Kraid

Kraid
Affiliation	Space Pirates
Base	Zebes
Debut	Metroid

Not a lot is known about the origins of Kraid, but he has long been one of the chief guardians used by the Space Pirates. His domain has always been Brinstar, although originally a part of Brinstar was named after him. He is an incredibly large creature, far larger than any of Samus's other foes. The origin of his species is unknown and is likely he originates from another planet or was bio-engineered by the Space Pirates.

Background

In appearance he is quite like a upright dinosaur that walks on two legs with a long tail as support. His stomach area has three odd 'holes' that are capable of producing long 'spikes' that can be propelled out. His head is lined with a few horns forming a crown on the top of his head as well as one on the end of his snout. Interestingly, he has three eyes rather than just one. His two hands have only two single fingers and are often used offensively.

Samus Aran first met Kraid on her first mission on Zebes in Metroid. Kraid's position was rather important and his defeat was necessary to access Tourian. Samus was able to take advantage of Kraid's one weakspot, his mouth. When Samus Aran returned again to Zebes in Super Metroid, Kraid now had a smaller 'Mini-Kraid' copy outside of his lair. Samus Aran was able to quickly defeat this, but found the real Kraid just beyond. Again Samus was able to defeat Kraid by firing missiles in his mouth. Afterwards, he presumably was killed in the explosion of Zebes.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Kraid appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee in the Brinstar Depths level as a colossal background enemy that causes the stage to rotate. He also has his own trophy.

Other Media

• Kraid, as seen in Metroid, appeared in Issue 4 of the Captain N comics. He was shown as weak and runty, and during her escape from Prisonworld Samus coerced Kraid (who was also a prisoner) into acting as a decoy during her escape. He also made a cameo appearance with Ridley in a flashback of Samus's in Issue 5.
• Kraid made an appearance in the Metroid manga during the chapters adapting Zero Mission. Introduced as "Ridley's comrade", Kraid is shown battling Samus while Mother Brain communicates with her, and Samus ultimately defeats him.

Canceled Appearances

• Kraid was apparently planned to appear in Metroid Prime, and a 3-D model of Kraid was made, but he was ultimately not included due to time constraints.

Trivia

• In his original Metroid appearance, he was as tall as Samus Aran was. Mini-Kraid was no doubt devised to throw off Super Metroid gamers who remembered facing a small Kraid.
• A sticker of Kraid from Zero Mission appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.