The Metroid franchise has seen a massive boom with the release of Metroid Dread, leading to many newcomers checking out the older entries to see what they've missed. More and more Nintendo fans are learning more about the history of the Metroid series and its development, including many behind-the-scenes trivia behind the design of the world and Samus herself. While the existence of the Zero Mission manga is common knowledge, even among Super Smash Bros. fans, few people may know of the extremely obscure (and equally bizarre) comics and manga written at the height of Metroid's popularity.
Much of the Japan-only Metroid manga was written long before most of the lore was properly established, ranging from differences in art style and suit design, names of creatures and planets, to even the nature and personality or races and characters. In particular, Samus has gone through many phases and changes throughout much of her earliest years to the point where she (or, in some early cases, "he") was barely recognizable as the beloved and respected bounty hunter known today. Samus' adventures in these stories could be downright comical, a far cry from the stoic and serious epics that the games usually depict.
Wanpakku Strategy Guide - Metroid 1
The earliest published manga promoting Metroid was in the official strategy guide for the Japanese Famicom version, which acts as both a legitimate guide and storytelling companion. Adding extra context to the instruction manual's sparse narrative, the manga portions were illustrated by artist Minazuki Yuu (who had also illustrated the instruction manual) and referred to Samus with male pronouns to hide her true identity. Beyond the obvious differences in character designs and world lore that wouldn't be finalized until later in the series, Samus was a very different character.
This Samus is known as the galaxy's strongest cyborg warrior who, while still very good at his given job, is extremely full of himself, prone to stupid mistakes, apparently an accomplished ladies' man and is ironically really poor at playing Nintendo games. The manga is meant to represent a lost and confused player when inadvertently crash-landing into Zebes and actually provides valuable advice for completing the game. The strategy guide does tease Samus' true identity after "his" defeat of Mother Brain, encouraging the player to beat the game "with bravery," meaning they must complete it quickly.
Shounen Oh! Game Comics - Super Metroid
The next major Metroid manga would be based on Super Metroid, released in 1994 via the Shonen Oh! Game Comics magazine with art by Matsumoto Hidetaka. While there are some nods to techniques utilized in the game, these vertical 4-panel manga strips (called "yonkoma") are less of a strategy guide and more of a fun parody comic for fans of the game. This comic is even more light-hearted and comedic than the previous Metroid manga, with many jokes focusing on visual gags, non-sequiturs and general character oddities.
In particular, this manga's portrayal does not hide her identity as a woman. However, unlike the stoic and pragmatic character fans know her to be, this Samus is a bit air-headed and possesses an almost childlike naivete. She's also shown to have a very strange obsession with transforming into the Morph Ball and a fixation on any perfectly round and ball-shaped object. Despite these eccentricities, Samus is still a powerful warrior whose enemies always fall before her feet despite her short attention span.
Metroid: Samus & Joey
Probably the most well-known Metroid manga after the Zero Mission tie-in prequel, Samus & Joey is a standalone, non-canon side-story was published under Bom Bom Comics with artwork by Idzuki Kouji. Published in 2002, the manga follows the adventures of a boy named Joey who, after his village is attacked by Space Pirates, eventually becomes a tagalong companion to the feared bounty hunter Samus Aran. While it has its light-hearted and comedic moments typical of shonen manga, Samus & Joey is treated with far more seriousness than all previous manga before it, with Samus' modern characterization as a steadfast heroine solidified by this point.
While largely disconnected from the Metroid universe, Samus & Joey utilizes several concepts that wouldn't be solidified until later games in the series. Here, the Space Pirates have multiple races in their employ. Players also get an up-close look at Samus' maternal instincts and gentleness towards children and animals, as well as the idea that most of the galaxy knows very little about Samus herself. There are also new ideas, such as the Megaroid (a mutated Metroid with a slight resemblance to the Metroid Prime), the Space Pirate Greed (a member of Ridley's race) and the Animus, a supreme intelligence with unlimited power to control the past and the future.
