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It is eventually revealed that he was in fact the medic and Big Boss's best MSF soldier, who was on board the chopper during the ''Ground Zeroes'' mission and helped extract the bombs from Paz. After suffering horrible injuries protecting Big Boss from an explosion, Cipher performed plastic surgery and memory alteration to make him a BodyDouble who could throw Skull Face off Big Boss's trail if need be. At the start of ''The Phantom Pain'', Ocelot and Big Boss activate him to serve as a decoy while the original Big Boss begins building [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 the nation of Outer Heaven]].
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It is eventually revealed that he was in fact the a medic and Big Boss's best MSF soldier, who was on board the chopper during the ''Ground Zeroes'' mission and helped extract the bombs from Paz. After suffering horrible injuries protecting Big Boss from an explosion, Cipher performed plastic surgery and memory alteration to make him a BodyDouble who could throw Skull Face off Big Boss's trail if need be. At the start of ''The Phantom Pain'', Ocelot and Big Boss activate him to serve as a decoy while the original Big Boss begins building [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 the nation of Outer Heaven]].
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* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Regardless of how far he's fallen, he's still the lesser evil to [[BigBad Skull Face]].
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* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Regardless of how far he's fallen, he's still the lesser evil to [[BigBad Skull Face]]. And in many ways, the original Big Boss, and exploited his own loyal soldier to serve as a BodyDouble.
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* {{Revenge}}: He is apparently out to exact it against Cipher (including Snake, whom he tells Chico that he goes way back with) for an unknown reason. [[spoiler: Turns out, he's utterly obsessed with wiping out Big Boss' and Zero's orgnisations for their treatment of him, real or imagined, and he had no qualms about killing every other English-speaker he meets in the process.]]
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* {{Revenge}}: He is apparently out to exact it against Cipher (including Snake, whom he tells Chico that he goes way back with) for an unknown reason. [[spoiler: Turns out, he's utterly obsessed with wiping out Big Boss' and Zero's orgnisations organisations for their treatment of him, real or imagined, and he had no qualms about killing every other English-speaker he meets in the process.process, in order to realise his plan of turning English into a BrownNote and distributing nukes, therefore ensuring peace through isolating cultures and mass nuclear deterrence.]]
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* ShroudedInMyth: His unit, XOF, is evidently shrouded in mystery - even the Marines that were present when he personally visited Camp Omega have no idea who he is or what his unit stands for. [[spoiler: It doesn't stand for anything: it's the reverse of FOX. As Miller eventually learns, XOF used to work for NATO like Zero, until everything fell apart.]]
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* ShroudedInMyth: His unit, XOF, is evidently shrouded in mystery - even the Marines that were present when he personally visited Camp Omega have no idea who he is or what his unit stands for. [[spoiler: It doesn't stand for anything: it's the reverse of FOX. As Miller eventually learns, XOF used to work for NATO like the CIA as a secret unit under Zero, until everything fell apart.]]
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* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: If slaughtering hundreds of innocent civilians and narrowly killing Snake on multiple occasions didn't convince you how evil they were, remember, while Skull Face was the one who ordered them to, the soldiers were technically the ones who sexually and physically tortured Paz and Chico.
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* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: If slaughtering hundreds of innocent civilians and narrowly just barely not killing Snake on multiple occasions didn't convince you how evil they were, remember, while Skull Face was the one who ordered them to, the soldiers were technically the ones who sexually and physically tortured Paz and Chico.
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* ShroudedInMyth: His unit, XOF, is evidently shrouded in mystery - even the Marines that were present when he personally visited Camp Omega have no idea who he is or what his unit stands for.
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* ShroudedInMyth: His unit, XOF, is evidently shrouded in mystery - even the Marines that were present when he personally visited Camp Omega have no idea who he is or what his unit stands for. [[spoiler: It doesn't stand for anything: it's the reverse of FOX. As Miller eventually learns, XOF used to work for NATO like Zero, until everything fell apart.]]
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* {{Revenge}}: He is apparently out to exact it against Cipher (including Snake, whom he tells Chico that he goes way back with) for an unknown reason.
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* {{Revenge}}: He is apparently out to exact it against Cipher (including Snake, whom he tells Chico that he goes way back with) for an unknown reason. [[spoiler: Turns out, he's utterly obsessed with wiping out Big Boss' and Zero's orgnisations for their treatment of him, real or imagined, and he had no qualms about killing every other English-speaker he meets in the process.]]
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* BadassNormal: Despite being an unarmed, otherwise unremarkable individual, he's the only reason why Snake manages to make it out of the hospital, fending off a heavily-armed force of XOF soldiers and The Man On Fire.
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* BadassNormal: Despite being appearing to be an unarmed, otherwise unremarkable individual, he's the only reason why Snake manages to make it out of the hospital, fending off a heavily-armed force of XOF soldiers and The Man On Fire.
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** He spouts a BondOneLiner when Ahab asks him whatever happened to the woman trying to assassinate him, something Naked Snake was noted to be quite found of doing.
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He was in fact a medic and Big Boss's best MSF soldier, who was on board the chopper during the ''Ground Zeroes'' mission to help extract the bombs from Paz. After suffering horrible injuries protecting Big Boss from an explosion, Cipher performed plastic surgery and memory alteration to make him a BodyDouble who could throw Skull Face off Big Boss's trail if need be. At the start of ''The Phantom Pain'', Ocelot and Big Boss activate him to serve as a decoy while the original Big Boss begins building [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 the nation of Outer Heaven]].
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* DeusExitMachina: [[spoiler: Absconds with a helicopter as the last missions unlock, and going to rescue her triggers the mission that removes her from your party for good. Presumably so you can't just sit back and let her devastate everything with a Brennan.]]
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* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Dr. Constantinou bares an [[https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Ev1vXAYx--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1444667700066491938.jpg uncanny resemblance to Italian Neurosurgeon: Dr. Canavero]].
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* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Dr. Constantinou bares an [[https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Ev1vXAYx--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1444667700066491938.[[https://cdn.gamerant.com/wp-content/uploads/Metal-Gear-Solid-5-Canavero-Doctor.jpg.optimal.jpg uncanny resemblance to Italian Neurosurgeon: Dr. Canavero]].
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* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Dr. Constantinou bares an [[https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Ev1vXAYx--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1444667700066491938.jpg uncanny resemblance to Italian Neurosurgeon: Dr. Canavero]].
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* EliteMook: By far the most dangerously competent powerless mooks in all of ''Metal Gear''.
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* EliteMook: By far the most dangerously competent powerless mooks in all of ''Metal Gear''. Justified as they were once FOX's counterpart.
* EvilCounterpart: To FOX. As they were once FOX's support unit, their training likewise mirrors FOX's. Using subterfuge, they were able to infiltrate the MSF Motherbase and demolish it. In a way, we get to see what its like to be on the opposing side of FOX's infiltration and sabotage tactics.
* EvilCounterpart: To FOX. As they were once FOX's support unit, their training likewise mirrors FOX's. Using subterfuge, they were able to infiltrate the MSF Motherbase and demolish it. In a way, we get to see what its like to be on the opposing side of FOX's infiltration and sabotage tactics.
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* FaceHeelTurn: They were once the support unit of FOX, acting as FOX's shadow (hence why their name and logo are the inverse). They did anything from dropping needed intel and supplies to support FOX's missions, to cleaning up after said FOX's missions. But after the dissolution of FOX, they became a more private strike force for Cipher, before Skull Face took them and turned them against Zero.
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* FaceHeelTurn: They were once the support unit of FOX, acting as FOX's shadow (hence why their name and logo are the inverse). They did anything from dropping needed intel and supplies to support FOX's missions, to cleaning up after said FOX's missions. But after the dissolution of FOX, they became a more private strike force for Cipher, before Skull Face took them and turned them against Zero.
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* FaceHeelTurn: They were once the support unit of FOX, acting as FOX's shadow (hence why their name and logo are the inverse). They did anything from dropping needed intel and supplies to support FOX's missions, to cleaning up after said FOX's missions. But after the dissolution of FOX, they became a more private strike force for Cipher, before Skull Face took them and turned them against Zero.
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* TheAce: Even after a 9 year coma, he's still the greatest soldier of the 20th century. He was also Big Boss's best MSF operative - and thus the perfect candidate for becoming Big Boss's phantom.
** If anything, the reveal that he is the Medic from Ground Zeroes is an added layer of badass: he actually ''wasn't'' the greatest soldier of the 20th century. '''''At first.'''''
* AntiHero: Though he is fighting the evil Skull Face, [[PetTheDog and he thinks the world of his men]], he's still a war criminal torturing non-combatants, stealing nuclear weapons and employing ChildSoldiers.
** If anything, the reveal that he is the Medic from Ground Zeroes is an added layer of badass: he actually ''wasn't'' the greatest soldier of the 20th century. '''''At first.'''''
* AntiHero: Though he is fighting the evil Skull Face, [[PetTheDog and he thinks the world of his men]], he's still a war criminal torturing non-combatants, stealing nuclear weapons and employing ChildSoldiers.
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* TheAce: Even after a 9 year coma, he's still the greatest soldier of the 20th century. He was also Big Boss's best MSF operative - and thus the perfect candidate for becoming Big Boss's phantom.
** If anything, the reveal that he is the Medic from Ground Zeroes is an added layer of badass: he actually ''wasn't'' the greatest soldier of the 20th century. '''''At first.'''''
* AntiHero: Though he is fighting the evil Skull Face, [[PetTheDog and he thinks the world of his men]], he's still a war criminal torturing non-combatants, stealing nuclear weapons weapons, and employing ChildSoldiers.
* Brainwashing: Is subject to hypnotherapy to act like and believe he is Big Boss.
* CloneByConversion: How he becomes "Venom Snake". After saving Big Boss by jumping between him and a bomb going off, the medic is given plastic surgery to look like Big Boss, and undergoes hyponotherapy to act like and even fully believe he is Big Boss (which initially works decently well given Venom's brain trying to heal itself, but was incomplete due to XOF attacking the hospital before the therapy course was completed).
* CloningBlues: Averted. His hyponotherapy is effective enough that, even after learning that he isn't the "real" Big Boss, he takes it in stride and prepares for the next mission.
* CloningBlues: Averted. His hyponotherapy is effective enough that, even after learning that he isn't the "real" Big Boss, he takes it in stride and prepares for the next mission.
* LossOfIdentity: His original persona died in the helicopter crash in 1975, as the hypnotherapy he received to turn him into Big Boss's doppleganger was through enough that he retained the "Big Boss" personality even after regaining some of his original memories and realizing he was a copy.
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* MeatgrinderSurgery: In ''Ground Zeroes'', he conducts one on Paz to remove the bomb from her body. Given that they don't know when it'll go off, he's forced to do so without anaesthetic. All the while, Paz is fully conscious and screaming in agony.
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* MeatgrinderSurgery: In ''Ground Zeroes'', he conducts one on Paz to remove the bomb from her body. Given that they don't know when it'll go off, he's forced to do so without anaesthetic. All the while, Paz is fully conscious and screaming in agony. All he could do was have Big Boss and Chico hold her down to minimize her struggling interrupting the removal.
** TruthInTelevision: Justified. Former Army Medic here. Given the time sensitive nature of trying to remove a bomb, there was no time to apply pain killers (the medic mentions this), so he did all he could do and that was have the others hold her down. We had a saying as medics: "Pain is the patient's problem.".
** TruthInTelevision: Justified. Former Army Medic here. Given the time sensitive nature of trying to remove a bomb, there was no time to apply pain killers (the medic mentions this), so he did all he could do and that was have the others hold her down. We had a saying as medics: "Pain is the patient's problem.".
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* MeaningfulName: Uh, do we really have to explain [[CuteMute this]] [[CaptainObvious one?]]
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* {{Expy}}: Some fans have drawn a few parallels between Skull Face and SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker, particularly his incarnation from ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' and the eponymous ''{{ComicBook/Joker}}'' graphic novel. That [[spoiler:the audio tapes, particularly the one with Skull Face detailing his backstory can be likened to one of Joker's infamous "[[EveryScarHasAStory scar stories]]" and the fact that he's a WildCard playing against ''both'' Snake and Cipher]] doesn't help one bit.
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* {{Expy}}: Some fans have drawn a few parallels between Skull Face and SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker, ComicBook/TheJoker, particularly his incarnation from ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' and the eponymous ''{{ComicBook/Joker}}'' graphic novel. That [[spoiler:the audio tapes, particularly the one with Skull Face detailing his backstory can be likened to one of Joker's infamous "[[EveryScarHasAStory scar stories]]" and the fact that he's a WildCard playing against ''both'' Snake and Cipher]] doesn't help one bit.
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* BadassGrandpa: He was ''63'' when he took Solid Snake, who was in his prime, on in ''Metal Gear 1'', and yet the battle is canonically regarded as the most brutal and difficult fight Solid Snake ever endured in his career.
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* OldSoldier: He was ''63'' when he took Solid Snake, who was in his prime, on in ''Metal Gear 1'', and yet the battle is canonically regarded as the most brutal and difficult fight Solid Snake ever endured in his career. All this is because of his years of combat experience that hardened him into Big Boss.
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* FinalSpeech: [[spoiler:Once he realizes that his plans are brought to ruin, Skull Face rants to himself that although he will be written out of history, he has at least passed on his philosophy down to his adversaries who will go on to create the bleak future that defines ''Metal Gear Solid''.]]
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* FinalSpeech: [[spoiler:Once he realizes that his plans are brought to ruin, Skull Face rants to himself that although he will be written out of history, he has at least passed on his philosophy down to his adversaries adversaries, who will go on to create the bleak future that defines ''Metal Gear Solid''.]]
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A prisoner held at the black site during the "Destroy the Anti-Air Emplacements" mission. A member of MSF's Intel team, Kaz dispatched him to gather intel on the facility, only to be caught and forcibly interrogated. He can be rescued by Big Boss, in which he'll rejoin Diamond Dogs after Mission 12 in "The Phantom Pain" under the codename "Bitter Centipede".
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A prisoner held at the black site during the "Destroy the Anti-Air Emplacements" mission. A member of MSF's Intel team, Kaz dispatched him to gather intel on the facility, only to be caught and forcibly interrogated. He can be rescued by Big Boss, in which case he'll rejoin Diamond Dogs after Mission 12 in "The Phantom Pain" under the codename "Bitter Centipede".
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* DoomedByCanon: [[MetalGear1 Solid Snake]] [[ForegoneConclusion kills him in Outer Heaven]].
* TheDragon: To the ''original'' Big Boss, aka Ishmael.
* TheDragon: To the ''original'' Big Boss, aka Ishmael.
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* DoomedByCanon: [[MetalGear1 He's the Big Boss Solid Snake]] [[ForegoneConclusion Snake kills him in the heart of Outer Heaven]].
Heaven at the end of ''VideoGame/MetalGear1''.
* TheDragon:To He's the most trusted subordinate of the ''original'' Big Boss, aka Ishmael.Ishmael, and eventually begins leading Outer Heaven when the other Big Boss is leading FOXHOUND back in the US.
* TheDragon:
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-->'''Skull Face:''' [[spoiler:Cipher will rewrite the records... And I will vanish from human memory. But... The thirst for revenge that I have ''will infest the system!'' No one'' can stop it now! Sahelanthropus will unleash that thirst unto the future! Major... '''I'M BURNING UP!!!''']]
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-->'''Skull Face:''' [[spoiler:Cipher will rewrite the records... And I will vanish from human memory. But... The thirst for revenge that I have ''will infest the system!'' No ''No one'' can stop it now! Sahelanthropus will unleash that thirst unto ''unto the future! future!'' Major... '''I'M BURNING UP!!!''']]
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* FinalSpeech: [[spoiler:Once he realizes that his plans are brought to ruin, Skull Face rants to himself that although he will be written out of history, he has at least passed on his philosophy down to his adversaries who will go on to create the bleak future that defines ''Metal Gear Solid''.]]
-->'''Skull Face:''' [[spoiler:Cipher will rewrite the records... And I will vanish from human memory. But... The thirst for revenge that I have ''will infest the system!'' No one'' can stop it now! Sahelanthropus will unleash that thirst unto the future! Major... '''I'M BURNING UP!!!''']]
-->'''Skull Face:''' [[spoiler:Cipher will rewrite the records... And I will vanish from human memory. But... The thirst for revenge that I have ''will infest the system!'' No one'' can stop it now! Sahelanthropus will unleash that thirst unto the future! Major... '''I'M BURNING UP!!!''']]
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* UndignifiedDeath: He goes out [[spoiler: crushed under a radio tower, having his arm and leg blasted off by his own gun by Snake and Miller, and pathetically begging for a MercyKill]].
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* UndignifiedDeath: He goes out [[spoiler: crushed under a radio tower, having his arm and leg blasted off by his own gun by Snake and Miller, and pathetically begging for a MercyKill]].MercyKill, which ends being given to him by Huey]].
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* VillainousBreakdown: Shows signs of this when [[spoiler:Sahelanthropus goes out of control and he begins to realize that he'll be written out of history. After a brief moment detailing how part of his plot had already succeeded, he goes on to berate Major Zero in spirit before being crushed by the very same mech he commissioned. Trapped under a collapsed radio tower, his full breakdown begins once Snake and Miller confront him in this miserable state, begging them to put him out of his misery. They respond by blowing most of his limbs off with his own Mare's Leg, then deliberately deprive him of a quick death by leaving him there.]]
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* VillainousBreakdown: Shows signs of this when [[spoiler:Sahelanthropus goes out of control and he begins to realize that he'll be written out of history. After a brief moment detailing how part of his plot had already succeeded, he goes on to berate Major Zero in spirit before being crushed by the very same mech he commissioned. Trapped under a collapsed radio tower, his full breakdown begins once Snake and Miller confront him in this miserable state, begging them to put him out of his misery. They respond by blowing most of his limbs off with his own Mare's Leg, then deliberately deprive him of a quick death by leaving him there. He then begs Huey to kill him, and Huey complies, shooting him in the head in the name of revenge.]]
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** Additionally, their voice lines are the exact same for the PF soldiers you fight in FOB mode and "Retake the Platform".
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* DoesNotLikeShoes: His attire completely excludes any footwear.
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* DoesNotLikeShoes: His attire completely excludes any footwear.DoesNotLikeShoes
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* WellIntentionedExtremist: His hometown was destroyed and left him as the last surviving trace of his people, including their history and language; [[spoiler:while having suffered servitude to Zero for some time, when he learns that Cipher's plans for the vocal cord parasites would involve the outright eradication of some cultures and their languages, he takes control of the situation, subjecting Zero to a FateWorseThanDeath before turning Cipher's plan on its head. He still fails with the rest of his plan to "liberate" the world, though. Which is probably good, since he was going to turn the entire English language into a BrownNote.]]
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* WellIntentionedExtremist: His hometown was destroyed and left him as the last surviving trace of his people, including their history and language; [[spoiler:while having suffered servitude to Zero for some time, when he learns that Cipher's plans for the vocal cord parasites would involve the outright eradication of some cultures and their languages, he takes control of the situation, subjecting Zero to a FateWorseThanDeath before turning Cipher's plan on its head. He even admits to Venom Snake and Zero that his entire plan is just ''his'' version of realizing The Boss' will. He still fails with the rest of his plan to "liberate" the world, though. Which is probably good, since he was going to turn the entire English language into a BrownNote.]]
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* TheFaceless: He was covered in bandages for 9 years so no one would be able to recognize him. His full face isn't shown at any point during his appearance in ''Ground Zeroes'' either, being at least partially obscured by either camera angels or bits of scenery at all times.
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* TheFaceless: He was covered in bandages for 9 years so no one would be able to recognize him. His full face isn't shown at any point during his appearance in ''Ground Zeroes'' either, being at least partially obscured by either camera angels or bits of scenery at all times. On the photo where he poses alongside Big Boss and Miller, he wears a balaclava.
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* [[MalevolentMaskedMen Malevolent Masked Man]]: Wears a domino mask in ''The Phantom Pain''.
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* [[MalevolentMaskedMen Malevolent Masked Man]]: MalevolentMaskedMan: Wears a domino mask in ''The Phantom Pain''.
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* MotiveRant: Skull Face gives a tremendously long one when Snake finally confronts him, explaining what motivates him to [[spoiler:exterminate the English language]].
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This page is for characters in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain''. Due to wiki policy, this page contains '''numerous unmarked spoilers'''.
For other characters in the franchise, see the ''Metal Gear'' character index at Characters/MetalGear.
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!!Characters in ''Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes''
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Skull Face]]
[[quoteright:280:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skull_face.png]]
[[caption-width-right:280:''"Hatred never goes away; it makes a man hideous, inside and out."'']]
->'''AKA:''' XO, A Ghost without a Past
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/TakayaHashi (Japanese), James Horan (English)
-->''"So? Do you see me now? Tell me, what do you see? Hm? You have eyes; what do your eyes see? Yes. That's right, you see a '''skull face'''. You see '''me'''. This skull is who I am, my mark, my proof of humanity. I have no country, no language. I have no face - but I haven't lost my '''skull'''."''
An elusive individual with a horrifically scarred face. He claims to have a history with Snake, and seems to have a grudge against the Patriots. He leads the Spec-Ops organization XOF, and is the mastermind behind Camp Omega.
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* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: A cutscene where he's seen in broad daylight shows he has bluish-white skin. Subverted in that this is most likely a result of his [[BodyHorror severe chemical burns.]]
* AnimalsHateHim: The minute he shows up at Camp Omega, the [[AngryGuardDog guard]] [[EvilDetectingDog dogs]] start barking and snarling viciously at him.
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:In the end, his plans all fall to ruin, himself horribly maimed, unceremoniously killed, and then finally wiped from history. He deserved ''all'' of it, though.]]
* BadassBaritone: Both his English and Japanese [=VAs=] give Skull Face a deep, menacing tone.
* TheBadGuyWins: It's shown that both he and XOF managed to bring MSF down with relative ease at the end of ''Ground Zeroes'', and all signs indicate that the group didn't face any serious opposition until nearly a decade later in ''The Phantom Pain''.
** While he [[spoiler:fails in achieving [[{{Dystopia}} his actual goals]], he does however succeed in satisfying his own personal desires — namely taking vengeance on Zero by causing [[FateWorseThanDeath the condition]] he appears in during [=MGS4=], as well as passing on [[StrawNihilist his philosophy]] down to Venom Snake, Psycho Mantis, Diamond Dogs, and even Cipher, which in part leads to the birth of Outer Heaven and the bleak setting of Metal Gear Solid.]]
* BaitTheDog: Giving Chico a Walkman after throwing him in the prison initially seems like a nice thing to do for a guy that threw the kid in the brig. However, when Snake actually listens to the tape, it's audio from the tortures of Chico and Paz. Not quite the best for comfort music.
** This is his usual means of subterfuge; Code Talker specifically states that "Skull Face shakes your hand like a friend, and then uses the other hand to control you like a puppet".
* BaldOfEvil: Not a single strand left on that grotesque dome.
* BeenThereShapedHistory: According to background materials, while working as a free agent in the Eastern Bloc, Skull Face was the one who assassinated Josef Stalin in revenge for subjugating Hungary and trying to stamp out the Hungarian language. He then defected to Britain where he met [[spoiler: Major Zero]].
* BigBad: Of ''Metal Gear Solid V'' (both ''Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes'' and ''Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain''). He's the leader of XOF and the Skulls unit that antagonize Snake in ''Metal Gear Solid V'', [[spoiler: wanting to destroy MSF and defeat Big Boss, then take over Cipher from Zero in order to halt Cipher's plans for cultural imperialism and implement his own plans.]]
* BodyHorror: He's CoveredInScars, and overall looks like he's ''rotting''.
* BreakThemByTalking: Along with some torture. In fact, almost all of his dialogue in ''Ground Zeroes'' is composed of this trope.
* CardCarryingVillain: He admits to dwelling "in the dark," and unashamedly calls himself a demon on multiple occasions.
* TheChessmaster: His plan is to deliver a crushing blow against MSF and pin the blame on Cipher, leading the two to destroy one another. Beyond that, [[spoiler:his actual attack on Mother Base is quite complex with many layers and angles to it, but also very well planned and executed.]]
* ChewingTheScenery: Best shown when [[spoiler: Eli and Tretij hijack Sahelanthropus]]:
-->'''Skull Face''': Who is doing this? Such a lust for revenge! ''[[LargeHam WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!]]''
* CoatHatMask: Constantly wears a thigh-length coat, a cowboy hat, and, in ''The Phantom Pain'', a black domino mask.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Delivers, quite possibly, the most horrifying example in ''Metal Gear'' history.
* CoolGuns: He uses a Mare's Leg, a sawed-off lever action rifle.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:At the end, he's shot several times at point blank range with his Mare's Leg, blowing off the limbs Miller lost. Snake and Miller leave him to die a slow, agonizing death, but is eventually capped in the head by Huey.]] This event also doubles as a [[LaserGuidedKarma Laser-Guided]] KarmicDeath.
* CursedWithAwesome: The sheer damage that he's taken inhibits any sort of pain directed at him. Of course, this comes with the price of looking like he does.
* DefectorFromDecadence: He rebelled against Cipher, despite working for the organization for decades.
* {{Determinator}}: As evil and twisted as he is, he has endured a shit ton of stuff, which hasn't slowed him down in the slightest.
* DeterminedDefeatist: He has lost everything, face included, yet continues for some (currently unknown) reason.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler:Sort of. Though he dies at the end of Chapter 1, he's still the main villain of the MGSV duology.]]
* DidntSeeThatComing: [[spoiler:His plan falls apart because Tretij is more allied with Eli than him, which causes him to activate Sahelanthropus too early and badly wound Skull Face.]]
* DragonWithAnAgenda: He was Cipher / the Patriots' top enforcer, before he discovered Cipher's plans and decided to destroy the organization and all they cared about (including former members like Big Boss) rather than allow their "perfect world" to come to pass.
* DrivenByEnvy: [[spoiler:The reason he hates Big Boss and Cipher so much; he was once part of Big Boss' hidden support staff, and watching Big Boss become more and more of a famous hero while he was forced to remain in the shadows by Cipher increasingly grated on him. His rebellion is motivated at least mostly by his anger at being AlwaysSecondBest by design.]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: All of ''Ground Zeroes'' counts for this - his motivations are only hinted at.
* EnemyMine: {{Defied|Trope}}. When Paz asks him if he'd kill Zero for her, he bluntly responds "Not for ''you''."
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: A retroactive example - see "Bait the Dog".
* EverythingsDeaderWithZombies: He sure looks like one with his seemingly rotting flesh.
* EvilCounterpart: Of Snake. Both are crack operatives that have a considerable amount of influence over the people that work for them. As Snake finds himself SlowlySlippingIntoEvil, he becomes the ''eviler'' counterpart. Furthermore, both have horrific and tragic pasts, but even when Snake fell, he was never completely consumed by the darkness.
** Going a step further, the final trailer for the game details his background over footage of a changing and ''increasingly bloody'' Big Boss.
** Given the end-game twist, Skull-Face has more parallels with [[spoiler:Venom Snake than the real Big Boss. Both men were robbed of their original identities as a result of a tragic event and whereas Skull-Face is faceless, Venom is literally living with another man's face.]]
* EvilIsHammy: ''Very'' fond of dramatic language and gesturing. He just keeps getting hammier as the story rolls on.
* EvilIsPetty: Ultimately? His plan is just [[spoiler:twisted payback at Zero, because he's mad at a black project Zero might not have even gone through with.]] Not to mention the fact that he orchestrated the attack on [=MSF=] purely because [[spoiler: he was jealous of Big Boss]].
* EvilPlan: In ''Phantom Pain'', his plan is as follows:
** Step One: [[spoiler:Create easy-to-make nuclear weapons that he can stop from detonating, and distribute them around the world with the Metal Gears needed to fire them. Not only would this upset the global balance of power, but it would also put most of the nukes in the world under Skull Face's control, no matter who has them.]]
** Step Two: [[spoiler:With everyone afraid of the nukes, release an infectious parasite that only becomes fatal when its host speaks the English language. By "liberating" the world from English, a new global language will be created: One composed of Metal Gears and nukes. Then there will be peace through mass nuclear deterrence.]]
** Plan B: [[spoiler:Kill everyone.]]
* EvilSoundsDeep: He has a deep, gravely voice.
* EvilWearsBlack: From top to bottom. He really seems to invoke the classic "cowboy villain".
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He's a monster and [[CardCarryingVillain he knows it]], but even he finds [[spoiler:Huey Emmerich]] loathsome, to the extent that when he discovers that they had been in contact with Diamond Dogs, he angrily pushes him down the stairs. Also implying that [[spoiler: he finds Huey to be more petty than ''him'' [[AtLeastIAdmitIt of all people]]]].
-->'''Skull Face''': I may dwell in the dark, but I ''refuse'' to be judged by ''your'' standards, traitor!
* {{Expy}}: Some fans have drawn a few parallels between Skull Face and SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker, particularly his incarnation from ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' and the eponymous ''{{ComicBook/Joker}}'' graphic novel. That [[spoiler:the audio tapes, particularly the one with Skull Face detailing his backstory can be likened to one of Joker's infamous "[[EveryScarHasAStory scar stories]]" and the fact that he's a WildCard playing against ''both'' Snake and Cipher]] doesn't help one bit.
** His outfit - noted to be Old West-styled by the marines at Camp Omega - also appears to be a ShoutOut to the dark clothing worn by Creator/LeeVanCleef in his films from Sergio Leone's ''Dollars'' westerns. Telling, given Van Cleef was notorious for playing bad guys. Some of the released Shinkawa art following the game's debut also appear to show an ''intact'' (i.e. not burnt and scarred) Skull Face looking near exactly like Van Cleef, including the distinctive cheekbones, nose and moustache.
* FacialHorror: His nose is crooked, he sports a Glasgow smile, and his entire face is one huge disfiguring burn scar.
* FateWorseThanDeath: People he knew before the incident regarded his disfiguring as this. In fact, when he was first wounded, he overheard a nurse outside of his hospital room actually stating that he'd be better off dead.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Is one of the most polite, well spoken, and horrific villains to ever grace the ''Metal Gear'' series.
* FeelNoPain: The sheer amount of damage he's taken seems to have included even severe, permanent nerve damage, inhibiting his ability to feel any sort of pain.
* ForegoneConclusion: He states that his goal is to create someone else like him. Someone that only lives for the sake of revenge. [[DoomedByCanon Canon indicates that]] [[TheBadGuyWins he succeeds]] [[FallenHero with Snake]]; which is starkly indicated by Big Boss's cynical perceptions on war and the ultimate ignoble fate of soldiers detailed in his speech to Solid Snake in Zanzibarland.
* FreudianExcuse: As much of a monster as he is, his past is pretty horrifying.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He went from being an ordinary child in a third-world country to a significant threat to both Snake and Cipher.
* GlasgowGrin: He has a pair of gashes upon his lips, among his many other scars.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: An antagonist with disfiguring scars covering his entire face. A far cry from the thin ones the protagonist, Snake, sports.
* HealingFactor: Never comes up in-game, but in one of the cassette tapes [[spoiler:explains that he had parasite therapy after his face was burned. In another tape, he claims the rest of his body, too, got burnt several times, but the parasites kept him alive.]]
* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
** In one of the cassette tapes, it turns out that [[spoiler:in attempting to create more strains of the vocal cord parasite, he became infected by the strain that responds to his native Hungarian tongue. He doesn't take it well when Code Talker figures this out.]]
** Upon [[spoiler:his defeat, Snake and Miller use Skull Face's own lever-action rifle to blow off most of his limbs.]]
** This is actually the source of his evil plan. [[spoiler: Zero planned to use vocal parasites to steal language from their enemies. So, he made one to infect Zero, and all who speak Zero's tongue.]]
** His inferiority complex-driven sacking of Mother Base is directly responsible for his downfall. If he had restrained his sadistic tendencies and let Big Boss retrieve Paz and Chico unmolested and simply focused on Zero, it is likely he would have succeeded at his goals.
* ICannotSelfTerminate: After [[spoiler:being crushed by a radio tower, he begs Snake and Miller to finish him off. Instead, they blow off his arm and leg as revenge for his destruction of [=MSF=] and leave him to die slowly... only for Huey to finish Skull Face himself.]]
* ILied: In ''Ground Zeroes''. [[spoiler: After promising to spare Big Boss if Paz tells him where Zero is, Skull Face immediately goes back on his word and destroys MSF]].
* {{Irony}}: Skull Face's motivations and their results are full of irony. He despises English and yet is fluent enough to have a massive monologue about why he despises that language, and his attempts to destroy English and American imperialism (as well as Zero) ultimately help the Patriots control the world further through the things he hates, thanks in no small part to [[spoiler:poisoning Zero.]]
* InformedAbility: He's stated to be Big Boss' equal as a soldier, to the point that Zero considered [[spoiler: him a worthy candidate to complete Operation Snake Eater if Snake himself could not.]] However, we never see him actually fight, and he loses his cool the second his plan starts to go off the rails.
** He's more of an espionist than a soldier, if the lack of serious combat gear is any indication. However, we don't get to see the extent of his abilities as a cleaner/fixer/spy, but we're told that he was the one who dealt with the cleanup at Groznylgrad after Snake blew up everything important.
* {{Jerkass}}: Let's just come right out with it: even at his "[[FauxAffablyEvil nicest]]", Skull Face is an inhuman bastard with ''no'' redeeming qualities whatsoever.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: It's revealed in background materials that he started out exacting revenge on those who wronged him and his Hungarian homeland. But whatever shred of humanity or decency he had back then is long gone.
* KeystoneArmy: Averted. [[spoiler:Killing him does ''nothing'' to destroy XOF, let alone Cipher altogether. Also a ForegoneConclusion as in time, Cipher is subsumed into the Greater Scope Villain: The Patriots.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Does this to [[spoiler:Huey, leaving him to Venom Snake after he learns about his attempts to double-cross them.]]
** [[spoiler:Winds up being on the receiving end of this after his defeat, with Miller and Venom Snake taking vengeance on him in the most ''[[LudicrousGibs agonizing]]'' and surprisingly therapeutic way possible after all Skull Face has done, leaving him to bleed out and suffer as they did. He attempts to reach for his weapon to end himself and fails, but is eventually shot in the head by Huey.]]
* KickTheDog: He asks Chico how it feels to be a traitor to MSF, after [[ColdBloodedTorture the torture he put him]] [[ForcedToWatch and Paz through]] in order to make him talk. In the post-credits scene of ''Ground Zeroes'', [[spoiler:he mocks Paz for her attempt at a {{heroic sacrifice}}, saying that it wasn't going to "change the world" as she had hoped.]]
* KlingonPromotion: [[spoiler:Does this to ''Zero'', thereby causing his vegetative condition and [[TheCoup subsequently taking control]] of most of Cipher and its nearly limitless resources.]]
* LackOfEmpathy: Shamelessly revels at his own depraved habits with minimal subtlety, periodically engaging in KickTheDog moments for whatever reason.
* LastOfHisKind: Established in the interrogation tape.
-->''"When my time came calling, I didn't die. My family died, my country died, but they didn't take me with them. All Hell took from me was this skin, this outer peel that marked me human."''
* LeaveBehindAPistol: A variation; [[spoiler:after exhausting most of the ammo from his gun, Venom and Miller leave him with the weapon and a single bullet just out of reach, telling him that if he wants a quick death, he'll have to do it himself. However, Huey proceeds to kill him while the two aren't looking.]]
* [[MalevolentMaskedMen Malevolent Masked Man]]: Wears a domino mask in ''The Phantom Pain''.
* MeaningfulName: Just look at his face and you'll see that his name fits. He even tells people that that's all that people see in him after his skin was burned off.
* MysteriousPast: Subverted over time. When first introduced he mentions "Your Boss (Snake) and I go way back.", and his country of origin is only hinted at. Following the player's infiltration of OKB Zero, [[spoiler:Skull Face actively reveals that he and his unit had served as Big Boss's backup / shadow ever since [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Operation Snake Eater]], which is further embellished in audio tapes, Skull Face's background as a Hungarian and assassin of Josef Stalin being revealed in addition to other tidbits]].
* NameFaceName
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: He probably has one of the least subtle names of any of the antagonists in ''Metal Gear''.
* NewOldWest: Troops at Camp Omega note that he has the mannerisms of a cowboy, and his later appearance with an appropriate hat, boots with spurs, and a domino mask only reinforce this. He even carries a Mare's Leg (a sawed-off lever-action rifle) as his WeaponOfChoice.
* NiceHat: He may be a horrible human being, but his hat is awesome.
* NoOneShouldSurviveThat: On the interrogation tape:
-->''"At the infirmary they carried me to, a nurse in the corridor saw me and remarked, as if it happened every day: 'They should let the poor thing die.' Those are the only words of my mother tongue I remember."''
* NonActionBigBad: He doesn't actually engage in combat in ''Ground Zeroes'', [[TheUnfought nor is he fought in that game]]. [[spoiler:The same is true in ''Phantom Pain''. The reason is a design choice by Kojima, by depriving the player the opportunity to personally hurt and kill Skull Face, Kojima was trying to point out that [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty revenge when accomplished leaves an empty feeling]]. Having Skull Face die in a cutscene and the negative reaction by players was intended.]]
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Despite being implied [[spoiler:and eventually confirmed]] to be Hungarian, he speaks with a flawless American accent. [[JustifiedTrope Justified, as he's supposed to be a master spy who has worn numerous identities over his career]]. Learning to speak multiple languages without any accent is one of the requirements for the job.
* ObviouslyEvil: He's [[BaldOfEvil bald]], covered in disfiguring scars, and dresses in black; at no point could Skull Face ''ever'' pass for a good guy.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: His real name is unknown, and he identifies himself as being simply a "Skull Face."
* OrderVersusChaos: Represents chaos to Cipher's order, wishing to create a fractured world of retaliation rather than a united one under Cipher control.
* PetTheDog: The closest he gets to this, is when he executes the unnamed African Villager in the Devil's house. Unlike ''every'' other moment, he seems genuinely respectful, and sincere in his words, and gratitude, and then proceeds to MercyKill him with his Mare's Leg.
* PoisonousPerson: It doesn't come up in-game, but one of the cassette tapes [[spoiler:suggests his work with the vocal cord parasites have infected him with ''every'' language strain except for the English one. Another cassette tape explains that Skull Face's body was burnt after his death, because the parasite was still living in his cells.]]
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Like [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker Hot Coldman]] before him, he has no qualms against [[spoiler:pushing [[GeniusCripple Huey]] down the stairs, though [[EvenEvilHasStandards he possibly had a legitimate reason]] [[KickTheSonOfABitch for doing so]]]].
* ProfessionalKiller: When he was younger, Skull Face traveled around the Eastern Bloc, murdering anyone who had anything to do with the conquest of Hungary and the subjugating of the Hungarian language. One of his victims included Josef Stalin and after poisoning the dictator, Skull Face defected to the west and found a new employer, [[spoiler:Zero.]]
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: [[spoiler:He physically abuses Paz and it is implied that he raped her. It's also heavily implied that he forces [[RapeByProxy Chico to have sex with her]] so he could play voyeur.]]
* ReassignedToAntarctica: After Zero finds out about Skull Face's role in attacking Mother Base and putting Big Boss in a coma, he has Skull Face banished to Africa.
* RememberTheNewGuy: He's apparently been serving with the FOX unit and Cipher since [[spoiler:''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'']], despite never being introduced in any of the games before ''MGSV''. [[spoiler:Deconstructed, in that his facelessness is a big part of his envy for Snake.]]
** We also [[spoiler:never hear about him in canonically ''later'' games. Naturally, this is because the character hadn't even been conceived yet, but in-universe it's also perfectly explained as [[{{Unperson}} Skull Face being written out of history]] by [[FridgeBrilliance the Patriots]], which is a fear he admits just before his death.]]
* {{Revenge}}: He is apparently out to exact it against Cipher (including Snake, whom he tells Chico that he goes way back with) for an unknown reason.
* {{Ruritania}}: Skull Face can be heard issuing the command "Vigyétek a ketrecébe!" in one of Chico's tapes; the phrase is Hungarian and, since the language is uncommon outside of Europe, it's probable he hails from Hungary or somewhere near the country. [[spoiler:A tape however confirms this, revealing that Hungarian is his native tongue, though thanks to being infected with a parasite strain that targets Hungarian, he can no longer speak it to his own despair.]]
* SadisticChoice: Issues this to Paz. Choose Snake or Zero, only one side of the conflict can be saved. [[spoiler:Paz ultimately gives away Zero's location. Made that much worse in that after Paz gives him a complete and extremely detailed description of where Zero is, he immediately proceeds with his plan to kill Snake.]]
* ShadowArchetype: To both Big Boss, as the BigBad to the FallenHero who turns into the BigBad, and Ocelot. He and Ocelot are both TortureTechnician examples of foreign-born American agents with a flair for cowboy costumes and weaponry. The difference is that Ocelot arguably became TheLancer/TheDragon to a better man than he was and gained UndyingLoyalty to his cause, while Skullface became a full-on DragonAscendant and devolved in TheUnfettered to such an extent that he overreached himself and fell.
* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: His WeaponOfChoice is a Mare's Leg.
* ShroudedInMyth: His unit, XOF, is evidently shrouded in mystery - even the Marines that were present when he personally visited Camp Omega have no idea who he is or what his unit stands for.
* SkullForAHead: As his name would indicate.
* SoftSpokenSadist: When torturing people one-on-one, he often talks politely while putting them through pain.
* StrawNihilist: He believes in the concept of hope... But only because, in his eyes, almost all hope is based upon superficial qualities, but it helps him survive.
* TaughtByExperience: He displays historical awareness of other series villains, and [[spoiler:actively denies Huey the chance to implement an A.I. system in Sahelanthropus, citing that as "Coldman's mistake" ten years ago. This is because he wants ''his'' finger on the nuclear trigger when his plan's implemented, not a Fail-Deadly A.I. system]].
* TortureTechnician: Especially in ''Ground Zeroes''. Counting the audio logs, the only scene where he ''isn't'' heard torturing anyone is the opening sequence - and even then, he casually mentions that he tortured Paz.
* UndignifiedDeath: He goes out [[spoiler: crushed under a radio tower, having his arm and leg blasted off by his own gun by Snake and Miller, and pathetically begging for a MercyKill]].
* UnknownRival: [[spoiler: To the original Big Boss, having served as his begrudging backup since the events of Snake Eater. Big Boss evidently never learns about him until after his coma, and since it's Venom that ultimately takes him out, Big Boss never really acknowledges the rivalry]].
* {{Unperson}}: One of his biggest fears [[spoiler:as revealed just before his death. Not only is his body burnt afterwards due to still hosting parasites, but it's implied that whatever traces of his life that still remained are in time erased thanks to the Patriots.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:His intentions at getting even with Zero, removing him from power and causing him a FateWorseThanDeath, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain winds up leading to]] '''the Patriots''' [[NiceJobFixingItVillain superseding his organization]], a group ''notorious'' for manipulating language, [[{{Irony}} which it almost succeeds at completely dominating society by doing just that]].]]
* UsedToBeASweetKid: He implies that he was a perfectly normal kid before his village was bombed and he was scarred.
* VillainBall: He picked a fight with MSF/Big Boss, despite it being completely unnecessary for his plans, simply to satisfy his ego. Big Boss' interference with his plans leads directly to his downfall.
* VillainousBreakdown: Shows signs of this when [[spoiler:Sahelanthropus goes out of control and he begins to realize that he'll be written out of history. After a brief moment detailing how part of his plot had already succeeded, he goes on to berate Major Zero in spirit before being crushed by the very same mech he commissioned. Trapped under a collapsed radio tower, his full breakdown begins once Snake and Miller confront him in this miserable state, begging them to put him out of his misery. They respond by blowing most of his limbs off with his own Mare's Leg, then deliberately deprive him of a quick death by leaving him there.]]
** He gets another one as heard in one of the cassette tapes. [[spoiler:He loses his cool when Code Talker figures out why Skull Face is so hell-bent on finding out how to stop the symptoms of the vocal cord parasites from manifesting. The reason for this is because in attempting to create more strains of the vocal cord parasite, Skull Face became infected by the strain that responds to ''his'' own mother tongue: the Hungarian strain that responds to the Szekelys dialect.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: His hometown was destroyed and left him as the last surviving trace of his people, including their history and language; [[spoiler:while having suffered servitude to Zero for some time, when he learns that Cipher's plans for the vocal cord parasites would involve the outright eradication of some cultures and their languages, he takes control of the situation, subjecting Zero to a FateWorseThanDeath before turning Cipher's plan on its head. He still fails with the rest of his plan to "liberate" the world, though. Which is probably good, since he was going to turn the entire English language into a BrownNote.]]
* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: His voice and accent are different depending on his interrogation subject(s). Also there's a scene where he's issuing orders to soldiers in a softer tone of voice, and then when he's done he switches back to his usual gravely tone. Of course, he might be doing this deliberately. It is later revealed that his natural accent is Hungarian.
* WhoNeedsEnemies: See EnemyMine above.
* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: A villainous variant that is delivered in a post-credits scene (and one of the audio files) - about the song "Here's to You", of all things.
--> '''Skull Face''': Your favorite song... Nicola, Bart - immigrants wrongly executed... But their deaths served as a message to others: that ours is a society that murders the innocent. [[spoiler:Do you, too, believe that your sacrifice will change the world?]]
* WouldHitAGirl: He hits Paz when she objects to his plans, [[spoiler:and even strips and belt-whips her, possibly even raping her.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: He has no problem with torturing Chico for information. [[spoiler:He even puts screws in his feet to keep him from going anywhere.]]
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: While he's monstrous, Skull Face has suffered monstrously. Listening to him talk about his motivation to ensure his people live on through him, and his nihilistic version of hope that nevertheless keeps him alive, you might be moved to pity.
* WorthyOpponent: Seems to hold Snake in high regard, telling Chico he knows Snake is going to rescue Chico, regardless of him knowing it's a trap, because he knows Snake is a good man. He also quotes him on a number of occasions.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:XOF]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/249922_cpmpanda_metal_gear_solid_xof_logo.jpg]]
An enigmatic but powerful military organization under Skull Face's command. Several soldiers are seen following Skull Face throughout Camp Omega in the intro to ''Ground Zeroes'', and they serve as primary antagonists in ''The Phantom Pain'' later on.
----
* AlwaysABiggerFish: XOF troops are tauntingly dangerous and extremely powerful antagonists in the prologue of ''Phantom Pain'', and the game builds their role in the world as [[SuperPersistentPredator Super Persistent Predators...]] but no matter how much gun-fire they spray at it, the Man on Fire viciously slaughters multiple squads of them every single time.
* BadassNormal: They're an army of highly trained sociopaths armed with the latest military technology, and while the [[Characters/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots FROGs]] and Parasite Unit are more powerful, it's because they're jacked up on nano-technology and magic parasites. The XOF, on the other-hand, are the most competent mooks in ''MGS'' history and they are completely normal humans with no enhancements whatsoever.
* DarkerAndEdgier: All past MGS mooks have just been clueless and [[PunchClockVillain plain old soldiers doing their jobs]], something done probably to make it harder to kill them. However, XOF's ranks are most certainly filled with sadists and sociopaths, as demonstrated in their unnecessarily and excruciatingly long executions of staff in the prologue of ''Phantom Pain''. Apart from the Genome soldiers in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' and some of the EliteMooks in the MSX games, they're one of the few enemies in the franchise that must be killed.
* DecapitatedArmy: Averted. An XOF agent appears in a mission after Skull Face's death, as they're still taking orders from Cipher.
* EliteMook: By far the most dangerously competent powerless mooks in all of ''Metal Gear''.
* EvilWearsBlack: Unlike past MGS mooks, it's obvious there are some [[SociopathicSoldier truly evil people]] in XOF, and all of them wear dark grey fatigues with black accents.
* {{Expy}}: Let's see. Extremely secretive army of trained soldiers, EliteMooks of the BigBad, clad in black balaclavas and riot helmets and are stationed in Afghanistan? Sounds a lot like [[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Shadow Company]].
** In a more local and literal sense, the "shadow team to Snake's former unit" role makes them to FOX what [[VideoGame/MetalGearGhostBabel Black Chamber]] will be to FOXHOUND, highlighting similarities between Black Arts Viper and Skull Face as NotSoDifferent EvilCounterpart versions of their respective Snakes.
* ForegoneConclusion: [[spoiler:In time, XOF is absorbed into the Patriots' system. Not even Skull Face's death stops it.]]
* GangstaStyle: During the prologue, most XOF soldiers hold their guns sideways. Justified, as this actually makes their aim more accurate in close-quarters situations like hallways so they don't commit friendly-fire.
** Their 45-degree cant is done to allow them to aim down the sights with bulky gas masks on, as well as to prevent scorching-hot ejected shell casings from bouncing off the walls and into them or their comrades.
* GasMaskMooks: Some of them don visor gas-masks over their balaclavas.
* NoNonsenseNemesis: Just to show how much MGS is evolving into a much grittier and darkly-toned war game, there's barely any clueless, legally blind mooks to sneak past anymore. XOF are ''terrifyingly'' good at their jobs, best examplified in the scene where Ahab and Ishmael play dead in a pile of corpses to hide from a squad of XOF soldiers... [[OhCrap who begin shooting each corpse they see in the head]].
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: If slaughtering hundreds of innocent civilians and narrowly killing Snake on multiple occasions didn't convince you how evil they were, remember, while Skull Face was the one who ordered them to, the soldiers were technically the ones who sexually and physically tortured Paz and Chico.
* ShroudedInMyth: During their time at Camp Omega, they cause immense confusion amongst the Marines who also staffed the base; during the game, you can occasionally hear Marine guards expression speculation and confusion as to their origins. Despite being confirmed as Americans and wielding top-of-the-line gear and weapons, virtually ''nothing'' is revealed about their true origins or purposes until ''The Phantom Pain''. [[spoiler: As it turns out, they were originally FOX's support unit, performing deep-cover recon missions and providing intel (albeit through Zero) to FOX operatives during missions; they were also tasked with acting as replacements if FOX operatives died at any point; they were so secretive that not even The Boss herself knew about them]].
* SociopathicSoldier: The prologue of ''Phantom Pain'' pretty much confirms this. During the hospital massacre, when you're fortunate enough to see them murdering the staff firsthand, they ''intentionally shoot innocent civilians in non-vital areas and make them writhe in pain for several agonizing seconds'' before finally capping them in the head. And there's no obvious tactical advantage to this, so it's apparent they do it ForTheEvulz. They also brutally beat and raped Paz and Chico to near death.
** However, in the cut ending, episode 51, they can be seen to actually care for each other, [[spoiler: one can be seen carrying his comrade out of danger from the Sahelanthropus piloted by Eli]]
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: To kill a man who's been stuck in a coma for nine years, they sent their very best assassin backed up by an army, along with at least two attack helicopters and a tank. ''They still failed.''
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Morpho / Pequod]]
The pilot that assists Snake throughout ''Ground Zeroes'', and the only back-up that he receives for the various operations he carries out in Camp Omega. In ''The Phantom Pain'', there's a new chopper pilot with the callsign [[Literature/MobyDick Pequod]] to fit with the game's MobySchtick, and while he has the same voice actor as Morpho, it's unclear as to whether it's meant to be the same character.
----
* BigDamnHeroes: Is the go-to method of extraction for most missions. Notable examples include "Intel Operative Rescue," where he and Snake [[GunshipRescue provide air support]] while the operative ([[spoiler:[[CreatorCameo Hideo]]]]) makes his way to the LZ, and the end of the main story, where he [[spoiler:helps evacuate Mother Base during the attack.]]
** Can be [[InvokedTrope invoked]] by the player at any time by selecting a high-danger Landing Zone - [[RealityEnsues though this comes with the risk of him getting shot down]].
* DisposablePilot: Averted. He appears alive and well in ''Phantom Pain'' with a new helicopter [[spoiler:after the bomb inside of Paz's body destroys the first one.]] In some missions of ''Ground Zeroes'', his death is an instant game over, although not on all of them. See ReplacementGoldfish.
* GunshipRescue: His whole shtick, especially in "Intel Operative Rescue."
* ImprobablePilotingSkills: Subverted. His skills are impressive, but the helicopter itself is still just as vulnerable to heavy weapons as any other vehicle.
* TheLancer: He's the only guy that can help Snake out on his missions in the Naval base, and he's crucial to completing them.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Did his helicopter get shot down while he was flying over the base? Don't worry, he'll be back in a few minutes with another one!
** The callsign is probably just given to whatever pilot is deployed to aid snake, given that we explicitly see our pilot die during 'metallic archaea' only for them to show up in the future with no mention of it.
* ThemeNaming: Like most soldiers at Mother Base, he's named after an animal. Specifically, he's named after the butterfly that was seen frequently in ''Peace Walker''. In keeping with the ''Literature/MobyDick'' references, in ''The Phantom Pain'', he shares his codename with the ship from the novel.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Glaz and Palitz]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/glaz_palitz_smaller_4402.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Glaz (left) and Palitz (right)]]
Glaz and Palitz, [[BilingualBonus "the eye" and "the finger"]], are two U.S. Marines who worked as a [[ColdSniper sniper]]-[[TargetSpotter spotter]] team during the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laotian_Civil_War Laotian Civil War]]. Miller sends Snake on a tip from the KGB to eliminate them in the ''Ground Zeroes'' Side Ops mission "Eliminate the Renegade Threat".
----
* TheAtoner: Their days in Laos have haunted them far more than they are caring to admit, and they have resorted to self-mutilation. If Big Boss interrogates them, they even accept their death.
* BaldOfEvil: Palitz.
* ColdSniper: Obviously. Subverted, however: just because they're cold doesn't mean they don't feel guilt.
* CanonWelding: Defied. Miller was requested to assassinate the two by KGB special forces "from [Miller's] Columbia days", but Miller specifically states they had nothing to do with [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker Zadornov]].
* TheDreaded: Kaz notes that to the east, they were a reason to be afraid of the dark.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: In spite of their War Crimes, both of them were horrified by [[ColdBloodedTorture what was going on in]] [[HellholePrison Camp]] [[POWCamp Omega.]]
* EyeScream: Glaz is missing his right eye.
* {{Fingore}}: Palitz has a prosthetic finger.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Interrogate either of them, and they will tell you that a "[[TitleDrop Phantom]]" is approaching. Whether or not this refers to Skull Face or anyone else is unclear. [[spoiler:As it turns out, it refers to Venom Snake, the "phantom" of Big Boss.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: If the player has extracted both of them in ''Ground Zeroes'', they'll join Diamond Dogs in ''The Phantom Pain'' if the player has transferred over their save data.
* HiddenDepths: Should Snake knock them out and take them to Mother Base, Miller discovers that they inflicted mutilation upon themselves (Glaz [[EyeScream having a glass eye]] and Palitz [[{{Fingore}} having a plastic finger]]), indicating that even ''they'' were remorseful and horrified by what they've done.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: It's pretty telling how much Snake and Miller's clients hate these two when you can kill both men and ''still'' get an [[RankInflation S Rank]].
* KilledOffForReal: If Snake chooses.
** Alternatively, Snake can opt for a non-lethal approach by knocking them out and having them extracted out of the mission area, and both of them become Diamond Dogs staff if save data is uploaded in ''The Phantom Pain''.
* IronicNickname: As a result of their [[EyeScream self]] [[{{Fingore}} mutilation]].
* MeaningfulName: In addition to the "eye" and "finger" representing their roles as sniper and spotter, Miller says their nicknames are a reference to being "less than human - no heart, just an eye to find their prey and a finger to pull the trigger."
* NonindicativeName: However, their roles as spotter and sniper aren't mutually exclusive -- they both alternate between their roles.
* OddNameOut: When they join the Mother Base crew in ''The Phantom Pain'', they'll become the only soldiers (excluding unique characters such as Miller and Hideo) not to have animal-themed codenames.
* OffOnATechnicality: While not necessarily free men (negotiations are in progress regarding their extradition for trial), Kaz notes that they're "living comfortably in a loophole," stationed at the secret Cuban blacksite where international law isn't a concern.
* OffstageVillainy: Neither target manages to KickTheDog during the mission proper, since they're in the custody of the [[SemperFi Marines]], but Miller provides more than enough [[InformedAttribute Informed Attributes]] to give them decent characterization.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: By their foreign nicknames, even!
* RedemptionDemotion: If you recruit them in The Phantom Pain, you'll find that their stats aren't as impressive as their reputations might suggest. Possibly justified by their self-mutilation making it difficult to do their old jobs.
* ScaryBlackMan: Glaz.
* SinisterShades: Glaz wears them [[EyeScream for a very good reason]].
* SociopathicSoldier: It's implied that many of their kills were made in violation of international law, and may have included ''civilians.'' Kaz notes that their extradition to face trial is a major factor in the ongoing peace negotiations.
* SuddenNameChange: For some reason, the two had their names switched in ''The Phantom Pain'', with Glaz now being The Finger and Palitz becoming The Eye.
* TimedMission: Of a sort. Snake is initially given the approximate location of both targets, but if he takes too long the targets will have moved, forcing him to identify them by face alone.
* UnexpectedGameplayChange: Their dedicated side mission is a straight-up double assassination a-la ''{{VideoGame/Hitman}}''.
* WouldNotShootACivilian: It's strongly implied that they ''[[AvertedTrope would]]'', and have, which is part of the reason the KGB wants them dead.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Intel Operative]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' [[spoiler:Hideo Kojima]]
An undercover MSF operative who has been compromised after recovering a cassette tape relating to XOF. Snake and Morpho rescue him from the base in "Intel Operative Extraction." Rescuing him in ''Ground Zeroes'' causes him to join Diamond Dogs in ''The Phantom Pain''. He can also be recruited in a special Side-Ops mission if you don't have ''Ground Zeroes''.
----
* AscendedExtra: While he isn't important to the story of the game, his role is given a greater significance than the one he had in ''Peace Walker'', where he simply had a cameo.
* AsideGlance: Gives one in both ''Ground Zeroes'' and ''The Phantom Pain'' when the mission is over and his identity is revealed to the player.
* AsHimself: [[spoiler:It goes beyond a Creator Cameo. He's listed in the credits as "Hideo."]]
* AuthorAvatar: [[spoiler:He ''is'' Hideo, after all]].
* BadassDriver: Miller is notably impressed by his initiative in stealing an enemy vehicle, as well has his skill in handling it.
--> '''Miller''': "You handle that vehicle like a pro. I'd expect nothing less."
* CallBack: Appeared in ''Peace Walker'' as a SecretCharacter, [[spoiler:and reprises his role in ''The Phantom Pain'' as well.]]
--> '''Snake''': [[spoiler:"Mr. Kojima?!"]]
* CallForward: [[spoiler:Mirrors Miller's rescue scene from the Red Band trailer upon his rescue, as well as his dialogue on A-Rank or lower.]]
--> [[spoiler:'''Hideo''']]: [[spoiler:Snake... What took you so long?]]
* CoolShades: The operative has some pretty awesome aviators when you rescue him. [[spoiler:Snake eventually gives Hideo back his [[SpecsOfAwesome trademark J.F. Rey Eyewear glasses]].]]
* GlassesPull: [[spoiler:Played straight and [[InvertedTrope inverted]] in the same scene, as he dramatically removes his [[CoolShades combat aviators]] to don his [[SpecsOfAwesome signature glasses]].]]
* MadeOfIron: Manages to escape a vehicle that's been ''hit with a rocket launcher'' with little in the way of injuries.
* NonActionGuy: Even though his combat stats are better than they were in Peace Walker, you still can't play as him even if you put him in a combat unit.
* PutOnABus: WordOfGod says that the reason why he doesn't show up in ''The Phantom Pain'' is because [[spoiler:Kojima didn't want players doing things like [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential throwing his character off Mother Base]].]]
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:He's actually Hideo.]]
* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: His voice actor does not speak English as his first language, and is well known for a [[MemeticMutation particularly famous bit of Engrish]]. He has improved greatly since then, even if his accent is still noticeable.
* WalkingSpoiler: Not because he's plot important, but because saying who he is [[RuleOfFunny gives away a punchline]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Undercover Agent]]
An American agent planted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Cuban base. Snake is hired by his employers to make contact with him and determine the nature of the base's activities.
----
* DeepCoverAgent: He's so devoted to keeping his cover that he asks Snake to make their meeting look like an attack, even giving his consent to be choked unconscious.
* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler:The reason he sets you up, courtesy of Cipher. Boy, Cipher really love this, don't they?]]
* InkSuitActor: Modeled after Kojima Productions LA animator Brian Robison, although his voice is actually provided by actor Roger Rose.
* TheMole: One on your side, he's been planted to gather information on the Cuban base, and stashed a tape for you to collect.
* NoNameGiven: He is listed in the credits as "Undercover Agent", although in ''TPP'', he is given the codename of Mad Wallaby.
* ReverseMole: [[spoiler:He sets you up, sending you to a trap baited with the wrong tape.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Prisoner 12282 aka Bitter Centipede]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Matthew Mercer
A prisoner held at the black site during the "Destroy the Anti-Air Emplacements" mission. A member of MSF's Intel team, Kaz dispatched him to gather intel on the facility, only to be caught and forcibly interrogated. He can be rescued by Big Boss, in which he'll rejoin Diamond Dogs after Mission 12 in "The Phantom Pain" under the codename "Bitter Centipede".
----
* BaldOfAwesome: His facial structure varies for each player's game. But he's always Caucasian, blue-eyed, and has a shaved head.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Suffers like everyone else at the black site. He didn't break. It took Skull Face approaching with kindness to even push him close to the edge.
* DeepCoverAgent: That's what the Intel Team is supposed to be, if done right.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: His discussion on what happened at the black site is how Kaz gets the idea on how to structure Diamond Dogs's Intel team. [[spoiler: It's also the base structure of the Patriots AI system.]]
* TheresNoPlaceLikeHome: Desperately wants to return to Mother Base.
* TheBusCameBack: Like anyone else rescued in Ground Zeroes, he returns in Phantom Pain.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Cipher]]
An organisation created by Major Zero, connected to XOF. They would eventually become led by a bunch of AI's that will become The Patriots by ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2''.
* AIIsACrapshoot: [[ForegoneConclusion Well duh]], they do end up becoming the main villains of the series.
* EnemyMine: Due to Skull Face's attack, they turned [[spoiler: The Medic into Venom Snake]].
* GreaterScopeVillain: They become The Patriots, who manipulate world events to create an economy powered by war.
* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler:They took the Undercover Agent's family to trap Big Boss. They have a back up agent within Camp who has the real tape]].
* PredecessorVillain: [[spoiler:After Zero becomes infected by a parasite due to an attack by Skull Face, he commissions SIGINT and Strangelove to build an AI system capable of governing the world after Zero's eventual death. This AI system in time becomes known as the Patriots. La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo!]].
[[/folder]]
!!Characters in ''Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain''
[[folder:Quiet]]
[[quoteright:305:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_quiet7.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:305:''"Love... [[LoveHurts hurts so bad]]... / But still... [[LoveRedeems saved my soul]]..."'']]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Stefanie Joosten (English and Japanese; also does her [[MotionCapture motion capture]])
-->''A Sniper deprived of her Words''
A mute sniper with strange powers who works under XOF. After being captured in the field, she becomes a prisoner of Snake and Diamond Dogs. She later joins the PMC's ranks as a field operative, working side-by-side with Snake himself.
----
* AbsoluteCleavage: Unlocking the Sniper Wolf outfit for Quiet will cause her to wear a military uniform that's unbuttoned in the front with no bra, in addition to giving her blonde hair and gold lipstick.
* ActionGirl: Par for the course in the series. Starts out as a DarkActionGirl, but turns into this after switching sides.
* ApocalypseMaiden: [[spoiler:She contains the missing English parasite, intended to kill Big Boss and wipe out the English language in case her assassination attempt failed. She can speak English fine, she chooses not to in order to protect Big Boss and the world instead.]]
* AnimalMotifs: The butterfly is a recurring theme with her. The pattern on her face which appears when she uses her abilities resembles a butterfly and the sniper rifles available to her are named "Wicked Butterfly", "Sinful Butterfly", and "Guilty Butterfly".
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: The reason why she helps Venom Snake, and eventually, comes to love him enough to put his life over her own.
* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:Due to being set on fire in the prologue, you can occasionally see her skin flicker and change to expose raw red muscles, perhaps giving a hint at how her powers work and possibly showing the extent of the damage she took from Ishmael's chemical attack. After all, it's her power-enabling respiratory parasites which healed her wounds to begin with.]]
* BookEnds: Quiet's story ends how it started as detailed [[http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/718564-metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain/73228595 here]]. The prologue and Quiet's last mission, "A Quiet Exit" features [[spoiler: having the breath strangled out of a character as Quiet's theme is heard, enemies catching on fire, Ahab awakens to ask what happened to Quiet, and receiving a confused reply from a masked man who's helping Ahab up.]]
* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler:In the mission "A Quiet Exit", she is forced to speak English in order to save Big Boss. This causes her vocal cord parasites to become infectious, and so she leaves Boss with [[DeadManWriting a recorded message]]. After that, [[PermanentlyMissableContent she can no longer be selected as a Buddy]]. Later subverted when the game was updated to version 1.06, as there is now a way to regain Quiet as a buddy - you must beat Cloaked In Silence 7 times and defeat her nonlethally with supply drops or sleeping gas, NOT nonlethal weapons.]]
* ChameleonCamouflage: Her skin changes to fit the environment, particularly facial patterns. [[spoiler:This is a unique element of her modified parasite.]]
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: At one point, Snake and Miller get into an argument over whether or not they should kill Quiet. Snake says that they will spare her for now, but he admits to Miller that they all likelihood are going to need to get rid of her at some point in the future and promises to eliminate her personally when that time comes.
* CherryTapping: One of the effective ways of defeating her is ''calling a supply drop on her head''. And it takes ''half'' her stamina meter.
%%* ColdBloodedTorture: Suffers this at one point.
%%* ColdSniper: Though she does have a softer side.
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Her sniping is already impressive, but the Parasite therapy also grants her access to some of the most ''brutal'' unarmed combat moves ever featured in the franchise, as seen in "A Quiet Exit".
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Before you can use Quiet as a buddy during missions, you must first defeat her in a sniper duel.
* DefrostingIceQueen: When Quiet is first recruited as a buddy, she behaves rather cold and aloof towards Snake. But as your buddy bond score with her increases, she becomes more friendly and affectionate.
* {{Determinator}}: Even before gaining her super powers, Quiet was a trained and tough ProfessionalKiller, as seen when even when being set on fire she came seconds away from snatching up a discarded combat knife before the man sent her through the window by reigniting the flames. Let that sink in: she was already on fire and she was still crawling towards Ishmael to fight him and when he threw her knife at her ''she batted it away and kept on coming.''
* DifficultButAwesome: She's apparently the most difficult support buddy to use effectively. From what we've seen, timing is everything with using her effectively with such tricks as shooting grenades out of the air.
* ElectiveMute: She deliberately doesn't speak [[spoiler:because she's infected with the English strain of the vocal chord parasite.]]
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: [[spoiler:She received her superhuman abilities such as SuperSpeed, ImprobableAimingSkills, and {{Invisibility}} from parasites she got after failing to kill Venom Snake in the hospital. However, [[PowerAtAPrice if she ever spoke English again, it would be fatal to herself, and cause others to be infected with the parasite]].]]
* FanDisservice:
** As it turns out, the reason that she is that her lungs were burnt to a crisp so now she can ''only'' breathe through her skin. Her physiology's so mangled that even wearing a ''shirt'' causes her to ''[[BizarreHumanBiology suffocate]]''.
** Watching her shower can be pretty hot... until she starts convulsing as she drinks the water she's soaked in ''through her skin.'' She then proceeds to lie on the floor and do the same thing with the pool of water there.
* FatalFlaw: [[spoiler: ''Wrath.'' She could have asked Code Talker, in Navajo, to remove her English parasites. But she retained them because part of her still wanted revenge against Snake, even if she grew to love him.]]
* GoodCounterpart: To the Skulls, though [[HeelFaceTurn not initially]].
* GroinAttack: Pulls off two ''very'' brutal ones in a cutscene during "A Quiet Exit," first by axe-kicking one mook below the belt with enough force to draw blood, and then by repeatedly ''stabbing'' another mook in the jewels with a knife.
* HeelFaceTurn: At the start of the game, she's a cold-blooded killer working for [=XOF=]. But after joining up with the Diamond Dogs she begins to display more humanity, at one point even jumping into a container filled with chlorine gas just to retrieve a necklace that belongs to one of the child soldiers, nearly losing her life in the process.
* HeldGaze: One particularly memorable scene shows her stripping and dancing around Mother Base on a rainy day, inviting Venom Snake to play with her (which he does). It culminates in Snake catching her by the shoulders and the two of them staring into each other's eyes for a few seconds, before Quiet regains her composure. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri2OWbB7fdE See it here]].
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Quiet can, on command, ''shoot thrown hand grenades'', among other impressive feats. [[spoiler:Comes with being an EmpoweredBadassNormal.]]
** Shooting grenades actually is one of her less impressive skills. Quiet can headshot the pilot of a flying fighter jet, and is able to put six bullets in between the blades of a chopper's spinning rotor.
* InLoveWithTheMark: As the player earns her loyalty (and unlocks more of her story) through gameplay, it slowly becomes evident that Quiet is starting to fall in love with Venom Snake. Compare her behaviour in the ACC, from aloof and stoic at low bond to visibly comfortable and almost [[WhenSheSmiles smiling]] when it's maxed. This ultimately seals her HeelFaceTurn for good, [[spoiler:and in the end, drives her to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice]] her own life for him.]]
* InkSuitActor: Much like the Beauties in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Metal Gear Solid 4]]'', Quiet is very closely modeled after the actress providing her motion capture (Stefanie Joosten, a Dutch model, actress, and singer who lives in Japan).
* InnocentFanserviceGirl: She dresses in a bikini and stockings because she breathes through her skin. If she could breath normally, she'd wear the coveralls suitable to a spy or a sniper.
* {{Invisibility}}: When crossing the map to a new vantage point, Quiet will activate her invisibility to prevent being intercepted by enemy forces. Only specialized sensing technology and night vision goggles can detect where she is. Subverted by some characters once they know how she ticks; one instance prior to leaving Mother Base has Kaz clang his crutch against the side of Pequod's chopper when something seems off. Quiet quickly reveals herself, looking distinctly unimpressed.
* {{Intangibility}}: The black smoke powers she uses seem to be a combination of teleporting and/or dissipating into thin air so that nothing can touch her. At the very least she was able to remove her handcuffs by using those powers.
* ItIsDehumanizing: Resident {{Jerkass}} Miller outright calls her a "thing" at one point, and it's safe to assume that [[FauxAffablyEvil Skull Face]]'s everyday treatment of her was no better when she was still under his employ.
* KnifeNut: Pretty decent with a combat knife [[spoiler:and she manages to briefly incapacitate Ishmael with a well timed throw]]. Later utilizes one in the MookHorrorShow she performs in "A Quiet Exit".
* KillItWithFire: Ishmael [[spoiler:tries to eliminate her with this in the opening scenes by dousing her with medical-grade ethanol, igniting it with a cigarette lighter and then hitting her with another bottle of of it seconds before she can grab a discarded combat knife. It causes her to fall out the window of the Cyprus hospital, results in her Parasite therapy, and is why she has trouble with clothes]].
* KillItWithWater: Sort of. Quiet "drinks" by absorbing water through her skin, but if she's completely submerged she'll drown just like a normal person or a plant would. Another side effect of her condition is that splashing her with salt water causes her great pain and, according to Code Talker, is even capable of killing her.]
* KilledOffForReal: The player has the option of killing her as soon as they first meet her, whether by draining her HP during their BossBattle or [[ShootTheShaggyDog personally executing her after draining her stamina]]. Also, [[spoiler:it's implied she dies in the desert after leaving Venom Snake in her final mission.]]
* MagicalEye: Black eye shadow manifests around her eyes any time she uses her phantom powers. Not unlike the Parasite Unit/Skulls.
* MookHorrorShow: Apart from sharpshooting, this is her other specialty which is only demonstrated in cut-scenes. She can pull off some ludicrously impressive unarmed combat and is highly brutal when taking apart her foes. The icing on the cake is the one she performs in "A Quiet Exit." CutscenePowerToTheMax doesn't even begin to describe it as she utilizes super speed, superior agility, a combat knife, a devastating GroinAttack and even ripping one of her victim's ears off with her teeth among other things to annihilate them.
* MsFanservice: An IndecisiveDeconstruction, as her revealing attire exists because [[spoiler:after being set on fire and receiving parasite therapy, she breathes, drinks, and absorbs sunlight through her skin. With no other form of nourishment available to her due to the damage inflicted by her burns, heavier clothing would slowly kill her]]. Still, her "sensitive condition" aside, the camera doesn't stop from giving players lots of close-up shots of Quiet's body, nor does it prevent her from having fanservice scenes. See HeldGaze above. It's briefly subverted [[spoiler:in the prologue, since she's shown donning full combat uniform. The "bikini and stockings" look comes later.]]
* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:After being forced to trigger the parasites which would eventually compel her to kill Snake, she wanders off into the desert believing she would rather die than let that happen, as opposed to committing suicide here and now.]]
* NostalgiaLevel: Her boss fight is reminiscent of the duel against The End from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', taking place in a wide open field and tasking Snake with attempting to find her and defeat her while she snipes at him. She even has plant-like abilities that Ocelot takes note of in a cassette tape earned after the fight, absorbing water through her skin and photosynthesizing for sustenance in addition to healing herself.
* OptionalPartyMember: Once you defeat her in battle, Snake is given the option of taking her to Mother Base as a recruit or just shooting her on the spot.
* PermanentlyMissableContent: [[spoiler:Mission 45 is a one-way trip. Upon completing it, you can no longer select Quiet as a Buddy. Subverted as of version 1.06, where she can be regained if the player completes "Cloaked In Silence" seven times.]]
* PlayAlongPrisoner: After Snake takes her back to Mother Base, she more or less stays there willingly, and even escapes her cell more than once only to go straight back.
* TheSilentBob: Doesn't speak after the prologue [[spoiler:until chapter 45, where she calls in a chopper to extract Snake. This is due to the fact that if she speaks in English, it would activate her vocal cord parasites.]]
* SnipingTheCockpit: She does this to a fighter jet during a cutscene. And if you equip her with the Sinful Butterfly rifle, she becomes capable of doing this to helicopter gunships.
%%* StarCrossedLovers: [[spoiler:With Venom Snake.]]
* StockholmSyndrome: She starts off as an enemy hired to kill Snake at any cost. She eventually becomes Venom Snake's LoveInterest if you choose to capture her instead of kill her. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since unlike her [[SoftSpokenSadist previous boss]], Snake treats her with kindness and respect as a person, not a simple "tool" of destruction.
* SuperSpeed: One of her powers is moving at superhuman speeds, allowing her to move across hundreds of feet in seconds while knocking out any person that's in her path.
* TeleportSpam: Usually only implements this when she has to get up close and personal, and it's a combination of her {{Invisibility}} and SuperSpeed. It also scares the absolute piss out of [[spoiler:the soldier who tried to take Quiet's clothes off, before she tears him and the rest of his comrades apart.]]
* TogetherInDeath: According to a bit of [[WordOfGod developer commentary,]] [[spoiler:Quiet and Venom Snake are reunited after Solid Snake kills him at Outer Heaven.]]
* UnstoppableRage: After a failed AttemptedRape by a Soviet soldier, she proceeds to go utterly apeshit ''insane'' and tear him and his fellow soldiers apart with her bare hands.
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:She disappears at the end of mission 45. Presumably she wandered off into the Afghan desert to die after activating the English strain of the vocal cord parasite. If you check the Mother Base personnel roster after that mission, her status is listed as MIA (Missing in Action).]]
* TheVoiceless: [[spoiler: She can speak. In fact, she knows Navajo and English. However, she prefers not to speak in English because it would activate her vocal cord parasites.]]
* WeaksauceWeakness:
** A very easy way to beat her is to call in supply drops on her, which will knock out half of her stamina each time.
** Although it can't be used against her in-game, salt water can be this, according to Code Talker.
* WhenSheSmiles: Quiet's stoicism is almost as steadfast as her inner resolve, but on that rare moment she expresses genuine happiness, it's quite a beautiful sight. Tellingly, only Venom Snake [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe ever receives this gesture]] from her.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Code Talker]]
[[quoteright:302:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_code_talker.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:302:''"Since ancient times, every civilization's ruler has had the same idea. When people unite under one will, they become stronger than the sum of their parts. And what do rulers use to bring people together? Language."'']]
-> '''AKA:''' Old Diné, A Wise Man Denied His Homeland
-> '''Voiced by:''' Osamu Saka (Japanese), Jay Tavare (English; also does his motion capture)
A blind, elderly man of Native American (specifically Navajo/Diné) descent.
----
* TheAtoner: Heavily regrets [[spoiler:his work developing the vocal cord parasites, and is more than willing to sacrifice his original aim -- creating a "deterrent" against language-based cultural imperialism -- to see the English strain destroyed.]]
* BlindSeer: His cataracts imply that he's lost his vision with his age. However, he can still 'see' with his parasites. Especially the color blue [[spoiler:from that artificial-flavor super-chemical burger that Kaz presents him in the cassettes.]]
* BoardingSchoolOfHorrors: During his youth, he was sent to one of the "Indian boarding schools" [[TruthInTelevision that were common in the United States and Canada in the late 19th century.]] In order to force him to assimilate, his teachers assigned the "students" English names and forced them to [[SoapPunishment eat soap if they spoke a word of their native language.]]
* CallBack: In one of the cassettes, [[spoiler:he describes the original parasite sample he was given to work with. Their effects will sound familiar to anyone who's played ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' as the powers of The Pain and The End.]]
* {{Foil}}: To [[spoiler:Huey.]] Unlike him, Code Talker ''hates'' what he had to do and actually owns up to his actions.
* GrumpyOldMan: Displays shades of this, particularly around [[TrademarkFavoriteFood the things he eats]].
* HitlerAteSugar: ''Averted''. He loves hamburgers, in spite of them being iconic to the nation that made his people suffer so much.
-->'''Code Talker''': Our people ''have'' suffered more than you know, but I do not see hamburgers as an accomplice.
* LongLived: He's over 100 years of age, putting his date of birth somewhere in 1880. [[spoiler:Code Talker's longevity is implied to be due to his body being largely made up of parasites.]]
* MagicalNativeAmerican: An interesting variation. He acts like one, but [[spoiler:he actually has a background in science, as the source of the parasites.]]
** Later subverted for humor when he asks Miller to make him a good burger. He starts by talking about them in a typical, Magical Native American spiritual manner, referring to them as symbols of Mother Nature's love (as they combine grain, vegetable and animal products), harmony, and other wishy-washy hogwash. Miller, taking him for some kind of hamburger philosopher, tries presenting him with more and more natural ones only to have them all rejected. When he finally gets tired of the naturalist crap, [[spoiler: he reveals that all he's looking for is a chemical filled American frankenburger, going on a tirade about how making burgers is a science, not a religion, and that chemically stimulating the tongue makes for a more flavorful experience than combining free-range lambs with local produce.]]
* PlantPerson: Much like The End, he thrives off photosynthesis, which not only gives him his longevity, but also makes it so he never needs to eat (although he likes a good burger). [[spoiler:This is because he actually ingested the parasite that gave The End his photosynthesis powers, after having done research on The End's remains.]]
* ThePhilosopher: Has some interesting views about the nature of language, not to mention is rather fluent in a complicated dialect of Navajo.
* ReluctantMadScientist: He's working for Skull Face when you first meet him [[spoiler:and is responsible for the existence of the Parasite Unit.]] It's also made clear Code Talker ''hates'' it, only doing so because Skull Face has threatened a slow death for the entire Navajo nation otherwise, and he's relieved upon being extracted to Mother Base.
* SeriousBusiness: ''Anything'' to do with hamburgers.
* SoapPunishment: Part of Code Talker's backstory; at the [[BoardingSchoolOfHorrors Indian boarding school]] he was sent to as a child, this was the punishment for the students speaking their native tongue.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Hamburgers. It's also mentioned in audio tapes that he's ''very'' picky when it comes to them, frustrating Miller to no end.
* TheWormThatWalks: [[spoiler:A rare non-evil example; most of his body is made up of parasites.]]
* YouAreWhatYouHate: As much as he resents what the United States had done to Native Americans, he also admits how he and his kind are "Americanized", anyway. Neither does he have the heart to hate all-American ''hamburgers''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Dr. Evangelos Constantinou]]
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_unknown_doctor.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"You've been in a coma for... quite some time. Yes, yes, I know. You'd like to know how long. I'm afraid it's been... nine years."'']]
-> '''Voiced by:''' [[Creator/HochuOtsuka Hochu Otsuka]] (JP), Christos Vasilopoulos (EN)
->''"It's true. There are those who wish you'd never woken up. You should be dead, but you're not. The waves are in motion. Your enemies are everywhere. We must alter your appearance immediately. Otherwise, I fear you won't leave this place alive."''
A Cypriot doctor who assists Venom Snake during his coma and when he awakens in 1984. Besides overseeing the fallen soldier's gradual recovery, the doc's job is to feed him vital information whenever possible and (secretly) protect him from the XOF.
----
* CharacterCustomization: Subverted. As a means to protect Snake from Cipher, the Doc tells him they'll need to change his face and give him a new identity... only for the XOF invasion to put a stop to it. [[spoiler:Then it turns out it already ''was'' successful. The player's "customized look" is actually Venom Snake's ''original'' face, before he underwent cosmetic surgery and brainwashing to become Big Boss's BodyDouble. The custom face appears occasionally in blink-and-you'll-miss-it shots showing Snake's reflection in the background, before being used prominently in TheReveal.]]
* GratuitousGreek: As Ocelot states in one of the first cassette tapes, the Dhekelia Hospital tends to hire local people to blend in with British territory (and confuse Cipher from locating Snake). The Doctor is no exception, as he chats in Greek with the nurse and repeats ''nosokoma (nurse)'' [[spoiler:everytime Snake feels a traumatic reaction from the accident's aftermath.]]
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: He wants to know your name, your birthday, and what your new face should look like. [[spoiler:These things are not a coincidence.]]
* LossOfIdentity: To protect him from Cipher, the doctor bestows upon Snake a new name, "Ahab", telling him that whatever his past was, it is now but a "phantom". This lasts all of a few minutes, as he's already been discovered by his enemies. [[spoiler:Turns out he gave Venom Snake more than a new name, though...]]
* MauveShirt: He gives enough background to Snake to explain what's been going on over the last 9 years [[spoiler:before getting strangled to death by Quiet.]]
* NoNameGiven: Never once introduces himself. Although his name appears on his [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_doctors_name.jpg I.D. tag]], so he may have felt that he didn't need to.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: If it weren't for him and the rest of his medical team's diligent efforts, "Ahab" would never have recovered in time to become the man known as Venom Snake.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Eli]]
[[quoteright:299:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_eli9.png]]
[[caption-width-right:299:''"Not yet, Snake! It's not over yet!"'']]
->'''AKA:''' White Mamba, A Youth who Curses his Fate, [[spoiler:Liquid Snake]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Yutaro Honjo (JP), Piers Stubbs (EN)
A blonde-haired child soldier wearing a jackal-tooth necklace and an oversized vest with the words "Never Be Game Over" and "液体人" -- "(Liquid Man/Person)" -- printed on the back. Heavily implied to be a young Liquid Snake, [[spoiler: because he is.]]
----
* ArcVillain: [[spoiler: If Mission 51 weren't cut, he would've been the ArcVillain of that chapter]].
* AscendedFanboy: [[spoiler:Taking some inspiration from literature, Eli's "Kingdom of Flies" in the cut content would have been a remote island akin to that in ''LordOfTheFlies'', filled with ChildSoldiers, booby traps, and vocal parasites to kill off intruding forces like Cipher. And Diamond Dogs.]]
* BackstabBackfire: Upon being brought to Mother Base, he snaps and tries to stab Snake in the back with a knife. Snake easily deflects it, breaks his arm, and then gives him a lecture on drawing a weapon on a fellow soldier before [[DramaticDislocation snapping his arm back into place]].
* BarbarianLonghair: Has an unkempt mullet to illustrate his wildness.
* CallForward: References multiple elements of Liquid Snake. [[spoiler:Because that's ''exactly'' who he is.]]
** Wears a necklace of jackal teeth during his time in Afghanistan.
--->[[spoiler:'''Liquid:''' In the Middle East, we don't hunt foxes, we hunt jackals.]]
** Has 液体人 -- "'''Liquid''' Man" -- printed on the back of his jacket.
** He's shown piloting a Metal Gear, ''exactly'' like Liquid would later on. [[spoiler:Not a coincidence.]] Does Liquid's trademark fist-clenching gesture moments before that.
* CloningBlues: [[spoiler:The main reason for his behavior and resentment of Big Boss.]]
* CombatPragmatist: He runs ahead of Snake and attacks from around corners, and has no qualms about throwing things such as bottles, pipes and molotovs at him.
* {{Determinator}}: Manages to take on the formidable Venom Snake despite having no special training. Then again, he's actually [[spoiler:Liquid Snake, the iconic determinator of the series, so it's to be expected.]]
** [[spoiler:In the game's cut content, he utters this series trademark:]]
---> [[spoiler:'''Eli''': Not yet. It's not over yet.]]
* DisproportionateRetribution: UpToEleven; upon being brought back to Mother Base, he snaps and tries to attack Venom Snake with a knife after Snake gave him a friendly pat on the back. He gets his arm broken for the trouble.
* HairTriggerTemper: During the mission where Snake captures him, Ocelot mentions that Eli lets his anger get the better of him and leaves himself open after an attack. Immediately after being taken to Mother Base, getting a friendly pat on the back from Snake is enough to get him to blow his stack and ''attack Snake with a knife''.
* HijackedByGanon: [[spoiler:At the end of the game, he mind-melds with Tretij Rebenok and activates Metal Gear before Skull-Face can (in the process critically injuring both him and the Man on Fire before either actually ever fights Snake), for the sole purpose of killing Snake and wrecking havoc. He's also the BigBad and final boss of the game's cut "Mission 51".]]
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: [[spoiler:The plot of the cut chapter "Kingdom of The Flies" would have dealt with Eli getting exposed to the English Strain of the Vocal Parasites, coming close to death because his accelerated ageing was starting to make his voice change; once it broke he was dead. After the battle, Rebenok extracts the parasites from his body before flying away with him.]]
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Thanks to Huey, he takes off in Sahelanthropus with the child soldiers holding one of the pilots hostage, never to be seen again.]]. This is later subverted, as [[spoiler: the end timeline mentions Eli establishing his Kingdom of the Flies; so despite not being featured, the cut Mission 51 is still considered canon to the series.]]
* TheKidWithTheLeash: [[spoiler:His feelings of hate towards Snake usurp Skull Face's, and gains Rebenok's leash by the end of the game and beyond.]]
* LargeHam: A budding one at that. [[spoiler:Foreshadowing his growing up and becoming Liquid Snake.]]
* TheLoad: Tends to cause problems at Mother Base for the sheer hell of it.
* LukeYouAreMyFather: Subverted. Ocelot (and the player) expect him to turn out to be one of Snake's clones (specifically, Liquid), but a DNA test reveals that he and Snake are not related. [[spoiler:Which is because Venom Snake is not the guy who got cloned.]]
* MeaningfulName: "Eli" is a modern equivalent of Eliab, the brother of David in the Literature/TheBible. [[spoiler:And, just like Eliab, Eli has a brother named David, because Eli is actually Liquid Snake.]]
* MightyWhitey: The only white kid in his unit, and their leader. He's explicitly stated to be stronger, faster, a better soldier, and a better hunter. [[spoiler:Given he was designed for such activity, he's in his element within the war torn region. You could even say he was made for it.]]
* NotHisSled: He's extremely similar to Liquid Snake, but a DNA test done on him shows that his and Venom Snake's lack significant match, leading others to conclude that Eli's not a product of Les Enfantes Terribles. [[spoiler:SubvertedTrope, since his DNA ''is'' similar enough to Big Boss, [[BodyDouble just not Venom]].]]
* ScrewDestiny: "Curses his fate."
* ShoutOut: He seems to be a fan of ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies''; his room in Mission 23 has a severed pig's head on the table, and [[spoiler:the ending timeline, along with a cut mission, explicitly declares his base to be the "Kingdom of the Flies."]]
* WholeCostumeReference:
** His clothes and hairstyle look eerily similar to Liquid's in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''. [[spoiler:Apparently he likes the look.]]
** He also resembles [[Film/MadMax the Feral Kid]].
* YoungFutureFamousPeople: InUniverse. [[spoiler:Eli grows up to be Liquid Snake, the leader of the eventually terrorist FOXHOUND unit.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tretij Rebenok]]
[[quoteright:298:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_tretij.png]]
[[caption-width-right:298:''"[[SilentAntagonist ...]]"'']]
->'''AKA:''' Third Child, [[spoiler:Psycho Mantis]]
A gas-masked child with psychic powers.
----
* CallBack: His nationality, abilities and attire certainly bring Mantis to mind. [[spoiler:And it's no coincidence.]]
* CreepyChild: A floating, psychic kid decked out in [[EvilWearsBlack black straitjacket]] + gas mask? One look at him spells "danger" all over.
* CreepyShadowedUndereyes: His actual model lacks orange gasmask lenses seen ingame, showing his eyes. These reveal they're completely sunken in blackness.
* DarkIsEvil: Let's see. Jet-black gas mask, jet-black straitjacket, jet-black leggings, and dark circles around his eyes. Also, not exactly evil, just a living outlet for evil/hateful people.
* DoesNotLikeShoes: His attire completely excludes any footwear.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Whoever he is "leashed" to will cause minor changes to his appearance.
** When leashed to Venom Snake, Third Child has a horn on his head similar to Venom Snake's shrapnel injury.
** When leashed to the Man on Fire, the sleeves of Third Child's trench coat will be on fire.
** When leashed to Skull Face, the eyes on Third Child's gas mask become narrower, mimicking Skull Face's domino mask.
** When leashed to Shabani, Third Child will wear a lion necklace identical to the one Shabani wears.
** When leashed to Eli, Third Child will wear a bandana on his arm identical to Eli's.
* EvilRedhead: The most glaring thing about him (besides the mask) is his messy red hair. He also works for Skull Face, [[spoiler:but eventually abandons him in favor of Eli]].
* HandHidingSleeves: Of the Sneaky Variant. The boy's hands are completely hidden by the sleeves of his oversized straitjacket.
* HellIsThatNoise: Just like the Man on Fire's mechanical groaning, once you hear steady breathing coming from the other side of a respirator, you better run.
* TheKidWithTheLeash: In an interesting twist. [[spoiler:His abilities can be harnessed by anyone with overwhelming negative emotion, especially feelings of hate and revenge, but the "leash" changes hands various times as a result. In the beginning, it's Ahab who initially awakens his power, and the leash switches between the Man on Fire and Ahab, with Ahab sometimes subconsciously making the Man on Fire attack XOF soldiers and choppers (and even calls a ''giant flaming whale'' at one point), and the Man on Fire sometimes attacking Snake personally. Later on, Skull Face gets the leash and uses Rebenok's powers to control Sahelanthropus without a pilot or an AI, and also has control over the Man on Fire. In the end, Eli gets the leash via overwhelming feelings of revenge and uses it to attack Snake with Sahelantropus, culminating in the FinalBoss fight. Eli stays melded with Rebenok after Snake defeats Sahelantropus, and eventually harnesses his power one last time to escape from Mother Base with Sahelanthropus.]]
* MalevolentMaskedMen: Doesn't hesitate to unleash destruction against enemies and bystanders. Always masked.
* MeaningfulName: "Third Child" in Russian. Given the role he and Eli play at the end - [[spoiler:that is, activating a giant mech via mind meld]] - this might be a thinly veiled ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' reference.
* ThePowerOfHate: He's only "loyal" to whoever feels the most hate at any given moment.
* PowerFloats: He prefers levitation to walking.
* PsychicPowers: Including [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinesis]], [[PowerFloats levitation]] and [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]].
* SatelliteCharacter: [[spoiler: Has no personality of his own. He just does whatever his current "master" wants.]]
* SilentAntagonist: He never speaks at any point.
* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Appears with the "Man on Fire" at various points, [[spoiler:since he's a major part of why the brain-dead Volgin can even move.]]
** [[spoiler:At the end of the game, he switches from Volgin to Eli, and the two form both a strange [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid and lasting]] friendship.]]
* VaderBreath: He speaks solely in light breathing made ominous through his gasmask filter.
* WholeCostumeReference: His outfit is incredibly similar to Mantis. [[spoiler:And like Eli, aka Liquid, he seems to like the look.]]
* WildCard: He has no real loyalty to anyone; only sticks with whoever has the most hate around him, [[spoiler:which sets up his leaving Skull Face for Eli towards the end.]]
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: As revealed through cassette tapes, despite appearing as a malignant puppet master, [[spoiler:it's the other way around. The boy is almost completely incapable of controlling anything he does, as his volatile psychic powers are almost entirely controlled/influenced by those around him, particularly the incredibly evil and hateful Man on Fire, Skull Face, and Eli. In fact, the only time the boy's ego leaks out is when he mercy-kills a suffering child. The tapes reveal the only emotion the boy's extremely repressed true personality can muster any more is bitterness, as he's lived his entire childhood prodded by emotionless scientists, treated as nothing more than a tool of war. He also unintentionally caused a plane crash, probably killing dozens. Made even MORE sympathetic when it's implied he's Psycho Mantis, who found out his father secretly hated him, accidentally murdered dozens of people including his friends and family in a village fire, and when he finally grew out of his SatelliteCharacter role, tried to use his powers for good by helping the FBI...only to get practically possessed by a psychotic serial killer until his painful death. Geez.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The "Man on Fire"]]
[[quoteright:302:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_man_on_fire.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:302:[[labelnote:Click here to see his normal form.]][[quoteright:302:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_volgin.png]][[/labelnote]]]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Dave Fouquette (EN)
A demonic figure who absorbs kinetic energy and uses it to intensify his own flames. He's attracted to the rage and vengeful feelings of the characters, but is otherwise mindless.
----
* AdvancingWallOfDoom: You can't do anything except flee from him until he's in shooting range.
* ArtificialZombie: [[spoiler:He actually ''is'' Volgin's charred corpse, but brain-dead and mindless. It's only because Tretij empowers him (and his own hatred of Big Boss) that he can even move.]]
* AttackReflector: Shooting him with most weapons is totally futile; he'll just absorb the bullets and then explode them back at you. He's basically ThePowerOfHate personified. Shotguns can knock him on his ass, though.
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:He's a reanimated Volgin who is hell-bent on killing Snake after the events in Soviet Russia.]]
%%* BigRedDevil: Looks like one.
* CameBackStrong: [[spoiler:Before he became the "Man on Fire", Volgin's only remarkable abilities were in his [[ShockAndAwe usage of electricity]] and being too [[{{Determinator}} determined]] to just die. Now, as the "Man on Fire", he flat out ''[[StoryBreakerPower eclipses]]'' his former self with a [[PlayingWithFire wide]] [[EnergyAbsorption range]] [[AttackReflector of]] [[NighInvulnerable new]] [[WalkingWasteland abilities]].]]
* DemonicPossession: After a fashion. [[spoiler:As it's Volgin's remains infused with Psycho Mantis' powers through Soviet experimentation.]]
%%* {{Determinator}}: Doesn't even begin to describe it.
* IDieFree: [[spoiler:Upon realizing that Venom Snake ''isn't'' Big Boss, what's left of Volgin finally allows himself to die in peace.]]
* TheDreaded: In their brief encounter, even ''Ocelot'' is scared shitless of this thing, preferring to flee rather than fight. [[spoiler:Which isn't helped at all by the thing being the corpse of his old commanding officer.]]
* EnergyAbsorption: Regardless of ''what'' hits it, whether it's bullets, missiles, being [[CarFu run over]], or even being shot point-blank by a tank's cannon, [[ImplacableMan it'll simply take it]] and, after a moment to build up, [[AttackReflector reflects the damage tenfold]].
* HellIsThatNoise: His appearances are often preceded by a coarse mechanical groaning sound, as well as when he charges up his energy reflection ability. People also learn to listen for spontaneous fire sounds since they often herald his appearance.
* ImplacableMan: And '''HOW!''' The man eats bullets, grenades, and ''rockets'' for breakfast, survives an armored car ramming right into him ''after'' firing a tank cannon, [[spoiler:gets ran over by a who-knows-how-heavy platform holding Sahelanthropus]] and just gets up and walks/teleports away.
* KillItWithFire: Obviously. It starts a massive forest fire in the introduction, one which Ocelot and Venom Snake barely manage to flee from on horseback. Later, it burns down a research laboratory Skull Face is running in Africa when it's ordered to eliminate Snake who has infiltrated the place.
* KryptoniteFactor: He ''can'' be slowed down by water, but one way to put him down for good during the fight in mission 20 is to use the fully upgraded stun arm (with a full level 3 charge), causing lightning bolts to hit and K.O. him in one shot. Fitting, since [[spoiler:he was once a man with power over electricity who died set ablaze; now he's a creature of fire susceptible to the same element he used to command.]]
* LogicalWeakness: Being a ManOnFire, he's vulnerable to water. In the cassette tape "The Man on Fire's Weakness," Ocelot, despite expressing surprise at how simple it is to ward him off, [[LampshadeHanging nonetheless acknowledges that it makes sense]].
%%* ManOnFire: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin You bet]].
* NoMouth: He has no visible mouth.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: It is a spectre capable of maintaining both a physical presence in the world and being a [[RecurringBoss very real]] threat to you.
* PlayingWithFire: The very least of its powers.
* ThePowerOfHate: ''Literally'' its power source. [[spoiler:Its entire mission is getting revenge against Big Boss for killing Volgin.]] [[spoiler:Upon realizing that Venom Snake is ''not'' Big Boss, the flames on his body go out instantly and he accepts death at last.]]
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Its modus operandi, not to mention the only reason it even ''exists''. [[spoiler:It's Volgin's rage against Big Boss for killing him.]]
* ScarsAreForever: [[spoiler:If you manage to get a good look at his face, you can see that [[spoiler:he still has Volgin's old lighting scars, further hinting at his true identity.]]
* SovietSuperscience: It's also revealed to be a product of Soviet experimentation [[spoiler:in addition to whatever the Sorrow helped leave behind]].
* StillWearingTheOldColors: He's wearing the tattered remains of [[spoiler:Volgin's]] Soviet dress uniform and armor.
* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Always appears with Rebenok.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Good ol' [[KillItWithWater H2O.]] In the cassette tape "The Man on Fire's Weakness", Ocelot even expresses surprise at how simple it is to defeat him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shabani]]
The leader of the child soldiers, Shabani went missing in the Nzo ya Badiabulu, also known as the "Devil's House." Some of the child soldiers contact Diamond Dogs to ask for help in finding him.
----
* AFatherToHisMen: The other child soldiers remark that Shabani was the one who took care of them, and saw after their needs.
* BilingualBonus: He speaks nothing but Kikongo.
* ChildSoldier: The leader of a group of them.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Although DummiedOut from the normal game, the unfinished ending pointed out that Shabani's voice was starting to change, as is normal for puberty. [[spoiler:This was going to hint what was about to happen to Eli.]]
* IconicItem: Wears a handcarved necklace of a lion. [[spoiler:When Rebenok {{Mercy Kill}}s him, his EmpathicShapeshifter nature causes the psychic to wear a duplicate of the necklace.]] This necklace is later kept by the child soldiers.
* IllBoy: Like all in the Devil's House, [[spoiler:he's been used to incubate Vocal Cord Parasites]].
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:When Snake finds him, he's in terrible agony and begging for death. His despair is so great he actually leashes Rebenok long enough to give it to him.]]
* SpannerInTheWorks: Unintentionally. His suffering and pain were so much greater than that of the Man on Fire that Rebenok became leashed to Shabani. This buys Venom Snake enough time to escape the Devil's House.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Diamond Dogs]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lzihjsle.jpeg]]
The successor military business and private army of Militaires Sans Frontières, formed by Venom Snake, Kaz Miller, and Ocelot. It was eventually absorbed into the first Outer Heaven.
----
* ActionGirl: Any female members in the Combat Unit certainly count, especially if the player regularly deploys them.
* AlliterativeName: '''D'''iamond '''D'''ogs.
* AmazonBrigade: By repeating certain side missions, it's difficult but certainly possible to make Diamond Dogs entirely female (excluding certain teammates like Miller and Ocelot).
* BadassNormal: Gameplay-wise, all Diamond Dogs soldiers are virtually identical to Venom Snake, which means they can sneak through heavily fortified military bases and defeat a squad of {{Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot}}s and 50-foot tall HumongousMecha without breaking a sweat.
* BloodKnight: Every soldier patrolling Mother Base will beg the player to send them into combat if they get the chance.
* CombatSadomasochist: Strangely, all Diamond Dogs soldiers absolutely ''love'' it when the player attacks them. Sometimes, while choking them, it's even common for them to beg them to squeeze "harder".
* EqualOpportunityEvil: The Diamond Dogs are definitely not evil, just very morally questionable at times. As long as they are willing to follow orders and do them well, they don't discriminate for reasons like gender, race, or national origin. [[spoiler:That they take in all people, regardless of origin, brings in the Kikongo strain of the vocal cord parasite, and makes it virulent.]]
* FanGirl: Apparently there's a "Team Ocelot" and "Team Miller" among the female ranks.
** Every girl is in love with Venom Snake, as well as a number of the guys.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: Each soldier has the chance of personally thanking the Boss for saving the animals he comes across on his missions.
* PlayerCharacter: Almost every single Diamond Dogs soldier has the ability to be sent out on missions and controlled by the player if put into the Combat Unit.
* SeriousBusiness: A pair of soldiers treat whether or not D.D. is a wolf or a dog like this.
* UndyingLoyalty: They will follow Snake to the end, no matter what.
-->'''Diamond Dog Soldier:''' We live and die by your order, Boss.
* WouldNotHurtAChild: Go out of their ways to ensure the safety of any child soldiers.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:D-Dog]]
[[quoteright:301:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_dd.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' D.D.
A wolfdog puppy that Venom Snake finds in the wilderness after its mother has been killed. Snake takes him back to base and raises him with help from Ocelot, whereupon he becomes a valuable field asset and companion to the legendary soldier. His main function as a buddy is to automatically mark enemies, prisoners and items as you approach from a distance, making search-and-rescue missions a snap and undoing the problem of blind corners in outposts. He can also be equipped with some small weapons that let him take out enemies or Fulton them on his own.
----
* ActionPet: This wolfdog can actively assist his master, Venom Snake, on dangerous field missions.
* BadassAdorable: D.D. is available as an AI companion during gameplay. Any dog capable of keeping up with Snake's insane mission antics has to be a badass by default. And yes, it goes without saying he's an adorable animal.
* CanisMajor: D.D. is a wolfdog, not a pure wolf, indicated by his wagging his tail in a domesticated fashion, and that pure wolves are not known to bark the way he does, serving as a CallBack[=/=]CallForward to Solid Snake and Big Boss's love for dogs and passion for dog-sledding as a sport. His wolf genes mainly account for him being a ''very'' big dog -- big enough to knock Snake to the ground.
* CanineCompanion: Ocelot fashions D.D., short for Diamond Dog, as the mascot for Snake's Diamond Dogs group. Furthermore, the wolfdog is clearly affectionate around Snake, being seen jumping on the man's leg and licking his face. As a grown wolfdog, he accompanies Snake during a mission, eagerly jumping into the helicopter before he gets on it.
* CoolPet: A wolfdog with an eyepatch, that can accompany Snake on a mission? It goes without saying that's awesome.
* EyeScream: D.D. has a scarred right eye as a puppy. After the timeskip, he has an eyepatch over his right eye, serving as an animal counterpart to Snake.
* EyepatchOfPower: Wears an eyepatch over his right eye, [[UncattyResemblance just like his master Snake.]]
* EyepatchAfterTimeSkip: We first see D.D. as a puppy, but when we see him next, he's a grown up wolfdog sporting an eye patch over his scarred right eye.
* HeroicDog: As our protagonist's loyal CanineCompanion.
* HowlOfSorrow: Die in battle, and he howls in sadness before the GameOver screen pops up.
* {{Irony}}: Noted by Snake when he ponders on Ocelot's codename and his affiliation with cats, "Ocelots raising hounds. Huh."
* KnifeNut: D.D. can be equipped with either a regular knife for throat slitting or a stun knife for non-lethal attacks.
* NobleWolf: Very affectionate and friendly around Snake and Ocelot, and is clearly loyal enough to serve along Snake in combat.
* TeamPet: The mascot of Diamond Dogs, and clearly capable of going on missions making him both a loyal soldier and mascot.
* UncattyResemblance: D.D. is pretty much Venom Snake if he were a wolfdog, right down to the badass infiltration and assassination capabilities, and eyepatch. He can even don a cute sneaking suit based off Venom's.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:D-Horse]]
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_d_horse.jpg]]
A horse that Snake rides into Afghanistan and can use as a support buddy.
----
* AutomatonHorse: Subverted in the sense that he can take a crap (and eventually do so on command), but otherwise D-Horse never really needs any maintenance, probably because that's being taken care of at Mother Base.
* BoringButPractical: D-Horse isn't particularly fancy, but nine times out of ten he's your best bet if you want to get from point A to point B without being spotted.
* ContinuityNod: He's the same breed and color as The Boss's horse from ''Metal Gear Solid 3''.
* CoolHorse: Snake can use him as transport and, after upgrades, as a pack animal to store extra gear. He can also be used to cause diversions and traps by defecating on command.
* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: Fittingly for the man who attempts to embroil the world in a permanent state of war, D-Horse calls to mind both the rider representing conquest and the one representing death.
* OffscreenTeleportation: As long as you whistle for him, D-Horse will generally appear by your side within seconds.
* RefugeInAudacity: His excrement can be used to disable enemy vehicles.
* TeamPet: Like D.D., he can be used on missions as a support buddy.
* WhiteStallion: The ideal mount for a decorated soldier.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:D-Walker]]
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_d_walker.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Lock and loaded."'']]
A bipedal robot which Snake can either pilot himself, or set to fight alongside him.
----
* AceCustom: Unlike regular Walker Gears, which are restricted to dual AM-[=D114=] pistols and either a gatling gun or missile launcher, its loadout can be customised with different weapons for different purposes.
* {{Expy}}:
** Resembles a scaled-up version of the [[VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}} Metal Gear Mk. II]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots / Mk. III]].
** Likewise, D-Walker bears a resemblance to the Metal Gears seen in the first two games.
** The way it skates along the ground also makes it look like a stripped-down [[Franchise/CodeGeass Knightmare Frame]].
** Its H-Discharger main weapon is identical to the Pupa AI-Weapon's Shock unit. Apparently, Huey saved a copy of the design specs.
* GatlingGood: One model comes equipped with one.
* GunsAkimbo: Can dual-wield specially-designed pistols.
* JackOfAllTrades: Like D-Horse it's fast, manoeuvrable, and surprisingly stealthy. Like Quiet it can be set to automatically protect you, and like D-Dog it can scan the area for enemies. Also, it can carry more ammo than Snake ever could, and it's ''really'' good against The Skulls.
* MasterOfNone: Especially before you've researched its upgrades. It is hard to control at top speed, you can't use iron-sights with its guns, and it can't regenerate health.
* MiniMecha: A customized Walker Gear.
* RobotBuddy: [[StealthPun On several levels]].
* RollerbladeGood: Has an alternate mode that lets it skate along the ground, even in the desert!
* SlidingScaleOfRobotIntelligence: Falls somewhere between "Brick" and "Robo-Monkey". As a vehicle, he's very mechanical, but he has a tendency to make emotive beeps and small gestures while assisting Snake.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The "SKULLS" Parasite Unit]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_parasite_unit.png]]
A unit of biologically and technologically enhanced soldiers that hunt down Venom Snake, and are under Skull Face's orders.
----
* AchillesHeel: Their parasite, "The One That Covers", has one crippling weakness; they dehydrate their owners very quickly, leading to an intense need for water. Normally they mitigate this with the mist they spontaneously generate, but even that won't last them forever. This can be used against them by making it rain with the "Weather Control" upgrade or using the squirt gun on them as they will cease all other functions so that the parasite can absorb the water.
* ArtificialZombie: [[spoiler:Their gait makes them appear to be zombie-like, but they're actually soldiers enhanced by by the parasites developed by Skull Face as a means to rob the world of English.]]
* BaldOfEvil: Complete lack of hair on men and [[BaldWomen women]]: Check. Do the dirty work for Skull Face: Check.
* BarrierWarrior: Armor-Skulls can encase their bodies in stone, leaving another health bar that must be taken down to damage them. If it's broken, they can recharge it if you leave them alone long enough.
* {{BFS}}: They come equipped with a machete that can cut through vehicles like wet tissue paper.
* BodyHorror: Parasites forming their skin and parts of their armor notwithstanding, Mission 29 shows that [[spoiler:they have a HealingFactor that can regenerate damaged parts of their bodies from scratch. Of course, we first have to see their damaged forms, and seeing a man walking upright and towards you with a torso and head that looks to have been ''flayed'' is not a pretty sight.]]
* CreepyShadowedUndereyes: They have inkblot-like patterns around their eyes caused by the parasites. Unlike Quiet's, these seem to be permanent.
* CyberNinja: Technically, they are a continuation of the recurring Cyborg Ninjas in the series... only this time, [[UpToEleven they are a whole]] ''[[UpToEleven unit]]'' [[UpToEleven of them]].[[note]]And no, ConservationOfNinjutsu is '''[[AvertedTrope not]]''' in effect.[[/note]] They also bear a passing resemblance to [[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Sundowner]].
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: If the player opts to fight the Skulls when recovering the Honey Bee weapon, Miller's first reaction to beating them is to praise Snake as the greatest soldier in the world.
* {{Dehumanization}}: They're already {{Mooks}}, but Kaz explicitly doesn't consider them human. Ones that you Fulton [[spoiler:are permanently kept in cages]] unless you [[spoiler:use the Parasite Suit, which will result in them being killed for their parasites]].
** To be fair, it's heavily implied that their regime of [[spoiler:parasite therapy, and heavy psychological, chemical and even possibly surgical conditioning has permanently reduced them to a bestial state. In any case, they're never show any signs of being capable of communication or higher reasoning.]]
* TheDreaded: For players and InUniverse characters alike. Miller mentions in a cassette tape that when he was captured in Afghanistan, he was taken in by the Skulls. A strange mist formed around him and his men and they didn't even realize they were being attacked until [[BodyHorror limbs and other body parts]] [[CruelAndUnusualDeath started raining down around him.]] His men were wiped out in minutes and Miller thinks that the only reason he survived was because the Skulls ''made a mistake''. On the player side of things, a mist rolling in is basically your cue to book it to an LZ or prepare for the fight of your life; Miller and Ocelot even typically warn Snake to run rather than face them.
* EmpathicEnvironment: Their presence is always announced by a thick mist. It's an InvokedTrope, as they create the mist from one of their parasite strains.
* EliteMooks: Whenever these show up, you must either fight like hell, or run like hell. There is no middle ground.
* FourIsDeath: They always deploy in teams of four.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: the Mist Unit are a very prominent example.
* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: To a degree. While the elite male Skulls have guns and are not afraid to use them, they generally prefer to go for melee attacks with fists, swords and telekinetic [[StuffBlowingUp explosive rocks]]. The elite female Skulls, by contrast, are all GlassCannon snipers. They do possess swords, but seldom, if ever decide to use them.
* {{Hammerspace}}: The Skulls can seemingly spawn weapons like submachine guns out of thin air. Their introductory cutscene shows them doing just that.
* HealingFactor: [[spoiler:Mission 29 shows that they have one, and it is a pretty expansive one at that. Not everyone can recover from having large sections of their bodies burnt up and destroyed in a helicopter crash with no repercussions.]]
* ImplacableMan: A small army of them. You either stop them or they'll stop you dead through superior firepower, endurance and ability to keep up with you should you try to flee.
* LightningBruiser: While Mist-Skulls aren't to be taken lightly, Armor-Skulls are bigger but just as manoeuvrable and take a lot more damage to put down.
* MalevolentMaskedMan: The male Skulls all seem to have some sort of breathing apparatus strapped to their faces, further dehumanizing them while simultaneously ramping up their fear factor. Crosses over with GasMaskMooks [[spoiler: after the reveal that the parasites that comprise their skin need to breathe, which the masks are implied to supplement with oxygen since they can't breathe through their heavy armor. The females bypass this by having skimpier outfits that allow the parasites to breathe easier.]]
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Well, they get 3 parts of the trope name down to a T. They jump around and attack like ninjas, walk and shamble about like zombies, as well as having rotting/decaying/sickly looking skin that gives them an undead appearance, and are enhanced by technologically advanced armor and weaponry. The closest that they come to being pirates is that the female snipers have a [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Solid Eye]] style eyepatch.
* TheSpeechless: The only noises they make are a sort of a choking sound when hurt, and what can only be described as a "whispery scream" when attacking.
* SuperPrototype: After a fashion. The Skulls foreshadow later attempts at creating enhanced soldiers, such as the Genome Soldiers stationed at Shadow Moses in the first ''Metal Gear Solid'' and the cyborgs seen afterwards. Using parasites and experimental conditioning in place of genetics, cybernetics or nanomachines.
* SuperpoweredMooks: They have distinctive superhuman abilities. They can [[SuperSpeed sprint as fast as a horse or vehicle]], [[TeleportSpam seemingly teleport short distances]], take [[NighInvulnerable an inhuman amount of punishment]] before they go down[[note]]Even the basic un-armored Skulls can eat a little over 2 full mags of assault rifle fire before going down, and the fact they attack in groups means you can't just dump all your ammo on one like you would a lone boss.[[/note]], [[ZombieInfectee can infect others with their inner parasite]], can jump high enough to disappear into the sky, and can land from high altitudes without hurting themselves. [[{{Hammerspace}} They can also spawn weaponry out of thin air]]. It's implied by their glowing eyes that they can see in the dark as well. Mist covers any area where they're deployed, which is also derived from their powers.
* TeleportSpam: They ruthlessly abuse this power, making it almost impossible to shoot any one of them for more than a few seconds. Their melee attacks consist of teleporting into your face or [[DeathFromAbove lunging at you from above]]. They'll even warp on top of your vehicle!
* ZombieGait: They shamble about in a manner reminiscent of zombies, but much faster.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Vocal Cord Parasite]]
A species of parasites that infest the vocal cords and procreate upon being exposed to a specific language. They play a crucial role in Skull Face's EvilPlan.
A related species, "the one that covers," is the source of Quiet's powers, as well as those of the Skulls.
----
* BodyHorror: Once they begin to reproduce, they do so by consuming the victim's lung tissue. The symptoms of infestation manifest as large blue tumorous sacks on the victims' chests.
* CallForward: Their uses foreshadow [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid FOXDIE]] and the role played by [[NanoMachines nanomachines]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2 decades]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4 down]] the [[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance line.]]
* CursedWithAwesome: The parasites, given the right conditioning, can grant incredible powers to those infected by them.
* FlawedPrototype: The precursors to nanomachines, they grant similar superhuman abilities to their users, but often at a great cost. For Quiet, she is unable to breath normally and must have her skin exposed; for others, such as the parasite unit, their upper brain functions have all but ceased, making them nothing more than living weapons.
* TheImmune: Children cannot be infested by the vocal cord parasite, as their vocal cords are not fully developed.
* LogicalWeakness: They can be prevented procreating if the host simply doesn't speak.
* NoBiochemicalBarriers: In the tapes of Code Talker describing his research, he mentions that the Vocal Cord Parasites have existed since the Permian period, and infected many different species since then. This is very unusual behavior, even for parasites. [[note]]First it was amphibians, then it was therapsids after the P-T extinction, dinosaurs after the T-J extinction, then birds after the K-Pg extinction, before finally settling on humans during the Holocene era.[[/note]]
* PuppeteerParasite: In the backstory, a benevolent one. The parasites infested the vocal cords of their hosts, and allowed them to make different sounds. Code Talker points out that this is quite normal in nature, although the parasites were unique because they had other hosts make the sounds. In humans, this developed their vocal cords and allowed for complex sounds, and eventually, language.
* SterilityPlague: Not so much the Parasite but the vaccination treatment. Code Talker modified a Wolbachia parasite to infest the Vocal Cord Parasite. Since Wolbachia introduces sex change within the parasites, it renders all of the parasites female, and thus, unable to copulate. As a side effect, it alters the cells within the host's body, causing their sperm cells to kill egg cells on contact, rendering the person infested with the parasite free from the parasite's harmful effects, but unable to produce children.
* SuperEmpowering: They're responsible for the powers of Quiet and the Skulls, [[DoingInTheWizard as well as The End and The Pain.]]
* WeaponOfMassDestruction: They're explicitly described as being even more dangerous than a Metal Gear.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: '''Metal Gear Sahelanthropus''']]
[[quoteright:306:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_sahelanthropus2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:306:''THE PENULTIMATE WEAPON'']]
->'''AKA:''' Sahelanthropus, ST-84 Metal Gear
The newest model of the titular Metal Gear following ZEKE, Sahelanthropus is Soviet in design, although it is implied that Huey may have had a hand in its construction. Capable of switching between a hunched over lumbering form (similar to the later REX model), and a massive standing form capable of wielding a nano-fiber whip that summons tectonic spikes upon striking the ground.
----
* ActionBomb: While never used as such, Sahelanthropus can use the metallic archea inside it to enrich its depleted uranium armor and turn itself into a giant walking nuke.
* {{BFG}}: Has a massive railgun mounted on its shoulder.
* {{BFS}}: Wields a pair of giant nano-fibre whips capable of hardening into an 18-wheeler sized straight-sword.
* CallForward: Its design, befitting its status as a "missing link", has elements of both Metal Gear REX and RAY. Specifically, its iconic head, legs, crotch weaponry, railgun and spherical side mounted "radome" all pay homage to REX, while its upright mode and arms pay slight homage to RAY. Apparently Otacon used Sahelanthropus as a subconscious "blueprint" when designing REX, as the heads are almost identical. Though REX was never designed to be upright, unlike Sahelanthropus.
* CannibalismSuperpower: The metallic archaea within Sahelanthropus will eats its own body, and can turn it into a nuclear bomb.
* CutsceneIncompetence: ''Averted''. [[spoiler:When Snake runs through a narrow cliff pass impassable to Sahelanthropus, instead of giving up, the ST-84 simply switches to its standing form and demolishes the cliffs.]]
* DevilInPlainSight: An interesting variation, in which ST-84 is a walking bipedal weapons system, and thus, would be known to be a war machine by anyone. However, since it uses only conventional weaponry and only has depleted uranium armor, it would not raise the suspicions of any nuclear watchdogs. But because of the metallic archaea, ST-84 can turn itself into a nuke.
* {{Expy}}: Given Kojima's well-known love of movies, it wouldn't be surprising if the Sahelanthropus's shape and weapon of choice was inspired by Balrog from [[Film/LordOfTheRings Fellowship of the Ring]].
** It also references the uplifted ape with the bone from the opening of Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey.
** Its more humanoid form bears a passing resemblance to [[Franchise/{{Gundam}} Universal Century mobile suits]], complete with head vulcans.
** Its overall appearance when standing, along with its occasionally bestial movements, is also similar to an [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion]]. Furthering the link is the name of the psychic boy who drives it: Tretij Rebenok, Russian for "Third Child", which was the designation given to Shinji Ikari from ''Evangelion''.
** The placement of its crotch-mounted flamethrower reminds many of the Orbital Frames from ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'', another Kojima-produced series.
* FinalBoss: [[spoiler:Ultimately, it's the Final Boss of the main story, and the final mission period is just a harder version of the boss battle.]]
* FlawedPrototype: It's completely useless without external/supernatural aid to compensate for its defective/inadequate control system, rendering the current design useless for mass/serial production. The issues it suffers from are due to repeated changes in design direction (being originally designed for AI control then being redesigned very late in its development for manned piloting), and promptly running into crippling balance weight issues since the drive system wasn't intended to bear the weight of an adequately protected cockpit. Its cockpit is also too small to fit an adult pilot; only a child can comfortably pilot it. Its shoulder-mounted railgun suffers from recoil issues; Sahelanthropus must anchor itself to the ground in its hunched over "REX mode" to utilize it without knocking itself over.
* GroundPound: When the Sahelanthropus strikes the ground with its nanofiber whip-sword, it creates a rippling trail of metallic pylons.
* HumongousMecha: On par with Rex in its hunched over form, and towering over it in its standing form.
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: A flaming, nanofiber whip-sword that shoots explosive pylons out of the ground.
* MadeOfIron: Sahelanthropus is unique in that its armor is made from depleted uranium, which is denser than lead and thus extremely durable. However...
* MadeOfExplodium: Given the right catalyst, its depleted uranium armor means the Metal Gear ''itself'' turns into a walking nuclear bomb that can be detonated as a self-destruct function. [[note]]Which really doesn't work that way in real life. Depleted uranium can't be used to initiate a nuclear reaction; that's why it's "depleted". It's explained that ST-84 has [[spoiler:"metallic archaea", an organism that enriches the uranium to make it weapons-grade.]][[/note]]
* MeaningfulName: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahelanthropus Sahelanthropus]] is a hominid species that is theorized to be a common ancestor to humans and chimpanzees. It even makes chimp-like screeching noises as it acts in battle.
--> '''Kojima''': To move forward to the new world, you need to stand up.
* PhallicWeapon: The crotch flamethrower.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: Its cockpit is too small for an adult, but a child might fit...
* TakingYouWithMe: The reason Huey used depleted uranium for ST-84's body, so that, if worse comes to worst, ST-84 can use the metallic archaea within its body and self-destruct, taking the enemy along with it.
* WalkingTank: Subverted. Unlike the previous Metal Gears, this one appears to have more of a humanoid shape.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Its fate following the events of Phantom Pain is never discussed, as it was last seen being recovered from Eli's island by Diamond Dogs, in a terribly damaged albeit repairable state.
* WhipItGood: Sahelanthropus wields a pair of nanofiber whips capable of hardening into a gigantic straight-sword.
[[/folder]]
----
'''Unmarked spoilers in the bios below. Proceed with ''extreme'' caution if you have not finished the game yet.'''
----
[[folder:Punished "Venom" Snake/Ahab]]
[[quoteright:340:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nuzfpf9.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:340:''"...I'm already a demon."'']]
->'''AKA:''' Big Boss, V, The Phantom, The Medic
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/AkioOhtsuka (JP), Creator/KieferSutherland (EN)
-->''"I won't scatter your sorrow to the heartless sea. I will always be with you. Plant your roots in me. I won't see you end as ashes. You're all diamonds."''
9 years after falling into a coma at the end of ''Ground Zeroes'', Big Boss awakens to find his left arm has been amputated and the entire world wants him dead. After escaping from the hospital he's being held in, he assumes the codename "Venom Snake" and takes charge of a new mercenary unit called Diamond Dogs to get revenge on the people who took everything from him, [[RevengeBeforeReason no matter the cost]].
He was in fact a medic and Big Boss's best MSF soldier, who was on board the chopper during the ''Ground Zeroes'' mission to help extract the bombs from Paz. After suffering horrible injuries protecting Big Boss from an explosion, Cipher performed plastic surgery and memory alteration to make him a BodyDouble who could throw Skull Face off Big Boss's trail if need be. At the start of ''The Phantom Pain'', Ocelot and Big Boss activate him to serve as a decoy while the original Big Boss begins building [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 the nation of Outer Heaven]].
----
* TheAce: Even after a 9 year coma, he's still the greatest soldier of the 20th century. He was also Big Boss's best MSF operative - and thus the perfect candidate for becoming Big Boss's phantom.
** If anything, the reveal that he is the Medic from Ground Zeroes is an added layer of badass: he actually ''wasn't'' the greatest soldier of the 20th century. '''''At first.'''''
* AntiHero: Though he is fighting the evil Skull Face, [[PetTheDog and he thinks the world of his men]], he's still a war criminal torturing non-combatants, stealing nuclear weapons and employing ChildSoldiers.
* AntiVillain: Even at his most villainous, Venom still has understandable motives, as well as possessing humanity and inner goodness within him.
* AnArmAndALeg: The same skirmish which placed Big Boss in a coma also cost him his left arm. He wears prosthetics of varying complexity in ''The Phantom Pain.''
* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Venom Snake regains his entire muscle mass in around 13 days, the length of time it takes to travel down the Suez Canal from Cyprus to Afghanistan. He was a skinny invalid who could barely walk upon escaping the hospital, and needed to be injected with [[FantasticDrug digoxin]] just to be able to move. Even a protein heavy diet and extreme weight lifting will not accomplish such muscle gain that quickly. Hand-waved by the doctor saying they kept him in shape with massages and electro-stimulation treatments during his nine year coma.
* AscendedExtra: He's basically whoever your favorite male MSF recruit was in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker''.
* AscendedFanboy: Well, in a sense. All the MSF soldiers since ''Peace Walker'' idolizes Big Boss as their leader. Venom goes above and beyond and ''becomes'' Big Boss.
* AudienceSurrogate: In the surreal true ending, he is implied to be a representation of the player themselves, who in creating Big Boss's adventures has become as much Big Boss as the character himself.
* BadassNormal: He's just a regular soldier fighting enemies who have superhuman abilities, like Quiet and the Skulls. Not only that, but he can take on tank squads single handedly, and win. While Solid Snake had a hell of a time fighting just one, Venom was fighting at least 3 of them at the same time.
** Taken several steps further with the fact that he can instead ''steal'' tanks and ''kidnap'' their potentially elite infantry support. And this doesn't even have to be considered an objective, let alone a side-op or part of a story mission. [[ButForMeItWasTuesday For Venom, it's Tuesday]].
* BadassesWearBandanas: He can wear a bandana on his head as an optional clothing.
* BadassGrandpa: He was ''63'' when he took Solid Snake, who was in his prime, on in ''Metal Gear 1'', and yet the battle is canonically regarded as the most brutal and difficult fight Solid Snake ever endured in his career.
* BagOfSpilling: A rival military outfit, the XOF, takes out Mother Base and nearly all his allies. Big Boss lands in a nine-year coma after this incident, which strips away his muscle mass. When he finally comes to, he's so weak that he has to literally crawl his way out of the hospital with his two hands at first. Subverted, due to his not actually being Big Boss, but a body double.
* BecomingTheMask: In the true ending, Naked Snake tells you that both you and he are Big Boss now, as you've both helped to create Big Boss's legend.
* BigNo: Venom screams in anguish as the final hallucination of Paz draws to a close. In the cut episode, he also [[SkywardScream shouts to the sky]] when he mistakenly shoots Eli.
* BookEnds: He ends ''The Phantom Pain'' remembering what really happened to him at the end of ''Ground Zeroes''. Also, this ending comes after playing an alternate cut of the Prologue hospital mission.
* BodyDouble: At the start of ''Phantom Pain'', he's about to have plastic surgery to look like another random soldier whose appearance is for you to decide. It doesn't actually occur however. That's because in reality, that soldier used to be you, and you've already had plastic surgery to become Big Boss's double.
* BodyHorror: In addition to his missing left arm, he has a piece of shrapnel lodged in his forehead in the shape of a [[HornedHumanoid horn]], said horn being embedded in his brain and being impossible to remove without risking a brain haemorrhage.
* ByronicHero: He becomes far more brooding after what happened to him in ''Ground Zeroes''.
* CanineCompanion: Can adopt a wolf pup named DD[=/=]Diamond Dog to serve as a Buddy.
* CardCarryingVillain: After rescuing Miller, he openly admits to being a demon and states that Heaven's "not his kinda place."
* CharacterCustomization: You get to customize your online appearance at the start of ''Phantom Pain''. This also becomes your appearance before becoming Big Boss's phantom. Completing the game unlocks this appearance for use in single player.
* ChickMagnet: Quiet is in love with him as is ''every other'' woman at Mother Base, apparently. The given reason for this goes, "The Boss is... well, the Boss." In other words, when you wear the face of Big Boss, you become an instant ladies' man.
* ConvenientComa: He falls into a coma in 1975 and wakes up 9 years later in 1984, allowing for a TimeSkip where the bad guys and his allies can build up their forces.
* CoveredWithScars: Thanks to the Fox Engine. All the injuries he takes at the end of ''Ground Zeroes'' leaves him with tons of facial scars in ''Phantom Pain''. Not only that, but his entire torso is covered in huge twisting scars and large patches of permanently discolored and burn-scarred skin. That said, it's done little to detract from his [[MrFanservice attractiveness]].
* CruelMercy:
** At the end of the game, when they come across Skull Face crushed under a collapsed radio tower, begging for a quick death, Venom and Miller instead elect to use Skull Face's own Mare's Leg to blow most of his limbs off, leaving him to die slowly as revenge for his destruction of [=MSF=] nine years ago. Ultimately averted, as right after they do so, Huey kills the man himself.
** After Huey is confirmed to have betrayed both [=MSF=] and the Diamond Dogs, Venom Snake lets him live despite literally ''everyone'' in Diamond Dogs cheering for his death. Instead, he has Huey exiled from Mother Base on a life raft too small to support his mechanical legs, stripped of his greatest treasure and exposed to the world as a fraud.
* DentedIron: In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'', [[AnArmAndALeg he loses an arm]] and ends covered in burns, scars and embedded shrapnel.
* TheDeterminator: He's not going to let ''anything'' get in the way of his revenge against XOF and Cipher.
* DoomedByCanon: [[MetalGear1 Solid Snake]] [[ForegoneConclusion kills him in Outer Heaven]].
* TheDragon: To the ''original'' Big Boss, aka Ishmael.
* TheDreaded: Nobody likes the thought of going up against Big Boss in battle. Eavesdropping on enemy conversations will reveal that they ''know'' they're going up against the best of the best, and it frightens them. Thanks to the game's dynamic difficulty, enemies gradually begin using more extreme tactics to kill him -- including firing mortars on his position.
* EightiesHair: Averted. After waking up from his coma in 1984, he starts tying his mullet up in a ponytail.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Thanks to progressive upgrades into his cybernetic arm, Venom eventually gains access to a small range of "powers" that no other Snake (before or after him) has ever displayed. This includes '''raining lightning storms''' down on his enemies, like Volgin used to. See ShockAndAwe below.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Despite being, and playing up his reputation as a ruthless mercenary commander, Venom has lines ''he will not cross''. Noticeably, he finds Huey both ''disgusting'' and ''revolting'', and when he discovers that he had been hired to assassinate ChildSoldiers, he refuses to harm the children and takes them back to Mother Base after faking their deaths.
* EvilMakesYouMonstrous: Due to the hidden "Demon Points" counter, every immoral action Snake commits (killing animals or enemy soldiers, attacking your buddies, killing Diamond Dogs staff, developing nukes, etc.) will slowly cause this to happen to him. At 20,000 points, his shrapnel horn grows significantly to resemble an actual horn, and at 50,000 points, it grows even longer and Snake [[BloodIsTheNewBlack becomes permanently covered in blood]], becoming a true "demon."
* TheFaceless: He was covered in bandages for 9 years so no one would be able to recognize him. His full face isn't shown at any point during his appearance in ''Ground Zeroes'' either, being at least partially obscured by either camera angels or bits of scenery at all times.
* FakeMemories: Courtesy of the surgeons employed by Cipher, to ensure he would be the perfect Big Boss body double. Ocelot ensures they stick by utilizing info dumps regarding background information of the life of Big Boss to reinforce them.
* FashionableAsymmetry: In ''The Phantom Pain'', he wears a single glove over his right hand while leaving his left (prosthetic) hand bare.
* AFatherToHisMen: Loves his Diamonds Dog soldiers ''dearly'', and greatly mourns their deaths.
* FinalBoss: The credits reveal that he was the Big Boss fought at the end of ''VideoGame/MetalGear1''.
* FeaturelessProtagonist: Invoked at the start of ''Phantom Pain'', where you get to do CharacterCustomization for apparent plastic surgery that never happens. He's also a literal stand-in for the player, similar to Raiden in ''Metal Gear Solid 2''. This is why the character's past before ''Ground Zeroes'' is never discussed, and why you're allowed to customize his former appearance and birthday.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: The medic who saved Big Boss was an ordinary soldier before the fall of MSF. After becoming Venom Snake, he essentially became Big Boss's spitting image, not just in appearances, but in combat capabilities: he would go on to destroy XOF, kill Skull Face, and found Outer Heaven.
* GoodCounterpart: Despite his rather horrifying appearance, there's ''a lot'' of in-game hints that Venom is the more benevolent side of the two Big Bosses, often showing mercy, honor, and compassion towards his foes, and being much more tempered, and level headed then say Kaz, and the original Big Boss. Further reflected by Outer Heaven's morality, compared to Zanzibar Land.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: He has several thin scars on his face, in contrast to Skull Face, who is nothing ''but'' scar tissue.
* {{Hallucinations}}: An early radio conversation with Ocelot reveals that Venom Snake's shrapnel wound is pressing on his optic nerve, which could cause him to see things that aren't there, such as Paz. [[MindScrew You even hallucinate cassette tapes of her]]!
* HandicappedBadass: In ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid V|ThePhantomPain}}'', he loses his left arm.
* HeelRealization: Completely aware of how bad he's gone by the end of ''The Phantom Pain'', [[IveComeTooFar but sees no reason to turn back]].
-->'''Venom Snake''': I'm already a demon. Heaven's not my kind of place, anyway.
* HeroesLoveDogs: [[CanineCompanion He can adopt a wolf pup named DD]] in ''[=MGSV=]''.
* HookHand: What he initially has as a left hand prosthetic in ''The Phantom Pain''.
* HornedHumanoid: During ''The Phantom Pain'', he gets a chunk of debris and bone lodged in his forehead, which takes on this appearance.
* IHaveManyNames: In ''The Phantom Pain'' alone he's refered to as [[MeaningfulName Venom Snake]], Big Boss, Ahab, V, and the Phantom. Or alternatively Big Boss's phantom.
* IOweYouMyLife: As thanks for saving his life, the ''real'' Big Boss made him the "second" Big Boss after he threw himself in front of the explosion to shield him when Mother Base was attacked.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Due to the shrapnel "horn" in his head, he has some memory loss and has to be reminded of certain events, like his leadership of MSF and how Miller helped lead him, and can no longer speak Russian without an interpreter. With the reveal that Venom Snake is a BodyDouble of Big Boss, it's explained that the real reason for the "amnesia" is because Ocelot couldn't finish implanting him with Big Boss' memories, as XOF was set to attack the hospital Snake was stationed at sooner than expected.
* LegacyCharacter: Chronologically, he's the fifth Snake[[note]]After John received the codename Naked Snake in the 60s and David, Eli and George were given codenames Solid Snake, Liquid Snake and Solidus Snake during their creation in the 70s.[[/note]] and the third Boss[[note]]After The Boss and the first Big Boss[=/=]Naked Snake.[[/note]] As far as the series release order goes he's the SIXTH man to hold the codename Snake.[[note]]Since Raiden briefly assumed the "Snake" codename in ''[=MGS2=]''.[[/note]]
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Regardless of how far he's fallen, he's still the lesser evil to [[BigBad Skull Face]].
* LimaSyndrome: His LoveInterest, Quiet, becomes such for him after he defeats and captures her.
* MagicPlasticSurgery: Thanks to Cipher's surgeons, he looks identical to the real Big Boss, albeit CoveredWithScars.
* MagneticHero: WordOfGod is that Snake is the ''only'' reason Miller and Ocelot work together at all, or ''any'' of the Mother Base staff for that matter; he outright states that Diamond Dogs would collapse without Snake around. In fact, a cassette tape reveals that Miller tried to recruit some MSF survivors to Diamond Dogs during the nine-year TimeSkip, but they refused to come back simply because Snake wasn't there.
* TheMedic: He is the MSF medic that assists in extracting the bomb from Paz's stomach at the end of ''Ground Zeroes''.
* MeaningfulName: He is referred to at a few points as V - as in the roman numeral five - since he's the fifth Snake after Naked, Solid, Liquid, and Solidus.
** "Ahab" also qualifies, as he pursues revenge to a self-destructive degree. Being named by the original Big Boss/Ishmael hints that he was intended to do just that.
* MeaningfulRename: After everything he goes through in the run up to ''The Phantom Pain'', he dubs himself "Venom Snake."
* MeatgrinderSurgery: In ''Ground Zeroes'', he conducts one on Paz to remove the bomb from her body. Given that they don't know when it'll go off, he's forced to do so without anaesthetic. All the while, Paz is fully conscious and screaming in agony.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: As revealed after bringing Code Talker back to Mother Base, Snake's destruction of Mfinda Oilfield to stop the water pollution allowed the vocal cord parasites to spread through the water and infect the villages downstream.
* NoNameGiven: At the start of ''Phantom Pain'', you're told your name is now "Ahab", and your past no longer matters. His true name is never given in ''Ground Zeroes'', and you get to decide what it is right at the beginning of ''Phantom Pain''.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Being that he was once Big Boss's subordinate, it's easy to assume he's much younger. In reality he's actually three years older than the real Big Boss.
* OneManArmy: He single-handedly takes out multiple squads of Russian soldiers, African mercenaries, and XOF killers in ''Phantom Pain''.
* PlayerCharacter: He serves as the player character of ''Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain''.
* PapaWolf: In the cut "Mission 51", he shoots down three XOF soldiers trying to kill Eli, but shoots him on accident due to head injury that temporarily made him color-blind.
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: Despite once working with the relatively heroic MSF unit, by ''The Phantom Pain'' he's a [[RevengeBeforeReason revenge-driven]], [[CardCarryingVillain self-confessed]] "demon."
* PsychoticSmirk: In TheStinger, he gives a small one after regaining his memories and being deemed worthy of the title of Big Boss by the real deal.
* TheQuietOne: Is this in ''Metal Gear Solid V''. Kojima has stated that he wanted Venom Snake to be more akin to a silent protagonist with other characters leading the plot. This is likely to invoke the HeroicMime trope, as Venom Snake is a stand-in for the player. It also serves to contrast him with "Ishmael"/the real Big Boss, who is shown to still be found of spouting his quips and {{Bond One Liner}}s as Venom escapes alongside him in the prologue.
* RageAgainstTheReflection: At one point, he smashes a mirror with his prosthetic hand. It happens at the very tail-end of the final cutscene, when Venom (seeing himself in full "Demon Snake" mode) is seemingly about to go out and face Solid Snake himself at the tail-end of ''VideoGame/MetalGear1''.[[note]]The clue is with Venom holding a tape labelled "Operation Intrude N313", the name of Solid Snake's mission in ''[=MG1=]''. Interpretations of Venom's state of mind vary, as to whether a) Venom is psyching himself up to fight Solid Snake for sabotaging Outer Heaven (which is at least supported by the WordOfGod-supported fancomic ''[[http://imgur.com/qUHXy5n Last Day in Outer Heaven]]''), or b) Venom feels betrayed by Big Boss for setting him up to die at Solid Snake's hands.[[/note]]
* RevengeBeforeReason: He doesn't care who he has to kill or torture to get revenge on Skull Face.
* RedRightHand: After being consumed by his desire for revenge at the end of ''Ground Zeroes'', he ends up with a literal red hand, albeit his left as opposed to his right. The horn-like protrusion from his forehead fits this description perhaps even better.
* RetCon: The reveal of his nature rewrites certain plot points in the original MSX games:
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGear2'', a character off-handedly mentions a rumor that Big Boss was some kind of {{Cyborg}}. ''Phantom Pain'' reveals that this particular "phantom" Big Boss did indeed lose his left arm and had it replaced with a cybernetic one. The real Big Boss, of course, still has his arm.
** His whole ''existence'' does this, as it not only provides a [[BodyDouble different reasoning]] on how Big Boss survived the events of [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 Outer Heaven]], but also sheds new light on the conflict between Big Boss and Zero. Namely, that Zero had actually become TheAtoner and helped Big Boss and Venom survive, Big Boss was never really fighting Zero; he was fighting Zero's creation, which had morphed into a beast of its own long before we were led to believe it had.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: His attitude in ''The Phantom Pain''. He's hell-bent on getting revenge on Skull Face and XOF for taking MSF and 9 years of his life from him, and is perfectly willing and able to do ''anything'' to do so, even after he admits that [[MoralEventHorizon he's crossed the point of no return.]]
* ShockAndAwe: His Stun Arm, which begins as little more than a gimmickry taser, but once fully upgraded, transforms into "the Wrath of Zeus". [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avpsAdawhfE Behold]].
* ShootTheDog: In one of the post-game missions several Mother Base staff members and soldiers are infected with a fatal and contagious parasite. This leads to one of the most brutal sequences of the game where Snake is forced to kill all the infected people. There's even a HopeSpot where one soldier seems uninfected...but just as Snake is about to leave with the soldier, it's revealed he's infected too. Snake {{Mercy Kill}}s the soldiers and suffers a HeroicBSOD afterwards.
* StarCrossedLovers: There are several heavy implications that he reciprocates Quiet's love, but she (likely) dies before the two can truly go anywhere.
* StillWearingTheOldColors: In ''Phantom Pain'', he wears an MSF patch along with his Diamond Dogs one by default.
* SupportingProtagonist: The real Big Boss is actually Ishmael; this man is a decoy.
* TakingTheBullet: When the second bomb inside Paz explodes almost immediately after she jumps out of Big Boss's chopper, he throws himself in front of Snake and takes the full brunt of the explosion.
* TogetherInDeath: According to a brief bit of [[WordOfGod developer commentary]], Venom Snake and Quiet are reunited in death after [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 Solid Snake kills him in Outer Heaven.]]
* TookALevelInBadass: While already a badass in his own right as The Medic, Snake becomes even more of one over the course of the story. Further adding to Big Boss' legend.
* TraumaCongaLine: In MGSV alone, most of his allies get killed, he falls into a 9 year coma, his CO Kaz ends up losing AnArmAndALeg, he finds out Huey betrayed MSF, and so on.
* TheLastDance: He knew he was going to die in Outer Heaven, either by the self-destruction sequence, or Solid Snake, but he threw himself in the final battle regardless.
* UndyingLoyalty: Was Big Boss's most loyal, and trusted soldier. [[TakingTheBullet He even throws himself in front of a fiery explosion to shield the legendary soldier.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: As noted above, Venom Snake sometimes sees things that aren't there. The biggest example is the Paz side-quest. Also includes {{Unreliable Expositor}}s too, as Snake hallucinates Ocelot and Miller explaining how Paz lived.
* WalkingSpoiler: Discussing his backstory or who he really was in ''Ground Zeroes'' spoils the TwistEnding of ''Phantom Pain''. The fact that, on ThisVeryWiki, [[SpoiledByTheFormat Venom Snake has his own section]] shows that he isn't the real Big Boss, since each Character Page only deals with characters that debuted in each game.
* WeCanRebuildHim: Gets a cybernetic arm with multiple abilities after losing his real one at the end of ''Ground Zeroes''. For added points, the arm sometimes play ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'' sound effect when you use it.
* WouldHurtAChild: Played with. While he can tranquilize or otherwise knock out any ChildSoldiers he encounters, Miller explicitly forbids him from using lethal force; killing even one kid is an automatic mission failure. He also has no problems physically fighting Eli, and even breaks his arm in retaliation for Eli's attempt to stab him in the back.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ishmael/The Man Who Sold the World]]
[[quoteright:301:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_ishmael.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:301:''"On your feet, soldier."'']]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/AkioOhtsuka (JP), Creator/KieferSutherland (EN)
->'''AKA:''' The Bandaged Man, Big Boss
A mysterious individual who stayed in the hospital alongside Snake while he was in his coma. He later saves Snake from an XOF group attacking the hospital. He's also the ''real'' Big Boss as seen in the True Ending.
For Big Boss's tropes from the other games, see his page [[Characters/MetalGear1 here]].
----
* BadassNormal: Despite being an unarmed, otherwise unremarkable individual, he's the only reason why Snake manages to make it out of the hospital, fending off a heavily-armed force of XOF soldiers and The Man On Fire.
* BandagedFace: This is probably [[JustifiedTrope because he's in a hospital]], but it also shows him as TheFaceless.
* BondOneLiner: When Ahab asks what happened to the woman trying to assassinate him, Ishmael quips "We gave her a light; she took the short way down."
* CharacterDevelopment: Ishmael gradually goes from ruefully assisting Snake to, as Big Boss, being proud of Snake performing ''his'' role as Big Boss to perfection, to the point of considering Venom as much as Big Boss as himself.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: The man has half a dozen near misses when attempting to flee from the hospital in Cyprus, due to not looking at the road until it's almost too late to avoid several oncoming fire trucks.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Subverted. It initially seems that he dies unceremoniously in a car crash just before the end of the prologue, but this is expanded upon in "The Man Who Sold The World" replay of the prologue, where it turns out he lived.
* TheFaceless: Almost all of his face is covered with bandages, save his eyes and mouth.
* FantasticDrug: Subverted; he injects Snake with digoxin in an attempt to help him get back on his feet, but it doesn't work as well as he hoped it would, resulting in a ControllableHelplessness scenario for Snake.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's a lot of indications that he's Naked Snake/the original Big Boss when you first meet him.
** His name, Ishmael, is simultaneously [[FirstPersonPeripheralNarrator the main character and a supporting one]].
** During the fight with Quiet, you can hear Big Boss' distinctive grunt as she punches him and recovers; no matter how much of a CunningLinguist he is [[RealityEnsues he can't keep up the act when fighting for his life]].
** Just before he introduces himself, he ruefully states, "You're talking to [[BodyDouble yourself]]".
** During his fight with Quiet, he weaponizes some chemicals along with a lighter. Because of ''course'' Big Boss would have a lighter on him, right?
** When Quiet throws a knife into his shoulder, he only winces in pain momentarily. Later, after [[KillItWithFire setting her on fire]], he promptly throws it back at her without too much difficulty and even shrugs off the (not inconsiderable) pain afterwards. Of course, being Big Boss himself, ''[[MadeOfIron even serious injuries don't slow him down very much]].''
** During the foyer section of the prologue, if he dies, a "Time Paradox" message appears, the same as if Snake died during ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', whereas Venom dying evokes a standard "Game Over" message.
* GameOverMan: Takes Ocelot and Miller's role as this for the Prologue.
* GlassEye: As a part of his disguise, he momentarily substitutes his iconic EyepatchOfPower for one of these during the Prologue to make it appear like he has two eyes.
* GoingCommando: His ass is clearly visible through the slit in his backless hospital gown.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Big Boss' decision to leave everyone he still cared for behind and go along with Venom serving as his double can be seen as this. All to exact revenge on Cipher with his own secret war.
* SeenItAll: He's far more collected and nonchalant than his initial appearance suggests.
* ShootingSuperman: At one point, he shoots at the Man on Fire with a silenced pistol... right after he saw that "thing" shrug off machine gun fire and a ''helicopter missile'' without a scratch. He quickly realizes how pointless it is and instead shoots open a water pipe to fend it off.
* ShoutOut: His "name" is a reference to ''Literature/MobyDick''.
* SignificantDoubleCasting: Shares his voice actor with Big Boss in both languages because he ''is'' Big Boss.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: He doesn't seem particularly phased by the "Man on Fire" or its psychic "handler." Then again, being who he is, he has SeenItAll.
* WalkingSpoiler: He's actually the ''real'' Big Boss who went into hiding after the hospital escape to begin work on creating Outer Heaven while leaving the player character to be his "phantom". For his tropes as Big Boss, go [[Characters/MetalGear1 here]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After the car crash, he mysteriously goes missing and isn't mentioned again. The True Ending establishes what happened to him.
[[/folder]]
----
For other characters in the franchise, see the ''Metal Gear'' character index at Characters/MetalGear.
----
!!Characters in ''Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes''
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Skull Face]]
[[quoteright:280:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skull_face.png]]
[[caption-width-right:280:''"Hatred never goes away; it makes a man hideous, inside and out."'']]
->'''AKA:''' XO, A Ghost without a Past
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/TakayaHashi (Japanese), James Horan (English)
-->''"So? Do you see me now? Tell me, what do you see? Hm? You have eyes; what do your eyes see? Yes. That's right, you see a '''skull face'''. You see '''me'''. This skull is who I am, my mark, my proof of humanity. I have no country, no language. I have no face - but I haven't lost my '''skull'''."''
An elusive individual with a horrifically scarred face. He claims to have a history with Snake, and seems to have a grudge against the Patriots. He leads the Spec-Ops organization XOF, and is the mastermind behind Camp Omega.
----
* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: A cutscene where he's seen in broad daylight shows he has bluish-white skin. Subverted in that this is most likely a result of his [[BodyHorror severe chemical burns.]]
* AnimalsHateHim: The minute he shows up at Camp Omega, the [[AngryGuardDog guard]] [[EvilDetectingDog dogs]] start barking and snarling viciously at him.
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:In the end, his plans all fall to ruin, himself horribly maimed, unceremoniously killed, and then finally wiped from history. He deserved ''all'' of it, though.]]
* BadassBaritone: Both his English and Japanese [=VAs=] give Skull Face a deep, menacing tone.
* TheBadGuyWins: It's shown that both he and XOF managed to bring MSF down with relative ease at the end of ''Ground Zeroes'', and all signs indicate that the group didn't face any serious opposition until nearly a decade later in ''The Phantom Pain''.
** While he [[spoiler:fails in achieving [[{{Dystopia}} his actual goals]], he does however succeed in satisfying his own personal desires — namely taking vengeance on Zero by causing [[FateWorseThanDeath the condition]] he appears in during [=MGS4=], as well as passing on [[StrawNihilist his philosophy]] down to Venom Snake, Psycho Mantis, Diamond Dogs, and even Cipher, which in part leads to the birth of Outer Heaven and the bleak setting of Metal Gear Solid.]]
* BaitTheDog: Giving Chico a Walkman after throwing him in the prison initially seems like a nice thing to do for a guy that threw the kid in the brig. However, when Snake actually listens to the tape, it's audio from the tortures of Chico and Paz. Not quite the best for comfort music.
** This is his usual means of subterfuge; Code Talker specifically states that "Skull Face shakes your hand like a friend, and then uses the other hand to control you like a puppet".
* BaldOfEvil: Not a single strand left on that grotesque dome.
* BeenThereShapedHistory: According to background materials, while working as a free agent in the Eastern Bloc, Skull Face was the one who assassinated Josef Stalin in revenge for subjugating Hungary and trying to stamp out the Hungarian language. He then defected to Britain where he met [[spoiler: Major Zero]].
* BigBad: Of ''Metal Gear Solid V'' (both ''Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes'' and ''Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain''). He's the leader of XOF and the Skulls unit that antagonize Snake in ''Metal Gear Solid V'', [[spoiler: wanting to destroy MSF and defeat Big Boss, then take over Cipher from Zero in order to halt Cipher's plans for cultural imperialism and implement his own plans.]]
* BodyHorror: He's CoveredInScars, and overall looks like he's ''rotting''.
* BreakThemByTalking: Along with some torture. In fact, almost all of his dialogue in ''Ground Zeroes'' is composed of this trope.
* CardCarryingVillain: He admits to dwelling "in the dark," and unashamedly calls himself a demon on multiple occasions.
* TheChessmaster: His plan is to deliver a crushing blow against MSF and pin the blame on Cipher, leading the two to destroy one another. Beyond that, [[spoiler:his actual attack on Mother Base is quite complex with many layers and angles to it, but also very well planned and executed.]]
* ChewingTheScenery: Best shown when [[spoiler: Eli and Tretij hijack Sahelanthropus]]:
-->'''Skull Face''': Who is doing this? Such a lust for revenge! ''[[LargeHam WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!]]''
* CoatHatMask: Constantly wears a thigh-length coat, a cowboy hat, and, in ''The Phantom Pain'', a black domino mask.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Delivers, quite possibly, the most horrifying example in ''Metal Gear'' history.
* CoolGuns: He uses a Mare's Leg, a sawed-off lever action rifle.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:At the end, he's shot several times at point blank range with his Mare's Leg, blowing off the limbs Miller lost. Snake and Miller leave him to die a slow, agonizing death, but is eventually capped in the head by Huey.]] This event also doubles as a [[LaserGuidedKarma Laser-Guided]] KarmicDeath.
* CursedWithAwesome: The sheer damage that he's taken inhibits any sort of pain directed at him. Of course, this comes with the price of looking like he does.
* DefectorFromDecadence: He rebelled against Cipher, despite working for the organization for decades.
* {{Determinator}}: As evil and twisted as he is, he has endured a shit ton of stuff, which hasn't slowed him down in the slightest.
* DeterminedDefeatist: He has lost everything, face included, yet continues for some (currently unknown) reason.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler:Sort of. Though he dies at the end of Chapter 1, he's still the main villain of the MGSV duology.]]
* DidntSeeThatComing: [[spoiler:His plan falls apart because Tretij is more allied with Eli than him, which causes him to activate Sahelanthropus too early and badly wound Skull Face.]]
* DragonWithAnAgenda: He was Cipher / the Patriots' top enforcer, before he discovered Cipher's plans and decided to destroy the organization and all they cared about (including former members like Big Boss) rather than allow their "perfect world" to come to pass.
* DrivenByEnvy: [[spoiler:The reason he hates Big Boss and Cipher so much; he was once part of Big Boss' hidden support staff, and watching Big Boss become more and more of a famous hero while he was forced to remain in the shadows by Cipher increasingly grated on him. His rebellion is motivated at least mostly by his anger at being AlwaysSecondBest by design.]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: All of ''Ground Zeroes'' counts for this - his motivations are only hinted at.
* EnemyMine: {{Defied|Trope}}. When Paz asks him if he'd kill Zero for her, he bluntly responds "Not for ''you''."
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: A retroactive example - see "Bait the Dog".
* EverythingsDeaderWithZombies: He sure looks like one with his seemingly rotting flesh.
* EvilCounterpart: Of Snake. Both are crack operatives that have a considerable amount of influence over the people that work for them. As Snake finds himself SlowlySlippingIntoEvil, he becomes the ''eviler'' counterpart. Furthermore, both have horrific and tragic pasts, but even when Snake fell, he was never completely consumed by the darkness.
** Going a step further, the final trailer for the game details his background over footage of a changing and ''increasingly bloody'' Big Boss.
** Given the end-game twist, Skull-Face has more parallels with [[spoiler:Venom Snake than the real Big Boss. Both men were robbed of their original identities as a result of a tragic event and whereas Skull-Face is faceless, Venom is literally living with another man's face.]]
* EvilIsHammy: ''Very'' fond of dramatic language and gesturing. He just keeps getting hammier as the story rolls on.
* EvilIsPetty: Ultimately? His plan is just [[spoiler:twisted payback at Zero, because he's mad at a black project Zero might not have even gone through with.]] Not to mention the fact that he orchestrated the attack on [=MSF=] purely because [[spoiler: he was jealous of Big Boss]].
* EvilPlan: In ''Phantom Pain'', his plan is as follows:
** Step One: [[spoiler:Create easy-to-make nuclear weapons that he can stop from detonating, and distribute them around the world with the Metal Gears needed to fire them. Not only would this upset the global balance of power, but it would also put most of the nukes in the world under Skull Face's control, no matter who has them.]]
** Step Two: [[spoiler:With everyone afraid of the nukes, release an infectious parasite that only becomes fatal when its host speaks the English language. By "liberating" the world from English, a new global language will be created: One composed of Metal Gears and nukes. Then there will be peace through mass nuclear deterrence.]]
** Plan B: [[spoiler:Kill everyone.]]
* EvilSoundsDeep: He has a deep, gravely voice.
* EvilWearsBlack: From top to bottom. He really seems to invoke the classic "cowboy villain".
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He's a monster and [[CardCarryingVillain he knows it]], but even he finds [[spoiler:Huey Emmerich]] loathsome, to the extent that when he discovers that they had been in contact with Diamond Dogs, he angrily pushes him down the stairs. Also implying that [[spoiler: he finds Huey to be more petty than ''him'' [[AtLeastIAdmitIt of all people]]]].
-->'''Skull Face''': I may dwell in the dark, but I ''refuse'' to be judged by ''your'' standards, traitor!
* {{Expy}}: Some fans have drawn a few parallels between Skull Face and SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker, particularly his incarnation from ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' and the eponymous ''{{ComicBook/Joker}}'' graphic novel. That [[spoiler:the audio tapes, particularly the one with Skull Face detailing his backstory can be likened to one of Joker's infamous "[[EveryScarHasAStory scar stories]]" and the fact that he's a WildCard playing against ''both'' Snake and Cipher]] doesn't help one bit.
** His outfit - noted to be Old West-styled by the marines at Camp Omega - also appears to be a ShoutOut to the dark clothing worn by Creator/LeeVanCleef in his films from Sergio Leone's ''Dollars'' westerns. Telling, given Van Cleef was notorious for playing bad guys. Some of the released Shinkawa art following the game's debut also appear to show an ''intact'' (i.e. not burnt and scarred) Skull Face looking near exactly like Van Cleef, including the distinctive cheekbones, nose and moustache.
* FacialHorror: His nose is crooked, he sports a Glasgow smile, and his entire face is one huge disfiguring burn scar.
* FateWorseThanDeath: People he knew before the incident regarded his disfiguring as this. In fact, when he was first wounded, he overheard a nurse outside of his hospital room actually stating that he'd be better off dead.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Is one of the most polite, well spoken, and horrific villains to ever grace the ''Metal Gear'' series.
* FeelNoPain: The sheer amount of damage he's taken seems to have included even severe, permanent nerve damage, inhibiting his ability to feel any sort of pain.
* ForegoneConclusion: He states that his goal is to create someone else like him. Someone that only lives for the sake of revenge. [[DoomedByCanon Canon indicates that]] [[TheBadGuyWins he succeeds]] [[FallenHero with Snake]]; which is starkly indicated by Big Boss's cynical perceptions on war and the ultimate ignoble fate of soldiers detailed in his speech to Solid Snake in Zanzibarland.
* FreudianExcuse: As much of a monster as he is, his past is pretty horrifying.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He went from being an ordinary child in a third-world country to a significant threat to both Snake and Cipher.
* GlasgowGrin: He has a pair of gashes upon his lips, among his many other scars.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: An antagonist with disfiguring scars covering his entire face. A far cry from the thin ones the protagonist, Snake, sports.
* HealingFactor: Never comes up in-game, but in one of the cassette tapes [[spoiler:explains that he had parasite therapy after his face was burned. In another tape, he claims the rest of his body, too, got burnt several times, but the parasites kept him alive.]]
* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
** In one of the cassette tapes, it turns out that [[spoiler:in attempting to create more strains of the vocal cord parasite, he became infected by the strain that responds to his native Hungarian tongue. He doesn't take it well when Code Talker figures this out.]]
** Upon [[spoiler:his defeat, Snake and Miller use Skull Face's own lever-action rifle to blow off most of his limbs.]]
** This is actually the source of his evil plan. [[spoiler: Zero planned to use vocal parasites to steal language from their enemies. So, he made one to infect Zero, and all who speak Zero's tongue.]]
** His inferiority complex-driven sacking of Mother Base is directly responsible for his downfall. If he had restrained his sadistic tendencies and let Big Boss retrieve Paz and Chico unmolested and simply focused on Zero, it is likely he would have succeeded at his goals.
* ICannotSelfTerminate: After [[spoiler:being crushed by a radio tower, he begs Snake and Miller to finish him off. Instead, they blow off his arm and leg as revenge for his destruction of [=MSF=] and leave him to die slowly... only for Huey to finish Skull Face himself.]]
* ILied: In ''Ground Zeroes''. [[spoiler: After promising to spare Big Boss if Paz tells him where Zero is, Skull Face immediately goes back on his word and destroys MSF]].
* {{Irony}}: Skull Face's motivations and their results are full of irony. He despises English and yet is fluent enough to have a massive monologue about why he despises that language, and his attempts to destroy English and American imperialism (as well as Zero) ultimately help the Patriots control the world further through the things he hates, thanks in no small part to [[spoiler:poisoning Zero.]]
* InformedAbility: He's stated to be Big Boss' equal as a soldier, to the point that Zero considered [[spoiler: him a worthy candidate to complete Operation Snake Eater if Snake himself could not.]] However, we never see him actually fight, and he loses his cool the second his plan starts to go off the rails.
** He's more of an espionist than a soldier, if the lack of serious combat gear is any indication. However, we don't get to see the extent of his abilities as a cleaner/fixer/spy, but we're told that he was the one who dealt with the cleanup at Groznylgrad after Snake blew up everything important.
* {{Jerkass}}: Let's just come right out with it: even at his "[[FauxAffablyEvil nicest]]", Skull Face is an inhuman bastard with ''no'' redeeming qualities whatsoever.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: It's revealed in background materials that he started out exacting revenge on those who wronged him and his Hungarian homeland. But whatever shred of humanity or decency he had back then is long gone.
* KeystoneArmy: Averted. [[spoiler:Killing him does ''nothing'' to destroy XOF, let alone Cipher altogether. Also a ForegoneConclusion as in time, Cipher is subsumed into the Greater Scope Villain: The Patriots.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Does this to [[spoiler:Huey, leaving him to Venom Snake after he learns about his attempts to double-cross them.]]
** [[spoiler:Winds up being on the receiving end of this after his defeat, with Miller and Venom Snake taking vengeance on him in the most ''[[LudicrousGibs agonizing]]'' and surprisingly therapeutic way possible after all Skull Face has done, leaving him to bleed out and suffer as they did. He attempts to reach for his weapon to end himself and fails, but is eventually shot in the head by Huey.]]
* KickTheDog: He asks Chico how it feels to be a traitor to MSF, after [[ColdBloodedTorture the torture he put him]] [[ForcedToWatch and Paz through]] in order to make him talk. In the post-credits scene of ''Ground Zeroes'', [[spoiler:he mocks Paz for her attempt at a {{heroic sacrifice}}, saying that it wasn't going to "change the world" as she had hoped.]]
* KlingonPromotion: [[spoiler:Does this to ''Zero'', thereby causing his vegetative condition and [[TheCoup subsequently taking control]] of most of Cipher and its nearly limitless resources.]]
* LackOfEmpathy: Shamelessly revels at his own depraved habits with minimal subtlety, periodically engaging in KickTheDog moments for whatever reason.
* LastOfHisKind: Established in the interrogation tape.
-->''"When my time came calling, I didn't die. My family died, my country died, but they didn't take me with them. All Hell took from me was this skin, this outer peel that marked me human."''
* LeaveBehindAPistol: A variation; [[spoiler:after exhausting most of the ammo from his gun, Venom and Miller leave him with the weapon and a single bullet just out of reach, telling him that if he wants a quick death, he'll have to do it himself. However, Huey proceeds to kill him while the two aren't looking.]]
* [[MalevolentMaskedMen Malevolent Masked Man]]: Wears a domino mask in ''The Phantom Pain''.
* MeaningfulName: Just look at his face and you'll see that his name fits. He even tells people that that's all that people see in him after his skin was burned off.
* MysteriousPast: Subverted over time. When first introduced he mentions "Your Boss (Snake) and I go way back.", and his country of origin is only hinted at. Following the player's infiltration of OKB Zero, [[spoiler:Skull Face actively reveals that he and his unit had served as Big Boss's backup / shadow ever since [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Operation Snake Eater]], which is further embellished in audio tapes, Skull Face's background as a Hungarian and assassin of Josef Stalin being revealed in addition to other tidbits]].
* NameFaceName
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: He probably has one of the least subtle names of any of the antagonists in ''Metal Gear''.
* NewOldWest: Troops at Camp Omega note that he has the mannerisms of a cowboy, and his later appearance with an appropriate hat, boots with spurs, and a domino mask only reinforce this. He even carries a Mare's Leg (a sawed-off lever-action rifle) as his WeaponOfChoice.
* NiceHat: He may be a horrible human being, but his hat is awesome.
* NoOneShouldSurviveThat: On the interrogation tape:
-->''"At the infirmary they carried me to, a nurse in the corridor saw me and remarked, as if it happened every day: 'They should let the poor thing die.' Those are the only words of my mother tongue I remember."''
* NonActionBigBad: He doesn't actually engage in combat in ''Ground Zeroes'', [[TheUnfought nor is he fought in that game]]. [[spoiler:The same is true in ''Phantom Pain''. The reason is a design choice by Kojima, by depriving the player the opportunity to personally hurt and kill Skull Face, Kojima was trying to point out that [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty revenge when accomplished leaves an empty feeling]]. Having Skull Face die in a cutscene and the negative reaction by players was intended.]]
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Despite being implied [[spoiler:and eventually confirmed]] to be Hungarian, he speaks with a flawless American accent. [[JustifiedTrope Justified, as he's supposed to be a master spy who has worn numerous identities over his career]]. Learning to speak multiple languages without any accent is one of the requirements for the job.
* ObviouslyEvil: He's [[BaldOfEvil bald]], covered in disfiguring scars, and dresses in black; at no point could Skull Face ''ever'' pass for a good guy.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: His real name is unknown, and he identifies himself as being simply a "Skull Face."
* OrderVersusChaos: Represents chaos to Cipher's order, wishing to create a fractured world of retaliation rather than a united one under Cipher control.
* PetTheDog: The closest he gets to this, is when he executes the unnamed African Villager in the Devil's house. Unlike ''every'' other moment, he seems genuinely respectful, and sincere in his words, and gratitude, and then proceeds to MercyKill him with his Mare's Leg.
* PoisonousPerson: It doesn't come up in-game, but one of the cassette tapes [[spoiler:suggests his work with the vocal cord parasites have infected him with ''every'' language strain except for the English one. Another cassette tape explains that Skull Face's body was burnt after his death, because the parasite was still living in his cells.]]
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Like [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker Hot Coldman]] before him, he has no qualms against [[spoiler:pushing [[GeniusCripple Huey]] down the stairs, though [[EvenEvilHasStandards he possibly had a legitimate reason]] [[KickTheSonOfABitch for doing so]]]].
* ProfessionalKiller: When he was younger, Skull Face traveled around the Eastern Bloc, murdering anyone who had anything to do with the conquest of Hungary and the subjugating of the Hungarian language. One of his victims included Josef Stalin and after poisoning the dictator, Skull Face defected to the west and found a new employer, [[spoiler:Zero.]]
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: [[spoiler:He physically abuses Paz and it is implied that he raped her. It's also heavily implied that he forces [[RapeByProxy Chico to have sex with her]] so he could play voyeur.]]
* ReassignedToAntarctica: After Zero finds out about Skull Face's role in attacking Mother Base and putting Big Boss in a coma, he has Skull Face banished to Africa.
* RememberTheNewGuy: He's apparently been serving with the FOX unit and Cipher since [[spoiler:''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'']], despite never being introduced in any of the games before ''MGSV''. [[spoiler:Deconstructed, in that his facelessness is a big part of his envy for Snake.]]
** We also [[spoiler:never hear about him in canonically ''later'' games. Naturally, this is because the character hadn't even been conceived yet, but in-universe it's also perfectly explained as [[{{Unperson}} Skull Face being written out of history]] by [[FridgeBrilliance the Patriots]], which is a fear he admits just before his death.]]
* {{Revenge}}: He is apparently out to exact it against Cipher (including Snake, whom he tells Chico that he goes way back with) for an unknown reason.
* {{Ruritania}}: Skull Face can be heard issuing the command "Vigyétek a ketrecébe!" in one of Chico's tapes; the phrase is Hungarian and, since the language is uncommon outside of Europe, it's probable he hails from Hungary or somewhere near the country. [[spoiler:A tape however confirms this, revealing that Hungarian is his native tongue, though thanks to being infected with a parasite strain that targets Hungarian, he can no longer speak it to his own despair.]]
* SadisticChoice: Issues this to Paz. Choose Snake or Zero, only one side of the conflict can be saved. [[spoiler:Paz ultimately gives away Zero's location. Made that much worse in that after Paz gives him a complete and extremely detailed description of where Zero is, he immediately proceeds with his plan to kill Snake.]]
* ShadowArchetype: To both Big Boss, as the BigBad to the FallenHero who turns into the BigBad, and Ocelot. He and Ocelot are both TortureTechnician examples of foreign-born American agents with a flair for cowboy costumes and weaponry. The difference is that Ocelot arguably became TheLancer/TheDragon to a better man than he was and gained UndyingLoyalty to his cause, while Skullface became a full-on DragonAscendant and devolved in TheUnfettered to such an extent that he overreached himself and fell.
* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: His WeaponOfChoice is a Mare's Leg.
* ShroudedInMyth: His unit, XOF, is evidently shrouded in mystery - even the Marines that were present when he personally visited Camp Omega have no idea who he is or what his unit stands for.
* SkullForAHead: As his name would indicate.
* SoftSpokenSadist: When torturing people one-on-one, he often talks politely while putting them through pain.
* StrawNihilist: He believes in the concept of hope... But only because, in his eyes, almost all hope is based upon superficial qualities, but it helps him survive.
* TaughtByExperience: He displays historical awareness of other series villains, and [[spoiler:actively denies Huey the chance to implement an A.I. system in Sahelanthropus, citing that as "Coldman's mistake" ten years ago. This is because he wants ''his'' finger on the nuclear trigger when his plan's implemented, not a Fail-Deadly A.I. system]].
* TortureTechnician: Especially in ''Ground Zeroes''. Counting the audio logs, the only scene where he ''isn't'' heard torturing anyone is the opening sequence - and even then, he casually mentions that he tortured Paz.
* UndignifiedDeath: He goes out [[spoiler: crushed under a radio tower, having his arm and leg blasted off by his own gun by Snake and Miller, and pathetically begging for a MercyKill]].
* UnknownRival: [[spoiler: To the original Big Boss, having served as his begrudging backup since the events of Snake Eater. Big Boss evidently never learns about him until after his coma, and since it's Venom that ultimately takes him out, Big Boss never really acknowledges the rivalry]].
* {{Unperson}}: One of his biggest fears [[spoiler:as revealed just before his death. Not only is his body burnt afterwards due to still hosting parasites, but it's implied that whatever traces of his life that still remained are in time erased thanks to the Patriots.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:His intentions at getting even with Zero, removing him from power and causing him a FateWorseThanDeath, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain winds up leading to]] '''the Patriots''' [[NiceJobFixingItVillain superseding his organization]], a group ''notorious'' for manipulating language, [[{{Irony}} which it almost succeeds at completely dominating society by doing just that]].]]
* UsedToBeASweetKid: He implies that he was a perfectly normal kid before his village was bombed and he was scarred.
* VillainBall: He picked a fight with MSF/Big Boss, despite it being completely unnecessary for his plans, simply to satisfy his ego. Big Boss' interference with his plans leads directly to his downfall.
* VillainousBreakdown: Shows signs of this when [[spoiler:Sahelanthropus goes out of control and he begins to realize that he'll be written out of history. After a brief moment detailing how part of his plot had already succeeded, he goes on to berate Major Zero in spirit before being crushed by the very same mech he commissioned. Trapped under a collapsed radio tower, his full breakdown begins once Snake and Miller confront him in this miserable state, begging them to put him out of his misery. They respond by blowing most of his limbs off with his own Mare's Leg, then deliberately deprive him of a quick death by leaving him there.]]
** He gets another one as heard in one of the cassette tapes. [[spoiler:He loses his cool when Code Talker figures out why Skull Face is so hell-bent on finding out how to stop the symptoms of the vocal cord parasites from manifesting. The reason for this is because in attempting to create more strains of the vocal cord parasite, Skull Face became infected by the strain that responds to ''his'' own mother tongue: the Hungarian strain that responds to the Szekelys dialect.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: His hometown was destroyed and left him as the last surviving trace of his people, including their history and language; [[spoiler:while having suffered servitude to Zero for some time, when he learns that Cipher's plans for the vocal cord parasites would involve the outright eradication of some cultures and their languages, he takes control of the situation, subjecting Zero to a FateWorseThanDeath before turning Cipher's plan on its head. He still fails with the rest of his plan to "liberate" the world, though. Which is probably good, since he was going to turn the entire English language into a BrownNote.]]
* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: His voice and accent are different depending on his interrogation subject(s). Also there's a scene where he's issuing orders to soldiers in a softer tone of voice, and then when he's done he switches back to his usual gravely tone. Of course, he might be doing this deliberately. It is later revealed that his natural accent is Hungarian.
* WhoNeedsEnemies: See EnemyMine above.
* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: A villainous variant that is delivered in a post-credits scene (and one of the audio files) - about the song "Here's to You", of all things.
--> '''Skull Face''': Your favorite song... Nicola, Bart - immigrants wrongly executed... But their deaths served as a message to others: that ours is a society that murders the innocent. [[spoiler:Do you, too, believe that your sacrifice will change the world?]]
* WouldHitAGirl: He hits Paz when she objects to his plans, [[spoiler:and even strips and belt-whips her, possibly even raping her.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: He has no problem with torturing Chico for information. [[spoiler:He even puts screws in his feet to keep him from going anywhere.]]
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: While he's monstrous, Skull Face has suffered monstrously. Listening to him talk about his motivation to ensure his people live on through him, and his nihilistic version of hope that nevertheless keeps him alive, you might be moved to pity.
* WorthyOpponent: Seems to hold Snake in high regard, telling Chico he knows Snake is going to rescue Chico, regardless of him knowing it's a trap, because he knows Snake is a good man. He also quotes him on a number of occasions.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:XOF]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/249922_cpmpanda_metal_gear_solid_xof_logo.jpg]]
An enigmatic but powerful military organization under Skull Face's command. Several soldiers are seen following Skull Face throughout Camp Omega in the intro to ''Ground Zeroes'', and they serve as primary antagonists in ''The Phantom Pain'' later on.
----
* AlwaysABiggerFish: XOF troops are tauntingly dangerous and extremely powerful antagonists in the prologue of ''Phantom Pain'', and the game builds their role in the world as [[SuperPersistentPredator Super Persistent Predators...]] but no matter how much gun-fire they spray at it, the Man on Fire viciously slaughters multiple squads of them every single time.
* BadassNormal: They're an army of highly trained sociopaths armed with the latest military technology, and while the [[Characters/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots FROGs]] and Parasite Unit are more powerful, it's because they're jacked up on nano-technology and magic parasites. The XOF, on the other-hand, are the most competent mooks in ''MGS'' history and they are completely normal humans with no enhancements whatsoever.
* DarkerAndEdgier: All past MGS mooks have just been clueless and [[PunchClockVillain plain old soldiers doing their jobs]], something done probably to make it harder to kill them. However, XOF's ranks are most certainly filled with sadists and sociopaths, as demonstrated in their unnecessarily and excruciatingly long executions of staff in the prologue of ''Phantom Pain''. Apart from the Genome soldiers in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' and some of the EliteMooks in the MSX games, they're one of the few enemies in the franchise that must be killed.
* DecapitatedArmy: Averted. An XOF agent appears in a mission after Skull Face's death, as they're still taking orders from Cipher.
* EliteMook: By far the most dangerously competent powerless mooks in all of ''Metal Gear''.
* EvilWearsBlack: Unlike past MGS mooks, it's obvious there are some [[SociopathicSoldier truly evil people]] in XOF, and all of them wear dark grey fatigues with black accents.
* {{Expy}}: Let's see. Extremely secretive army of trained soldiers, EliteMooks of the BigBad, clad in black balaclavas and riot helmets and are stationed in Afghanistan? Sounds a lot like [[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Shadow Company]].
** In a more local and literal sense, the "shadow team to Snake's former unit" role makes them to FOX what [[VideoGame/MetalGearGhostBabel Black Chamber]] will be to FOXHOUND, highlighting similarities between Black Arts Viper and Skull Face as NotSoDifferent EvilCounterpart versions of their respective Snakes.
* ForegoneConclusion: [[spoiler:In time, XOF is absorbed into the Patriots' system. Not even Skull Face's death stops it.]]
* GangstaStyle: During the prologue, most XOF soldiers hold their guns sideways. Justified, as this actually makes their aim more accurate in close-quarters situations like hallways so they don't commit friendly-fire.
** Their 45-degree cant is done to allow them to aim down the sights with bulky gas masks on, as well as to prevent scorching-hot ejected shell casings from bouncing off the walls and into them or their comrades.
* GasMaskMooks: Some of them don visor gas-masks over their balaclavas.
* NoNonsenseNemesis: Just to show how much MGS is evolving into a much grittier and darkly-toned war game, there's barely any clueless, legally blind mooks to sneak past anymore. XOF are ''terrifyingly'' good at their jobs, best examplified in the scene where Ahab and Ishmael play dead in a pile of corpses to hide from a squad of XOF soldiers... [[OhCrap who begin shooting each corpse they see in the head]].
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: If slaughtering hundreds of innocent civilians and narrowly killing Snake on multiple occasions didn't convince you how evil they were, remember, while Skull Face was the one who ordered them to, the soldiers were technically the ones who sexually and physically tortured Paz and Chico.
* ShroudedInMyth: During their time at Camp Omega, they cause immense confusion amongst the Marines who also staffed the base; during the game, you can occasionally hear Marine guards expression speculation and confusion as to their origins. Despite being confirmed as Americans and wielding top-of-the-line gear and weapons, virtually ''nothing'' is revealed about their true origins or purposes until ''The Phantom Pain''. [[spoiler: As it turns out, they were originally FOX's support unit, performing deep-cover recon missions and providing intel (albeit through Zero) to FOX operatives during missions; they were also tasked with acting as replacements if FOX operatives died at any point; they were so secretive that not even The Boss herself knew about them]].
* SociopathicSoldier: The prologue of ''Phantom Pain'' pretty much confirms this. During the hospital massacre, when you're fortunate enough to see them murdering the staff firsthand, they ''intentionally shoot innocent civilians in non-vital areas and make them writhe in pain for several agonizing seconds'' before finally capping them in the head. And there's no obvious tactical advantage to this, so it's apparent they do it ForTheEvulz. They also brutally beat and raped Paz and Chico to near death.
** However, in the cut ending, episode 51, they can be seen to actually care for each other, [[spoiler: one can be seen carrying his comrade out of danger from the Sahelanthropus piloted by Eli]]
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: To kill a man who's been stuck in a coma for nine years, they sent their very best assassin backed up by an army, along with at least two attack helicopters and a tank. ''They still failed.''
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Morpho / Pequod]]
The pilot that assists Snake throughout ''Ground Zeroes'', and the only back-up that he receives for the various operations he carries out in Camp Omega. In ''The Phantom Pain'', there's a new chopper pilot with the callsign [[Literature/MobyDick Pequod]] to fit with the game's MobySchtick, and while he has the same voice actor as Morpho, it's unclear as to whether it's meant to be the same character.
----
* BigDamnHeroes: Is the go-to method of extraction for most missions. Notable examples include "Intel Operative Rescue," where he and Snake [[GunshipRescue provide air support]] while the operative ([[spoiler:[[CreatorCameo Hideo]]]]) makes his way to the LZ, and the end of the main story, where he [[spoiler:helps evacuate Mother Base during the attack.]]
** Can be [[InvokedTrope invoked]] by the player at any time by selecting a high-danger Landing Zone - [[RealityEnsues though this comes with the risk of him getting shot down]].
* DisposablePilot: Averted. He appears alive and well in ''Phantom Pain'' with a new helicopter [[spoiler:after the bomb inside of Paz's body destroys the first one.]] In some missions of ''Ground Zeroes'', his death is an instant game over, although not on all of them. See ReplacementGoldfish.
* GunshipRescue: His whole shtick, especially in "Intel Operative Rescue."
* ImprobablePilotingSkills: Subverted. His skills are impressive, but the helicopter itself is still just as vulnerable to heavy weapons as any other vehicle.
* TheLancer: He's the only guy that can help Snake out on his missions in the Naval base, and he's crucial to completing them.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Did his helicopter get shot down while he was flying over the base? Don't worry, he'll be back in a few minutes with another one!
** The callsign is probably just given to whatever pilot is deployed to aid snake, given that we explicitly see our pilot die during 'metallic archaea' only for them to show up in the future with no mention of it.
* ThemeNaming: Like most soldiers at Mother Base, he's named after an animal. Specifically, he's named after the butterfly that was seen frequently in ''Peace Walker''. In keeping with the ''Literature/MobyDick'' references, in ''The Phantom Pain'', he shares his codename with the ship from the novel.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Glaz and Palitz]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/glaz_palitz_smaller_4402.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Glaz (left) and Palitz (right)]]
Glaz and Palitz, [[BilingualBonus "the eye" and "the finger"]], are two U.S. Marines who worked as a [[ColdSniper sniper]]-[[TargetSpotter spotter]] team during the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laotian_Civil_War Laotian Civil War]]. Miller sends Snake on a tip from the KGB to eliminate them in the ''Ground Zeroes'' Side Ops mission "Eliminate the Renegade Threat".
----
* TheAtoner: Their days in Laos have haunted them far more than they are caring to admit, and they have resorted to self-mutilation. If Big Boss interrogates them, they even accept their death.
* BaldOfEvil: Palitz.
* ColdSniper: Obviously. Subverted, however: just because they're cold doesn't mean they don't feel guilt.
* CanonWelding: Defied. Miller was requested to assassinate the two by KGB special forces "from [Miller's] Columbia days", but Miller specifically states they had nothing to do with [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker Zadornov]].
* TheDreaded: Kaz notes that to the east, they were a reason to be afraid of the dark.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: In spite of their War Crimes, both of them were horrified by [[ColdBloodedTorture what was going on in]] [[HellholePrison Camp]] [[POWCamp Omega.]]
* EyeScream: Glaz is missing his right eye.
* {{Fingore}}: Palitz has a prosthetic finger.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Interrogate either of them, and they will tell you that a "[[TitleDrop Phantom]]" is approaching. Whether or not this refers to Skull Face or anyone else is unclear. [[spoiler:As it turns out, it refers to Venom Snake, the "phantom" of Big Boss.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: If the player has extracted both of them in ''Ground Zeroes'', they'll join Diamond Dogs in ''The Phantom Pain'' if the player has transferred over their save data.
* HiddenDepths: Should Snake knock them out and take them to Mother Base, Miller discovers that they inflicted mutilation upon themselves (Glaz [[EyeScream having a glass eye]] and Palitz [[{{Fingore}} having a plastic finger]]), indicating that even ''they'' were remorseful and horrified by what they've done.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: It's pretty telling how much Snake and Miller's clients hate these two when you can kill both men and ''still'' get an [[RankInflation S Rank]].
* KilledOffForReal: If Snake chooses.
** Alternatively, Snake can opt for a non-lethal approach by knocking them out and having them extracted out of the mission area, and both of them become Diamond Dogs staff if save data is uploaded in ''The Phantom Pain''.
* IronicNickname: As a result of their [[EyeScream self]] [[{{Fingore}} mutilation]].
* MeaningfulName: In addition to the "eye" and "finger" representing their roles as sniper and spotter, Miller says their nicknames are a reference to being "less than human - no heart, just an eye to find their prey and a finger to pull the trigger."
* NonindicativeName: However, their roles as spotter and sniper aren't mutually exclusive -- they both alternate between their roles.
* OddNameOut: When they join the Mother Base crew in ''The Phantom Pain'', they'll become the only soldiers (excluding unique characters such as Miller and Hideo) not to have animal-themed codenames.
* OffOnATechnicality: While not necessarily free men (negotiations are in progress regarding their extradition for trial), Kaz notes that they're "living comfortably in a loophole," stationed at the secret Cuban blacksite where international law isn't a concern.
* OffstageVillainy: Neither target manages to KickTheDog during the mission proper, since they're in the custody of the [[SemperFi Marines]], but Miller provides more than enough [[InformedAttribute Informed Attributes]] to give them decent characterization.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: By their foreign nicknames, even!
* RedemptionDemotion: If you recruit them in The Phantom Pain, you'll find that their stats aren't as impressive as their reputations might suggest. Possibly justified by their self-mutilation making it difficult to do their old jobs.
* ScaryBlackMan: Glaz.
* SinisterShades: Glaz wears them [[EyeScream for a very good reason]].
* SociopathicSoldier: It's implied that many of their kills were made in violation of international law, and may have included ''civilians.'' Kaz notes that their extradition to face trial is a major factor in the ongoing peace negotiations.
* SuddenNameChange: For some reason, the two had their names switched in ''The Phantom Pain'', with Glaz now being The Finger and Palitz becoming The Eye.
* TimedMission: Of a sort. Snake is initially given the approximate location of both targets, but if he takes too long the targets will have moved, forcing him to identify them by face alone.
* UnexpectedGameplayChange: Their dedicated side mission is a straight-up double assassination a-la ''{{VideoGame/Hitman}}''.
* WouldNotShootACivilian: It's strongly implied that they ''[[AvertedTrope would]]'', and have, which is part of the reason the KGB wants them dead.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Intel Operative]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' [[spoiler:Hideo Kojima]]
An undercover MSF operative who has been compromised after recovering a cassette tape relating to XOF. Snake and Morpho rescue him from the base in "Intel Operative Extraction." Rescuing him in ''Ground Zeroes'' causes him to join Diamond Dogs in ''The Phantom Pain''. He can also be recruited in a special Side-Ops mission if you don't have ''Ground Zeroes''.
----
* AscendedExtra: While he isn't important to the story of the game, his role is given a greater significance than the one he had in ''Peace Walker'', where he simply had a cameo.
* AsideGlance: Gives one in both ''Ground Zeroes'' and ''The Phantom Pain'' when the mission is over and his identity is revealed to the player.
* AsHimself: [[spoiler:It goes beyond a Creator Cameo. He's listed in the credits as "Hideo."]]
* AuthorAvatar: [[spoiler:He ''is'' Hideo, after all]].
* BadassDriver: Miller is notably impressed by his initiative in stealing an enemy vehicle, as well has his skill in handling it.
--> '''Miller''': "You handle that vehicle like a pro. I'd expect nothing less."
* CallBack: Appeared in ''Peace Walker'' as a SecretCharacter, [[spoiler:and reprises his role in ''The Phantom Pain'' as well.]]
--> '''Snake''': [[spoiler:"Mr. Kojima?!"]]
* CallForward: [[spoiler:Mirrors Miller's rescue scene from the Red Band trailer upon his rescue, as well as his dialogue on A-Rank or lower.]]
--> [[spoiler:'''Hideo''']]: [[spoiler:Snake... What took you so long?]]
* CoolShades: The operative has some pretty awesome aviators when you rescue him. [[spoiler:Snake eventually gives Hideo back his [[SpecsOfAwesome trademark J.F. Rey Eyewear glasses]].]]
* GlassesPull: [[spoiler:Played straight and [[InvertedTrope inverted]] in the same scene, as he dramatically removes his [[CoolShades combat aviators]] to don his [[SpecsOfAwesome signature glasses]].]]
* MadeOfIron: Manages to escape a vehicle that's been ''hit with a rocket launcher'' with little in the way of injuries.
* NonActionGuy: Even though his combat stats are better than they were in Peace Walker, you still can't play as him even if you put him in a combat unit.
* PutOnABus: WordOfGod says that the reason why he doesn't show up in ''The Phantom Pain'' is because [[spoiler:Kojima didn't want players doing things like [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential throwing his character off Mother Base]].]]
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:He's actually Hideo.]]
* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: His voice actor does not speak English as his first language, and is well known for a [[MemeticMutation particularly famous bit of Engrish]]. He has improved greatly since then, even if his accent is still noticeable.
* WalkingSpoiler: Not because he's plot important, but because saying who he is [[RuleOfFunny gives away a punchline]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Undercover Agent]]
An American agent planted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Cuban base. Snake is hired by his employers to make contact with him and determine the nature of the base's activities.
----
* DeepCoverAgent: He's so devoted to keeping his cover that he asks Snake to make their meeting look like an attack, even giving his consent to be choked unconscious.
* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler:The reason he sets you up, courtesy of Cipher. Boy, Cipher really love this, don't they?]]
* InkSuitActor: Modeled after Kojima Productions LA animator Brian Robison, although his voice is actually provided by actor Roger Rose.
* TheMole: One on your side, he's been planted to gather information on the Cuban base, and stashed a tape for you to collect.
* NoNameGiven: He is listed in the credits as "Undercover Agent", although in ''TPP'', he is given the codename of Mad Wallaby.
* ReverseMole: [[spoiler:He sets you up, sending you to a trap baited with the wrong tape.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Prisoner 12282 aka Bitter Centipede]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Matthew Mercer
A prisoner held at the black site during the "Destroy the Anti-Air Emplacements" mission. A member of MSF's Intel team, Kaz dispatched him to gather intel on the facility, only to be caught and forcibly interrogated. He can be rescued by Big Boss, in which he'll rejoin Diamond Dogs after Mission 12 in "The Phantom Pain" under the codename "Bitter Centipede".
----
* BaldOfAwesome: His facial structure varies for each player's game. But he's always Caucasian, blue-eyed, and has a shaved head.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Suffers like everyone else at the black site. He didn't break. It took Skull Face approaching with kindness to even push him close to the edge.
* DeepCoverAgent: That's what the Intel Team is supposed to be, if done right.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: His discussion on what happened at the black site is how Kaz gets the idea on how to structure Diamond Dogs's Intel team. [[spoiler: It's also the base structure of the Patriots AI system.]]
* TheresNoPlaceLikeHome: Desperately wants to return to Mother Base.
* TheBusCameBack: Like anyone else rescued in Ground Zeroes, he returns in Phantom Pain.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Cipher]]
An organisation created by Major Zero, connected to XOF. They would eventually become led by a bunch of AI's that will become The Patriots by ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2''.
* AIIsACrapshoot: [[ForegoneConclusion Well duh]], they do end up becoming the main villains of the series.
* EnemyMine: Due to Skull Face's attack, they turned [[spoiler: The Medic into Venom Snake]].
* GreaterScopeVillain: They become The Patriots, who manipulate world events to create an economy powered by war.
* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler:They took the Undercover Agent's family to trap Big Boss. They have a back up agent within Camp who has the real tape]].
* PredecessorVillain: [[spoiler:After Zero becomes infected by a parasite due to an attack by Skull Face, he commissions SIGINT and Strangelove to build an AI system capable of governing the world after Zero's eventual death. This AI system in time becomes known as the Patriots. La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo!]].
[[/folder]]
!!Characters in ''Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain''
[[folder:Quiet]]
[[quoteright:305:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_quiet7.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:305:''"Love... [[LoveHurts hurts so bad]]... / But still... [[LoveRedeems saved my soul]]..."'']]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Stefanie Joosten (English and Japanese; also does her [[MotionCapture motion capture]])
-->''A Sniper deprived of her Words''
A mute sniper with strange powers who works under XOF. After being captured in the field, she becomes a prisoner of Snake and Diamond Dogs. She later joins the PMC's ranks as a field operative, working side-by-side with Snake himself.
----
* AbsoluteCleavage: Unlocking the Sniper Wolf outfit for Quiet will cause her to wear a military uniform that's unbuttoned in the front with no bra, in addition to giving her blonde hair and gold lipstick.
* ActionGirl: Par for the course in the series. Starts out as a DarkActionGirl, but turns into this after switching sides.
* ApocalypseMaiden: [[spoiler:She contains the missing English parasite, intended to kill Big Boss and wipe out the English language in case her assassination attempt failed. She can speak English fine, she chooses not to in order to protect Big Boss and the world instead.]]
* AnimalMotifs: The butterfly is a recurring theme with her. The pattern on her face which appears when she uses her abilities resembles a butterfly and the sniper rifles available to her are named "Wicked Butterfly", "Sinful Butterfly", and "Guilty Butterfly".
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: The reason why she helps Venom Snake, and eventually, comes to love him enough to put his life over her own.
* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:Due to being set on fire in the prologue, you can occasionally see her skin flicker and change to expose raw red muscles, perhaps giving a hint at how her powers work and possibly showing the extent of the damage she took from Ishmael's chemical attack. After all, it's her power-enabling respiratory parasites which healed her wounds to begin with.]]
* BookEnds: Quiet's story ends how it started as detailed [[http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/718564-metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain/73228595 here]]. The prologue and Quiet's last mission, "A Quiet Exit" features [[spoiler: having the breath strangled out of a character as Quiet's theme is heard, enemies catching on fire, Ahab awakens to ask what happened to Quiet, and receiving a confused reply from a masked man who's helping Ahab up.]]
* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler:In the mission "A Quiet Exit", she is forced to speak English in order to save Big Boss. This causes her vocal cord parasites to become infectious, and so she leaves Boss with [[DeadManWriting a recorded message]]. After that, [[PermanentlyMissableContent she can no longer be selected as a Buddy]]. Later subverted when the game was updated to version 1.06, as there is now a way to regain Quiet as a buddy - you must beat Cloaked In Silence 7 times and defeat her nonlethally with supply drops or sleeping gas, NOT nonlethal weapons.]]
* ChameleonCamouflage: Her skin changes to fit the environment, particularly facial patterns. [[spoiler:This is a unique element of her modified parasite.]]
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: At one point, Snake and Miller get into an argument over whether or not they should kill Quiet. Snake says that they will spare her for now, but he admits to Miller that they all likelihood are going to need to get rid of her at some point in the future and promises to eliminate her personally when that time comes.
* CherryTapping: One of the effective ways of defeating her is ''calling a supply drop on her head''. And it takes ''half'' her stamina meter.
%%* ColdBloodedTorture: Suffers this at one point.
%%* ColdSniper: Though she does have a softer side.
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Her sniping is already impressive, but the Parasite therapy also grants her access to some of the most ''brutal'' unarmed combat moves ever featured in the franchise, as seen in "A Quiet Exit".
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Before you can use Quiet as a buddy during missions, you must first defeat her in a sniper duel.
* DefrostingIceQueen: When Quiet is first recruited as a buddy, she behaves rather cold and aloof towards Snake. But as your buddy bond score with her increases, she becomes more friendly and affectionate.
* {{Determinator}}: Even before gaining her super powers, Quiet was a trained and tough ProfessionalKiller, as seen when even when being set on fire she came seconds away from snatching up a discarded combat knife before the man sent her through the window by reigniting the flames. Let that sink in: she was already on fire and she was still crawling towards Ishmael to fight him and when he threw her knife at her ''she batted it away and kept on coming.''
* DifficultButAwesome: She's apparently the most difficult support buddy to use effectively. From what we've seen, timing is everything with using her effectively with such tricks as shooting grenades out of the air.
* ElectiveMute: She deliberately doesn't speak [[spoiler:because she's infected with the English strain of the vocal chord parasite.]]
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: [[spoiler:She received her superhuman abilities such as SuperSpeed, ImprobableAimingSkills, and {{Invisibility}} from parasites she got after failing to kill Venom Snake in the hospital. However, [[PowerAtAPrice if she ever spoke English again, it would be fatal to herself, and cause others to be infected with the parasite]].]]
* FanDisservice:
** As it turns out, the reason that she is that her lungs were burnt to a crisp so now she can ''only'' breathe through her skin. Her physiology's so mangled that even wearing a ''shirt'' causes her to ''[[BizarreHumanBiology suffocate]]''.
** Watching her shower can be pretty hot... until she starts convulsing as she drinks the water she's soaked in ''through her skin.'' She then proceeds to lie on the floor and do the same thing with the pool of water there.
* FatalFlaw: [[spoiler: ''Wrath.'' She could have asked Code Talker, in Navajo, to remove her English parasites. But she retained them because part of her still wanted revenge against Snake, even if she grew to love him.]]
* GoodCounterpart: To the Skulls, though [[HeelFaceTurn not initially]].
* GroinAttack: Pulls off two ''very'' brutal ones in a cutscene during "A Quiet Exit," first by axe-kicking one mook below the belt with enough force to draw blood, and then by repeatedly ''stabbing'' another mook in the jewels with a knife.
* HeelFaceTurn: At the start of the game, she's a cold-blooded killer working for [=XOF=]. But after joining up with the Diamond Dogs she begins to display more humanity, at one point even jumping into a container filled with chlorine gas just to retrieve a necklace that belongs to one of the child soldiers, nearly losing her life in the process.
* HeldGaze: One particularly memorable scene shows her stripping and dancing around Mother Base on a rainy day, inviting Venom Snake to play with her (which he does). It culminates in Snake catching her by the shoulders and the two of them staring into each other's eyes for a few seconds, before Quiet regains her composure. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri2OWbB7fdE See it here]].
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Quiet can, on command, ''shoot thrown hand grenades'', among other impressive feats. [[spoiler:Comes with being an EmpoweredBadassNormal.]]
** Shooting grenades actually is one of her less impressive skills. Quiet can headshot the pilot of a flying fighter jet, and is able to put six bullets in between the blades of a chopper's spinning rotor.
* InLoveWithTheMark: As the player earns her loyalty (and unlocks more of her story) through gameplay, it slowly becomes evident that Quiet is starting to fall in love with Venom Snake. Compare her behaviour in the ACC, from aloof and stoic at low bond to visibly comfortable and almost [[WhenSheSmiles smiling]] when it's maxed. This ultimately seals her HeelFaceTurn for good, [[spoiler:and in the end, drives her to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice]] her own life for him.]]
* InkSuitActor: Much like the Beauties in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Metal Gear Solid 4]]'', Quiet is very closely modeled after the actress providing her motion capture (Stefanie Joosten, a Dutch model, actress, and singer who lives in Japan).
* InnocentFanserviceGirl: She dresses in a bikini and stockings because she breathes through her skin. If she could breath normally, she'd wear the coveralls suitable to a spy or a sniper.
* {{Invisibility}}: When crossing the map to a new vantage point, Quiet will activate her invisibility to prevent being intercepted by enemy forces. Only specialized sensing technology and night vision goggles can detect where she is. Subverted by some characters once they know how she ticks; one instance prior to leaving Mother Base has Kaz clang his crutch against the side of Pequod's chopper when something seems off. Quiet quickly reveals herself, looking distinctly unimpressed.
* {{Intangibility}}: The black smoke powers she uses seem to be a combination of teleporting and/or dissipating into thin air so that nothing can touch her. At the very least she was able to remove her handcuffs by using those powers.
* ItIsDehumanizing: Resident {{Jerkass}} Miller outright calls her a "thing" at one point, and it's safe to assume that [[FauxAffablyEvil Skull Face]]'s everyday treatment of her was no better when she was still under his employ.
* KnifeNut: Pretty decent with a combat knife [[spoiler:and she manages to briefly incapacitate Ishmael with a well timed throw]]. Later utilizes one in the MookHorrorShow she performs in "A Quiet Exit".
* KillItWithFire: Ishmael [[spoiler:tries to eliminate her with this in the opening scenes by dousing her with medical-grade ethanol, igniting it with a cigarette lighter and then hitting her with another bottle of of it seconds before she can grab a discarded combat knife. It causes her to fall out the window of the Cyprus hospital, results in her Parasite therapy, and is why she has trouble with clothes]].
* KillItWithWater: Sort of. Quiet "drinks" by absorbing water through her skin, but if she's completely submerged she'll drown just like a normal person or a plant would. Another side effect of her condition is that splashing her with salt water causes her great pain and, according to Code Talker, is even capable of killing her.]
* KilledOffForReal: The player has the option of killing her as soon as they first meet her, whether by draining her HP during their BossBattle or [[ShootTheShaggyDog personally executing her after draining her stamina]]. Also, [[spoiler:it's implied she dies in the desert after leaving Venom Snake in her final mission.]]
* MagicalEye: Black eye shadow manifests around her eyes any time she uses her phantom powers. Not unlike the Parasite Unit/Skulls.
* MookHorrorShow: Apart from sharpshooting, this is her other specialty which is only demonstrated in cut-scenes. She can pull off some ludicrously impressive unarmed combat and is highly brutal when taking apart her foes. The icing on the cake is the one she performs in "A Quiet Exit." CutscenePowerToTheMax doesn't even begin to describe it as she utilizes super speed, superior agility, a combat knife, a devastating GroinAttack and even ripping one of her victim's ears off with her teeth among other things to annihilate them.
* MsFanservice: An IndecisiveDeconstruction, as her revealing attire exists because [[spoiler:after being set on fire and receiving parasite therapy, she breathes, drinks, and absorbs sunlight through her skin. With no other form of nourishment available to her due to the damage inflicted by her burns, heavier clothing would slowly kill her]]. Still, her "sensitive condition" aside, the camera doesn't stop from giving players lots of close-up shots of Quiet's body, nor does it prevent her from having fanservice scenes. See HeldGaze above. It's briefly subverted [[spoiler:in the prologue, since she's shown donning full combat uniform. The "bikini and stockings" look comes later.]]
* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:After being forced to trigger the parasites which would eventually compel her to kill Snake, she wanders off into the desert believing she would rather die than let that happen, as opposed to committing suicide here and now.]]
* NostalgiaLevel: Her boss fight is reminiscent of the duel against The End from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', taking place in a wide open field and tasking Snake with attempting to find her and defeat her while she snipes at him. She even has plant-like abilities that Ocelot takes note of in a cassette tape earned after the fight, absorbing water through her skin and photosynthesizing for sustenance in addition to healing herself.
* OptionalPartyMember: Once you defeat her in battle, Snake is given the option of taking her to Mother Base as a recruit or just shooting her on the spot.
* PermanentlyMissableContent: [[spoiler:Mission 45 is a one-way trip. Upon completing it, you can no longer select Quiet as a Buddy. Subverted as of version 1.06, where she can be regained if the player completes "Cloaked In Silence" seven times.]]
* PlayAlongPrisoner: After Snake takes her back to Mother Base, she more or less stays there willingly, and even escapes her cell more than once only to go straight back.
* TheSilentBob: Doesn't speak after the prologue [[spoiler:until chapter 45, where she calls in a chopper to extract Snake. This is due to the fact that if she speaks in English, it would activate her vocal cord parasites.]]
* SnipingTheCockpit: She does this to a fighter jet during a cutscene. And if you equip her with the Sinful Butterfly rifle, she becomes capable of doing this to helicopter gunships.
%%* StarCrossedLovers: [[spoiler:With Venom Snake.]]
* StockholmSyndrome: She starts off as an enemy hired to kill Snake at any cost. She eventually becomes Venom Snake's LoveInterest if you choose to capture her instead of kill her. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since unlike her [[SoftSpokenSadist previous boss]], Snake treats her with kindness and respect as a person, not a simple "tool" of destruction.
* SuperSpeed: One of her powers is moving at superhuman speeds, allowing her to move across hundreds of feet in seconds while knocking out any person that's in her path.
* TeleportSpam: Usually only implements this when she has to get up close and personal, and it's a combination of her {{Invisibility}} and SuperSpeed. It also scares the absolute piss out of [[spoiler:the soldier who tried to take Quiet's clothes off, before she tears him and the rest of his comrades apart.]]
* TogetherInDeath: According to a bit of [[WordOfGod developer commentary,]] [[spoiler:Quiet and Venom Snake are reunited after Solid Snake kills him at Outer Heaven.]]
* UnstoppableRage: After a failed AttemptedRape by a Soviet soldier, she proceeds to go utterly apeshit ''insane'' and tear him and his fellow soldiers apart with her bare hands.
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:She disappears at the end of mission 45. Presumably she wandered off into the Afghan desert to die after activating the English strain of the vocal cord parasite. If you check the Mother Base personnel roster after that mission, her status is listed as MIA (Missing in Action).]]
* TheVoiceless: [[spoiler: She can speak. In fact, she knows Navajo and English. However, she prefers not to speak in English because it would activate her vocal cord parasites.]]
* WeaksauceWeakness:
** A very easy way to beat her is to call in supply drops on her, which will knock out half of her stamina each time.
** Although it can't be used against her in-game, salt water can be this, according to Code Talker.
* WhenSheSmiles: Quiet's stoicism is almost as steadfast as her inner resolve, but on that rare moment she expresses genuine happiness, it's quite a beautiful sight. Tellingly, only Venom Snake [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe ever receives this gesture]] from her.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Code Talker]]
[[quoteright:302:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_code_talker.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:302:''"Since ancient times, every civilization's ruler has had the same idea. When people unite under one will, they become stronger than the sum of their parts. And what do rulers use to bring people together? Language."'']]
-> '''AKA:''' Old Diné, A Wise Man Denied His Homeland
-> '''Voiced by:''' Osamu Saka (Japanese), Jay Tavare (English; also does his motion capture)
A blind, elderly man of Native American (specifically Navajo/Diné) descent.
----
* TheAtoner: Heavily regrets [[spoiler:his work developing the vocal cord parasites, and is more than willing to sacrifice his original aim -- creating a "deterrent" against language-based cultural imperialism -- to see the English strain destroyed.]]
* BlindSeer: His cataracts imply that he's lost his vision with his age. However, he can still 'see' with his parasites. Especially the color blue [[spoiler:from that artificial-flavor super-chemical burger that Kaz presents him in the cassettes.]]
* BoardingSchoolOfHorrors: During his youth, he was sent to one of the "Indian boarding schools" [[TruthInTelevision that were common in the United States and Canada in the late 19th century.]] In order to force him to assimilate, his teachers assigned the "students" English names and forced them to [[SoapPunishment eat soap if they spoke a word of their native language.]]
* CallBack: In one of the cassettes, [[spoiler:he describes the original parasite sample he was given to work with. Their effects will sound familiar to anyone who's played ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' as the powers of The Pain and The End.]]
* {{Foil}}: To [[spoiler:Huey.]] Unlike him, Code Talker ''hates'' what he had to do and actually owns up to his actions.
* GrumpyOldMan: Displays shades of this, particularly around [[TrademarkFavoriteFood the things he eats]].
* HitlerAteSugar: ''Averted''. He loves hamburgers, in spite of them being iconic to the nation that made his people suffer so much.
-->'''Code Talker''': Our people ''have'' suffered more than you know, but I do not see hamburgers as an accomplice.
* LongLived: He's over 100 years of age, putting his date of birth somewhere in 1880. [[spoiler:Code Talker's longevity is implied to be due to his body being largely made up of parasites.]]
* MagicalNativeAmerican: An interesting variation. He acts like one, but [[spoiler:he actually has a background in science, as the source of the parasites.]]
** Later subverted for humor when he asks Miller to make him a good burger. He starts by talking about them in a typical, Magical Native American spiritual manner, referring to them as symbols of Mother Nature's love (as they combine grain, vegetable and animal products), harmony, and other wishy-washy hogwash. Miller, taking him for some kind of hamburger philosopher, tries presenting him with more and more natural ones only to have them all rejected. When he finally gets tired of the naturalist crap, [[spoiler: he reveals that all he's looking for is a chemical filled American frankenburger, going on a tirade about how making burgers is a science, not a religion, and that chemically stimulating the tongue makes for a more flavorful experience than combining free-range lambs with local produce.]]
* PlantPerson: Much like The End, he thrives off photosynthesis, which not only gives him his longevity, but also makes it so he never needs to eat (although he likes a good burger). [[spoiler:This is because he actually ingested the parasite that gave The End his photosynthesis powers, after having done research on The End's remains.]]
* ThePhilosopher: Has some interesting views about the nature of language, not to mention is rather fluent in a complicated dialect of Navajo.
* ReluctantMadScientist: He's working for Skull Face when you first meet him [[spoiler:and is responsible for the existence of the Parasite Unit.]] It's also made clear Code Talker ''hates'' it, only doing so because Skull Face has threatened a slow death for the entire Navajo nation otherwise, and he's relieved upon being extracted to Mother Base.
* SeriousBusiness: ''Anything'' to do with hamburgers.
* SoapPunishment: Part of Code Talker's backstory; at the [[BoardingSchoolOfHorrors Indian boarding school]] he was sent to as a child, this was the punishment for the students speaking their native tongue.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Hamburgers. It's also mentioned in audio tapes that he's ''very'' picky when it comes to them, frustrating Miller to no end.
* TheWormThatWalks: [[spoiler:A rare non-evil example; most of his body is made up of parasites.]]
* YouAreWhatYouHate: As much as he resents what the United States had done to Native Americans, he also admits how he and his kind are "Americanized", anyway. Neither does he have the heart to hate all-American ''hamburgers''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Dr. Evangelos Constantinou]]
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_unknown_doctor.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"You've been in a coma for... quite some time. Yes, yes, I know. You'd like to know how long. I'm afraid it's been... nine years."'']]
-> '''Voiced by:''' [[Creator/HochuOtsuka Hochu Otsuka]] (JP), Christos Vasilopoulos (EN)
->''"It's true. There are those who wish you'd never woken up. You should be dead, but you're not. The waves are in motion. Your enemies are everywhere. We must alter your appearance immediately. Otherwise, I fear you won't leave this place alive."''
A Cypriot doctor who assists Venom Snake during his coma and when he awakens in 1984. Besides overseeing the fallen soldier's gradual recovery, the doc's job is to feed him vital information whenever possible and (secretly) protect him from the XOF.
----
* CharacterCustomization: Subverted. As a means to protect Snake from Cipher, the Doc tells him they'll need to change his face and give him a new identity... only for the XOF invasion to put a stop to it. [[spoiler:Then it turns out it already ''was'' successful. The player's "customized look" is actually Venom Snake's ''original'' face, before he underwent cosmetic surgery and brainwashing to become Big Boss's BodyDouble. The custom face appears occasionally in blink-and-you'll-miss-it shots showing Snake's reflection in the background, before being used prominently in TheReveal.]]
* GratuitousGreek: As Ocelot states in one of the first cassette tapes, the Dhekelia Hospital tends to hire local people to blend in with British territory (and confuse Cipher from locating Snake). The Doctor is no exception, as he chats in Greek with the nurse and repeats ''nosokoma (nurse)'' [[spoiler:everytime Snake feels a traumatic reaction from the accident's aftermath.]]
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: He wants to know your name, your birthday, and what your new face should look like. [[spoiler:These things are not a coincidence.]]
* LossOfIdentity: To protect him from Cipher, the doctor bestows upon Snake a new name, "Ahab", telling him that whatever his past was, it is now but a "phantom". This lasts all of a few minutes, as he's already been discovered by his enemies. [[spoiler:Turns out he gave Venom Snake more than a new name, though...]]
* MauveShirt: He gives enough background to Snake to explain what's been going on over the last 9 years [[spoiler:before getting strangled to death by Quiet.]]
* NoNameGiven: Never once introduces himself. Although his name appears on his [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_doctors_name.jpg I.D. tag]], so he may have felt that he didn't need to.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: If it weren't for him and the rest of his medical team's diligent efforts, "Ahab" would never have recovered in time to become the man known as Venom Snake.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Eli]]
[[quoteright:299:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_eli9.png]]
[[caption-width-right:299:''"Not yet, Snake! It's not over yet!"'']]
->'''AKA:''' White Mamba, A Youth who Curses his Fate, [[spoiler:Liquid Snake]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Yutaro Honjo (JP), Piers Stubbs (EN)
A blonde-haired child soldier wearing a jackal-tooth necklace and an oversized vest with the words "Never Be Game Over" and "液体人" -- "(Liquid Man/Person)" -- printed on the back. Heavily implied to be a young Liquid Snake, [[spoiler: because he is.]]
----
* ArcVillain: [[spoiler: If Mission 51 weren't cut, he would've been the ArcVillain of that chapter]].
* AscendedFanboy: [[spoiler:Taking some inspiration from literature, Eli's "Kingdom of Flies" in the cut content would have been a remote island akin to that in ''LordOfTheFlies'', filled with ChildSoldiers, booby traps, and vocal parasites to kill off intruding forces like Cipher. And Diamond Dogs.]]
* BackstabBackfire: Upon being brought to Mother Base, he snaps and tries to stab Snake in the back with a knife. Snake easily deflects it, breaks his arm, and then gives him a lecture on drawing a weapon on a fellow soldier before [[DramaticDislocation snapping his arm back into place]].
* BarbarianLonghair: Has an unkempt mullet to illustrate his wildness.
* CallForward: References multiple elements of Liquid Snake. [[spoiler:Because that's ''exactly'' who he is.]]
** Wears a necklace of jackal teeth during his time in Afghanistan.
--->[[spoiler:'''Liquid:''' In the Middle East, we don't hunt foxes, we hunt jackals.]]
** Has 液体人 -- "'''Liquid''' Man" -- printed on the back of his jacket.
** He's shown piloting a Metal Gear, ''exactly'' like Liquid would later on. [[spoiler:Not a coincidence.]] Does Liquid's trademark fist-clenching gesture moments before that.
* CloningBlues: [[spoiler:The main reason for his behavior and resentment of Big Boss.]]
* CombatPragmatist: He runs ahead of Snake and attacks from around corners, and has no qualms about throwing things such as bottles, pipes and molotovs at him.
* {{Determinator}}: Manages to take on the formidable Venom Snake despite having no special training. Then again, he's actually [[spoiler:Liquid Snake, the iconic determinator of the series, so it's to be expected.]]
** [[spoiler:In the game's cut content, he utters this series trademark:]]
---> [[spoiler:'''Eli''': Not yet. It's not over yet.]]
* DisproportionateRetribution: UpToEleven; upon being brought back to Mother Base, he snaps and tries to attack Venom Snake with a knife after Snake gave him a friendly pat on the back. He gets his arm broken for the trouble.
* HairTriggerTemper: During the mission where Snake captures him, Ocelot mentions that Eli lets his anger get the better of him and leaves himself open after an attack. Immediately after being taken to Mother Base, getting a friendly pat on the back from Snake is enough to get him to blow his stack and ''attack Snake with a knife''.
* HijackedByGanon: [[spoiler:At the end of the game, he mind-melds with Tretij Rebenok and activates Metal Gear before Skull-Face can (in the process critically injuring both him and the Man on Fire before either actually ever fights Snake), for the sole purpose of killing Snake and wrecking havoc. He's also the BigBad and final boss of the game's cut "Mission 51".]]
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: [[spoiler:The plot of the cut chapter "Kingdom of The Flies" would have dealt with Eli getting exposed to the English Strain of the Vocal Parasites, coming close to death because his accelerated ageing was starting to make his voice change; once it broke he was dead. After the battle, Rebenok extracts the parasites from his body before flying away with him.]]
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Thanks to Huey, he takes off in Sahelanthropus with the child soldiers holding one of the pilots hostage, never to be seen again.]]. This is later subverted, as [[spoiler: the end timeline mentions Eli establishing his Kingdom of the Flies; so despite not being featured, the cut Mission 51 is still considered canon to the series.]]
* TheKidWithTheLeash: [[spoiler:His feelings of hate towards Snake usurp Skull Face's, and gains Rebenok's leash by the end of the game and beyond.]]
* LargeHam: A budding one at that. [[spoiler:Foreshadowing his growing up and becoming Liquid Snake.]]
* TheLoad: Tends to cause problems at Mother Base for the sheer hell of it.
* LukeYouAreMyFather: Subverted. Ocelot (and the player) expect him to turn out to be one of Snake's clones (specifically, Liquid), but a DNA test reveals that he and Snake are not related. [[spoiler:Which is because Venom Snake is not the guy who got cloned.]]
* MeaningfulName: "Eli" is a modern equivalent of Eliab, the brother of David in the Literature/TheBible. [[spoiler:And, just like Eliab, Eli has a brother named David, because Eli is actually Liquid Snake.]]
* MightyWhitey: The only white kid in his unit, and their leader. He's explicitly stated to be stronger, faster, a better soldier, and a better hunter. [[spoiler:Given he was designed for such activity, he's in his element within the war torn region. You could even say he was made for it.]]
* NotHisSled: He's extremely similar to Liquid Snake, but a DNA test done on him shows that his and Venom Snake's lack significant match, leading others to conclude that Eli's not a product of Les Enfantes Terribles. [[spoiler:SubvertedTrope, since his DNA ''is'' similar enough to Big Boss, [[BodyDouble just not Venom]].]]
* ScrewDestiny: "Curses his fate."
* ShoutOut: He seems to be a fan of ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies''; his room in Mission 23 has a severed pig's head on the table, and [[spoiler:the ending timeline, along with a cut mission, explicitly declares his base to be the "Kingdom of the Flies."]]
* WholeCostumeReference:
** His clothes and hairstyle look eerily similar to Liquid's in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''. [[spoiler:Apparently he likes the look.]]
** He also resembles [[Film/MadMax the Feral Kid]].
* YoungFutureFamousPeople: InUniverse. [[spoiler:Eli grows up to be Liquid Snake, the leader of the eventually terrorist FOXHOUND unit.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tretij Rebenok]]
[[quoteright:298:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_tretij.png]]
[[caption-width-right:298:''"[[SilentAntagonist ...]]"'']]
->'''AKA:''' Third Child, [[spoiler:Psycho Mantis]]
A gas-masked child with psychic powers.
----
* CallBack: His nationality, abilities and attire certainly bring Mantis to mind. [[spoiler:And it's no coincidence.]]
* CreepyChild: A floating, psychic kid decked out in [[EvilWearsBlack black straitjacket]] + gas mask? One look at him spells "danger" all over.
* CreepyShadowedUndereyes: His actual model lacks orange gasmask lenses seen ingame, showing his eyes. These reveal they're completely sunken in blackness.
* DarkIsEvil: Let's see. Jet-black gas mask, jet-black straitjacket, jet-black leggings, and dark circles around his eyes. Also, not exactly evil, just a living outlet for evil/hateful people.
* DoesNotLikeShoes: His attire completely excludes any footwear.
* EmpathicShapeshifter: Whoever he is "leashed" to will cause minor changes to his appearance.
** When leashed to Venom Snake, Third Child has a horn on his head similar to Venom Snake's shrapnel injury.
** When leashed to the Man on Fire, the sleeves of Third Child's trench coat will be on fire.
** When leashed to Skull Face, the eyes on Third Child's gas mask become narrower, mimicking Skull Face's domino mask.
** When leashed to Shabani, Third Child will wear a lion necklace identical to the one Shabani wears.
** When leashed to Eli, Third Child will wear a bandana on his arm identical to Eli's.
* EvilRedhead: The most glaring thing about him (besides the mask) is his messy red hair. He also works for Skull Face, [[spoiler:but eventually abandons him in favor of Eli]].
* HandHidingSleeves: Of the Sneaky Variant. The boy's hands are completely hidden by the sleeves of his oversized straitjacket.
* HellIsThatNoise: Just like the Man on Fire's mechanical groaning, once you hear steady breathing coming from the other side of a respirator, you better run.
* TheKidWithTheLeash: In an interesting twist. [[spoiler:His abilities can be harnessed by anyone with overwhelming negative emotion, especially feelings of hate and revenge, but the "leash" changes hands various times as a result. In the beginning, it's Ahab who initially awakens his power, and the leash switches between the Man on Fire and Ahab, with Ahab sometimes subconsciously making the Man on Fire attack XOF soldiers and choppers (and even calls a ''giant flaming whale'' at one point), and the Man on Fire sometimes attacking Snake personally. Later on, Skull Face gets the leash and uses Rebenok's powers to control Sahelanthropus without a pilot or an AI, and also has control over the Man on Fire. In the end, Eli gets the leash via overwhelming feelings of revenge and uses it to attack Snake with Sahelantropus, culminating in the FinalBoss fight. Eli stays melded with Rebenok after Snake defeats Sahelantropus, and eventually harnesses his power one last time to escape from Mother Base with Sahelanthropus.]]
* MalevolentMaskedMen: Doesn't hesitate to unleash destruction against enemies and bystanders. Always masked.
* MeaningfulName: "Third Child" in Russian. Given the role he and Eli play at the end - [[spoiler:that is, activating a giant mech via mind meld]] - this might be a thinly veiled ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' reference.
* ThePowerOfHate: He's only "loyal" to whoever feels the most hate at any given moment.
* PowerFloats: He prefers levitation to walking.
* PsychicPowers: Including [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinesis]], [[PowerFloats levitation]] and [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]].
* SatelliteCharacter: [[spoiler: Has no personality of his own. He just does whatever his current "master" wants.]]
* SilentAntagonist: He never speaks at any point.
* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Appears with the "Man on Fire" at various points, [[spoiler:since he's a major part of why the brain-dead Volgin can even move.]]
** [[spoiler:At the end of the game, he switches from Volgin to Eli, and the two form both a strange [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid and lasting]] friendship.]]
* VaderBreath: He speaks solely in light breathing made ominous through his gasmask filter.
* WholeCostumeReference: His outfit is incredibly similar to Mantis. [[spoiler:And like Eli, aka Liquid, he seems to like the look.]]
* WildCard: He has no real loyalty to anyone; only sticks with whoever has the most hate around him, [[spoiler:which sets up his leaving Skull Face for Eli towards the end.]]
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: As revealed through cassette tapes, despite appearing as a malignant puppet master, [[spoiler:it's the other way around. The boy is almost completely incapable of controlling anything he does, as his volatile psychic powers are almost entirely controlled/influenced by those around him, particularly the incredibly evil and hateful Man on Fire, Skull Face, and Eli. In fact, the only time the boy's ego leaks out is when he mercy-kills a suffering child. The tapes reveal the only emotion the boy's extremely repressed true personality can muster any more is bitterness, as he's lived his entire childhood prodded by emotionless scientists, treated as nothing more than a tool of war. He also unintentionally caused a plane crash, probably killing dozens. Made even MORE sympathetic when it's implied he's Psycho Mantis, who found out his father secretly hated him, accidentally murdered dozens of people including his friends and family in a village fire, and when he finally grew out of his SatelliteCharacter role, tried to use his powers for good by helping the FBI...only to get practically possessed by a psychotic serial killer until his painful death. Geez.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The "Man on Fire"]]
[[quoteright:302:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_man_on_fire.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:302:[[labelnote:Click here to see his normal form.]][[quoteright:302:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_volgin.png]][[/labelnote]]]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Dave Fouquette (EN)
A demonic figure who absorbs kinetic energy and uses it to intensify his own flames. He's attracted to the rage and vengeful feelings of the characters, but is otherwise mindless.
----
* AdvancingWallOfDoom: You can't do anything except flee from him until he's in shooting range.
* ArtificialZombie: [[spoiler:He actually ''is'' Volgin's charred corpse, but brain-dead and mindless. It's only because Tretij empowers him (and his own hatred of Big Boss) that he can even move.]]
* AttackReflector: Shooting him with most weapons is totally futile; he'll just absorb the bullets and then explode them back at you. He's basically ThePowerOfHate personified. Shotguns can knock him on his ass, though.
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:He's a reanimated Volgin who is hell-bent on killing Snake after the events in Soviet Russia.]]
%%* BigRedDevil: Looks like one.
* CameBackStrong: [[spoiler:Before he became the "Man on Fire", Volgin's only remarkable abilities were in his [[ShockAndAwe usage of electricity]] and being too [[{{Determinator}} determined]] to just die. Now, as the "Man on Fire", he flat out ''[[StoryBreakerPower eclipses]]'' his former self with a [[PlayingWithFire wide]] [[EnergyAbsorption range]] [[AttackReflector of]] [[NighInvulnerable new]] [[WalkingWasteland abilities]].]]
* DemonicPossession: After a fashion. [[spoiler:As it's Volgin's remains infused with Psycho Mantis' powers through Soviet experimentation.]]
%%* {{Determinator}}: Doesn't even begin to describe it.
* IDieFree: [[spoiler:Upon realizing that Venom Snake ''isn't'' Big Boss, what's left of Volgin finally allows himself to die in peace.]]
* TheDreaded: In their brief encounter, even ''Ocelot'' is scared shitless of this thing, preferring to flee rather than fight. [[spoiler:Which isn't helped at all by the thing being the corpse of his old commanding officer.]]
* EnergyAbsorption: Regardless of ''what'' hits it, whether it's bullets, missiles, being [[CarFu run over]], or even being shot point-blank by a tank's cannon, [[ImplacableMan it'll simply take it]] and, after a moment to build up, [[AttackReflector reflects the damage tenfold]].
* HellIsThatNoise: His appearances are often preceded by a coarse mechanical groaning sound, as well as when he charges up his energy reflection ability. People also learn to listen for spontaneous fire sounds since they often herald his appearance.
* ImplacableMan: And '''HOW!''' The man eats bullets, grenades, and ''rockets'' for breakfast, survives an armored car ramming right into him ''after'' firing a tank cannon, [[spoiler:gets ran over by a who-knows-how-heavy platform holding Sahelanthropus]] and just gets up and walks/teleports away.
* KillItWithFire: Obviously. It starts a massive forest fire in the introduction, one which Ocelot and Venom Snake barely manage to flee from on horseback. Later, it burns down a research laboratory Skull Face is running in Africa when it's ordered to eliminate Snake who has infiltrated the place.
* KryptoniteFactor: He ''can'' be slowed down by water, but one way to put him down for good during the fight in mission 20 is to use the fully upgraded stun arm (with a full level 3 charge), causing lightning bolts to hit and K.O. him in one shot. Fitting, since [[spoiler:he was once a man with power over electricity who died set ablaze; now he's a creature of fire susceptible to the same element he used to command.]]
* LogicalWeakness: Being a ManOnFire, he's vulnerable to water. In the cassette tape "The Man on Fire's Weakness," Ocelot, despite expressing surprise at how simple it is to ward him off, [[LampshadeHanging nonetheless acknowledges that it makes sense]].
%%* ManOnFire: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin You bet]].
* NoMouth: He has no visible mouth.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: It is a spectre capable of maintaining both a physical presence in the world and being a [[RecurringBoss very real]] threat to you.
* PlayingWithFire: The very least of its powers.
* ThePowerOfHate: ''Literally'' its power source. [[spoiler:Its entire mission is getting revenge against Big Boss for killing Volgin.]] [[spoiler:Upon realizing that Venom Snake is ''not'' Big Boss, the flames on his body go out instantly and he accepts death at last.]]
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Its modus operandi, not to mention the only reason it even ''exists''. [[spoiler:It's Volgin's rage against Big Boss for killing him.]]
* ScarsAreForever: [[spoiler:If you manage to get a good look at his face, you can see that [[spoiler:he still has Volgin's old lighting scars, further hinting at his true identity.]]
* SovietSuperscience: It's also revealed to be a product of Soviet experimentation [[spoiler:in addition to whatever the Sorrow helped leave behind]].
* StillWearingTheOldColors: He's wearing the tattered remains of [[spoiler:Volgin's]] Soviet dress uniform and armor.
* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Always appears with Rebenok.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Good ol' [[KillItWithWater H2O.]] In the cassette tape "The Man on Fire's Weakness", Ocelot even expresses surprise at how simple it is to defeat him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Shabani]]
The leader of the child soldiers, Shabani went missing in the Nzo ya Badiabulu, also known as the "Devil's House." Some of the child soldiers contact Diamond Dogs to ask for help in finding him.
----
* AFatherToHisMen: The other child soldiers remark that Shabani was the one who took care of them, and saw after their needs.
* BilingualBonus: He speaks nothing but Kikongo.
* ChildSoldier: The leader of a group of them.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Although DummiedOut from the normal game, the unfinished ending pointed out that Shabani's voice was starting to change, as is normal for puberty. [[spoiler:This was going to hint what was about to happen to Eli.]]
* IconicItem: Wears a handcarved necklace of a lion. [[spoiler:When Rebenok {{Mercy Kill}}s him, his EmpathicShapeshifter nature causes the psychic to wear a duplicate of the necklace.]] This necklace is later kept by the child soldiers.
* IllBoy: Like all in the Devil's House, [[spoiler:he's been used to incubate Vocal Cord Parasites]].
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:When Snake finds him, he's in terrible agony and begging for death. His despair is so great he actually leashes Rebenok long enough to give it to him.]]
* SpannerInTheWorks: Unintentionally. His suffering and pain were so much greater than that of the Man on Fire that Rebenok became leashed to Shabani. This buys Venom Snake enough time to escape the Devil's House.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Diamond Dogs]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lzihjsle.jpeg]]
The successor military business and private army of Militaires Sans Frontières, formed by Venom Snake, Kaz Miller, and Ocelot. It was eventually absorbed into the first Outer Heaven.
----
* ActionGirl: Any female members in the Combat Unit certainly count, especially if the player regularly deploys them.
* AlliterativeName: '''D'''iamond '''D'''ogs.
* AmazonBrigade: By repeating certain side missions, it's difficult but certainly possible to make Diamond Dogs entirely female (excluding certain teammates like Miller and Ocelot).
* BadassNormal: Gameplay-wise, all Diamond Dogs soldiers are virtually identical to Venom Snake, which means they can sneak through heavily fortified military bases and defeat a squad of {{Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot}}s and 50-foot tall HumongousMecha without breaking a sweat.
* BloodKnight: Every soldier patrolling Mother Base will beg the player to send them into combat if they get the chance.
* CombatSadomasochist: Strangely, all Diamond Dogs soldiers absolutely ''love'' it when the player attacks them. Sometimes, while choking them, it's even common for them to beg them to squeeze "harder".
* EqualOpportunityEvil: The Diamond Dogs are definitely not evil, just very morally questionable at times. As long as they are willing to follow orders and do them well, they don't discriminate for reasons like gender, race, or national origin. [[spoiler:That they take in all people, regardless of origin, brings in the Kikongo strain of the vocal cord parasite, and makes it virulent.]]
* FanGirl: Apparently there's a "Team Ocelot" and "Team Miller" among the female ranks.
** Every girl is in love with Venom Snake, as well as a number of the guys.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: Each soldier has the chance of personally thanking the Boss for saving the animals he comes across on his missions.
* PlayerCharacter: Almost every single Diamond Dogs soldier has the ability to be sent out on missions and controlled by the player if put into the Combat Unit.
* SeriousBusiness: A pair of soldiers treat whether or not D.D. is a wolf or a dog like this.
* UndyingLoyalty: They will follow Snake to the end, no matter what.
-->'''Diamond Dog Soldier:''' We live and die by your order, Boss.
* WouldNotHurtAChild: Go out of their ways to ensure the safety of any child soldiers.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:D-Dog]]
[[quoteright:301:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_dd.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' D.D.
A wolfdog puppy that Venom Snake finds in the wilderness after its mother has been killed. Snake takes him back to base and raises him with help from Ocelot, whereupon he becomes a valuable field asset and companion to the legendary soldier. His main function as a buddy is to automatically mark enemies, prisoners and items as you approach from a distance, making search-and-rescue missions a snap and undoing the problem of blind corners in outposts. He can also be equipped with some small weapons that let him take out enemies or Fulton them on his own.
----
* ActionPet: This wolfdog can actively assist his master, Venom Snake, on dangerous field missions.
* BadassAdorable: D.D. is available as an AI companion during gameplay. Any dog capable of keeping up with Snake's insane mission antics has to be a badass by default. And yes, it goes without saying he's an adorable animal.
* CanisMajor: D.D. is a wolfdog, not a pure wolf, indicated by his wagging his tail in a domesticated fashion, and that pure wolves are not known to bark the way he does, serving as a CallBack[=/=]CallForward to Solid Snake and Big Boss's love for dogs and passion for dog-sledding as a sport. His wolf genes mainly account for him being a ''very'' big dog -- big enough to knock Snake to the ground.
* CanineCompanion: Ocelot fashions D.D., short for Diamond Dog, as the mascot for Snake's Diamond Dogs group. Furthermore, the wolfdog is clearly affectionate around Snake, being seen jumping on the man's leg and licking his face. As a grown wolfdog, he accompanies Snake during a mission, eagerly jumping into the helicopter before he gets on it.
* CoolPet: A wolfdog with an eyepatch, that can accompany Snake on a mission? It goes without saying that's awesome.
* EyeScream: D.D. has a scarred right eye as a puppy. After the timeskip, he has an eyepatch over his right eye, serving as an animal counterpart to Snake.
* EyepatchOfPower: Wears an eyepatch over his right eye, [[UncattyResemblance just like his master Snake.]]
* EyepatchAfterTimeSkip: We first see D.D. as a puppy, but when we see him next, he's a grown up wolfdog sporting an eye patch over his scarred right eye.
* HeroicDog: As our protagonist's loyal CanineCompanion.
* HowlOfSorrow: Die in battle, and he howls in sadness before the GameOver screen pops up.
* {{Irony}}: Noted by Snake when he ponders on Ocelot's codename and his affiliation with cats, "Ocelots raising hounds. Huh."
* KnifeNut: D.D. can be equipped with either a regular knife for throat slitting or a stun knife for non-lethal attacks.
* NobleWolf: Very affectionate and friendly around Snake and Ocelot, and is clearly loyal enough to serve along Snake in combat.
* TeamPet: The mascot of Diamond Dogs, and clearly capable of going on missions making him both a loyal soldier and mascot.
* UncattyResemblance: D.D. is pretty much Venom Snake if he were a wolfdog, right down to the badass infiltration and assassination capabilities, and eyepatch. He can even don a cute sneaking suit based off Venom's.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:D-Horse]]
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_d_horse.jpg]]
A horse that Snake rides into Afghanistan and can use as a support buddy.
----
* AutomatonHorse: Subverted in the sense that he can take a crap (and eventually do so on command), but otherwise D-Horse never really needs any maintenance, probably because that's being taken care of at Mother Base.
* BoringButPractical: D-Horse isn't particularly fancy, but nine times out of ten he's your best bet if you want to get from point A to point B without being spotted.
* ContinuityNod: He's the same breed and color as The Boss's horse from ''Metal Gear Solid 3''.
* CoolHorse: Snake can use him as transport and, after upgrades, as a pack animal to store extra gear. He can also be used to cause diversions and traps by defecating on command.
* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: Fittingly for the man who attempts to embroil the world in a permanent state of war, D-Horse calls to mind both the rider representing conquest and the one representing death.
* OffscreenTeleportation: As long as you whistle for him, D-Horse will generally appear by your side within seconds.
* RefugeInAudacity: His excrement can be used to disable enemy vehicles.
* TeamPet: Like D.D., he can be used on missions as a support buddy.
* WhiteStallion: The ideal mount for a decorated soldier.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:D-Walker]]
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_d_walker.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Lock and loaded."'']]
A bipedal robot which Snake can either pilot himself, or set to fight alongside him.
----
* AceCustom: Unlike regular Walker Gears, which are restricted to dual AM-[=D114=] pistols and either a gatling gun or missile launcher, its loadout can be customised with different weapons for different purposes.
* {{Expy}}:
** Resembles a scaled-up version of the [[VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}} Metal Gear Mk. II]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots / Mk. III]].
** Likewise, D-Walker bears a resemblance to the Metal Gears seen in the first two games.
** The way it skates along the ground also makes it look like a stripped-down [[Franchise/CodeGeass Knightmare Frame]].
** Its H-Discharger main weapon is identical to the Pupa AI-Weapon's Shock unit. Apparently, Huey saved a copy of the design specs.
* GatlingGood: One model comes equipped with one.
* GunsAkimbo: Can dual-wield specially-designed pistols.
* JackOfAllTrades: Like D-Horse it's fast, manoeuvrable, and surprisingly stealthy. Like Quiet it can be set to automatically protect you, and like D-Dog it can scan the area for enemies. Also, it can carry more ammo than Snake ever could, and it's ''really'' good against The Skulls.
* MasterOfNone: Especially before you've researched its upgrades. It is hard to control at top speed, you can't use iron-sights with its guns, and it can't regenerate health.
* MiniMecha: A customized Walker Gear.
* RobotBuddy: [[StealthPun On several levels]].
* RollerbladeGood: Has an alternate mode that lets it skate along the ground, even in the desert!
* SlidingScaleOfRobotIntelligence: Falls somewhere between "Brick" and "Robo-Monkey". As a vehicle, he's very mechanical, but he has a tendency to make emotive beeps and small gestures while assisting Snake.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The "SKULLS" Parasite Unit]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_parasite_unit.png]]
A unit of biologically and technologically enhanced soldiers that hunt down Venom Snake, and are under Skull Face's orders.
----
* AchillesHeel: Their parasite, "The One That Covers", has one crippling weakness; they dehydrate their owners very quickly, leading to an intense need for water. Normally they mitigate this with the mist they spontaneously generate, but even that won't last them forever. This can be used against them by making it rain with the "Weather Control" upgrade or using the squirt gun on them as they will cease all other functions so that the parasite can absorb the water.
* ArtificialZombie: [[spoiler:Their gait makes them appear to be zombie-like, but they're actually soldiers enhanced by by the parasites developed by Skull Face as a means to rob the world of English.]]
* BaldOfEvil: Complete lack of hair on men and [[BaldWomen women]]: Check. Do the dirty work for Skull Face: Check.
* BarrierWarrior: Armor-Skulls can encase their bodies in stone, leaving another health bar that must be taken down to damage them. If it's broken, they can recharge it if you leave them alone long enough.
* {{BFS}}: They come equipped with a machete that can cut through vehicles like wet tissue paper.
* BodyHorror: Parasites forming their skin and parts of their armor notwithstanding, Mission 29 shows that [[spoiler:they have a HealingFactor that can regenerate damaged parts of their bodies from scratch. Of course, we first have to see their damaged forms, and seeing a man walking upright and towards you with a torso and head that looks to have been ''flayed'' is not a pretty sight.]]
* CreepyShadowedUndereyes: They have inkblot-like patterns around their eyes caused by the parasites. Unlike Quiet's, these seem to be permanent.
* CyberNinja: Technically, they are a continuation of the recurring Cyborg Ninjas in the series... only this time, [[UpToEleven they are a whole]] ''[[UpToEleven unit]]'' [[UpToEleven of them]].[[note]]And no, ConservationOfNinjutsu is '''[[AvertedTrope not]]''' in effect.[[/note]] They also bear a passing resemblance to [[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Sundowner]].
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: If the player opts to fight the Skulls when recovering the Honey Bee weapon, Miller's first reaction to beating them is to praise Snake as the greatest soldier in the world.
* {{Dehumanization}}: They're already {{Mooks}}, but Kaz explicitly doesn't consider them human. Ones that you Fulton [[spoiler:are permanently kept in cages]] unless you [[spoiler:use the Parasite Suit, which will result in them being killed for their parasites]].
** To be fair, it's heavily implied that their regime of [[spoiler:parasite therapy, and heavy psychological, chemical and even possibly surgical conditioning has permanently reduced them to a bestial state. In any case, they're never show any signs of being capable of communication or higher reasoning.]]
* TheDreaded: For players and InUniverse characters alike. Miller mentions in a cassette tape that when he was captured in Afghanistan, he was taken in by the Skulls. A strange mist formed around him and his men and they didn't even realize they were being attacked until [[BodyHorror limbs and other body parts]] [[CruelAndUnusualDeath started raining down around him.]] His men were wiped out in minutes and Miller thinks that the only reason he survived was because the Skulls ''made a mistake''. On the player side of things, a mist rolling in is basically your cue to book it to an LZ or prepare for the fight of your life; Miller and Ocelot even typically warn Snake to run rather than face them.
* EmpathicEnvironment: Their presence is always announced by a thick mist. It's an InvokedTrope, as they create the mist from one of their parasite strains.
* EliteMooks: Whenever these show up, you must either fight like hell, or run like hell. There is no middle ground.
* FourIsDeath: They always deploy in teams of four.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: the Mist Unit are a very prominent example.
* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: To a degree. While the elite male Skulls have guns and are not afraid to use them, they generally prefer to go for melee attacks with fists, swords and telekinetic [[StuffBlowingUp explosive rocks]]. The elite female Skulls, by contrast, are all GlassCannon snipers. They do possess swords, but seldom, if ever decide to use them.
* {{Hammerspace}}: The Skulls can seemingly spawn weapons like submachine guns out of thin air. Their introductory cutscene shows them doing just that.
* HealingFactor: [[spoiler:Mission 29 shows that they have one, and it is a pretty expansive one at that. Not everyone can recover from having large sections of their bodies burnt up and destroyed in a helicopter crash with no repercussions.]]
* ImplacableMan: A small army of them. You either stop them or they'll stop you dead through superior firepower, endurance and ability to keep up with you should you try to flee.
* LightningBruiser: While Mist-Skulls aren't to be taken lightly, Armor-Skulls are bigger but just as manoeuvrable and take a lot more damage to put down.
* MalevolentMaskedMan: The male Skulls all seem to have some sort of breathing apparatus strapped to their faces, further dehumanizing them while simultaneously ramping up their fear factor. Crosses over with GasMaskMooks [[spoiler: after the reveal that the parasites that comprise their skin need to breathe, which the masks are implied to supplement with oxygen since they can't breathe through their heavy armor. The females bypass this by having skimpier outfits that allow the parasites to breathe easier.]]
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Well, they get 3 parts of the trope name down to a T. They jump around and attack like ninjas, walk and shamble about like zombies, as well as having rotting/decaying/sickly looking skin that gives them an undead appearance, and are enhanced by technologically advanced armor and weaponry. The closest that they come to being pirates is that the female snipers have a [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Solid Eye]] style eyepatch.
* TheSpeechless: The only noises they make are a sort of a choking sound when hurt, and what can only be described as a "whispery scream" when attacking.
* SuperPrototype: After a fashion. The Skulls foreshadow later attempts at creating enhanced soldiers, such as the Genome Soldiers stationed at Shadow Moses in the first ''Metal Gear Solid'' and the cyborgs seen afterwards. Using parasites and experimental conditioning in place of genetics, cybernetics or nanomachines.
* SuperpoweredMooks: They have distinctive superhuman abilities. They can [[SuperSpeed sprint as fast as a horse or vehicle]], [[TeleportSpam seemingly teleport short distances]], take [[NighInvulnerable an inhuman amount of punishment]] before they go down[[note]]Even the basic un-armored Skulls can eat a little over 2 full mags of assault rifle fire before going down, and the fact they attack in groups means you can't just dump all your ammo on one like you would a lone boss.[[/note]], [[ZombieInfectee can infect others with their inner parasite]], can jump high enough to disappear into the sky, and can land from high altitudes without hurting themselves. [[{{Hammerspace}} They can also spawn weaponry out of thin air]]. It's implied by their glowing eyes that they can see in the dark as well. Mist covers any area where they're deployed, which is also derived from their powers.
* TeleportSpam: They ruthlessly abuse this power, making it almost impossible to shoot any one of them for more than a few seconds. Their melee attacks consist of teleporting into your face or [[DeathFromAbove lunging at you from above]]. They'll even warp on top of your vehicle!
* ZombieGait: They shamble about in a manner reminiscent of zombies, but much faster.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Vocal Cord Parasite]]
A species of parasites that infest the vocal cords and procreate upon being exposed to a specific language. They play a crucial role in Skull Face's EvilPlan.
A related species, "the one that covers," is the source of Quiet's powers, as well as those of the Skulls.
----
* BodyHorror: Once they begin to reproduce, they do so by consuming the victim's lung tissue. The symptoms of infestation manifest as large blue tumorous sacks on the victims' chests.
* CallForward: Their uses foreshadow [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid FOXDIE]] and the role played by [[NanoMachines nanomachines]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2 decades]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4 down]] the [[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance line.]]
* CursedWithAwesome: The parasites, given the right conditioning, can grant incredible powers to those infected by them.
* FlawedPrototype: The precursors to nanomachines, they grant similar superhuman abilities to their users, but often at a great cost. For Quiet, she is unable to breath normally and must have her skin exposed; for others, such as the parasite unit, their upper brain functions have all but ceased, making them nothing more than living weapons.
* TheImmune: Children cannot be infested by the vocal cord parasite, as their vocal cords are not fully developed.
* LogicalWeakness: They can be prevented procreating if the host simply doesn't speak.
* NoBiochemicalBarriers: In the tapes of Code Talker describing his research, he mentions that the Vocal Cord Parasites have existed since the Permian period, and infected many different species since then. This is very unusual behavior, even for parasites. [[note]]First it was amphibians, then it was therapsids after the P-T extinction, dinosaurs after the T-J extinction, then birds after the K-Pg extinction, before finally settling on humans during the Holocene era.[[/note]]
* PuppeteerParasite: In the backstory, a benevolent one. The parasites infested the vocal cords of their hosts, and allowed them to make different sounds. Code Talker points out that this is quite normal in nature, although the parasites were unique because they had other hosts make the sounds. In humans, this developed their vocal cords and allowed for complex sounds, and eventually, language.
* SterilityPlague: Not so much the Parasite but the vaccination treatment. Code Talker modified a Wolbachia parasite to infest the Vocal Cord Parasite. Since Wolbachia introduces sex change within the parasites, it renders all of the parasites female, and thus, unable to copulate. As a side effect, it alters the cells within the host's body, causing their sperm cells to kill egg cells on contact, rendering the person infested with the parasite free from the parasite's harmful effects, but unable to produce children.
* SuperEmpowering: They're responsible for the powers of Quiet and the Skulls, [[DoingInTheWizard as well as The End and The Pain.]]
* WeaponOfMassDestruction: They're explicitly described as being even more dangerous than a Metal Gear.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: '''Metal Gear Sahelanthropus''']]
[[quoteright:306:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_sahelanthropus2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:306:''THE PENULTIMATE WEAPON'']]
->'''AKA:''' Sahelanthropus, ST-84 Metal Gear
The newest model of the titular Metal Gear following ZEKE, Sahelanthropus is Soviet in design, although it is implied that Huey may have had a hand in its construction. Capable of switching between a hunched over lumbering form (similar to the later REX model), and a massive standing form capable of wielding a nano-fiber whip that summons tectonic spikes upon striking the ground.
----
* ActionBomb: While never used as such, Sahelanthropus can use the metallic archea inside it to enrich its depleted uranium armor and turn itself into a giant walking nuke.
* {{BFG}}: Has a massive railgun mounted on its shoulder.
* {{BFS}}: Wields a pair of giant nano-fibre whips capable of hardening into an 18-wheeler sized straight-sword.
* CallForward: Its design, befitting its status as a "missing link", has elements of both Metal Gear REX and RAY. Specifically, its iconic head, legs, crotch weaponry, railgun and spherical side mounted "radome" all pay homage to REX, while its upright mode and arms pay slight homage to RAY. Apparently Otacon used Sahelanthropus as a subconscious "blueprint" when designing REX, as the heads are almost identical. Though REX was never designed to be upright, unlike Sahelanthropus.
* CannibalismSuperpower: The metallic archaea within Sahelanthropus will eats its own body, and can turn it into a nuclear bomb.
* CutsceneIncompetence: ''Averted''. [[spoiler:When Snake runs through a narrow cliff pass impassable to Sahelanthropus, instead of giving up, the ST-84 simply switches to its standing form and demolishes the cliffs.]]
* DevilInPlainSight: An interesting variation, in which ST-84 is a walking bipedal weapons system, and thus, would be known to be a war machine by anyone. However, since it uses only conventional weaponry and only has depleted uranium armor, it would not raise the suspicions of any nuclear watchdogs. But because of the metallic archaea, ST-84 can turn itself into a nuke.
* {{Expy}}: Given Kojima's well-known love of movies, it wouldn't be surprising if the Sahelanthropus's shape and weapon of choice was inspired by Balrog from [[Film/LordOfTheRings Fellowship of the Ring]].
** It also references the uplifted ape with the bone from the opening of Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey.
** Its more humanoid form bears a passing resemblance to [[Franchise/{{Gundam}} Universal Century mobile suits]], complete with head vulcans.
** Its overall appearance when standing, along with its occasionally bestial movements, is also similar to an [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion]]. Furthering the link is the name of the psychic boy who drives it: Tretij Rebenok, Russian for "Third Child", which was the designation given to Shinji Ikari from ''Evangelion''.
** The placement of its crotch-mounted flamethrower reminds many of the Orbital Frames from ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'', another Kojima-produced series.
* FinalBoss: [[spoiler:Ultimately, it's the Final Boss of the main story, and the final mission period is just a harder version of the boss battle.]]
* FlawedPrototype: It's completely useless without external/supernatural aid to compensate for its defective/inadequate control system, rendering the current design useless for mass/serial production. The issues it suffers from are due to repeated changes in design direction (being originally designed for AI control then being redesigned very late in its development for manned piloting), and promptly running into crippling balance weight issues since the drive system wasn't intended to bear the weight of an adequately protected cockpit. Its cockpit is also too small to fit an adult pilot; only a child can comfortably pilot it. Its shoulder-mounted railgun suffers from recoil issues; Sahelanthropus must anchor itself to the ground in its hunched over "REX mode" to utilize it without knocking itself over.
* GroundPound: When the Sahelanthropus strikes the ground with its nanofiber whip-sword, it creates a rippling trail of metallic pylons.
* HumongousMecha: On par with Rex in its hunched over form, and towering over it in its standing form.
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon: A flaming, nanofiber whip-sword that shoots explosive pylons out of the ground.
* MadeOfIron: Sahelanthropus is unique in that its armor is made from depleted uranium, which is denser than lead and thus extremely durable. However...
* MadeOfExplodium: Given the right catalyst, its depleted uranium armor means the Metal Gear ''itself'' turns into a walking nuclear bomb that can be detonated as a self-destruct function. [[note]]Which really doesn't work that way in real life. Depleted uranium can't be used to initiate a nuclear reaction; that's why it's "depleted". It's explained that ST-84 has [[spoiler:"metallic archaea", an organism that enriches the uranium to make it weapons-grade.]][[/note]]
* MeaningfulName: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahelanthropus Sahelanthropus]] is a hominid species that is theorized to be a common ancestor to humans and chimpanzees. It even makes chimp-like screeching noises as it acts in battle.
--> '''Kojima''': To move forward to the new world, you need to stand up.
* PhallicWeapon: The crotch flamethrower.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: Its cockpit is too small for an adult, but a child might fit...
* TakingYouWithMe: The reason Huey used depleted uranium for ST-84's body, so that, if worse comes to worst, ST-84 can use the metallic archaea within its body and self-destruct, taking the enemy along with it.
* WalkingTank: Subverted. Unlike the previous Metal Gears, this one appears to have more of a humanoid shape.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Its fate following the events of Phantom Pain is never discussed, as it was last seen being recovered from Eli's island by Diamond Dogs, in a terribly damaged albeit repairable state.
* WhipItGood: Sahelanthropus wields a pair of nanofiber whips capable of hardening into a gigantic straight-sword.
[[/folder]]
----
'''Unmarked spoilers in the bios below. Proceed with ''extreme'' caution if you have not finished the game yet.'''
----
[[folder:Punished "Venom" Snake/Ahab]]
[[quoteright:340:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nuzfpf9.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:340:''"...I'm already a demon."'']]
->'''AKA:''' Big Boss, V, The Phantom, The Medic
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/AkioOhtsuka (JP), Creator/KieferSutherland (EN)
-->''"I won't scatter your sorrow to the heartless sea. I will always be with you. Plant your roots in me. I won't see you end as ashes. You're all diamonds."''
9 years after falling into a coma at the end of ''Ground Zeroes'', Big Boss awakens to find his left arm has been amputated and the entire world wants him dead. After escaping from the hospital he's being held in, he assumes the codename "Venom Snake" and takes charge of a new mercenary unit called Diamond Dogs to get revenge on the people who took everything from him, [[RevengeBeforeReason no matter the cost]].
He was in fact a medic and Big Boss's best MSF soldier, who was on board the chopper during the ''Ground Zeroes'' mission to help extract the bombs from Paz. After suffering horrible injuries protecting Big Boss from an explosion, Cipher performed plastic surgery and memory alteration to make him a BodyDouble who could throw Skull Face off Big Boss's trail if need be. At the start of ''The Phantom Pain'', Ocelot and Big Boss activate him to serve as a decoy while the original Big Boss begins building [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 the nation of Outer Heaven]].
----
* TheAce: Even after a 9 year coma, he's still the greatest soldier of the 20th century. He was also Big Boss's best MSF operative - and thus the perfect candidate for becoming Big Boss's phantom.
** If anything, the reveal that he is the Medic from Ground Zeroes is an added layer of badass: he actually ''wasn't'' the greatest soldier of the 20th century. '''''At first.'''''
* AntiHero: Though he is fighting the evil Skull Face, [[PetTheDog and he thinks the world of his men]], he's still a war criminal torturing non-combatants, stealing nuclear weapons and employing ChildSoldiers.
* AntiVillain: Even at his most villainous, Venom still has understandable motives, as well as possessing humanity and inner goodness within him.
* AnArmAndALeg: The same skirmish which placed Big Boss in a coma also cost him his left arm. He wears prosthetics of varying complexity in ''The Phantom Pain.''
* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Venom Snake regains his entire muscle mass in around 13 days, the length of time it takes to travel down the Suez Canal from Cyprus to Afghanistan. He was a skinny invalid who could barely walk upon escaping the hospital, and needed to be injected with [[FantasticDrug digoxin]] just to be able to move. Even a protein heavy diet and extreme weight lifting will not accomplish such muscle gain that quickly. Hand-waved by the doctor saying they kept him in shape with massages and electro-stimulation treatments during his nine year coma.
* AscendedExtra: He's basically whoever your favorite male MSF recruit was in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker''.
* AscendedFanboy: Well, in a sense. All the MSF soldiers since ''Peace Walker'' idolizes Big Boss as their leader. Venom goes above and beyond and ''becomes'' Big Boss.
* AudienceSurrogate: In the surreal true ending, he is implied to be a representation of the player themselves, who in creating Big Boss's adventures has become as much Big Boss as the character himself.
* BadassNormal: He's just a regular soldier fighting enemies who have superhuman abilities, like Quiet and the Skulls. Not only that, but he can take on tank squads single handedly, and win. While Solid Snake had a hell of a time fighting just one, Venom was fighting at least 3 of them at the same time.
** Taken several steps further with the fact that he can instead ''steal'' tanks and ''kidnap'' their potentially elite infantry support. And this doesn't even have to be considered an objective, let alone a side-op or part of a story mission. [[ButForMeItWasTuesday For Venom, it's Tuesday]].
* BadassesWearBandanas: He can wear a bandana on his head as an optional clothing.
* BadassGrandpa: He was ''63'' when he took Solid Snake, who was in his prime, on in ''Metal Gear 1'', and yet the battle is canonically regarded as the most brutal and difficult fight Solid Snake ever endured in his career.
* BagOfSpilling: A rival military outfit, the XOF, takes out Mother Base and nearly all his allies. Big Boss lands in a nine-year coma after this incident, which strips away his muscle mass. When he finally comes to, he's so weak that he has to literally crawl his way out of the hospital with his two hands at first. Subverted, due to his not actually being Big Boss, but a body double.
* BecomingTheMask: In the true ending, Naked Snake tells you that both you and he are Big Boss now, as you've both helped to create Big Boss's legend.
* BigNo: Venom screams in anguish as the final hallucination of Paz draws to a close. In the cut episode, he also [[SkywardScream shouts to the sky]] when he mistakenly shoots Eli.
* BookEnds: He ends ''The Phantom Pain'' remembering what really happened to him at the end of ''Ground Zeroes''. Also, this ending comes after playing an alternate cut of the Prologue hospital mission.
* BodyDouble: At the start of ''Phantom Pain'', he's about to have plastic surgery to look like another random soldier whose appearance is for you to decide. It doesn't actually occur however. That's because in reality, that soldier used to be you, and you've already had plastic surgery to become Big Boss's double.
* BodyHorror: In addition to his missing left arm, he has a piece of shrapnel lodged in his forehead in the shape of a [[HornedHumanoid horn]], said horn being embedded in his brain and being impossible to remove without risking a brain haemorrhage.
* ByronicHero: He becomes far more brooding after what happened to him in ''Ground Zeroes''.
* CanineCompanion: Can adopt a wolf pup named DD[=/=]Diamond Dog to serve as a Buddy.
* CardCarryingVillain: After rescuing Miller, he openly admits to being a demon and states that Heaven's "not his kinda place."
* CharacterCustomization: You get to customize your online appearance at the start of ''Phantom Pain''. This also becomes your appearance before becoming Big Boss's phantom. Completing the game unlocks this appearance for use in single player.
* ChickMagnet: Quiet is in love with him as is ''every other'' woman at Mother Base, apparently. The given reason for this goes, "The Boss is... well, the Boss." In other words, when you wear the face of Big Boss, you become an instant ladies' man.
* ConvenientComa: He falls into a coma in 1975 and wakes up 9 years later in 1984, allowing for a TimeSkip where the bad guys and his allies can build up their forces.
* CoveredWithScars: Thanks to the Fox Engine. All the injuries he takes at the end of ''Ground Zeroes'' leaves him with tons of facial scars in ''Phantom Pain''. Not only that, but his entire torso is covered in huge twisting scars and large patches of permanently discolored and burn-scarred skin. That said, it's done little to detract from his [[MrFanservice attractiveness]].
* CruelMercy:
** At the end of the game, when they come across Skull Face crushed under a collapsed radio tower, begging for a quick death, Venom and Miller instead elect to use Skull Face's own Mare's Leg to blow most of his limbs off, leaving him to die slowly as revenge for his destruction of [=MSF=] nine years ago. Ultimately averted, as right after they do so, Huey kills the man himself.
** After Huey is confirmed to have betrayed both [=MSF=] and the Diamond Dogs, Venom Snake lets him live despite literally ''everyone'' in Diamond Dogs cheering for his death. Instead, he has Huey exiled from Mother Base on a life raft too small to support his mechanical legs, stripped of his greatest treasure and exposed to the world as a fraud.
* DentedIron: In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'', [[AnArmAndALeg he loses an arm]] and ends covered in burns, scars and embedded shrapnel.
* TheDeterminator: He's not going to let ''anything'' get in the way of his revenge against XOF and Cipher.
* DoomedByCanon: [[MetalGear1 Solid Snake]] [[ForegoneConclusion kills him in Outer Heaven]].
* TheDragon: To the ''original'' Big Boss, aka Ishmael.
* TheDreaded: Nobody likes the thought of going up against Big Boss in battle. Eavesdropping on enemy conversations will reveal that they ''know'' they're going up against the best of the best, and it frightens them. Thanks to the game's dynamic difficulty, enemies gradually begin using more extreme tactics to kill him -- including firing mortars on his position.
* EightiesHair: Averted. After waking up from his coma in 1984, he starts tying his mullet up in a ponytail.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Thanks to progressive upgrades into his cybernetic arm, Venom eventually gains access to a small range of "powers" that no other Snake (before or after him) has ever displayed. This includes '''raining lightning storms''' down on his enemies, like Volgin used to. See ShockAndAwe below.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Despite being, and playing up his reputation as a ruthless mercenary commander, Venom has lines ''he will not cross''. Noticeably, he finds Huey both ''disgusting'' and ''revolting'', and when he discovers that he had been hired to assassinate ChildSoldiers, he refuses to harm the children and takes them back to Mother Base after faking their deaths.
* EvilMakesYouMonstrous: Due to the hidden "Demon Points" counter, every immoral action Snake commits (killing animals or enemy soldiers, attacking your buddies, killing Diamond Dogs staff, developing nukes, etc.) will slowly cause this to happen to him. At 20,000 points, his shrapnel horn grows significantly to resemble an actual horn, and at 50,000 points, it grows even longer and Snake [[BloodIsTheNewBlack becomes permanently covered in blood]], becoming a true "demon."
* TheFaceless: He was covered in bandages for 9 years so no one would be able to recognize him. His full face isn't shown at any point during his appearance in ''Ground Zeroes'' either, being at least partially obscured by either camera angels or bits of scenery at all times.
* FakeMemories: Courtesy of the surgeons employed by Cipher, to ensure he would be the perfect Big Boss body double. Ocelot ensures they stick by utilizing info dumps regarding background information of the life of Big Boss to reinforce them.
* FashionableAsymmetry: In ''The Phantom Pain'', he wears a single glove over his right hand while leaving his left (prosthetic) hand bare.
* AFatherToHisMen: Loves his Diamonds Dog soldiers ''dearly'', and greatly mourns their deaths.
* FinalBoss: The credits reveal that he was the Big Boss fought at the end of ''VideoGame/MetalGear1''.
* FeaturelessProtagonist: Invoked at the start of ''Phantom Pain'', where you get to do CharacterCustomization for apparent plastic surgery that never happens. He's also a literal stand-in for the player, similar to Raiden in ''Metal Gear Solid 2''. This is why the character's past before ''Ground Zeroes'' is never discussed, and why you're allowed to customize his former appearance and birthday.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: The medic who saved Big Boss was an ordinary soldier before the fall of MSF. After becoming Venom Snake, he essentially became Big Boss's spitting image, not just in appearances, but in combat capabilities: he would go on to destroy XOF, kill Skull Face, and found Outer Heaven.
* GoodCounterpart: Despite his rather horrifying appearance, there's ''a lot'' of in-game hints that Venom is the more benevolent side of the two Big Bosses, often showing mercy, honor, and compassion towards his foes, and being much more tempered, and level headed then say Kaz, and the original Big Boss. Further reflected by Outer Heaven's morality, compared to Zanzibar Land.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: He has several thin scars on his face, in contrast to Skull Face, who is nothing ''but'' scar tissue.
* {{Hallucinations}}: An early radio conversation with Ocelot reveals that Venom Snake's shrapnel wound is pressing on his optic nerve, which could cause him to see things that aren't there, such as Paz. [[MindScrew You even hallucinate cassette tapes of her]]!
* HandicappedBadass: In ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid V|ThePhantomPain}}'', he loses his left arm.
* HeelRealization: Completely aware of how bad he's gone by the end of ''The Phantom Pain'', [[IveComeTooFar but sees no reason to turn back]].
-->'''Venom Snake''': I'm already a demon. Heaven's not my kind of place, anyway.
* HeroesLoveDogs: [[CanineCompanion He can adopt a wolf pup named DD]] in ''[=MGSV=]''.
* HookHand: What he initially has as a left hand prosthetic in ''The Phantom Pain''.
* HornedHumanoid: During ''The Phantom Pain'', he gets a chunk of debris and bone lodged in his forehead, which takes on this appearance.
* IHaveManyNames: In ''The Phantom Pain'' alone he's refered to as [[MeaningfulName Venom Snake]], Big Boss, Ahab, V, and the Phantom. Or alternatively Big Boss's phantom.
* IOweYouMyLife: As thanks for saving his life, the ''real'' Big Boss made him the "second" Big Boss after he threw himself in front of the explosion to shield him when Mother Base was attacked.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Due to the shrapnel "horn" in his head, he has some memory loss and has to be reminded of certain events, like his leadership of MSF and how Miller helped lead him, and can no longer speak Russian without an interpreter. With the reveal that Venom Snake is a BodyDouble of Big Boss, it's explained that the real reason for the "amnesia" is because Ocelot couldn't finish implanting him with Big Boss' memories, as XOF was set to attack the hospital Snake was stationed at sooner than expected.
* LegacyCharacter: Chronologically, he's the fifth Snake[[note]]After John received the codename Naked Snake in the 60s and David, Eli and George were given codenames Solid Snake, Liquid Snake and Solidus Snake during their creation in the 70s.[[/note]] and the third Boss[[note]]After The Boss and the first Big Boss[=/=]Naked Snake.[[/note]] As far as the series release order goes he's the SIXTH man to hold the codename Snake.[[note]]Since Raiden briefly assumed the "Snake" codename in ''[=MGS2=]''.[[/note]]
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Regardless of how far he's fallen, he's still the lesser evil to [[BigBad Skull Face]].
* LimaSyndrome: His LoveInterest, Quiet, becomes such for him after he defeats and captures her.
* MagicPlasticSurgery: Thanks to Cipher's surgeons, he looks identical to the real Big Boss, albeit CoveredWithScars.
* MagneticHero: WordOfGod is that Snake is the ''only'' reason Miller and Ocelot work together at all, or ''any'' of the Mother Base staff for that matter; he outright states that Diamond Dogs would collapse without Snake around. In fact, a cassette tape reveals that Miller tried to recruit some MSF survivors to Diamond Dogs during the nine-year TimeSkip, but they refused to come back simply because Snake wasn't there.
* TheMedic: He is the MSF medic that assists in extracting the bomb from Paz's stomach at the end of ''Ground Zeroes''.
* MeaningfulName: He is referred to at a few points as V - as in the roman numeral five - since he's the fifth Snake after Naked, Solid, Liquid, and Solidus.
** "Ahab" also qualifies, as he pursues revenge to a self-destructive degree. Being named by the original Big Boss/Ishmael hints that he was intended to do just that.
* MeaningfulRename: After everything he goes through in the run up to ''The Phantom Pain'', he dubs himself "Venom Snake."
* MeatgrinderSurgery: In ''Ground Zeroes'', he conducts one on Paz to remove the bomb from her body. Given that they don't know when it'll go off, he's forced to do so without anaesthetic. All the while, Paz is fully conscious and screaming in agony.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: As revealed after bringing Code Talker back to Mother Base, Snake's destruction of Mfinda Oilfield to stop the water pollution allowed the vocal cord parasites to spread through the water and infect the villages downstream.
* NoNameGiven: At the start of ''Phantom Pain'', you're told your name is now "Ahab", and your past no longer matters. His true name is never given in ''Ground Zeroes'', and you get to decide what it is right at the beginning of ''Phantom Pain''.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Being that he was once Big Boss's subordinate, it's easy to assume he's much younger. In reality he's actually three years older than the real Big Boss.
* OneManArmy: He single-handedly takes out multiple squads of Russian soldiers, African mercenaries, and XOF killers in ''Phantom Pain''.
* PlayerCharacter: He serves as the player character of ''Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain''.
* PapaWolf: In the cut "Mission 51", he shoots down three XOF soldiers trying to kill Eli, but shoots him on accident due to head injury that temporarily made him color-blind.
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: Despite once working with the relatively heroic MSF unit, by ''The Phantom Pain'' he's a [[RevengeBeforeReason revenge-driven]], [[CardCarryingVillain self-confessed]] "demon."
* PsychoticSmirk: In TheStinger, he gives a small one after regaining his memories and being deemed worthy of the title of Big Boss by the real deal.
* TheQuietOne: Is this in ''Metal Gear Solid V''. Kojima has stated that he wanted Venom Snake to be more akin to a silent protagonist with other characters leading the plot. This is likely to invoke the HeroicMime trope, as Venom Snake is a stand-in for the player. It also serves to contrast him with "Ishmael"/the real Big Boss, who is shown to still be found of spouting his quips and {{Bond One Liner}}s as Venom escapes alongside him in the prologue.
* RageAgainstTheReflection: At one point, he smashes a mirror with his prosthetic hand. It happens at the very tail-end of the final cutscene, when Venom (seeing himself in full "Demon Snake" mode) is seemingly about to go out and face Solid Snake himself at the tail-end of ''VideoGame/MetalGear1''.[[note]]The clue is with Venom holding a tape labelled "Operation Intrude N313", the name of Solid Snake's mission in ''[=MG1=]''. Interpretations of Venom's state of mind vary, as to whether a) Venom is psyching himself up to fight Solid Snake for sabotaging Outer Heaven (which is at least supported by the WordOfGod-supported fancomic ''[[http://imgur.com/qUHXy5n Last Day in Outer Heaven]]''), or b) Venom feels betrayed by Big Boss for setting him up to die at Solid Snake's hands.[[/note]]
* RevengeBeforeReason: He doesn't care who he has to kill or torture to get revenge on Skull Face.
* RedRightHand: After being consumed by his desire for revenge at the end of ''Ground Zeroes'', he ends up with a literal red hand, albeit his left as opposed to his right. The horn-like protrusion from his forehead fits this description perhaps even better.
* RetCon: The reveal of his nature rewrites certain plot points in the original MSX games:
** In ''VideoGame/MetalGear2'', a character off-handedly mentions a rumor that Big Boss was some kind of {{Cyborg}}. ''Phantom Pain'' reveals that this particular "phantom" Big Boss did indeed lose his left arm and had it replaced with a cybernetic one. The real Big Boss, of course, still has his arm.
** His whole ''existence'' does this, as it not only provides a [[BodyDouble different reasoning]] on how Big Boss survived the events of [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 Outer Heaven]], but also sheds new light on the conflict between Big Boss and Zero. Namely, that Zero had actually become TheAtoner and helped Big Boss and Venom survive, Big Boss was never really fighting Zero; he was fighting Zero's creation, which had morphed into a beast of its own long before we were led to believe it had.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: His attitude in ''The Phantom Pain''. He's hell-bent on getting revenge on Skull Face and XOF for taking MSF and 9 years of his life from him, and is perfectly willing and able to do ''anything'' to do so, even after he admits that [[MoralEventHorizon he's crossed the point of no return.]]
* ShockAndAwe: His Stun Arm, which begins as little more than a gimmickry taser, but once fully upgraded, transforms into "the Wrath of Zeus". [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avpsAdawhfE Behold]].
* ShootTheDog: In one of the post-game missions several Mother Base staff members and soldiers are infected with a fatal and contagious parasite. This leads to one of the most brutal sequences of the game where Snake is forced to kill all the infected people. There's even a HopeSpot where one soldier seems uninfected...but just as Snake is about to leave with the soldier, it's revealed he's infected too. Snake {{Mercy Kill}}s the soldiers and suffers a HeroicBSOD afterwards.
* StarCrossedLovers: There are several heavy implications that he reciprocates Quiet's love, but she (likely) dies before the two can truly go anywhere.
* StillWearingTheOldColors: In ''Phantom Pain'', he wears an MSF patch along with his Diamond Dogs one by default.
* SupportingProtagonist: The real Big Boss is actually Ishmael; this man is a decoy.
* TakingTheBullet: When the second bomb inside Paz explodes almost immediately after she jumps out of Big Boss's chopper, he throws himself in front of Snake and takes the full brunt of the explosion.
* TogetherInDeath: According to a brief bit of [[WordOfGod developer commentary]], Venom Snake and Quiet are reunited in death after [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 Solid Snake kills him in Outer Heaven.]]
* TookALevelInBadass: While already a badass in his own right as The Medic, Snake becomes even more of one over the course of the story. Further adding to Big Boss' legend.
* TraumaCongaLine: In MGSV alone, most of his allies get killed, he falls into a 9 year coma, his CO Kaz ends up losing AnArmAndALeg, he finds out Huey betrayed MSF, and so on.
* TheLastDance: He knew he was going to die in Outer Heaven, either by the self-destruction sequence, or Solid Snake, but he threw himself in the final battle regardless.
* UndyingLoyalty: Was Big Boss's most loyal, and trusted soldier. [[TakingTheBullet He even throws himself in front of a fiery explosion to shield the legendary soldier.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: As noted above, Venom Snake sometimes sees things that aren't there. The biggest example is the Paz side-quest. Also includes {{Unreliable Expositor}}s too, as Snake hallucinates Ocelot and Miller explaining how Paz lived.
* WalkingSpoiler: Discussing his backstory or who he really was in ''Ground Zeroes'' spoils the TwistEnding of ''Phantom Pain''. The fact that, on ThisVeryWiki, [[SpoiledByTheFormat Venom Snake has his own section]] shows that he isn't the real Big Boss, since each Character Page only deals with characters that debuted in each game.
* WeCanRebuildHim: Gets a cybernetic arm with multiple abilities after losing his real one at the end of ''Ground Zeroes''. For added points, the arm sometimes play ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'' sound effect when you use it.
* WouldHurtAChild: Played with. While he can tranquilize or otherwise knock out any ChildSoldiers he encounters, Miller explicitly forbids him from using lethal force; killing even one kid is an automatic mission failure. He also has no problems physically fighting Eli, and even breaks his arm in retaliation for Eli's attempt to stab him in the back.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ishmael/The Man Who Sold the World]]
[[quoteright:301:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mgsv_ishmael.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:301:''"On your feet, soldier."'']]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/AkioOhtsuka (JP), Creator/KieferSutherland (EN)
->'''AKA:''' The Bandaged Man, Big Boss
A mysterious individual who stayed in the hospital alongside Snake while he was in his coma. He later saves Snake from an XOF group attacking the hospital. He's also the ''real'' Big Boss as seen in the True Ending.
For Big Boss's tropes from the other games, see his page [[Characters/MetalGear1 here]].
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* BadassNormal: Despite being an unarmed, otherwise unremarkable individual, he's the only reason why Snake manages to make it out of the hospital, fending off a heavily-armed force of XOF soldiers and The Man On Fire.
* BandagedFace: This is probably [[JustifiedTrope because he's in a hospital]], but it also shows him as TheFaceless.
* BondOneLiner: When Ahab asks what happened to the woman trying to assassinate him, Ishmael quips "We gave her a light; she took the short way down."
* CharacterDevelopment: Ishmael gradually goes from ruefully assisting Snake to, as Big Boss, being proud of Snake performing ''his'' role as Big Boss to perfection, to the point of considering Venom as much as Big Boss as himself.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: The man has half a dozen near misses when attempting to flee from the hospital in Cyprus, due to not looking at the road until it's almost too late to avoid several oncoming fire trucks.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Subverted. It initially seems that he dies unceremoniously in a car crash just before the end of the prologue, but this is expanded upon in "The Man Who Sold The World" replay of the prologue, where it turns out he lived.
* TheFaceless: Almost all of his face is covered with bandages, save his eyes and mouth.
* FantasticDrug: Subverted; he injects Snake with digoxin in an attempt to help him get back on his feet, but it doesn't work as well as he hoped it would, resulting in a ControllableHelplessness scenario for Snake.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's a lot of indications that he's Naked Snake/the original Big Boss when you first meet him.
** His name, Ishmael, is simultaneously [[FirstPersonPeripheralNarrator the main character and a supporting one]].
** During the fight with Quiet, you can hear Big Boss' distinctive grunt as she punches him and recovers; no matter how much of a CunningLinguist he is [[RealityEnsues he can't keep up the act when fighting for his life]].
** Just before he introduces himself, he ruefully states, "You're talking to [[BodyDouble yourself]]".
** During his fight with Quiet, he weaponizes some chemicals along with a lighter. Because of ''course'' Big Boss would have a lighter on him, right?
** When Quiet throws a knife into his shoulder, he only winces in pain momentarily. Later, after [[KillItWithFire setting her on fire]], he promptly throws it back at her without too much difficulty and even shrugs off the (not inconsiderable) pain afterwards. Of course, being Big Boss himself, ''[[MadeOfIron even serious injuries don't slow him down very much]].''
** During the foyer section of the prologue, if he dies, a "Time Paradox" message appears, the same as if Snake died during ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', whereas Venom dying evokes a standard "Game Over" message.
* GameOverMan: Takes Ocelot and Miller's role as this for the Prologue.
* GlassEye: As a part of his disguise, he momentarily substitutes his iconic EyepatchOfPower for one of these during the Prologue to make it appear like he has two eyes.
* GoingCommando: His ass is clearly visible through the slit in his backless hospital gown.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Big Boss' decision to leave everyone he still cared for behind and go along with Venom serving as his double can be seen as this. All to exact revenge on Cipher with his own secret war.
* SeenItAll: He's far more collected and nonchalant than his initial appearance suggests.
* ShootingSuperman: At one point, he shoots at the Man on Fire with a silenced pistol... right after he saw that "thing" shrug off machine gun fire and a ''helicopter missile'' without a scratch. He quickly realizes how pointless it is and instead shoots open a water pipe to fend it off.
* ShoutOut: His "name" is a reference to ''Literature/MobyDick''.
* SignificantDoubleCasting: Shares his voice actor with Big Boss in both languages because he ''is'' Big Boss.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: He doesn't seem particularly phased by the "Man on Fire" or its psychic "handler." Then again, being who he is, he has SeenItAll.
* WalkingSpoiler: He's actually the ''real'' Big Boss who went into hiding after the hospital escape to begin work on creating Outer Heaven while leaving the player character to be his "phantom". For his tropes as Big Boss, go [[Characters/MetalGear1 here]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After the car crash, he mysteriously goes missing and isn't mentioned again. The True Ending establishes what happened to him.
[[/folder]]
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