Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-86.46.22.35-20130403153709/@comment-8245466-20130719173144

Ishmael doesn't appear old enough to be Zero. Zero is like in his 50's or 60's at this point. Also, since Snake Eater we never see Zero out in the open, he's always behind the scenes manipulating events to his own ends. There's no way he'd ever put himself out in the open like that, especially so close to Big Boss.

As for who Ishmael could be, and given what little information we actually have, here's a list of plausible scenarios from the most plausible to the least likely:

1- Ishmael is a hallucination. He's either likely psychometric interference from Psycho Mantis that manifests as Big Boss's own sense of self, a projection of his mind, or he's purposely created by Mantis to guide Big Boss out of the facility.

2- Ishmael is an entirely new character. He would have to be somehow affiliated either with Ocelot or Kaz to know that the soldiers raiding the hospital were after Big Boss specifically. Since Kojima has been mum about his identity (he wasn't even mentioned in the MGS V trailer), it's possible that he is a new character who doesn't play a very big role in the story.

3- Ishmael is Frank Jaeger. According to established canon, Big Boss has to rescue Frank sometime during the late 1970's. Obviousley, this means it HAS to be before his coma. We also know that sometime during the 1980's Big Boss meets Frank again in Africa, as well as Naomi. A perfect way to reveal this background information that has been floating around for years would be to feature both events in the same game. What better way than to make Frank Jaeger the guy who's been looking out for Big Boss, his friend and father figure, for over nine years? Besides, if Big Boss rescued Frank than he would know Kaz and maybe even Ocelot and that would give him the neccessary information to know why the soldiers were at the hospital, looking for Big Boss.

4- Ishmael is Zero, Solidus, Chico, or anyone else. Those theories are just about as wild speculation as they come. Zero's too old, Solidus is too young, Chico is too Nicaraguan to sound like Kiefer Sutherland. It really makes we wonder whether some people pay attention to canon, understand the characters, or have any ability to carry out rational inquiry based on evidence, introducing speculation when needed.