The Pain

The Pain (ザ・ペイン) was the "Hornet Soldier" of the Cobra Unit.

Biography
He had the ability to control large swarms of hornets at will. As a result of this, his face was covered with welts from the stings. He was also said to carry a Queen in the pack on the back of his hips, using her sound to guide the hornets. Additionally, he carried a large array of pheromone vials on his vest, which he flung at enemies to guide hornet swarms at them.

Besides his hornets, The Pain was armed with a Tommy gun and grenades, and could use hornets in conjunction with these weapons. He could protect himself from gunfire and other attacks by covering himself with a thick shield of them, although this shield was easily broken with any heavy weaponry, such as the M37 shotgun. He could also create an exact duplicate of himself, shaped out of hornets, used to confuse and deter his enemies.

He also raised special hornets called "bullet bees" inside his own body. When he removes his balaclava, the bullet bees were released from his mouth. They moved at extraordinarily fast speeds, and upon contact with enemies, they burrowed into their bodies and begin eating their insides until they eventually died. It is possible to capture the bullet bees inside a hornet's nest, making the nest even more tasty and giving you more stamina recovery.

His codename signifies the pain he feels while on the battlefield.

Naked Snake was discovered by The Pain during his duel with Ocelot at the Bolshaya Past Crevice. The Pain sent out his hornets to attack both men, and while Ocelot escaped unharmed thanks to his fancy gunplay, Snake was forced to jump into the crevice to escape being stung to death. After traversing the enormous cave, he encountered The Pain in a flooded chamber. The Pain was ultimately defeated by Snake. Upon his death, a microbomb (which all of the Cobras were fitted) activated, destroying his corpse and his entire swarm. He was the first Cobra to fall.

The Pain