Colonel Jackson[1] was the leader of the U.S. Navy SEALs anti-terrorist unit Dead Cell, and the husband of Helena Dolph Jackson, otherwise known as Fortune.
Biography
Prior to the Big Shell Incident, Jackson was found guilty of corruption charges and misappropriation of government funds. Despite the claims of his innocence from the members of Dead Cell, Jackson was imprisoned at Leavenworth Prison. Feeling that Jackson had been falsely accused, Dead Cell took the case to the higher courts but they never managed to have it reopened. The group's name became tainted and Jackson later died of exhaustion while serving out his sentence, having apparently lost the will to live. With the loss of their leader, the members of Dead Cell snapped and underwent a radical change, eventually becoming a rogue terrorist unit.
It was later revealed that Jackson was in fact innocent. The Patriots had arranged for his arrest in order to push Fortune and the rest of the unit into becoming dangerously unstable (or, according to Vamp, justify wiping out Dead Cell regardless of whether they had actually committed terrorist acts or not).[2]
Behind the scenes
Jackson is a minor character who is mentioned in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. He also features as a major character in the non-canon Snake Tales scenario "Dead Man Whispers," included in Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance.
In "Dead Man Whispers," Jackson, who is being driven insane by his time in prison, and thinking of nothing else but the survival of Dead Cell, hatches a desperate plan to convince the public of his innocence. He orders Vamp to go on a killing spree, murdering several political and military figures. Although Vamp questions the sanity of the plan, he nonetheless acts upon it, until he is eventually blackmailed and manipulated by Navy Captain O'Brien. Vamp triggers a revolt to protect Jackson by going on a rampage at the Big Shell during a training exercise, killing a group of SEALs and O'Brien in the process. Depending on the player's actions, Jackson will either die in prison due to mental exhaustion, or his conspiracy will be exposed and thus increase his sentence to life imprisonment. Regardless of the scenario, it is implied that his plan succeeds in the aftermath as rumors escalate claiming that Dead Cell had been framed.
Notes and references
- ^ Jackson is repeatedly referred to as a colonel in Metal Gear Solid 2, despite the fact that the U.S. Navy never uses this rank. He was later referred to as "Commander Jackson" by Vamp, a more appropriate rank, given Dead Cell's status as a SEAL unit. However, the Metal Gear Solid 4 Database refers to him as captain, the naval rank equivalent to that of an Army, Air Force, or Marine colonel.
- ^ Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2001).
Vamp: Six months ago, we lost everything we believed in... We were abandoned to take the fall in their cover up. We were labeled as killers responsible for the mass-murder of civilians as well as our own allies. And the "public" believed every word, turning a deaf ear to whatever we had to say to the contrary. Our only goal is to wipe them from the face of the earth -- and destroy this world of deceit they have created along with them. // Raiden: You're insane. // Vamp: Insane? We might be the only ones telling the truth...
