Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-86.46.22.35-20130403153709/@comment-162.224.68.43-20150404033505

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.