Raiden

"I am Lightning. The rain transformed."

- Raiden

Raiden (雷電), real name Jack, is a Liberian-American mercenary and former special forces soldier. Previously a child soldier under Solidus Snake, Raiden was later selected by the Patriots to test the S3 Plan at the Big Shell, as a new recruit to the reformed FOXHOUND unit. He later worked alongside the Paradise Lost Army in their anti-Patriot activities, but was captured and forced to undergo heavy cybernetic experimentation. After successfully escaping, Raiden went on to assist Solid Snake during Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection. He later joined the PMSC Maverick as a means to support his family, but entered the battlefield once more after rival group Desperado ruined one of their missions, leaving him injured.

Early life and career
Jack was born on a rainy day in Liberia. During his youth, in the turbulent period that was the First Liberian Civil War, Jack was adopted by Solidus Snake, who became his godfather after he killed the former's parents. Jack was subsequently raised as a child soldier and later fought in the country's Civil War in 1989. He and other children were shown Hollywood action films daily for "image training," and were given food mixed with gunpowder containing toluene to make them more controllable. On one occasion, Jack was injected with an unknown substance during a physician's experiment. On another, Jack witnessed Solidus demonstrate to him that blades were a "noble weapon" compared to guns, by slitting another soldier's throat in front of him. Under Solidus, Jack became a killing machine, known alternately as the "White Devil" and "Jack the Ripper" due to his incredibly high kill rate compared to other boys his age, as well as a reference to his being one of the few Caucasians born in Liberia. Armed with a gun at the age of six, he would later remember it as an AK rifle, as well as a knife, he proved to be a superior soldier, rising to become captain of the Small Boy Unit at ten. His skills with a bladed weapon, as well as his cruelty in dispatching enemies with them, was another reason for his "Ripper" nickname.

After the war ended, Solidus had Jack placed in a relief center, although the relief center was reluctant to put the latter into a foster family because they feared he would be too much trouble for the family. Eventually, without Solidus' knowledge, he was later removed by a non-governmental organization and taken to the United States. Jack and other surviving members of the Small Boy Unit then underwent extensive amounts of counseling before becoming at least outwardly stable. There, Jack came into the hands of the Patriots, who implanted his cerebral cortex with a high concentration of nanomachines, in order to have him function as a back-up system for an optic-neuro AI. The Patriots chose him out of the other child soldiers in his unit because unlike the others, who would live up to their pasts and pay dearly for it, Jack did not accept his past and hated it. The same nanomachines were also capable of memory manipulation by connecting or stimulating synapses, primarily nerve sections in the dormant part of the brain. In addition, Jack was not listed under any of the United States databases (e.g. the FBI, NSA, CIA, etc.)

Jack would grow up to suppress the memories about his terrible childhood, burying the memories of his bloody past, though he still suffered from nightmares of his past nearly every night. Now living a life in the United States, Jack joined the military where his admirable skills were at first recognized by the U.S. Army's Task Force XXI, although unlike other members of Force XXI, he was not involved in the Genome trials. From there he participated in three hundred VR simulations, including re-creations of the Shadow Moses Incident and the Tanker Incident. He had eventually left the Force XXI group by January 20, 2007.

On April 30, 2007, Jack met Rosemary after transferring to Fort Hamilton in New York City, and had an argument about King Kong. After they parted ways, they met again afterwards, shocked that they worked in the same place. Eventually, Jack grew to love Rose deeply, but his harsh experiences had left him melancholic and emotionally distant, and he constantly shut her out of his problems. In large part because of his PTSD-induced nightmares, he also refused to sleep next to Rose out of fear of hurting her. Most times when they did get together, he either stayed awake all night or otherwise left Rose's place, and he wouldn't let her in his bedroom. This eventually culminated in Rose entering his room without his permission, which was devoid of any personal objects save for a bed and a desk. However, all of this drama was a ruse by the Patriots to gain more control over Jack's life, with Rosemary acting as a spy.

Sometime prior to the Big Shell Incident, Jack was recruited into the supposedly reformed FOXHOUND, a special forces unit that no longer officially existed. One of his training sessions at FOXHOUND was at Fort Polk, within a mock Afghan village.

At the beginning of the Big Shell mission, Jack was briefly referred to as "Snake" before his codename was changed to "Raiden" by the Colonel, as the leader of the terrorists was also referring to himself as Solid Snake. Prior to being dispatched, Raiden's superiors also removed his natural blood, placed it in cold storage, and replaced it with a nanite filled blood substitute instead. On his way to the Big Shell, he also found that the oil fence had a recently-cut hole, implying that someone other than him had managed to sneak in. He later revealed this to the Colonel, who was surprised, since there wasn't supposed to be anyone other than Raiden who should have infiltrated the base. His suspicions that there was another intruder were quickly confirmed, as he entered a room full of knocked out guards and caught a glimpse of the man as he ascended in an elevator. Raiden took to the mission with some hesitation, claiming to have only been trained in VR missions (some of which didn't cover vital materials such as disposing of C4).

Raiden later met up with Iroquois Pliskin, a Lieutenant Junior Grade with the U.S. Navy SEALs, who had saved Raiden from being ambushed by Vamp. He later witnessed the deaths of Seal Team 10's Bravo Unit at the hands of Fortune. Raiden later met Peter Stillman, although their meeting occurred awkwardly when Raiden mistook the latter for a bomber at work and held him up, and was tasked alongside Pliskin to freeze the detonators of C4 to ensure they at least weren't an immediate threat. After quelling the C4 threat, an event that ultimately cost Stillman his life, he later encountered the bomber responsible for the C4 plantings, Fatman, and defeated him as well as quelled his ultimate C4 package, although not before the latter hinted at the $30 billion ransom being false information planted by the Patriots for the S3 Plan. Raiden later was told to seek out Richard Ames in the Shell 1 Core, and ultimately found him after bypassing security measures and disguising himself, although Ames eventually died from a heart aneurysm, and was nearly captured until the cyborg ninja known only as Mr. X attacked the soldiers. During an encounter with Solidus, Pliskin was revealed to Raiden and Solidus to be the real Solid Snake, who had faked his death two years prior during the Tanker Incident.

Raiden eventually learned of the Patriots' existence, as well as the development of Arsenal Gear, an enormous warship for which the Big Shell acted as a disguise. He also rescued Arsenal's AI engineer Emma Emmerich and attempted to escort her to safety, although she was later killed by Vamp despite his best efforts. Throughout the mission, Raiden also harbored some suspicions that he may enjoy killing people, although he did not know why. Raiden and Snake were able to join forces to take down Dead Cell and upload a virus into GW, Arsenal's AI. He was then seemingly betrayed by Snake and was subsequently captured by Olga Gurlukovich. Taken aboard Arsenal, Raiden was later freed by Olga, telling him that they had needed to use him so that Snake could sneak on board. He also learned of Olga's motivation for aiding him: The Patriots forced her to participate by holding her child hostage, after her kid was kidnapped shortly after delivering her. However, he also had to endure some physical abuse by Olga to ensure her cover was remained intact. Rosemary then called him, to which he eventually admitted to her his past as one of Liberia's child soldiers, also revealing this was why he was very distant towards her. He also speculated that Solidus' role in his life may have been the reason why the Patriots selected him for the S3 Plan.

As Raiden snuck through Arsenal Gear's interior, the Colonel began to act strangely during Codec transmissions. Pressing on, Raiden made his way to rendezvous with Snake, and was eventually contacted by Rose. She admitted to him that she was actually a Patriot spy sent to keep tabs on him, though she insisted that she had genuinely fallen in love with him. This greatly angered Raiden, but her transmission was cut off, just as she revealed that she was pregnant with his child. Raiden then met with Snake, who gave him most of his equipment back, along with Olga's high-frequency blade. Suspicious about his C.O.'s odd behavior, Raiden had Snake's partner Otacon investigate, who eventually learned that the Colonel was actually an AI construct of GW, partially based on the manipulation of Raiden's memories. After the Colonel claimed that Rose was being held hostage, Raiden began to fear that Rose didn't exist either, and that all his memories of her might have been falsified. After some reassurance from Snake, the pair battled through the Arsenal Tengu commandos before encountering Dead Cell's leader Fortune. Snake told Raiden to go on ahead, with Fortune claiming that Snake was the root of all her misery. Raiden, hesitant at first, left Snake to face her alone.

Raiden went on to battle several mass-produced Metal Gear RAY units. He managed to defeat most of them before collapsing from exhaustion. Just as Raiden was about to be killed, Olga came to his aid. By doing this, she revealed herself as an enemy of Solidus Snake, who angrily killed Olga. Olga's final words were for Raiden to live. As Solidus ordered the remaining RAYs to kill Raiden, the virus uploaded into GW went into effect, disabling the RAYs. Solidus then destroyed them out of frustration.

After Arsenal crashed into Manhattan, it was revealed that Raiden was merely a puppet of the Patriots, and that his entire mission on the Big Shell had been carefully scripted. AI representations of the Colonel and Rose told Raiden that he was just a weapon, a creation of the Patriots with no purpose but for what they made him. The AI instructed Raiden to kill Solidus, which he had no choice but to do so, for his own sake and for the sake of Olga's daughter and Rose/their unborn child. Raiden, however, also expressed disgust towards the Patriots' actions, and made it clear beforehand that he will not follow their commands anymore. Solidus also desired to kill him so he could access the backup data of the Patriots that was stored in his cerebral cortex in order to track them down, to compensate for the apparent destruction of GW. A fierce battle on top of Federal Hall ensued, and ended with Raiden emerging victorious over Solidus. He was reunited with Snake, who assured him that he was not the puppet of anyone, and that he could shape his own destiny. Raiden offered his services to Philanthropy, but Snake told him to take care of his personal affairs first. Raiden then met with Rose, and he solemnly forgave her, with the two ultimately deciding to continue their lives together.

Post-Big Shell
Raiden and Rose began living together. At some point, Raiden, in large part because of his having to utilize a HF Blade late in the Big Shell Incident, became fascinated with the art of Japanese swordsmanship, training himself with the HF Blade and studying in various Japanese swordsmanship and the samurai code, and even going as far as to watch samurai movies. In addition, largely because of his encounter with the Patriots AIs late into his mission, he also did extensive research on the subject of AIs, and wondered whether the Patriots AIs were actually sentient, or simply programmed to be that way. Despite the loving relationship between him and Rose, the tragic memories of his days as a child soldier started to resurface, causing tension in their relationship. He began drinking heavily, getting into fights and eventually decided to leave her. In addition, he was also led to believe that his child had died from a miscarriage.

Raiden learned from Big Mama, in exchange for the location of Big Boss that he obtained from GW, that Olga's daughter, Sunny, was being held in Area 51, and successfully rescued her with the help of Big Mama and the Paradise Lost Army. It was during his rescue of Sunny that he met the former Soviet soldier Boris Vyacheslavovich Popov, who was the war buddy of Sunny's grandfather, Sergei Gurlukovich, who aided him out of the realization that the Patriots were a threat to the world, not just America. After hearing of Rose's miscarriage and subsequent marriage to Roy Campbell, Raiden became despondent. He left Sunny in the care of Otacon and Snake anonymously. Afterwards, he left to wander the Earth. Raiden studied scouting techniques under a Native American shaman living in Alaska, and learned to hunt. He then began work on retrieving Big Boss' remains from the Patriots for the Paradise Lost Army, leading to his capture. As a prisoner, the Patriots used Raiden as a test subject for experiments in exoskeletal enhancement surgery, during which he had his head and spine excised from his body from his lower jaw down and subsequently grafted into an enhanced synthetic body.

With the help of the Paradise Lost Army, Raiden managed to escape his captivity. After undergoing surgery to clear his body of nanomachines and being saved by Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar, he was successful in reclaiming Big Boss' remains from the Patriots. The enhancements implanted throughout Raiden's body, however, were too severe to allow him to live a normal life again. He chose to disappear from the life of his fiancée.

In 2014, Raiden reappeared in South America, revealing himself to Solid Snake by Codec to warn him of an enemy PMC ambush. Disavowing his identity as Jack, Raiden updated Snake as to his dealings with the Paradise Lost Army, before the call was interrupted due to a firefight. Shortly after Snake defeated the PMC commander Laughing Octopus, Raiden contacted him again to provide help in tracking down Naomi Hunter, using his knowledge of scouting. Raiden later assisted in Snake and Naomi's escape by helicopter, by fighting off several Gekko units at a local marketplace. Removing the black duster that concealed his cyborg appearance, Raiden was able to disable the attacking Gekko using his enhanced agility and swordsmanship, employing a high-frequency blade.

Gekko reinforcements were eventually able to restrain Raiden on behalf of their commander, Vamp. Vamp proceeded to stab his old foe twice with his combat knife, tasting Raiden's artificial white blood from the blade. When Vamp commented on his apparent "immortality," Raiden replied that he simply didn't fear death, before being freed from the Gekko's tethers by Solid Snake's gunfire. Upon becoming free, Raiden fought off the remaining Gekko and engaged Vamp in an intense knife fight, the contact between their weapons becoming so fierce at one point as to cause his sword to glow red hot. Their battle eventually resulted in Vamp standing at Raiden's back and locking him in his grip. Raiden's decisive attack would prove his earlier statement that he did not fear death, running his sword through his own abdomen, but impaling Vamp as well. With each of them having inflicted serious injuries to the other, their battle ended when Vamp succumbed to his wounds and collapsed to the ground. Raiden then jumped up towards the helicopter hovering overhead, which Snake and Naomi had earlier boarded, and after being helped inside, was transported away from the area by its pilot, Otacon. Shortly thereafter, Raiden himself collapsed from the injuries afflicted by Vamp, urging Snake to find Big Mama in Eastern Europe.

Taken aboard the aircraft Nomad, Raiden continued to suffer and his chances of survival became bleak. Naomi recognized that he required a white blood transfusion and dialysis, which they procured for him while in Europe, with help from his former acquaintance, Dr. Madnar. After recovering somewhat, Raiden later attempted to join Snake on his mission to Shadow Moses Island, wishing to defeat Liquid Ocelot and break free of the Patriots' hold on his life, the events of his past ultimately causing him to break down emotionally. Snake consoled Raiden but refused his request due to his incomplete blood dialysis, and urging the younger soldier not to follow the same path that his own life had taken.

After making sufficient progress in his recovery, Raiden eventually headed to Shadow Moses, saving Snake's life from attacking Suicide Gekko. Raiden then faced Vamp once more atop the original Metal Gear REX, after Snake had returned the latter to a vulnerable state via nanomachine suppressors. While Snake warded off more approaching Gekko, Raiden engaged in another blade fight with Vamp and ultimately emerged the victor, defeating his enemy once and for all. After the immediate threat had passed, due to the actions of Otacon's Metal Gear Mk. II, Raiden relayed a coded message from Sunny to Naomi, regarding the completion of the FOXALIVE computer virus. Naomi then used nanomachine suppressors to both euthanize Vamp and commit suicide, much to the group's shock.

When the Gekko commenced another assault, Snake and Raiden departed the area via a supply tunnel, within the recently reactivated REX. To slow down their pursuers, Raiden fell behind to hold them off, later being caught under debris caused by the Suicide Gekko's detonation, while Snake escaped to the port area. After Snake was forced from REX, following a grueling battle with Liquid Ocelot's RAY, Raiden set himself free from under the debris by cutting off his right arm, and headed to assist his ally. With an exhausted Snake about to be crushed by Liquid's Outer Haven, Raiden placed himself in the warship's path of destruction through the small pier, holding back its immense bulk with his enhanced strength, and giving Snake time to clear the area. Raiden was himself caught beneath the vessel, however, screaming Rose's name as his strength gave way, and recalling memories of their time together, before he lost consciousness. Following Outer Haven 's departure, Raiden's body was later recovered, his survival testament to his extreme resilience, though according to Otacon, he was in no condition to help them further.

Even after his recent physical ordeal, Raiden later boarded Outer Haven during Snake's infiltration of the ship, missing both arms and wielding his sword between his teeth. Preventing a group of Haven Troopers from reaching an immobilized Snake, Raiden demonstrated lightning-like powers, with which he struck down several of the would-be attackers. Raiden then intended to upload the FOXALIVE virus into Outer Haven 's on-board AI in Snake's place, since his cyborg body was immune to the microwave defenses ahead of them, but an emboldened Snake convinced him otherwise. Instead, he decided to hold the Haven Troopers off and buy Snake enough time to reach the AI and upload the virus. Though Raiden was able to kill several of his assailants, he was eventually overwhelmed and forced to the ground. Backed to a wall and at the enemy's mercy, Raiden was saved at the last moment by the successful virus upload, the AI's destruction disabling his opponents' internal nanomachines and incapacitating them.

Afterwards, Raiden was sent to a hospital where he was fitted with a new cybernetic body that featured artificial skin, giving him a somewhat more human appearance. A month later, following Raiden's surgery, Rose and her son John paid him a visit, though Raiden ignored them both, believing that the child was Campbell's, who Rose had married during Raiden's estrangement from her. Rose told Raiden that the child was in fact his, and her miscarriage had been a lie. Her marriage to Campbell had actually been a ploy to protect herself and their son from the Patriots, so that he could not be used as leverage against Raiden. In other words, Raiden's lack of awareness of his son and his disdain for Rose meant that both would serve no purpose to the Patriots, as their suffering would not move him in any way. Stunned, Raiden forgave Rose once again, as she felt desperately guilty from being unable to tell him due to the danger doing so presented. She proceeded to introduce their son to Raiden, and the three huddled together in reunion. To him, at that moment, it felt like a scene from Beauty and the Beast. However, Rose assured him that he was no beast, but her husband. Raiden then vowed that he was done running, while Rose vowed that she was no longer afraid.



Civilian life
Following the end of the war economy, Raiden attempted to return to a normal, civilian life with his wife and son. During this time, he attempted to look as normal as possible, but the technology behind his artificial skin was imperfect and still looked unnatural. His inhuman appearance caused him to be ostracized from society and made securing employment even more difficult during the post-SOP economic recession, when even non-cyborgs had difficulty finding work.

Joining Maverick
In time, Raiden decided to return to the military sector, seeking a non-combat position so that he could provide for his family. Raiden encountered Boris again and, after discussing Maverick Security Consulting, Inc., accepted Boris' request to join the PMC as a full-time employee, forgoing the typical contraction method. At this time, Raiden had his original cyborg body upgraded, outfitting it with a more natural jaw using artificial skin, and replacing its outdated organic polymer muscle fiber with modern carbon nanotube muscle fiber. This allowed him to pass for a normal human, at least while clothed, and gave him the capacity to carry out bodyguard work and other missions that didn't require serious combat.

His first missions for Maverick had him working with Kevin Washington, where they were hired by the Carabinieri to track down three Albanian mafiosos that fled Italy for Montenegro, with orders to retrieve them. The mission grew complicated in spite of his claims of having reviewed the mission details, due to the three mafiosos having undergone cybernetic upgrades, with Kevin being the main reason he got through the mission. Kevin would later reference this mission when Raiden ended up going to Abkhazia nearly three to four years later, when Raiden mentioned going through the materials. He rarely got to see his family because of his line of work, but the few times he did see his family always put a smile on his son's face.

For three years starting 2015, Raiden was part of Maverick's recovery efforts to help rebuild an African country that had undergone a bloody civil war. Raiden himself did VIP protection, military training, and other related jobs. He eventually met up with the African country's prime minister N'mani, where the latter congratulated him on Maverick's contribution in the rebuilding of the country. Because his real name still painfully reminded him of his past, he still went exclusively by the name of Raiden. However, N'mani had a good sense of humor to jokingly call him "Mr. Lightning Bolt" when he learnt what Raiden's name translated to.

"I told myself this was about justice, about protecting the weak. But I was wrong."

- Raiden in 2018

Cyborg attack
However, plans abruptly changed in 2018 when cyborg soldiers belonging to the Desperado Enforcement LLC. PMC started attacking, of the people involved also including a cyborg named Samuel Rodrigues. With Maverick unable to identify their affiliations, Boris ordered Raiden to take out the cyborgs. Although the prime minister was to be protected, the Desperado leader Sundowner had managed to abduct him after several cyborg soldiers ambushed his limo near the port along with a modified Metal Gear RAY unit. Raiden and Sundowner then encountered each other, with the latter also referring to him as "Jack." Raiden then learned that Desperado wanted N'mani dead because Africa's been getting "too peaceful" under his reign, as Sundowner wanted to restart the war economy due to feeling that it was his livelihood. Raiden was forced to confront the PMC's modified Metal Gear RAY while Sundowner made his escape, which he fought three times due to its persistence and eventually culminated in Raiden running his HF Blade down its spine.

After tracking the Desperado leader, Sundowner, the Prime Minister, as well as Sam down to a train, Raiden was forced to watch Sundowner kill N'mani. Raiden then attempted to follow through with N'mani's last words to stop Sundowner, but Sam prevented him from getting to Sundowner. Raiden then did battle against Sam within the train tunnel. The result was Raiden would end up having his left arm amputated and having his left eye irrepairably damaged, the former of which he lamented having lost once again. Nonetheless, he managed to buy enough time for the train to pass through the tunnel before Sam could kill him. He managed to crawl back up onto the train, and passed out while witnessing Sam escape. Even after he recovered, his inability to protect N'mani would haunt him.

Custom cyborg body
His arm was later retrieved from the battle site and analyzed by Maverick, as well as having to undergo a weekly retrieval of files stored on the arm, due to the files being corrupted. During the procedure, they also had to replace memory units in his nervous system, and he was also losing a lot of blood due to his earlier wounds, forcing the doctors to put a clamp on him, which also resulted in Raiden flashing back to his time as a child soldier in Liberia, where he was injected with something. The doctor then managed to resuscitate Raiden and ordered the beginning of the optical implant, with Raiden wondering what happened to him. Afterward, the staff had to remove his left eye, as his optical nerve was completely destroyed, resulting in him flashing back to his watching war footage as a child soldier. The memory bank procedure was then interrupted when a mysterious figure arrived in the OR, with the doctors denying him entry before Raiden demanding to know who it was and for the person to come closer. Upon the realization of the figure's identity, Raiden angrily demands to know where "he" is to the figure.

At some point, both as a direct result of the attack and Raiden's injuries, and under his personal request, Raiden underwent a full-body cybernetic conversion, as he felt the Patriots "didn't leave him much of a body to begin with." This, alongside Maverick's previous cybernetic maintenance person going into hiding resulted in him being performed on by a German cyberneticist nicknamed "Doktor" (which was also the latter's first time doing a full-body conversion). After his surgeries were finished, the mysterious figure then presented Raiden with his new sword, to which Raiden later flashed back to witnessing Solidus slitting a soldier's throat. Raiden was originally supposed to get a completely new cybernetic eye to replace the one he lost, but Doktor was unable to create it before the surgery, so he had to wear a makeshift eyepatch for a while. On the upside, the eyepatch's cloth was covered in small cameras, to provide enhanced visual perception. Raiden decided he liked the look, after a while, and enjoyed the extra clarity the cameras gave.

Foiling the coup d'état in Abkhazia
Upon acquiring his new Cyborg Ninja body, Raiden was instructed to undergo a VR training simulation that Doktor created so he could get used to his new body before redeployment. Under the guidance of Doktor, Raiden honed his new body's blade, developed various attacks against cyborgs, became skilled in tracking, and acquired an enhanced running capability. Raiden, upon returning to active combat, aggressively chose Maverick missions that directly related to Desperado's activities. Afterwards, he was deployed to Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia, on an MQ-133C flying wing on loan to Maverick, where he was then launched when nearing insertion by a rocket platform, in order to quell a military coup that resulted in the Abkhazian president and most of his cabinet being killed. He also was requested by Doktor to retrieve the left hands of any cyborgs that he defeated, largely due to the valuable data stored on their arms, in exchange for both the surgery and any future upgrades. Raiden's new body was powered by a Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell which needed frequent recharging via Electrolytes extracted from enemy cyborgs during battle. Upon arrival, Raiden was ambushed by several Desperado soldiers via stealth camouflage, although his upgrades effectively made their efforts to kill him fruitless.

Making his way through the old city crawling with cyborg patrols and Gekkos, he also encountered the IF Prototype LQ-84i unmanned weapon that was deployed to assassinate Raiden. However, he managed to subdue the UG and had him delivered to Maverick in order to have Doktor repair the weapon as well as make some adjustments to the K-9000, known as the Blade Wolf, which included the disabling of his remote piloting and his AI wiping systems. Raiden eventually managed to reach Desperado's main base in Abkhazia, a production plant near the coast. He then fought with the leader of the forces stationed at Abkhazia, Mistral. After a grueling fight that descended to the bottom level of the plant, he eventually disarmed her of her weapon, which eventually cumulated in him finishing her off after she was doused in liquid nitrogen while she backed away. Afterwards, when Andrey Dolzaev called Mistral upon her death, Raiden picked up the radio and told him to surrender. However, when Dolzaev refused, Raiden deduced from his reply that he was actually intending to blow himself up near a power pylon as his final act, but was unable to stop him in time. Informing Boris of this development, he was then instructed to find a landing zone, as they were sending a chopper to extract him from the area. Raiden later received a copy of the Etranger from Maverick and Doktor, having developed it from careful analysis of Mistral's combat data.

Infiltrating the Mexican research facility
Eventually, as a way to "throw him a bone," he allowed the Blade Wolf to accompany him in his missions as a scout. A day after the events of Abkhazia, he and Blade Wolf were dispatched to Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, one of 32 states within Mexico, to infiltrate a research facility. Although willing to go through the sewers if it meant finding a Desperado lab, Raiden nonetheless felt uncomfortable doing so, especially after his briefing referenced the gas explosions in the Guadalajara sewers back in 1992. After crossing south to the border, Raiden stopped by a souvenir shop and purchased a Mariachi uniform (traditional garb for Mexican folk musicians) in a misguided attempt to blend in with the locals. He then drove a black convertible until he spotted a sewer grate, to which he then entered the grate, although he was briefly spotted by two bewildered pedestrians.

Afterwards, he, under the cautions of the Blade Wolf, carefully navigated the cyborg-infested sewers before being ambushed by a Mastiff cyborg. After eliminating it, he then used the catwalks to evade being spotted by the Mastiffs. He later rescued a Guyanese boy named George who had escaped from the facility. Learning that the facility removed brains from human children, and also the exact method of escape the boy went so he could narrow down the location, he placed him in a safe place while also issuing Maverick agents to retrieve George.

Upon finding the facility's entrance, Raiden, taking Doktor's advice of using a DOOMP to access the facility's video records regarding their development, decided to hijack a Dwarf Gekko. While attempting to locate a Dwarf Gekko, he stumbled upon a room containing cyborg brain casings, and after defeating several enemies, he reported his findings, causing them to deduce that the brain surgeries on the trafficked children related to cyborg development somehow. After finding a Dwarf Gekko and having it locate a mainframe system to access, he had the files forwarded to Doktor. He then learned that most of the kids have likely had the brains removed and sent to a facility in America, and also noticed that Sundowner and another VIP, whom Kevin recognized, inspecting the facility in the video files. He later learned from Courtney that the agents couldn't find George. As he made sure the calculations based on the GPS data were correct, he deduced that Desperado had beaten him to it. He then encountered a Grad that was blocking his way and defeated it.

Afterwards, Raiden learned from Kevin the identity of the VIP: Colorado Senator Steven Armstrong, and also deduced that World Marshal, the PMC he had previously been investigated by a grand jury in 2016, was involved in Desperado's activities, and acted as their supplier of cyborg personnel. Raiden wanted to expose Armstrong and World Marshal for their actions, but Kevin suggested against it. He later stumbled upon a blood cryogenics chamber, and deduced with Doktor that this was what allowed them to preserve the brains for transport, and presumably the rest of the bodies that weren't needed. He later found the kids, but was then forced by the head researcher to delay rescuing the children (who were being exposed to concentrated doses of chloroform) by holding George at gunpoint. After George told him to not worry about him and just save the children and stop the scientist, Raiden decided to act. Despite the scientist's attempts to silence George, George's encouragement was enough for Raiden to agree to cutting down both the scientist and George. He then had George sent to Doktor to watch over him, after saving George's life by using the cryopreserver, and also managed to save the other children from the chloroform gas in time.

Corporate Raid at World Marshal HQ
"I think it's time for Jack, to LET 'ER RIP!"

- Raiden in 2018

Mile High City
Deducing that Maverick was not going to go after World Marshal for their actions due to the illegal nature of going after them, Raiden sent a resignation letter to Boris. He also decided to have Doktor arrive with a transport chopper when he was inside the World Marshal headquarters building so they could carry out all of the cyborg heads. Raiden wanted Doktor to perform surgeries on the brains to ensure they at least had a relatively normal life outside of combat. He then made his way to downtown Denver to their headquarters building to rescue the brains, feeling that, even if he wasn't able to save them from becoming cyborgs, he could at least prevent them from experiencing the same childhood as he did during Liberia. He received a call from George, and he reminded George that he didn't want to kill, and that war isn't fun and games when explaining why he wouldn't let George tag along.

Shortly after the call, he was ambushed by cybernetic Denver cops under World Marshal's payroll, as they effectively had control over the city. He then received a call from Boris, who angrily demanded an explanation for his resignation. Raiden explained his motives, before having to abruptly end the call due to squad cars blocking his path. Upon reaching a barricade vehicle, he decided to speed up enough to have the RPG blast flip the car over the barricade. The police then surrounded Raiden. Blade Wolf scouted ahead, while he took on the police, wiping them out. He then made his way to the balcony to access the rooftops via an elevator, as the highways were coroned off by the police. He then explained to Boris regarding his actions that he doesn't want more "Jack the Rippers" throughout the world, hence why he has to do what he was doing. He also didn't have to worry about Rosemary and John being targeted by Desperado, as they were in New Zealand. As such, Maverick still supported him, albeit unofficially.

After traversing the rooftops, he then was instructed by Blade Wolf to access an abandoned rail system dating back to the 19th century. However, as it was abandoned, he also had to navigate the UG-infested area while in the dark. Afterwards, he then navigated his way through an abandoned district that was heavily armed with various cyborgs and UGs, including mass-produced versions of Blade Wolf's LQ-84i form, the Fenrirs. He then arrived in the vicinity, where Sam utilized the banners to tell Raiden about how he has killed severals soldiers. He then reminded Raiden that the cyborgs, adults as they may be, had in fact felt forced to participate due to costs to gain cybernetics to even have a livelihood and not beg on the streets, even in America. With that knowledge, Raiden also heard the cyborgs' panicked inner thoughts, which gradually caused him to become emotionally unstable. Blade Wolf then explained to Raiden that people are different. He then revealed that he knew Sam from three prior wars. He later made his way, with his emotional state being volatile, to the immediate premises of World Marshal HQ, but was beaten down just outside of the front door, with Sam and Monsoon greeting him and informing him about it being peoples' natures to kill and be violent. Raiden then released his Jack the Ripper persona, even going as far as to have his pain inhibitors deactivated to fully unleash it. He then killed Monsoon, although he vowed to Kevin after the battle that he won't let anyone else become like him.

Hostile Takeover
Raiden entered the lobby and also heard Sundowner's announcement congratulating Raiden on killing Monsoon and telling him to "go wild." He then wiped out the soldiers guarding the area, after triggering alarms. The Elevators were deactivated because of Raiden's intrusion, although Doktor managed to hack into the elevator systems to ensure Raiden got in. Upon reaching the 20th floor of the lower half of the building (the regular workplace area), he then proceeded to destroy three power supply generators, including a backup supply, to deactivate a security gate for an elevator for the top half of the building where the research and development center was located. He also insisted that he keep his pain inhibitors off as he needed it. He then proceeded to rush through the enemy resistance, eventually jumping across several Sliders and run up a building to reach the top. After making his way through a Japanese Garden-styled room, he then proceeded to take a freight elevator to the top, although he had to fight several Desperado cyborgs and UGs before reaching the top.

Afterwards, he ended up reaching the floor containing the server room, although he had to fight body doubles of both Mistral and Monsoon before confronting Sundowner at the room. He then learned that they were subjecting the children to VR training because the real thing wasn't getting the results they needed, and also learned that there was an event that would happen that would render Raiden's efforts naught even if he saved all the children in three hours that Mach 2 would have him stop it in time, and would have reignited 9-11 style warfare. He then pursued Sundowner to the heliport, and fought against him. He then killed Sundowner after having a Slider crash into his Hammerhead late into the duel. Sundowner then informed him that the event was the beginning of Operation Tecumseh, but elaborated no further. Raiden and Maverick, when discussing it, then deduced that Operation Tecumseh involved ruining the peace talks at Pakistan to ensure another War on Terror. They then deduced from Courtney that they could stop the situation at Mach 23 speeds, which would take half an hour to get there, with Raiden requesting that they contact Solis Space & Aeronautics.

Escape from Denver
Raiden then boarded the helicopter with Doktor as the pilot, having procured the brain canisters in the transport chopper. However, before they could get out of Denver airspace, they were ambushed by a pair of MQ-320s. The transport chopper had limited defenses, including an EMP generator that could deflect missiles, but not the drones themselves. Raiden then proceeded to jump out to hijack a drone so he could defend the chopper. After hijacking the drone by impaling his sword in its brain, he told Doktor to turn the chopper around (as it was being tailed by the other drone), which he then did, with Raiden then proceeding to cut down the other drone just as it was passing by him via his sword. However, the close proximity to the second drone also caused it to be damaged as well. Raiden then jumped to board the chopper, but the railing broke from the weight of his body. Raiden then fell into the cityscape. Doktor was forced to leave him due to cyborgs shooting anti-air rockets at the chopper, but he honored Raiden's sacrifice.

In actuality, Raiden survived the fall, although he had to fight through several cyborgs. Doktor, having learned of Raiden's survival, then contacted Raiden after Raiden took care of some cyborgs. Because the portion of Denver that World Marshal was at was evacuated, there were a lot of abandoned cars, so Raiden was going to borrow a vehicle. He also told Doktor to worry about delivering the brains, and also vowed that he'll keep his distance from what remained of World Marshal while heading to the Solis launch pad, which was fortunately also in Colorado. Blade Wolf later stated that it will depart with Raiden for Pakistan after finding a way off the chopper. After Raiden cleared the final barricade, Raiden proceeded to take a motorcycle that caught his eye (coincidentally, the same one that Sam rode into Denver two years earlier), although not before leaving a "note" etched into the ground stating that he needed to borrow the vehicle to its owner.

Duel at the Badlands
Making his way to Solis via motorcycle, he re-encountered Sam. Afterwards, Raiden and Sam decided to have a duel to the death, largely to see whose view will be remembered in history. After an intense duel, Raiden managed to kill Sam by impaling him through the chest. He also realized that Sam barely possessed cybernetics. He also supplied Blade Wolf with Sam's sword, at the unmanned gear's request. Boris then reminded him that he had less than an hour to get to Solis. Raiden and Blade Wolf then proceeded to leave for Solis.

Operation Tecumseh
Upon arrival at Solis, Raiden and Blade Wolf met up with the check-in guard for their appointment with Sunny. However, Raiden, in the process of getting into Solis, accidentially broke the electronically locked gate, thinking it was open. After a brief exchange, Sunny then showed them the device she built. Raiden and Blade Wolf boarded, thanking Sunny. Because of the limited time, they had to undergo ignition without a countdown. Less than half an hour later, Raiden arrived at close proximity to the Shabhazabad Air Base. After verifying with Kevin that it was the location of Operation Tecumseh, he proceeded to raid it. Sunny later informed Raiden about the gate, and informed him that she'd send an invoice requiring Raiden to pay for the repair and reinforcement costs, causing Raiden to lament that Rose would most likely "kill" him for the expenses.

After wiping out the security at the base, he and Courtney discovered that World Marshal's XIFF ID came up as "unaffiliated;" the same XIFF ID that Desperado had during the African ambush. Deducing that World Marshal intended to frame Desperado with the attack on the President, Raiden decided to destroy the control tower, hoping to cause enough damage to get the United States military to realize something was wrong.

However, by the time he got to the control tower's vicinity, he discovered Blade Wolf's prone body. Suspecting that an ambush awaited him, he carefully scanned for any potential enemies nearby, although the ground gave way underneath him. Jumping back to stable ground, he saw that the cause of the pit was a new Metal Gear called EXCELSUS. Senator Armstrong then stepped out of the cockpit and explained his motives regarding the fall of SOP and the ruin of the American economy. In addition, he also learned from both Boris and Armstrong himself that he currently didn't plan on assasssinating the President. Instead, Armstrong had framed the jihadi rebels for attacking the base itself via Desperado and had the President rerouted back to America. As Raiden was one of the few people who could expose the truth, Armstrong decided to kill Raiden with EXCELSUS. Raiden managed to defeat EXCELSUS by cutting off its front legs, throwing it onto stable ground, engaging it in battle with one of its blade arms, chopping up its head, and then impaling it with its own sword.

Afterwards, he had a fistfight with Armstrong, who had used EXCELSUS' wires to activate his nanomachines. Armstrong's nanomachines gave him the upper hand and he easily snapped Raiden's HF Sword in half with his bare hands. As Raiden was on the verge of defeat, Armstrong continued to elaborate on his full motives. Armstrong believed that America had rotted to the core, so he intended to remake America so the citizens will all fight, die, and kill for whatever they individualy believed in. He also expressed the sentiment that the weak needed purging. This prompted Raiden to stand back up and call Armstrong insane. Despite the best of his abilities, he was unable to defeat Armstrong, let alone do sufficient damage. However, Blade Wolf had gotten back up, and after playing back a message Sam recorded before his death, supplied Raiden with Sam's sword. Raiden then reengaged Armstrong, gradually overpowering him. Eventually Raiden plunged his arm into Armstrong and ripped out his nanite-altered heart, crushing it. Though he was considered by the public to be a person who hurt a lot of people, Sunny still viewed Raiden as a hero.



Afterwards, Raiden decided against rejoining Maverick, having resolved to fight his own war, albeit against more cyborg mercenaries contracted out to kill him. He also had his face restored to a more human looking face, complete with a new cybernetic eye to replace his left eye.

Names
The word "Raiden" (雷電) literally means "thunder and lightning" or "thunder god" in Japanese. He shares this codename with the Mitsubishi J2M Raiden, an Imperial Japanese WWII fighter aircraft, which the Allied forces codenamed "Jack." The Patriots had named him after the plane and later informed Raiden that, like his namesake, he was nothing more than a weapon, a tool to be discarded once its usefulness has been outlived.

One of Raiden's nicknames, Jack the Ripper, is a pseudonym for an unidentified serial killer in 1888 who was active in the largely impoverished districts in and around Whitechapel, London. In this case, it was a reference to his skill and cruelty with a blade, a trait that was ingrained into him by Solidus. Just prior to their final battle, Armstrong also called Raiden "Saucy Jack," which was the penname used by the 1888 Jack the Ripper to London police at Scotland Yard after committing his second murder onwards. Another nickname of his was the White Devil, which was derived from a slur towards Caucasians that originated in China. The nickname's usage in this case was a reference to Caucasians (Raiden's ethnicity) being unusual in Liberia at the time of the Civil War.

Personality and traits
Due to his participation in the Liberian Civil War, Raiden was one of the few Force XXI VR subjects to possess actual combat experience. Also, because of his past as a child soldier, as well as his possessing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as a result, he also occasionally pushed away even people he cared about due to his being "afraid of the night." Because of this, he was outwardly cold and distant even to people whom he personally knew, such as his then-girlfriend Rosemary. It was largely because of this cold nature, as well as his pushing people he knew away that resulted in Rosemary initially fearing that he was unfaithful to her. When he first infiltrated the Big Shell, Raiden appeared to be a young and "inexperienced" agent of a "reformed" FOXHOUND unit, occasionally prone to emotional outbursts. Throughout his mission, however, being that the memories of his past began to slowly resurface, he also began to suspect that he enjoyed killing, and reluctantly informed Rosemary as much. When the memories of his time as a child soldier began to resurface, he gained somewhat of a low opinion of himself, especially in comparison to Solid Snake's accomplishments. He also held some hero worship for Solid Snake, as part of the reason for his agreeing to partake in the Big Shell Incident to take down the terrorist leader was so he'd meet the legend face-to-face, and was initially disappointed when it seemed Snake had truly died in the Tanker Incident. Although he immensely respected Solid Snake, there were instances where it had its rough spots during the Big Shell Incident, such as when he learned that Snake and Otacon lied to him about whether they knew about the Big Shell being a great big conspiracy, as well as a remark Snake made that got him angered enough to make explosive insults about Snake, not realizing that he was in earshot, and when Snake "betrayed" Raiden at Arsenal Gear to lessen security onboard without warning him beforehand. Prior to finding out that Pliskin was in fact Snake, he also held some respect for Pliskin in terms of mentorship and camaraderie. Nonetheless, he did end up suspicious when Rosemary seemed to be praiseworthy of Pliskin.

Raiden used to smoke cigarettes at one point in his life, but had quit by the time of the Big Shell Incident. He also possessed barcode tattoos all over his body.



Raiden shared some similarities with his Cyborg Ninja predecessor, Gray Fox: both had been child soldiers who were given nicknames (and to a lesser extent, formal names) due to their brutality, they both ended up being taken from a rehab center by a group that was implied to have connections to the current organization in power (in Gray Fox's case, the CIA and the Philosophers, in Raiden's case, an NGO group and the Patriots) before being experimented in a way that was implied to also have resulted in suppressed memories, they both underwent cybernetic experimentation by the Patriots and used technologically advanced blades, and they both saved Solid Snake from a Metal Gear (Fox with Metal Gear REX, and Raiden with Outer Haven). Raiden was also similar to Gray Fox's adopted sister, Naomi, in that he was adopted by the same person who murdered his parents. Raiden was also similar to Kazuhira Miller, in that he bore unusual features regarding his country of origin. Raiden was the only known Cyborg Ninja to have survived, and also the only one who hadn't fought Solid Snake.

Raiden was skilled at cleaning up messes, as he mentioned to the Colonel regarding not leaving stuff lying around at Strut C during the Big Shell Incident. He implied that he gained the skill at cleaning up from having to clean up various messes that Rosemary left at her apartment.

Raiden had some knowledge of pop culture, as his meeting with Rose occurred from an argument relating to the building the titular monster climbed in the film King Kong (Rose claimed it was the Chrystler Building which Raiden pointed out was in Godzilla), and was at least familiar with the film Escape from New York, as he deduced the partial origin of Solid Snake's alias, Iroquois Pliskin, from that film. At one point in 2018, he told fellow Maverick member Courtney Collins that he was a huge movie buff, when she reacted with surprise that Raiden actually watched samurai films. He also read the French novel  L'Étranger.

He also knew Spanish, as evidenced by his telling two Mexican pedestrians who spotted him "Adios, amigos!" (Spanish for "Goodbye, friends!"). In a Codec conversation with Courtney, he told her that he learned Spanish while training with FOXHOUND. However, his skills at Russian were less than stellar. He also seemed to understand at least some French, as he understood Mistral's last words.

Raiden's main characteristic was his long white-blond hair. Because of the length of the hair, Emma once speculated that the hair was actually a wig and that it was a badly done wig. Raiden, having overheard that comment with a directional microphone, called her via Codec to set her straight that his hair is actually real and not a wig. Similarly, his appearance also led him to being mistaken for a woman, as evidenced by James Johnson mistaking him for a female Patriot assassin before realizing his mistake by grabbing his crotch and then reacting with slight surprise that Raiden was male. As a child, this characteristic, alongside his Caucasian appearance, had him stand apart from other Liberians, whom at that time were largely African in ethnicity.

By the time of Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection, Raiden had changed considerably; the trauma of his break-up with Rose and the "miscarriage" of their unborn son, combined with rigorous training and his torture at the hands of the Patriots, changed Raiden from an inexperienced rookie to a cold and virtually emotionless soldier, who seemingly doesn't care about his own life; for instance, in his fight with Vamp in South America, he freely admitted to Vamp that he didn't fear death. Raiden's only real display of emotion occurred after the death of Big Mama; Snake told Raiden that he (Snake) has no future, while Raiden has a family; at this, Raiden grabbed Snake, shouting that he too has nothing, before collapsing, seizing Snake by the leg, and begging him not to leave him alone. Nonetheless, due to his past experiences with Snake, he was completely loyal to the legendary soldier and citing his personal views about Snake. Upon discovering the truth about Rose's "marriage" to Campbell, Raiden seemed to regain some of his old self. In addition, in large part because of his experiences during the Big Shell Incident as a test subject for the S3 Plan, as well as Snake's advice in the aftermath of the S3 Plan, he also aimed to follow through with Snake's vision of people living their own lives, also believing that doing so will fully free him from being a pawn to the Patriots' proxies.

By the time of his Maverick activities between 2014 and 2018, his original style at Maverick was styled after issatsu tasho, killing one so others may live. As a direct result of the disastrous events in Africa, Raiden had become somewhat bloodthirsty, yet harboring a strong desire for justice. He also became somewhat cocky as well, as evidenced by, after kicking an enemy soldier into a parked black car hard enough to almost flip over the car as well as set off the car alarm, his remarking that it was "too easy" before promptly cutting up the enemy soldier. Because of his first cyborg ninja conversion, he also bore several scars near his mouth, giving his mouth an appearance similar to that of a Glasgow grin both in his human cyborg form and in his second cyborg ninja body. Because of portions of Raiden's reconstructive surgery also included the implementation of an optical implant in Raiden's right eye, his normally blue eye occasionally glowed red. Because of his earlier failure to protect the African Prime Minister, and Desperado's involvement, he also had an extremely cold outlook regarding the cyborg members of Desperado, claiming that they were nothing more than "walking vending machines" (referring to his capability of yanking specific electrolyte body parts to recharge his cyborg body after cutting them up). He even compared himself to the reaper when mentioning that they chose death when taking the job. His outlook was significantly uncaring to the extent that even his fellow Maverick PMC members were deeply disturbed by his behavior. He also had a dry sense of humor and was somewhat sarcastic during this time as well, as he responded to Boris when he asked how it felt to be flying like a bird (referring to his being carried over by the MQ-133C flying wing to Abkhazia) that it felt like "a bird strapped to a rocket."

After becoming a Cyborg Ninja, his overall strength, speed, agility, and endurance had increased to superhuman levels, allowing him to swing two Gekko with little effort by the wires and was even able to temporarily block Outer Haven. His cyborg body appears to conduct electricity or he seems to be highly resistant to it as when he is separated from his H.F Blade the lightning seems to stop. During the attack on Outer Haven, he also appeared amidst several lightning strikes that killed several FROGS. Raiden's cyborg body during this time appears to be pressurised in some manner, as shown during the two occasions in which he fights Vamp, when knives are propelled out of his torso, as well as when he disengages his visor. The exoskeleton can also bulk up to enhance the strength and speed of Raiden, similar to Solidus Snake's exoskeleton. During 2018, he often released discharges of electricity while moving.

In addition, while adopting the Cyborg Ninja outfit, he was strong enough to not only parry a modified Metal Gear RAY umanned unit's blade, but also to lift it up by the blade and throw the RAY a great distance, as well as agile enough to springboard across several HEMP missiles towards the RAY unit, as well as jump up to the RAY unit's blade after throwing it a great distance in a small period of time. He later pulled a similar feat with the much larger Metal Gear EXCELSUS. In both Cyborg Ninja bodies, he also had elevated pieces on his feet, near his heel portion. These act as grips for his HF blade, in the event that he attempted to use a breakdance-like maneuver to cut up enemies. His abilities were likewise improved after his second cyborgification, to the extent that he joked that he "wouldn't even need both eyes" to take down any of Desperados cyborgs if ambushed. Raiden was also capable of surviving falls large enough to kill any ordinary person, as evidenced by his falling down into the cityscape of Denver, although Boris implied that this was largely due to luck. His strength was also enough for him to effortlessly pry open a gate with his bare hands. His strength, although greatly benefitting him, can also get him into big trouble, a notable instance of this was when he arrived at Solis, where he accidentially (and unknowingly) wrecked the front gate's electronic lock. When Sunny confronted Raiden about this via Codec, Raiden mentioned he thought the gate was simply unlocked for him. This conversation ends with Sunny landing him with an invoice requiring him to fully pay off the restructuring and repair costs.

By the time of 2018, he became an adherent of the katsujinken ("sword that gives life") and issatsu tasho ("one life to save a thousand") philosophies originating in Japanese Buddhism, which justify the taking of lives in order to protect society, preserve justice, and defend the weak. His desire to protect the weak at all costs, even if it meant taking lives to ensure the weak were protected, stemmed from his past as a child soldier in Liberia, and not wanting anyone else to experience the kind of childhood he had. He was also willing to break the law if he knew it is morally right, as evidenced by his decision and motives to conduct a corporate raid on World Marshal's headquarters in Denver, Colorado.

Because of his experiences with the Patriots' AIs, he also wasn't initially trusting of sentient neuro-optical AI weapons like Blade Wolf, with Raiden being bemused that Blade Wolf, then the LQ-84i, in his dying sentiments, could conceive of, much less desire, freedom, as well as calling out Blade Wolf for claiming that AIs never lie by claiming that the Patriots AIs did just that. However, throughout his partnership with Wolf, he began to trust him, even telling him that he was free to pursue his own destiny.

Raiden also held some distrust for politicians, feeling that they "[gave] big promises, but [were] all talk," only sought to line their pockets with capital and maintain their approval ratings/votes, and overall had little, if any principles. This belief was made explicit during his fight with Steven Armstrong, when accusing him of only using Operation Tecumseh to get himself elected for little reason, like the rest of the politicians, and even called him "another maggot crawling in the pile" if America had indeed "gone to shit."

Raiden also displayed signs of mental and emotional instability and a dissociative identity around the time he started his missions involving Desperado. During the fight with Sam in Colorado, he ends up losing control of his inner nature and his suppressed "Jack the Ripper" persona, resulting in their respective moral alignments becoming blurred. He began viewing himself as being "part of the 2%" of people who take joy in murdering enemies upon making their first kill in the battlefield. Indeed, while under this persona, he frequently breaks out into manic laughter when killing his enemies; he also emits a crimson aura, and keeps the blood of his enemies on his sword. He also speculated that, in addition to his training under Solidus Snake, he may have had this maniacal relish for killing in his very blood.

Raiden wasn't much of a sports fan, although he had admitted that the closest he'd came to actually liking a sport was basketball.

Powers and abilities

 * Due to his harsh childhood, training from Solidus and the Army's virtual training, his mental state and capacity were well suited to combat operations behind enemy lines. He was calm under pressure, adaptive, and somewhat critical. This training and conditioning also put penalties on some of his social capabilities and mental stability. He was adept with a variety of weapons, from small arms to surface-to-air missiles. His training with Solidus suggested some emphasis in melee combat, and particularly in bladed weapons, as demonstrated by his defeat of Solidus in a sword fight during the Big Shell Incident. Raiden also showed great endurance and perseverance, as evidenced by his taking down multiple RAYs aboard Arsenal Gear, before becoming too exhausted to continue fighting.


 * After becoming a cyborg, Raiden possessed incredible superhuman strength, speed, and endurance. His strength enabled him to lift a tremendous amount of weight, evidently ranging to several thousand tons. Prime examples include swinging Gekko around in a circle by his legs, momentarily stopping Outer Haven, an Arsenal Gear class submarine with his body, lifting and throwing Metal Gear RAY and EXCELSUS with some effort. With EXCELSUS, Raiden was also capable of ripping off one of its blades and effectively uses it as a weapon of his own to not only overpower the much larger Metal Gear, but to also take it out of commission. He also was skilled at being attuned with nature, also known as scouting, which he gave Solid Snake pointers in it when contacting him about in South America.


 * Raiden's superhuman speed enabled him to run extremely fast for great distances. Raiden was also capable of running fast enough to scale walls without falling.


 * Raiden's superhuman durability makes him virtually indestructible due to the parts of his body made entirely out of steel and artificial muscle fibers. Because of his durability, Raiden, at times, had to resort to self mutilation in order to get his missions done, such as stabbing himself with his own blade to subdue Vamp and slicing his own arm off to free himself from fallen debris so he could save Snake. In addition, his durability was such that he claimed that he was immune to the effects of microwave emitters. His first cyborg body's durability was relatively low as it was lacking armor and was obsolete with limited battlefield potential in 2018. With his second cyborg body his durability increased tremendously as demonstrated in Denver, Colorado after raiding World Marshal HQ. While escaping with Doktor, he fell off the cargo helicopter and survived largely intact, while leaving a large crater.


 * Because of his status as a cyborg, his left arm also was directly connected to his cranial nerves. Because of this, removing it caused serious and unpleasant side effects of undergoing temporary memory loss as well as intense flashbacks to his time as a child soldier in Liberia, due to his hippocampus being stimulated, a side effect of the left arm's holographic storage data being connected to cranial nerves to record everything around him and his senses.


 * In his second cyborg body, he could sometimes generate electricity in his arms and focus them into punches, as evidenced by his fight against Armstrong.


 * His eye after his upgrade in 2018 occassionally turned crimson when being deployed or when about to undergo a deadly maneuver, a side effect of his eye being modified with an optical implant. He did possess optical implants to a slightly lesser degree prior to the upgrade, which displayed things in a HUD.


 * It is unknown if Raiden was still able to swim after becoming an cyborg, as it was implied that he would have drowned if he attempted to do so due to his immense weight.

Unconfirmed history
During his childhood in Liberia, Jack, on his tenth birthday, was ordered by Solidus Snake to decapitate ten captured Liberian terrorists responsible for killing Americans (each one representing a year in his life at the time) as the latter's "birthday present" for the former.

At some point between his meeting with Rose and his participation in the Big Shell Incident, Rose had informed Raiden that he physically resembled the British singer/actor David Bowie from the latter's youth due to his androgynous features.

Raiden's surgery following the events of Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection, where he was reunited with Rose and first met Little John, took place in a hospital in Maryland.

Behind the scenes
Of the main protagonists throughout the series (Solid Snake, Naked Snake/Big Boss, and Raiden), Raiden is the only one who was capable of reproducing, at least in his debut appearance, and the only one to father a child through natural means. In addition, Raiden is the only protagonist to not lose a lover permanently, whereas Solid Snake lost Meryl Silverburgh after he decided not to avoid pursue a relationship with her and Big Boss lost EVA after she gave her life to protect Solid Snake. Raiden is also the only known living playable protagonist of the series, as Big Boss is deceased and Solid Snake's fate is left ambiguous.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Raiden (雷電) appears as the main protagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Konami kept his starring role a secret right up until the game's release in North America, even going so far as to have his Japanese voice actor swear to secrecy about the role his character would play until the game's release and replacing Raiden with Snake in teaser trailers and other preview materials (although he did appear in a few trailers, in his scuba gear, his presence was not as emphasized as the other characters). Hideo Kojima personally requested the development of Raiden as a means to develop Snake from a third-person perspective. In the original script, Raiden's voice was also to have been replaced by Snake's prior to his unmasking, should the Plant Chapter have been played through first. The presence of Raiden in the game was announced to the Japanese press on the same day as the game's release in North America. Early concepts for Raiden originally depicted him with dark hair, whereas Rose would have been depicted as a blonde, although the hair colors were switched around by the final version. The script included in The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 indicated that Raiden's hair color was changed prior to the script's finalization, while Rose retained the original blonde hair by the time the script was finalized. Although his having dark hair was cut as his standard design, it was retained somewhat with the Infinity Wig unlockable item, which was depicted as a brown wig. In addition, "Raiden" was initially supposed to be his real name, with his full name being "Raiden Brannigan," during development.

In addition, the very first concept for Raiden designed by Yoji Shinkawa was similar to the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man, crawling across walls, and was significantly deranged in personality, even licking bird poop. However, this ended up being rejected by Kojima,  although a similar design would be used for the character The Fear. Another concept for him was his being a cyborg, which would have been revealed late into the game with a triangular chest plate when he was captured on Arsenal Gear.



According to Shinkawa in the featurette The Making of Metal Gear Solid 2, the primary reason why Raiden is designed as a bishonen (a "pretty boy") is because a fan letter stated that the addresser in question did not want to "play a story with an old man." Kojima also mentions similar reasons in the documentary Metal Gear Saga Vol. 1.

The twist that Raiden was not Snake was admitted by Kojima to have been inspired by the plot twist of Terminator 2: Judgment Day where the titular character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger was not a villain in that movie.

Raiden's real name Jack (ジャック) is based on one of the main characters from the movie Titanic, along with his girlfriend Rose. Like Solidus and Fortune, Raiden's other name is also that of a playing card - King, Queen, and Jack, respectively.

Depending on whether the player trains to swim in the Deep Sea Dock or not, Raiden's response to the Colonel when given the order to swim through the flooded Shell 2 Core will be different. If the player failed to do so, he will mention that underwater operations wasn't covered in VR training.

In the original gameplan of Metal Gear Solid 2, Raiden was to have had false memories of his father, in which he was apparently killed in a hunting accident. Raiden's "father" would also have resembled Solidus.

In the novelization, Fortune's reference to Raiden's time as a child soldier in Liberia was further emphasized, where Raiden thought to himself "Fires of hell. Could she mean Liberia? The civil war? How could she know about that?"

For most of the game's development, Raiden’s name was written in katakana as ライデン or literally "Raiden." After 9/11, Raiden's name began to be written in kanji as 雷電. "Since the story resembled 911 closely, and some people said ‘Raiden’ reminds them of ‘Bin Laden.’"

- Hideo Kojima

The name was altered because in Japanese, “Laden” is written as ラーディン, and thus sounded too similar to the name "Osama bin Ladin," the then leader of the terrorist group al-Qaeda, partially due to the plot heavily resembling the events of 9/11.

Raiden's naked CG character model (used during the initial infiltration of Arsenal Gear) actually possesses no genitalia. It can be assumed that the developers chose not to model the character in such detail given that the player would not notice this feature under normal circumstances. As such, the model is not intended to fully represent Raiden's physical characteristics, as supported by lines of dialogue from various soldiers, in regards to the presence and size of his genitalia. However, performing certain actions will allow the player to briefly glimpse this choice of design.

In the Metal Gear Solid 2 novelization, the narration mentioned that Rose had once compared Raiden's androgynous looks to that of a young David Bowie,  referring to the British singer and actor whose distinctive appearance was his androgynous features, responsible for songs such as "Space Oddity" and "Diamond Dogs", and was also noted as the actor who portrayed the Goblin King Jareth in the film Labyrinth. The Metal Gear series had previously referenced works of Bowie. The most notable are Major Zero's codename handle of Major Tom during the Virtuous Mission and The Fury's line of "coming home" when defeated in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, as well as the group Diamond Dogs in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Originally, it was planned that Raiden's privates would have been exposed during combat against soldiers on Arsenal Gear after escaping the Torture Chamber, but before meeting Solid Snake, depending on how the player did. It would have resulted in an instant game over. However, this concept ended up being cut in the final version.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance
In VR training, he is featured as three separate characters:

RAIDEN - This is Raiden in his normal attire.

RAIDEN  - This Raiden, taking upon the appearance of Gray Fox, is armed with the H.F Blade. It's interesting to note that whilst playing as this character, Raiden shares the same face as Frank Jaeger in Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. Also when the player equips the night vision goggles or thermal goggles, the visor is shut taking on the full appearance.

RAIDEN X - Naked Raiden as he appeared initially on board Arsenal Gear before re-obtaining his gear from Snake. Whilst playing as this character, Raiden's actions are limited.

In one of the Alternative Missions, Raiden's dead body must be examined in order to identify and photograph his killer from a selection of characters in the torture facility of Arsenal Gear. The deceased Raiden is clutching his groin, indicating that the killer is President Johnson, referencing the latter's actions in the main Sons of Liberty storyline.

Although Raiden himself is not actually playable in Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance 's Snake Tales stories, he is briefly alluded to indirectly in one of the stories, External Gazer. After locating Solidus within the gap between parallel universes and learning of Solidus's plan to ensure that he and his alternate selves survive their fated defeats via interfering with the Koppelthorn Engine, he uses his abilities via the Koppelthorne Engine to seal Solid Snake into the body of a "young, blond man" and experience various surreal realities (alluding to Raiden as well as acting as a subtle nod towards Raiden replacing Snake as the main protagonist in the main story).

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 3 makes use of Raiden's character as well as his appearance. Selecting the option "I like MGS2!" before starting a new game, triggers a change in the opening, in which Naked Snake (also named Jack) wears a mask that looks identical to Raiden's face, to conceal his identity from the gunship crew (although it is implied in-story to be based on the likeness of GRU major Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov). The mask was created primarily as an excuse to allow people who liked Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2 to technically play as him, owing to his popularity in Japan. Additionally, the oxygen mask that Snake wears during the HALO jump bears an intentional resemblance to the diving mask that Raiden wears in the opening of Metal Gear Solid 2. Likewise, the reasons for his creation, as well as the fan controversy that ensued, were also given subtle references in the game via two radio conversations, both involving the character Major Zero. The first conversation, gained when calling Zero while wearing the mask during the Virtuous Mission, will have Zero comment that he, "for some reason, doesn't like it," in response to Naked Snake's reason that wearing the mask seemed "nostalgic." The second conversation, unlocked after completing the Raikov disguise, has Major Zero commenting that the disguise "is irritating [Zero] already." to which Snake retorts that the disguise "should make [Naked Snake] more popular." Another trait of Raiden was also incorporated into Snake as well (having the same name).

Later in the game, Major Raikov, (who bears an intentional resemblance to Raiden) must be neutralized and his uniform stolen in order to infiltrate the west wing of Groznyj Grad. "Ivan," the first name of Raikov, is the Russian equivalent of "John," for which "Jack" is often used as a nickname in English. Raiden himself makes a cameo appearance as a poster in the locker that Naked Snake places Raikov inside upon stripping him of his uniform, as a subtle reference to their similar physical appearances. Some of Raikov's interrogation quotes are also direct references to things Raiden said at various points in Metal Gear Solid 2.

The rejected early design for Raiden was also reused for the Cobra Unit member, The Fear.

In the Metal Gear Solid 4 Directors trailer, Raiden makes a parody appearance along with Snake, who is dressed to look like Sam Fisher, the main character in Splinter Cell. The trailer depicts them fighting over who will be the main character of Metal Gear Solid 4. Snake wins the fight easily due to Raiden having terrible CQC skills, sitting in the "Main Character" chair, signalling a chime. But just as Snake leaves and before the credits roll, Raiden is seen eyeing up the chair, and as the screen fades to black, the same chime is heard. However, Raiden is not a playable character in Metal Gear Solid 4.

Raiden has a major role in one of the Secret Theater shorts made by Kojima Productions for their website, and included in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. Entitled Metal Gear Raiden: Snake Eraser, Raiden (voiced by Charlie Schlatter, who voiced Raikov in the main game), motivated by Rose's comment about changing the future, attempts to "erase" Solid Snake by traveling back in time in a Terminator-like fashion and attempting to assassinate Naked Snake, all ending in humorous failure. One of his failures also had him encountering Colonel Volgin in the prison, referring to his similar appearance to Raikov. After deciding not to kill Naked Snake, he went back to the events of the Zanzibar Land Disturbance (complete with MSX2 graphics) to kill Solid Snake himself, ending in similar failure, where, ironically, he is stopped by his original target, Big Boss. In the ending, he accepts that he can't change the past, although he does hope to get a starring role in another Metal Gear game (which he does). Besides Metal Gear Raiden and the Director's trailer, he also has a brief cameo near the end of the film Payback, where he ends up being run over by the Shagohod. According to Kojima, he and the other Metal Gear staff personally liked Raiden, but they effectively made him the "clown" of the Secret Theater films largely because they realize most of the fans outside Japan did not like him.

Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
Raiden does not appear in the main story, but he is briefly referenced by his real name, Jack, in the special ending after the player managed to complete 40 VR missions, where he was apparently being trained with various VR missions relating to Solid Snake's exploits in the Galuade Incident, presumably to make Raiden more powerful than Snake was during Galuade's fall. Because Ghost Babel was developed and released prior to Metal Gear Solid 2, this technically was Raiden's first appearance in the series.

Metal Gear Solid Mobile
After completing Metal Gear Solid Mobile, revealed to be a VR mission, Solid Snake is declared a failed test subject and has his memories erased, and a pair of mysterious voices discuss a second test subject, "Jack", wondering if he can do better. After completing all the Special Mission stages in the previously released Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, a mysterious person named No. 4 makes a cryptic reference to the unknown participant taking part in the VR missions, referring to the participant as "Jack."

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus
In Portable Ops Plus, Raiden becomes playable in Infinity Mission mode after beating the game on Hard mode.

In the game, Raiden appears as he does in Metal Gear Solid 2, although his appearance was also directly based on his appearance in Metal Gear Raiden: Snake Eraser. He is not able to use his acrobatic kick from Metal Gear Solid 2, due to most of the character models (exempting Cunningham) reusing Naked Snake's unarmed combat stances, and instead is able only to ram at opponents like any other soldier, and like the Arsenal Tengu, he is equipped with a blade so he only has three free item slots, but an advantage in comparison to the Tengu ops is that Raiden perform unending combos with his blade which gives him the chance not to get discovered while slashing enemies. His use of a sword is also referenced by Roy Campbell upon Raiden's recruitment, stating that a new soldier joined who wields a katana. Added to this is that Raiden, unlike Naked Snake or Old Snake, has the Athlete ability which makes him run faster than regular soldiers. He shares this career with his look-alike, Raikov. However, on the downside, he possesses less stamina and health points which makes him vulnerable when he is surrounded by enemies. Overall, he possesses similar stats to Old Snake and Naked Snake.

In stark contrast to Raiden's lack of CQC skills in the 2005 Director's Trailer for MGS4 included on Subsistence, he is shown in this game to have an S2 rank in CQC, the highest rank.

"A member of FOXHOUND, with extensive VR mission training. Received code name "Raiden" while infiltrating the Big Shell, an ocean cleanup facility occupied by terrorists. Raised as a soldier from childhood, and haunted by memories of his past, his real name is Jack."

- Official description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Raiden was confirmed to make a reappearance in Metal Gear Solid 4 during its development. In an interview with 1UP, called Saving Private Raiden, Kojima elaborated that he's not a playable character, and also stated that it was the actual Raiden and not someone who looks like Raiden. In addition, he also assured them that when the player play the game, they'll like Raiden a lot more than in Metal Gear Solid 2.

Raiden's never-used sidearm in Metal Gear Solid 4 is the classic Mk23. It is visible on the Medicom Action Figure based on the designs by Yoji Shinkawa, and usable when playing as Raiden in Metal Gear Online.

Raiden's line to Vamp when questioned about his "immortality," "I Just Don't Fear Death!", was also the name of a trophy achievement in the trophy patch for the game, unlocked when the player uses the corpse camo to cause an alert.

Raiden was mentioned to have gained information from GW relating to Big Boss's location, which explained how the Paradise Lost Army managed to locate and steal his body. Whether his possessing the information had anything to do with his cerebral network of nanomachines acting as a backup system for GW or not was never explained.

Concept artwork for Liquid Ocelot included sketches where Ocelot was ambushed by a mysterious figure, and the figure manages to cut Ocelot's right forearm off, à la Metal Gear Solid. The figure's sihlouette and the figure brandishing a sword implied that the figure was Raiden. Similarly, some concept artworks for Raiden himself also had him wearing an outfit superficially resembling his Skull Suit with a facemask covering all but his upper face, as well as his carrying a then-infantile Sunny. There were also concept artworks showing him carrying a vat, presumably containing white blood, as well as concept art of his arm exploding and his mangled body as a result of being crushed by Arsenal Gear, and an alternate take on his saving Snake from the Haven Troopers in Act 5 where he was shown lots of cybernetic guts coming out and an exposed human spine instead of simply wearing the duster in the final version.

In The Making of MGS4, Raiden's Japanese voice actor, Kenyu Horiuchi, expressed sympathy for Raiden's pain in Metal Gear Solid 4, and commented that despite his becoming a cyborg, he still retained largely human traits.

Metal Gear Online
Raiden was a special character downloadable from the SCENE expansion pack along with Vamp.

Raiden the White-blooded Scout, could fall from any height without damage and jump on ledges that would normally require a boost, and had no nanomachines. He handled a High Frequency Blade, operable in lethal and non-lethal mode, which allowed him to deflect frontal attacks. His other unique weapons are the Mk.23 pistol and the Throwing Knife. When his Visor was closed, he could see all traps in the map. Instead of the usual CQC three-hit combo, he instead started a spin kick which continued as long as the user kept tapping R1. When pressing the jump back button, Raiden did backwards handstands instead of jumping backwards (Raiden could get shot during these back handstands). He was also equipped with CQC 2 and a throat-slitting ability, along with a running ability higher than Runner 3. The only downside wass that, as he did not possess nanomachines at all, he was incapable of performing an SOP link. If tranquilized, he'd sometimes say "Rose..."

When playing as Raiden, he did a pose similar to that of Gray Fox in concept art for Metal Gear Solid. This could be seen after taking a large fall. He did a similar pose in Metal Gear Solid 4 itself during Act 2, shortly after defeating several Gekko.

Despite being a cyborg, Raiden could end up drowning.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
"A unique cyborg frame, upgraded to aid Raiden in his fight against Sam and Desperado. Equipped with Blade Mode and able to absorb fuel-cell electrolytes from any high-frequency blade, it unfortunately lacks any kind of self-repair unit, meaning Raiden must manually extract repair material from his foes to recover from damage."

- Custom Cyborg Body description in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is the second game in which Raiden is the primary player character, although this time the player takes control of Raiden in his Cyborg Ninja appearance. According to Kojima, he planned for the story to be about Gray Fox, although he allowed his staff to use Raiden instead. Kojima also admitted that he would have taken on a directing role instead of a producing role if Fox was the main character. The story for the game, when it was titled Metal Gear Solid: Rising, was originally going to cover the events that occur between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4, and would have focused on how Raiden became the character he is during Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection. However, at some point, the story was moved to taking place years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4. The decision to move the time period was met with a large degree of controversy, as several fans felt that it cheapened the ending of Metal Gear Solid 4, in particular Raiden's final scene. A podcast, however, addressed this issue and stated that the game would explain why Raiden is back on the battlefield despite the implications of Metal Gear Solid 4 's ending.

Raiden's Japanese voice actor during this game was originally planned to be Toshiyuki Morikawa instead of his regular voice actor, Kenyu Horiuchi. However, they eventually got the latter to reprise his role when Metal Gear Solid: Rising was revamped into Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Similarly, Quinton Flynn, around the same time, mentioned that he wasn't approached to reprise his role in Metal Gear Solid: Rising, implying that Raiden would have a different voice actor in the English version as well, although Flynn eventually reprised the role when the game was revamped into Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

The game employs a more action-based style of gameplay based around a concept called "zan-datsu" ("cut and take"), although stealth elements of the previous games are still present. The gameplay strives to allow the player to replicate the same kind of feats that Raiden performed in Metal Gear Solid 4.

The original render of Raiden from the game's reveal at E3 2009 showed him with a brown eye and a pale complexion. The eye color was rectified in a promotional render released several months later via the online game Metal Gear Solid: Piece Walker. While Raiden's hair was loose in Metal Gear Solid 4, in Rising it is swept back.

Although Raiden's involvement in the Liberian Civil War was stated as early as his first appearance in Metal Gear Solid 2, it wasn't until Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance that it was explicitly stated that Liberia was his birthplace.

In the artwork for Rising and Revengeance, Raiden had a navy-blue bandage over his left eye as a makeshift eyepatch. A teaser image of a medical report on the Revengeance site implies that he got retinal damage from injuries that resulted in several lacerations and the amputation of a redacted body part. Another letter regarding the retrieval of Raiden's arm further implies that the amputated body part was in fact his left arm. The "Arm" trailer also implies that he received an optical implant. Likewise, the "Eye" trailer mentioned that the damage to Raiden's left eye was irreparable due to the optical nerve being completely destroyed, resulting in it having to be removed. Although the footage never appeared in-game, the event itself was referenced in a Codec call to Doktor, regarding the content of 3D holo drives contained inside the left arms of cyborgs.

In a leaked casting call for Metal Gear Rising, they requested for at least four live actors to portray characters for a trailer. Raiden, as well as his younger self (identified as Jack in the casting call). With Raiden, they requested the actor to be a male caucasian, within the 23-25 year range, possessing longish blond hair, an athletic build, no scars yet possessing tattoos, plus if possible some hand to hand combat/swordplay experience as well as a slight Greek or Italian accent. With Jack, they requested for the actor to be within the 8-12 year range, have blond wavy hair and blue eyes, being athletic, have no scars on the arms, possess dramatic acting, and if possible possess a slight Greek or Italian accent.

In the Arm, Eye, and Sword trailers, the scene shifts halfway through to Raiden undergoing some aspects of his harsh childhood under a man whose voice and appearance resembles Solidus Snake. The Metal Gear Solid Facebook page later confirmed that those scenes in the trailers were meant to show Raiden's training under Solidus.

Kojima revealed when unveiling the screenshots of the then-in-development demo for Rising that the arm he sent to various groups belonged to "white raiden", and that Raiden's cyborg form seen on the promotional spots and main menu was "black raiden." He later clarified that "white raiden" was Raiden's armor from Metal Gear Solid 4, and also stated that it was playable. He also implied in another Twitter account that Raiden's pre-cyborg self during the events of Metal Gear Solid 2, named Old Raiden/Blue Raiden, might also be playable. In addition, a Kojima Productions staff member, when addressing a question frequently asked about the scene at the end of the E3 trailer, stated that the scene with Raiden in an alternate armor actually took place very early in the game, and that the armor in question was actually a wearable version of his Metal Gear Solid 4 armor, having gained a more normal cybernetic body by the end of Metal Gear Solid 4.

One of the ways he kills his enemies is based on Void Ninja Yoshimitsu's Flea Stance in the Tekken series. In these games, Yoshimitsu is able to crouch on his sword, and like Raiden, he is a cybernetic ninja due to having a mechanical arm that rapidly rotates for his Dragonfly Stance.

"Traditional garb for Mexican folk musicians, purchased by Raiden at a souvenir shop south of the border in a misguided attempt to blend in with the locals."

- Mariachi Uniform description in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

On the week of June 12, during Kojima's Metal Gear Rising demonstration in Mexico, Raiden's CGI model for the demo's menu was slightly modified to include a sombrero and cloak as a hint as to what exclusives the Latin American version will have. Raiden's sombrero outfit later made an appearance twice in the TGS 2012 trailer: The first time is seen briefly where he is driving a black car, and the second is nearing the end of the trailer: Two people (implied to be Mexicans/Latin Americans and confirmed to be Mexicans in the official PlayStation Blog) find Raiden on the other side of the road attempting to enter a manhole, while holding up a sewer grate shortly after his car left. Raiden then looks up and says "Adios, amigos" (Spanish for "Goodbye, friends") before departing and closing the grate, also leaving his sombrero behind. Raiden's use of the outfit, identified as a Mariachi outfit, was later explained in the MGRR Mastiff boot camp trailer at Santa Monica, where it was stated that Raiden bought the outfit in a mistaken impression that it would help him blend in with the populace while undergoing his mission into Mexico.

The 166th session of the KP Report Podcast also revealed that Raiden was the only character in the game to be designed by Yoji Shinkawa.

In the trailer for the Battle against RAY, Raiden is revealed to have a different HUD based on the one seen in Metal Gear Solid 4, because he was using a modified version of his original cyborg body, as well as the battle taking place before his duel with Sam. As such he can't regenerate his health via zan-datsu, but he still can heal by getting health pickups like how the player does in Metal Gear Solid 4.

"A custom body equipped with self-recovery nano-paste and electrolyte packs. The large amount of cyborg healing and regeneration features allow the white custom body to excel in a force support role. The white armor reminds one of medical support personnel's uniforms."

- Custom Cyborg Body (White Armor) description in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

"A custom body equipped with a full compliment of grenades. Created as a body intended to serve in a mid-range fire support role, the wide variety and number of equipped grenades make this body particularly deadly. Its fiery red color betrays its status as a grenade throwing death machine."

- Custom Cyborg Body (Inferno Armor) description in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

"With a multipurpose RPG launcher and portable SAM missiles built in, this green custom cyborg body harkens back to the outdoor BDUs worn by the infantry soldiers of yore. This body excels against UAVs, tanks, attack helicopters, and other anti-infantry weapon systems due to its extra munitions."

- Custom Cyborg Body (Commando Armor) description in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

"A chassis patterned after Gray Fox's body circa the Shadow Moses incident, but functionally equivalent to recent cyborg bodies. Though it was termed an "exoskeleton" in those days before the advent of modern cyborg technology, it could not be taken on and off at will."

- Gray Fox description in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

"A recreation of the cyborg body used by Raiden in the Guns of the Patriots incident. Functionally obsolete and boasting an obviously unnatural jaw, its battlefield potential is extremely limited."

- Original Cyborg Body description in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

On November 2012, it was unveiled that people who pre-ordered Metal Gear Rising would get an exclusive code that allowed Raiden to use a custom cyborg body modeled after the exoskeleton used by Gray Fox. Later, on December 2012, both the Metal Gear Rising website and metalgearsolidtv.com (a streaming site dedicated to Metal Gear Solid-related news and videos) revealed that, in addition to the Gray Fox download, the MGS4 armor, and possibly MGS2-era Raiden, Raiden will also have at least three unlockable armors: The White Armor, which has no relation to his MGS4-era armor despite having the same name, and which possesses on a special medical care system. Because of the similar name, Kojima Productions also gave it the alternate name of Medical Raiden. Specifically, this cyborg body was modified to focus on support for allies in the battlefield, which includes an increased capacity of items relating to cyborg treatment and supplies for repairs; the Inferno armor, colored crimson and possessing a special attack system. Specifically, he was modified to allow for him to utilize mid-range attacks via throwing grenades, allowing him to carry an increased supply of various grenade types; and the Command armor, colored yellow-green and possessing a traditional fighting system. Specifically, he was modified to take into account the possibility of fighting various pair warfare drones, tanks, and attack choppers by possessing an increased supply of surface-to-air guided missile warheads, as well as rocket grenade launchers of both type instrument and multi-purpose capabilities. The exclusive armors can be downloaded via purchasing codes from KonamiStyle, Tsutaya, and Geo, respectively. However, for the European versions, the White armor, Inferno Armor, and Commando Armor is included as a free download in the European collector's edition from Zavvi, the GAME preorder, and pre-orders from other retailers, respectively, and in America, the Inferno and White Armor was included with Metal Gear Rising if pre-ordered from Amazon.com. and Best Buy, respectively.

The Japanese site later unveiled a trailer for Metal Gear Rising that showed various DLC skins, including the aforementioned Gray Fox skin and the three bonus colors, and also revealed that Japanese players can also get a custom body based on Raiden's original cyborg body in Metal Gear Solid 4 via a Metal Gear Rising trial on the 18th, by making a review upon playing the demo and posting it on either Facebook or Twitter and then receiving a download code. It is currently unknown whether America will get it as well, although the official site implied that it will be released in areas outside Japan at a future date. Another update on the official site indicated that the MGS4 Raiden skin would be available via pre-order from Amazon for the Japanese version of Metal Gear Rising. On February 15, 2013, the official Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Rising Facebook pages posted that the MGS4 Raiden would be available as a DLC download for Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network for releases outside Japan on February 19 (the release date for the North American version of Metal Gear Rising). It also specified that it's not a pre-order bonus.

In the same trailer, each of the skins is shown fighting against enemies in a similar manner to how they fought in at least one scene from their original appearances. The Gray Fox skin was shown killing Desperado Cyborgs in a manner similar to a scene in Metal Gear Solid, where where he cuts up several terrified Genome Soldiers, while MGS4 Raiden was shown taking on some Desperado Gekko, a reference to his first on-screen appearance in Metal Gear Solid 4, where he took on, and destroyed several Gekko. Another update on the official site indicated that the MGS4 Raiden skin will be preorderable from Amazon for the Japanese release of Rising. On February 15, 2013, the official Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Rising Facebook pages posted that the MGS4 Raiden would be available as a DLC download for the Xbox Live and PlayStation Network networks for releases outside Japan on February 19 (the release date for the American release of Metal Gear Rising), and also specified that it's not a pre-order bonus.

In the same trailer, each of the skins is shown fighting against enemies in a similar manner to how they fought in at least one scene from their original appearances. The Gray Fox skin was shown killing Desperado Cyborgs in a manner similar to a scene in Metal Gear Solid, where where he cuts up several terrified Genome Soldiers, while MGS4 Raiden was shown taking on some Desperado Gekko, a reference to his first on-screen appearance in Metal Gear Solid 4, where he took on, and destroyed several Gekko.

Raiden says that only one out of 50 soldiers can kill without hesitation, before declaring himself a "two-percenter." He then mentions that most soldiers couldn't handle the violent deaths of enemies, but then stated that he likes the deaths a lot, and implies that this was due to it being ingrained on him since early childhood. Raiden then recollects the abuse and threats at gunpoint during childhood before he, "next thing he knows," got off on slicing foes to shreds. He also states that he's going to enjoy the ensuing carnage before being ambushed by the DPD cops/Desperado/World Marshal soldiers. The lines themselves, however, are incorporated into optional Codec conversations for Chapter R-04. Raiden's claim of being a "two-percenter" is a subtle reference to the term "one-percenter," referring to the concept of the 1% of America's richest people.

In the Location Trailer released alongside the Zan-Datsu & Custom Body Trailers, a part of it showed Raiden wielding Mistral's Etrangers, suggesting that he could wield the weapons of rival cyborgs he's beaten. This is later confirmed in the Unique Weapons trailer, which also implies that Raiden received copies of these weapons after they were developed by Doktor after he carefully analyzed their combat data.

Raiden's business suit from the prologue was also implied in one of his cards in Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops to be an unlockable skin, similar to Snake's suit in Metal Gear Solid 4.

Three recolors of Raiden's cyborg body were also issued as figures for Play Arts KAI as part of the Battle Raiden series, colored Red, Blue, and Yellow. The armors were also included in-game as unlockables.

Kojima, regarding the release trailer on February 19, initially intended to use voice clips for Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2, although he decided against it, as he didn't want to inflict killjoy on the trailer.

On March 4, Kojima compared Raiden's characterization to that of action film series hero John Rambo, citing that both characters fight despite being peaceful in nature.

"A cyborg frame with yellow artificial musculature that consumes minimal fuel-cell energy and is highly efficient at absorbing electrolytes from foes."

- Custom Cyborg Body (Yellow) description in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

"A cyborg frame with blue artificial musculature that is insufficient at absorbing electrolytes from foes and somewhat lacking in power, but boasts high defensive ability and consumes minimal fuel-cell energy."

- Custom Cyborg Body (Blue) description in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

"A cyborg frame with red artificial musculature that offers minimal defense and consumes considerable fuel-cell energy, but is highly effective at absorbing electrolytes from foes."

- Custom Cyborg Body (Red) description in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

"A cyborg frame patterned in the style of Desperado Enforcement contractors. The performances of this frame are identical to those of the normal Custom Cyborg Body."

- Custom Cyborg Body (Desperado ver.) description in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

In the cast gallery section for the Piggyback Guide's Collector's Edition, Raiden's design was given commenrary by Yoji Shinkawa, Etsu Tamari, and Kenji Saito. Shinkawa, when explaining his motives for creating Black Raiden, mentioned that he wanted to create a dark hero, different from his design from Metal Gear Solid 4. He also had his Rising design being one-eyed as a reminder of his humanity, and mentioned that the circumstances behind it were written later and consistent with the general storyline. Tamari also explained that the cybernetic functions (including Fuel Cell energy) was based on research led by the University of Texas, and that they had Raiden lack self-repair units to emphasize his role as a "dark hero." Saito admitted that he used Raiden's Metal Gear Solid 4 model as a starting point, and kept most of the aspects, but had to undergo an initial brief with Shinkawa and undergo the design while under supervision from Kojima Productions regarding Raiden's face to ensure he at least retained his quasi-human look from the ending of Metal Gear Solid 4. He also mentioned that the scene of Raiden losing his eye was meant to represent his change from White Raiden to Black Raiden, and also admitted that he based it on Solidus, as the latter was his favorite character and shared a special connection to Raiden.

At one point in Chapter R-02, Raiden asks Courtney how a certain food (Napolitanos) tasted, before dismissing the question and deciding that he can't "capture" anything down in the sewers, nor does he really need to anyway. This was a reference to the food mechanic in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, where Naked Snake frequently asked Para-Medic how a certain food tasted upon capturing it.

When first accessing his Jack the Ripper state (not counting the time he killed the Desperado scientist in the prior chapter), Raiden/Jack says "Pain... this is why I fight." Coincidentally, Kenyu Horiuchi, Raiden's Japanese voice actor, had previously voiced the character Pain from the anime adaptation of the manga series Naruto.

Skills
Several of Raiden's skills in the game have names referencing thunder and lightning. In addition, with the exception of Unique Weapons and Defensive Offensive (the latter of which was actually based on the move Raiden used to finish off Solidus Snake), nearly all of his skills were derived from scenes from Metal Gear Solid 4.

Blade

 * Parry
 * Light Attack
 * Ninja Run Attack
 * Sliding Tackle
 * Launcher
 * Draw Attack
 * Draw Attack (Max Charge)
 * Strong Attack
 * Right Back Kick
 * Triple Kick
 * Flurry Kick
 * Tornado Slash
 * Stab Kick
 * Cross Slice
 * Low Roundhouse
 * Triple Kick Upswing
 * Throat Slicer
 * Ankle Slicer
 * Heel Drop
 * Rolling Thunder
 * Mid-Air Slice
 * Mid-Air Slice (5th Attack)
 * Crescent Slice
 * Head Cacker

Letranger

 * Coup d'oeil de l'ange
 * Baillement de l'ange
 * Priere de l'ange
 * Chant de l'ange
 * Malice de l'ange
 * Plume de l'ange
 * Larme de l'ange
 * Lamentation de l'ange
 * Aile de l'ange
 * Sommeil de l'ange
 * Vent du ciel
 * Bienvenu du ciel
 * Lumiere du ciel
 * Marches de ciel
 * Cercle de l'ange

Sai

 * Stabbing Despair
 * Force of Magnetism

Bloodlust

 * Dust Devil
 * Whirlwind
 * Turbulence
 * Wake Turbulence
 * Down Burst
 * Heat Burst
 * Cyclone
 * Sprial Hand

Ground Zeroes
Raiden appears in his Metal Gear Rising design for the Jamais Vu mission of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. In the mission, Raiden, having somehow time traveled to an unknown period of the past, was contacted by the Militaires Sans Frontières to aid them in taking out several Body-Snatchers that have taken over the United States Naval Prison Facility in Cuba from a crashed Soviet airplane, as his cybernetic body rendered him immune to being taken over by the body snatchers. In exchange for his services, MSF also promised to supply him with patches from the XOF as payment. He decided to foresake his sword for the mission, instead relying on a firearm. He managed to wipe out 8 confirmed Body-Snatcher soldiers at the base and prepared to undergo extraction procedures at the base's heliport, but an unexpected siege of reinforcements of the Body-Snatchers forced the chopper to retreat into the air, with Raiden fighting off all remaining Body-Snatchers until all were confirmed to be eliminated, with the chopper using its searchlight to identify where the Body Snatchers were. Upon wiping all of them out, Raiden was extracted and given his payment, with Miller considering meeting him again in the future.

This marks the first game since Portable Ops Plus to have Raiden utilize a firearm. On a related note, it is also the first game since Metal Gear Solid 2 where Raiden does not use his sword for the majority of his playable appearance. In the English version, similar to his appearance in the Snake Eraser segment (which also dealt with time travel), Raiden was not voiced by Quinton Flynn. Instead, Kiefer Sutherland's voice clips of Big Boss were re-used for Raiden's interrogation of enemy soldiers, although slightly modified to appear mechanical.

Besides his role in Jamais Vu, Raiden also appears as two officer characters for the Mother Base developer in the Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Companion App. The first officer character, Raiden's standard skin, is unlocked by S-ranking Hard Mode of the Jamais Vu mission while connected to the app, and the second character, Raiden in his White Armor, is unlocked by getting 25,000 points on Jamais Vu's Hard Mode.

The Phantom Pain
A leaked scan for an Italian game guide for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain revealed that Raiden, specifically his MGR design, will act as a skin for Venom Snake, alongside Gray Fox. The scan also revealed that running into enemies will knock them down, stunning them long enough for the player to CQC them by the time they get up.

Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops
Raiden had a few cards depicting his original Metal Gear Solid 2 appearance, his HD artwork for the same game, his Metal Gear Solid 4 appearance, and his various appearances in Metal Gear Rising. He also was tied with EVA and Ocelot with possessing the second most bios in the game's website (second only to Big Boss), detailing his human self from Metal Gear Solid 2 and his Cyborg Ninja self from Metal Gear Solid 4.

Other appearances
Raiden is a secret character in Evolution Skateboarding. To play as Raiden, the player must beat the game 100%, collecting all coins with character Mark Appleyard.

Raiden's likeness also appears in other games:
 * Artwork of Snake from Metal Gear Acid show two soldiers in the background; one of them has the same Skull Suit and mask that Raiden wore during the Big Shell Incident.
 * Raiden, in the Skull Suit, is featured as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The sticker increases the character's Direct Special attacks by 14, alluding to Raiden's preferred weaponry being blades.
 * A costume available to download for LittleBigPlanet allows the Sackboys to dress up as the MGS4 Cyborg Raiden.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Raiden's MGS4 cyborg ninja outfit can be unlocked by achieving at least a bronze metal in each of the simulations in the Virtual Training Program in the Animus 2.0.
 * The Metal Gear Rising incarnation of Raiden appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. An alternate unlockable skin is available to change his appearance to that of Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 4 and another downloadable alternate to change his appearance to that of Metal Gear Solid 2. His moves revolve around speed and the use of his HF Blade. Raiden's level one super is the hand stand spin-kick, level two an approximation of "Blade Mode", and level 3 has the enemies hide in boxes while Raiden slashes them apart. His rival in the game is Cole MacGrath from the InFamous series. His level 3 is called Boxed In. In his story mode, Raiden was called in by an unknown individual (Polygon Man) for another mission. However, Raiden is suspicious of his being selected, and decides to investigate, commenting that he never liked it when people "make it too easy" on him anyways. At some point, he encountered Cole MacGrath who questioned him about whether he was a Conduit (MacGrath's group), but Raiden refused to work with him as he works alone, resulting in a fight. After defeating Polygon Man, Raiden commented that he had succeeded in what he hoped was his last mission, although he will continue to aid those who can't fend for themselves, as that was "what [Raiden] was built for."

A Play Arts Kai figurine of Raiden based on his appearance in Metal Gear Rising is in the works. The final color model was unveiled on the Metal Gear Solid Facebook page at 5:58 PM on August 9, 2012.

Raiden, as his Cyborg Ninja self, appeared as a participant in the Konami-sponsored event E3 Battle, where he defeated Krystal from ''Hard Corps. Uprising'' in the first round, largely due to his cybernetics, and in spite of Krystal's many armaments. He then faced off against and defeated Devil Zukin from Dance Dance Revolution 3rd mix in the second round. Raiden proceeded to fight against Pyramid Head from Silent Hill in the third round, defeating it. Raiden then faced off against and defeated Revolver Ocelot in the fourth round. Raiden then fought and lost to Naked Snake in the semifinals.

Raiden (in cyborg form) also made a guest appearance in an episode for the low-budget comedic video game parody web-series "Mega64." In it, Raiden went to the unemployment office at 4:00 PM on a Tuesday (16:00 hours), having been unemployed from Corporate America for four years due to the bad economy, where his unemployment manager attempts to help him get a job, but all the job offers he gets end up going horribly wrong, including an entertainer for children's birthday parties (accidentally destroyed the table and moon bounce while attempting to cut the cake bushido-style during a birthday party for a five year old kid named Leonard); plumber (wrecked Ricky's toilet further while attempting to use his sword as a plunger at 8:00 AM (08:00 hours) on Friday); Gourmet chef (overdid the Japanese Steak House-style cutting of Red and Green peppers at a Gourmet Restaurant at 7:00 PM (19:00 hours) on a Friday, causing the patrons of a Gourmet Restaurant to lose their appetite and be covered in mowed down pieces of pepper); Professional Dog Walker (accidentally electrocuted the dogs to serious injury when attempting to restrain them); Town crier (mostly rang bells to an at best ignored response from the townspeople while not declaring anything); implied professional skateboarder ("Ladies love skateboarders"; Raiden attempted to do a trick, but fumbled, causing his skateboard to go flying into a parkgoer's meal); Breakdancer (attempted a breakdance move, but his legs kept spinning around apparently due to a malfunction); and artist (did a picture of a cupid, only to be told by the guy nearby that his artwork sucked). Eventually he settles for "cybernetic private military security soldier" as his last chance at a job where he was met with implied success. The same unemployment officer also helped Jehuty from Zone of the Enders get a job (starting with Children's Birthday Party Entertainer, just as he suggested to Raiden beforehand), although he spent most of his time terrorizing the neighborhood as the episode ended. Raiden, or rather Jack as he is identified in throughout the skit, does not have any dialogue in the skit. Said episode later aired as part of the Konami Pre-E3 show. According to the creators, they were specifically tasked with creating the episode by Hideo Kojima himself.

"RAIDEN FIRST APPEARED IN Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) Former child soldier turned cybernetic super-soldier. Also goes by the name Jack the Ripper."

- Raiden's bio from E3 Battle

Raiden also appeared in the series official site's Versus Battle, both in-game and via promotional products. His opponents were Samuel Rodrigues, Gray Fox, and (as Black Raiden) Solidus. He also fought against himself, such being the case with Red Raiden vs. Hideo Raiden and Black Raiden vs. White Raiden (and to some extent, "Fire" vs. "Ice")

"STRENGTHS: Where there's Fire there's Fury WEAKNESSES: Fire Consumes All FEATURED FACT: Fire can kill but also renew & redeem; play RISING to unleash fire & rise from the ashes FEATURED GAME: METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE"

- Fire in Versus Battle

"STRENGTHS: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold WEAKNESSES: An Emotionless Cyborg is a Machine FEATURED FACT: Being as cold as steel can be critical for cutting through the chaos to right a terrible wrong FEATURED GAME: METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE"

- Ice in Versus Battle

"STRENGTHS: Badass WEAKNESSES: Can Flames Tell Friend from Foe? FEATURED FACT: Raiden's inferno red armor looks sick and packs a powerful 5-grenade punch FEATURED GAME: METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE"

- Red Raiden in Versus Battle

"STRENGTHS: Badass Beyond Words WEAKNESSES: Only One in the Whole Wide World FEATURED FACT: The only featured fact here is the fact that we want one of these...really badly FEATURED GAME: METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE"

- Hideo Raiden in Versus Battle

"STRENGTHS: A Thunderstorm Becoming a Hurricane WEAKNESSES: Will Raiden Himself be Consumed? FEATURED FACT: Raiden must also prove himself against mechs, Winds of Destruction, & METAL GEARs FEATURED GAME: METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE"

- Raiden's bio in Versus Battle; Raiden vs. Samuel Rodrigues

"STRENGTHS: Gekkos & Cyborgs are No Match WEAKNESSES: Can a Protector Reach His Potential? FEATURED FACT: "I am Lightning. The rain transformed." -Raiden FEATURED GAME: METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE"

- White Raiden in Versus Battle

"STRENGTHS: Epic Fury Unleashed WEAKNESSES: Revenge Comes at a Cost FEATURED FACT: "I told myself this was about justice, about protecting the weak. But I was wrong." -Raiden FEATURED GAME: METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE"

- Black Raiden in Versus Battle; White Raiden vs. Black Raiden

"STRENGTHS: Superhuman Cyborg Ninja Powers WEAKNESSES: Psychopathic Personality FEATURED FACT: Raiden developed his skills under Solidus Snake, then elevated them to unprecedented levels via cyborg surgery, vicious combat, & fiery rage FEATURED GAME: METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE"

- Black Raiden's bio in Vs. Battle; Black Raiden vs. Solidus Snake

"STRENGTHS: Advanced Cyborg Ninja with New Tech WEAKNESSES: Rage can be a Double-Edged Sword FEATURED FACT: Raiden was a Gekko’s worst enemy while aiding Solid Snake against Liquid Ocelot due to his strength, skill, and flashing blade FEATURED GAME: METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION"

- Raiden's bio in Vs. Battle; Raiden v. Gray Fox

Fan reception and controversy
Following his debut in Metal Gear Solid 2, Raiden was met with a mixed reaction from fans of the series. Although Raiden was quite popular with the Japanese fandom as a result of his appearance, which Shinkawa noted resembled the stereotypical manga hero, the international fandom had a negative reception regarding the character, with some, such as writer James Newman, even comparing him to the Star Wars prequel trilogy character Jar Jar Binks in terms of poor reception. Much of the negative response was due largely to his apparent naive attitude, androgynous appearance as well as acting as the protagonist over Snake. In addition, the localization of the game also resulted in several fans critiquing Raiden for his high-pitched voice, which was described as "whiney." In the Japanese version, however, Raiden actually spoke with a deep bass voice. In an interview with The Gaming Liberty, Quinton Flynn admitted that under the suggestion of casting director Kris Zimmerman, he based Raiden's English voice on what a slightly older Jonny Quest would sound like. This suggestion was made due to the fact that he and Zimmerman had previously worked together on The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, in which he was Jonny's second voice actor.

Kojima has stated in interviews that Raiden was introduced primarily to attract new fans to the game so that he could ask questions that a veteran like Snake wouldn't ask, so as to avoid treating Snake like a rookie, and to make Snake appear more impressive as a character, an idea strongly defended by some fans. Kojima has also explicitly stated that Raiden is his favorite character in Metal Gear Solid 2, a view that was also shared by Flynn. Raiden's concept as effectively being a third-person witness to Snake's exploits was likewise inspired by the character Watson from the detective franchise Sherlock Holmes.

The controversial reception of Raiden's creation was part of the reason why both the Raikov mask item and the character of Major Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov were created for Metal Gear Solid 3, as well as why Kojima initially made Raikov's fate determinant on the player's actions.

Appearances

 * Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (mentioned; non-canon)
 * Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
 * Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (Snake Tales, non-canon)
 * Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (cameo poster; non-canon)
 * Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (Secret Theater; non-canon)
 * Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus (non-canon)
 * Metal Gear Solid Mobile (mentioned; non-canon)
 * Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
 * Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops (trading card)
 * Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
 * Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (Jamais Vu mission; non-canon)
 * Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (alternate costume for Venom Snake; non-canon)