Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-177.180.133.31-20140612222050/@comment-4807396-20140613004621

IIRC Hot Coldman wasn't truly introduced until Peace Walker, and The Boss being set up to die just reinforces a plot point introduced by MGS3; namely, Big Boss realising that soldiers, not matter how skilled, are just tools for politicians to use and discard. While the founding of FOXHOUND is significant, the unit itself is basically written out of the story until Big Boss rejoins it and Solid Snake joins before Metal Gear. Technically speaking, MGS3 already established in its ending that the FOX unit would be disbanded in 1970; Portable Ops just tells us how and why it happens, which is nice to know but not strictly necessary. When I think about it, FOX's biggest contribution to the story comes after its disbanding, when four of its original members go on to found the Patriots, whose influence is felt throughout the rest of the series (whether directly or through their AI successors).