Iroquois Pliskin

"I'm not an enemy. Calm down. My name is S... My name is Pliskin."

- Iroquois Pliskin

Lieutenant Junior Grade Iroquois Pliskin (イロコィ・プリスキン) was a supposed Navy SEAL who assisted Raiden during the Big Shell Incident. He didn't appear to be a normal Lieutenant, as SEAL officers normally give orders from the command post using the radio headset which Pliskin was seen wearing. He was quite knowledgeable on various "black" military subjects, particularly FOXHOUND, Dead Cell, and the Gurlukovich Mercenaries. Pliskin also used the Marine and SAS mottos, "Semper Fi" and "Who Dares, Wins," respectively. When Pliskin left Peter Stillman and Raiden to begin his bomb disposal of Shell 2, Stillman immediately figured that Pliskin was no SEAL due to the headphones and his use of other military organizations' mottos. Raiden wondered if Pliskin could have been one of the terrorists, but Stillman replied that for some reason, he didn't think so.

Raiden first discovered Pliskin when he stumbled upon a room filled with the bodies of SEALs who had been killed by Vamp. Raiden was nearly attacked by Vamp, but only received a scratch thanks to an intervention from Pliskin. Vamp then went to attack Pliskin, but stopped short, remarking that Pliskin smelled just like "him."

Iroquois later revealed himself to be Solid Snake, who supposedly died two years prior in the sinking of the U.S.S. Discovery, and thus verifying Stillman's suspicion.

Trivia

 * When Raiden asked Pliskin how he entered the Big Shell, he responded with: "fast rope descent from a navy chopper". Shortly thereafter, a bug crawled out of Pliskin's clothes, indicating that he had actually infiltrated the facility via the same route as Raiden, as the Deep Sea Dock of Strut A was filled with them.
 * At the beginning of his mission, Raiden was told by the Colonel that he would be unable to use either the terrorist's or the SEAL's weapons due to the ID lock feature. However, Raiden was able to use both Pliskin's M4 carbine against Vamp, and the SOCOM that Pliskin gave him. Both weapons should have been ID locked had they been SEAL weapons.
 * Upon closer inspection of Pliskin's equipment, there were a few shotgun shells tucked into his vest.
 * The last name of "Pliskin" was based on the protagonist "Snake Plissken" from the movies Escape from New York and Escape from L.A., while "Iroquois" was the Algonquin word for "black snake."

Behind the Scenes

 * An early rendition of Iroquois Pliskin was to have blonde hair, much like Solid Snake's originally intended hair color in Metal Gear Solid, as seen in the Briefing. The idea made it as far as actual game testing, but was shelved in favor of dark hair. Testers cited a lack of association to Snake from MGS as the reason.
 * Snake's Pliskin alter ego was used in Snake Tale D: Dead Man Whispers.
 * Pliskin's attire is almost identical to Snake's appearance in Metal Gear right down to the headset and the color of his clothing.
 * The appearance of Naked Snake in the Olive Drab camouflage is also similar to Pliskin.
 * If the player equips the Young Face Camo with the South American guerrilla disguise in Act 2 of MGS4, Snake's appearance is similar to Pliskin.
 * An unlockable Pliskin trophy is available in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It has the following description:

"A SEAL member who infiltrates the Big Shell to suppress a terrorist group threatening to destroy it. He joins forces with Raiden, a new recruit in the special-forces unit called FOXHOUND. Disguised in order to secretly infiltrate the Big Shell, Pliskin is actually Solid Snake."
 * In DreamMix TV World Fighters, Solid Snake has an alternate costume that makes him look like Pliskin.
 * In the game plan for Metal Gear Solid 2, Iroquois Pliskin was originally supposed to come off as seemingly bumbling in order to have the player doubt that he was Solid Snake. He also was originally supposed to wear a cross around his neck, and it was this cross that saved him from near death from Vamp (as Vamp was afraid of crosses/crucifixes due to the church bombing in Romania.). His identity as Snake was also revealed after Fortune identified his blood.