| This article is about a non-canonical topic in the Metal Gear series. |
Slasher Hawk was an Australian member of Black Chamber who was raised as an Aborigine. He was accompanied in battle by a hawk, which he had found as an orphaned chick on a battlefield; the hawk served as his personal totem and protector. In combat, owing to the "Slasher" portion of his name, he wielded a pair of custom-made wilgis - massive 5-foot-long steel boomerangs, reportedly capable of cleaving a calf in two. Slasher Hawk's fighting style was said to have been inspired by juggling and Chinese martial arts.
Biography[]
The man who would become Slasher Hawk had been abandoned by his birth parents in Australia and was taken in by an Aborigine couple, who raised him as their own despite opposition from the tribe's elders. Growing up, he was treated coldly by the villagers, who would scatter whenever he attempted to join in on festivities. He observed their customs and taboos in an attempt to gain acceptance, but when his parents died, he was rejected by the tribe and forced to leave the village.
After years of wandering the world as an outsider, he met Black Arts Viper and was recruited into Black Chamber, a special forces unit of the U.S. Army, where he was given the codename of Slasher Hawk. His newfound sense of belonging was quickly shattered, however, when Black Chamber became victims of an ambush at the hands of FOXHOUND in 2000, shortly after quelling a terrorist threat in South America. The attack wiped out all but five members of Black Chamber. Alongside three of the other survivors of the ordeal, Hawk turned to mercenary work, biding his time to exact revenge on FOXHOUND and the person responsible for orchestrating the attack, known only as "Anonymous".
Galuade Incident[]
Silhouette of Slasher Hawk.
In 2002, the remnants of Black Chamber set their plans into motion by aiding the Gindra Liberation Front in hijacking the U.S.-developed Metal Gear prototype, GANDER, while it was en route to South America. They later wiped out most of the Delta Squad team assigned to aid Solid Snake in infiltrating Galuade. However, Black Chamber intended to use the incident for their own agenda, which was to find out the identity of and exact revenge on "Anonymous", as well as kill millions of people in the United States using GANDER as punishment for their civic complacency in the face of corruption of their political and military leaders.
Slasher Hawk encountered Solid Snake while the latter was making his way to the barracks building. Recognizing Snake due to his preceding reputation, Hawk proclaimed he'll prove Black Chamber's superiority to FOXHOUND by killing Snake. He also noted the irony of killing Snake in Galuade, the former grounds of Outer Heaven, which Snake had infiltrated and sabotaged in 1995.
Solid Snake stands over Hawk's dead body.
After his defeat at the hands of Snake, Hawk revealed to him his tragic background and harsh upbringing. He then scolded Snake for his affiliation with FOXHOUND, believing it made him responsible by proxy for the massacre of Black Chamber, the closest thing Hawk ever had to an accepting family. Before he died, Hawk told Snake that Black Arts Viper would avenge him, and that his hawk would carry his soul home, even though he was unsure if his people would accept him even in the afterlife.
Behind the scenes[]
Slasher Hawk (スラッシャー・ホーク Surashā Hōku?) appears in Metal Gear: Ghost Babel as an antagonist to Solid Snake, and is fought by the player during a boss battle. He is the second character featured in the series to wield a boomerang-type weapon, the first being Dirty Duck from Metal Gear, although unlike Dirty Duck, Slasher Hawk is explicitly stated to be of Australian origin.
Notably, Slasher Hawk appears to have unusually long legs.[1] His pet hawk's name is Bunjil, named after a cultural hero and deity from the Victoria region of Australia. The hawk's name is only mentioned in Metal Gear Acid 2.[2]
According to an interview with Weekly Famitsu regarding Ghost Babel, Slasher Hawk, as part of the more intense story elements of the game, was originally supposed to be revealed as an eater of manatees and/or dugongs, although this detail was ultimately cut from the final version.[3]
Gallery[]
.jpg "Slasher Hawk (Ikuya Nakamura).jpg (18 KB)")
References[]
- ^ Metal Gear Acid 2, Kojima Productions (2006).
- "One of the members of the "Black Chamber" mercenary company. He is an Aboriginal Australian. He uses a traditional boomerang of his tribe that exceeds 1m in length. He has long legs, and is as agile and alert as a wild beast."
- ―Slasher Hawk card description
- ^ Metal Gear Acid 2, Kojima Productions (2006).
- "His real name is unknown. He is in his forties, and 213cm tall. He is accompanied in battle by his tribal totem, a hawk that he has raised. The hawk's name is Bunjil, taken from an Australian Creator God who had the form of a hawk."
- ―Slasher Hawk card description
- ^ https://thearkhound.tumblr.com/post/180368318818/metal-gear-ghost-babel-interview-translation-from