Haha...comedy.
Well before we start a war, I'd just like to announce that my copy of Metroid Fusion came in today! What? You're not excited? Well humor me for a second.
I'm really liking it, and it's quite incredible how well it ties into Other M--Nintendo and Team Ninja really did a great job with tying things together.

There's a part of me that wants a new Metroid game set when Samus was enrolled in the Federation Army. Partly because I personally think that would be a lot of fun. Mostly to watch the Metroid fandumb go into COMPLETE meltdown.

@Raylax
Wow, that would be awesome! Great idea! and maybe you could play Anthony or another soldier in certain parts.
Of course, it would also have to be very cinnematic.

You know, I thought about that as well, but I just don't see a whole lot of great gameplay opportunities. That seems like the sort of thing that would be best suited for, as much as I hate them, a manga or something. And I think I like having the majority of Samus' past be mysterious. How she deals with the issues at hand has always struck me as being much more interesting.

That's just it-there's no concrete proof of anything. James is blamed on circumstantial evidence. The Deleter story arc completely petered out. So that long after the ending we're still guessing. For all we know the Deleter could be K.G. Misawa and Anthony just iced him in self defense before kicking him into the lava. There's also inconsistencies for where the Deleter is at times suggesting to there being more than one Deleter. It's an interesting idea to leave it unsolved so we'll never know, but I would've liked to see some real facts at the end.

I'm still guessing it's Anthony. Just because the marine who shot Maurice didn't have a Plasma Beam doesn't mean it wasn't him for sure. He might have been recharging it at a save station somewhere. Maybe Adam Malkovich didn't authorize him to carry it into Sector 2. At the end I'm not sure why Anthony reveals himself. Could be because his secret mission ended with the arrival of the Federation. Still I find it hard to believe that the Federation didn't kill Anthony because of a superior authority. These are criminals, they don't care about authority. They care about not going to space prison. They wouldn't have let Anthony walk away unless he was their man.

I don't know if anyone else mentioned it, but The Deleter had a faded "07" on his helmet, and it's identical to the one on James'. I'd say that right there is enough proof.

Off Topic: Noice I gotta do another run of Fusion soon, Other M has really got me on a Metroid binge. Over this past day I've completed my first Zero Mission Normal 100% run at 3:53 then ran another to get another and got 100% in 1:38....I guess I've now gotta get better at Hard mode.

OT: I'm also pretty tempted to run another Normal file of Other M, first Normal file I didn't get the final ending with 100% so I intend to get that done!

Nobody's still guessing. Have you beaten the game? Your post makes it seem like you haven't yet. Because if you actually beat the game and see the final scene I don't think there's any way you could think that he's the deleter.

Wait a minute! This is the thread of spoilers! Which means I can spoil anything I want. But, just a warning, I'm about to ruin the final scene if you haven't beaten the game.

Okay...

So in the last scene there's this happy little reunion between Madeline Baker (that's her name, right? It's something like that) Samus and, surprise, surprise, Anthony. They all board Samus' ship and ride happily into the sunset (or whatever the space equivalent of a sunset is). Later they meet back at the Galactic Federation headquarters and have a really tender moment together. Do you really think Nintendo would have made the most lovable character in the game, who always sticks up for Samus, the killer?

Bergman.

@pixelman
THANK YOU! I could not think of that name. It was really bothering me
Off topic: I'm on a Metroid binge as well. I beat Super Metroid, I beat Other M 100%, I bought and beat Zero Mission 100%, I bought and beat Metroid 1 for the NES and I'm currently playing through Prime and Fusion...
help...me

Do you seriously think I'd help a man who forgets the name of Bergman, a name you absolutely can't forget if you're a fan of Casablanca, and therefore must be grouped with all non-fans who are my mortal enemies?

_{...sorry, i'm done now.}

I'm actually really disappointed with Other M, in retrospect. I think it's mainly because you never have an entirely free reign to explore in the game, contrary to Super Metroid. The locked doors really are annoying me and are making me not want to bother beating it 100%. And when I think about it, acquiring "new" weapons/suits/etc. was pretty unsatisfactory compared to Super Metroid, as there was absolutely no sense of discovery or accomplishment: "Samus, you're about to die again. Use your Ice Beam!"

I was also pretty disappointed with the final bosses. I didn't feel any nostalgia for Metroid Queen (having not played Metroid 2), the MB fight was crazy lame, and well, the Space Octopus just felt tacked on.

I honestly had the most fun playing the game during the middle, when I wasn't really powerful, the areas were unfamiliar, and the story was still mysterious.

I'm still going to try to beat it 100%, and I'll probably replay the game, but words cannot describe how annoyed I am with the post-game locked doors. It's an absolutely idiotic design choice. >.<

SAMUS: Play it Anthony. For old times' sake. Play 'As Time Goes By'.
[Anthony beings playing piano]
ANTHONY (singing): You must remembah me...

@pix: The locked doors? The only one of any relevance is the elevator in the main sector that forces you to go through sector 2 to get to the main elevator. It's really not a huge hindrance when going for 100% - you should just make sure you get all the power-ups in the main sector, then sector 2, then wherever you want so that you don't have to backtrack all the way.

@Kid A: I know what you mean. In the past couple months I've beaten Metroid 3 or 4 times and Super Metroid, like, 7 or 8 times.

The locked doors pissed me off too. I was like, "duuude, be more like Super Metroid." But once I returned to the Bottle Ship, I realized that all the "locked" doors were just a result of me not exploring enough. Like NotEnoughGolds said above me, the locked elevator in the main sector is really the only locked door. And the only reason its locked is to make you open up the power bomb doors and go through Sector 2 to get back to the main sector.

I liked the locked doors
It forced you to think creatively to get around them
Reminded me a lot of Fusion.

90% of the doors in super metroid are locked when you begin... other m isn't necessarily that much more linear. my only complaint is that the game locks some areas up behind you so you can't get back in for a while, i don't know why it's necessary but it's probably meant to keep you from wandering off track and getting lost. either way, it never bothered me that much, possibly because i'm the type that can never leave anything behind the first time through.

Other than the faded "07," there's also the point that Samus herself basically said that she knew Anthony well enough to know that he would never turn traitor. Also, that Federation group knew that if they had simply killed Anthony there, Samus would've killed them all.

Not even a 07 on his helmet. He can't be the deleter! :3

@chicken: thank you for making my day.

@romulux: heck I know about the doors in SM, but each and every one can eventually be opened manually with a power up, and near the end of the game you can go absolutely wherever you want to, without restriction. In Other M, I'm never really given a completely free hand to explore, and that annoys me. I realize you can work around it, but simply knowing I'm restricted kills the fun for me. I mean dammit, it's not like Adam's still around authorizing and deauthorizing shiz.

The deleter is Samus. Every time she distracts the player with a lengthy flashback, she goes and kills somebody.

You actually might have a point