Gray Fox

Gray Fox, formerly known as Null, was the codename of FOXHOUND agent Frank Jaeger. Originally a child soldier for FRELIMO, he was the only active field agent of FOXHOUND to achieve the codename "Fox," FOXHOUND's highest commemoration, and was decorated five times. Fox was Solid Snake's war buddy and best friend after the Outer Heaven Uprising, but Fox's loyalty to Big Boss forced him to betray Snake during the Zanzibar Land Disturbance. He survived his injuries during his battle with Snake and was outfitted with a powered exoskeleton and given intense gene therapy. He confronted Snake as a neutral force during the Shadow Moses Incident before dying at the hands of Liquid Snake via Metal Gear REX.

Early life and career
Born sometime in the early 1950s, Frank spent his early years fighting as a child soldier for the FRELIMO, in the Mozambican War of Independence. Known for his cruel war tactics, he would trick enemies into letting their guard down by acting with "the frankness of a young boy," before killing them with "the ruthlessness of a hunter." This earned him the nickname "The Frank Hunter" by his enemies, but because he could speak a little German, his comrades called him Jaeger (German for "hunter"), giving him the proper name of "Frank Jaeger." Throughout the war, Frank killed dozens of government soldiers from the Portuguese regime. In 1966, renowned mercenary Big Boss became acquainted with Frank in Mozambique after stopping him in battle, and placed the young boy into a rehabilitation facility, believing that he would be safe.

While at the rehab center, Frank was taken by the CIA and used as a test subject in the "Perfect Soldier Project." The project turned the boy into a more efficient soldier, capable of killing his targets without remorse, however, it was at a cost. When he was not fighting, he was kept in a fluid-filled sensory deprivation tank which would reset his memories, and suppress his emotions. This intense treatment also enhanced his senses and reflexes allowing him to deflect bullets and become incredibly agile. Because Frank was the only surviving test subject of the project, he was deemed a lost number and was given the codename of "Null."

As a teenager, Null, a.k.a. the Perfect Soldier, operated as a member of the FOX unit during the San Hieronymo Takeover, under the leadership of Gene. His unique Sneaking Suit color during this time was red. He helped the unit to capture Big Boss, and confronted him in battle during the operation, but was unable to defeat him. However, his fight with Big Boss nonetheless lasted long enough for Cunningham and a squad of FOX soldiers to arrive and capture Big Boss. Null was forced to let Big Boss live due to Cunningham's insistance that he stand down, though he did so with extreme reluctance.

Despite being laid back into his culture tank, Null's memories of the battle with Big Boss couldn't be erased. He first escaped from the tank shortly after Gene's telephone conversation with Ocelot, killing several soldiers before finally being subdued by Gene, via throwing knives to the hands and knees, and telekinesis. Driven by a need to kill Big Boss, Null broke free of his chamber a second time and after slaughtering many of his own comrades, he confronted Big Boss again at the subpower station. Revealing that his mind was "littered with corpses," and having an almost fatalistic and nihilistic view on life, he asked Big Boss, "Why won't you die? What do you hope to accomplish by living?," before attacking. It was only after this second battle that Big Boss realized who Null really was. Big Boss defeated Null again and convinced him to seek help somewhere outside of the FOX unit.

Afterwards, Frank was sent to a hospital, and while he did ultimately survive the events of the San Hieronymo Takeover, he was severely wounded both physically and mentally. The doctors and Roy Campbell were also unsure if, after his eventual release from the hospital, he would ever live a normal life after that. Frank's battle data as Null was later recovered by Zero, who then revealed this to Ocelot and requested his assistance in a project.

Post-San Hieronymo and FOXHOUND
Frank later participated in the Mozambican Civil War, this time as a soldier for the RENAMO. During one of his missions, he was captured by FRELIMO soldiers and heavily tortured, having his nose and ears cut off. He was rescued a few days later by none other than Big Boss.

It was around this time that Frank killed two people in Rhodesia, during the Rhodesian Civil War, before discovering they had a young girl. Feeling immense guilt, he adopted her, and cared for her as a younger sister. In 1980, Big Boss took Frank and his "sister" to the United States. Afterwards, Frank and Big Boss returned to Africa to continue fighting a war, leaving her behind in America.

During the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, while living under the alias of "Frank Hunter," Frank became romantically involved with Czech figure skating champion Gustava Heffner. The two tried to elope together, but American authorities rejected her bid for asylum and she was sent back to her country, where she was stripped of her competition rights. Following this incident, Frank developed a great deal of resentment for his superiors.

Circa the early 1990s, Frank became the only active field agent in FOXHOUND to receive the codename, "Fox" (the highest commemoration given to any member of the unit), and had been decorated five times, due to his extraordinary soldiering skills. During his long service in FOXHOUND, Gray Fox's real name, Frank Jaeger, was also highly classified by "Classified National Security Codes." In addition, he was also considered an unofficial leader in FOXHOUND because of his durable physique and superb intellect.

In 1995, Gray Fox was the agent assigned to Operation Intrude N312. Fox's objective was to gather data on a top-secret nuclear weapon that the fortified state of Outer Heaven was secretly developing. After successfully infiltrating Outer Heaven, Gray Fox scouted the first building of the fortress, noting the locations of the inner courtyard, cameras and elevators, along with various weapons and equipment, such as card keys and Beretta handguns. Sometime afterwards, he stumbled upon information relating to the new weapon being developed. However, the mission ended in failure when Gray Fox was captured, though not before relaying the details of his reconnaissance back to FOXHOUND. His final words before his transmission was cut were simply: "Metal Gear..." In the follow-up mission, known as Operation Intrude N313, Fox was rescued by rookie FOXHOUND member Solid Snake. Fox provided Snake with all the known facts about Metal Gear; a nuclear-equipped walking battle tank. Together, they successfully destroyed the Metal Gear prototype under development in Outer Heaven.

However, shortly after the destruction of Metal Gear, it was revealed that Big Boss himself was secretly the commander of Outer Heaven's forces all along. Sometime after the destruction of Outer Heaven, Fox deserted the FOXHOUND unit and disappeared along with Big Boss (who was presumed dead after his battle with Snake). Around this time, because of his loyalty to Big Boss and also because of his earlier disgust for America's earlier deporting of Heffner, Fox followed him and helped in the formation of Zanzibar Land by becoming an active participant of the Mercenary War. After his success in the war, he was assigned as commander of Zanzibar Land's Mercenary Force, also known as the "Dogs of War."

In 1999, Fox began raiding several nuclear disposal sites with the revised Metal Gear D. This act, along with Zanzibar Land's kidnapping of Dr. Kio Marv, led to a retaliation from FOXHOUND, which was now under the command of Colonel Roy Campbell. Snake was pulled from retirement and was the sole agent sent out to neutralize Zanzibar Land. During the course of Snake's mission, Fox began transmitting anonymous messages to Snake, claiming to be his "#1 Fan," in order to help him overcome certain obstacles and traps. Fox and Snake met again after four years when the bridge leading to the detention camp where Dr. Marv was being held was destroyed by Fox himself. Ironically enough, Fox also caused the death of his former lover, Gustava Heffner (who was in Zanzibar Land, now serving as an StB agent and Marv's bodyguard), when he destroyed the bridge, though he was possibly unaware of this. He then told Snake that he'll spare him under the condition that he get out of Zanzibar Land. Shortly thereafter, when Snake tried to access floor 20 of the Tower Building, Gray Fox stopped the elevator and arranged for an assassination squad to eliminate Snake due to his evident refusal to leave Zanzibar Land. Afterwards, Gray Fox assumed his #1 Fan alias again and alerted Snake to Night Fright's presence in the 3rd basement floor detention center when Snake was arriving to find Kio Marv. Later, he contacted Snake telling him that Jungle Evil carried card keys 8 and 9, the latter of which he dropped in the grass prior to the latter's fight and defeat against Solid Snake.

Later, Gray Fox activated a pit trap beneath Snake, dropping him into a facility deep within the detention center, and challenged Snake to fight him, certain that Madnar was mistaken about Metal Gear D having a weakness. He then meets up with Snake while piloting Metal Gear D, and stated that neither he nor Metal Gear were like the Outer Heaven Uprising, and began to fight Snake. Snake successfully destroyed Metal Gear D with Fox at the helm. However, not only did he survive the mech's destruction, but he obtained the OILIX formula from Snake, after the latter's equipment caught fire from the explosion. Snake then gave chase after discarding all of his equipment and confronted Fox barehanded in a minefield. Snake won the battle, with Gray Fox then explaining to Snake that he was indebted to Big Boss due to his past actions for him, and that although he does not actually like war, he nonetheless needed it due to his experiences from childhood, as well as admitted that he was the one who sent the anonymous calls to Snake. Snake then vowed that he will meet up with Gustava Heffner on the other side before Gray Fox lost consciousness. Snake escaped the facility, leaving a presumed dead Gray Fox behind.

Rebirth
After the supposed death of Big Boss and the downfall of Zanzibar Land, Fox's body, blown apart by a landmine, were recovered on-site by a "clean-up" crew. He was taken by FOXHOUND's chief medic Dr. Clark and became a guinea pig for her gene therapy experiments. In order to improve his mobility, an experimental exoskeleton was grafted directly onto his body along with his limbs. Aside from improved agility and strength, the suit also allowed Fox to "cloak" at will, using a new form of stealth camouflage technology. Also, he was drugged during the four years of his experimentation while Dr. Clark and her team further experimented on him.

In 2000, Fox's foster sister (now going under the alias of Naomi Hunter) joined FOXHOUND as Dr. Clark's assistant. She helped Fox escape his containment in 2003, and summarily covered up his actions when he killed Clark, reporting it as a laboratory accident, as well as faking his death in the accident and helping him hide out. In reality, Fox was requested to kill Dr. Clark by EVA since she had been one of the founding members of the Patriots, partially out of revenge for what he had to endure as being a test subject for the Cyborg Ninja project.

During the 2005 Shadow Moses Incident, Fox (as the first Cyborg Ninja) infiltrated the island in search of Solid Snake, who was on a mission to neutralize the renegade FOXHOUND unit led by Liquid Snake. However, he also ended up letting the Sons of Big Boss know of his existance by killing three of their men while cloaked shortly before Snake infiltrated Shadow Moses Island, resulting in the security detail becoming even tighter. He first made contact with Snake after releasing ArmsTech President Kenneth Baker from captivity and attacking Revolver Ocelot, severing his right hand. Later, after taking out a large group of Genome Soldiers (of whom one of those killed believed Fox to be a ghost ), Fox confronted Snake once again in the laboratory of Hal Emmerich, demanding that they fight to the death. At first, Snake did not recognize the man in the exoskeleton, but after engaging him in hand-to-hand combat, Snake realized who he was. After a time, Snake began to prevail in the battle but before its ultimate conclusion was reached, Fox cried out in pain and fled the laboratory. Fox later helped Snake in his mission by transmitting anonymous messages regarding dangers to Snake (much like he did during Operation Intrude F014), under the alias of "Deepthroat."

When Snake was drawn into battle with Metal Gear REX, Gray Fox managed to damage it further by attacking REX's radome, interfering with the sealed cockpit's sensory input. As Liquid fought to locate Fox and Snake with REX's damaged sensors, Fox revealed to Snake that many years ago, he had been the one who had killed Naomi's parents in Rhodesia but he was unable to bring himself to kill Naomi, who had been too young at the time to remember the incident. Fox begged Snake to tell her the truth. Nastasha Romanenko, who was listening to this conversation via Snake's Codec, speculated that his compulsion of adopting Naomi as well as his continuously participating in wars with Big Boss, were derived from PTSD gained from when he was a child soldier. Following this exchange, Fox leapt from his hiding spot and again attacked Metal Gear REX, eventually destroying the radome completely, and forcing Liquid to open the cockpit. This made the tank vulnerable to well placed stinger missiles.

During a second assault on REX, Fox was severely injured when one of his arms was sliced off by the tank's laser. He was then pinned against a wall by REX before being released to fall to the ground. During this time, he managed to completely overwhelm the radome, declaring that "a cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal!" Fox ordered Snake to fire the stinger, but Liquid informed Snake that if he tried, then Fox would die from the resulting explosion. As Snake hesitated, Fox told him about how after Zanzibar Land, he was recovered on site and was neither truly alive nor truly dead, and that he could finally die in peace with Snake to witness it. As Fox lay on the hanger floor, Liquid tried to kill off Fox once and for all by crushing him under one of Metal Gear's massive feet, however, Fox's grafted exoskeleton meant that this first attempt failed. With REX's second stomp however, the only man to ever achieve the "Fox" codename was no more. His last words were directed towards Snake:

"We're not tools of the government or anyone else. Fighting was the only thing... the only thing I was good at, but... at least I always fought for what I believed in. Snake... farewell..."

Posthumous
After escaping the Shadow Moses facility, Snake contacted Naomi, informing her that Fox's last message was to forget about him and move on with her own life, and that he would always love her. Snake decided not to tell her that Fox had killed her parents because he was the only family Naomi had ever known.

Four years later, Solid Snake referenced Gray Fox's last words to Raiden when explaining why he was motivated to commit grassroots resistance (or terrorism, as Raiden points out). Another five years later, the experimentation that was utilized on Gray Fox that resulted in the Gene Therapy project also resulted in the creation of the SOP system.

Metal Gear games
Gray Fox (グレイ・フォックス) first appears in the original Metal Gear (spelled "Grey Fox" in the MSX2 version). His character design was based on a "shin-chan" graffiti that Director Hideo Kojima found. The player's initial objective is to rescue him and obtain intel on Metal Gear from him. Gray Fox's sprite in the MSX2 version was a recolor of the regular prisoner of war sprite (wearing a blue jumpsuit instead of a brown one), or in the case of the NES version, the same as the prisoner of war sprite (as the game's characters were monochrome).

Fox returns in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, where he confronts Snake as an enemy on several occasions, while secretly assisting him as an anonymous informant. Fox's past is fleshed out in this game and his civilian identity is revealed to be Frank Jaeger (フランク・イエーガー) ("Frank Yeager" in the MSX2 version). His portrait was modeled after actor Tom Berenger. In the re-released versions, he was redesigned to resemble Yoji Shinkawa's later depiction of the character in Metal Gear Solid.

Portions of Gray Fox's character, namely his first name of Frank, as well as his attempting to elope with a Czech figure skater, were influenced by the novel Crossfire.

Previous backstory
In Metal Gear 2, Fox claims that he was a half-white living in Vietnam, sent to a forced labor camp after the war (which ended in 1975), before Big Boss saved him for the first time. In addition, the Metal Gear Solid Official Mission Handbook states that he was born in the 1970s to unknown parents, and was of Vietnamese and German-American descent. However, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops later contradicts this account, with the appearance of a teenage Fox in 1970.

Although Fox's later activities during the Mozambican Civil War remain plausible, and is also referenced in Metal Gear Solid, it is omitted from the Metal Gear Solid 4 Database, along with any references to his being in Vietnam.

Metal Gear Solid games
In the English versions, Gray Fox was voiced by Greg Eagles (credited as George Byrd) in Metal Gear Solid, Rob Paulsen in The Twin Snakes, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Metal Gear Solid 4 and Larc Spies in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. In Japanese versions, he was voiced by Kaneto Shiozawa in Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 4, Takumi Yamazaki (the same man who voices Ocelot in Metal Gear Solid 3), in Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel and Jun Fukuyama in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. In the Japanese versions of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Metal Gear Solid 4, Gray Fox utilized the vocal archives of Kaneto Shiozawa due to his death in 2000.

The pupil of one of Gray Fox's eyes was white during the Shadow Moses Incident. This may have been caused by his fight with Snake in Zanzibar Land.

The codename "Deepthroat," which Gray Fox used when contacting Snake by Codec to offer him advice, was also the name of the FBI agent who exposed U.S. President Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal. FBI agent William Mark Felt was the real Deepthroat, and he revealed himself to the public in May 2005.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, a prequel set two decades before the events of the first Metal Gear, features a teenage Gray Fox as a masked machete-wielding soldier named Null (ヌル). The revelation of his identity in Portable Ops is similar to that in Metal Gear Solid; in both cases, his identity is unknown until he is engaged in battle and defeated.

"A child soldier and member of the CIA Special Forces unit FOX, Null is also known as the Perfect Soldier. Possessing superhuman physical abilities, this invincible warrior has defeated every opponent he has faced."

- Character description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

In the novelization of Metal Gear Solid, Gray Fox's death was portrayed in a slightly different manner than in both the original game and the remake. Namely, Gray Fox managed to destroy Metal Gear REX's radome at the exact same time that the mech stepped on him, thus failing to crush him to death in that instant. However, he was still gravely wounded from the attack, and as a result, he died shortly afterwards. The remake, The Twin Snakes, was also slightly different in doing Gray Fox's death, as it only utilized one stomp attack to kill Gray Fox, with it gradually delivering an increasing amount of pressure on Gray Fox until his exoskeleton caved. REX then wiped its foot on the floor.

In the novelization, the gun that Gray Fox used against REX was specified to be a portable Vulcan cannon.

Although Gray Fox himself does not appear in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, due to it taking place after his death, he is mentioned a few times in the game. Likewise, in Substance, Raiden can wear a Cyborg Ninja outfit bearing multiple similaritites to Gray Fox's exoskeleton in the VR missions.

Gray Fox is referenced several times in Metal Gear Solid 4. During one cutscene where Naomi recalls Fox, a sample of "The Frank Hunter" theme from Portable Ops is heard.

In Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel it is hinted that Gray Fox was sent by the Patriots to find and kill Solid Snake, in order to facilitate the Patriots' job of assassinating him themselves (yet they would try to have Solid Snake assasinate Liquid Ocelot in Metal Gear Solid 4).

Gray Fox was ranked #2 on Screw Attack's Top Ten Ninjas list.

Play Arts Kai has released action figures of Gray Fox in his Cyborg Ninja form, which had three models: One was the regular variant used in the game, one was based on the bonus-colored variant, and the last one was primarily gray.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Gray Fox appears as an Assist Trophy who leaps around the arena and attacks opponents with rapid sword-slashes. He also deflects any projectiles fired at him. He also has the ability to reappear from the top of the screen if he falls off the stage. If one of the players is in control of Solid Snake and the Gray Fox assist trophy is activated, the two characters will exchange in dialogue from Metal Gear Solid. An unlockable trophy of Gray Fox exists within the game, with the following text:

"An enigmatic soldier with great physical and combat skills. Calling himself 'Deepthroat' and equipped with an enhanced environmental camouflage suit, he dedicated his life to fighting Snake. In a twist of fate, Gray Fox ends up protecting his sworn rival from Metal Gear REX. Long ago, Gray Fox fought Snake in Zanzibar Island."

Metal Gear Solid
In Metal Gear Solid (and The Twin Snakes), if the player neither manages, nor attempts, to escape the torture room's holding cell after Ocelot's three torture sessions, Gray Fox will appear and open the door for Snake before disappearing. Also, upon completing the game twice, Gray Fox's cyborg ninja outfit will be changed from blue and brown to red and blue, in a manner that resembles Spiderman/Deadpool.

If the player uses chaff grenades to attack Gray Fox during the fistfight, he will be stunned, but then tells off Solid Snake for his cheap method of attacking, citing that this was not how Snake usually fights, and resorts to attacking Snake with his sword as a result.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
When fighting Null at the power substation, several of his quotes sound a lot more agitated compared to when he said them during the fight at the silo entrance. To unlock Null, simply defeat him both times and begin a second playthrough after beating the game.

In battle, Null uses a Machete for fighting at close quarters and deflecting bullets and uses M10 otherwise. Upon recruitment Null comes with a Machete as a unique weapon with an attack pattern similar to that of the unequipped punch punch kick attack pattern, and the third swipe is always lethal towards non-boss or regular opponents.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
During Act 4, when the player arrives at the Supply Port where REX's remains are, taking a picture of REX's left leg will unveil a ghost of Gray Fox while he was a cyborg ninja.

Appearances

 * Metal Gear
 * Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
 * Metal Gear Solid (as the Cyborg Ninja)
 * Metal Gear Solid: Integral (as the Cyborg Ninja)
 * Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions (as the Cyborg Ninja)
 * Konami Krazy Racers (as the Cyborg Ninja)
 * Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (as Null)
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl (as an Assist Trophy)
 * Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (flashbacks, voice only and ghost)