Ishmael

Ishmael was the identity of a mysterious patient during the 1980s. He possessed bandages over his face, obscuring all but his mouth and eyes.

At some point in the 1980s, he encountered Big Boss, who at the time was in a coma for nine years after an attack on Mother Base, and attempted to help Big Boss escape. He also claimed that he was a former acquaintance of Big Boss when helping him up, eventually giving him a shot that helped him move to some extent. He escorted Big Boss over to the lifts, although they ended up bearing witness to a child with a gas mask and psychic powers near the lift and levitating up through the ceiling. After witnessing this, the lift doors suddenly exploded, setting Ishmael alight as an apparition appeared that resembled a demonic version of Colonel Volgin before it departed. Ishmael then led Snake back the way they came in the currently blazing room.

Behind the scenes
Ishmael is voiced in the International versions by Kiefer Sutherland, who also portrayed Jack Bauer from the drama series 24.

Ishmael is speculated to be either Chico or Gray Fox, due to his former acquaintanceship to Big Boss.