Ridley (リドリー Ridorī?) is a high-ranking Space Pirate, the archenemy of Samus Aran, and one of the most commonly recurring characters in the Metroid series, appearing in most of the games, rivaling protagonist Samus herself.
Why He Rocks
- He is one of Nintendo's most violent and malicious baddies, where he is often considered one of the most memorable villains out of the company.
- He is very intelligent, as seen in his animated trailer for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, playfully twirling the hat of a defeated Mario when revealing himself to Samus with something of an inhuman grin.
- Despite having been destroyed numerous times by Samus, he is always resurrected, thanks in equal part to Space Pirate engineering and his natural regenerative ability, which allows him to swiftly recover from what would otherwise be fatal wounds.
- He is consistently depicted as a ruthless and cunning tactician who never passes up an opportunity to bring his considerable ferocity to bear on the battlefield, opting to overwhelm his opponents with an unwavering onslaught of attacks from his mouth, claws, and tail.
- He begrudgingly shows respect to those that are natural at commanding others, such as when Gray Voice ordered the Pirate Troops to their battle stations; Ridley, taken aback, smirked at being told by Gray Voice to attend to his job and sarcastically addressed him as "Sir Military Commander" when he flew off.
- Though he has special reserved spots in Brawl and 3DS/Wii U as a boss and stage hazard respectively, he is now a playable fighter in the glorious Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Bad Qualities
- However, his quick temper and his arrogant belief that nothing can defeat him often undermines these qualities, leading to a great many defeats for him as well.
- He is incredibly cruel, actively taking pleasure in the killing and torment of others; at one point in the official manga, he taunts Samus by claiming he may have devoured her mother's corpse after killing her, though this is part of his character.
Trivia
- Ridley was named after director Ridley Scott, who directed the first film in the Alien series, which was a huge inspiration for the development of the first game.
- Previously, Masahiro Sakurai did not want to include Ridley in Super Smash Bros. as a playable fighter due to various reasons, including believing that reducing his power to playable levels will undermine his presentation, and, most infamously, his size being too big to properly integrate into the universe, the latter to the point it has widely been considered an internet meme.