Big Boss (ビッグ・ボス, Biggu Bosu^?) is a central character in the Metal Gear series, reputed to be "The Greatest Warrior of the Twentieth Century."^[1] He is first introduced in the original Metal Gear, where he is the founder and commanding officer of FOXHOUND as his codename indicates, but is later revealed to be the terrorist leader in the end of the game. He returns to resume his antagonistic role for the second and last time in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. In this incarnation, Big Boss is depicted as an elderly mercenary with white facial hair and an eye-patch over his right eye. In Metal Gear 2, he bears a facial likeness to actor Sean Connery. His rivalry with series protagonist Solid Snake is further explored in Metal Gear Solid, in which he is revealed to be the genetic father of Solid Snake and his clone brothers, Liquid and Solidus. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about the original PlayStation game. ... Yoji Shinkawa Yoji Shinkawa (新川洋司 Shinkawa Yōji, born December 25, 1971) is a Japanese illustrator and conceptual artist. ... For the original video game titled Metal Gear, see Metal Gear. ... Metal Gear ) (commonly abbreviated to MG) is a stealth-based game designed by Hideo Kojima. ... Hideo Kojima Hideo Kojima , born August 24, 1963) is a Japanese video game designer originally employed at Konami. ... Yoji Shinkawa Yoji Shinkawa (新川洋司 Shinkawa Yōji, born December 25, 1971) is a Japanese illustrator and conceptual artist. ... Doomed cover illustration. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... David Bryan Hayter (born February 6, 1969 in Santa Monica, California), is an American voice actor, actor, and screenwriter. ... Richard Doyle is an American actor and voice actor. ... Akio Ohtsuka, 2006. ... Chikao Ohtsuka (大塚 周夫 ÅŒtsuka Chikao, born July 5, 1929) is a veteran seiyÅ«. He is the father of Akio Otsuka, another seiyÅ«. Otsuka, as of 2005, is currently represented by Aoni Production. ... Akio Ohtsuka, 2006. ... The FOXHOUND emblem from the Metal Gear Solid series. ... For the original video game titled Metal Gear, see Metal Gear. ... For other uses, see Metal Gear (disambiguation). ... The FOXHOUND emblem from the Metal Gear Solid series. ... Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is a stealth-based game directed by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami . ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born August 25, 1930) is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe-, and BAFTA Award-winning Scottish actor and producer who is perhaps best known as the first actor to portray James Bond in cinema, starring in seven Bond films. ... Solid Snake ) is the predominant protagonist of the Metal Gear series. ... This article is about the original PlayStation game. ... This is a list of characters appearing in the video game Metal Gear Solid (and, by extension, its remake, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes). ... This is a list of fictional characters appearing in the video game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. ...

Big Boss' past is explored in the prequels Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, where he serves as the protagonist under the codename of Naked Snake (ネイキッド・スネーク, Neikiddo Sunēku^?). As Naked Snake, he is voiced by David Hayter in the English versions and by Akio Ōtsuka in Japanese, the same voice actors who played Solid Snake. A prequel is a work that portrays events which include the structure, conventions, and/or characters of a previously completed narrative, but occur at an earlier time. ... Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (commonly abbreviated MGS3) is a stealth-based game directed by Hideo Kojima, developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2. ... David Bryan Hayter (born February 6, 1969 in Santa Monica, California), is an American voice actor, actor, and screenwriter. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Akio Ohtsuka, 2006. ...

In his special appearance in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Big Boss is voiced by Richard Doyle in the English version and Chikao Ōtsuka (Akio's father) in the Japanese version. Richard Doyle is an American actor and voice actor. ... Chikao Ohtsuka Chikao Ohtsuka (大塚 周夫 ÅŒtsuka Chikao, born July 5, 1929) is a veteran seiyÅ«. He is the father of Akio Ohtsuka, another seiyÅ«. Ohtsuka, as of 2006, is currently represented by Aoni Production. ...

History

Early Metal Gear games

Big Boss (above) faces Solid Snake (below) in the final battle of Metal Gear.

Big Boss first appears in the original Metal Gear as the leader of the Special Forces Unit FOXHOUND and Solid Snake's commanding officer, initially acting as a radio contact who provides Snake with information about mission objectives, as well as weapons and equipment.^[2][3] Solid Snake ) is the predominant protagonist of the Metal Gear series. ... For other uses, see Metal Gear (disambiguation). ... Metal Gear ) (commonly abbreviated to MG) is a stealth-based game designed by Hideo Kojima. ...

However, near the end of the game as Snake approaches the final base where Metal Gear is stored, Big Boss begins to give misleading advice to the player, eventually asking Snake to abort his mission by turning off the MSX (or the PlayStation 2 in the Subsistence version). After finally destroying Metal Gear, Big Boss confronts Snake on the escape route of the base, exposing himself as the leader of Outer Heaven. Big Boss chose Solid Snake for the mission because as his most inexperienced soldier, he believed that Snake would fail. His underestimation of Snake causes him to have to fight him himself, as the self-destruct mechanism of Outer Heaven is activated. Snake defeats Big Boss and leaves him for dead as the base is destroyed. After the ending credits, a message from Big Boss is displayed swearing revenge against Snake. The Metal Gear family of mecha, up to REX. Metal Gear is the name for a series of fictional mecha in the Metal Gear series of video games. ...

Big Boss returns in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. He is revealed to have survived his battle with Snake in Outer Heaven, and has since taken control of another fortified nation in Central Asia - Zanzibar Land. This time, he establishes a military force along with his trusted lieutenant, Gray Fox, and commissions the development of a new Metal Gear model, Metal Gear D. Big Boss' ambition is to create a world full of war where soldiers are always in demand. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is a stealth-based game directed by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami . ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to... Gray Fox is a fictional character in the Metal Gear videogame franchise. ... The Metal Gear family of mecha, up to REX. Metal Gear is the name for a series of fictional mecha in the Metal Gear series of video games. ...

After Solid Snake destroys Metal Gear and defeats Gray Fox, he confronts Big Boss once again while escaping from the Zanzibar Land detention camp. Having lost all of his weapons in his earlier battle with Fox, the player is forced to resort to a more clever way of fighting Big Boss (by collecting a lighter and an aerosol can which Snake can combine to make a flamethrower). Like many characters in the game, Big Boss was designed to resemble a celebrity figure; in this case, Sean Connery.^[4]

Metal Gear Solid series

Despite his apparent death, Big Boss's presence figures prominently in Metal Gear Solid and its subsequent sequels, where Solid Snake is revealed to be a genetically-altered clone of Big Boss, created from a secret government project known as Les Enfants Terribles (The Terrible Children) along with two other clones: Liquid Snake, the leader of FOXHOUND and the antagonist in Metal Gear Solid; and Solidus Snake, the U.S. President during the events of Metal Gear Solid and the antagonist in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The Genome Army that Snake faces in Metal Gear Solid are also genetically altered soldiers who were implanted with Big Boss's genes after his body was recovered. Big Boss's remains are part of the terrorists' demands in Metal Gear Solid, who call themselves the "Sons of Big Boss." A recurring motif in the Metal Gear Solid series is the re-establishment of Outer Heaven by his sons: in Metal Gear Solid, it is the name Liquid Snake choses for the Shadow Moses base; while in Metal Gear Solid 2, Outer Heaven is the codename of Solidus' plot to launch a nuclear warhead over Manhattan. In gameplay, "Big Boss" is the best possible rank the player can achieve in most of the Metal Gear Solid games, which can only be obtained by finishing the game on the hardest difficulty setting and meeting certain requirements. This article is about the original PlayStation game. ... // Liquid Snake is the ultimate villain. ... Solidus Snake is a fictional character the video game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty by Konami. ... Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (commonly abbreviated MGS2) is a stealth-based game that was developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. ...

Naked Snake in Metal Gear Solid 3 during the Virtuous Mission.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, a prequel to the entire Metal Gear series set in 1964, introduces a young Big Boss as a former Green Beret codenamed Naked Snake (the player's character in the game), following up on the revelation that Solid Snake is Big Boss's clone. In the prologue sequence of the game, Naked Snake, a member of the newly-formed special forces unit FOX (a precursor to FOXHOUND), is given orders to infiltrate the fictional Soviet region of Tselinoyarsk and extract a defecting Russian scientist named Sokolov. After rescuing Sokolov, he is confronted by his mentor, The Boss, who defects to the Soviet Union and defeats Snake. In the main portion of the game, he is sent on a follow-up mission called "Operation: Snake Eater", with the objective to assassinate The Boss; as well as her new benefactor, Colonel Volgin; and destroy the secret Soviet weapon Shagohod. In the end of the game, Snake fulfills his mission and is awarded the title of Big Boss by President Johnson, only to learn the true nature of The Boss's defection from a recorded confession left by EVA, a female spy he worked with during the story. Download high resolution version (1024x1168, 107 KB)Naked Snake, the main character in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. ... Download high resolution version (1024x1168, 107 KB)Naked Snake, the main character in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. ... Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (commonly abbreviated MGS3) is a stealth-based game directed by Hideo Kojima, developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2. ... A prequel is a work that portrays events which include the structure, conventions, and/or characters of a previously completed narrative, but occur at an earlier time. ... The Metal Gear family of mecha, up to REX. Metal Gear is the name for a series of fictional mecha in the Metal Gear series of video games. ... LBJ redirects here. ...

Naked Snake is virtually identical to Solid Snake from the previous Metal Gear Solid games in terms of appearance, wearing a similar bandanna during Operation: Snake Eater. He loses his right eye from a bullet wound caused by a young Ocelot and begins to wear his characteristic eye patch late in the game. His primary outfit is a battle dress uniform with changeable camouflage patterns, although he gets to wear a Soviet prototype of the sneaking suit introduced in Metal Gear Solid as well. Revolver Ocelot ) is an antagonist in the Metal Gear video game series created by game designer Hideo Kojima. ... An eyepatch is a small cloth patch, usually black, that is worn in front of one eye. ... Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) in the United States was the standard military uniform worn into combat, battledress as opposed to display dress uniforms worn at parades and functions. ...

Naked Snake in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.

Set six years after the events of Snake Eater, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops features Naked Snake once again as the main character. In this game, Naked Snake wears a "CQC Enahncer" suit, the uniform of the FOX unit. Although already awarded the title of Big Boss, he prefers to be addressed by his former codename in the game. Snake finds himself involved in an armed uprising caused by the FOX unit (now led by Gene) in the fictional San Hyeronymo peninsula in Colombia and learns that he has been convicted for instigating the revolt. Hoping to clear up his name, Snake forms his own team of specialists by recruiting both, old allies and defecting enemy soldiers, to his cause. He faces not only the members of the FOX unit, but also RAXA, the first built Metal Gear prototype. He defeats Gene and obtains the fund for "Army's Heaven", a precursor to Big Boss's own Outer Heaven. Image File history File links Mpo_e32k6_04. ... Image File history File links Mpo_e32k6_04. ... The Metal Gear family of mecha, up to REX. Metal Gear is the name for a series of fictional mecha in the Metal Gear series of video games. ...

Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid 4.

Although believed to be dead after the events of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Big Boss makes a surprising appearance in the ending of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Following the initial cast credits, Big Boss appears to reconcile with his son/clone, Solid Snake. He reveals that he did not die during the events of Zanzibar Land, but was recovered and kept in a state of artificially-induced coma by nanomachines implanted by the Patriots' AIs. He then reveals the identities of the Patriots, as well as the cause of their creation. His burnt body was tended by Big Mama (EVA) and reconstructed with spare parts from Liquid's and Solidus' remains. After revealing the truth he euthanizes the vegetative Major Zero by cutting off his air supply and then knowingly inhales the FOXDIE virus within Snake, allowing himself to succumb to its effects. In the end, he urges Snake to live his remaining months of life as a new person before dying next to The Boss's grave. Metal Gear Solid 4 marks the 3D debut of Big Boss in his aged form from the early Metal Gear games, as well as his first voiced appearance in this design. Other than his appearances as Naked Snake in the prequels, Big Boss's visage was only visible in the Metal Gear Solid games through Yoji Shinkawa's character illustrations in publications and cut scenes in the games. Major Zero is a fictional character in the video game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. ...

Miscellaneous

NES games

When Metal Gear was released for the NES in North America and Europe, the plot within the actual game itself remained unchanged. However, the instruction manual features a different version of the story that strays from the canonical version and gives a more satirical depiction of the game (as with most of Konami's American manuals at the time). The leader of Outer Heaven is mentioned to be a so-called "Vermon CaTaffy", a play on Muammar al-Gaddafi, who is described in the manual as a "once tranquil shepherd boy who turned to terrorism". Big Boss is never mentioned by name in the manual either: instead a character called "Commander South" is described as Snake's commanding officer. For other uses, see Metal Gear (disambiguation). ... “NES” redirects here. ... Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi1 (Arabic:   ) (born c. ...

Snake's Revenge, a non-canonical sequel to the NES version of Metal Gear released only in North America and Europe, features Big Boss as the final boss before the player's confrontation with "Metal Gear 2". He attacks Snake as a regular man, before transforming into a tall cyborg after sustaining damage. Like in the first NES game, the game's manual names a character other than Big Boss as the main antagonist: in this case, the apparent villain is "Higharolla Kockamamie" (a parody of Ayatollah Khomeini), an ally of Vermon CaTaffy from the first game's manual. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... For other uses, see Sequel (disambiguation). ... Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (Persian:  , RÅ«ullāh MÅ«sawÄ« KhumaynÄ«) (September 24, 1902[1][2] – June 3, 1989) was an Iranian politician and religious figure, and the political leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran...

Backstory

Drawing of Big Boss from the Japanese instruction manual for Metal Gear. Note that his eye patch is over his left eye instead of his usual right.

Much of Big Boss's established backstory has been revised through the course of the Metal Gear series. In the original Metal Gear, Big Boss is characterized as having served Green Berets, SAS, and GSG-9 prior to serving as Commander-in-Chief of FOXHOUND.^[2][5] The character portrait in the Japanese manual for the original MSX2 game depicts Big Boss wearing his eye patch over his left eye. However, the character's sprite in the game depicts the eye patch over his right eye. All subsequent depictions of Big Boss features the eye patch on his right eye. Big Boss's military career is further fleshed out in Metal Gear 2. He is revealed to had served the LRRP during the Vietnam War, followed by SOG and the Wild Geese, before losing his eye in the 1980's and becoming FOXHOUND's commander in the 1990's.^[3][6] According to Metal Gear Solid, Big Boss was in his seventies during the events of Metal Gear 2. His clones were created back when he was in his fifties during the 1970s. Image File history File links MG1_Boss. ... Image File history File links MG1_Boss. ... For other uses of the phrase, see Green Berets. ... SAS in their armed jeeps, during the North African campaign The Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. ... The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei (formerly the German abbreviation of Grenzschutzgruppe 9, Border Guards, Group 9) is the counter-terrorism unit of the German Federal Police, and is considered to be among the best of such units in the world. ... LRRP (pronounced and sometimes spelled LuRP), is an acronym for the United States Army Long Range Recon Patrols, special six-man teams of primarily Rangers utilised in the Vietnam War on highly dangerous special operations missions deep into enemy territory. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... Special Operations Group (SOG) is a tactical team composed of Deputy US Marshals for special operations. ... This redirect page has been listed on Wikipedia:Redirects for deletion. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ...

Much of Big Boss's established past would be revised in Metal Gear Solid 3. Big Boss is in his thirties in the game, which is set in 1964, making Big Boss a decade younger than previously stated. He loses his eye during the course of the game to Ocelot, contradicting earlier statements of Big Boss having lost his eye during the 1980s. Additionally, the end of the game alludes to Big Boss forming FOXHOUND in 1971 (an event later depicted in Portable Ops), contradicting FOXHOUND's formation during the 1990s in earlier games. The 1980s was the decade spanning from 1980 to 1989, also called The Eighties. The decade saw social, economic and general upheaval as wealth, production and western culture migrated to new industrializing economies. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ...

References