Solid Snake

Solid Snake (ソリッド・スネーク), real name David (ディビッド), is a product of the Les Enfants Terribles project and "son" of legendary soldier, Big Boss along with his "brothers" Liquid Snake and Solidus Snake. He is known as "the man who makes the impossible possible" and his exploits have made him into a living legend among the military black-ops. Initially a Green Beret, Snake was later inducted into high-tech special forces unit FOXHOUND during the early 1990s while it was under the leadership of Big Boss. From there, Snake would thrice avert potential nuclear catastrophe.

After the Shadow Moses Incident and subsequent manipulation campaign by the Patriots, the secret organization behind American politics, Snake became labeled a terrorist. He faked his own death in 2007 and proceeded into hiding, although he would later emerge in 2009 to assist Raiden in the Big Shell Incident. After that, his cells would enter a state of accelerated aging, causing his health to decline. The cause of his rapid aging was explained by Dr. Naomi Hunter, who examined Snake and determined that it was caused by planned genetic changes during the cloning process.

Snake is rarely seen without his cigarettes and enjoys smoking because it keeps him in touch with the "good old days". He's also a musher who enjoys dog sled riding, and can be seen as a bit of a pervert, often seen peeking at Gentlemen's Magazines (such as Playboy, however reading this material is advised by some military orginizations to relieve stress and sexual tension, especialy in a mixed gender unit) and openly hitting on most women he meets. he also seems to have a thing for womens backsides. Being an avid music lover, Snake sometimes takes his iPod with him on missions.

Early Years


Born in 1972 as a result of the "Les Enfants Terribles" project, Solid Snake is a product of a secret government project to create the perfect soldier by using the genes of the "Greatest Warrior of the 20th Century", Big Boss. By using the Super Baby Method, eight clone babies, Solid Snake being one of them, were grown and transferred to EVA's uterus. Six of these were then aborted, resulting in the twins Solid Snake and Liquid Snake. (Solidus Snake, the third and most exact clone of Big Boss, was born an unspecified amount of time afterwards, most likely to a different surrogate mother.) From them three genotypes were created; Solid Snake receiving all of the recessive genes, Liquid the dominant and Solidus a mix of both, being a mix of both Solid and Liquid Snake. Despite this fact, Liquid Snake is led to believe that he received the recessive genes and informs an unknowing Solid Snake as such. It is unclear whether Solid or Liquid eventually become aware of their actual genetic positions.

There are no detailed records of Snake's childhood proceeding the completion of the project. Snake claims he was "raised by many people," although he says he has no family to speak of.

Nevertheless, Snake eventually made his way into the military by 1991. He had been inducted into the Green Berets and took part in a mission to infiltrate western Iraq during the Gulf War. Sometime after the Gulf War he joined FOXHOUND. Like most new recruits, he was trained by Master Miller. He underwent CQC training by Big Boss himself during this time.

Snake's first mission for FOXHOUND came in 1995. He was tasked with infiltrating Outer Heaven, a military nation led by a feared and legendary mercenary, deep within South Africa. Snake was tasked with rescuing Gray Fox, a FOXHOUND agent who was captured earlier, and shed light on Metal Gear, which Gray Fox mentioned in a broken radio message sometime before his capture.

Codenamed Operation Intrude N313, Snake approached Outer Heaven via river passage and infiltrated the fortress. He kept in contact with Big Boss, the unit's commander who personally oversaw the operation. After skillfully passing guards and security measures, Snake found and released Gray Fox, who informed Snake on the truth behind Metal Gear, a bi-pedal, nuclear-equipped battle tank that could tip the balance of power in favor of Outer Heaven. Snake, still relatively green at the time, was impressed by the cool and precise demeanor and attitude of Gray Fox, a soldier within FOXHOUND who had achieved its highest ranking, "Fox." Snake then proceeded onward through the fortress, rescuing more prisoners and assisting the local resistance cell fighters in their battle against Outer Heaven.

After dealing with several of Outer Heaven's skilled mercenaries, Snake neared where Metal Gear was being stored; however, the further he progressed, the more difficult and confusing the situation became. Big Boss fed Snake poor or down-right wrong information via radio, leading him into traps and dangerous situations. Undeterred, Snake managed to destroy Metal Gear - only to discover the truth behind Outer Heaven's leader shortly thereafter. Big Boss, his commander, was behind it all. He had established Outer Heaven as a means to give warriors such as himself a home, a place they would always be welcomed. He envisioned a world where warriors were always desired, where they were not shunned or used at the whim of politicians. He had sent his son, Snake, to Outer Heaven because he did not think Snake would succeed. Big Boss had underestimated the "inferior" clone of the Les Enfants Terribles project.

Nevertheless, Big Boss would not allow Snake to escape without a fight. On the lowest level of Outer Heaven, father and son engaged in combat. After a fierce duel, Snake managed to defeat Big Boss. As the fortress began to crumble and fall apart, Snake left Big Boss for dead and made his escape from Outer Heaven. Operation Intrude N313 was a success.

Disillusioned, Snake quit FOXHOUND. He was later scouted by the CIA and spent six months as a deep cover agent before he became dissatisfied with the system and left. He became a mercenary for hire and when he earned enough money he retired into the Alaskan wilderness.

In 1999, The world was facing an unprecedented energy crisis as oil reserves dried up. Meanwhile, the military nation of Zanzibar Land had become the world's sole nuclear power which threatened to upset the balance of power in the world. To respond to the energy crisis, a Czech biologist, Dr. Kio Marv, invented OILIX, an oil refining microbe. Before being able to put OILIX to use, Marv was kidnapped by Zanzibar Land, leaving them in control of the world's answer to the energy crisis and nuclear arsenal.

The United States government would not let this continue and ordered FOXHOUND to infiltrate Zanzibar Land and rescue Marv. Roy Campbell, commander of FOXHOUND, called Solid Snake out of retirement, who accepted the assignment entitled Operation Intrude F014.

Snake succeeded in infiltrating Zanzibar. Along the way he teamed up with CIA agent Holly White and Natasha Markova, Marv's bodyguard. He was also reunited with Dr. Petrovich Madnar, the engineer responsible for the first Metal Gear, who revealed to Snake that Big Boss was alive, and that he had been captured to construct a new Metal Gear, Metal Gear D, for Zanzibar Land.

Snake once again ran into Gray Fox, but under very different circumstances: Gray Fox was now his enemy and was piloting the new Metal Gear. Fox killed Natasha as he blew up a suspension bridge, but Snake managed to elude Metal Gear and hook up with Madnar, who had been recaptured by Zanzibar's soldiers. However, Holly White informed Snake that Madnar had voluntarily joined Zanzibar and was willingly working for Big Boss. Upon learning this, Madnar tried to kill Snake, but was foiled and defeated. Unfortunately for Snake, he arrived too late to save Marv. Nevertheless, Snake managed to recover the OILIX formula and destroy Metal Gear, but before he could escape he was confronted by Gray Fox.

Despite considering themselves friends, Snake and Gray Fox fought to the death amidst a mine field, hand-to-hand. Snake would later recount that it was a battle of two professionals doing their jobs, regardless of their friendship or personal feelings. The fight would end with Snake emerging victorious; Gray Fox lay apparently dead on the field of battle. His victory would be short-lived, however. Ushered forth by Big Boss's taunts, Snake was once again put face-to-face against the legendary mercenary. Weaponless, Snake was forced to elude the armed and dangerous Big Boss and create an improvised weapon; using a cigarette lighter and a can of hairspray, Snake fashioned a makeshift flamethrower and used it to put an end to Big Boss, but not before Big Boss revealed to Snake that he was his father. Shaken but undeterred, Snake committed the act of patricide and escaped Zanzibar Land with Holly White and the OILIX formula. He returned OILIX to Campbell, was commended for his actions, and once again retired, this time to the Alaskan wilderness. He hoped to forget his war-torn past, recover from his PTSD, and cope with the revelation that he had "killed" his father.

''"Snake listen up. It all went down five hours ago. Heavily armed soldiers occupied Shadow Moses Island, a remote island off the coast of Alaska."

-Colonel Campbell ''



And so it was at the beginning of the 21st century... Shadow Moses, a small nuclear disposal facility in Alaska's Fox Archipelago is attacked and captured by the GENOME Army led by members of FOXHOUND. Once again Snake is called out of retirement. His mission is to first single-handedly infiltrate the nuclear weapons disposal site and rescue the two hostages, DARPA chief Donald Anderson and the President of ArmsTech, Kenneth Baker, and then to eliminate the terrorists and prevent a nuclear launch. He is not completely alone, however, his Support team consisted of Campbell (also called out of retirement), Naomi Hunter, Mei Ling, Master Miller and Nastasha Romanenko.

While there, Snake discovers that the leader of FOXHOUND's codename is Liquid Snake. When Snake attempts to rescue Donald Anderson (who later turns out to be Decoy Octopus) and Kenneth Baker they both mysteriously die of a heart attack. He also has a mysterious run-in with a cyborg ninja who, after Snake battles and defeats him, reveals himself to be the remains of Gray Fox. Snake then makes friends with Dr. Hal Emmerich (also known by his nickname, Otacon), a genius in engineering and the chief designer of Metal Gear REX, the newest and most deadly incarnation of Metal Gear. Snake also befriends Meryl Silverburgh, a female soldier who was captured during the uprising and the niece of Colonel Campbell (later revealed to be his daughter). Snake then successfully manages to eliminate all members of FOXHOUND and is then told by Liquid that he and Solid Snake are in fact brothers; clones of Big Boss as part of the Les Enfants Terribles project. Then Snake destroys Metal Gear REX with the aid of Gray Fox. Liquid and Solid then battle atop of REX. When Solid wins he then escapes from Shadow Moses with Meryl, in pursuit of a new life, where he can settle down.

After the events of Shadow Moses, Naomi was placed under arrest and locked up in a high security facility. It was theorized by Nastasha Romanenko in her book, "In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth" that Solid Snake broke her out, but in truth she was broken out by Liquid Ocelot.

In reality, Snake later went on to join Otacon in forming an Anti-Metal Gear Group which they called Philanthropy.

Two years after Shadow Moses, Otacon received an anonymous tip from someone calling him or herself "E.E." (the initials of Otacon's younger step sister) that a new Metal Gear, codenamed Metal Gear RAY, was being developed by the U.S. Marine Corps., and was being sent via a Marine vessel disguised as an Oil Tanker.

Snake quickly made his way through and found his way down into the holds where RAY was being held. Shortly after taking photographic evidence of Metal Gear RAY, Revolver Ocelot appeared and claimed to be taking RAY back "to its rightful owners." He is then possessed by Liquid Snake's arm, which was attached to replace the arm he lost in Shadow Moses. Solid Snake then jumped from his hiding place and confronted Liquid but it was too late; Liquid climbed aboard Metal Gear Ray and sank the tanker with Solid Snake still inside. Luckily, Otacon was waiting by the Manhattan shore with a small boat, which he used to rescue Snake and replace his body with that of Liquid Snake's, leading people to believe that Solid Snake was dead. Solid Snake was also entirely blamed for the incident leading Olga Gurlukovich and Fortune to blame him for the death of their fathers (Colonel Gurlukovich and Commander Scott Dolph respectively).

Another two years later, Snake disguised himself as Iroquois Pliskin and infiltrated the Big Shell. Rumors of another Metal Gear, Arsenal Gear, were spreading like wildfire. There, he met Raiden and eventually met his other brother, the final of the three Sons Of Big Boss, Solidus Snake. During this incident, both Solid Snake and Otacon become aware of the existence of The Patriots, although how and when isn't exactly known. He also once again met Olga and explained to her that it was in fact Revolver Ocelot who killed her father, Colonel Gurlukovich. Snake later helped Raiden, Otacon and Emma Emmerich (Otacon's Sister) install the re-programmed computer virus, a digital counterpart of FOXDIE, into GW (Arsenal Gear's AI system), shortly before Emma dies after being stabbed by Vamp. Then once aboard Arsenal Gear, Snake and Raiden make their way through fighting the army of Arsenal Tengu soldiers. Once they reach the end Fortune challenges Snake to a fight claiming he killed her father. He signals for Raiden to carry on as he fights her. He then tells her that it was Revolver Ocelot who killed Scott Dolph and that they should work together in order to kill Liquid Ocelot. Later on, on top of Arsenal Gear, Liquid Ocelot steals metal gear RAY, Snake breaks free of his handcuffs and leaps after Liquid Ocelot, affixing a tracker onto his RAY. Snake then goes to Manhattan and meets with Raiden after the latter has defeated Solidus. Snake tells Raiden that he and Otacon are going to find the Patriots. However, in the coda, Otacon and Snake discover that all twelve members of the organization have been dead for a hundred years.

After the Manhattan Incident, Snake once again went into hiding, and began suffering from accelerated aging. His body began to age rapidly, with no doctors being able to figure out the cause.

Liquid Sun
In 2014, he was requested by his old friend Roy Campbell to eliminate Liquid Ocelot, leader of the PMC Mother Company Outer Heaven, who had recently been spotted in the Middle East. Snake and Otacon reluctantly accepted, and headed there to meet up with a group of informants whom Campbell had recommended. Making his way to the meeting location (after meeting with gun-launderer Drebin), Snake is shocked to find that his informant is his ex-lover Meryl, with her new squad, the Rat Patrol.

After parting ways with the Rat Patrol (RAT PT 01), Snake heads to a PMC camp where Liquid has been seen. But before Snake can get close enough to attempt to kill him, Liquid conducts the first of his tests to disable the SOP system, causing the soldiers in the area to suffer spasms, to be sickened and to lose emotional control (some even engaging in hostilities toward their comrades). Snake is physically affected, finding it difficult to stand or aim his gun. When Liquid notices him, he tells him to rejoice as they are not "copies of [their] father after all." After shouting this cryptic message, Liquid leaves. Before long, Snake was rescued by Johnny Sasaki, (part of RAT PT 01) who is curiously unaffected.

Solid Sun
A day later, Snake awakes and finds himself back aboard the Nomad. Otacon informs him that he had received an encrypted data file from Naomi, pleading for Snake to come rescue her, along with a map of Liquid Ocelot's safe house in South America. Finding his way through the South American jungles, Snake infiltrates the Liquid's safe house and discovers Naomi, who insists on giving him a medical exam to find the reason behind his accelerated aging. After the exam, she tells him his accelerated aging was programmed into his genes, much like his inability to reproduce. She goes on, saying that the traces of the FOXDIE she injected into him during Shadow Moses are starting to mutate and will eventually start to kill people at random. She comments on the irony of this: Snake, who had spent his whole life protecting the world from weapons of mass destruction, was now becoming one himself. Finally, she tells him about a mysterious new strain of FOXDIE that she had also detected inside him. Snake realizes that Drebin had injected him with it when they first met in the Middle East.

Snake and Naomi's reunion is cut short by the arrival of PMC soldiers and Laughing Octopus. Snake fights off some FROGs (Liquid's personal army) and eventually engages Laughing Octopus in a battle to the death with her frequently using her "ink" and octocamo to hide. She is eventually defeated by Snake and transforms into her normal human form, Laughing Beauty. Snake fights her once again and defeats her. He leaves after taking the octocamo mask (facecamo) that Octopus had been using. Drebin calls Snake over Codec, informing him of the facecamo and Octopus's past.

Snake leaves and gets a call from Raiden about tracking Naomi by her footprints. He does so and follows her trail to a mineshaft. Emerging from the other end, he spots Vamp (who was supposedly killed during the Big Shell incident), Naomi and PMC Soldiers loading into a helicopter. Snake shoots Vamp in the head and the PMC soldiers attack him. Vamp activates a nanomachine suppressor and the soldiers and Snake experience the same emotional and physical effects that Liquid initiated with his test of the system in the Middle East. Naomi yells to Snake, who is losing physical control, to use the syringe she had given to him earlier. He does so and regains the use of his body. GEKKOs arrive but Drebin crashes on to the scene in his armored vehicle and loads Naomi and Snake into the vehicle and drives off.

They head to the marketplace while fighting off GEKKO, soldiers, soldiers in mechanical power suits and a stryker. When they arrive at the marketplace, Raiden appears and he distracts the pursuing GEKKO. Otacon picks up Snake and Naomi while Raiden, who has defeated the GEKKO, fights Vamp (who now is recovered from Snake's shot to his forehead). Raiden eventually slays him but it is a pyrrhic victory, as Raiden is critically injured (and Vamp immediately revives). The chopper takes Raiden back to the Nomad, and he collapses into a coma, but not before telling Snake to go to Eastern Europe in search of Big Mama, who is in possession of Big Boss' corpse.

Third Sun
Snake arrives in Europe, using the facecamo to disguise himself as a younger Snake as well as disguising himself in citizen clothes. Refusing to use the security scanner to leave the building, Snake is nearly arrested by the PMC soldiers but is rescued just in time by Meryl (who pretends that he is a suspect her RAT PT 01 has been looking for). Meryl asks him to stop risking his life and to let her take care of the PMC with her newly amassed army, but unsurprisingly, he declines.

Otacon informs Snake of the meeting Big Mama's resistance members are attending, and tells him to follow one of the resistance members to its location. Snake carefully trails a member across the city, avoiding a number of PMC patrols on the street. He finds himself at a church and then subdues the resistance member he followed. When he encounters the guards, they, strangely enough, imply that they have been expecting him. Using a diverse range of CQC, Snake dispatches the guards and choke-holds a guard as a human shield while making his way into the chapel. Just before two more guards attempt to stop Snake, Big Mama herself appears and calls the guards off.

Big Mama reveals herself to be Solid Snake's surrogate mother, and one of the founding members of The Patriots. She reveals much of the power struggle between Major Zero and Big Boss, whom she loved, and whose body she is protecting. However, their meeting is interrupted by the arrival of scarabs, small unarmed mechs. Snake and Big Mama leave the hideout on her motorcycle, engaging in a high-speed chase through the streets of the city while trying to ensure that Big Boss' remains safely make it to an escape route on the canal. However, the motorcycle and the van carrying Big Boss' remains crash due to an aerial attack by Raging Raven. After defeating Raven, Snake and Big Mama escape through the sewers to the canal, expecting to meet up with resistance members guarding Big Boss' body. Instead, they encounter Liquid Ocelot, who brutally attacks Snake, driving a stun knife through his shoulder and shocking him several times. Liquid Ocelet accesses the "Sons of the Patriots" with Big Boss's DNA, and executes his plan: "Guns of the Patriots." He disables the US Marines and the RAT PT 01 team who have surrounded his boat in the Volta, this time not only suppressing their nanomachines (the effect that leads to their physical and emotional distress), but also disabling them from firing any ID weapon, effectively disarming the entirety of the gathered forces. Liquid demonstrates his power by causing several helicopters to crash, and by opening fire with his FROGs to decimate the now helpless troops who opposed him. Snake, along with the Rat Patrol and Big Mama, are caught in the fire. Liquid guns down their ship, and as it is sinking and burning, he throws the body of Big Boss onto the flames. Big Mama runs to rescue the body, but is severely burned in the process. Snake rescues her from the flames, but is badly burned himself on the left side of his face. The ship sinks, and Snake carries Big Mama to safety ashore, though she soon dies in his arms.

Twin Suns
Afterwards, Snake and Otacon discover that Liquid was headed to Shadow Moses Island, where the remains of Metal Gear REX still remain. Liquid wishes to use REX's rail gun, which could fire nukes that were not under control of the Patriots. But though Snake quickly fights his way through the familiar Shadow Moses facility (besting B&B member Crying Wolf), he is too late to prevent the rail gun from falling into Liquid's hands. Snake and Raiden end up fighting Vamp in the REX hangar. Snake disables his nanomachines, which destroys his ability to regenerate after being wounded. Raiden then kills him for good, though his is joined in death by Naomi, who admits that she is dying of cancer and also using regenerative nanomachines to stay alive. She suppresses the nanomachines and dies next to Vamp after saying goodbye to Otacon via the Mark III. Snake pilots the reactivated REX to escape from the Shadow Moses facility while Raiden trails behind to ward off GEKKO attacks, during which he is partially buried by part of the facility collapsing. Outside the facility, Snake fights Liquid in a Metal Gear battle that pits REX and RAY against one another. REX prevails and destroys RAY, but Liquid escapes in his real Metal Gear: an Arsenal Gear prototype called Outer Haven. Outer Haven rams the pier on which Snake slumps, exhausted. It appears that Snake will be crushed by Outer Haven. However, Raiden, still trapped by the fallen debris, hacks off his right arm to escape and interposes himself between Snake and the ship. Raiden is crushed and severely injured, though he saves Snake.

Old Sun
The USS Missouri, a ship commanded by Mei Ling, arrives to help. Snake and the others get briefed aboard the ship, and Snake volunteers to attack Outer Haven saying that he has a "score to settle" with Liquid Ocelot. He is then launched onto Outer Havens deck, along with Meryl and Johnny. From there, he fights his way to the control room where the final B&B member Screaming Mantis is waiting for him. She attempts to control Meryl's movements and make Meryl shoot Snake and herself. However, Snake defeats Mantis and makes his way to a hallway which would lead him to the GW AI through a hallway filled with microwave radiation. He enters the passageway to the GW AI, but has one of his seizures, which he attempts to control with the syringe Naomi gave him. However, he finds that it no longer works, and he is approached by a squad of sword-wielding FROG soldiers. Raiden then appears out of nowhere and uses lighting to kill of some of the soldiers and then volunteers to go through the microwaves because of his cyborg body. Snake won't allow him to sacrifice himself, and stops him by telling him he has youth and should live his life. Raiden thanks Snake and holds of the FROG soldiers so Snake can make it through to the microwave-protected hallway. After suffering severe burning from the microwaves and dragging himself powered only by his will through the hallway, Snake finally escorts the Mk. III to download the virus into GW. Scarabs attack Snake in the GW room, and his friends appear to be failing against Liquid's army. Finally, though, the Mk. III is able to upload the virus, which destroys the entire war AI system (GW, AL, TR, and TJ, as well as the controlling program, JD). The Patriots and their SOP system that controls warfare is destroyed, but Sunny created the virus to preserve the rest of modern civilization, including the internet, communications systems, etc. The group soon sees a video of Naomi explaining what the virus has done.

Snake falls unconscious and is dragged by Liquid Ocelot to the highest point of Outer Haven, where he reveals this was all his plan and he purposely used Snake to destroy the Patriots. They engage in final combat, in order to "settle a score." Snake eventually wins the fight before Ocelot dies from exposure to the new FOXDIE virus Snake carries.

Naked Sin
Afterward, Snake goes to the cemetery where Big Boss and The Boss were buried. He plans to kill himself so the mutated FOXDIE wouldn't cause an epidemic. However, at the last minute he is unable to kill himself. It is then that he turns around to see his sworn enemy, Big Boss, at the graveyard. Big Boss overpowers Snake with CQC and embraces him in a fatherly hug. He tells Snake that it's time to stop fighting and explains the origin of the Patriots. Big Boss explains Ocelot's plan to fool the Patriots transforming himself into Liquid's mental doppelganger (via nanomachines and psychotherapy). He also explains that the body EVA and the Paradise Lost army possessed was the body of Solidus Snake, his "perfect clone." Big Boss tells Snake that Snake ended the system that his comrades mistakenly put into place so long ago. He euthanizes the vegetative Major Zero, whom he brought to the cemetery after discovering his whereabouts, ending the long conflict between them. He also tells Snake that the new FOXDIE strain present in his body will eliminate the old, mutated strain, meaning that it will disappear before it can harm others or Snake himself, thus preventing an epidemic.

While talking with Snake, Big Boss begins to feel the effects of the new FOXDIE strain in Snake, designed by the Patriots to kill EVA, Ocelot, and Big Boss himself. He asks Snake to take him to the grave of his mentor, the Boss. Solid Snake and Big Boss finally reconcile, as Snake lights a last cigar for Big Boss before he dies at the Boss's grave.

Snake then decides not to take his life, and he lives up to the promise he made to Big Boss: that he would not waste his last days fighting, and that he would live his last days as a free man. He decides to quit smoking, and spends the remainder of his life with Otacon and Sunny.

Personality and Views
Snake had been described by Rosemary in Metal Gear Solid 2 as cool, collected, and confident. His friends Meryl Silverburgh and Roy Campbell describe him as "...a real bastard..." (Meryl's reason being that Snake had no confidence in her ability to help him carry out a mission, primarily due to her lack of experience at the time.) Nastasha Romanenko described him in her book of In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth as surprisingly calm considering the situation he was in while the world was on the brink of a nuclear holocaust. His best friend, Hal Emmerich, while discussing Snake's defeat of an M1 tank with only grenades, described Snake as "the toughest, craziest, most hardcore badass on the face of the planet".

Snake also shows little remorse for the people he kills that borders on vindictive. For example, after finishing off Sniper Wolf and hearing her life story before-hand, he points out that he doesn't care if people live a rough life, that they've always have had a choice to make something better of themselves and describes fate and karma as "just an excuse for giving up", while others like Naomi Hunter would disagree with him in that "If she hadn't been born on a battlefield she would have lived a happier, more promising life." Snake has said that some people just need killing, as was the case for his father Big Boss, when they just can't live the better things in life other than that of genocide. He does, however, give comfort to those who are in the midst of dying. In this case while Wolf was dying, she admitted that she shamed her people, sold her body and soul, making her nothing more than a dog, he reassures her that she is untamed and solitary, hence a wolf. When she requested that Snake would finish her off, he honored her request and did so. Snake also seemed opposed to Campbell and Rosemary's "marriage" as he commented to Campbell saying that Rose is young enough to be his daughter.

When Psycho Mantis converses with him, he says that he's much worse than his brother Liquid Snake and "Compared to [Snake], I'm like a saint..." When Liquid Snake converses with him, he uses a textbook description of a psychopath to describe him, pointing out that Snake enjoys all the killing which is the reason why he came to Shadow Moses while "...[he] continued to follow [his] orders while [his] superiors betray [him]..." as he describes it. Snake denies Liquid's allegations but begins to believe so after hearing more about his origins from him. Snake also admitted to Meryl that being on the battlefield is the only time he's ever felt truly alive. Presumably after realizing this, Snake would try to atone for his original sin by working to make himself good. He points this out in one of Otacon's misread quotes in the events of the Tanker Chapter in MGS2. While Snake seems to come to terms with his killer instinct, he's not proud of what's encoded into his very genes. He once told Meryl that "...everyone feels sick the first time they kill someone (perhaps even himself). Unfortunately, killing is just one of those things that gets easier the more you do it."

Snake is rather indifferent to those who ridicule him about his smoking habits. When Naomi tells him of what causes lung cancer during the events of Shadow Moses, he retorts saying "You might know a lot about genes, but you don't know how good a cigarette tastes in the morning." When Otacon tells him of how dangerous smoking is while Snake's infiltrated the tanker, he retorts saying "So's war, and I've done that all my life." (Not explicitly mentioning whether he had participated in other wars before he was involved in the Gulf War). Even so - after the countless times cigarettes may have helped Snake throughout the years, by the end of his last mission he has decided to kick the habit.

During the Big Shell incident, Snake acted as a mentor for Raiden, showing him the ropes and giving him support and advice via codec. He teaches Raiden many things, one of the most critical being the importance of a cardboard box on the battlefield, and most important, after Raiden defeats Solidus Snake, living for a better future.

When Meryl asked Snake about whether there was anyone he liked, he says "I've never been interested in other people's lives. Other people just complicate my life...I don't like to get involved." This may suggest why he was with no one at the time he was living in Alaska and why he silently left Holly White at the end of the events of Zanzibar. While he does say this, in times of need, he still feels obligated to protect the weak and helpless. His attitude on this would seemingly change, however, when he successfully rescues Meryl in the aftermath of Shadow Moses and wished to spend a new life with her. However, he still ends up alone not long after.

Snake is also one to frown upon politicians who are in their professions for their own ego. When Nastasha Romanenko tells him that 43rd president George Sears (a.k.a. Solidus Snake) was set on making START 3 his first foreign policy success he describes him with disgust as a "Typical Politician..." When the events of Metal Gear Solid 4 unfold he describes the international community as "self serving" for not doing anything about the might of the PMCs because of fear for what cataclysmic effect it would have on the war economy. During his briefing prior to his infiltration to Shadow Moses, Snake also has expressed that he's no patriot for his country and, that perhaps since he's saved the world more than once from harm before, he doesn't feel very much in debt to his country or it's army. Campbell also mentions that "...there's enough dirt in [his] file from [his] days as an agent to keep [him] in the stockade until [he's] a very old man." This would suggest that he'd knowingly taken part in assignments that were harmful to western interests while he was in the CIA. These unlisted assignments may also be the reason why he left the CIA and choose to be a mercenary for hire until Zanzibar. Perhaps also after finding out that he'd killed Big Boss who turned out to be his father, Snake's views about his country may have waned even more.

While many people refer to Snake as a hero, Snake does not feel the same way and dislikes people using that moniker to describe him. In Metal Gear Solid 4, he states "I'm no hero, never was. I'm just an old killer, hired to do some wet work."

Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django
Snake appears as "???", a character who has lost their memory. The player rescues him in the House of Time. Django tells him to go to Sun Avenue, where he sets up a shop. The player can then buy "Blindboxes" (weapons and items that Snake has picked up in random boxes so the player can't see what he or she is buying) from him. He also gives advice on where to go next, and gives the player titles.

DreamMix TV World Fighters
Snake is one of the fighters in DreamMix TV World Fighters, the fighting cross-company game between Konami, Hudson Soft, and Takara, appearing alongside mascots like Bomberman, Simon Belmont, and Optimus Prime. His appearance in the game is based on his Metal Gear Solid 2 with his special moves consisting of only C4, which can be planted onto anything and detonated at will. Snake's stage is based on one of the connecting bridges of the Big Shell, with the Harrier appearing and shooting the combatants. The music for this stage is a remix of the Metal Gear Solid Main Theme, with a remix of Yell "Dead Cell" playing when the Harrier appears. Snake also has alternate costumes like the tuxedo, his Iroqouis Pliskin alter ego, as well as one based on his original Metal Gear Solid appearance.

Metal Gear Acid
Solid Snake is the main character in Metal Gear Acid. He came out of retirement to help the FBI in a mission to obtain the Pythagoras data but then begins to find out that he has worked at BEAGLE before as Hans Davis. Because of the storyline involved his character is not the same in the other Metal Gear games. For more information see Hans Davis.

Metal Gear Solid Mobile
This non-canonical game is set sometime after Shadow Moses. Philanthropy received intelligence from a woman named Victoria Reed that a Metal Gear REX model was being built by the company she was working for. Snake was sent in, but quickly discovered that the whole thing was a ruse. Victoria was an AI, and Snake had really been sent in so that terrorists could take over the facility once Snake had disabled the security system. Pressing on, Snake later realized that the Otacon he had been talking was also an AI, as it started to glitch. The real Otacon eventually managed to contact Snake and they decided it would be easier for Snake to finish the mission instead of Otacon hacking him out. Snake eventually overthrew the terrorist threat, and defeated their leader.

When Snake awoke from the VR, he overheard two voices talking. They stated that Snake was unable to provide them with the data they needed, and proceeded to erase his memory of the events.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Solid Snake is a character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Nintendo Wii. Snake uses explosives, RPGs, and grenades, with a mix of CQC, the Cypher from MGS2, and the famous box as a taunt. Also, in the Shadow Moses Island stage, Snake can call Colonel, Otacon or Mei Ling for intel on his opponents. He is also a fan of Captain Falcon. When Snake contacts Otacon and Mei Ling on his Codec regarding Samus (In both her Power Suit and Zero Suit), it's implied that Snake might be infatuated with the bounty hunter.

Clearing Classic Mode with Snake will award a trophy of Snake, with the following description: "A former member of FOXHOUND with an IQ of 180 and mastery of six languages. He's an infiltration specialist whose ability to carry out missions under any conditions has made him a legend. He's saved the world three times from the threat of bipedal, nuclear-armed mechs called Metal Gear. Currently he's working with the anti-Metal Gear group known as Philanthropy."

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus
Solid Snake is a recruit character in MPO+. However, he goes under the "Old Snake" codename, and his appearance is closer to his aged look in Guns Of The Patriots. When recruited Campbell remarks "Some old guy joined our team. Kinda reminds me of Snake" (referring to Old Snake's obvious similarities to his father, Naked Snake).

Track & Field
Snake has been confirmed to be a playable character in the upcoming Nintendo DS game, New International Track & Field, alongside fellow Konami characters such as Sparkster, Pyramid Head and Simon Belmont, as well as new original characters.

Ape Escape 3
Snake makes a non-canonical appearance in Metal Gear Solid 3, specifically in the Snake vs Monkey game. Here, Campbell too makes an appearance in a call, where he had to bring Snake out of vacation to capture mechanical monkeys that escaped a lab, much to Snake's dismay. Snake replies back that Campbell could have gotten Gabe or Sam to do the job though is told that there were a number of reasons why Snake was chosen, one of them being that the lab scientist is a friend of Otacons.

Behind The Scenes


He is voiced by Akio Otsuka in the Japanese releases of the Metal Gear Solid series, and by David Hayter in the English releases. Hideo Kojima based Solid Snake on a number of different characters, including Snake Plissken from the film Escape from New York.

Snake's real name, David, which was revealed in the original Metal Gear Solid, is a reference to two fictional characters: David Bowman from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Dave Forrest from Policenauts (which was also created by Kojima). While Snake shares the same given name with the English voice actor, Hayter, this was not intentional (contrary to popular belief) and is merely coincidental. In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, he uses the alias Iroquois Pliskin, which is a reference to Snake Plissken. The name "Iroquois" has a double meaning. The Iroquois were a confederacy of Native American tribes headquartered in New York. The word "Iroquois" was also a Huron word meaning "Black Snake".

Metal Gear 2, set in 1999, features an older-looking Snake than seen in Metal Gear Solid, set in 2005. However, there are numerous inconsistencies between the Metal Gear Solid series and the previous incarnation of the series. Also, some of the portraits used in Metal Gear 2 were based on real actors, and the characters were redesigned for later games. In Konami's Japanese cell phone re-release of Metal Gear 2, Snake's portrait is brought more in line with his presentation in Metal Gear Solid.

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