| This article is about a non-canonical topic in the Metal Gear series. |
Commander South was the leader of FOXHOUND and the commanding officer of Solid Snake during the mission to stop Outer Heaven leader Colonel Vermon CaTaffy, and his secret weapon Metal Gear. He frequently advised Snake by radio regarding his mission.
Behind the scenes[]
Commander South is a character referenced on the packaging and in the instruction manual for the NES version of Metal Gear.[1] He is identified as the commander of FOXHOUND and Solid Snake's commanding officer, a role served by Big Boss in the game itself. The packaging and manual for the game even features a screenshot of Big Boss identifying himself as such to Snake, via the Transceiver Mode.[1] Like CaTaffy, South is a creation of the game's English localization and is never mentioned at all in the Japanese version. His name is believed to be a play on Oliver North.
Besides the NES materials, Commander South is mentioned in only one other source, the Worlds of Power novelization, which was based on the localized manual.
In a similar story development, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain would later establish that the Big Boss who commanded FOXHOUND, and the one who was defeated in Outer Heaven, were separate individuals, comprising the original and a body double, respectively.