost inside yourself, reach out to other people.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.  =)

That’s it for today, I’ll see you all tomorrow.  Until then, make sure to follow me on Twitter,  like the blog page on Facebook, and continue to be awesome.

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace