For other characters in the franchise, see the Metal Gear character index at Characters.Metal Gear.
Characters that debuted in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops:
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Gene
Voiced By: Norio Wakamoto (JP), Steve Blum (EN)
" I will not allow the world to be a playground for abstract national interest and petty political gambits. I will use superior force of arms to achieve superior force of will. Thus I will make the world whole again. For I am the Successor, and this is my calling."
The new leader of the FOX unit, Gene is the product of the Successor Project, a top secret CIA project to create a battlefield commander trained in the image of The Boss.
- Big Bad: for MPO.
- Blood Knight: Some of his reactions during his fight against Big Boss indicate that he enjoys a challenging fight against Big Boss.
- Cain and Abel: Since Gene considers him and Naked Snake "like brothers" in terms of being the Boss' successor, he is the Cain to Snake's Abel.
- Charm Person: Gene's ability. Gene has a hypnotic voice and is also very good with words; he was engineered to become the "ultimate commander" which means he is very good at managing morale. Early on he uses his voice to encourage the men working on RAXA. Later he uses his powers in a much more sinister way: he convinces all his soldiers to commit suicide by telling them about an Enemy Within, and does the same to the scientists over their conscience of abusing Null, and then he says that one of the men with Snake is a traitor who's going to start killing them, driving them into a frenzy which causes them to all start shooting each other.
- Compelling Voice: He manages to actually get soldiers to have their morale boost simply by talking, literally. It is stated, or at least strongly implied, that this was the result of the Successor Project.
- Death Glare
- Expy:
- Gene is the game's equivalent of Liquid Snake, an Evil Counterpart to the hero. But whereas Liquid was Solid Snake's literal evil twin, the relationship between Naked Snake and Gene is a bit less obvious, since he is not an actual twin, but a super-soldier trained in the image of Naked Snake's mentor, He is one to Psycho Mantis, using his psychic powers to bolster the moral of his troops (or make them commit suicide). He is also one to Vamp, utilizing super speed and primarily using throwing knives in battle. Gene also takes his codename "Viper", from the antagonist in Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, Black Arts Viper, who was that game's equivalent of Liquid Snake. Lastly he is this to Big Boss himself, as Big Boss will become. A "successor" to The Boss and a charismatic cult of personality who is trying to create a nation where soldiers are free of political manipulation.
- Tries to be this to The Boss, but fails as The Boss never relied on a hypnotic voice to command her troops, would never betray her country, and cared for her soldiers as if they were her own children.
- He also bears similarities to Big Boss himself in the early MSX 2 Metal Gear games, from having Big Boss' charismatic ambitions, hatred towards the government and even Big Boss' trench coat.
- Face Death with Dignity: Gene faces his death with dignity, even praising Big Boss for surpassing him and hands him the funds to build what would become Outer Heaven.
- Flash Step: He can dodge automatic fire while it looks like he's standing still.
- Forgot About His Powers: Averted. When Elisa/Ursula read his mind to predict his movements, he just used his Super-Speed to attack her faster than she could react.
- Genius Bruiser: His bio in the Database as well as his careers in the game itself implies that he studied Political Science outside of the Military and was a prominent medical doctor. He was also shown to be a skilled strategist and capable of waging war, and capable of knowing exactly where to increase or decrease the morale of soldiers. He's also insanely fast, capable of speaking with a hypnotic voice, excels at hand to hand combat, and was implied to possess enough endurance and determination to return from the battlefield alive, a lot of these being the byproducts of his being created via the Successor Project.
- Graceful Loser: As he laid dying, Gene willingly gives Big Boss access to the resources he collected to start and fuel his rebellion.
- Meet the New Boss: The battle with Gene is more or less a replay of Solid Snake's first duel with Big Boss. The similarities can be seen in Gene's appearance (white hair, khaki tranchcoat), his anti-government diatribe, and various quotes during the battle ("It seems I underestimated you!").
- More than Mind Control: Gene doesn't control people's minds directly so much as massage their morale. A good commander is supposed to be able to motivate his troops, after all (and the first time we see him use his Compelling Voice, it's to reassure his troops). He turns this around later when Big Boss and a bunch of Big Boss's troops assault him; he devastates their morale with a few well-chosen words to cause
paranoia among them and with a single shot causes them to all start shooting each other. - Ominous Walk: During his boss fight most of his movement is either this of Flash Step.
- Pet the Dog: It's somewhat implied that the reason why he went as far as to generate mental shielding powerful enough to prevent even Ursula from reading his mind in order to avoid her betraying him is because he didn't wish to have to kill her as a result. Basically, due to his skills, he wouldn't have to worry too much about being harmed in any way by Ursula should she betray him, as he proved by stabbing her with his speed, knowing that even though she could predict his movements, she won't be able to evade his speed.
- Predecessor Villain: Gene is the original architect of the idea of a nation of soldiers. A concept that would be adopted and implemented by Big Boss.
- Spanner in the Works: Ocelot's conversation with the mysterious man (later revealed to be Zero) in The Stinger implied that Gene was supposed to simply point the ICBMG at Washington DC, and not actually fire the ICBMG. Unfortunately, he did exactly that, although they apparently anticipated the likelihood and had Naked Snake defeating him as their insurance policy.
- Straw Nihilist: Gene expressed a belief that humanity is good for nothing except being "violent, foolish, fragile creatures" and fighting amongst each other when forcing them into a mass suicide riot.
- Super-Soldier: A unique twist: He was basically created to be super-Commander, meaning a Super-Soldier who leads other SuperSoldiers. Besides his ability to influence normal soldiers with the powers of his voice, he also gained super speed and reflexes.
- Super-Speed: Of the Flashstep variety. Gene is capable of moving fast enough to leave Speed Echoes, dodging automatic gunfire, throwing multiple knives in what looks like a single throw, and a performing a highly damaging tackle, after a brief charge up. He is fast enough to even make Null (Who could block automatic gunfire with a machete) seem slow. He's so fast that when Elisa/Ursula turns against him, he simply moves too fast for her mind-reading to follow.
- Take Up My Sword: After his defeat at Big Boss's hands, Gene gives Big Boss access to all the resources he collected to get his military "nation" started. Big Boss would later go onto create the Militaires Sans Frontieres and Outer Haven. Both modeled after Gene's idea of an "Army's Heaven".
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wanted to get rid of the Philosophers and free the world from their control, although his method of doing so was launching a WMD at Virginia, USA and then making it seem as though the Russians did it. He also seems to believe that having the masses essentially pour their life energies and be sapped of their free will and commit sacrifice was something The Boss would have wanted.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Gene's hair is white in appearance, though it doesn't exactly make him look pretty.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: After Elisa/Ursula blew up the launch controls in the primary launch control room, Gene left for another room and nonetheless managed to activate the launch sequence.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: This is the reason why Gene had his soldiers commit mass-riot suicide at the assembly plant.
Jonathan
Voiced By: Takahiro Fujimoto (JP), Robin Atkin Downes (EN)
"I used to be a rescuer, so I'm pretty good at dragging people around."
A Red Army soldier during the San Hieronymo Takeover. He was the first person recruited by Big Boss and Roy Campbell in Portable Ops.
- Combat Pragmatist: After Jonathan is kidnapped by Big Boss with the intention of recruiting him into their resistance, Jonathan, upon regaining consciousness, attempted to attack Snake, only for his punch to be blocked by him. He then restrained Roy Campbell and stole his gun and attempted to use it on Big Boss to escape, only to end up flattened on the truckbed by Big Boss's CQC skills. Unlike most examples of Combat Pragmatism, Big Boss actually compliments Jonathan on it ("Quick thinker, too. They've trained you well. You're a good soldier.").
- Flat Character: While technically a unique character, he only exists to show off how the recruiting process works by being the first enemy solder who can be captured by Snake (and to make sure the player's army has at least one recruit present when Snake is captured). From that point onward, he gets no real character development (his name is not even mentioned outside his status screen) until he is killed off during a cutscene.
- Heel–Face Turn: Sort of. He joins Snake and Campbell early in the game.
- Mauve Shirt: Until he dies doing a Heroic Sacrifice for Big Boss.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: The reason he was initially working for Gene is out of disgust for his and the other Soviet personnel's treatment by the Soviet government. To put it bluntly, the soldiers and other personnel had to put up with the unbearable climate of San Hieronymo, with poor food supplies, and several of their comrades dying either from disease or from aiding in battle against the Colombian regime at the time, all because they wanted the Soviet Union to prosper and win the Cold War in their favor. However, come 1970 and Detente, the Soviet Government "repaid" their efforts by marooning them on the peninsula, cutting off all supplies and communications, all to make it seem as though he and his soldiers were Renegade Russians in case the incomplete base was ever discovered by the United States and its proxies.
- Not Brainwashed: Jonathan is initially suspected of being brainwashed by FOX when Jonathan laughs at Roy and Snake's statements on wanting to help the Ex-Soviet Personnel be free of FOX's control over them, but he then denies it, and explains the real reason why they are serving FOX.
- Sacrificial Lion: During Gene's Moral Event Horizon. It's even more powerful than it seems since he does this immediately after Gene claims humanity to be "fragile, foolish, violent creatures" and telling Big Boss to see for himself humanity's true nature. In a way, his sacrifice is the ultimate contradiction in Gene's philosophy.
- Vodka Drunkenski: An optional radio call to Para-Medic (should she be recruited) via Jonathan, any of the Soviet personnel, or, heck, any character who isn't Naked Snake, will strongly imply he and the other Soviet soldiers recruited are of this trope. It's probably justified, as they had been marooned by the Soviet government for no reason other than to have a convenient excuse about why there is a missile base in Colombia made by the Soviets when they are doing the SALT talks.
Python
Voiced By: Yusaka Yara (JP), Dwight Schultz (EN)
"I'm the Anti-Snake, and I'm the one man who can break you!"
An old war buddy of Snake during the Vietnam War. He received a severe injury which cost him the ability to regulate his body temperature to the point that his body would burn up and was assumed dead by Snake, but his body was recovered by the U.S. government who put him through surgery and gave him a suit filled with liquid nitrogen. He was then trained by the CIA to be an "Anti-Snake" soldier. He was present at the San Hieronymo takeover where Cunningham assigned him to lead the search for Snake and Roy Campbell.
- Anti-Villain: It's fairly clear that the only reason he agreed to partake in Gene's rebellion was so he could redeem himself for his actions as the Anti-Snake.
- An Ice Person: Due to injuries suffered in Vietnam and the resultant cooling suit he was hooked up to keep him alive.
- Berserk Button: Apparently being called a "monster" by someone, especially if that someone also attempted to kill him first, is something he does not like.
- Death Seeker: It is pretty clear that he is also willing to accept his death as he felt he was irredeemable for basically having to participate in Wetworks as part of being an "Anti-Snake" soldier, something that's made very clear that he did not enjoy at all, if he couldn't beat Big Boss at all.
- Defeat Means Friendship: If defeated non-lethally, Big Boss reignites his friendship with Python and recruits him to his team.
- Flashback Nightmare: Python states that he got stuck with them due to his Wetworks missions, when explaining what he had done with implied guilt for what he has done.
- Empowered Badass Normal: He was already an extremely skilled black ops soldier, fighting alongside the likes of Naked Snake, before he became An Ice Person.
- Expy: He's the Gray Fox to Big Boss's Solid Snake.
- Heel–Face Turn: Potentially. Happens if he's defeated non-lethally.
- Redemption Equals Death: Potentially. Happens if he's defeated lethally.
- Shout-Out: His head being filled with cooling joints gives a uncanny resemblance to Pinhead, although his ice-based powers and his overall character is more indicative of Mr. Freeze.
- Tragic Monster: Although don't expect him to be too merciful if he hears you call him a monster right after attacking him.
Elisa/Ursula
Voiced By: Saori Goto (JP), Tara Strong (EN)
"The futures we saw were one and the same. Snake, you will destroy Metal Gear, and you will create a new Metal Gear in it's place. Your children; Les Infant Terribles. Snake, your son will bring the world to ruin. Your son... will save... the world."
A teenage girl with psychic abilities who follows Gene in his rebellion. However, she decides to help Snake when they meet, giving him drugs to cure Campbell's malaria, and warning him about her sister, Ursula.
- Child Soldier: The characters note multiple times that she's significantly young to be a soldier, or a medic, for that matter.
- Conveniently an Orphan: Her parents were killed during the Kyshtym Nuclear Meltdown.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Dies in Snake's arms.
- Disney Death: She appears to die when RAXA is destroyed, but shows up later where she destroys the ICBMG activation control panel with her psychic powers. Averted when Gene stabs her immediately afterwards, putting her down for good.
- Expy: Of Psycho Mantis, being the insane, but psychokinetically powered dragon of the rebellion's leader who helps the protagonist as much as they hinder them. Both were child soldiers and products of the same research project. They both even have (albeit different levels) of Disassociative Identity Disorder, with their more homicidal side being the more powerful psychic.
- Flashback Nightmare: She states that the Kyshtym Disaster in the Ural Mountains, her parents' deaths, and her being irradiated still haunted her in her dreams.
- Heel–Face Turn: She technically does it twice, once with each personality.
- Logical Weakness: Gene defeats her psychic powers by moving so fast her thoughts can't follow him.
- Psychic Powers: She has a basic, but strong set. Able to read minds, throw people and deflect objects without touching them, and see the future.
- Split Personality: She doesn't have a sister named Ursula, she is Ursula. Both her and Elisa are separate personalities who believe each other to be twins.
- Split-Personality Merge: During her final confrontation against Gene, she speaks with the resonance of both her personalities' voices. Realizing that both her personalities's visions were one and the same. This combination of both "sisters" results in her having the emotions of Elisa, thus fighting to help Big Boss, and the power of Ursula, thus able to make machines explode and deflect attacks with her mind. After she is fatally wounded by Gene, she speaks with only Elisa's voice, but is able to see the future more clearly than ever.
Lt. Cunningham
Voiced By: Daisuke Gōri (JP), Noah Nelson (EN)
"Glad you could make it, Snake."
The FOX unit's interrogation specialist. He joins Gene's rebellion. He turns out to be working for the Pentagon, and his role was to force Gene to launch a nuclear strike at the Soviet Union, destroying the reputation of the CIA, and then destroy the base using a Davy Crockett to remove all the evidence.- Alas, Poor Villain: In-universe, Gene expresses pity on Cunningham for dying before he could ever realize that he was simply a pawn.
- Expy: Of Revolver Ocelot, being the Double Reverse Quadruple Agent / Torture Technician / Interrogator working for both the rebellious unit, the CIA, and a third party. He is even missing a limb. Too bad he isn't nearly as good as Ocelot, as his true goals are easily figured out by Gene who then manipulates him, he straight up explains his true allegiances to Big Boss, and is then Killed Off for Real.
- Foreshadowing: Cunningham is the only FOX member who doesn't wear the unit's shoulder sleeve insignia on his sneaking suit. It is later revealed his true allegiance is not with the FOX unit, but with the Department of Defense.
- Handicapped Badass: He lacks a leg and uses a prosthetic one, but that doesn't mean that he can't fight or keep working as an interrogator.
- Laughing Mad: Starts laughing after being defeated by Snake, shortly before trying to kill both Snake and himself.
- The Man Behind the Man: Subverted. He reveals this to Snake before the battle with him, but later Gene reveals that he knew the truth and was using it to his advantage to further his plans.
- The Mole: He was working with the DOD to essentially commit a smear campaign against the CIA, whom they had a rivalry with.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: The reason why he agreed to it, as the CIA essentially cast him aside after he was forced to have his leg amputated.
- Taking You with Me: Cunningham attempted this when he was defeated, with the Soviet-made Davy Crockett that he originally planned to use when Gene launched the ICBMG into Russia. However, his hovercraft exploded just before he could press the trigger, with it ending up in Naked Snake's hands. He even says the trope word-for-word.
Colonel Skowronski
Voiced By: Tetsu Inada (JP), Nick Jameson (EN)
A Red Army colonel. He was in command of the San Heironymo Peninsula, but after Gene's rebellion his men turned on him and he was forced to go in to hiding.
- Chekhov's Gunman: He first appears relatively early, where he is seen encountering Python and is locked in a cell and Snake shoots the lock, freeing him. Later, he takes control of Metal Gear RAXA, and unleashes it against Gene and his followers. He is killed by Ursula after that.
- Drunk with Power: When he hijacks RAXA.
- Non-Player Character: He has no in-game model, appearing only in the hand drawn cutscenes, making him the only named character who is not playable.
- Vodka Drunkenski: He is the (former) Soviet commander of the San Hieronymo missile base, and he is strongly implied to be drunk when Snake first encounters him. Probably justified, as not only is he literally marooned on a desolate peninsula with no contact, but most if not all of his soldiers had also deserted him thanks to Gene.
- You Monster!: He calls Python this after he fails to kill him because of his cooling suit. Python even calls him out on his doing so after doing the latter action.
Metal Gears Codename: RAXA and ICBMG
The first Metal Gears using legs, based off Granin's plans and completed by Sokolov and the US government. RAXA is the prototype, used as a decoy by Gene to hide the fuctional version (ICBMG).
- Attack Its Weak Point: RAXA's missile tubes are located right next to its rocket boosters. RAXA's engines are right next to said rocket boosters.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Despite carrying a bigger nuclear payload than the Shagohod, ICBMG has the same range-related issues than it and can't use speed to compensate until...
- Death from Above: ICBMG is dropped by a rocket to its launch site where it can fire it's payload, then walk or hover back to friendly territory.
- Hover Tank: In addition to it's legs, RAXA uses rocket boosters to move around.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: ICBMG is completely impervious to damage. Snake and FOXHOUND destroy it by damaging the rocket carrying it, making ICBMG fall off-course and crash.
- Super Prototype: Averted. Once Skowronski hijacks and fights Snake with it, RAXA behaves exactly like a prototype does in real conditions: badly, deactivating after one burst of it's machine gun. It takes Ursula's Psychic Powers to give it a chance against Snake.
- The Unfought: ICBMG isn't battled as it's sitting helpless on its rocket.
