The Boss

The Boss (ザ・ボス), also known as The Joy and Voyevoda (meaning Warlord in Russian), was the "final child of The Philosophers", and the mentor of Naked Snake. She was the founding leader of the Cobra Unit, in which she was known as "The Joy", however, when they were disbanded at the end of World War II, she was granted the codename "The Boss." Together with Naked Snake, she developed the technique of CQC.

In the Virtuous Mission, The Boss wore a bandana and Olive Drab uniform (which appeared to be the staple FOX unit battle fatigues). After Naked Snake pulled it from her head when she threw him from the bridge in Dolinovodno, Snake wore it during Operation Snake Eater and later wore it in tribute to her. The Boss commented on his inability to let go of the past by taunting him for wearing her bandana as a reminder of her during his mission.

Early Life and Career
Not much is known about The Boss's childhood. She was born as the daughter of one of the higher ranking members of The Philosophers' Wisemen's committee, and grew up in the care of the Philosophers. However, she also learned from her father even the most forbidden secrets of the Philosophers, and as a consequence, the Philosophers arranged for his death.

Prior to her founding of the Cobra Unit, she was an instructor and lecturer at one of the Philosophers' training and schooling facilities. During this time, she met a young EVA.

In 1942, The Boss founded the Cobra Unit (The Pain, The Fear, The End, The Fury, and The Sorrow) and participated in many special operations during World War II, contributing heavily to the Allied forces' victory. She became a legendary soldier, and was considered by many to be the "Mother" of America's special forces. During the D-Day landings at Normandy, she and the Cobras were sent on a mission to destroy V2 rocket installations. At the time, The Boss was pregnant; The Sorrow, one of her comrades, was the father. She gave birth to her son Ocelot on the battlefield and the caesarean section required in the chaos left her with a snake-shaped scar on her torso. In 1947, after the end of the war, The Boss disbanded the Cobra Unit.

Afterwards, The Boss began participating in secret projects run by the U.S. government. On November 1, 1951, The Boss was involved in the atomic testing at the Nevada desert, where she was exposed to radiation, and rendered infertile. It was around this time that The Boss first met Zero in the SAS, and Jack (who would later become Naked Snake). She spent over a decade with Jack, training him as her disciple and developing the tactics of CQC, a basic form of close quarters combat. The Boss and Jack went their separate ways on June 12, 1959.

Later on, The Boss was chosen for participation in the 1960 Mercury Project. She was sent to space on a mission to acquire data on how well the human body could cope in such conditions, but during which radiation was an inevitability. She unofficially became the first person in space, and seeing the Earth from above sparked her dream of uniting the world as one. One year later, The Boss was ordered to take part in the CIA's Bay of Pigs Invasion at Bahia de Cochinos, Cuba. However, when the President held back the air support she had been promised, her unit was annihilated. This moment of weakness shook The Boss's faith in the U.S. government.

In 1962, she was sent on a mission that culminated in the assassination of her lover, The Sorrow, who had returned to the Soviet Union after the disbandment of the Cobra Unit.

In 1964, the CIA began to fear The Boss's overwhelming charisma and made plans to eliminate her. The Boss was then ordered to take part in a major operation to recover the Philosophers' Legacy from Volgin, known as the Virtuous Mission. In order to acquire the Legacy, The Boss had to trade her way into Volgin's ranks—and to do so she was given two portable nuclear warheads, one of which was ultimately used by Volgin to destroy Sokolov's design bureau, OKB-754. On the surface, the destruction of the bureau was made to look like an unplanned factor which called for The Boss's mission to be greatly expanded and revised. She would have to prove the innocence of the United States in a mission known as Operation Snake Eater, but in reality this was how the CIA had planned for it to go all along. One week later, the U.S. government sent in an operative with orders to assassinate The Boss. The man sent to carry out those orders was Naked Snake, The Boss's beloved protégé.

Understanding the fact that in order to save the world and her country she had to give her life, The Boss subtly helped Snake with his mission while at the same time maintaining Volgin's trust. After Snake defeated Volgin and destroyed the Shagohod, The Boss met Snake in a field of white flowers to tell him of the Philosophers and remind him of his duty as a soldier prior to engaging him in a final duel.

"One must die and one must live. No victory, no defeat. The survivor will carry on the fight. It is our destiny... The one who survives will inherit the title of Boss. And the one who inherits the title of Boss will face an existence of endless battle."

- The Boss to Naked Snake

Also, to ensure that at least one of them died, she radioed Russian fighters to begin bombing Rokovoj Bereg, which was ten minutes away from their position. After falling at the hands of her most loved disciple, The Boss passed the microfilm, containing the Philosophers Legacy, to him. She also explained what had happened to EVA, who in turn told Snake. She also made EVA and Ocelot promise not to kill Snake, nor aid in killing him. In the end, she left everything in the hands of Snake.

Posthumous
After Operation Snake Eater, Snake was promoted and given the new codename "Big Boss" to show that he had surpassed The Boss, though he refused to acknowledge that codename for some time, believing that he was not worthy of it. Despite her death, The Boss's beliefs (or what was perceived of it) greatly influenced the events that came later. Her ideas formed the basis of The Patriots. After almost a decade, Big Boss decided that the Patriots were no longer following The Boss's will, and formed Outer Heaven and Zanzibar Land in response. Fifty years later, Big Boss remarked sorrowfully that her death had greatly affected him to that point, going as far as to comment that he had been dead since the day he killed her. "In Memory of a Patriot, Who Saved the World"

- The Boss's Epitaph

Trivia

 * Despite "The Joy" being her codename, The Boss was rarely seen smiling. In disturbing contrast, The Sorrow was always seen smiling, with not one scene where there was a frown on his face.
 * According to Major Zero, the SAS motto of "Who Dares, Wins" was a tribute to The Boss.
 * After The Boss criticized Snake's smoking of a cigar during the Virtuous Mission, Snake replied "Hey, you used to smoke them!", inferring that The Boss used to smoke cigars.
 * The Boss’s words to Naked Snake during Operation Snake Eater are often paraphrased by himself and others in later events:
 * The speech that The Boss gave to Snake in Dremuchij North is later paraphrased by Gene in one of his speeches in his final battle with Big Boss, during the San Hieronymo Incident.
 * The Boss's final speech to Naked Snake was similar to that given by Big Boss to Solid Snake, during the Zanzibar Land Disturbance.
 * The Boss's last words ("There's room for only one Boss and one Snake") were similar to speeches made by both Liquid Snake and Solidus Snake ("There's room for only one Snake and one Big Boss") during the Big Shell Incident.
 * The Boss's grave was located in Arlington National Cemetary.
 * The Boss's snake-shaped scar was also seen on Big Boss during Peace Walker.
 * The Boss was 42 at the time of her death. This was the same age Big Boss was when the Twin Snakes (Solid Snake and Liquid Snake) were born, and the same age Solid Snake was during the Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection.
 * Old Snake smoked a brand of cigarettes called "The Boss."

Behind the Scenes

 * Shortly after Volgin sees through Snake's Raikov disguise, The Boss says to Snake while removing his mask: "What is this fairy disguise? It's gonna rub off on you. And then you'll lose sight of who you really are." According to Hideo Kojima, this was intended to be a reference to herself, as well as an early hint at the true nature of her defection to the Soviet Union.
 * In Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, a film in the Secret Theatre shows the death of The Boss in a manner similar to the rest of the Cobra Unit.
 * According to Kojima at the TGS 2009 showing of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, The Boss will be heavily referenced in Peace Walker, as well as there being shocking elements to her character.
 * During the March 29, 2007 episode of Metal Gear Solid Podcast, David Hayter, when explaining Big Boss's characterization and why he went down the path he did, erroneously implied that The Boss was Big Boss's actual mother.