The Metal Gear series has referenced several other fictional works. This article lists some of these references.
Comics[]
Spawn[]
Spawn logo in Metal Gear Solid 2.
The logo for the comic franchise Spawn can be seen among crates in the Warehouse section of Big Shell in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
Films[]
007[]
In Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater, the preorders will include a white Tuxedo option for Naked Snake. The tuxedo resembled the one James Bond wore in the film Goldfinger.
Apollo 13[]
In Metal Gear Solid 3: HD Edition, defeating The Fury will unlock the trophy/achievement "Houston, we HAD a Problem", a reference to the line from film Apollo 13, which was itself based on an accident that occurred on the Apollo 13 two days after its launch.
Austin Powers[]
In the Metal Gear Solid 3: HD Edition, the name of the trophy/achievement "Shagadelic", earned by defeating the Shagohod, is based on the titular character's catchphrase, "Shagadelic, baby!"
Ghostbusters[]
The achievement/trophy "Who Ya Gonna Call?" in Metal Gear Solid 2: HD Edition, is a reference to the film's theme song, which is awarded for photographing the ghost in Hold 2, during the Tanker Chapter.
Jurassic Park[]
In the briefing files for Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, Solid Snake sarcastically refers to the creation of the Next-Generation Special Forces as a "dinosaur theme park," the setting of the 1990 novel Jurassic Park and its 1993 film adaptation.
The Muppets[]
The Metal Gear Solid 3: HD Edition has a trophy/achievement that is unlocked after shooting one Kerotan called "It Ain't Easy Being Green", referring to the 1970 song "Bein' Green", sung by the Muppet character Kermit the Frog. Coincidentally, the Kerotan dolls have a passing resemblance to Kermit via the jagged collar and the green frog-like appearance.
Predator[]
The Metal Gear Solid 3: HD Edition has a trophy/achievement that is unlocked after beating The Fear called "If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It." This is a reference of a line Arnold Schwarzenegger says regarding the titular creature.
Pulp Fiction[]
In Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, during an optional Codec conversation in Chapter R-05, Courtney Collins attempts to tell the "ketchup joke" from the film before Raiden mentions that he had heard it before.
TV Shows[]
24[]
In Metal Gear Solid 3: HD Edition, the trophy earned when CQC-interrogating an enemy, "Tell Me Where the Bomb Is", is derived from the series.
The Apprentice[]
The achievement/trophy for defeating Steven Armstrong in the DLC storyline Jetstream, "You're Hired!", was a reference to the catchphrase for Reality Show star, businessman, and 45th President of the United States Donald Trump, in the show The Apprentice: "You're fired!" (with the game and DLC at the time being released before Trump announced his plans to run for President). Coincidentally, in the main game itself during the final fight with Armstrong, the latter, while divulging his plans to Raiden, at one point shouts "We're gonna make America great again!". This is similar to Trump's campaign slogan during the 2016 Presidential Election, which happened three years after the game's released. In turn, Trump's slogan was derived from former president Ronald Reagan's campaign slogan when he ran for president against Jimmy Carter.
Video Games[]
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City[]
Not in any of the games themselves, but an early trailer for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater had Naked Snake holding up a GRU soldier and then riding off on what was implied to be the GRU soldier's motorcycle. The GRU soldier then irritably comments that it was a grand theft auto, and then states they were in a jungle, not a "Vice City", an obvious reference to the game series Grand Theft Auto as well as the then-current entry to the franchise Vice City.
Resident Evil[]
In Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, the scene where Snake investigates the FSLN boathouse to find the FSLN hiding in the room above has a POV shot of a door opening up similar to that of the first three Resident Evil games.
The Healing spray item in Metal Gear Solid V and Metal Gear Survive resembles the First Aid Spray from the Resident Evil franchise in overall function. Similarly, the Shining Lights mission's footage investigation bears some resemblance to similar scenes from Resident Evil.
Although not in the Metal Gear series itself, the Wesker spirit battle in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate uses as the BGM Theme of Solid Snake from Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, alluding to how both that game and the first three games of the Resident Evil series featured the same composer, Masami Ueda.