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tran4of3 — The Raid on Outpost Nine - Metroid Strip
Published: 2012-02-13 23:54:41 +0000 UTC; Views: 63114; Favourites: 441; Downloads: 1258
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Done in one day!Phew! Had the idea in my head ever since the Other M debacle, and similar thoughts keep coming anytime someone mentions it, so had to get it out of the system.
I have my own vision of Samus, which, obviously, is pure fanon, but I think the heart of the character of Samus is that she's a hero, and that's something Other M failed to evoke. There should be nobility in her ambitions, whether arriving at Zebes or SR388 or Tallon IV. You can tack on any complexities or developments of your choice, as everyone is wont to, but that part of her needed to shine.
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Comments: 60
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That moment when a single fan made comic strip which can be read in less than a minute outstrips, if you'll pardon the pun, a several hour game.
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Excellent comic! I've always admired Samus, and I agree with your portrayal here. Her giving the card to the boy is truly heartwarming.
Good art, and the writing shines.
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Very nice work. You did in a comic strip what Other M failed to do in a few hours of gameplay.
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So much love. I wish I could favorite this more than once.
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Better characterization than anything Nintendo has tried to scrape together to show a "softer side" of Samus.
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I don't quite care know old this strip may be, but if there's one thing I do know, it's that after only looking at a fraction of your works, I can tell you have some major talent, and a way with telling a story. Keep making stories, keep touching hearts, and never stop drawing.
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Wow that is amazing. This should be winning awards somewhere.
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I just love this comic... is soo... simple, but at the same time is deep...
But, nah, I think that Other M did a good job in Samus's personality.
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While I love this I wish people would stop complaining about Other M. Seriously.
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You have restored my fandom of Samus Aran. Holy...
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So, here's the thing. The main argument for Metroid: Other M being valid is "it gave Samus a personality, which no other game did!"
Which is ridiculous, of course. Samus was characterized readily by what she DID - a single woman, alone, charging headlong into whole planets full of hostile organisms. That clarified several things about her personality, most of which Other M did its level best to try and counteract.
But as much as most of Metroid canon tells us Samus is a focused, relentless warrior, and her (original) backstory tells us that she does what she does for vengeance on top of pay, there WAS always an aspect missing - a more relatable humanity - that Other M tried to fill. And failed, horribly, unless you take the view that the entire game was comprised of a Samus Aran in the deepest throes of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
This image, though. I imagine you did it intentionally, but I have to write it out anyway. You took a scene that is almost shot-for-shot what happened to Samus' home, Samus' family. And then, with her afterward, you made her into what the Chozo were for HER. You took Samus and gave her the characterization of the person who lets you know that the world hasn't ended around you, even though it might seem that way.
Thank you for that. Well done.
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I know I'm responding to a two-year-old comment, but I don't care.
You get it. You abso-freaking-lutely get it.
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Wow, I nearly cried when I read this.
Both for the page itself, and your comment about it.
Wonderful.
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So glad to see this here too.
Most awesome Metroid *anything* ever.
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I have LOVED this strip ever since it was posted on kdingo last year... I WISH I knew you had a dA sooner!
btw... LOVE ALL your stuff!
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I love it! Simple art but powerful story!
We got that message a bit more clearly in Prime 2: Echoes. With the Federation fan logs and saving a random planet and just waving in the end and walking away humbly. She didn't really HAVE to do it. Her mission was to check on the Fed ship, and the she could have focused on just destroying Dark Samus but she still went out of her way to help the Luminoth save their planet. There was no payment in that one.
Plus that's about the way it always goes. Gets paid for something simple, ends up -doing much more-.
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Great point about Prime 2! Retro may not have given Samus any dialogue, but, like the 2D games before, there's so much revealed through her actions and through subtlety and implications.
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There's not a lot I can say to this that someone else hasn't said. 
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As a fan of the Metroid series, I'm actually surprised that they haven't thought of a concept like this comic here, which is very well thought out and is actually amazing in both story and style 
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aww I love this comic, a really deep, introspective look at samus aran, beyond the ruthless bounty hunter persona almost everyone seems to buy into, forgetting the fact that she is a woman, and can have a deeper story than just a woman inside a machine.
which is why games like other M were critically acclaimed, they added personality to the character.
well, that and the fact that the game was just too different, and the lines were delivered rather poorly.
I know there are other games in the series where we got to know the woman behind the power suit better, but at the moment I can't think of any...oops.
this comic though, well, it almost garners the need to write a story based off of it, a longer look at samus, trying to weave a story for her, tell all about her, more than that "she's an orphan whose parents are killed that became a bounty hunter for revenge" subplot they have.
or maybe I'm just being too critical and am overlooking the deeper story behind metroid...I dunno, I've only played most of the games, but I don't think I've actually beaten any of them yet.
I'm stuck in a perpetual limbo with all three prime games, I did beat Super, eventually, I never owned the original but played the remake, tried metroid 2, fusion kind of scares me, and I have yet to play hunters or other M...
yep, very good story.
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Greetings, Tran.
I see that you've have done some work here which has received a great amount of Views, moreover, Favorites - mine among them - and also many Comments.
While I've not had the chance to see to the more recent Metroid Games (with the exception of the first Metroid Prime), I remain wary of the 'more developed' Other M title. Some praise it, many revile it... And in my view, with due reason. There are many aspects of what I know of it which I have an issue with.
While there could be many ways to characterize Samus, I find that her ways have been best anchored in subtlety. Effective storytelling and compelling material can as easily be maintained through absence of information, rather than complexity and oversaturation of detail.
You've captured here what is simple, effective, and reflective of what little we know of Samus (again, I speak excluding the Other M content). Enemies can be made vile and cruel through only a few lines, and understandable derision can be founded in the voices of military and organizations.
Thank you for your work here, Tran. I hope that you've found a welcome satisfaction in it's completion, and in the response of others to it. Surely it will have served to lift the spirits of many.
Good luck with your efforts, and good health.
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Thanks Lucrata! 'Subtlety' is definitely a key word, and it's jarring how engaging the handling of story and development was in previous games, and how forced it felt in Other M. I'm very happy with the response to this piece, and it's always fun thinking of how else the Metroid franchise could be handled. So thanks! You have a good one too!
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This is by far the best rendering of who Samus truly is that I've ever seen anywhere. I hope that someone from Nintendo stumbles across this comic, so that hopefully we'll get a better representation of Samus in the next Metroid game.
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Love this; it's the best characterization for Samus that I could think of. Thanks for keeping my love of the character and the Metroid games alive.
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this shows samus as a human far better than Other M did
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Thanks, everyone! I was really proud of how this one came out. I do have a plan to do a Metroid movie summary one day, with my interpretation of events and my version of Samus, and an 'Other M If I had Done It' idea. There really is a lot of storytelling potential in the series, and it's a franchise that always seems to draw out my passions.
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that big monster reminds me of a boss in the old SNES Super Metroid game: the only way to hurt it was to shoot missiles or a charged-up shot down it's throat...but i can't remember if it was possile to obtain the charge beam item before meeting it...
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Yup! The monster is Kraid, who appeared in Metroid and Super Metroid, but we haven't seen the poor bloke since, even though he's kinda also known for cloning himself with decoys. I'd love to see him show back up again. Video ref!: [link]
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I tend to agree with your interpretation of Samus. I haven't played Other M, but the idea I've gotten from the games is that Samus is definitely a hero. The bounty hunter thing, it's just the way she can do things independently, not bound by Federation red tape and regulations. Sure, she'll work with the Federation, because they have the galactic networks that allow her to communicate and find where she's needed, where she can help.
Of course, she's also got feelings. She's not some bland, emotionless warrior who fights for money. Look at Prime 3 - she had friends in those other bounty hunters (just remember the Rundas fight, or listen to the music during the fight - it's extremely emotional).
Anyways, I've always felt that the Metroid series had more heart than some of Nintendo's other work (like, say, Mario). Maybe that's just me.
Good stuff, made me choke up just a bit. :]
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And I prefer Brooklyn Mario and Luigi trapped in an alternate universe after living much of their lives here. Nintendo's mindset is interesting at times.
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Oh yeah, that was cool. Back before Mario was so happy-go-lucky and Luigi wasn't a pansy.
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Ty for the touching story. Reddit leads to some golden links after all.
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A fanwork significantly better than entire canon plotlines. Well done.
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You need to be on the writing / plot dev team for the next metroid game.
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This was fantastic. Spotted on 4chan /V/. Glad I was able to find the source!!
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Still as fantastic as the first time I saw it. This is the Samus that endures.
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