Metroidsubreddit simply asks, ‘where do the arms go?’
TheMetroidseries is one full of mystery and discovery, yet one in particular has overtaken a sect of the fan community: how does Samus fit into the suit?
Over on theMetroidsubreddit, the discussion seems to havekicked off with this post, showing several diagrams of how Samus may or may not actually fit into her signature suit. The key point of discussion is her arms, which depending on how far away from the torso they are and relation to the large shoulders, could have troubling indications. Here’s one diagram, as shared by Chris Sutcliffe onTwitter:
r/Metroid – a subreddit dedicated to a series about a human bounty hunter raised by alien bird ghosts who becomes a jellyfish alien-hybrid and can turn into a ball the size of her head – is having a civil war about how her arms fit into her suit. Diagrams are being deployedpic.twitter.com/ucluQVReXa
— Chris Sutcliffe (@chrismsutcliffe)July 18, 2025
The answer, as users began to reply, is simply “bird magic.” Rather, that the Chozo technology and “space-magic” could make all this body-warping happen. That didn’t exactlystop the memesfromrolling on out, though.
Armed and dangerous
Of course, we have a reference point for all this. Assomehavepointed out, theSuper MetroidPlayer’s Guidecontains a diagram of Samus inside the suit, with an X-ray look inside showing exactly which limbs go where. Though this design doesn’t apply wholesale across everyMetroidgame, it does give us a good idea of how the arms and shoulders incorporate into Samus’ iconic suit.
Heck, cosplayers have been figuring out where the arms go foryears at this point. Though the design in some games definitely looks uncomfortable, it does feel like we generally know how the human body could fit inside Samus’ suit.
So case roughly closed, right? Well, this still opens up the question of how exactly the Morph Ball works. To be honest, I’ve always wondered that myself. Not only does it seem very fluid when Samus tucks and curls, there’s a bunch of machinery and mechanical pieces that would have to go in too. Seems like it might not be very comfortable. And how does she see where she’s going? It’s a question that’splagued the world for years, it seems. Even the Space Pirates ofMetroidhavecanonically tried and failedto figure out how the suit’s Morph Ball capabilities work, to seemingly horrific results.
If you want to do some research of your own, though,Metroid Prime Remasteredseems to be a good way to do it. The remaster (borderline remake, I’d say) surprise-dropped on Switch last month, and it’sbeen received quite well. Maybe someone at Retro could shed some light on all these body-warping concerns, too.
