Gray Fox

Gray Fox (formerly known as Null) is the codename of FOXHOUND agent Frank Jaeger. He was only active field agent of FOXHOUND to achieve the Fox codename, FOXHOUND's highest commemoration (Roy Campbell, who achieved the codename "Chicken Fox", doesn't count as he was not an active field agent). Fox was Solid Snake's war buddy and best friend after Operation: Intrude N313, but his loyalty to his father figure, Big Boss, forced him to betray him during the Zanzibar Land Uprising. He survived his injuries during his battle with Snake and was outfitted with a powered exoskeleton and given gene therapy. He confronted Snake as a neutral force in Shadow Moses before dying at the hands of Liquid Snake.

Current status: Deceased

Early Life And Career
Not much is known about Frank Jaeger's childhood other than he was a child soldier. Born from German-American and Vietnamese parents, Frank's parents died during the Vietnam War while he was still a child. As a result, he was discriminated due to his half-Caucasian heritage and was forced to work hard labor for the war effort. During his years in Mozambique, Gray Fox was known for his duplicitous "hunting": by acting as a frank boy, he would trick enemies into letting their guard down, letting him hunt them. This earned him the nickname "The Frank Hunter" by his enemies. Because the boy spoke some German, they used the German word for Hunter, Jäger (Jaeger in English spelling), giving him the name "Frank Jaeger". Big Boss became acquainted with him as a nameless child soldier in a guerilla group in Mozambique, sometime in 1966. Big Boss took Frank as a young child and left him at a rehab center.

Null
He was then taken by the CIA and used as a test subject for the "Perfect Soldier Project". The project turned the boy into a more efficient killer, capable of killing his targets without remorse. When he was not fighting, he was kept in a coffin-shaped sensory deprivation water tank which would reset his memories. 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 became a member of the FOX Unit when it was under the leadership of Gene. He confronted Big Boss twice during the operation. It was only after the second battle that Big Boss realized who Null really was. Big Boss defeated Null and convinced him to seek help somewhere besides the FOX Unit.

Later Career
After Frank was saved by Big Boss again, he joined the armed forces and participated as a soldier for the Renamo during the Mozambican Civil War. During one of his missions, he was captured by Frelimo soldiers and was heavily tortured (according to Frank's account, his ears and nose were cut off). He was rescued however a few days later by Big Boss. It was around this time that Frank adopted an orphaned girl named Naomi in Rhodesia and cared for her as an older brother.

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, Natasha Marcova (who also went by the identity of Gustava Heffner). The two tried to elope together, but Czech and American authorities denied her immigration rights and she was sent back to her country after being stripped of competition rights. Following this incident, Frank developed a great deal of resentment for his superiors.

The Outer Heaven Incident
During the 1990s, Frank became a member of Big Boss' FOXHOUND unit and due to his extraordinary soldiering skills, was the only FOXHOUND member ever to receive codename, "Fox"; the highest commemoration given to any member of the unit.

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. Several days later, Fox was captured by enemy forces and the last message he transmitted to headquarters were the words "Metal Gear...". In the follow-up mission (Operation Intrude N313), Fox was rescued by newly-recruited FOXHOUND member, Solid Snake and provided Snake with all the known facts about Metal Gear which was revealed to be the codename of the nuclear weapon being developed; a bipedal nuclear-equipped 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. After the destruction of Outer Heaven, Fox deserted the FOXHOUND unit and disappeared along with Big Boss (who was believed to had been killed during his battle with Snake). Around this time, Fox followed his foster father and helped in the formation of Zanzibar Land by becoming an active participant of the "War of Mercenaries". After his success in the war, he was assigned as commander of Zanzibar Land's Mercenary Force, also known as the "Dogs of War".

The Zanzibar Land Disturbance


In 1999, Fox began hijacking 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 Col. Roy Campbell. Once again, Snake was the agent sent out to neutralize Zanzibar Land. During the course of Snake's mission (Operation Intrude F014), Fox began transmitting anonymous messages to Snake 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, Natasha (who was in Zanzibar Land, now serving as an STB agent and Marv's bodyguard), when he destroyed the bridge. Later, Snake successfully destroyed Metal Gear D and confronted Fox barehanded in a minefield. Snake won the battle and escaped the facility, leaving a presumed dead Grey Fox behind.

Rebirth As The Cyborg Ninja
After the death of Big Boss and the downfall of Zanzibar Land, Fox's body was recovered on-site by a clean-up crew. He was taken by FOXHOUND's chief medic at the time, Dr. Clark, and became a guinea pig for Clark's gene-therapy project. In order to improve his mobility, an experimental exoskeleton resembling a ninja suit was grafted directly onto his body. Aside from improved agility and strength, the suit also allowed Fox to 'cloak' at will, using a new form of stealth technology which rendered the wearer near invisible to the naked eye (the stealth technology could not however, fool advanced sensory devices such as thermal goggles). 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, and summarily covered up his actions when he killed Dr. Clark in 2003, reporting it as a laboratory accident.

The Shadow Moses Island Incident
In 2005, during the Shadow Moses Incident, Fox infiltrated the island in search of Solid Snake, who was on a mission to neutralize the now-corrupt FOXHOUND unit led by Liquid Snake. He first made contact with Snake after releasing Armstech President Kenneth Baker from captivity and attacking Revolver Ocelot, severing Ocelot's right forearm. Later, after taking out a large group of genome soldiers, 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 ninja suit, but after engaging him in hand-to-hand combat, Fox's identity was revealed. After a time, Snake began to prevail in the battle but before its ultimate conclusion was reached, Fox cried out in pain (presumably due to feedback from the experimental exoskeleton) and fled the laboratory. Fox later helped Snake in his mission by transmitting anonymous messages regarding dangers to Snake under the alias of Deepthroat.

When Snake is drawn into battle with Metal Gear REX, Gray Fox manages 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 however he had been 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. 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 up. 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. 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 legs, 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."

After escaping the Shadow Moses compound, Snake contacted Naomi, informing her that Fox's last message had been that he would always love her. He did not inform her of Fox's final confession.

Behind the scenes

 * In English versions, Fox has been voiced by Greg Eagles (credited as George Byrd) in Metal Gear Solid, Rob Paulsen in The Twin Snakes and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Larc Spies in Portable Ops. In Japanese versions, he has been voiced by Kaneto Shiozawa in Metal Gear Solid and Jun Fukuyama in Portable Ops.


 * He was originally modeled after actor Tom Berenger in the MSX2 version of Metal Gear 2. In the later Mobile Phone and PlayStation 2 revisions of the game, he was redesigned to resemble Yoji Shinkawa's depiction of the character.

"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 Zanzibarland."
 * In Brawl, an unlockable trophy of Fox exists, with the following text:

Appearances

 * Metal Gear
 * Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
 * Metal Gear Solid (as the Cyborg Ninja)
 * Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (as Null)
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl (as an Assist Trophy)

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