The Metroid Prime series has introduced the internal workings of the Space Pirates and expanded on it in subsequent entries. However, it is largely agreed upon by groups with the Metroid community (myself included) that the Space Pirates are a faction made up of many species. After all, the biology of the different enemy types in the Prime series alone is wildly different from game to game, aside from a bipedal, hunched posture. It can be assumed, therefore, that any discrepancies from game to game when describing the inner workings of the Space Pirates to simply be the culture of those individual species. For instance, the Urtraghians have far more brutal forms of punishment than the forces seen on Tallon IV. Now that then begs the question.
What about the culture of the Zebesians?
This exploration will, admittedly, be full of conjecture and fanons that I enjoy, but I hope you will enjoy either way.
The name Zebesian seems a bit strange to those who know the inner workings of Metroid lore, specifically about the Chozo, who were the residents of planet Zebes before the Space Pirates stormed the planet. The two big schools of thought as to the name from a Watsonian perspective are either that the Zebesians were driven off of Zebes in years past during the Chozo’s warlike past or that the name comes from their settlement upon Zebes that essentially became the way most of the Galaxy thought about the planet.
While I prefer the latter explanation, the former explanation does have some basis to it. Some of Dread’s many murals depict Mawkin soldiers coming into conflict with the Zebesian Space Pirates and defeating them. It is certainly possible that this is how the Chozo first settled the world. There was once a time when the Thoha Chozo were on good terms with the Mawkin.
Still, from both a Watsonian and Doylist perspective, I prefer that the Zebesian name comes from their takeover of Zebes, likely the latest conquest of many. From throughout the series, the Chozo are not seen to have been particularly active in galactic politics during the age of the Galactic Federation, mostly being relegated to advising more public figures. They are rarely mentioned after their demise, outside of their ruins. Therefor, with the Chozo mostly being dead and buried, their world conquered by the feared Space Pirates, the limelight would then be cast onto that world as the source of the Metroid threat, thus leading people to call them the rulers of that world. It’s not exactly how I will be situating things in my own rewrite of the manga, but it does fit better from a purely canonical perspective. Furthermore, from a Doylist perspective, there is evidence to posit this same position. (Special thanks to @sepublic for pointing this out) The internal data for the Zebesian sprite refers to them as Batta, the Japanese word for grasshopper/locust. While this can be attributed to their hopping behavior, it also fits to see them surrounding a planet, consuming its resources, and leaving barren rock behind, with Zebes being their latest, and most successful, operation. The manga displays them descending onto worlds, massacring populations, and enslaving the survivors. The origin of Samus Aran’s adoption into the Chozo comes from them massacring the population of a colony in order to steal its main export wholesale.
The individuals we see in the manga are spiteful, remorseless, and cruel, happy to kill a child for fun. They also show fear and cowardice in the face of armed resistance from Federation officials, and Mother Brain describes them as inclined to capitulate to the highest power present. This cruel, despotic leadership style appears to be an inherent trait to Zebesian culture. Furthermore, the Space Pirates are displayed as having genetically altered themselves to withstand Zebes’s environment very soon after securing the world, suggesting an avid fascination with genetic manipulation, a trait that gets taken to the N’th degree in the Prime series, along with a fascination of mechanical augmentation. From Meta and Proteus Ridley, to the grafted metal implants of the Tallon IV pirates, to the exoskeleton apparatus used by the Urtraghians, the Space Pirates as a whole seem to love cybernetically augmenting themselves and their underlings.
One of my favorite fan interpretations of the Zebesians comes from @dappercritter and the fanfiction piece “No Other”. Quite frankly, I have to include the paragraph wherein the description of the Zebesian race lies.
“The chimeric splice-junkies who had the nerve to call themselves ‘Zebesians’ she wasn’t surprised by. Those ‘settler colonists’-a term which they use to feign altruism and keep the GDF from assaulting their new base, had always been a thorn in Samus’s side since they tried to take her and the Chozo’s old home by force. Of course, they’d come back for more at some point, even if they deserved every other beatdown.”
The Zebesians are described as “chimeric splice-junkies”, a term which I absolutely love for its descriptiveness and color. These guys love to juice themselves up on whatever science team has cooked up. They love genetic modifications, cybernetic implants, and anything to make themselves stronger and give them an edge in combat. The main villain of this story, Ganzer, is the apotheosis of a Zebesian. He has replaced his lobster claws with metal claws, he has wings on his back, chainsaw blades grafted to his arms, a shoulder mounted cannon, a visor in place of his eyes, extra armor over his exoskeleton, and even a reptilian tail. Additionally, there is an explanation here for the name of these Zebesians. These galactic jerks are not just genocidal maniacs, they are something far worse: lawyers. They have lawyered their way into exploiting the Federation’s rules of engagement. After all, orbital bombardment on a colony is illegal. So, as any good lawyer would do, they have designated their most valuable planet as their residential colony world. Doesn’t matter that they breed Metroids, produce weapons, and store their fleets there, cuz that’s where the children grow up, at least on paper.
Furhermore, given their distinctly crustacean design, I can imagine that their “splice-junky” lifestyle comes into play during a specific recurring period of their life; molting. When a crustacean molts, the new shell is soft and malleable for a time, in which time they are extremely vulnerable. Defensive claws and stingers are effectively useless, leaving them defenseless until their body hardens. This time could be perfect for Zebesians to how in the infusion tank to get ‘roided up on whatever DNA infusions they choose/have chosen for them, or to have cybernetic implants grafted into them, where the shell will then solidify and seal the implant on. You can just imagine some excited Zebesian chittering about how they ordered the new model of targeting armature, lamenting that they have to wait until the next molt to get it installed. It honestly opens up some room for a bit of downtime in their culture which I think could be explored further some time.
Hope you all enjoyed this one! I may make a similar post for some of the other Space Pirate varieties. I do have some unique fanons for the Urtraghians that could be cool to share. Let me know if you have any suggestions or fanons of your own!
Zebesian space pirates were genetically engineered to survive the harsh conditions of the planet durning the initial conquest of Zebes in Zero Mission. After Samus destroyed Ridleys ship, the new species suffered greatly, and due to their versatility, the Pirates took special measures to ensure their survival. After the destruction of Zebes, the Zebesian race almost went extinct, as the majority of them were stationed on the planet.
Mother Brain was made by cloning and editing the brain of a Chozo, uploading a memory scan from the same Chozo, and adding mechanical computer parts into the mix, then hooking her up to the whole Tourian facility which acted like her "spinal cord" and linked her to all the other systems/cameras/etc on Zebes. It was considered of utmost importance that Mother Brain, above all, have empathy and love for the Chozo under her care- that she should be as protective of them as a mother over her children. They even cloned the brain of a Chozo who was a mother, hence why Mother Brain became "Mother Brain".
Unfortunately, the alterations affected her and she didn't turn out as intended, despite the mind imprinted on her. She was psychopathic and controlling, and decided that the ageing Chozo population weren't worth living on her planet. She decided to invite a new race to inherit the world of Zebes, namely the Zebesians, a race without a known homeworld who were allied with (and made up the bulk of) the Space Pirates. Most importantly, she wanted them to be under her control, to treat her as the fearsome all-powerful leader she thoroughly believed she was. Once she had full control of Zebes, she set her sights on ruling other planets as well.
Despite their wisdom, it took the Chozo a long time to realise and accept that Mother Brain was turning against them. Some would claim it was because of their own excessive faith in their own creations, but there was more to it than that. The Chozo honestly loved their Mother Brain. The population on Zebes were mostly old and starting to feel vulnerable, so they refused to believe their loved one could hate them so much. The more spiritual members of the Chozo believed she was a physical incarnation of their ancestors, who they worshipped. Even Samus grew up in awe of the Mother Brain, though she had never seen her in person until the moment she walked into her chamber to slaughter her for the first time.
Weavel was a Zebesian trooper from a non-cloned group, renowned for his strength, skill, and cunning. He was eventually promoted to Pirate General, which was unexpected given his lowly starting rank. Officially recognised in Pirate databases by a number code given to him at birth, the name he is now better known by is a traditional Zebesian name he gave himself later on.
Weavel was deployed on Zebes to guard the entrance to Tourian and was nearly killed in Brinstar by Samus Aran, prompting the pirates to rescue him. His body was damaged beyond repair, but some members of High Command sent out the order to preserve his brain. A mind upload was difficult and costly- reserved for the “more important assets” to the Pirate forces, like Ridley. Instead, he was kept alive, and given a cybernetic powersuit to replace his entire body save for his brain and spinal cord.
Though he was clever and other Zebesians considered him charismatic, some members of High Command were not too fond of him. They felt a little threatened by him because of his smart and independent nature. It was they who insisted upon “saving resources” by crafting him a smaller, humanoid powersuit instead of one that closer resembled his true Zebesian appearance.
Naturally, Weavel was unhappy about this, and it contributed to his decision to leave the Pirate army and becoming a solo bounty hunter. He still works with the Pirates, if only because of a desperate need for money and some sense of duty to his fellow Zebesians. Weavel is hoping to save up enough to replace his powersuit with one that actually reflects his old appearance. He was originally going to buy himself a better gunship as well, but since the Alimbic Cluster incident he’s grown very attached to the one he has now- though he would never admit it.
The space pirate species and how pirate science works
Metroids aren’t the only work that the pirates have done involving biological weapons. There is one single practice the pirates engage in that many credit with allowing them to become such a dominant force in the galaxy: the willingness to genetically and physically modify their own bodies to adapt to their current needs. The pirates are the only serious military force in the galaxy to have done this extensively. Most other cultures, including those that comprise the Federation, have a psychological or cultural aversion to editing the physiology of sentient species, and even species like the Chozo that were more comfortable with bio-technology took it very seriously and would extensively test and theorize before ever touching their own genetic code. The pirates, as an organization and a culture, have no such arbitrary scruples against frankensteining themselves into mutant supersoldiers. In fact, their entire culture and modus operandi is built around it.
Though the pirates got their start as a coalition of criminal organizations made up of multiple species, both themselves and the Federation define them nowadays as a single, artificial species. The origin of this species can be traced back to when two of the species groups in the pirate coalition decided to experiment with combining their genetic codes to create a more powerful warrior: one a crustacean-like species from a water-rich planet, and the other a more reptilian species (they may have in fact been bryyonian reptilicus, but no one knows for sure). The resulting pirate warriors were horrifying freaks of nature even to many within the space pirate coalition, but they were so incredibly effective that no one could argue with the results. All of the groups in the coalition rapidly assimilated into the gene pool of the new pirate race, or else left the organization. Within a few generations the non-racially pirate members of coalition were so few as to be statistically insignificant. With each new generation became a conscious effort to modify their genetics to create more effective warriors. Eventually, pirate high command created a permanent corps of scientists and engineers to manage, experiment upon, and create from the growing library of genetic material at the pirates’ disposal. This was the origin of today’s pirate science teams.
The pirates’ current modus operandi takes full advantage of the expertise in self-modification that they have amassed over the years. When preparing for an upcoming pirate operation, science team will craft a new batch of expendable soldiers that are designed specifically for the operation at hand by pulling from the library of genetic information they have amassed since that first experiment years ago; for instance, if launching a large-scale invasion of a planet, the pirates would design the bulk of their soldiers to thrive in that planet’s environment. These breeds are made in labs or factories rather than through any kind of natural reproduction, they will either be literally grown in test tubes or hatched from eggs that were. Though different pirate breeds can differ wildly in physiology and genetic material, as far as the pirates and the federation are concerned they are all members of the pirate species because they were designed by science team using the same genetic library. The new bodies may be allowed to develop their own consciousness, or they may be implanted with the minds of pirate veterans that have served across multiple bodies. Ridley’s infamous immortality comes from the fact that he volunteered to be the first test subject for this mind-upload technology. The vast majority of pirate footsoldiers are simply slight variations on one of a handful of useful templates that science team has developed over the years, the two most successful and widely used of which are reptilians and zebesians. Samus encountered many pirates of the reptilian template during the phazon crisis, and most federation citizens will recognize the bulky, hunched over build and mostly reptilian or avian characteristics as the most common kind of pirate. Zebesians are slightly rarer than reptilians as they are generally better warriors but are also more expensive to mass-produce. They tend to have features more like a crustacean integrated into a surprisingly anthropomorphic body shape. They got their name after a particularly dangerous breed of them was used in the now-infamous pirate invasion of Zebes. Science team will only break from their templates to create powerful specialty units, such as the berserker lords of the phazon crisis or the bodies of generals like Ridley or Kraid.
Had a dream about an alternate universe Star Wars in which there was no Chosen One prophecy. Anakin was a padawan being trained at an artifact temple on Tatooine by my Mom, the great jedi master. Anakin stumbled upon a great power when Zebesians attacked and destroyed the temple, and Anakin caused a stir by daring to question if the Zebesians were always irredeemably evil
