Decoy Octopus was a member of FOXHOUND that specialized in impersonation. His disguises were so thorough that he would even inject the blood of those he impersonated into his own body. Along with the rest of his unit, he went rogue during the Shadow Moses Incident in 2005.
Biography[]
Early life and career[]
Decoy Octopus was originally from Mexico.[1] Prior to February 2005, he was recruited into the U.S. Special Forces Unit FOXHOUND and served under squad leader Liquid Snake. Octopus was a master of disguise, copying his targets physical appearance, mannerism, and even their own personal DNA, going so far as to drain their blood and inject it into himself.[3]
Shadow Moses Incident[]
- Main article: Shadow Moses Incident
In February 2005, Octopus and the other members of FOXHOUND staged a revolt against the U.S. government on Shadow Moses Island, taking DARPA Chief Donald Anderson and ArmsTech President Kenneth Baker as hostages. After fellow FOXHOUND member Revolver Ocelot tortured Anderson to death, Octopus disguised himself as the DARPA Chief and drained the man's blood, as part of FOXHOUND's plan to access the island's nuclear weapons.[4][5]
Decoy Octopus, circa February 2005.
Disguised as Anderson, Octopus awaited rescue by ex-special forces agent Solid Snake. After Snake gained access to his holding cell, Octopus revealed to him that the terrorists had captured the nuclear-armed Metal Gear REX, and that they needed two detonation codes to activate it.[6][7] He lied to Snake, saying that the terrorists had successfully obtained Anderson's code, and that they only required President Baker's code to launch REX.[7] The misinformation was intended to trick Snake into arming REX via the PAL system, which FOXHOUND were unable to access.[4]
During this time, Octopus had unknowingly become infected by the FOXDIE virus, for which the Pentagon had secretly used Snake as a vector.[8] As Octopus tried to glean further information from Snake regarding the PAL system and whether the White House or Pentagon would give in to FOXHOUND's demands, he suddenly succumbed to FOXDIE and suffered a heart attack, dying at Snake's feet.[9]
The former occupant of the adjoining cell, Meryl Silverburgh, initially mistook Octopus for the DARPA Chief, and held Snake at gunpoint shortly after Octopus' death, believing Snake had murdered him.[10]
Octopus's body was eventually retrieved by fellow FOXHOUND member Vulcan Raven who later revealed the deception to Snake.[3]
Legacy[]
Octopus's death from a heart attack, triggered by the FOXDIE virus, was later recreated for the S3 Plan via Richard Ames, whose pacemaker was shut down by the Patriots during the Big Shell Incident.
Laughing Octopus of the Beauty and the Beast Unit utilized the name and talent of Decoy Octopus during the Guns of the Patriots Incident, achieving her own mimicry through OctoCamo technology.
Physical traits[]
Described as a "master of disguise", Decoy Octopus would alter his appearance and voice to perfectly match that of the subject he was impersonating, going as far as to take their blood into his body. In his normal appearance, he lacked ears and possessed a flattened nose. According to Revolver Ocelot, Octopus was among the older members of FOXHOUND under Liquid Snake's command.[11]
Unconfirmed history[]
| The following information has been detailed in official Konami-licensed media, written by various external authors. Its status in the Metal Gear canon is unconfirmed.[?] |
Born in Mexico, Decoy Octopus became a successful actor and SFX artist after moving to Hollywood.[12][13] He was later recruited by the CIA for his exceptional skills in mimicry, where he was assigned to impersonate government VIPs on top secret missions. It was through his service with the CIA that he came into contact with FOXHOUND.[12]
Octopus was fluent in a dozen languages.[13] At least some of these languages were French, German, Spanish, and included varieties such as Black Vernacular English.[12] To aid his disguises, he shaved down his cheekbones, jaw, and nasal bones, cut off his ears, and possessed computerized vocal enhancement implants.[12] Octopus also took steroids, changing his physique and metabolism, and received bone marrow transplants to change his blood type.[12] To avoid becoming confused as to his own identity, due his extreme methods, he requested that the military give him a full mental deprogramming after each mission.[12]
Octopus gained his nickname due to his ability to contort his body and dislocate his joints, allowing him to adopt any manner of walk he chose and to navigate through narrow spaces, respectively.[12] The name also derived from his mastery over his sense of touch, giving him exceptional grip strength and a high tolerance for temperature extremes.[12]
Behind the scenes[]
Decoy Octopus (デコイ・オクトパス Dekoi Okutopasu?) appears in Metal Gear Solid, although his normal appearance is only partially visible during a flashback sequence (excluding the profile images in the briefing videos). His actual voice is never heard and his background is never revealed in the game. Octopus is the only member of FOXHOUND who does not serve as a boss character, and his body does not possess a collectible dog tag in the remake Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.
Artwork of Decoy Octopus by designer Yoji Shinkawa.
Mexico is identified as Octopus's place of birth in the Metal Gear Solid: Official Mission Handbook, published by Millennium Books. A Mexican origin was later confirmed by the description on the Decoy Octopus character card in Metal Gear Acid 2, included with the MGS1 Pack.[1]
The "Ghost" of Octopus appears in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, if the player photographs the elevator in the Tank Hangar with the Camera. The image is that of his face portrait from artwork for Metal Gear Solid.
Octopus was featured in Versus Battle, where his character competed for votes against Metal Gear Mk. II.
- "STRENGTHS:
Master of Disguises and Mimicry
WEAKNESSES:
FOXDIE, Lack of Combat Expertise
FEATURED FACT:
Decoy Octopus’s disguise field craft was so exceptional he even transfused the blood of his subjects and fooled Solid Snake himself
FEATURED GAME:
METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION" - ―Decoy Octopus in Versus Battle
Hideo Kojima later reflected that he considers the circumstances surrounding Octopus to be an original approach to a boss fight, since the player expects to fight him but never does.[14]
In Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Octopus's death is recreated during the Déjà Vu Extra Op by a prisoner in Camp Omega. Should the player character utilize the Classic Snake skin, the prisoner will appear as Donald Anderson, Octopus's disguise.
Appearances[]
- Metal Gear Solid / Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
- Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (flashbacks, as Donald Anderson)
- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (flashbacks)
- Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (Déjà Vu Extra Op, as Donald Anderson)
Sources[]
Gallery[]
Notes and references[]
- ^ a b c Metal Gear Acid 2, Kojima Productions (2006).
- "A member of the newly reformed FOXHOUND. A master of disguise, originally from Mexico."
- ―Decoy Octopus card description
- ^ Dummied data for the PC version of Metal Gear Solid revealed that the Shadow Moses Incident occurred on February 28, 2005.
- ^ a b Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (1998).
Vulcan Raven: The man who you saw die before your eyes... // (flashback of the DARPA Chief's death is shown) // Raven: That was not the DARPA Chief. It was Decoy Octopus. A member of FOX-HOUND. He was a master of disguise... He copied his subjects down to the blood. So he drained the Chief's blood and took it into himself. - ^ a b Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (1998).
(Solid Snake inserts the PAL key in the final computer terminal) // Computer: PAL code number three confirmed. PAL code entry complete... Detonating code activated. // Solid Snake: No! Why! // Computer: Ready for launch... // Snake: I deactivated it!! // Master Miller (Liquid Snake): Thank you, [Solid] Snake. Now the detonation code is completed. Nothing can stop Metal Gear [REX] now. // Snake: Master, what's going on? // Miller: You found the key and even activated the warhead for us too. I must really must express my gratitude. Sorry to have involved you in that silly shape memory alloy business. // Snake: What are you talking about about? // Miller: We weren't able to learn the DARPA Chief's code. Even with [Psycho] Mantis' psychic powers, he couldn't read his mind. Then [Revolver] Ocelot accidentally killed him during the interrogation. In other words, we weren't able to launch the nuclear device and we were all getting a little worried. Without the threat of a nuclear strike, our demands would never be met. // Snake: What do you mean? // Miller: Without the detonation codes, we had to find some other way. That's when we decided...you might prove useful, Snake. // Snake: What? // Miller: First I thought we might get the information from you, Snake. So I had Decoy Octopus disguise himself as the DARPA Chief. Unfortunately Octopus didn't survive the encounter. ...thanks to FoxDie. - ^ Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (1998).
Solid Snake: The corpse of the DARPA Chief is lying right here next to me. // Naomi Hunter: Poor man. // Snake: But it's strange. He looks and smells like he's been dead for days. All his blood's been drained out too. // Roy Campbell: Drained!? // Naomi: Maybe to slow down decomposition? // Snake: I have no idea. // Naomi: But the Chief only died a few hours ago, right? // Snake: Right. But he's already started to decompose. - ^ Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (1998).
Solid Snake: I had heard the Metal Gear project was scrapped. // Donald Anderson (Decoy Octopus): On the contrary, it's grown into a huge joint project between ArmsTech and ourselves. We were going to use this exercise as raw data... and then proceed to mass production. If it hadn't been for the revolution... // Snake: Revolution...? // Anderson: Rex has fallen into the hands of terrorists... // Snake: Rex? // Anderson: Metal Gear Rex. The code name for the new Metal Gear prototype. - ^ a b Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (1998).
Solid Snake: But I thought that all nuclear warheads were equipped with safety measures. Some kind of detonation codes that you have to input... // Donald Anderson (Decoy Octopus): Oh, you mean PAL. Yes, of course, there is a PAL. It's set up so that you need to input two different passwords in order to launch the device. // Snake: There are two passwords? // Anderson: Yes. Baker knows one, and I know one. // Snake: Baker? The president of ArmsTech? // Anderson: That's right. Each of us needs to input our password or there can be no launch. But... They found out my password. // Snake: You talked? // Anderson: Psycho Mantis can read people's minds. You can't resist. - ^ Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (1998).
Master Miller (Liquid Snake): In any case, the launch preparations are complete. Once the world glimpses the power of this weapon, the White House will have no choice but to surrender the FoxDie vaccine to me. Their ace-in-the-hole is useless now... // Solid Snake: Ace-in-the-hole? // Miller: The Pentagon's plan to use you was already successful... ...in the torture room. // (Miller chuckles) // Miller: Snake, you're the only one who doesn't know. Poor fool. - ^ Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (1998).
Solid Snake: OK. I'm gonna to get you out of here. // Donald Anderson (Decoy Octopus): Wait a minute. // Snake: What is it? // Anderson: You... haven't heard any other way to disarm the PAL, have you? From your bosses or anyone. // Snake: No. // Anderson: Are you sure you haven't heard anything? // Snake: I just said no. // Anderson: So, do the White House plan to give in to the terrorist's demands? // Snake: That's their problem. It has nothing to do with my orders. // Anderson: But... what about the Pentagon? // Snake: Pentagon? // (Anderson grabs his chest) // Anderson: ....Nnnnnnngggghhh! // Snake: What is it? // Anderson: Ww...why? Uuuuuugggghhhh!! // (Meryl Silverburgh listens to what's going on in the adjoining cell) // Meryl Silverburgh: What's that!? // (Anderson clutches his chest in pain while Meryl pounds on her cell door) // Meryl: Hey! What happened! // (Anderson slowly advances towards Snake before he collapses on the floor while Meryl is still pounding on her cell door; Snake then checks Anderson's pulse) // Snake: Hmmm... Dead... - ^ Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (1998).
(Solid Snake slowly exits and looks outside of the cell when he is held up by Meryl Silverburgh) // Meryl Silverburgh: Don't move! // (Meryl looks inside the cell to see Donald Anderson's corpse) // Meryl: So you killed the Chief. You bastard...! - ^ Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (1998).
Revoler Ocelot: FOXDIE... It killed Octopus and the ArmsTech president... So it's true that it affects older people first. - ^ a b c d e f g h Metal Gear Solid: Official Mission Handbook, Millennium Books, (1998).
- ^ a b Metal Gear Solid by Raymond Benson, Del Rey (2008).
"From Mexico, there's Decoy Octopus, a master of disguise. He speaks a dozen languages and is an expert in transforming his appearance." - ^ Originally, the plan was naked Raiden’s privates could get exposed during combat. Metal Gear Informer (2015-02-27). Retrieved on 2019-09-19.