User blog:TheBlueRogue/Meet the Character: Raiden

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a brand new chapter of the Metal Gear series, following the exploits of Raiden. The game is set four years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The story follows the cyborg ninja Raiden as he fights against a private military company called Desperado Enterprises. This isn't the first time that Raiden was a primary character in a Metal Gear game, but plenty has happened throughout his life to lead him to the events of this game. Just who is Raiden as a character, and what exactly led him to becoming a cyborg? Let's take a look.



Raiden (雷電), real name Jack, was a Liberian-American special forces soldier responsible for resolving the 2009 Big Shell Incident as a new recruit to the reformed FOXHOUND unit. A former child soldier under Solidus Snake, Raiden had been selected by the Patriots to test the S3 Plan at the Big Shell. 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 re-entered the battlefield once more after Desperado ruined one of their missions, leaving him injured.

{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 100%;"
 * bgcolor="#a1eafc" | Childhood and Upbringing
 * Young_Raiden.jpg was born on a rainy day in Libreria. His childhood came amongst the deadly Liberian Civil War, which left most of the country in shambles. While still very young, Solidus Snake would kill both of Jack's parents and formally became the boy's godfather. Solidus would raise Jack as a child solider, able to fight within the Liberian conflict. As a part of his training, Jack and other children were shown Hollywood action films to condition them to violence. The children were given food mixed with gunpowder containing toluene to make them more controllable. Solidus would lay the foundation for Jack's skill with swords; during this training Solidus informed Jack that blades were a 'noble weapon' compared to guns and slit a soldiers throat in front of him. Jack would become one of the fiercest child soldiers to fight in the civil war. He earned the nickname 'White Devil' from his incredibly high kill rate and being one of the few caucasians in Liberia. Armed with an AK rifle and a knife, the boy would lead his own Small Boy Unit at the age of ten, and became immensely skilled with blades.
 * bgcolor="#a1eafc"| Return to US and Military Experience
 * ShadowMosesFront.jpgus placed Jack into a relief center after the war ended, and he would come into the hands of the Patriots. He was injected with nanomachines to server as a back-up system to an optic-neuro AI. These nanomachines were also capable of memory manipulation, and Jack would later suppress the brutal memories of his childhood. Once in the US, Jack joined the military where his skills were first recognized by the U.S. Army's Task Force XXI. He would then participate in over three hundred VR simulations, including a re-creation of the Shadow Moses Incident. He would eventually leave the Task Force on January 20th, 2007. After transferring briefly to New York, Raiden would be recruited into the reformed FOXHOUND, a special forces unit.
 * bgcolor="#a1eafc"| Love Life
 * Rosemary_MGS2.png leaving the force and transferring to Fort Hamilton in New York City, Jack would later met Rosemary. The two of them struck up conversation about King Kong after the were were looking at the Empire State Building. After their chance encounter, the two would bump into each other again, discovering that they worked at the same place. After numerous dates, the two began to see each other and Jack grew to love Rose deeply. However, his violent memories and mental stress left him melancholic and distant from her. Jack suffered from PSTD-induced nightmares, and was afraid to sleep beside Rose in fear of hurting her. During the events of Metal Gear Solid 2, Rosemary would reveal her own secret, that she was a spy for the Patriots keeping tabs on him. She pleaded to him that she grew to love him, and that her objective grew to mean less and less over time. After the Big Shell incident, the two would start another committed relationship.
 * bgcolor="#a1eafc"| The Manhattan Incident
 * Raiden00000.jpg events of Metal Gear Solid 2 followed Jack to Big Shell. There he was given the codename Raiden by the Colonel. On April 29, 2009, a terrorist group calling themselves the Sons of Liberty took control of the tanker and took 30 hostages, including the 44th US President James Johnson. The Songs of Liberty demanded $30 billion and threatened to blow the facility which would cause an ecological disaster. During the events of the incident, Riaden would meet Solid Snake (under the guise of Iroquois Pliskin), and learned of the developed of the Arsenal Gear. He would fight against a barrage of Metal Gear RAYS. The entire incident would later be planted by the Patriots. A fierce battle ensued on top of Federal Hill, which resulted in Raiden emerging victorious over Solidus Snake. Solid Snake would tell Raiden that he was not a puppet to anyone, and could shape his own destiny.
 * bgcolor="#a1eafc"| Capture and Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection
 * RaidenMGS4.jpgn would attempt to find the remains of Big Boss after the incidents at Big Shell, but was captured by the Patriots. During his capture, Raiden was used as a test subject for experiments in exoskeletal enhancement surgery. His head and spine were excised from his body and grafted onto an enhanced synthetic body. With the help of the Paradise Lost Army, he would escape captivity. However, the enhancements implanted into his body were too severe to allow him to return to normal life, and he disappear from Rose's life. Raiden would return in 2014 during the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, helping Solid Snake in a variety of ways through the course of the conflict. On one occasion, he would protect Snake after losing both arms (he would wield the sword between his teeth). After the conflict subsided, Raiden would be fitted with a more human-like body, and be reunited with Rose.
 * bgcolor="#a1eafc"| Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
 * Metal_gear_rising_revengeance_raiden_render_by_ivances-d5g0ytw.png Liquid's Insurrection, Raiden would accept the offer of Boris to join Maverick Security Consulting, Inc.. Wishing to support Rose and his new son, he took the job hoping to avoid an active combat role. One of his first missions for the new PMC was traveling to the European country of Montenegro. For three years, Raiden was a part of Maverick's recovery efforts to rebuild an African country suffering from a civil war. Raiden would help protecting VIPs, training militaries, and other jobs. Things changed in 2018, when cyborg soldiers from the Desperado Enforcement LLC. began to attack. A cyborg named Sam inside of a train tunnel would cripple Raiden's body. Raiden would barely survive, but he would be outfitted into a new body. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance follows Raiden's struggle to stop Desperado.
 * bgcolor="#a1eafc"| The Manhattan Incident
 * Raiden00000.jpg events of Metal Gear Solid 2 followed Jack to Big Shell. There he was given the codename Raiden by the Colonel. On April 29, 2009, a terrorist group calling themselves the Sons of Liberty took control of the tanker and took 30 hostages, including the 44th US President James Johnson. The Songs of Liberty demanded $30 billion and threatened to blow the facility which would cause an ecological disaster. During the events of the incident, Riaden would meet Solid Snake (under the guise of Iroquois Pliskin), and learned of the developed of the Arsenal Gear. He would fight against a barrage of Metal Gear RAYS. The entire incident would later be planted by the Patriots. A fierce battle ensued on top of Federal Hill, which resulted in Raiden emerging victorious over Solidus Snake. Solid Snake would tell Raiden that he was not a puppet to anyone, and could shape his own destiny.
 * bgcolor="#a1eafc"| Capture and Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection
 * RaidenMGS4.jpgn would attempt to find the remains of Big Boss after the incidents at Big Shell, but was captured by the Patriots. During his capture, Raiden was used as a test subject for experiments in exoskeletal enhancement surgery. His head and spine were excised from his body and grafted onto an enhanced synthetic body. With the help of the Paradise Lost Army, he would escape captivity. However, the enhancements implanted into his body were too severe to allow him to return to normal life, and he disappear from Rose's life. Raiden would return in 2014 during the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, helping Solid Snake in a variety of ways through the course of the conflict. On one occasion, he would protect Snake after losing both arms (he would wield the sword between his teeth). After the conflict subsided, Raiden would be fitted with a more human-like body, and be reunited with Rose.
 * bgcolor="#a1eafc"| Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
 * Metal_gear_rising_revengeance_raiden_render_by_ivances-d5g0ytw.png Liquid's Insurrection, Raiden would accept the offer of Boris to join Maverick Security Consulting, Inc.. Wishing to support Rose and his new son, he took the job hoping to avoid an active combat role. One of his first missions for the new PMC was traveling to the European country of Montenegro. For three years, Raiden was a part of Maverick's recovery efforts to rebuild an African country suffering from a civil war. Raiden would help protecting VIPs, training militaries, and other jobs. Things changed in 2018, when cyborg soldiers from the Desperado Enforcement LLC. began to attack. A cyborg named Sam inside of a train tunnel would cripple Raiden's body. Raiden would barely survive, but he would be outfitted into a new body. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance follows Raiden's struggle to stop Desperado.
 * RaidenMGS4.jpgn would attempt to find the remains of Big Boss after the incidents at Big Shell, but was captured by the Patriots. During his capture, Raiden was used as a test subject for experiments in exoskeletal enhancement surgery. His head and spine were excised from his body and grafted onto an enhanced synthetic body. With the help of the Paradise Lost Army, he would escape captivity. However, the enhancements implanted into his body were too severe to allow him to return to normal life, and he disappear from Rose's life. Raiden would return in 2014 during the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, helping Solid Snake in a variety of ways through the course of the conflict. On one occasion, he would protect Snake after losing both arms (he would wield the sword between his teeth). After the conflict subsided, Raiden would be fitted with a more human-like body, and be reunited with Rose.
 * bgcolor="#a1eafc"| Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
 * Metal_gear_rising_revengeance_raiden_render_by_ivances-d5g0ytw.png Liquid's Insurrection, Raiden would accept the offer of Boris to join Maverick Security Consulting, Inc.. Wishing to support Rose and his new son, he took the job hoping to avoid an active combat role. One of his first missions for the new PMC was traveling to the European country of Montenegro. For three years, Raiden was a part of Maverick's recovery efforts to rebuild an African country suffering from a civil war. Raiden would help protecting VIPs, training militaries, and other jobs. Things changed in 2018, when cyborg soldiers from the Desperado Enforcement LLC. began to attack. A cyborg named Sam inside of a train tunnel would cripple Raiden's body. Raiden would barely survive, but he would be outfitted into a new body. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance follows Raiden's struggle to stop Desperado.
 * Metal_gear_rising_revengeance_raiden_render_by_ivances-d5g0ytw.png Liquid's Insurrection, Raiden would accept the offer of Boris to join Maverick Security Consulting, Inc.. Wishing to support Rose and his new son, he took the job hoping to avoid an active combat role. One of his first missions for the new PMC was traveling to the European country of Montenegro. For three years, Raiden was a part of Maverick's recovery efforts to rebuild an African country suffering from a civil war. Raiden would help protecting VIPs, training militaries, and other jobs. Things changed in 2018, when cyborg soldiers from the Desperado Enforcement LLC. began to attack. A cyborg named Sam inside of a train tunnel would cripple Raiden's body. Raiden would barely survive, but he would be outfitted into a new body. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance follows Raiden's struggle to stop Desperado.
 * Metal_gear_rising_revengeance_raiden_render_by_ivances-d5g0ytw.png Liquid's Insurrection, Raiden would accept the offer of Boris to join Maverick Security Consulting, Inc.. Wishing to support Rose and his new son, he took the job hoping to avoid an active combat role. One of his first missions for the new PMC was traveling to the European country of Montenegro. For three years, Raiden was a part of Maverick's recovery efforts to rebuild an African country suffering from a civil war. Raiden would help protecting VIPs, training militaries, and other jobs. Things changed in 2018, when cyborg soldiers from the Desperado Enforcement LLC. began to attack. A cyborg named Sam inside of a train tunnel would cripple Raiden's body. Raiden would barely survive, but he would be outfitted into a new body. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance follows Raiden's struggle to stop Desperado.