Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-86.46.22.35-20130403153709/@comment-64.33.250.214-20150405133107

162.224.68.43 wrote: Pardon me for resurrecting a seemingly dead thread, but I've always considered Ishmael to be one of two people: Big Boss, or an MSF soldier. Here's my theory:

No, Ishmael isn't Solidus, Grey Fox, Decoy Ocotpus, Kaz, Johnny Sasaki, Emma, Hal, or whoever the hell people have been pulling out of their asses. Big Boss is most likely suffering from some kind of trauma/PTSD regarding the destruction of Mother Base. Ishmael said he's been "watching over" Big Boss for the entirety of his coma, which leads me to believe that he is definitely some kind of hallucination. Now, as for his identity, yes, he's part of BB's psyche, which technically makes him BB. However, he could either be one of two things: A younger BB trying to lead him on, or the hallucination of an MSF soldier who died during the destruction of Mother Base. He's likely a PTSD induced hallucination of one of the soldiers that was killed (Hell, possibly even the one that died in BB's arms at the end of Ground Zeroes), as evidenced when he went into a fit of rage after one of his own men was shot right in front of him. You believe the hallucination theory because Ishmael said he's been watching over Big Boss for 9 years? It doesn't take a ghost or phantom to watch over a person.

The people who claim that Boss is a hallucination fail to explain the name. Why does a hallucination even have a name, especially if it only appears during the hospital segment, and why's it called Ishmael?

When characters hide their appearance in a Metal Gear game, they are always revealed to be characters from previous games. Examples of this include Black Ninja, the Cyborg Ninjas, and Johnny Sasaki. We were also led to believe that Master Miller returned in MGS1, but it turned out to be Liquid. Ishmael could easily be a returning character who is hiding their identity under those bandages.