Metroid fans are uncovering the science behind Samus Aran’s suit

The science of fiction

How Metroid hero Samus Aran fits in her intergalactically renowned space suit has puzzled fans for years, and some are trying to solve the riddle. Nintendo's classic space game heroine traditionally wears a Power Suit, which she starts the game with in the original Metroid and after an incident in Metroid Prime, and she also wears the Varia Suit, a larger one with massive shoulder orbs.

Those shoulder orbs and Samus’ iconic arm cannon raise some questions about how she manages to fit into both suits, so Metroid Reddit went to the drawing board to figure out the way it works (thanks, Destructoid).

“Bird magic” was the most common answer, referring to the series’ mysterious Chozo creatures and their supernatural powers. A few fans drew diagrams showing where you might naturally expect Samus’ shoulders and torso to be, but that left questions about the shoulder orbs and even some of the Varia Suit’s extra chest armor. 

One suggested the wiry-looking metal between the suit’s larger plates is an outer suit Samus wears, and a few pointed out some old artwork from the SNES classic Super Metroid that shows a barefooted Samus inside the suit – but still leaves the shoudler orbs’ use and presumably heavy weight unaccounted for.

The answer is simple: https://t.co/66lUJpHi8W pic.twitter.com/fOg9v4trJP

— Liam (@liamrobertson.bsky) (@Doctor_Cupcakes) March 2, 2023

One fan actually came up with what sounds like a scientific answer for that. Since the Varia Suit and Gravity Suit – essentially just a purple version of the Varia Suit – protect Samus against extreme heat and cold, they suggested the Gravity Suit likely has some kind of weight modulation unit or gravity generator. They said liquid nitrogen could be involved and that it might play a role as a coolant and insulator as well.

What no one could explain was the Morph Ball, which defies logic and even Space Pirate experiments.

Whether liquid nitrogen is actually what powers the suit or Samus’ arms just get elongated and her shoulders sit at a harsh 90-degree angle, as another fan postulated, we may never know.

What we do know is that Metroid Fusion is launching for the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack on March 9, 2023, and you can play Metroid Prime on the handheld now.