John McCone

John McCone (known as the DCI, CIA Director, or simply as Mr. Director) was a member of the American Philosophers and supposedly orchestrated the Virtuous Mission and Operation Snake Eater, with the aim of gaining control of the entire Philosophers' Legacy.

Biography
John McCone supposedly gave the greenlight to the Virtuous Mission, while instructing The Boss to "defect" to Colonel Volgin and retrieve the Philosophers' Legacy. After meeting with The Boss, and stealing the Shagohod, Volgin fired one of the Davy Crocketts at Sokolov's Research Facility, framing The Boss in the process. However, the mastermind of The Boss's "defection" was the previous DCI as well as the ensuing events allowed for the perfect excuse to have The Boss eliminated.

After the success of Operation Snake Eater and Naked Snake was awarded his Big Boss codename by President Johnson, McCone (presumably having become the DCI after his predecessor was ousted of office) attempted to shake Snake's hand but Snake departed without doing so as Snake was disturbed about the truth behind Operation Snake Eater. After the initial shock of Snake refusing to shake his hand, Robert McNamara (the Secretary of Defense) discussed with McCone about the possibility of using a unit like the FOX unit in the Army to handle their sneaking missions, as well as having someone like [Naked Snake] to carry out these missions.

After the award ceremony, McCone received a call from Ocelot (ADAM) about Granin's blueprints as well as the outcome of the mission. Their conversation revealed that McCone had only acquired half of the Legacy, and it was assumed that the KGB (the Russian Philosophers) possessed the other half.

In 1970, John McCone instagated the San Hieronymo Takeover and had ordered the FOX unit (under Gene's command) to "steal" the ICBMG from a convoy and pretend to defect to the Soviet Union and giving the ICBMG to the Red Army so he can prolong the Cold War (and thus keep his and the CIA's power and influence). When he believed the ICBMG was coming towards America based on trajectory data supplied from Major Zero, McCone (along with two bodyguards) went into an underground bunker where he met Ocelot, who had managed to sneak down to the bunker easily due to the FOX unit not being around. After revealing that he had "documents" on The Philosophers (which included the identities of the Philosophers' members) in the event of a nuclear aftermath, Ocelot killed the two bodyguards and McCone after the events on San Hieronmyo, although he made sure that he killed him in a manner that made it seem as though he committed suicide, allegedly because he felt responsible for the missile being launched.

Behind the Scenes

 * John McCone is modeled after the real-life Cold War era director of the same name. *According to the MGS4 Database, McCone had apparently lied to the US Government about the true results of Operation Snake Eater (he claimed that the mission was a failure) and kept the Philosophers' Legacy for himself.
 * The John McCone's voice actor is credited in MGS3 although he never actually says a word in the game. He only has a minor sound of disgust when Naked Snake refused to shake his hand.
 * John McCone had a bit of a larger role in MGS3: Subsistence 's Secret Theater, more specifically in the film Payback where he humiliates Snake by throwing him on the ground twice. He did this out of revenge for Snake not shaking his hand after Operation Snake Eater. He then makes another attempt to shake Snake's hand which Snake accepts. After shaking hands, they end up dancing and kissing. In the end, the title of the film changes to "Metal Gear Stupid".
 * In MPO, it was believed that McCone was the "deviously cunning strategist" that Gene alluded to when revealing the truth behind The Boss's death, due to EVA mentioning to Solid Snake that the CIA wanting to get rid of The Boss from the start in MGS4. However, MPW reveals that the man in question was actually Coldman, McCone's predecessor.