Board Thread:Metal Gear Solid V/@comment-58.172.124.48-20141005022154/@comment-64.33.250.214-20141005073754

Weedle McHairybug wrote: That seems to make it doubtful that Liquid is Eli. Liquid was supposed to be SAS, and while putting him in Afghanistan would be reasonable due to the novelization of MGS4, there's no reason for the SAS to even be involved in Africa.

Not to mention had Eli been Liquid, Kojima would have flat out stated it or at least implied it, like he did with Kazuhira Miller being the same as Master Miller, as well as mentioning that Huey is "exactly who [the audience] thinks he is." Liquid was SAS during the Gulf War, which takes place years after Phantom Pain. If Eli is recruited in Africa, then he may serve as a Support Buddy for missions in Afghanistan. It's not clear how extensize the Buddy system will be.

The reason for Kojima not immediately confirming that Eli is Liquid, is obviously to build suspense for the plot twist. Boss should be somewhat surprised to discover Eli is part of the LET project, and so should we. Even though many people already believe that Eli and Liquid are one and the same, it would ruin the magic to reveal that plot twist on Twitter.

There are examples of Kojima keeping returning characters a secret. Psycho Mantis reappearing in MGS4 wasn't spoiled as far as I know. There's also the "Kid Mantis" in PP, who Kojima hasn't revealed the identity (to my knowledge).