Venom Snake

"I won't scatter your sorrow to the heartless sea. I will always be with you. Plant your roots in me. I won't see you end as ashes. You're all diamonds. We'll make diamonds from their ashes, take them into battle with us. We are Diamond Dogs."

- Venom Snake to his Diamond Dogs soldiers

Punished "Venom" Snake, also known as Big Boss, and formerly known as Ahab, V, Big Boss's phantom, or simply Snake, was a mercenary commander, formerly a combat medic for Militaires Sans Frontières (MSF), who led Diamond Dogs and Outer Heaven as one of Big Boss' most trusted lieutenants.

During his time as a medic, Venom Snake saved Big Boss's life during the destruction of MSF in 1975 by shielding him from an oncoming explosion, losing his left arm and right eye in the process. Despite his sacrifice, Big Boss fell into a coma. Venom Snake was then placed into an artificially induced coma, undergoing hypnotherapy and plastic surgery so that he could act as a body double for Big Boss. This was done in order to protect Big Boss from XOF forces who had destroyed MSF nine years earlier.

After awakening from his coma in 1984, Venom Snake went by the title and identity of Big Boss. Venom Snake was given command over the mercenary unit Diamond Dogs, which had been founded by Kazuhira Miller as a successor to MSF. While in charge, he rebuilt Mother Base and expanded Diamond Dogs. Venom Snake succeeded in defeated the XOF unit and took vengeance on its leader, Skull Face.

Venom Snake went on to command the military fortress of Outer Heaven during the time the real Big Boss returned to FOXHOUND. Both Big Bosses planned to build TX-55 Metal Gear to fight against the Patriots. In 1995, Venom Snake was killed by Solid Snake, one of Big Boss's sons, in an operation commanded by the real Big Boss himself.

Militaires Sans Frontières
"He was always the best man we had."

- Big Boss on Venom Snake during tape "Doublethink"

Venom Snake was born in 1932 in California. During the Peace Walker Incident of 1974, Venom Snake served as a member of Militaires Sans Frontières, acting as a combat medic and doctor. According to Big Boss, Venom Snake was "always the best man we had", implying that he was an incredibly capable soldier, as well as a reliable field medic. Venom Snake was very skilled in CQC.

On December 5, 1974, Venom Snake, Big Boss, Kazuhira Miller and Morpho posed together for two group photographs, showing that the four men were good friends.

XOF Trojan Horse operation
Main article: XOF Trojan Horse operation

On March 16, 1975, the medic was stationed on board the helicopter sent to extract MSF commander Big Boss and rescued POWs Chico and Paz Ortega Andrade from Camp Omega in Cuba. He was one of the few MSF staff members to have knowledge about Paz and Chico's situation as well as the mission itself.

During the flight back to Mother Base, Big Boss ordered the medic to look over the unconscious Paz, after Chico had noticed surgical scars on her abdomen. Suspecting that a bomb had been concealed inside her, the medic was forced to operate on her immediately, as there was no time to administer anesthesia. He successfully removed the bomb from her gut and gave the bomb to Big Boss, who threw it into the ocean. Venom Snake managed to get Paz's breathing stable with the latter having no active bleeding, assuming the danger was over, Venom Snake stitched Paz's abomen back up.

Returning to Mother Base, Big Boss and the medic discovered their home being destroyed as the nuclear inspection was a ruse arranged by, unbeknownst to them at the time, XOF which was Cipher's strike force. Big Boss briefly left the helicopter to rescue Miller just before Mother Base sank to the bottom of the ocean. Miller, in a fit of rage, demanded answers from the unconscious Paz.

Although the bomb was quickly disposed of, Paz awoke and revealed that there was a second bomb inside of her on the verge of exploding. Wasting no time, she jumped out of the chopper and the second bomb exploded in mid air. The medic shielded Big Boss from the blast and his body bore the brunt of the explosion, before the helicopter was sent into a collision with an XOF chopper which resulted in the deaths of Morpho, Morpho's co-pilot, an unidentified MSF soldier, and Chico.

Nine-year coma
Both men survived the incident. Shortly thereafter, however, they entered into a coma. Venom Snake in particular had suffered extensive injuries, having moved in the way to protect Big Boss. He lost his right eye and his left arm had to be amputated several inches above the wrist and 108 foreign agents composing of shrapnel, human bone and teeth which had been embedded in his body, which, for the most part, could be removed successfully. However, certain pieces of shrapnel, which were located close to his heart and inside his cerebral cortex, were too risky to extract as impairment or even death would have been likely to occur upon removal. Ocelot also implied the injuries were severe enough that he was clinically dead.

Once the two Snakes were stable enough to be moved, Zero had EVA move both Big Boss and Venom Snake to Dhekelia SBA Memorial Hospital in Cyprus in order to be hidden, to receive medical treatment and to be looked after while they are in their comas, with Zero controlling the information so that their enemies, including Skull Face and XOF would not be able to find them.

Ocelot and Zero talked, with the former being in charge of the security at the hospital. During the conversation, Zero told Ocelot that he had created another Snake, with Ocelot angrily assuming it was a product of the Les Enfants Terribles project. Zero replied that the medic was a mental copy of Big Boss. Ocelot, caring only about Big Boss's best interests, agreed to the plan.

After Miller recovered from his injuries, he noticed Big Boss was missing and contacted Zero. He explained that for Big Boss's safety, Miller had to stay away from Big Boss until the latter woke up from his coma. Zero said the codeword for when Big Boss woke up was "V [had] come to." Unbeknownst to Miller, Zero was actually referring to Venom Snake, who would act as the new Big Boss while the real one vanished from the public eye.

As Ocelot would later explain to Big Boss, Venom Snake's altered state had allowed to implant powerful suggestions through induced hypnagogia and that Venom Snake shared all of Big Boss's missions, knowledge, and experiences, to make him to believe that he was the real Big Boss. This was done to Venom Snake during the nine years he spent in the coma.

In 1976, a year after Venom Snake and Big Boss were put in their comas, Skull Face sent Zero a lapel pin that belonged to The Boss which Skull Face recovered from Tselinoyarsk, and coated the lapel pin with a form of the vocal cord parasites that infected Zero when the latter accidentally pricked his finger. Skull Face, not content with just killing Zero, coated the lapel pin with a form of parasites that would eventually send Zero into a vegetative state that he would remain in for the remainder of his life.

In 1977, Zero visited both Venom Snake and Big Boss, though for the most part he ignored the former. He only inquired about Venom Snake when asking the doctor which was the real Big Boss and if the doctors did as instructed to Venom Snake. When Zero asked if either of them had awoken, the doctor told him that both Snakes' EEGs showed stable activity levels, but there was no change and that the doctors moved their muscles every four hours so that they'd be ready to move should they wake up. Zero told the doctor that the two would be in the Memorial Hospital for the rest of the duration of their comas due to the risk of moving them, and their location was safe. After talking to Big Boss spiritually, Zero left the hospital and went back into hiding for good.

In early 1984, Big Boss woke up from his coma. Big Boss and Ocelot met at the hospital and spoke. Ocelot explained that Cipher had found out about him waking up and that the Man on Fire had woken up as well, meaning Venom Snake would have to be awoken earlier than planned, cutting some of his hypnotherapy and mind manipulation short. Ocelot explained the concept of Venom Snake to Big Boss; he was no longer a medic of MSF, but the latter's phantom with all the knowledge and experiences of the legendary hero. Venom Snake was to act as the new Big Boss. While Big Boss initially showed reluctance to the idea, Ocelot pointed out that Venom had protected Big Boss in the helicopter and by becoming Big Boss, he would do so again; it was what Venom would have wanted. Ocelot then prepared Big Boss on his role as "Ishmael", to assist Venom Snake in his escape from XOF when they attacked the hospital.

Restoration of Mother Base and the hunt for Cipher
See also: Hospital Escape and Restoration of Mother Base and the hunt for Cipher

On February 26, 1984, Venom Snake was woken up from his induced coma. At the behest of Zero, Venom Snake was given plastic surgery to resemble Big Boss so he could act as a decoy for XOF. In order to ensure the ruse worked, he was also given hypnotherapy to have him possess Big Boss's memories and thus have him believe he was the real Big Boss. On March 11, another patient named Ishmael, who in actuality was the real Big Boss in disguise, managed to successfully get Venom Snake out of the hospital he was in. As the two escaped in an ambulance, the real Big Boss was knocked unconscious after taking a shot from a helicopter. Venom Snake attempted to drive the ambulance, but he crashed into a river bank. When Venom Snake regained consciousness, Ishmael was gone, and he was greeted by Ocelot, who would accompany Venom Snake on a trip to Afghanistan in order to rescue Miller. After rescuing Miller, the three returned to the newly constructed Mother Base, where Venom Snake took command of Diamond Dogs. Venom Snake performed several missions in order to expand their new Mother Base so that they could fight Cipher. Unbeknownst to Venom Snake until later, Ocelot was aware of Venom Snake's true identity the whole time, and he was monitoring Venom Snake as part of a series of tests to see if the hypnotherapy to turn Venom Snake into Big Boss's body double had truly worked, which it did. Upon confirming the hypnotherapy's success, Ocelot preformed a similar technique on himself, as to trick himself into believing that Venom Snake was indeed the one and only "Big Boss."

Along the way, Venom Snake was briefed on what had happened in the world in general due to the coma, as well as more specifically what happened while he was in a coma. He also had his loose prosthetic replaced with a bionic arm. He ultimately succeeded in saving Miller, and evacuated, although not before encountering the group responsible for slaughtering Miller's men and giving him over to the Soviets to be tortured.

Venom Snake and Diamond Dogs rose to huge heights as they collected resources, expanded their facilities, and swelled their ranks with volunteers and "recruits" forcibly extracted from the field. Venom Snake and Miller were eventually able to exact revenge on Skull Face and his XOF unit. After shooting off Skull Face's right arm and leg, mirroring injuries sustained by Miller when he was originally captured by XOF, Venom Snake and Miller left him to die as Huey Emmerich finished him off. Venom Snake later exiled Huey for his recklessness (more specifically, his collaboration with Eli as well as causing a devastating parasite outbreak and Wolbachia mutation on Mother Base that forced Venom Snake to kill many of his own men that were infected). Some time later, Venom Snake would receive a cassette tape from the real Big Boss which contained the following:

"Now do you remember? Who you are? What you were meant to do? I cheated death, thanks to you. And thanks to you I’ve left my mark. You have too – you’ve written your own history. You’re your own man. I’m Big Boss, and you are too… No… He’s the two of us. Together. Where we are today? We built it. This story – this “legend” – it’s ours. We can change the world – and with it, the future. I am you, and you are me. Carry that with you, wherever you go. Thank you… my friend. From here on out, you’re Big Boss."

Venom Snake took up the name and kept up the ruse. Diamond Dogs itself was a smoke screen to place all focus on Venom Snake while the real Big Boss could lay the ground work for Outer Heaven.

After several months, Diamond Dogs' intel team was able to locate Quiet alive at the Aabe Shifap Ruins. Venom subdeued Quiet, and brought her back to Mother Base after determining that she wasn't showing any active symptoms of communicable the vocal cord parasites.

Sometime later, the Diamond Dogs pilot who was forced to fly Eli, Treji Rebenok, and the other child soldiers off of Mother Base was finally recovered about fifty miles inland to Africa from the Seychelles waters. He explained that shortly after departing Mother Base, the levitating Metal Gear Sahelanthropus and the helicopter of the children split up and began to head in different directions, the helicopter making a forced landing in East Africa after running out of fuel. The pilot had been left alive on purpose, albeit trapped inside the chopper and near death from dehydration when rescued, to call Snake and Diamond Dogs out to settle their conflict. Due to Cipher hunting Eli as well, and Eli possessing the last sample of the English strain of vocal cord parasites, and if it began to spread the world would fall into chaos. it was important that Snake go to Eli first.

The Intel Team found out where Eli, his boys, and Sahelanthropus had gone - an island in a large salt lake in Central Africa. Eli presented that they had one demand in exchange for Sahelanthropus and its nuke - the body of "Big Boss."

When Venom Snake arrived on the island he found that XOF troops had already begun a strike operation to kill Eli and take Sahelanthropus back. Many of them had been killed by cruel booby traps set by Eli's boys, but a good number of them had survived. Snake made his way to the center of the island, where he found Eli resting in Sahelanthropus' cockpit among the child soldiers. However, a platoon of XOF soldiers had beaten him there, opening fire on Eli. Their weapons were rendered useless by Tretij Rebenok's psychokinesis. Eli activated Sahelanthropus and began killing the soldiers, eventually discovering Snake hiding from the attack. He stopped his onslaught momentarily to speak with Snake and declare that he was going to get his revenge, and the two then began their battle.

Their battle came to a close when Sahleanthropus' torso was blown in half at the waist, causing it to shut down and become inoperable, Eli and Tretij Rebenok having been finally defeated. As Eli emerged from the cockpit he was approached by a squadron of XOF soldiers ready to kill him. Snake sprung a surprise attack and killed the assassins, but back up quickly arrived. After a grenade went off in close proximity to Snake, his "horn" suffered damage and triggered a seizure in his brain, affecting his vision and making him unable to differentiate between red and white. He moved back in to attack, but due to his temporary colorblindness Eli's red pilot suit appeared similar to XOF's white suits and Snake accidentally shot Eli. Snake ran to Eli's motionless body to mourn his mistake.

It was discovered Eli hadn't died, as he had donned a bulletproof vest at some point in time before the attack. Venom Snake ordered that he be returned to Mother Base to be patched up, but Eli suddenly began showing symptoms of the English vocal cord parasite's effects. Eli expressed his hatred for Snake and Cipher, claiming the someday he would destroy Big Boss, believing Venom Snake to be his father. With the island completed contaminated by the vocal cord parasites, Ocelot ordered the entire island to be hit with a napalm strike to burn every last thing on it. As Diamond Dogs and the salvaged remains of Sahelanthropus began to move out, Snake gave Eli a pistol with one shot in it, leaving it up to him what to do. On board the Diamond Dogs helicopter, Venom Snake stared at his reflection in the glass of a window, seeing nothing but a demon once again.

After Outer Heaven's construction had been completed, Big Boss's reputation as a mercenary had travelled far and wide thanks to the activities of Venom Snake. While he knew that mercenaries around the world would eventually rally to his cause, he also knew that it would bring the attention of government agencies growing suspicious of his activities. Needing to keep attention away from Outer Heaven, Big Boss himself decided to return to the U.S. to rejoin FOXHOUND as its commander. Diamond Dogs was dissolved and absorbed into Outer Heaven, with Venom Snake taking control of the operation in Big Boss' absence.

In 1995, Venom Snake received another cassette tape from Big Boss, this time explaining his mission as part of Operation Intrude N313. Venom Snake then began an uprising within Outer Heaven to bring chaos to the Patriots, who had been growing without control in spite of their leader Zero falling into a vegetative state. Venom Snake captured the scientist Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar and forced him to build TX-55 Metal Gear by holding his daughter Ellen Madnar hostage. Venom Snake managed to capture the first FOXHOUND operative sent by Big Boss, codenamed Gray Fox.

Big Boss then sent his least experienced agent, a new member of FOXHOUND, a rookie codenamed Solid Snake, who happened to be Big Boss's cloned son, with the objective of rescuing Fox and destroying TX-55 Metal Gear. Both Big Bosses intended for Solid Snake to collect false information and report back to FOXHOUND, in order to protect Outer Heaven.

As Solid Snake progressed through his mission, Big Boss, realizing that Solid Snake could ruin his and Venom Snake's plans, ordered Solid Snake to abort the mission. Solid Snake, however, ignored Big Boss's command and continued with the mission.

After Solid Snake rescued both Gray Fox, Dr. Madnar, and his daughter, he succeeded in destroying TX-55 Metal Gear. Afterwards, Outer Heaven's self destruct was activated, presumably by Venom Snake. Having successfully completed his mission, Solid Snake attempted to make his escape from the doomed fortress. Just then, Venom Snake intervened and revealed himself, blocking Solid Snake's escape.

"Solid Snake! I've been expecting you... ...I am the supreme commander of the FOXHOUND unit... And... The leader of the fortress of Outer Heaven, Big Boss! I gave this mission to you, a rookie, thinking I could use you to fool the rest of the world... But you were too good. You went too far! Solid Snake! I'm not going down alone. I'm taking you with me! Prepare to die!"

- Venom Snake's last words.

The two then fought as the self-destruct continued to countdown. Despite his age, Venom Snake proved to be fast and dangerous. Ultimately, Solid Snake defeated and killed Venom Snake.

Solid Snake then escaped Outer Heaven fortress and saw it explode as he got to a safe distance. Shortly after this, NATO launched a massive aerial bombardment almost immediately after the main fortress's destruction. A pinpoint strike was executed on Outer Heaven's nuclear weapons facility using bunker-busting bombs, burying Venom Snake's body in the rubble.

With his "phantom" and best man dead, Outer Heaven destroyed, and his plans in ruins, the real Big Boss fled FOXHOUND, faking his death through Venom Snake's and went into hiding yet again. Two years later, Big Boss would establish Zanzibar Land with the remnants of Outer Heaven, which would eventually lead up to the Zanzibar Land Disturbance four years later. In respect for his fallen comrade, he would finish the work started by himself and Venom Snake.

Codenames and aliases
The codename "Venom Snake" was a reference to the "demon" inside him due to the anger, hatred, and pain he felt as a result of the destruction of Militaires Sans Frontières and the original Mother Base. Although not a codename, Venom Snake was briefly referred to as "V" as part the codeword "V [had] come to" after he had woke up from his coma.

The title of "Big Boss" was awarded to Venom Snake's former commander, Naked Snake, following Operation Snake Eater, being regarded as being "above even The Boss" after his defeat of the former legendary soldier. Due to Venom Snake being Big Boss's body double, he shared the title of "Big Boss" with his former commander from when he woke up from his coma in 1984 and for the rest of his life. It was not just because Venom Snake was the body double, but also due to the fact Venom Snake and Naked Snake were both Big Boss had built the legend of Big Boss together. By 1995, Venom Snake, would just go by the title Big Boss.

While not his most formal codename like Venom Snake and Big Boss, he was also known as "Ahab", which comes from the central character from the novel Moby-Dick. Big Boss would also use an alias from Moby-Dick, "Ishmael", and the codename for Diamond Dogs pilots was "Pequod."

Ocelot and Big Boss himself referred to Venom Snake as "Big Boss's phantom" or simply "the phantom". This was due to Venom Snake being Big Boss as well.

Personality and traits
Due to receiving hypnotherapy, Venom Snake shared many aspects of Big Boss's personality. Unlike Big Boss, however, Venom Snake was far more reserved in his speech and absent of the wit of Big Boss. He rarely made comments regarding his enemies' tactics, and most of his reactions were comprised of through simple body language rather than words. Despite this, Venom Snake was calm and collected. Like Big Boss, Venom Snake preferred to work alone. During the medic's days in MSF, Big Boss considered him the group's "best man." While impersonating Big Boss as Venom Snake, he adopted much of his commander's personality and possessed a similar physical appearance, having undergone hypnotherapy and plastic surgery. Following his escape from a Cypriot hospital and recovery from muscle atrophy, Venom Snake gained muscle mass similar to that of Big Boss.

As a result of the wounds sustained in the helicopter crash, Venom Snake had several pieces of shrapnel embedded in his body. The pieces that remained after surgery were located in his forehead in the shape of a horn, while another piece was inserted near the heart, and also lost his right eye and left arm, with the former being covered by an eyepatch, matching Big Boss's iconic appearance. He was given a crude prosthetic hook, which was later replaced with a bionic arm by Ocelot.Like Big Boss, Venom Snake displayed compassion toward his enemies and preferred righteous acts of justice as he chose not to kill Quiet or Huey and instead had the former imprisoned and the latter exiled with food and water. He would even develop a strong bond of mutual respect with Quiet.

Though he and Big Boss shared similarities in their compassion for enemies, Venom Snake viewed Paz in a more positive light than Big Boss. As Venom Snake was a former MSF soldier himself, he sympathized with Paz and was fond of her gentle personality. At Mother Base, Venom Snake experienced hallucinations of meeting an amnesiac Paz on the medical platform, and used images collected from MSF soldiers to connect the dots of Paz's backstory.

Venom Snake upheld an ethical code that comrades in Diamond Dogs was also family and that they should not draw weapons on each other, as he explained to Eli when the latter tried to attack him. However, Snake was forced to break this code himself when he had no choice but to kill all the Diamond Dogs soldiers infected with the vocal cord parasites because of Huey's actions.

Although not sadistic like Ocelot, and not as angry and vengeful to the same degree as Miller, Snake did display a vengeful and angry side when he mutilated Skull Face by blowing his left leg and right arm off, leaving Skull Face to die slowly and painfully. Snake managed to contain it, but his disgust for Huey, while it wasn't as apparent with Ocelot and Miller, was clear.

Venom Snake was very skilled in using weapons and CQC, which he was skilled in during his previous life as the field medic even before he became Big Boss. He presumably learnt CQC from his template, Big Boss himself. Venom Snake's ranks and abilities were so high that they even surpassed Big Boss's ranks and abilities, further proving that Venom Snake was Big Boss's best soldier and worthy of being Big Boss.

Venom Snake shared Big Boss's flaw of underestimating someone in getting a mission done, as they both thought that the rookie Solid Snake would not be able to destroy TX-55 Metal Gear and defeat them. Near the end of his life, Venom Snake, when Solid Snake destroyed TX-55 Metal Gear, and the self-destruction of Outer Heaven was activated, displayed a disregard for his own life as he intended to die in Outer Heaven, taking Solid Snake with him in death.

Like his template Big Boss and his killer Solid Snake, Venom Snake had a habit of repeating words that someone said in a questioning tone, as he did when Ocelot told him that Miller was being held a prisoner in Afghanistan. Believing that he was the original Big Boss, Venom Snake shared many of Big Boss's habits including his habit of frequently smoking cigars, both real and electronic ones.

Venom Snake appeared to suffer from a form of amnesia (or more accurately, the memory transfer was not completed), as both Miller and Ocelot had to remind him of certain events, such as how the real Big Boss led Militaires Sans Frontières with Miller. He also did not possess Big Boss's fluency in other languages, relying instead on the use of translators. Despite these shortcomings, he did recall the events from the Peace Walker Incident, such as the prototype Battle Gear's similarity to Metal Gear ZEKE giving him déjà vu, and he was able to quote Hot Coldman regarding the ineffectiveness of nuclear deterrence. Ocelot stated that his amnesia might have to do with the shrapnel in his forehead, although the Truth tapes state that it was because the memory transfers had to be stopped prematurely due to XOF were set to attack ahead of schedule.

Big Boss
Venom Snake was regarded as the best man in MSF by Big Boss, who viewed him as a friend. Venom Snake saved Big Boss's life by taking the full force of the explosion in 1975, after jumping in between the explosion and Big Boss, showing unwavering dedication and loyalty to his commander. Initially, Big Boss expressed reluctance to the idea of using Venom Snake as his decoy, but was later convinced that it's what he would have wanted. While the relationship between the two was never provided with much further insight, it appeared that the two respected enough to have several photos with each other.

Big Boss later called Venom Snake a friend in the cassette tape addressed to him as well as thanking him for his role in leaving his mark as Big Boss, a title that they both share, as the two of the make the legend. Venom Snake's loyalty towards Big Boss appeared unchanged as he continued the ruse of acting as a decoy for Big Boss after regaining his memories and being informed of his role as a decoy. Venom Snake would continue to go by his shared name "Big Boss" and follow his commander and friend until his death.

Kazuhira Miller
Miller at first was friendly with Venom Snake, fully believing that he was his old partner Big Boss upon his rescue from Afghanistan. However, as time went on distance increased between the two, with events such as the sparing of both Quiet and Huey's lives broadening the gap. Miller continued to support Venom Snake until the truth was revealed to him by Ocelot, upon which Miller was disgusted and enraged at being kept in the dark. He instantly began to resent the real Big Boss, abruptly deciding that he would devote his life to assisting David and Eli in destroying their father. However, he nonetheless stated he would support Venom Snake, although solely because he wanted him to surpass Big Boss someday.

Morpho
Venom Snake and Morpho were comrades in MSF. Their group photograph on December 5 1974 shows that the two, along with Big Boss and Kazuhira Miller are close comrades and friends. Both Venom Snake and Morpho were valued soldiers to Big Boss as they, along with Miller, were the only ones to know about Paz Ortega Andrade survival and both Venom Snake and Morpho were part of Big Boss's mission to rescue both Paz and Chico. All four friends were in the helicopter when the second bomb inside Paz exploded, while Big Boss, Venom Snake and Miller survived, Morpho was killed along with Paz and Chico, which increased Venom Snake's and Miller's resolve to get revenge for their fallen comrade.

Ocelot
Ocelot treated Venom Snake as a friend, and actually believed he was the real Big Boss due to self-induced hypnotherapy. Ocelot first met Venom Snake outside the hospital and saved him by taking him to safety. He often acted as a voice of reason within Diamond Dogs and still harboured a bit of an obsession with his "Big Boss." Venom Snake tended to favour Ocelot's opinion over Miller's such as allowing the construction of Battle Gear and sparing Quiet, much to the latter's chagrin. Ocelot, when the hypnotherapy wore off, acknowledged that Venom Snake was Big Boss and continued to support him and Diamond Dogs, Ocelot would follow both Big Boss and Venom Snake's respective quests from the shadows.

D-Horse
Venom Snake first met D-Horse when he and Ocelot rescued Venom Snake from the hospital after he escaped from the hospital. Venom Snake rode D-Horse during his mission to rescue Miller in Afghanistan. After rescuing Miller, Venom Snake would take D-Horse with him on missions, with the latter working well with Venom Snake, who responded to Venom Snake's commands.

DD
Venom Snake brought DD back to Mother Base after finding him in the wildness of Afghanistan. DD was very fond of Venom Snake as he licked him affectionately. Venom Snake and Ocelot agreed that one day DD could be useful once he has grown up. Once DD had done so, Venom Snake then took the dog with him on missions where the two worked well as a team, with DD following Venom Snake's commands and proving himself as a useful asset to Diamond Dogs, which he was named after.

While Ocelot saw DD as a good partner for Venom Snake, the latter thought it was too early for him to say. Ocelot advised him to spend more time with DD to get to know him. Both of them were not sure of DD's breed, but Ocelot was sure that he had wolf heritage. Ocelot then commented on DD's intelligence and good judgement calls. Venom Snake wasn't sure whether he liked DD or not, as they were both trying to understand each other, with Venom Snake telling Ocelot that he will think about taking DD with him.

Quiet
Although they first met as part of a violent assassination attempt, Venom Snake and Quiet were shown to have an intense mutual respect for each other after Snake spared her life. Both being at least somewhat laconic, the two managed to understand each other very deeply and silently respected one another's skill on the battlefield. When Quiet salvaged Shabani's necklace from the chlorine disinfectant-filled vat, Venom Snake quickly rushed to her aid and had to be stopped from jumping in after her by Ocelot. The two also shared a special moment in the rain on Mother Base, and if Venom Snake neglected to shower on his own, Quiet would invite him to shower with her instead. Quiet later regretted not expressing her romantic feelings for him and abandoning him for his own safety.

Code Talker
Venom Snake met Code Talker when he needed his help to defeat the vocal cord parasites. They were effective comrades, as they shared their hatred for Skull Face. Though the two did not know each other that well, they seemed to respect and trust each other, despite the fact that Venom Snake's American people oppressed Code Talker's people, the Navajo. Code Talker treated Venom Snake with some form of reverence, knowing him as the legendary leader Big Boss. This was shown when he quickly complied to being added to Diamond Dogs' roster. Code Talker's knowledge of the vocal cord parasites proved to be invaluable to Venom Snake and saved many of his men (including himself).

Huey Emmerich
Due to his hypnotherapy, Venom Snake harbored similar feelings towards Huey as Big Boss did. Venom Snake didn't trust Huey at all, recognizing that he was the cause of the destruction of Mother Base. He was often disgusted and annoyed by Huey's immature and cowardly attitude towards the world, but decided to put up with it. In a tape of them talking, when Huey expressed shock at Dr. Clark's work, Venom Snake said it was "rich coming from him." From the surface Huey seemed to respect Venom Snake, believing he was Big Boss after all, but also feared him greatly and tried to stay on his good side. Venom Snake did give him a second chance with his inclusion in Diamond Dogs and the construction of Battle Gear, but in the end found himself betrayed by the scientist once again. Upon being forced to execute many Diamond Dogs soldiers because of Huey's testing on the vocal cord parasites, Venom Snake hated him even more. However, he managed to bridle his anger and act reasonably, banishing Huey from Mother Base on a life raft with food and water instead of simply killing him in revenge. From Venom Snake's point of view, he was just glad to have him gone.

Skull Face
Like Big Boss, Venom Snake knew very little of XOF and Skull Face, merely seeing them as more pawns of Cipher. Although he rarely showed it, he burned for revenge on Skull Face as Miller did, instead acting in a very calm and disturbed coldness around his foe. He never personally engaged in conversation with Skull Face, quietly listening to Skull Face's words as he formulated his next strike instead. Oddly, he also seemed to have some degree of tolerance for the XOF commander, patiently listening to Skull Face's monologue on the trip from OKB Zero to Serak Power Plant in silence. Like everyone else, Skull Face saw Venom Snake as Big Boss and treated him thusly, often taunting him and gloating to help himself feel superior. He remained bitter towards Big Boss for his involvement in Operation Snake Eater and their roles on opposite sides of the same coin, taking these negative emotions out on Venom, unaware of his true identity. While he did despise Big Boss/Venom Snake, Skull Face treated him with some respect, due to his status as valiant war hero and a great man turned into a "demon", just like himself. In the end, Venom and Miller did end up exacting their revenge on Skull Face, but it was a hollow bout of revenge that continued to leave both of them with a lasting phantom pain. Upon returning to Mother Base with Sahelanthropus, Venom Snake saw a vision of Skull Face, a ghostly reminder that though they had lost their object of revenge, Diamond Dogs were still experiencing a phantom pain.

Tretij Rebenok
Snake first encountered Rebenok at the hospital as he and Ishmael was escaping. Because of Snake's need for revenge, Rebenok helped Snake at the hospital by killing XOF soldiers and by conjuring a flaming whale to destroy a XOF helicopter, during these times, Rebenok had a horn, similar to Snake's. Other times however, Rebenok acted hostile to Snake and tried to kill him multiple times, whether with the Man on Fire, Skull Face or Eli. During Eli's escape, Snake attempted to kill Rebenok but failed.

Man on Fire
Because of the hypnotherapy, Venom Snake knew who Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin was, and presumably had the same feelings of disgust and hatred and relationship towards Volgin that Big Boss had. When Snake first encountered the Man on Fire, the former didn't know who he was while the latter tried to kill Snake on multiple occasions, due to thinking that Snake was the original Big Boss as the Man on Fire hated Big Boss. When Skull Face tried to have the Man on Fire fight Snake, the Man on Fire stopped after Eli's hate prioritized Rebenok's powers. The Man on Fire was then run over by Sahelanthropus's platform. Snake thought the Man on Fire died, but later found his body at the Yakho Oboo Supply Outpost and when attempting to the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system him, the Man on Fire attacked and tried to kill Snake by strangling him, reverting to his original appearance, but, after realizing Venom was not the true Big Boss, he stopped and he collapsed and died, ending the conflict between the two for good.

Eli
Due to the hypnotherapy, both Venom Snake and Eli believed that the former was the original Big Boss and Eli's father. Because of this, Eli harbored a huge hatred and resentment and for Venom Snake. It was so great that it was even stronger than both Skull Face and Volgin's wraths (as shown by Tretij Rebenok's preference to Eli over the aforementioned). Eli tried to kill Venom Snake on multiple occasions, even just for patting him on the back or treating him like a kid. Venom Snake displayed a calm tolerance for Eli, but did not underestimate his skills and violent tendencies.

Paz Ortega Andrade
Venom Snake met and knew Paz Ortega Andrade during her stay at the original Mother Base during the Peace Walker Incident, following Coldman's death and the destruction of Peace Walker. It was unknown how Venom Snake reacted when it was revealed that Paz was an undercover agent working for Cipher to undermine MSF. Venom Snake was part of the mission to extract Paz along with Chico. As the chopper's field medic, Venom Snake extracted the first bomb from Paz without any time to administer anesthetic, but failed to find the second. The resulting explosion killed both Paz and Chico and sent Big Boss into his nine-year coma. Of the 108 foreign objects embedded in Venom Snake's body from the explosion, many were fragments of human bones and teeth, that mostly belonged to Paz.

As part of his subconscious guilt, brain damage and PTSD, Venom Snake recreated the memory of Paz's death so it was undone. He believed that both bombs had been extracted and disposed of. However, Paz had leapt out of the chopper in an attempt to save everybody on it. In this altered memory, Venom Snake believed that the explosion was caused by an RPG fired by an XOF chopper.

When Venom Snake became the leader of Diamond Dogs and visited the Medical Platform on the new Mother Base, he began to have hallucinations that Paz truly had survived and was there. Unlike Big Boss, who fully recognized her traitorous role against MSF, Venom Snake still saw her as the kind-hearted young girl he once knew. After rescuing members of MSF from the original Mother Base, Snake recovered photos of the good old times and showed them to Paz, at which point Snake realized that Paz never survived that fateful day. His hallucinations of Paz were the result of his guilt for not finding the second bomb in time, leaving him with a phantom pain. Eventually, Snake accepted what had really happened and could move on.

Chico
Just like Big Boss, Venom Snake knew Chico due to their time on the original Mother Base. When Chico recklessly decided on his own to rescue Paz Ortega Andrade, Venom Snake was one of the few to know about Chico and Paz's capture in Cuba, and was part of the mission to rescue Chico and Paz from the facility. On their way back to Mother Base, Venom Snake, Big Boss and Chico worked together to extract the first bomb from Paz's stomach, but they failed to extract the second which resulted in both Paz and Chico's deaths.

Nine years later, Venom Snake, due to the hypnotherapy, possessed Big Boss's memories and relationships including his with Chico. Some time later, Venom Snake and Miller talked about how Amanda Valenciano Libre's revolution was a success, that it was both Amanda's and Chico's dream, that the helicopter was no place for Chico to die and that Chico knew the risks like they all did. Venom Snake then said that, now that Chico was gone, Diamond Dogs is Chico's mark on the world; otherwise there would be no proof that Chico ever existed at all.

Zero
Due to hypnotherapy, thinking that he was the original Big Boss, Venom Snake had a very one-sided relationship with Zero. Venom Snake hated Zero for a long time, believing he was the one who ordered the destruction of the original Mother Base. Over time, this hatred shifted to focus on the true perpetrator Skull Face. When Zero visited the comatose Big Boss in Cyprus, he acknowledged Venom Snake's existence, but saw him as little more than a tool used to protect the real Big Boss whom he valued so much more.

Solid Snake
Venom Snake and Solid Snake were enemies. Venom Snake, along with Big Boss, tried to manipulate Solid Snake into giving the U.S. government false information, a plan that backfired. Venom Snake attempted to Solid Snake before he could escape the doomed Outer Heaven. Solid Snake killed Venom Snake.

The Mbele Squad
When Venom Snake first met the Mbele Squad, he was originally meant to kill them for their general. Miller said that since they cant go home the only choice they had was heaven or hell, but Snake said there was another. Snake faked their deaths and brought them back to Mother Base. Snake suggested that they would make good soldiers, with Miller objecting saying they are no naturals. Snake compared the Mbele Squad staying at Mother Base to a daycare. Snake approved the idea of them having a real life without being behind a gun, but Miller said that is their way of life on Mother Base.

Diamond Dogs Soldiers
Venom Snake cared about his soldiers and considered them his family, because of this he had created a code which ensured that Diamond Dogs must not draw weapons on each other. When many of Venom Snake's soldiers were infected with the vocal cord parasites, he hesitated at first and reluctantly killed them. Venom Snake was devastated and agreed with Huey that it was his fault.

Behind the scenes
Punished "Venom" Snake appears as a supporting character in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, as the main protagonist of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and the secondary antagonist and final boss of Metal Gear. Although he is never called "Punished" in The Phantom Pain, it appears in the opening and end credits of nearly every main mission in the game.

Venom Snake first appears as an unidentified field medic during the closing cutscenes of Ground Zeroes. Because of the cinematic angles, there is never a clear view of the medic's face, although his character model can briefly be glimpsed as possessing white skin and brown hair. The full character model was discovered in the PC version through the use of mods, with the facial model and textures for the medic sharing identical scars to those of Big Boss. Despite this predetermined, albeit obscured, appearance in Ground Zeroes, Venom Snake's name and facial features prior to surgery is chosen by the player in The Phantom Pain. In the cutscene showing a flashback to the events of Ground Zeroes, before the final twist is revealed, the medic is instead shown wearing a balaclava. When the twist is revealed, a flashback of the medic in the helicopter is shown,the medic's balaclava is removed and the player's avatar they created at the start of The Phantom Pain is shown.

It is implied in The Phantom Pain that Venom Snake himself (and his nondescript identity as a medic) serves as a deliberate player avatar, due to his original appearance being reliant on the player's decisions. Due to the ending in "Truth: The Man Who Sold the World", it is implied that Hideo Kojima intended for the player to become Big Boss. This was confirmed in the second interview with Stefanie Joosten on The Codec.

Novelization author Hitori Nojima, citing an email from Kojima, explained that the player brings the story full circle in their own way, with the role of Venom Snake making the story truly theirs, and not necessarily restricted to the fate of Big Boss in the early games. Kojima and the player creating the story together "is something traditional movies and books could not do."

Once the player has beaten The Phantom Pain, they can use the avatar they created at the start of the game, which the player can edit if they want to change their avatar in anyway. The player's avatar can also be used in Metal Gear Online. The avatar also makes an appearance in the story when Ocelot hands the original Big Boss a passport that he has to go by, which has the name, month and day of the birthday and avatar that the player created at the start of the game.

Overall, Venom Snake is the sixth canonical Snake in the. Venom Snake is also the second playable character whose true role is revealed via a plot twist, similar to Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Venom Snake is the third Big Boss in the Metal Gear series, along with the original Big Boss and the non-canon Big Boss featured in the Nintendo Entertainment System of Metal Gear and Snake's Revenge. Canonically, Venom Snake is the first Snake to die in the Metal Gear series. Finally, Venom Snake is canonically the only one to be directly killed by another Snake (Solid Snake).

While it has been done more with Venom Snake in the Metal Gear series, Venom Snake is not the only character in the series that Kojima intended to invest in the player by putting the player in the character's position. Solid Snake was the first character in the series to be used this way in Metal Gear Solid when Psycho Mantis breaks the fourth wall and when the player can decide whether Meryl Silverburgh lives or dies. The second is with Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2 when the player inputs their name and birthday on Raiden's dog tags and the player through Raiden becomes Solid Snake's equal, this is supported by Solid Snake's speech at the end. In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, the player is meant to feel how Naked Snake feels about having no choice but to kill The Boss. It goes even further when the player is the one to pull the trigger and kill The Boss.

On the Command Center menu, if the player looks closely at Venom Snake's reflection, it shows the avatar the player created, hinting at the plot twist of Venom Snake not being Big Boss. Also, a pair of white gloves can be seen hanging in the cabin of the ACC. These gloves bear a strong resemblance to those worn by the medic during the scene in Ground Zeroes where he operates on Paz. Also, the group photo of Morpho, Miller, Big Boss and the Medic is folded, covering the medic completely.

In addition, the Piggyback game guide for The Phantom Pain strongly implied Venom Snake's true identity is separate from Big Boss, although they never explicitly confirmed it due to Konami and at that time Kojima Productions specifically forbade them from giving any statements about Ishmael's identity. The GDC 2013 reveal trailer for The Phantom Pain had first hinted at his existence when Miller, after learning about Big Boss falling into a coma, asks "What about him?" before the scene cut away.

The plot twist of Venom Snake not truly being Big Boss is hinted at multiple times throughout the game. Ishmael told him that he was "looking at himself" after Venom Snake had asked Ishmael who he was. When Venom Snake meets The Boss AI and Huey, the AI states, "You're not Snake, are you?", and Huey notices a difference between the two. Another hint is Ocelot explaining that Eli was not Venom Snake's clone, and that the genetic examination of the two did not match. There are several other subtle difference and clues such as the eyepatch worn by Venom Snake has two cords, compared to Big Boss, whose patch always had a single cord.

The ending timeline of The Phantom Pain establishes Venom Snake as the final boss of the original Metal Gear, fulfilling his role as a "phantom" of Big Boss via a retcon. As such, his character sprite does not show an apparent prosthetic arm or cranial horn.

Interestingly, the English manual for the NES version of the original Metal Gear claimed that the "Commander of Outer Heaven" and "Snake's Commanding Officer" were two different individuals, being Colonel Vermon CaTaffy and Commander South, respectively. However, neither of their names appear in the game itself, with Big Boss serving both roles. Coincidentally, "Vermon" is phonetically similar to "Venom."

Whatever day and month the player puts as their birthday, if they play The Phantom Pain on that date, Miller will ask them to return to Mother Base. If the player does so, Miller, Ocelot, and whoever has been rescued to that point (Huey, Code Talker, DD and Quiet) will celebrate their birthday.

In The Phantom Pain, the player can collect a hidden game mechanic which are Demon Points, which is used for determining the player's "morality." Demon Points are increased for immoral actions and decreased for moral ones. Demon Points are obtained in essentially the opposite way in which Heroism points are obtained, as none are accrued via mission/side-op completions. When enough Demon Points are obtained, Venom Snake's horn will grow and he will be covered in blood. Once enough Demon Points are collected, Venom Snake will become Demon Snake. There are three forms to Demon Snake when Demon Points are obtained or reduced, these are:

Demon Points can be obtained and removed in a variety of ways. Unlike Heroism, no Demon Points are awarded or removed for completion of objectives.
 * Normal: This is the default appearance for Snake and can be re-obtained by reducing Demon Points below 40,000.
 * Horned Snake: This form appears after obtaining 20,000 points, the first time. It is distinguished by the metal shard in Venom Snake's head growing significantly to resemble a horn. If the player returns to "Normal" form after becoming Horned Snake, the player will return to Horned Snake after 40,000 Demon Points from then on.
 * Demon Snake: This form appears after obtaining 50,000 points, the first time. It is distinguished by the metal shard in Venom Snake's head growing significantly longer then even Horned Snake and by Snake becoming permanently covered in blood. If the player returns to "normal form" after becoming Horned Snake, he/she will return to Horned Snake-only after obtaining 80,000 Demon Points in total.

Earning Demon Points

 * +20 - Fail the fulton extraction of an animal.
 * +20 - Kill an animal.
 * +30 - Critically wound an enemy soldier.
 * +40 - Kill an animal using fire damage.
 * +60 - Fail the fulton extraction of an enemy soldier.
 * +60 - Kill an enemy soldier.
 * +60 - Lose a Diamond Dogs staff member held hostage by aborting mission 22 (+60 each).
 * +75 - Destroy D-Walker.
 * +90 - Kill a Diamond Dogs staff member held hostage.
 * +100 - Kill a prisoner.
 * +120 - Kill a critically wounded enemy soldier.
 * +120 - Kill an enemy soldier using fire damage.
 * +150 - Destroy a support helicopter.
 * +150 - Critically wound D-Dog, D-Horse or Quiet.
 * +180 - Kill a Diamond Dogs staff member.
 * +180 - Kill a Diamond Dogs staff member held hostage using fire damage.
 * +200 - Kill a prisoner using fire damage.
 * +50,000 - Develop a nuclear weapon.

Removing Demon Points

 * -30 - Fulton extract a common animal, enemy soldier, puppet soldier, or Parasite Unit member.
 * -60 - Fulton extract a rare animal, Diamond Dogs staff member, or a prisoner.
 * -60 - Extract a puppet soldier, a critically wounded enemy, or Quiet via helicopter.
 * -120 - Fulton extract a very rare animal, an extremely rare animal, or a child soldier.
 * -120 - Extract a VIP, a prisoner, or a Diamond Dogs staff member via helicopter.
 * -240 - Extract a child soldier via helicopter.
 * -300 - Visit the Animal Conservation Platform.
 * -1,000 - Dispose of a nuclear weapon.
 * -1,000 - Earn the "Cry Havoc" or "Speechless" trophy.
 * -5,000 - Earn the "Cleared", "Trusty Steed", "Man's Best Friend", "War Buddy", or "Reminiscence" trophy.
 * -10,000 - Earn the "Conservation" trophy.
 * -30,000 - Dispose of ten nuclear weapons.

If Snake runs low on GMP, he will be forced to return to base due to morale having fallen to such an extent that at least two personnel had gotten into a particularly violent brawl amongst each other, resulting in Snake breaking up the fight and even forcing one of the soldiers to stab him when he attempted to draw a weapon on the other soldier he restrained, also suggesting to Ocelot that they need a job to do to get them focused on something other than their tenuous relationship with other personnel. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kojima Productions (2015). Pequod's chopper arrives at the landing pad and Venom Snake disembarks only to see a crowd present at the base and arrives to observe, with it cutting to a fight between two Diamond Dogs members // Diamond Dogs member 1: Son of a... // ''The soldier shoves the other DD member, only to be socked in the face in return as Venom Snake walks up. The soldiers then exchange blows, only for the second soldier to kick the first soldier in the gut. Two soldiers attempt to restrain them, only for the soldiers to knock them away and rush at each other. They then grapple each other and are in a lock, only for the second soldier to be kneed in the face and punched by the first soldier'' // Diamond Dogs member 1: Bring it on! // Diamond Dogs member 2: Get off me! (Socks the first soldier in the face and then kicks him upside the head just as he turns around) // ''The second soldier then draws a knife and raises it up high, as the crowd cheers him on. As the soldier is about to make the killing blow, Venom Snake suddenly tackles the soldier, forcibly disarms the knife, knocks down the first soldier, then throws the second soldier away. The first soldier then draws his knife and attempts to go at the downed second soldier only to be stopped by Venom Snake via the latter grabbing his knife arm'' // Diamond Dogs member 1: Boss! // Venom Snake: We don't draw weapons on comrades. (the soldier struggles) Look around you. This is your family. // (Snake then forces the unwilling soldier to stab him through the chest and then releases him, the soldier landing on his back as the crowd looks on in shock at what happened). // Ocelot: Show is over! Get out of here! // ''Ocelot arrives just as the soldiers do as they are told and leave the area. Snake then gets up and attempts to remove the knife himself, only for Ocelot to nonverbally suggest against it and request removing it for him.'' // Snake: Be gentle. // Ocelot: Of course. (Ocelot then proceeds to remove the knife swiftly yet gently.) // Ocelot: These [knife] are bad for you, you know. // Snake: (looking to the soldiers who were fighting amongst each other) Morale has fallen. // The two soldiers stand at attention // Ocelot: They just need a mission. Orders to follow. If you see someone stuck in the Waiting Room, you give 'em a job to do. (Turns to the soldiers) You two! (motioning the knife) You just earned yourselves a week in the brig with deck-cleaning duty by day. // Snake: (grabs Ocelot's knife hand) No. Wait. (Grabs the knife from Ocelot) You've got some blood to pay me back for first. Your CQC is sloppy - Come see me later for a lesson you won't forget. (wipes blood off the blade via his thigh before handing it back to the first DD soldier. The soldiers then salute and walk off). // Ocelot: Well morale taken care of. (Ocelot walks off)

There is another optional cutscene, and mission, that Snake can do. Snake can encounter what appeared to be Paz inside one of the buildings of the Medical Platform on Mother Base. Miller and Ocelot would elaborate that Paz seemingly gained amnesia due to trauma. Snake would later embark on various missions to capture and recruit wandering soldiers that hailed from the original MSF Mother Base. This resulted in him finding old memento photos based on Paz's respective joyful experiences on Mother Base, and in turn, he would give these photos to the amnesiac Paz as means of helping her regain her memories, after which Paz will say she is not feeling well.

After collecting all the memento photos, Snake visited her again, only to find that she was suddenly in a panic. Paz explained that there was still a bomb inside of her, then slowly pulled out the bomb from her stomach. The bomb then exploded and Snake was seemingly caught in the blast only to find himself waking up unharmed. The "hospital room" was revealed to have actually been under construction and only consisted of a metal floor.

A butterfly passed by him but it mysteriously vanished when he grabbed it and opened his hand. Having realized that Paz had truly passed away many years ago, Venom Snake finally came to terms with her death. It was heavily implied that what Snake witnessed was a phantom of Paz, and that he had experienced an elaborate and vivid hallucination (Miller and Ocelot did not really appear either) due to his grief over losing Paz (as his direct failure, not noticing the second bomb while reaching inside of her); in which it was akin to the feeling of a phantom pain.

Another cutscene that can only be unlocked if the player reaches certain requirements is the one with Snake and Quiet dancing in the rain. To unlock this the player must have an 80% bond with Quiet and must return to Mother Base with Quiet while it is raining. Quiet will strip and dance in the rain on her own and then Venom Snake will then join Quiet, who will dance with her after she has encouraged him to, they stop dancing when the weather clears up. As they are dancing, "Quiet's Theme" will be heard in the background.

Venom Snake's alias as Ahab is a reference to the central character from the novel Moby-Dick; the same way that Big Boss's adopted identity as Ishmael is also derived from the main character of the novel. There are many references and similarities between Venom Snake and Ahab from Moby Dick: Venom Snake being made to believe he is Big Boss via hypnotherapy is similar to how Ocelot led himself to believe he was the mental copy of the deceased Liquid Snake, Liquid Ocelot, with their hypnotherapy wearing off after some time had passed. As revealed on his passport that Big Boss used, Venom Snake was born in California, and is 52 years old.
 * Both Venom Snake and Ahab were involved in an incident that resulted in the loss of their limbs, Venom Snake's left arm and Ahab's left leg respectively.
 * They both had their limbs replaced with a substitute, thought Venom Snake got a bionic arm later on.
 * Both Venom Snake and Ahab wanted revenge on those that took their limbs.
 * They both rebuild what they have lost in order to get the means to get revenge.
 * Both of them have means of transportation with Venom Snake's pilot being called Peqoud and Ahab's ship being called Peqoud as well.
 * Both Venom Snake and Ahab are physically and physiologically damaged from what happened to make them loss their limbs.
 * They are both leaders of their own organisations, Diamond Dogs and Ahab's crew.
 * They both recruit people through charisma and terror to get people to join them.
 * Ahab is seen as dictatorial but not unfair and occasionally showing a compassionate side, is very similar to how Venom Snake behaves.
 * Both Venom Snake and Ahab die due to their hubris, though Snake did get his revenge. Both Big Boss and Ishmael outlives them.

According to Kojima's notes in the Piggyback Collector's Edition Guide's art gallery, Venom Snake (or rather, Big Boss as he is identified in the notes) losing his arm was decided early on in the project, and also implied that he was supposed to lose two fingers from his right hand as well. He also mentioned that the powerful prosthetic arm was implemented to allow players to appreciate the full intended experience, as while Snake could technically still wield weapons, it would have made it difficult to appreciate such.

Although the Truth ending reveals that Venom Snake is not Big Boss, his exact reaction to learning of this revelation is left ambiguous, as he briefly demonstrates a smirk as if accepting and embracing the role. After he flips the tape "From Man Who Sold the World", he sees Operation Intrude N313, which is the name of the mission in the original Metal Gear. In the next scene, Venom Snake sees himself in the mirror with a bloody face and larger horn, before punching the mirror. The exact time frame is deliberately vague, and Venom Snake disappears into the fog after smashing the mirror.

Similar to Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, his stats are not accessible on the Mother Base staff menu. They are instead accessible when selecting a playable soldier for a mission or FOB event. As such, he also doesn't have his own iDroid image.

After the player has retaken the R&D Platform from Mosquito and his Private Force, the player has unlocked Forward Operating Base (FOB), which is the online multiplayer. Venom Snake can be chosen to infiltrate another player's FOB, though Snake will not be superior then the soldiers or the players he encounters. Snake is not the only one that can be chosen, any soldier in Diamond Dogs can be chosen to infiltrate and steal from player's rival FOBs. In the online multiplayer (FOB), there is a mission that all online players must unlock by disarming all nuclear weapons that players have either stolen from other players or had created in order to unlock a number of cutscenes which shows Diamond Dogs accomplishments. It was at this time that Diamond Dogs once again built and owned several nuclear weapons.

However, Venom Snake had them all dismantled as he didn't want to repeat the mistakes of the first Mother Base. After this line against nuclear weapons had been drawn, Venom Snake and Diamond Dogs began their campaign to rid the world of active nuclear weapons. They spent months infiltrating other PF bases and government installations, stealing and then dismantling the nuclear weapons they found. They did this often at the cost of the lives of many of their Combat Unit's members. In the end, Diamond Dogs and Venom Snake managed to accomplish their goal of worldwide nuclear disarmament. Unfortunately, almost immediately thereafter, nuclear proliferation quickly resumed by the world's militaries. It then shows Venom Snake, Miller, Ocelot and Diamond Dogs soldiers are at a ceremony at a memorial and vowed to keep the world free of nuclear weapons and combat nuclear proliferation and achieve complete nuclear disarmerment.

Unfortunately, almost immediately thereafter, nuclear proliferation quickly resumed by the world's militaries. As the credits roll Venom Snake, due to the hypnotherapy giving him all of the original Big Boss's memories is making a speech spiritually to The Boss.

"We have no tomorrow, but there's still hope for the future. In our struggle to survive the present, we push the future farther away. Will I see it in my lifetime? Probably not. Which means there's no time to waste. Someday the world will no longer need us. No need for the gun, or the hand to pull the trigger. I have to drive out this demon inside me - build a better future. That's what I - what we - will leave as our legacy. Another mission, right Boss?"

- Venom Snake Besides his appearance in the main game, he is also playable in the third iteration of Metal Gear Online in two ways: First, as the player avatar the player created for themselves at the beginning of the game (confirmed in the truth mission to be Venom Snake's pre-surgery identity), and second, as Venom Snake himself post-surgery as a bonus character.

Appearances

 * Metal Gear 
 * Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
 * Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain