Monsoon

"You can't fight nature, Jack... Wind blows, rain falls, and the strong prey upon the weak."

- Monsoon

Monsoon (モンスーン Monsūn) was a Cyborg Ninja and a member of Desperado Enforcement LLC. He was one of the Winds of Destruction alongside Sundowner and Mistral, and was named after the seasonal wind systems that occur in West Africa and Asia-Australia. Monsoon was capable of magnetically dislocating his entire body to attack from a distance, and wielded Sai weapons called "Dystopia", which were enhanced via magnetic fields. He also seemed to believe that the point of humans was to fight, be consumed with greed and kill, which was based on his childhood in Cambodia. His serial number is 976-AZQEE. He was fluent in Khmer, Chinese, and English. Unlike the other Winds of Destruction, he wasn't a former member of any military or paramilitary organizations prior to enlisting with the group. Instead, he was a former gang member.

Background
Full details on his past are unknown, although he claimed that he inherited his stance on killing people or ending up killed and his nihilistic views from the Cambodian capital city of Phnom Penh and the reign of terror from the Khmer Rouge regime and the Killing Fields between 1975-1979. At some point later, he joined a Cambodian organized crime syndicate, and was rumored to have had involvement in the drug trade and human trafficking. He also mastered the use of sai weapons. He eventually got cyberneticized with a magnetics-based body after being caught in a gang shootout and mortally wounded. It was at this point that he decided to work with the Delaware-based PMC Desperado, apparently feeling it was much safer to work at a PMC instead of a crime syndicate.

Recruiting Samuel Rodrigues
At an unknown point, he and Armstrong took interest in a Brazilian swordsman named Samuel Rodrigues, who had killed several drug cartels, and likewise arranged for his arrival in Denver, Colorado. While waiting for Sam's arrival, he and Armstrong held a small chat regarding the newly renovated reception area, with Armstrong expressing disgust at the cherry blossoms. He later encountered Sam face-to-face within a hangar area of the HQ, where he questioned Sam's motives for attacking drug cartels and leaving Brazil. He then proceeded to leave, although not before dropping a RP grenade on Sam and siccing a Metal Gear RAY UMG on him. He later contacted Sam, informing him when Sam insinuated that he'll tear the group apart that even if he does tear the limbs off, he still can't kill their organization.

Desperado Incursions
Sometime later, Monsoon intercepted and confronted Raiden before World Marshal HQ, and with Sam bearing witness, fought Raiden. Having been informed by Sam about Raiden's stance regarding his sword, he then told Raiden that he considered it a "pretty meme" and "exquisite," and also revealed their similar pasts of "growing up on the killing fields." Raiden, already emotionally unstable from Sam’s earlier speech regarding the same subject, succumbed to his "Jack the Ripper" persona and admitted that he hid behind this excuse to conceal his true nature. Sam eagerly accepted Raiden’s sudden aggression, but Monsoon dismissed Sam, wanting the battle for himself. Monsoon noted that he misjudged Raiden and that he really was like his group after all. Jack the Ripper offered to "demonstrate" to Monsoon where his childhood nickname of "Jack the Ripper" came from.

Monsoon dueled with Jack the Ripper, while mocking the Ripper's potential. Monsoon also hurled various military vehicles at Jack, split himself apart to avoid blows, summoned large heaps of vehicles to run Jack over, and eventually hurled an obelisk at Jack as if it were a missile. Jack evaded the last attack and rammed him into glass and stamped on him repeatedly. At this point Jack decapitated Monsoon, with his body exploding shortly thereafter.

Afterwards, his disembodied head mentioned that he'll "return to the earth" and that he succeeded in imparting a meme onto Jack. After Monsoon was defeated, his tactical sais Dystopia were later copied after careful analysis of his battle data. Raiden and Kevin Washington later deduced from Monsoon's comments to the former his potential victim status of the Khmer Rouge, causing them to understand Monsoon's train of thought, but nonetheless agreed that it was still no excuse for Monsoon's crimes.

After death
Like Mistral, Monsoon possessed a spare cyborg body; while his mind was lost when his head shut down, this body was later outfitted with a standard battle AI and used against Raiden.

Personality and traits
Monsoon was a misanthrope and nihilist, as he admits to Raiden during their meeting, also believing that the only thing that truly mattered besides war was memes, which he referred to as the "DNA of the soul." He claims that warfare was an effective teacher, teaching him that humans are "diseased", having ultimately "carved" such a concept deep into his psyche. In addition, he describes that humans are merely pawns controlled by memes, elaborating that it shapes people's will with any individual acting as a carrier to whatever memes had been passed onto them. It is strongly implied that he developed these views and his sociopathy from being a victim and survivor of the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror. His nihilism was severe enough that he also didn't care if he died, as evidenced by his final actions being his telling Raiden to finish him when meeting defeat. The only time he actually expressed any emotion other than sociopathic hatred was shortly after Raiden succumbed to his Jack the Ripper persona, in which he was initially shocked, remarking with a slightly remorseful tone that Raiden has "lost his mind."

Viewing nature as neither ugly nor beautiful, he described his actions as simply part of nature running its course. As such, he believed in the concept of suvival of the fittest; elaborating that the strong will inevitably prey upon the weak. During his battle with Raiden, he would even describe his abilities and attacks as "nature's force" in a defiant manner, as well as describing Raiden as a "weakling" before initiating his final attack. While he was resigned in his mentality as an expert killer, he likens this self-acceptance to the notion of memes simply being passed onto him, as he describes that anything that a person is exposed to will naturally influence said person's mentality; implicating that Raiden's self-denial as unnatural and in direct contradiction of nature running its course. While he lauds Raiden's ideal of using a sword as a "tool" and "means of justice", even describing it as a "pretty meme" as well as being "exquisite", he berates Raiden for merely using said ideal as an excuse for his inner guilt (later revealed to be rooted to Raiden's awareness of his pleasure, as he actually enjoyed the act of killing), describing it as an illusion that Raiden simply imposed upon himself to justify his actions.

When Raiden had finally revealed his pleasure of killing through his "Jack The Ripper" persona, Monsoon was open-minded enough to quickly change his presumptions about Raiden's character and personality, saying that he "misjudged" him and then happily remarking that Raiden is "like us [the Winds of Destruction] after all." During his dying moments, Monsoon displayed signs of resignation towards his fate. In addition, he believes that he had passed his meme of survival of the fittest onto Raiden, describing that Raiden's triumph will allow the "slaughter" to continue.

After Monsoon had already organized Sam's recruitment, by 2018 Sam and Monsoon had become seemingly well-acquainted as implied by their casual acknowledgement towards one another during their verbal exchange with Raiden. The two had also conversed in their own spare time as Monsoon explained that Sam had told him about Raiden's ideal of using his sword as a "tool of justice". Besides this, Monsoon was also seemingly well-acquainted with Steven Armstrong, as implied by their casual discussion with each other just prior to Sam's arrival at Denver.

Monsoon's body was a unique cyborg chassis consisting of a series of segments held together by powerful electromagnetic forces which could separate considerable distances while still remaining part of the whole. This allowed Monsoon to dodge sword slashes and separate his body to increase his reach or attack from multiple angles at once. In addition, the generator was powerful enough to lift even huge objects like Stryker APCs and Hammerhead gunships to hurl at Raiden, and was also refined enough to also lift up objects that at least possessed trace amounts of metal, as evidenced by his lifting up a reinforced concrete obelisk. This also granted him the ability to stick on metal structures, as his magnetic abilities allowed him to walk upside down such as when he first introduced himself to Samuel Rodrigues. The cyborg body itself was highly maneuverable with considerable jumping abilities, far greater than Raiden's. His eyes were hooked up to cables that attached to a bump in his helmet. Similar to Raiden, his cybernetic feet also had extensions at his heels.

As well as his magnetic abilities, Monsoon carried a pair of sais called "Dystopia" which he was extremely skilled with, and a belt with pouches containing red phosphorous grenades. He used the latter to disorient foes, attacking from multiple directions.

Behind the scenes
A Japanese magazine article unveiled some details for the Monsoon fight. One of these details also showed that a Canard Rotor/Wing aircraft would have been involved in the fight.

Monsoon, in the Japanese version, said his name as well as the Winds of Destruction in English.

Monsoon's boss theme is called "The Stains of Time." Its lyrics depict a storm that washes away all reasons for fighting and hope for a peaceful life, and only allows for hatred to remain.

Because of Raiden having succumbed to his Jack the Ripper persona late into Chapter 3, Monsoon is the only boss character to be canonically killed in Jack the Ripper mode.

Depending on how the player approaches the battle, Monsoon will either beg Jack to stop or tell him to finish him off.

The development notes included in the Collector's Edition Metal Gear Rising Piggyback guide mentioned that Monsoon's character, although strongly indicative of Psycho Mantis, was not actually based on him, but on true ninjas. It was also mentioned that they had initially considered making Monsoon originate from Okinawa on he Ryukyu Islands, due to his use of Sais, but they decided Cambodia was more fitting for his name.

Monsoon is the only Cyborg Ninja in Desperado Enforcement LLC. that implements actual Ninjutsu techniques, such as smoke bombs and sais as weapons.

Monsoon later reappears in the Jetstream DLC. In it, Monsoon is walking on a ceiling of a large hangar Saying, WELCOME TO DENVER! prior to the Metal Gear RAY Attack. Monsoon likewise was the only one of the Winds of Destruction to appear in the DLC story, as well as the only named Desperado member other than the LQ-84i to appear.