"" (Japanese: ソリッド・スネーク ''Soriddo Sunêku'') is the main character in the ''
Metal Gear ''
Video Game Series . He is a mystery and myth to much of the world. He is a highly trained, elite
Soldier with a personal preference for
Parachuting ,
Husky Racing ,
SCUBA Diving ,
Free Climbing ,
Rappelling , small and medium range
Handguns (though well-versed in all types of munitions), and various
Hand-to-hand Combat techniques. Snake is also an avid
Smoker ; he is seen smoking
Cigarettes on numerous occasions when not under player control. He can use cigarettes during his missions, principally to detect laser wires.
He is voiced by
Akio Otsuka in the
Japanese releases of the
''Metal Gear Solid'' Series , and by
David Hayter in the
English releases.
Hideo Kojima based Solid Snake on a number of different characters, including
Snake Plissken from the
Film ''
Escape From New York ''.
Snake's real name, , which was revealed in the original '''', he uses the alias '''Iroquois Pliskin''', which is a reference to Snake Plissken. The name "Iroquois" has a double meaning. The
Iroquois were a confederacy of Native American tribes headquartered in New York. The word "Iroquois" was also a
Huron word meaning "Black Snake," although this may have been considered an insult.
''Metal Gear 2'', set in ''. This may be false.
After a largely non-playable appearance in '''', in which he will once again be the main character.
According to the ''Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'' instruction manual, he was 178 cm tall and weighed 75 kg (roughly 5 ft 10 1/2 in, 165 lb) during the Zanzibar Land incident and is of mixed Japanese and British descent. In ''Metal Gear Solid'', it was revealed that Solid Snake shares distant ancestry with
Vulcan Raven (Raven mentions that "Inuit and Japanese are cousins to one another.")
In the ''MGS4'' TGS 2005 trailer, Snake is 182 cm tall and weighs 83 kg (roughly 6 ft, 183 lb) according to the personal info provided by Otacon's Mk. II.
Snake was born as a result of the ''
Les Enfants Terribles '' project, which was an attempt to create the perfect soldier by
Cloning the "Greatest Warrior of the 20th Century,"
Big Boss . During the Shadow Moses Island incident,
Liquid Snake was under the impression that he "was inferior one", having been granted the supposedly "flawed" recessive genes, whilst his brother received the "superior" dominant genes, hence his resentment towards Solid Snake during their confrontation and his believing himself to be "garbage from the day (he) was born," the leftovers of what they had used to create his brother, "the Legend," Solid Snake. In truth, it is revealed that Liquid is indeed the "superior" clone rather than Snake, although neither one are aware of the truth. This is revealed in a conversation between Ocelot and the President (Solidus) at the end of the original ''Metal Gear Solid''. In the Japanese book, ''Metal Gear Solid naked'', Kojima states on page 65 that neither clones are genetically superior or inferior in the traditional sense, as the technology to modify a gene's phenotype did not exist during the
1970's .
Details of his early life are largely unknown, the only clue being Snake's own comment that he was "raised by many people." In
1991 , Snake infiltrated western
Iraq during the
Gulf War with a
Platoon of
Green Berets . Not much else is implied about this other than Snake saying: "I was just a kid myself back then..."
Snake's career was notable enough that in
1995 , he was recruited into the Special Operations group
FOXHOUND as a
Commando . Still a rookie, he was chosen to infiltrate the heavily fortified independent state of
Outer Heaven near South Africa, rescue his fellow operative
Gray Fox and other prisoners and destroy a new super weapon called Metal Gear. Unbeknownst to Snake, his superior who ordered him into Outer Heaven, Big Boss, the commander of
FOXHOUND , was behind the uprising and actually counting on Snake's inexperience to lead him towards failure.
Using all of his training and abilities, Snake managed to destroy Metal Gear and defeat Big Boss. After the
Outer Heaven incident, Solid Snake decided to leave
FOXHOUND . He was then scouted by the
CIA and spent six months as a deep cover agent before he was dissatisfied with the system and left. He then became a mercenary for hire. Earning enough money, he went into semi-retirement in the
Alaskan wilderness.
In
1999 , Snake's former commander,
Roy Campbell , recalled him for another operation in Central Asia in
1999 . Snake's mission involved deposing the rising dictator of
Zanzibar Land , who turned out to be none other than
Big Boss himself, and had command of another
Metal Gear tank
Metal Gear D . The former
FOXHOUND agent
Gray Fox was found to be working with
Big Boss as well.
Snake destroyed Metal Gear D and defeated Gray Fox in a brutal fist fight in the middle of a minefield. He then confronted Big Boss, who was awaiting near the Detention Camp's exit. The match to the death between the two occurred and Snake emerged victorious over his former commander.
As Big Boss was being burned alive from the makeshift flamethrower Snake created, Snake felt as if he killed his own father. It was only after he returned to base that he learned the truth. After the Zanzibar Land incident, Snake returned to North America and retired to the Alaskan wilderness retreat, Twin Lakes, to try to forget his war-torn past and recover from post-traumatic stress disorder (
PTSD ) which often led him to
Hallucinations and feelings of guilt. Snake decided to take up
Dog Sledding in order to help take his mind off of such things. He owns 50
Huskies and had been participating in the
Iditarod .
In ,
Sniper Wolf ,
Vulcan Raven ,
Decoy Octopus ,
Psycho Mantis , and their leader,
Liquid Snake .
Along the way, Snake periodically teamed up with
Meryl Silverburgh , and
Hal "Otacon" Emmerich ,
Metal Gear REX 's designer. His support crew included his former commanding officer Campbell, data analyst
Mei Ling , weapons expert
Nastasha Romanenko and FOXHOUND's medical chief of staff
Dr. Naomi Hunter .
Snake was successful in infiltrating the facility. He managed to neutralize all members of the
FOXHOUND unit except for
Revolver Ocelot , and was successful in destroying the
Metal Gear REX prototype. However, Snake was implanted with the
FOXDIE retrovirus as part of his mission objective without his knowledge. The virus was originally scheduled to kill Snake after he completed his mission. However, Naomi Hunter, who implanted the virus into Snake, changed the program and altered the incubation period to a wildcard value. Liquid, who was identical to Snake in the genetic level, was killed by the virus, confirming that Snake himself was still vulnerable to the virus at any random moment.
After the incident, Snake went into deep hiding with Meryl and no longer saw any reason to risk his life for his goverment again. They eventually parted ways (perhaps leading to Snake's chronic
Alcoholism "I was held up in Alaska, drinking too much."), and Snake would return to action later with Otacon as a means of "fighting for a future." The two worked to create the first anti-Metal Gear political group, an
NGO called "Philanthropy." They have since gained official
United Nations recognition. This lead to the destruction of countless Metal Gears all over the world's
Industrialized Nation s.
In 2007, Snake and
Otacon , needing photographic proof that the
U.S. Marine Corps were developing a new amphibious
Metal Gear , proceeded to
New York City , following an anonymous tip (that was later revealed to had come from
Emma , Otacon's stepsister) that a ship carrying a new
Metal Gear prototype was scheduled to travel through the
Hudson River .
Almost immediately following Snake's successful insertion onto the vessel, the ship was taken over by
Gurlukovich Mercenaries . As the mercenary group was about to take
Metal Gear RAY ,
Revolver Ocelot betrayed
Sergei Gurlukovich and took the prototype to an unknown location.
During the sinking of tanker a cypher owned by the Army took photographs of Snake invading the tanker (After he tranquilized Olga) and then released the images to the media, implicating Snake in the attack. Framed for the terrorist act, Snake was believed to have been killed during the incident, and his body was buried (it was actually the body of his ''twin brother'', Liquid Snake).
In 2009, during an incident at the
Big Shell , Solid Snake turned up (under the guise of Iroquois Pliskin), and assisted alleged FOXHOUND operative
Raiden in rescuing hostages and discovering the plot of former President George Sears, who reveals himself to be
Solidus Snake , the third "son" of Big Boss, brother of Solid and Liquid Snake and the one who ordered Ocelot to steal Metal Gear RAY. As the leader of the Sons of Liberty, Solidus was working to overthrow a mysterious underlying force that drives the United States' government called
The Patriots .
The real reason Snake went to the Big Shell was to uncover a new type of Metal Gear constructed underneath the treatment plant known as
Arsenal Gear . The entire incident was orchestrated by the Patriots from the start as part of the
S3 Plan , with the exception of Snake's actual presence. Instead, Snake only got involved due to the information that was leaked to him and Otacon by Ocelot (under Liquid's influence).
With
Olga Gurlukovich 's help (whom Snake rescued during the Tanker incident), Snake used Raiden as a decoy to infiltrate Arsenal Gear itself and replaced the MO Disk containing the identities of the Wisemen's Committee in Raiden's possession with a fake one. He helped Raiden neutralize an entire battalion of Tengu Commandos, before being captured by
Fortune . However, Snake broke free (after Arsenal Gear's AI System broke down) and chased after the awakened Liquid when he took off with Metal Gear RAY. He was unable to capture Liquid/Ocelot, but still retained the MO Disk.
At the end of this mission, Snake began looking into who the Wisemen's Committee were and how Ocelot was involved. Otacon tells Snake about the Patriots information on the disk. Otacon discovers that the Wisemen had been dead for about 100 years, leaving them both in utter confusion.
On '', their upcoming
PlayStation 3 title, at the
Tokyo Game Show as part of their ''Metal Gear Saga'' presentation. The setting of the game is unknown, as the trailer only states that ''Metal Gear Solid 4'' is "X years" or "several years" (the Japanese subtitles translated into english means "Several years after the Big Shell incident") after the Big Shell incident. In the trailer, Snake is shown suffering from a what appears to be a respiratory illness after collapsing to the ground in a coughing spasm, which he stops with the use of an immediate injection of medicine into his jugular vein, hinting that his health will play a vital role in the game. This unknown illness could be a long-term result of his constant tobacco use. Another possibility is that the FOXDIE virus, which was set by Naomi Hunter to manifest at a random time, has begun to take effect.
Also of note is the fact that Snake is shown wearing a monitor-equipped
Eyepatch , called the Solid Eye System, which gives him enhanced vision (providing him with information about hostiles and vehicles), continuing the motif of eye-patch wearing Snakes in the series. The two preceding ones are
Solidus Snake in ''Metal Gear Solid 2'', and
Naked Snake (
Big Boss ) in ''Metal Gear Solid 3''. Solid Snake's eyepatch covers his left eye, making him more similar to Solidus than Big Boss in this respect, and he wears the patch for the technological advantage. Snake has not lost his left eye, as the card for the Solid Eye System in
Metal Gear Ac!d&2 says that the Solid Eye System is equipped with a retina laser; thus; he has to have an eye to use the Solid Eye System.
In this game, Snake is clearly suffering from accelerated aging, a result of the cloning process which gave birth to him. Big Boss was cloned in his late 50's. Having been cloned from the aged cells of Big Boss, it is therefore likely that imperfections in his genes led to a decreased lifespan.
The
Kanji -like symbol on Snake's sneaking suit is called an ''Otakon'' (オタ魂), which is a
Portmanteau of Otacon's name with the kanji character (''kon'' or ''tamashii'') for spirit; beneath it is the phrase "to let the world be". The symbol is Otacon's personal
Logo and will appear on equipment designed by him.
Also worth mentioning, is Otacon's conversation with Snake. Otacon says to Snake: "Didn't you quit?" to which Snake replies: "Nah, just found a light." Apparently, in spite of his ill health, Solid Snake still smokes.
In addition to the games belonging to the ''Metal Gear'' canon, Solid Snake has also served as the protagonist of the various related side games set outside the series' main continuity. While Snake's roles in these side-stories are not taken into account in the main canon, his general backstory and appearance remains relatively similar in these games.
In the events depicted in the non-canonical ''
Snake's Revenge '' (which serves as an alternate sequel to the first ''Metal Gear''), Solid Snake is sent to an undisclosed hostile nation in order to investigate rumors of a new Metal Gear being developed. He is referred by the
Military Rank of
Lieutenant , and "Solid Snake" is apparently his real name. Snake is placed in command of a FOXHOUND squad consisting of himself and three other members, John Turner (a former Navy operative), Nick Myer (a former Marine) and Jennifer (a double agent). He discovers that not only is the enemy is constructing mass-produced units of the original "Metal Gear 1" model, but that a new prototype known as "Metal Gear 2" is being developed at the heart of the main base. Ultimately, Snake is forced to complete his mission alone when "Turner" is revealed to be an imposter, Myer is killed in action and Jennifer is taken captive when her cover is blown. Snake accomplishes his mission: he defeats the enemy commander (who is revealed to be Big Boss), saves Jennifer and destroys Metal Gear 2 before the countdown all in one.
Unlike the usual portrayal of Solid Snake (excluding ''Guns of the Patriots''), this incarnation wields a knife in combat which is already in his possession at the beginning of the mission (which the player can use as a substitute for the standard punch). In ''MGS2'', when Snake hands out the high-frequency blade to Raiden, Snake makes the comment that he is not "a fan of blades" as his reasoning for not using the blade himself. This comment has been interpreted by fans as an attempt to distance the canonical version of Snake from the ''Snake's Revenge'' version of the character, although in ''MGS3'' Naked Snake (the young Big Boss) uses a survival knife, as does Solid Snake in the upcoming ''MGS4''.
Snake's appearance in ''Snake's Revenge'' was modeled after the likeness of
Arnold Schwarzenegger .
handgun.]]
In the continuity followed by continuity), Ronard "Weasel" Lensenbrink (a mercenary) and Brian McBride (Director of African Affairs for the CIA).
His initial objective to rendezvous with the
Delta Force team sent to recover Gander from the Galuade. When he arrives there however, he discovers from Delta Force operative Chris Jenner, that the team has been wiped out by Black Chamber and that she is apparently the only survivor. Snake cooperates with Chris and with her help, he defeats the members of Black Chamber and destroys Gander. In the end, Snake learns from General Eguabon that Outer Heaven was actually a
CIA -funded mercenary dispatching company for "clients" and that Snake's involvement in its downfall was staged in order to eliminate its renegade leader, Big Boss. It is also revealed that Gardner, the NSA advisor who authorized Snake's mission in Galuade, was also the former
DCI who funded Outer Heaven and its succeeding project, Project Babel.
After defeating the General and Black Chamber leader, Black Arts Viper, in battle, Snake leaves Gindra with Chris via a jeep, as he vows to return to the U.S. to fight against Gardner and Parker.
with Raiden and Naked Snake in the background.]]
In the events depicted in ''
Metal Gear Ac!d '', Snake is chosen to infiltrate the Lobito Physics and Research Laboratory when Commercial Flight 326 is hijacked with an important candidate for U.S. presidential election on board: Viggo Hatch. His objective is to retrieve "Pythagoras", which the hijackers demand.
Solid Snake suffers through an identity crisis through most of his mission. A turn of events makes him doubt his real identity when Dr. William L. Flemming (the true identity of Gary Murray) identifies him as Hans Davis, his co-worker at the lab.
Snake is almost controlled by his "Hans" personality, when he discovers he was never Hans Davis in the first place. This is actually the work of Alice (No. 16) who wanted Snake all for herself as a mindless puppet, as he was the so-called "role model" of the children in the Ritual of Conjuration and the closest thing she had to a father figure, along with Flemming. By introducing ACUA into his metabolism via the CHAIN system in his sneaking suit remote medical administration, Alice managed to make Snake recall false memories of his time as Hans. However, he breaks free to fight against the new Metal Gear model, KODOQUE. He is ultimately successful in destroying the new Metal Gear and foiling Flemming's plot.
At the end, Snake talks to Teliko about mountain climbing, and both agree to do this activity together.
rifle.]]
In the events ''
Metal Gear Ac!d&2 '' (which continues from the events of ''Metal Gear Ac!d''), it is assumed that the "real" Solid Snake died after the Lobito Island incident (the real Snake's ultimate fate is unknown). During that time, SaintLogic took posession of Solid Snake's body and made a clone using a fusion of cells and data. Created as a Model 3 test subject, the clone was dubbed "Snake" by Lucinda Koppelthorn, his creator. During the same time, Metal Gear Chaioth Ha Qadesh was created in order to control the Model 3 test subjects.
However, during the time Lucinda visited Serena to gather data on the Model 2 test subjects, they became unstable and started to kill various civilians. In order to kill off the Model 2s, SaintLogic sent Snake and other Model 3 test subjects to clean everything up. Secretly, however, Lucinda Koppelthorn had ordered Snake sent in, himself a rogue Model 3, and she was later killed for her treachery.
After losing his memory, Snake remained in the Serena Republic, assisting the local Resistance Force in overthrowing General Delgado's regime and installing the democratically elected Perez as the new President. However, when President Perez is assasinated by Escobar, a
Drug Lord with influences within the Western government, Snake and his crew (Roddy Louiz, Consuela Alvarez and Dave Copeland) are framed for Perez's death and placed under arrest by FBI. Snake is coerced into action by FBI agent Dalton to infiltrate SaintLogic Labs located on an isolated North American in order to gather evidence of illegal experiments conducted by the company.
