Dark Samus (SSBU)

Dark Samus in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Metroid
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Phazon Laser

Dark Samus (ダークサムス, Dark Samus) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. She was announced as a newcomer during the August 8th, 2018 Super Smash Bros. Direct alongside Simon, Richter, Chrom, and King K. Rool. Dark Samus is Samus's Echo Fighter, thus being classified as Fighter #04^ε.

The sound effects used for Samus in Brawl and Smash 4 were repurposed for Dark Samus in Ultimate.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Dark Samus being the 50th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Samus or any character in her unlock tree, being the fifth character unlocked after Incineroar.
• Have Dark Samus join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Dark Samus must then be defeated on Frigate Orpheon.

Attributes

This article or section is incomplete. You can help SmashWiki by expanding or finishing it. The editor who added this tag elaborates: This section needs an in depth explanation of Dark Samus' strengths and weaknesses.

Differences from Samus

As with certain other Echo Fighters, Dark Samus is nearly identical gameplay-wise to Samus, with largely aesthetic differences. However, she has many basic animations that are different from Samus, a more standard roll which does not involve turning into a Morph Ball, electric effects instead of fire effects for most of Samus's fire-based moves, and different models for both the Morph Ball and Missile. However, Dark Samus's small advantages over Samus (such as a slightly faster roll) are considered to be less situational than Samus's small advantages over Dark Samus (such as the ability to detonate enemy bombs with her flame properties, or a smaller hurtbox after rolling). As such, Dark Samus is commonly agreed to be a straight upgrade from Samus, though the gameplay differences are so marginal that it is ultimately up to preference over which character to choose from.

Aesthetics

• As with all other Echo Fighters, Dark Samus has different taunts and victory animations.
• Dark Samus has a different victory theme, shared with Ridley.
• Dark Samus's No Contest animation is slightly different.
• Dark Samus's on-screen appearance has her warp onto the stage from a dark portal.
• Dark Samus has many animations that are different from Samus, which extends to her idle, walking, dashing, double jumping, perfect shield, and dodge animations. Additionally, these animations visually appear floatier than Samus's equivalents, similar to Mewtwo, Rosalina & Luma and Bowser Jr.
  • However, she briefly assumes Samus's idle stance when losing her final stock in Stamina Mode by a weak attack.
• Dark Samus's arm cannon splits apart and grows Phazon tendrils for some moves, such as her grab, Missiles, forward smash, and Final Smash.

Attributes

• Dark Samus's Arm Cannon-based attacks like down tilt, up smash and forward aerial use dark and neon blue clouds instead of orange explosions.
• Samus's moves that possess flame effects (except for Missile and Bomb) have been changed into electric effects for Dark Samus. This changes how their respective moves interact with others, such as Dark Samus being unable to detonate other characters' bombs with her equivalent moves, and being able to hurt Olimar's Red Pikmin with them but not his Yellow Pikmin. Those moves are given a lower hitlag multiplier compared to Samus's to make them consistent between the two characters.
• Dark Samus's shield is slightly smaller, and she stands in a more upright stance, with the shield centered slightly higher. This makes her easier to shield poke, especially with low attacks.
• Both of Dark Samus's rolls have less ending lag than Samus's (FAF 35 → 32 (forward), 40 → 37 (back)).
  • However, Dark Samus is more vulnerable during ending lag due to her larger hurtboxes when rolling.
• Dark Samus does not transform into a Morph Ball when rolling or spin while jumping. This makes her hurtbox larger during those animations.
• Dark Samus's initial dash turnaround animation starts one frame faster than Samus's does (3 frames → 2), making her retreat slightly faster. Notably, she is the only fighter with this attribute.
• Dark Samus has a longer duration in transitioning into her running animation when performing a pivot dash (12 frames → 15). This extends the length of her dash dance, but increases the lag on a turnaround dash before it can be canceled into certain options, such as shielding.

Ground attacks

• Forward tilt's foot trail visual commences one frame later on Dark Samus's forward tilt, no longer overtaking her foot's position in the kick.
• Dark Samus's dash attack has an altered animation where Dark Samus hovers in midair. Additionally, Dark Samus does not use her jet boosters during the animation.
• All of Dark Samus's smash attacks have altered animations.
  • This slightly influences the horizontal reach of all versions of forward smash, with the unangled version having marginally less horizontal reach, while the up and down angled versions have marginally increased horizontal reach.
  • This allows up smash to hit shorter opponents more reliably than Samus's version.

Special moves

• Charge Shot:
  • Charge Shot has an altered animation where Dark Samus performs the move one-handed. This results in the projectile being fired at a slightly lower elevation, but her hurtbox is taller during the animation compared to Samus's version, making her easier to hit. This change is reflected when Kirby copies this move.
    • This allows Charge Shot to hit low-profiling opponents more easily, such as a crouching Pichu or Pikachu hanging from the ledge.
    • However, this makes it slightly easier for opponents to jump over the projectile.
  • Charge Shot is mostly black and dark blue, with tendrils extending from the edges.
• Missile:
  • Dark Samus's animations for firing missiles are different.
    • As a result, Dark Samus does not hunch over as much when firing a homing missile, making her hurtbox taller and easier to hit.
  • Missiles have an organic appearance.
• Screw Attack:
  • Dark Samus's landing lag animation is different, as she twirls while still curled up and hovers slightly above the ground. This makes her hurtbox smaller and harder to hit, while also potentially allowing her to dodge some attacks with low-reaching hitboxes.
• Bomb:
  • Bombs have an organic appearance.
• Phazon Laser:
  • It is mostly black and dark blue, as opposed to white and light blue.
  • Phazon Laser lacks the thruster hitboxes of Samus's equivalent Final Smash.

Update History

Like her heroic counterpart, Dark Samus has received a mix of buffs and nerfs, but has been buffed overall in game patches.

2.0.0

• Missiles follow the Pokémon Trainer's new Pokémon if they switch after the missile was fired.
• Missile has more range.
• Bomb has less endlag when used on the ground (FAF 49 → 47).

3.0.0

• Charge Shot deals significantly less shield damage (0 → -2.5 (uncharged); 3 → -7 (fully charged).
• Dark Samus no longer launches herself off screen when grab and Bomb occur at the same time.
  • However, the phantom knockback would still occur at the exact frame of the hitbox and the explosion.
• Created visual glitch where Dark Samus's tether grab beam would disconnect from her arm when performed in the air before landing.

3.1.0

• Up smash's hits connect more reliably.
• Fixed tether beam glitch from 3.0.0.

7.0.0

• Overall shield size has been increased by 1.025x.
  • Dark Samus's right arm is briefly intangible when activating and deactivating her shield.
• Dash attack's early hit no longer deals less damage than the main hit (7% → 10%).
• Up smash's last hit has more knockback scaling (150 → 162), noticeably improving its KO potential.
• Down smash has more knockback scaling (58 → 70 (hit 1), 58 → 68 (hit 2)), drastically improving its KO potential.
• Grab aerial deals more damage (1.5% → 2.5% (hit 1), 3% → 4% (hit 2)), and the second hit has a longer duration (frames 16-17 → 16-19).
• Up throw has more knockback scaling (72 → 80), drastically improving its KO potential.

9.0.0

• Grounded Screw Attack covers slightly less vertical distance, no longer being able to reach the top platform of Yoshi's Story.

9.0.1

• Fixed an issue in which Dark Samus could fall though the stage when breaking Steve's blocks.

9.0.2

• Fixed an issue where Dark Samus' grounded up special gained slightly less height in the first few frames, resulting in it gaining less height overall than intended.

Moveset

• Dark Samus can wall jump.
• Dark Samus possesses a tether attack and grab.

For a gallery of Dark Samus' hitboxes, see here.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Straight and Cannon Hammer	3%	A left-handed jab followed by a forearm club with the Arm Cannon. Despite dealing above-average damage for a neutral attack, it is poor overall, as opponents can usually act out before the second hit connects by shielding or using a fast attack, while the second hit may not even connect at high percentages. Depending on the opponent's weight, it is safe and a true combo at high percents, but only if the first hit connects relatively close to the arm and not at the fist. The second hit does have KO potential at very high percentages, however.
			8%
Forward tilt	↗		11% (foot), 10% (leg), 9% (body)	A reverse roundhouse kick. Deals more damage and knockback at her foot, while her leg deals less damage and knockback. Can be angled, which causes it to deal more damage, but may cause it to miss shorter characters on the ground if angled up. The foot sweetspot deals rather potent knockback for a tilt attack, which can KO at the edge at around 125%. At varying percentages, depending on which part of the move is landed, it can lead into a guaranteed Charge Shot, as regardless of teching, Charge Shot can catch the opponent's option in time if they are knocked down.
	→		10% (foot), 9% (leg), 8% (body)
	↘		11% (foot), 10% (leg), 9% (body)
Up tilt			13% (grounded), 12% (aerial)	An axe kick resembling Captain Falcon's up tilt. It behaves unusually as it meteor smashes grounded opponents, but launches aerial opponents at a horizontal angle. This allows it to set up combos against the former at a wide range of percents, while still being a reliable edgeguard tool, due to its wide coverage and powerful enough knockback to KO aerial opponents at around 95% at the edge. At high percents, the grounded meteor can also set up KO confirms into a fully charged Charge Shot. However, the move has noticeable startup, due to coming out on frame 15, making it Dark Samus's slowest normal attack on the ground.
Down tilt			12%	Kneels and quickly thrusts her Arm Cannon downward to fire a small, electric blast. It is very fast, due to coming out on frame 6, and deals respectable damage and knockback for a tilt attack, KOing at around 160% off the top blast line. It is useful as a close range anti-pressure option on opponents in front of Dark Samus, or as a punishment option. However, its very high ending lag leaves it easy to punish if shielded of missed.
Dash attack			7% (early), 10% (clean), 6% (late)	A shoulder tackle with a white aura around Dark Samus. Deals more damage and knockback near the middle of the attack, KOing opponents at around 150% from the center of Final Destination, and earlier near edges. However, the early and late hits are noticeably weaker, and the move lacks combo potential.
Forward smash	↗		13% (Arm Cannon), 15% (blast)	Quickly thrusts her Arm Cannon forward to fire a small, electric blast. Functions similarly to Mario's forward smash, with the blast being the most powerful part of the move. It is one of the fastest forward smashes in the game, coming out on frame 10, while the blast has enough knockback to KO at around 100% from center stage. However, it is rather weak otherwise, with the Arm Cannon KOing at around 135%. It can be angled like her forward tilt, with the upward angle dealing more damage and knockback, though it can typically miss as a result; conversely, the downward angle can hit ledge hanging opponents, but deals slightly less damage and knockback. Compared to Samus' version of the move, it has slightly less range.
	→		12% (Arm Cannon), 14% (blast)
	↘		11% (Arm Cannon), 13.5% (blast)
Up smash			3% (hits 1-4), 6% (hit 5)	Fires five electric blasts in an overhead arcing motion. This move works best as an anti-air attack, as its multiple hits give a good amount of aerial protection. Conversely, it is unable to hit grounded opponents unless they are close enough to Dark Samus. Compared to Samus's version of the move, however, Dark Samus can catch opponents at a lower height. It is also her most damaging smash attack, dealing 18% total uncharged. However, due to its hits being spread above Dark Samus, it can fail to fully connect if the opponent is hit from too far.
Down smash			10% (front), 12% (back)	A legsweep. A semi-spike with decent speed and high base knockback, allowing it to set up edgeguards and punish rolls effectively. The front hit can KO middleweights center stage around 160%.
Neutral aerial			10% (hit 1), 9% (hit 2, clean), 8% (hit 2, late)	A spinning roundhouse kick. Hits on both sides quickly and can autocancel with a short hopped fast fall. Its first hit also deals powerful knockback, which makes it a viable KOing option offstage or near the edge, as well as a decent combo finisher.
Forward aerial			3% (hit 1), 1.6% (hits 2-4), 5% (hit 5)	Fires five electric blasts in a slow, downward arcing motion. The first four hits drag opponents into the rest of the move using the autolink angle, with the last hit carrying the entire attack's knockback. Dark Samus' main aerial move for both combos and protection. Extremely useful as an edge get-up option or against air dodges due to its multiple hits, and using the move immediately after a short hop can hit opponents with the last hit before Dark Samus lands again.
Back aerial			14% (clean foot), 12% (clean leg), 9% (late)	A back kick. It is fast and deals powerful knockback when sweetspotted, which makes it an excellent KOing option, especially when edgeguarding. When sweetspotted, it is among the strongest back aerials in the game, KOing at around 110% from center stage.
Up aerial			3% (hit 1), 1.3% (hits 2-5), 4% (hit 5)	A diagonal corkscrew flying kick, hitting multiple times. It is her fastest aerial, due to coming out on frame 5. Grounded opponents can be hit by the last hitbox if Dark Samus lands while starting the move in the air, although it is difficult to do so, and risky due to the move's high landing lag. It can be used as a follow-up after a dash attack, grounded up tilt, down aerial, or down throw, all of which can be followed up with another up aerial and/or can be finished off with a Screw Attack. On stages with platforms, it even has potential for a zero-to-death when using a platform to extend the combo.
Down aerial			10% (early, late), 14% (clean)	Swings her Arm Cannon in a downward arcing motion. Hitting with the move's trail meteor smashes opponents, while the edges of the move at the very start and end deal decent horizontal knockback. Autocancels from a short hop, and due to its relatively low ending lag, the meteor smash is excellent for starting combos on grounded opponents, much like her up tilt.
Grab aerial		Grapple Beam	2.5% (hit 1), 4% (hit 2)	Fires the Grapple Beam. A useful spacing option due to having only 8 frames of landing lag. It autocancels from a full hop and has impressive range, being the longest grab aerial in game. In addition to its recovery and spacing capabilities, it is good at setting up combos at close range upon landing, due to its low landing lag. Unlike in previous games, however, hitting an opponent causes the Grapple Beam to retract earlier, while not reducing the move's ending lag.
Grab		Grapple Beam	—	Fires the Grapple Beam. It has impressive range and is tied with Samus's grab as the longest tether grab in the game. However, it is one of the slowest grabs in terms of ending lag, making it very punishable if missed.
Pummel			1.3%	A palm strike. Has moderate damage and speed relative to other pummels.
Forward throw			10%	Twirls the opponent overhead then flings them forward. Although its knockback has been increased, it remains too weak for KOing at realistic percents, unless Dark Samus has rage and is at the edge of the stage.
Back throw			10%	Swings the opponent behind herself. Slightly more effective for KOing and setting up edgeguards than her forward throw, due to its lower launch angle.
Up throw			5% (hit 1), 7% (throw)	Puts the opponent above herself and blasts them upward with her Arm Cannon. Dark Samus's most damaging and strongest throw, possessing enough knockback to KO middleweights under 170% from ground level and without rage. At low percents, it can also combo into an up aerial against large characters, as well as Screw Attack against most characters, though the latter will only connect its hits reliably on a few characters.
Down throw			8%	Swings the opponent high above her head, then slams them onto the ground. A reliable combo starter, with its followups including a dash attack or dashing up smash at low percents, a neutral, back or up aerial up to mid percents, and a forward aerial up to high percents.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Swings her Arm Cannon in front of herself and then fires a blast behind herself.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Performs a low-level roundhouse kick.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Performs a shin kick in front of herself and then a back kick behind herself.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Performs a legsweep while climbing up.
Neutral special		Charge Shot	5% (uncharged), 28% (fully charged)	Charges a ball of energy and fires it. Boasts excellent KO potential when fully charged, and is a useful intercepting move at a low charge. KOs at 70%-110% depending on rage and the opponent's weight and DI. Can be used to break shields if used in conjunction with her neutral attack, up or down tilts, aerials, Bomb and Super Missile. When using her forward tilt to launch the opponent into tumbling, it can set up a guaranteed combo into Charge Shot regardless of the opponent's tech option, as Charge Shot will always catch their tech direction.
Side special		Missile	8% (Homing), 12% (Super)	Fires a Missile, which homes in on the opponent. If the special button is tapped like a smash attack, Dark Samus will instead fire a Super Missile, which stays in place for a short while before traveling in a straight line, and deals more damage and knockback. Both variations deal low knockback, but can be used to break a shield if used in conjunction with a fully charged Charge Shot. Both Missile variations can also be used as set-ups by opening up an opportunity for a grab aerial, or Charge Shot, while the Super variation sets up better for a true combo into a forward jumping Charge Shot at high percentages. The Homing variation is also useful for catching recoveries and forcing air dodges, which can open up punishment opportunities.
Up special		Screw Attack	3% (grounded hit 1), 1% (grounded hits 2-8), 2% (grounded hit 9), 1% (aerial hits 1-12)	Leaps upward to perform a high-speed somersault while discharging energy. Shoots upward if initiated from the ground, while it gains distance slower if started in the air. A useful out of shield option, due to coming out on frame 4 on the ground, and deals good knockback that can KO around 100% while near the upper blast line.
Down special		Bomb	4% (contact), 5% (explosion)	Rolls into a Morph Ball and drops a Bomb, which explodes after a set time. Useful to force an opponent to shield and for edgeguarding, being capable of 2 frame punishes if timed correctly. It can also break shields depending on their health if used along with her up and down tilts or a fully charged Charge Shot.
Final Smash		Phazon Laser	1% (charge loop), 0.5% (fringe loop), 1.5% (main loop), 2% (main loop; point blank, long range), 8% (fringe blast), 10.5% (main blast)	Fires a very large, dark blue energy beam. The beam can be angled vertically during the Final Smash.

On-screen appearance

• Warps onto the stage from a dark portal.

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Taunts

• Up taunt: Hovers up slightly while glowing with Phazon.
• Side taunt: Spins around while glowing with Phazon.
• Down taunt: Crouches down while holding her arm cannon upright. Slightly resembles Samus's taunt in Melee.

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  Dark Samus's up taunt.

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  Dark Samus's side taunt.

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  Dark Samus's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Brings her Arm Cannon down and then pulls it back up.
• Rubs her Arm Cannon with one finger.

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  Dark Samus's first idle pose

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  Dark Samus's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Raises her arm and lowers it in a fist pump pose. Based off of her birth in the secret 100% ending of Metroid Prime.
• Up: Splits from a Dark Echo with an acrobatic cartwheel. They then levitate in a circle around an axis before recombining together. Dark Samus then poses with her free hand on her Arm Cannon, which is pointed upward. The pose resembles Samus' own render in Ultimate and Metroid: Other M.
• Right: Turns toward the camera while glowing with Phazon, then the camera dramatically zooms in, showing two of her eyes. Similar to SA-X's introduction in Metroid Fusion, another clone of Samus.

An intense and sinister variation of the Metroid victory theme.

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In competitive play

Notable players

Active

•  Advo - Placed 7th at Saints Gaming Live 2019, 9th at Guardian I, and 49th at Frostbite 2019. Ranked 4th on the Michigan Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Headshot - Placed 3rd at BackToSchool Gaming Tournament 2019 and 5th at Winter Clash 2020. Has wins over Excel_Zero and EKING.
•  Joker - Uses Dark Samus as a strong secondary. Placed 4th at BIT MASTER MTY 2nd STRIKE and 9th at Low Tier City 7 using Dark Samus as one of his characters. Has taken sets of ESAM, Elegant, and Dakpo.
•  Koyu - Placed 5th at The Ultimate Performance, 9th at Heroes of Dutch Comic Con Spring 2019, and 13th at Elysium: Yggdrasil.
•  RAMBOSS - Placed 33rd at VCA 2019 and 49th at Syndicate 2019.
•  Rawk - Placed 2nd at Save Point: The PA State Championship with wins over Juice, Sandstorm, Kenoca, and Beast.
•  sisqui - Placed 2nd at Tizona, 3rd at Codec Call 4, and 17th at Tech Republic IV. Has wins over MVL, Marcbri, El_Bardo and Pocafeiner.
•  Vizard - The second best Dark Samus player in Mexico. Placed 7th at Guerras Regias!, 9th at BIT MASTER MTY 6, and 33rd at Smash Factor 8.
•  YB - One of the best Dark Samus players in the world. Placed 7th at 2GG: Prime Saga Kickoff, 9th at Karisuma SP 8, and 13th at 2GG: Prime Saga. Has wins over WaDi, VoiD, and yuzu.

Classic Mode: The Great Poison Given Form

Dark Samus' congratulations screen.

Dark Samus faces off against protagonist characters while she is teamed up with dark, evil, or corrupted variants of characters from their series, except for the penultimate battle, which is a free-for-all against Samus and Ridley. The pairing choices reference a time where the fighter was possessed or brainwashed into fighting the protagonist. The name is a reference to the title the Chozo gave to the Metroid Prime experiments and, by extension, Dark Samus herself.

Round	Opponents	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Link	Hyrule Castle	Hyrule Castle (Outside)	Zelda is a CPU ally. Zelda fought against Link when she was possessed by Ganondorf and Malladus in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, respectively.
2	Chrom and Lucina	Arena Ferox	Power-Hungry Fool	Robin is a CPU ally. The future Robin was possessed by Grima and fought Chrom and Lucina in Fire Emblem Awakening.
3	Ryu	Suzaku Castle	M. Bison Stage Type B	Ken is a CPU ally. Ken was brainwashed by M. Bison and became Violent Ken in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos and Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers.
4	Squirtle, Charizard, and Pikachu	Saffron City	Battle! (Team Galactic)	Ivysaur is a CPU ally. Ivysaur is the only one that was not corrupted in its game. It was likely paired with Dark Samus because it is a poison type Pokémon.
5	Mario, Peach, and Daisy	Princess Peach's Castle	Main Theme - Luigi's Mansion (Brawl)	Luigi is a CPU ally. Luigi's battle may refer to Super Paper Mario, where he was brainwashed by Nastasia and became Mr. L, or Mario Tennis Aces, where Luigi is possessed by the tennis racket Lucien.
6	Samus and Ridley	Norfair	Vs. Ridley (Brawl)	This battle is a free-for-all.
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)	On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Dark Samus has Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Dark Samus in World of Light

Dark Samus is absent from the World of Light opening cutscene, though she was vaporized and placed under Galeem's imprisonment alongside the rest of the playable fighters (excluding Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

Dark Samus was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat, and is found in The Final Battle as one of the last fighters under his command. She is one of the few obligatory unlocks, and defeating her leads to a fight with Crazy Hand and the subsequent reveal of Palutena's location.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
04ε		Dark Samus	Grab	12,500	Frigate Orpheon (Ω form)	Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Spirit

Dark Samus's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Dark Samus in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

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  265. Dark Samus

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
278		Mother Brain	Metroid Series	•Dark Samus		9,300	Brinstar Depths (Ω form)	•Energy Output ↑ •Assist Trophy Enemies (Mother Brain)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy favors neutral specials •All fighters' energy attacks have increased power	Escape
282		Zebesian	Metroid Series	•Dark Samus Team (×4)		3,900	Brinstar	N/A	•The enemy's neutral special has increased power	Brinstar (Melee)
295		Gandrayda	Metroid Series	•Dark Samus •Pikachu		1,800	Frigate Orpheon	N/A	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
529		Zekrom	Pokémon Series	•Dark Samus		9,300	Unova Pokémon League (Zekrom only)	N/A	•The enemy's electric attacks have increased power •The enemy favors special moves	Battle! (Reshiram / Zekrom)
771		Gekko	Metal Gear Solid Series	•Giant Dark Samus (×2)		3,800	Shadow Moses Island	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy is giant •The enemy doesn't like to jump	MGS4 ~Theme of Love~
897		Gravity Man	Mega Man Series	•Dark Samus		7,500	Mario Galaxy	•Hazard: High Gravity •Hazard: Low Gravity	•Stamina battle •Gravity is reduced •All fighters have reduced jump ability after a little while	Gravity Man Stage
1,163		Bayonette	Custom Robo Series	•Dark Samus •Samus		1,900	Mushroomy Kingdom (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy's side special has increased power •Stamina battle •The enemy favors side specials	Marionation Gear	Lance
1,419		Helix	ARMS	•Dark Samus		1,600	Frigate Orpheon	•Tiny •Giant	•The enemy is giant after a while •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Ditto)	DNA Lab

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
1,348		Kloster (Grief)	DAEMON X MACHINA	•Tiny Snake •Giant Samus (×2) •Giant Dark Samus		9,500	Frigate Orpheon (hazards off)	•Attack Power ↑ •Item: Shooting Types	•The enemy has increased attack power after a little while •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Mechanical Rhythm	Kloster

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Dark Samus's splash art.

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  Dark Samus's fighter card.

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  Dark Samus's unlock notice.

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  Dark Samus's amiibo.

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  Charging a forward smash on the Great Plateau Tower.

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  Dark Samus with a fully charged Charge Shot on Great Bay.

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  Dark Samus using her grab aerial on Palutena's Temple.

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  Dark Samus using her forward aerial on Dark Pit on Gerudo Valley.

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  Dark Samus standing beside Lunala on Spirit Train.

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  Dark Samus's purple costume on Lylat Cruise.

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  Dark Samus's Morph Ball.

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  Dark Samus and Chrom on Skyloft.

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  Dark Samus kneeling next to her Bomb on Bridge of Eldin.

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  Dark Samus in Minecraft World.

Trivia

• Dark Samus, alongside Little Mac and Isabelle, is one of the three playable characters who initially appeared as Assist Trophies in previous installments prior to becoming playable.
  • Out of these, she is the only one to be an Echo Fighter.
• Dark Samus is the second character to be cloned from a female (in this case, Samus), with Daisy being the first.
• Much like Daisy's base fighter, Peach, having had Daisy-based alternate costumes in all of her previous appearances, Dark Samus's base fighter, Samus, had a Dark Samus-based color scheme in Smash 4. This color was removed in Ultimate, likely to make it easier to distinguish Samus and Dark Samus. This scenario is similar to Ike's loss of his Chrom-inspired alternate color scheme following the character's inclusion in the roster come Ultimate. Incidentally, all of these characters are echo fighters.
• Dark Samus, following Diddy Kong, is the second non-Japanese character to be playable in Smash Bros., and she is the first character in the series that was created by an American developer, Retro Studios.
• Dark Samus is the second playable female villain, the first being Wendy.
• Dark Samus's Final Smash resembles Samus's fully charged Phazon Beam while in the Hyper Mode of her PED Suit in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
• Just like fellow Metroid newcomer Ridley, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate marks Dark Samus's first playable appearance.
  • Dark Samus also marks the first time the Metroid series has a playable Metroid.
• According to Sakurai's weekly Famitsu column, Dark Samus was added due to her popularity overseas, while Chrom was added due to his popularity in Japan.
• Dark Samus is the only Echo Fighter who is a villain, as the rest of the Echo Fighters are either heroes or, in Dark Pit's case, an anti-hero.
• While Dark Samus normally has a different idle stance from Samus, she will assume Samus's idle stance briefly after using an animation directly borrowed from Samus (such as any attack excluding her dash attack, smash attacks, special moves, Final Smash, or flinching in any way). This is similar to other echo fighters, though unlike the other examples (save for Simon and Richter) Dark Samus does not revert to her parent character's idle stance when holding a small item.
  • On a similar note, despite floating to move around, Dark Samus still runs when carrying heavy items such as a crate, which is possibly an animation carryover from Samus. She additionally uses Samus animations when walking/running off a platform.
• All of Dark Samus' Arm Cannon-based moves (except for down tilt, up smash and forward aerial) alter the Arm Cannon to match the color of her "visor" and armor highlights.
• Dark Samus is the only character who is not a member of the "Original 12" to be placed on the top row of the character selection screen.
• Dark Samus is one of two characters in Ultimate who shares another character's star KO voice clip (in her case, Samus's), the other being Dr. Mario, who has Mario's star KO voice clip.
• If Dark Samus is firing a shooting item, such as a Ray Gun or Fire Flower, or wielding a Daybreak and is moving around with it, the sounds of her walking can be heard despite the fact that she floats while holding it. This is possibly due to an oversight.
• Dark Samus, along with Samus, Mr. Game & Watch, and Pac-Man, are the only fighters who do not emit red-flashing eyes in the spirit battle preview screens in World of Light.
• In French and German, the name tag and voice clip from the announcer on the victory screen is different from the one used on the character select screen; in the former, the announcer pronounces her name in more sinister way (akin to the English and Dutch versions), while the latter featuring a noticeable translation of "the" (die Dunkle Samus).
• Dark Samus' description on the North American amiibo website is based on her Super Smash Blog entry.