Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-6747658-20130401084750/@comment-1971498-20130421015005

98.19.149.12 wrote: I'd say Kojima could possibly be recycling the concept of Old Boy from Sons of Liberty one last time here for the XOF Commander; in fact, I think this could actually be Old Boy. It sounds like a stretch, but considering the information out there on Old Boy's actual backstory, he seems to be the perfect fit for the role. Hear me out, if you're reading this.

Although the idea and backstory of Old Boy were both split up into The End and The Boss respectively for Snake Eater, it was stated in the game plan for Metal Gear Solid 2 that Old Boy was well over 100 years old when he died a few months previous to the Big Shell incident. During Kojima's GDC presentation, it was stated that one character from Metal Gear Solid 5 was going to be about 100 years old and speculation (even on this website) points to that character being the XOF Commander, considering that his appearance does look heavily aged and unhealthy underneath all of the scars and possible burns. Also, according to information found on this site, Old Boy served as "a mentor to several world-renowned soldiers and mercenaries" and possessed " vast cunning and experience." Who better to take down Big Boss and succeed?

Kojima also stated that he was bringing a character back from the dead for Metal Gear Solid 5. Old Boy is a dead character, both canonically and in terms of production.

Also, the concept art for Old Boy (the suit) as well as his appearance from the corresponding MGS2 comic book (his facial features) seems to bear some sort of a resemblance to the XOF Commander as well.

If I'm right in my theory, then of course I could see Kojima revising some elements of the character and retconning his backstory. Since The Boss was obviously Big Boss's mentor, Old Boy would no longer be his mentor, but Metal Gear Solid 5 would also shed a world's worth of light on his connection to Big Boss (as well as FOX and Zero).

What do you think? The evidence does make this likely. I read up on Old Boy not too long ago, so I'm surprised that this thought never crossed my mind. Sounds like a very plausible idea for the identity of the XOF Commander, and I sure as hell would prefer the re-introduction of Old Boy over using someone like Gene or maybe even Zadornov.