Cyborg Ninja



Cyborg Ninja (サイボーグ忍者) is an alter-ego assumed by several individuals. The name "Cyborg Ninja" is derived from the high-tech exoskeletons that the Ninjas wear, which are apparently made by Tokugawa Heavy Industries. Although one of the Cyborg Ninjas was known to feel excrutiating pain even long after transforming into a Cyborg Ninja, it is unknown if any of the other Cyborg Ninjas have that problem. The people known to have assumed this role are:


 * Kyle Schneider, the leader of the resistance force against Big Boss' Outer Heaven in 1995, was presumed dead after contact was lost during the operation. He was actually captured by NATO forces and he was fitted with a flex armor suit, going under the alias Black Ninja, the codename of NASA's Extraterrestrial Environment Special Force. While not quite as advanced as the later Ninjas, he can be considered to be the precursor to the Cyborg Ninja persona.


 * Gray Fox, former FOXHOUND member and Big Boss' most loyal soldier; also known as Frank Jaeger. He was supposedly killed during a fist fight in a minefield with Solid Snake. His body was recovered by Dr. Clark, who fitted him with a prototype Cyborg Ninja suit. The first true Cyborg Ninja, Gray Fox had been revived following his defeat to become a guinea pig for the Genome project. As a result of the project, he also at times began feeling excrutiating pain, sometimes even demanding medicine as a result of his pain, including spazzing out in pain.


 * Olga Gurlukovich, the leader of the Gurlukovich Mercenaries during the Big Shell Incident, wore a similar powered suit. A double-agent working for both the members of Dead Cell and The Patriots, her appearance as the Ninja was scripted by The Patriots as in part to assist Raiden and also to assist in the recreation of the Shadow Moses Incident. It is to be noted that, while she is identified as a Cyborg Ninja, she technically was not a cyborg, as unlike her predecessor or her successor, she never received any cybernetic implants that replaced any part of her body.


 * Raiden, during the Big Shell Incident, was granted the high-frequency blade from Olga. While on a mission for Big Mama to get the remains of Big Boss, he was captured and held in Area 51; there, as part of The Patriots' experiments, his head was completely severed from his body from the jaw down. He was fitted with a cyborg body, and left severely wounded to the point of death. He was saved by Dr. Madnar and given white artificial blood. After he was rescued by Big Mama's resistance group, he used his powers as the Cyborg Ninja to assist Old Snake. Unlike the other Cyborg Ninjas before him, Raiden makes no secret as to his true identity when wearing the "suit."

Weaponry
With the exception of Black Ninja, all of the Cyborg Ninja have carried a H.F. Blade as standard issue. Gray Fox was also outfitted with an arm cannon which fired explosive energy blasts. Raiden holstered a SOCOM pistol as his sidearm, although he never used it during his time as the ninja. Raiden is said to use the H.F. Blade that Olga gave him, but there are some differences between the swords; Raiden's blade in Metal Gear Solid 4 has a dark grey color, and the handle of the sword is different in that there is now no hilt.

Playable appearances
Although the Cyborg Ninja has never been playable in any of the main Metal Gear Solid games, he has been featured as a playable character in the expanded versions of the games:
 * In the racing game Konami Krazy Racers for Game Boy Advance, a Cyborg Ninja, simply called Ninja, is one of the playable racers. Ninja looks exactly like Gray Fox, however.
 * In the VR Disc portion of Metal Gear Solid: Integral, the Ninja is playable in three specialized missions, all taking place in the same storehouse. The goals are destroying several straw targets, killing several Genome Soldiers, and assassinating Solid Snake, who's disguised as a Genome Soldier from the neck downward. These same missions are also available in Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions/Special Missions.
 * In Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, Gray Fox's exoskeleton is an alternate outfit for Raiden's VR missions.
 * Although not a playable character, Gray Fox as the Cyborg Ninja is available as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros Brawl.
 * The SCENE expansion of Metal Gear Online allows the player to play as Cyborg Raiden.

Trivia

 * Two of Old Snake's FaceCamo faces are Cyborg Raiden (visor open and visor closed). The two can be unlocked by having the MK. II ram into Naomi Hunter (the foster sister of Gray Fox) and Sunny Gurlukovich (the daughter of Olga Gurlukovich) during mission briefings.
 * In the original script for Metal Gear Solid 2, Olga wasn't going to be the Cyborg Ninja. Instead, it would have been a computer that would change its voice to taunt Snake (Meryl's voice), and Otacon (Sniper Wolf's).
 * After completing Metal Gear Solid twice, Gray Fox's Cyborg exoskeleton swaps its colors so that its red portions become grey and the grey portions become red. Also observable is the color of the "eye" changing from green to red.
 * Raiden is the only Cyborg Ninja in the series to survive. On a related note, he is also the only Cyborg Ninja to have never fought Solid Snake.
 * Every known Cyborg Ninja is also credited as a Child Soldier