| This article is about a non-canonical topic in the Metal Gear series. |
Black Chamber was a U.S. Army special forces unit founded soon after the Outer Heaven Uprising to act as a sort of "shadow FOXHOUND". After Solid Snake's success during Operation Intrude N313 in 1995, FOXHOUND became well-known to the general populace across the world, and came under much closer surveillance by rival intelligence agencies. Black Chamber was founded to conduct covert operations FOXHOUND was no longer able to. Missions assigned to the clandestine unit included assassinations of anti-American foreign leaders, removal of domestic civilians engaged in anti-establishment activities, intervening in various civil wars that affected American interests, and other black operations.
In 2000, two years before the Galuade Incident, Black Chamber was ordered to retrieve a U.S.-developed Metal Gear unit, which had been seized by a South American terrorist group. Black Chamber succeeded in destroying this Metal Gear prototype, but certain elements in the U.S. Government feared that information regarding Metal Gear's construction and Black Chamber's existence would somehow be leaked to the public. A decision was made to eliminate Black Chamber in an ambush following the unit's return to the United States. The attack was carried out by FOXHOUND, under Col. Roy Campbell's command at the time, although Campbell would later state that he was operating under false information which led to him to believe that the targets of the attack were terrorists.
Only five members of Black Chamber survived the attack. They vowed revenge against FOXHOUND (specifically, Col. Campbell and Solid Snake) and "Anonymous", the unknown government agent who had orchestrated their termination. Four of the survivors became soldiers of fortune and reformed the unit as a mercenary outfit of the same name, while the fifth member doctored his documentation and underwent plastic surgery to create a completely new identity for himself; this man would go on to become the Director of Operations at CIA's Africa Desk, all the while secretly maintaining contact with his former comrades.
Black Chamber resurfaced in early 2002, when they were hired by the Gindra Liberation Front, allegedly to serve as "consultants". They played an important role in the Galuade Incident later the same year, during which all five of the unit's surviving members were killed.
Known members[]
- Black Arts Viper (unit's leader)
- Marionette Owl
- Pyro Bison
- Slasher Hawk
- Brian McBride (unit's double agent within the CIA)
Behind the scenes[]
Black Chamber is the main enemy force in Metal Gear: Ghost Babel. Some traits of the characters, including their backstories and their hatred of Solid Snake for his perceived role in their decimation, were later reused for Dead Cell in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Concept art for Black Chamber and other Ghost Babel characters was also included in the artbook The Art of Metal Gear Solid 2.