Thread:Reddish010/@comment-30861466-20171006201338/@comment-35235206-20171006231624

Like I said, Ridley's role varies across the series. The only time he actually acts as a secondary antagonist is in Super Metroid. In the Metroid Prime series, he's one of the main antagonists alongside the Metroid Prime/Dark Samus and in the original Metroid, he's a miniboss on the same level as Kraid.

Something that's also disputed is who exactly is the leader of the Space Pirates. Some sources, such as the manuals for Zero Mission and Super Metroid, as well as the official manga, state that Ridley is the general of the Space Pirates while Mother Brain is a biological computer that controls Zebes' defenses. Other sources state that Mother Brain is the leader while Ridley is her attack dog. And some other sources seem to suggest that the leaders of the Space Pirates is an unseen "High Command".

To me, Ridley's role across the series is too vague or varied to be specifically described overall.