I want the Metroids in a hypothetical show to ultimately come across as tragic figures; Beings who were made to be exploited, and that’s what happened to them their whole life as a species between their creation and extermination.
They were created by the Chozo to destroy the X, they were used by the Space Pirates as a bioweapon; In other episodes, we see additional parties like the Kriken Empire, or Kanden, attempt to capture Metroids for their usage. The Space Pirates set a few loose on the Ing while exploring Dark Aether, and it ends with some of those Metroids being possessed. Not to mention the Phazon corruption, where they end up as vectors of Phaaze, and the Federation’s corruption. We still have yet to see whatever dynamic Sylux might have with their Metroid, which is devoted to them on a self-sacrificial level…
It’s a recurring thread throughout the story named after them that the Metroids are seen as a tool for others to use, and they’re deeply effective at whatever that purpose is; But they never really get a say in things, do they? There is no real say or agency, they’re being fought over a lot of the time, either by Space Pirates or the Federation, or by Samus against some group that wants to weaponize Metroids, so her responsibility is to destroy whatever Metroids have been captured.
The only real exception to this is Dark Samus; In a way, she kinda reclaimed autonomy after being imprisoned and used by the Space Pirates. In a way, she brings about a certain liberation for her fellow Metroids, the only creatures she’s known to be sympathetic towards; Under her command, the Metroids are far less restricted, and the Space Pirates live in fear of occasionally being targeted as a meal.
But Dark Samus is still a vector of Phaaze, as I’ve said; So maybe she doesn’t have so much free will after all, maybe this isn’t the Metroids’ revolution. She took control of Phaaze, and planned to sacrifice it; But that was to create more Leviathan seeds, so what difference would it make for a selfless, hivemind organism like Phazon?
I’m rolling with the idea that Metroid Prime was THE original Metroid that the Marina’s crew found on SR388 and brought back to the known galaxy; The one the Space Pirates used to breed an entire generation of Metroids that Samus and the Federation systematically hunted down, until they were eradicated from that sector of space. Maybe Dark Samus' last lines in a show are not screams of agony, but... Just a simple confession; That she was happy roaming the wilderness of her home, only to have that taken from her as she was made into a weapon, and then a true monster, by the mis/handling of others who didn't care for her.
Dark Samus had to die, as did Phaaze because like Mother Brain it was a load-bearing component for an invasive life form. Similarly, a lot of the moral justification for killing Metroids was that they were an invasive species; It was not yet discovered that they were artificial bioweapons. Not only was it imperative to protect ecosystems from an invasive threat, but there was obviously a native population thriving where they originally evolved from, and in their true home, Metroids could always live on.
But then the Federation rediscovered SR388’s location, after the Marina’s Deleter had destroyed that knowledge to keep the Space Pirates from using it. And now the cat was out of the bag, it was only a matter of time before the Space Pirates learned where the Metroid homeworld was, and took advantage of that. The galaxy had survived two Metroid crises, a third was unimaginable. But the Metroids surely deserved to live within their own natural environment, weren’t they entitled to this as living creatures?
Ultimately, the Federation came to a hard moral conclusion; The wellbeing of the larger galaxy mattered more than one species on one planet, which could still bounce back from their eradication, so the Federation thought. As Adam Malkovich put it, for others to live, some must die; And the Metroids were sacrificed, despite never knowing the situation nor agreeing to it, and how could they as animals who instinctually want to survive? That choice was made for them by others.
Samus started off pretty unsympathetic, understandably so; She’d experienced firsthand the devastation of the Metroid, barely surviving before coming back to avenge all they’d killed. But as her story continues, and she sees how the Metroids are fought over by others, including herself… Samus begins to develop a bit more pity for them, recognizing they didn’t ask for this and just want to live, which of course means eating as much as they can, whenever they can. But again, she’s someone who loves and appreciates nature, but is also aware of the more brutal, pragmatic reality to it.
Again, we hearken back to Adam’s quote, because that is the rule of nature. Sometimes you need to kill an animal to feed yourself, and because others must do the same you must kill in self-defense, even if it’s a mother who is poised to recognize any outsider as a threat to her children. Samus doesn’t judge the creature any less for it, nor does she think it should be wiped out, but it’s just the frank material reality of the situation.
So when she’s commissioned to exterminate the Metroids, a once-unsympathetic Samus has a moral dilemma, considering seriously what the Federation has said. I dunno where the U-Ton arc from Samus and Joey takes place within the larger timeline, but I can see the connections being made at some point; U-ton is not a malicious being and even loving, but when it begins to undergo nuclear meltdown due to its programming, Samus is left with no choice to euthanize U-ton in order to save many innocents from an impending explosion. U-ton itself even agrees!
And later, Samus finds out on SR388 that the Metroids aren’t natural, but artificial bioweapons; They weren’t just used as bioweapons by the Space Pirates, they were always meant to be bioweapons. And there’s a relief in that, because good! Great! There’s no moral dilemma anymore, the Metroids are unnatural, and inherently invasive to whatever world they come across, including SR388. Samus is obligated to go through with it.
But in the end, it’s not so simple; U-ton was also an artificial bioweapon, but he was a tragic figure who also wanted to live and grew beyond his programming. Samus would never condemn an artificial sapient being as needing to inherently die. And the Metroids also grew beyond their programming, due to all of the DNA from the various creatures used to create them. The Metroids’ creators DID intend to co-exist with them, they acknowledged that the Metroids did not ask to be created of course; The Thoha did not foresee the Metroids’ metamorphosis, which made them go out of control and start attacking a planet not evolved to withstand them.
But by the end of the day, the Metroids did exactly what they were made for; But upon shedding their domesticated role by expressing the traits of the natural creatures used in their creation –in essence, the Metroids became more animalistic, more like natural creatures- the nature-loving Chozo chose to abandon them, even attempted to destroy them.
Perhaps the Metroids are not much different than a pet that was adopted, only to be considered too much of a hassle, an inconvenience to deal with any longer, and abandoned on a street. Put down, even. For creatures so desired, the Metroids are always just not good enough for whoever’s handling them, there’s always some problem to contend with because people don’t unconditionally love Metroids, just what Metroids can do for them.
Samus recognizes that the Metroids have become more ‘natural’ for lack of a better term, is their mutation not an argument for evolution, for going beyond artificial programming? They become more like the natural animals they came from, shedding programmed control from their creators. Is they any real, inherent difference between natural and unnatural, by the end of the day? The Metroids developed a doting queen, and hatchlings who fiercely love and devote themselves to their parent; That’s an argument for them becoming ‘natural’.
Isn’t Samus herself technically unnatural? A hybrid, not created through natural means, and she wasn’t even a hybrid to begin with, having Chozo DNA implanted a few years after she was born human. Samus and the Metroids were both created by the Chozo to be destroyers, or the ‘Ultimate Warrior’. That’s what they’re good for, maybe that’s all they’re good for. Does Samus deserve to die for being unnatural? Or does that whole dichotomy have no bearing on that decision, instead it’s just a matter of whether they pose harm that cannot be reduced without killing them?
Did she remember the Ing in deciding yes, and then when Samus hesitated? The Luminoth had to be chosen over the Ing because there simply isn’t enough energy, both will die if one doesn’t. And Dark Aether and the Ing are violent and considered unnatural, so it’s okay right? The Luminoth were there first and are far less of a threat to society. But the Ing still had a culture, had begun to make a civilization; People prioritize civilization as proof of sapience and sapient lives always matter more, but isn’t civilization also unnatural? So which is it, then? The more animalistic Ing or the industrial Luminoth? The Ing are so alike to the Metroids in tragedy, doomed to either starve or take, doomed to be demonized for wanting to live.
On a meta level, there’s also something to consider: Many criticized Samus Returns for losing the environmental storytelling of the original when it came to the Metroids’ lair. In the original game, it became more barren the closer Samus got to the queen, implying and justifying the Metroids as an invasive species, even before the reveal in Fusion of their artificial nature. By contrast, Samus Returns kept the wildlife thriving within Metroid territory.
But maybe this does work out, with an adaptation; The Metroids found a way to survive and co-exist with other species, technically, by fitting into the larger ecosystem. There’s a bit of a Jurassic Park “Life finds a way” element to the Metroids’ origins, how they manifest suppressed traits from the DNA used to create them. Fittingly, the Jurassic Park franchise also discussed the right for its dinosaurs to live, acknowledging them as unnaturally brought back, and themselves technically hybrids anyhow, an invasive species displaced from their natural time AND habitat.
This led to the government agreeing to let them be wiped out in an imminent eruption, which the protagonists fight against, only to find themselves roped in with those who want the dinosaurs to survive so they can be exploited. The Federation gave the order for Samus to kill ALL Metroids, and the ones they bred for their own use came from the infant that Samus was supposed to destroy, per the Federation’s orders; The Federation is not a monolith, hence Sakamoto intending for the perpetrators of Sector Zero to be a rogue faction.
But I digress; The point is that the Metroids could’ve found a way to survive, in fact the desolation from the original game could’ve merely suggested it as their territory, and not that Metroids threatened all of SR388 itself. The Federation could’ve found a way to keep the Metroids alive, is that not what Ceres ended up doing? And what it would’ve kept doing, had the Federation not succumbed to its own greed.
Samus destroys all but one Metroid, and sees herself in it, but with Samus in Ridley’s place now. Of course she spares the Metroid… But in the end, the Space Pirates DO capture it, and do use it to begin breeding other Metroids hostile to Samus, that she ends up having to destroy. And Mother Brain kills the infant.
But it doesn’t end there, because then Samus becomes part-Metroid through the infant’s own DNA herself, and it’s what allows her to destroy the X. Everyone clamored for the Metroids to die, but it was only when they were murdered, that suddenly people clamored for them to be brought back; Only when the Metroids are wanted and needed, it’s only when they’re convenient that they’re allowed to live. But Sector Zero is destroyed and Samus is the last Metroid.
Is this her penance for her crime, or is this her reward for not committing to it? Unlike the Metroid, Samus is a sapient being who can understand and adhere to morality and the law, so she can temper her own appetite for the sake of others; She isn’t even cursed by it, unlike the pure Metroid. Maybe the Metroids could’ve been able to co-exist with at least the Federation, who could’ve found a way to control them like Mother Brain did; Metroids technically co-existed with the Space Pirates under her control. People have made preserves for artificial creatures and even bioweapons abandoned by their creators.
But in the end, as seen with Mother Brain and the Space Pirates; If they can be tamed or at least controlled in some degree, then they can be weaponized. No power like the one the Metroids wield should exist; And alas, the only way to remove that power is to remove the Metroid entirely. There will always be bad actors, hence the phrase, “This is why we can’t have nice things.”
And the Metroids didn’t even want to misuse this power, nor ask for it; It was just given to them by the Chozo, and then that power was taken from them and given to someone who could control it. Meaning the Metroids were abandoned again, after being asked for again, once the Federation and even Raven Beak realized Samus could perform the same purpose against the X.
In the end, the Metroids’ existence was simply deemed too much of an inconvenience to tolerate; They did not choose to survive and evolve this power to do so. Everything about them has been in the hands of others. Even their one ‘savior’ in Dark Samus was an entity so far-removed from them. The actual Samus herself would become essentially Metroid Plus; All of the DNA that went into the Metroids, plus hers and Gray Voice and Raven Beak’s. Suddenly, the Metroid itself was eclipsed by someone else, and discarded for a newer, shinier toy.
Maybe that’s what happened to Samus, too; The Chozo of Zebes raised her, then fled when Mother Brain betrayed them, and never came back for her. But then Raven Beak comes back, as someone who initially helped create Samus, and then left her behind; But suddenly he decides he wants to rule the galaxy, and that’s when he conveniently comes back into her life to use Samus against her will. She is often mistaken for Metroid on a meta sense, and then became a literal Metroid from an in-universe stance.
But that might be more fitting, in the end; There’s not much of a distinction between Samus and the Metroid and it’s blurred first by a doppelganger called Dark Samus, and then by Samus herself. The name Metroid means Ultimate Warrior in Chozo, and that’s exactly what she was raised to be as a child; And can children really decide for themselves? Samus did not choose to lose her original family, nor did she choose to be found by the Chozo.
Did she choose to stay on Zebes with them, instead of being taken to a human foster family? Could Samus really be said to have chosen being their champion, their sole warrior, or was she actually groomed into a weapon? Is what Raven Beak had planned for her much different than what the Chozo of Zebes intended; The only difference being the scope of what Samus was supposed to fight against? Gray Voice gave Samus DNA too, not just the Mawkin warlord.
And when Samus proved an inconvenience to Raven Beak because she would not obey his commands, like an animal she was meant to be put down; Samus by the Mawkin, the Metroids by the Thoha. She would have clones replace her, domesticated ones, just as the Marina’s Metroid from SR388 was to be isolated, having already imprinted on the queen, while the Metroids created from it would be used to serve Mother Brain; History would repeat itself with the Infant, too.
What choice was there for the Metroids; To be either destroyed, or live in servitude to others who would throw them against any obstacle, ready to be replaced should they somehow die. What chance did they have, discarded for doing too well what they had been expected to do? Maybe with the Chozo they could’ve lived had they failed their purpose, but the ones after them who would be made to rectify that? The X’s bane was destined to die with them.
Maybe Dark Samus’ crusade was the Metroids’ revenge against the galaxy, for both what had been done to them and would later be committed; She would be their spite against all who defined them only by their usefulness within a society. A way for the Metroids to take down their enemies with them… So what about the X, who end up briefly ignored by a Metroid created by the Federation, from the DNA of the infant that Samus kidnapped; Instead, it will go after that very Samus.
As Ishiro Honda put it: “Monsters are tragic beings, they are born too tall, too strong, too heavy. They are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy.” The Metroids just wanted to live, but the way they were designed made them incompatible with life, including against a parasite that could resemble any life, and thus needed to be destroyed in any of those forms. Fittingly, Honda’s quote was about Godzilla; A natural creature irradiated, mutated, aggravated by humanity’s need to create stronger weapons so they could control others.
The natural creatures the Metroids came from were put to together to create the Ultimate Warrior, and many were left endangered with SR388’s destruction, necessitated only by the X who spread unchecked because the Metroids were wiped out. The Metroids were irradiated and transformed by Phazon, made addicted to it because it was the nearest food source, and of course they’d go for that.
They were defined as weapons meant to be useful for others and that’s all they’d be recognized as, despite showing a capacity to be so much more than their creators intended, so much more loving and deserving of their own existence. And only one just like them would recognize this, yet be cursed with the inability to convince everyone else the same, as she bore a similar reputation before and especially after carrying on the Metroids’ life through her. Samus IS Metroid, and the real twist isn’t that she isn’t, or becomes that; It’s that she’s always been. It’s hard to trust that others want to know the real Samus beneath the armor weapon, and especially after the mutation.
But there are those who do, and those who love and care for Samus as a person could be doing the Metroids the justice they’ve always been cheated out of but deserved. And maybe Samus can rest easier, knowing that whether or not she should bring back the Metroids if she had the chance, if there was a way to protect themselves and the galaxy from that power, that at least something lives on and even thrives; That’s how she felt when she left SR388 with the Infant.
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I like to think the Thoha Chozo had a very Jurassic Park moment when dealing with the Metroids' rebellion on SR388. Think of it this way; You need a bioweapon that can destroy the X, so you take DNA from a wide variety of other organisms on SR388, and splice them into a perfect chimera. You'll need a lot of these, so you program this creature to undergo mitosis when exposed to beta-rays for 24 hours. That way, your machines only need to create one 'Metroid' from scratch, and then it can be used to spawn the rest.
But here's the thing; After the Metroids devour the X, they start to transform and mutate. Turns out, using the DNA of other creatures has caused additional traits, originally deactivated in the creation process, to emerge thanks to the unique conditions of SR388 that nurtured and evolved the sources. This results in Metroids mutating into the Alpha, Gamma, Zeta, and finally Omega stages, with their original form retroactively relabeled as larval.
This isn't hopeless though, far from it; Unlike the X, the Metroids aren't natural creatures and can't reproduce on their own. They need beta-rays, and/or the device that spawned the original Metroid. Since SR388 doesn't have any natural source of beta-rays, all you have to do is turn off the devices that emit them, and the original Metroid creator, and there! The Metroid population will always be the same.
From there you just need to destroy them one by one. You all considered the possibility of having to destroy the Metroids one day, so you programmed these otherwise invulnerable bioweapons with a weakness to a common Chozo weapon, the Ice Beam. Even more luckily, the Mawkin have showed up to help; Normally your relationship with them is suspicious to the point of programming Metroids to be hostile towards Mawkin, for fear they would exploit the 'Ultimate Warrior' as a weapon. But instead, the Mawkin seem to have some genuine heart and are helping you handle the threat, and you need all the help you can get.
You accept them and conveniently don't bring up the anti-Mawkin programming, because as far as they can tell this aggression is indistinguishable from how metamorphosis has made the Metroids hostile towards you, their creators. Progress is slow yet tangible, and you keep track of how many Metroids the Mawkin have killed, and compare that number to the Metroids you created and cloned. You reach that number, and can now rest easy.
...Then you hear a report of a Metroid attack, and something definitely isn't right. How is there another Metroid, you killed all of them, you kept track of their numbers and everything! Is there something wrong with the original tally? It's not as if the Mawkin could've been mistaken on whether they killed a Metroid or not... But just in case, you engineer devices that absorb Metroid DNA whenever they die, just to have physical evidence; Otherwise, Metroids disintegrate completely upon death, so there's no physical 'proof' to reassure yourselves with.
The Mawkin keep finding more and more Metroids and now you're baffled. You check the original Metroid creation machine and it hasn't been used since the first and only time; But you take it apart, in case... Someone's been making Metroids behind your back, somehow? But the numbers keep continuing. You take apart all your beta-ray emitters, but there are still more Metroids. Is Raven Beak creating Metroids behind your back? But why let his soldiers die to them?
You scan SR388 for any beta radiation, and then you detect a big source deep underground. You send Mawkin soldiers to investigate it, and only one makes it back alive. You thought the Omega was the final stage in the Metroid lifecycle; But somehow, another one emerged. Of the many species whose DNA was used to create the Metroids, one of them relied upon a lone queen to produce offspring. Another was capable of emitting its own beta-rays.
You know how some real-life animals, if there isn't a member of the opposite sex, will adapt by having a few transform into that sex so reproduction can occur? Something similar happened with the Metroids. Without a source of beta-rays, one of their own mutated into a Queen capable of emitting beta-rays within her own body, which she uses to produce eggs that hatch into newborn Metroids. And this Metroid Queen has been filling in the ranks that the Mawkin have attempted to deplete. And now the original number of Metroids that the Thoha cloned has been exceeded; The man made Metroids have become more like the wild animals they came from, and are as wild and uncontrollable too.
At this point, the Metroids are too numerous and powerful to defeat. But they haven't ventured to the surface of SR388, being isolated to its caverns; So you opt to seal away the Metroids by filling passageways with poisonous water. In case anyone is foolish enough to try releasing all of them at once, you program these Chozo Seal mechanisms to require a certain amount of Metroid DNA to divert the poison; This way, the Metroid population needs to be lowered to access more. And this acts as a way to gauge if those who come back to destroy the Metroids for good are competent enough to get the job done, and don't just end up releasing all of the creatures onto SR388 in their failed attempt.
That last bit is important, because you and the Mawkin plan to retreat back to ZDR, and gather more weapons, troops, and resources to return to SR388 and properly destroy the Metroids this time; Because now they know about the Queen. Theoretically, the Chozo could just destroy the planet... But they want to minimize destruction, so confronting the Metroids head-on will spare the rest of the ecosystem, as was the intention.
Alas, seeing the continued power and adaptability of the Metroids on display has intrigued Raven Beak; He finds their potential impressive, and has changed his mind. It's been deduced that the source DNA of the Metroids reacted to the environmental stimuli of SR388, the world that evolved and nurtured those organisms. But without the cradle of SR388, the source DNA will not thrive, and will not activate the other suppressed traits; Larval Metroids can't access the rest of their life cycle in any other environment.
ZDR has powerful biomechanical supercomputers called Central Units, which have telepathic abilities that enable them to control machines; Given larval Metroids were designed to respond to Chozo commands, and the use of Chozo DNA in the organic aspect of the Central Units, these AI can be used to control larval Metroids. As long as Metroids of more developed stages aren't present to rally them -the authority of Alphas and beyond will naturally override any Central Unit's- the larval forms will remain obedient.
And while the larval Metroid is just the tip of an iceberg the Thoha had never intended, what they did intend was already incredibly dangerous and powerful in and of itself, being designed to combat the deadly X and the many forms they could assimilate. So Raven Beak wouldn't need his Metroid army to metamorphose beyond their larval stage; The first form was sufficiently powerful, especially with beta-rays to clone their numbers into the thousands, far beyond the original population of SR388.
Raven Beak slaughters all but one of the Thoha, leaving you, Quiet Robe, alive. He brings you back with him and the rest of the Mawkin to ZDR, as well as the Metroid DNA samples his soldiers acquired; A return trip to SR388 is no longer necessary, and Raven Beak is fine with that planet being overrun by Metroids resistant to his control, but otherwise unable to access other worlds. But amidst the chaos, a lone X emerged from hiding while the Metroids were busy fighting the Mawkin, and infected one of the latter. This parasite stowed away, returning to ZDR with the rest of the Chozo.
And without any Metroids on ZDR, it felt safe to reveal itself in Elun and begin infecting the rest of the tribe, resulting in a years-long war and quarantine effort between the Mawkin and X. The Mawkin attempted to clone Metroids using the DNA samples they had, but the X were intelligent and could absorb their victims' memories; They predicted this move, and were able to move quickly enough to destroy all Metroid DNA on ZDR before any of their predators could be cloned. Without any methods to destroy the X short of blowing up the planet itself, all but one of the Mawkin would end up infected -karma- before Raven Beak finally isolated the parasites within Elun, somehow.
There's no DNA samples to create Metroids from, not anymore. And you can't build another Metroid from scratch, not without the DNA of the original SR388 creatures that went into it... But you can definitely build beta-ray emitters. And there are still plenty of Metroid larvae back on SR388 to clone directly, instead of the more roundabout process; So Raven Beak flies the Itorash back to SR388... And finds a bunch of rubble where the planet used to be.
Eventually he puts together that the human warrior he helped Old Bird and Gray Voice hybridize blew up the whole damn planet, finishing what her fellow Thoha started. His plans to conquer the galaxy with Metroids is screwed, they're all extinct with any DNA samples eradicated. That is, until Raven Beak finds out that his "daughter" Samus has Metroid DNA, thanks to the Galactic Federation, and the very X that spawned the Metroids' existence (and yet also delayed Raven Beak's plans by infecting his entire tribe).
And now, after all that effort in creating and then trying to destroy the Metroids, you have to bring them back using the person who helped you destroy them. Or, maybe not... Over your dead body! Which turns out to be literal when an X absorbs your corpse and then helps Samus awaken her Metroid DNA by siccing the remaining EMMIs back on her. How did you even get to this point again???
You've shown a lot about Mawkin culture and how important and sacred they view battle. While we know the Thoha to be less peaceful, Gray Voice shows us that the Thoha were not exempt from a warrior's past. I'm really curious to hear your thoughts on differences between how Thoha, be it modern or of a time long past, might view battle compared to the Mawkin
I'll cover this first with a brief prelude discussing the Thoha in a general sense and comparing them to the Mawkin, then getting into the meat of the warrior stuff. This is a good opportunity for me to explore the general differences, which would further highlight the contrast between their warrior cultures.
Quick Overview of Tribal Specialties
The warriors and their technology are what we know the Chozo for best, but they were by no means a monolith: there are many tribes, all with their own values and way of living.
The Thoha were always a tribe that valued ingenuity and bright thinkers above all else. They invented some things simply because they could, but they also put great emphasis on considering where the resources to make their weapons came from, how best to extract them without harming the environment, etc. Very much a thoughtful people who value using knowledge to solve problems, wielding the skills amassed over the course of their long lives to plan ahead and consider the consequences of their actions, especially when harvesting resources from planets that are not their own (on SR388, they attempted to extract aeion in a manner that would least harm the local ecosystem).
Their tendency to cultivate shrewd academics and clever inventors is by no means an indicator that they were poor warriors: the Mawkin also have a powerful academic body. The educated soldier is offered more opportunities, both in leadership roles (military and general community) and a general sense (where are you going to be stationed, are you going to get the chance to study ancient marine lifeforms during your post in Burenia, etc).
The Mawkin also foster a sense of curiosity in their tribesmen from the egg to the grave. Raven Beak has like eight bird PhDs, and he never stopped learning new skills and engaging in different fields of study until the moment he died. The difference here is that the Thoha are known best by their peers for their ingenuity and academic splendor, (particularly in the field of bioengineering), while the Mawkin's reputation hinges primarily on the quality and sheer volume of warriors they produced.
Both tribes have a degree of reverence for the ways of the Warrior, and both encourage engagement in academic study. But when the Hotu need warriors, they would ask the Mawkin first, and when the Ishtal desire outside guidance on how best to engineer their favored dray-beasts for hard labor off-world, they seek the assistance of Thoha scientists before all else.
On to the warrior stuff!
Principles
The Way of the Warrior is a set of principles to guide Chozo warriors on the path of martial greatness and spiritual enlightenment. Adherence to this philosophy is a means to strengthen the body and spirit. Physical aptitude is maintained to defend kith and kin, but also to grant the warrior endurance. Endurance allows one to weather the hardships of life. The ability to overcome great challenges contributes to one's overall moral character, gives the individual the confidence to contribute to solutions, fosters a drive to help others, so on and so forth.
I'll spare you the lecture on the full breadth of Chozo spirituality, but the important part is that the Way of the Warrior espouses moral and practical virtues.
The Thoha saw the ways of the Warrior through the lens of philosophy: by building character through diligent honing of the mind and body, their enlightened warriors will have the strength to lead their people, the swiftness to avoid unnecessary conflict, and a hardened emotional shell.
That last one is important: warriors aren't just guardians, they're also mediators. Not in a sense that they're cops; the warrior's purpose is not to enforce law and order. No, the warrior has potential to serve as an unbiased third party in conflict resolution. This is just one example of why emotional balance and the ability to weigh one's personal feelings against the needs of the community is a core feature of Thoha warrior philosophy.
They believe warriors make good project leaders for the same reasons. Even if the warrior isn't a scientist, having one around to supply their unique perspective and trained practical sense is seen as a good idea. Gray Voice isn't just a warrior, he's also a philosopher and a neurostylus. He's proficient in the science behind programming organic AI-forms, the construction of vessels for artificial consciousness, and integrating these structures with manufactured (non-organic) computers. He's capable of making difficult decisions surrounding the fate of his people without falling prey to his own fears or losing sight of their needs.
Battle: What's it Worth?
A very long time ago, the Thoha army saw frequent use. The tribes weren't always at peace, and everyone had enemies somewhere, Chozo or otherwise. Warrior-scholars were prevalent throughout the folds of their society: sharp minds and sharper blades were highly valued.
To the Thoha warrior, attaining physical and mental equilibrium through the honing of the mind and body in tandem is sublime. Skilled warriors are great, wise scholars are greater, and one who can be both in equal measure has worth that surpasses all else.
Proving this worth on the field of battle while maintaining that balance was a goal for every warrior-scholar to strive for. Fighting strongly is one thing, but a clever warrior is highly valuable: physical prowess means little without tactics and clever thinking. Reacting to opponents on the fly and choosing one's next move wisely was key: that's the greatest show of the mind and body moving in sync.
Thoha warriors excel at paying attention despite the overwhelming stimuli present on the battlefield, predicting their opponents' next move through a variety of factors, including body language, and for some, mathematical probability. There's nothing worse than the feeling of being knocked down during a sparring session by a warrior who tells you that you behaved exactly as they calculated you would. Hearing some nerd rattle off about a percentage chance while you're dusting yourself off is bewildering and a little annoying, ngl, but the warrior math-nerds are hardly wrong, and when they are, they account for it.
Anyways, battle had value in that it provided a chance for warrior-scholars to prove their mettle and hone the mind-body balance in a real conflict. Sparring and individual practice are one thing, but lived-in experience is a whole nother animal.
Despite the philosophical benefits of a real fight to the Warrior, bloodshed itself wasn't seen as a wholly positive thing in Thoha warrior philosophy. The Thoha viewed battle as an unavoidable result of heightened tension during conflict. They tried to avoid war if possible, but sometimes that's just how things are gonna go, and their warriors were prepared for it. Bloodshed is inevitable: whether it arrives in two years or two-thousand, it's going to rear its ugly head somehow. Even the most docile zoomer will bite when provoked.
That's why warriors have value to the Thoha: they're necessary.
The Thoha felt they had less of a need for a standing army as a means to protect the people as civilization advanced and inter-tribal conflict became less of a prominent issue. Despite this, they still valued warriors for the lessons their philosophy instilled within them and the strengths such practices afforded an individual. There was also still a need to defend their planet from external forces, so they continued encouraging young warriors to pursue the ghosts of their ancestors.
In the years leading up to the Galactic Federation's founding, the Thoha gravitated increasingly towards the idea of pacifism. A great deal of their number were old and slowing down by that point, and they figured they should invest in a sort of insurance policy for galactic peace: hence the Federation. The Thoha were one of several tribes that were too busy sciencing it up to be bothered with fortifying their numbers, and now there aren't very many younger folk around to help the elders. A good chunk of those younger scientists were stationed on SR388 to work on the Metroid project, and some have taken on projects elsewhere in the galaxy.
Have I talked about fertility issues in the various tribes before? I feel like I've posted about that here before, but I can't remember. Let me know if I still need to post about that or not!
Anyways, the Mawkin approach battle with more of a religious fervor, and always have. Don't get me wrong: warriors from both tribes enjoyed battle, but Thoha warriors don't view their own deaths as an event to look forward to.
When a Thoha warrior falls in battle, the news of their passing is a sting that wounds all. When a Mawkin warrior dies, their sacrifice is an honor to the people, and the breath that was cut so early from their throats is to be repaid thricefold. Thoha warrior funerals are a solemn, mournful event, whereas Mawkin warrior funerals are a celebration of the individual. I covered the Mawkin view of death more in-depth in Volume 2 of Life on ZDR, easily accessible by searching the headcanons tag on my blog. Those interested can click the tag on the bottom of this post and probably won't have to do much scrolling to find it.
Regarding Mawkin fervor: their training and cultural mindset lends a certain savagery to the force of their strikes. Keep in mind that when I say "savage", I'm not at all implying "lesser worth or intelligence", but rather a particular show of brute strength.
The Mawkin are relentless in battle, and do not stop fighting until either they or the opposition lies dead. Cut them, and they only grow fiercer. Knock one down, and five more will descend on you like a flock of petrels.
Chozo Combat Arts
Welcome to off topic! Your question made me think a Lot.
Mawkin combat theory consists of a variety of different schools of thought. Military basic training goes over three of these schools to start: Crashing Wake, Black Claw Lattice, and Falling Star Impact. Theory combining the first two is part of what makes even the lowest Mawkin soldier hit like a goddamned truck.
Crashing Wake is a school of thought encompassing forceful weapon thrusts and swift, gravity-led strikes. The goal is to slam your opponent hard and fast, and perhaps take them unawares, like a sudden slap from the cold, cruel arm of the sea. Techniques with origins in Black Claw Lattice favor talon-blade weapons, but many branches of the school can be applied to a variety of bladed weapons with longer handles. Students of the Lattice strike quickly and often, and subscribe to the theory that if you cut something enough, it'll bleed faster.
There are myths among the other tribes about Mawkin "blood-rage": stories about warriors who are empowered by the mere scent of blood, capable of shearing whole legions on their lonesome. Soldiers whose strikes grow swifter and more lethal with every wound they sustain. Many of these stories are ancient, and most of them are, like I said, shrouded in myth. But there's a reason the Mawkin are feared. There's a reason the other tribes try to maintain a somewhat solid friendship with them, and it's not just that they've never (formally***) lost a war.
It's not that their warriors are incompetent by comparison, the Mawkin are just exceedingly formidable foes. Other warrior tribes regularly invite the Mawkin to week or month-long events where both armies jointly convene for military exercises. The Thoha did this every five years until a good few decades before the events of Zero Mission! Gray Voice and Raven Beak have quite the history with each other, and these events were a large part of that.
In ancient times, other tribes had to come up with ways to stay level with the Mawkin: that's how fierce they've always been! One such method is inhaling the aroma of herbs and seeds.
That's right: Zero Mission concept art, baby!
Anyways, those little tubes and the herb pouch they're connected to are not exclusively a Thoha innovation, but they were the first to come up with the idea. Always one step ahead in the realm of blood, the Mawkin were aware of the combat-enhancing capabilities of certain compounds, and the priests would anoint some of their finest warriors just before battle to send them into a righteous fury... but they'd never thought to send warriors into battle with a pouch full of inhalants strapped to their backs.
Nowadays, the most advanced power suits can administer doses of compounds synthesized from these spicy fighting herbs to give a warrior some extra oomph in battle without a cumbersome bit and sack. Only helmeted suits can get the scent experience without a bit, but warriors without a closed-face helm can have the compound absorbed through their skin via the powersuit
Thoha martial theory also covers deadly blows, but they also favor a greater number of schools that deal with disarming or incapacitating the opponent.
I'll go into specific Thoha warrior festivals and the like at a later date: that should paint a more intricate picture of their relationship with war, combat and violence.
I really should end it here because i kind of went off on a tangent. This ask really made me think, and I almost went off about Bird Magic. I hope this flowed somewhat coherently, and if anyone wants me to elaborate on anything or wants me to continue going off about something they want more on or that I didn't cover at all, I will absolutely wall of text you with that information.
@laur-rants , @molagboop , after reading your synopsis and facing some kind of our dear Mawkin Overlord nsfw art (ugh!), I can image the background story of Elite Chozo Soldier: Vania. Vania is a common woman Name of chozo.
The data was translated by Samus, from a diary of a female Mawkin Soldier named Pearl Wing and the record from Quite Robe’s computer:
Pearl Wing was same with Vania are single, non-in-relationship female Mawkin Soldier, until one day Raven Beak assembled all of them to duel him, the winner will be the only one Elite Chozo Soldier. Finally, only Vania still can standing tenaciously, he ordered let him healing her by himself in his room... you can guess what would happened.
When Pearl Wing met Vania on next day, she knew what terrible things happened on Vania: more wound and bruise on her face and neck. She burst into tears and whispered, "I remembered he roared on me: THERE IS NO POWER WITHOUT SACRIFICE."
Oddly, after everyone knew Vania is forced been the mistress of Raven Beak (he is the one who think he’s the greatest so never named a queen, like Qin Shi Huang’s cases), he still made a promise let Vania being Elite Chozo Soldier, and he no more interested to other Mawkin ladies. Being a sadism desire of control her, he even ordered crafters made many of mural pin-up, only in loincloth, inside the female soldier dormitory that remind her “you are MINE”! Power tends to corrupt.
Many time passed and Pearl Wing had married, but we never know Vania gets Stockholm syndrome or not.
Same with normal bird in real life, female Chozo would lay zygote egg after she did it with her mate in 7-10 days later; but different with human, on those days they cannot see herself is ‘pregnant’ already. So Vania was suddenly lay egg at the mission in SR388. Rave Beak was glad that he get a heir at last, but Vania is NOT.
On the great massacre of Thoha, Pearl Wing also lost her family since her husband is Thoha, son of Quite Robe, and children are half-blood. Vania asked Pearl Wing, “Do you want to revenge?” She let Pearl Wing take the egg away with Thoha gateway (some of Mawkin joined the rescue action for helping them escape), and made a decoy to faking herself broken the egg! Just protect Pearl Wing not to be doubt she stolen the heir!
After leaved some cruel word, Raven Beak killed Vania in his cannon finally. “I was wish I can queened you after we finish the mission, why you can’t more tamed?” he hugged the ‘loved’(?) body and whispered.
Finally, the judged scourge has come. The X-infected soldier is Pearl Wing. And the egg was found by GF researcher in Tallon IV, been poisoned by Phazon already.
PS: this history later adapts into a well-known GF web miniseries called The Last Queen of Chozo, with some elements of Epic Film and Harem Drama... Samus also likes this show, but must skipped all mature scenes.
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