Skull Face

"Rest in peace this time. I'll see you in hell, 'Boss'!"

- Skull Face

"Cipher will rewrite the records... And I will vanish from human memory. But the thirst for revenge that I have planted will infest the system. No one can stop it now. Sahelanthropus will unleash that thirst unto the future. Major... I'm burning UUUUUUUUUUP!!!"

- Skull Face before being crushed by Sahelanthropus

"Wait... Who is doing this? Such lust for revenge...WHOOOOOOO?!?!"

- Skull Face's most famous quote

Skull Face, also known as A Ghost Without A Past, is the main antagonist in the video games; Metal Gear Solid V: Grounds Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and was the commander of the organization XOF during the 1970s and early 80s.

He is voiced (in English) by actor James Horan.

Past
Skull Face was from a village which had a factory, which was where his parent's worked. However, one day, an aircraft destroyed the factory under the pretense of it secretly developing weapons (specifically repairing them), as stated by various spies. Although he and the workers tried to escape, a huge crowd of people blocked him, and he was eventually kicked in the stomach. He would hear his name called when the factory was demolished, and upon being taken to a hospital, he heard, in what was ultimately his final recalled instance of his mother tongue, a nurse stating that he really needed to be put out of his misery in a tone that indicated that she frequently said this towards her patients.

By this point, most of his prior identity had been stripped, which resulted in the nihilistic philosophies that he eventually adopted. His already deformed features, which resulted in him being virtually incapable of feeling pain, were worsened later on when he was tortured by foreign hands. Afterwards, he made his living as a spymaster and assassin, although he spent his time killing various people via methods that would point against murder, many of his targets being those he harbored vengeance against for taking away his ability to speak his native tongue. One of his targets was the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, whom he murdered via one of his MOs, behind locked doors and making it seem as though he had suffered from a stroke. He later defected to the West, eventually joining the SAS. It was here where he met his future superior, David Oh. Impressed with Skull Face's skills as an assassin and military tactician, David promoted Skull Face to be his XO (short for Executive Officer).

He later was made the commander of XOF, a highly classified special forces unit created by David now going by the codename Major Zero. It was created as an unconventional support team to the CIA unit FOX to help make it stronger and to provide support to its operatives, with Skull Face giving the orders. One of these missions was Operation Snake Eater, with Skull Face himself being secretly deployed by Major Zero to follow, assist, and clean up after Naked Snake during the operation. Skull Face even provided field intel for Snake that would help him complete certain mission objectives, all of which was relayed through Major Zero to keep his cover as a covert operative. Although he hated both men, he nonetheless enjoyed his position in XOF immensely. At some point, he met with Code Talker, where he stole some parasitic bugs, which would cause various gruesome symptoms, including irreversible decline of the host's cognitive systems.

Ground Zeroes
At a XOF prison camp, Skull Face visits an imprisoned Chico, giving him a music tape stating that he earned it. He then asks him how it feels to play the traitor and tells him to give his regards to The Boss when he gets home. This dialogue refers to Chicos's earlier choice to send a fake SOS signal to the MSF, thereby bringing Snake to save them.

While Snake climbs the cliff to infiltrate the XOF prison camp in Cuba and save Paz and Chico, he barely misses Skull Face and some of his agents who leave by helicopter.

After Snake breaks Chico out of his cage and brings him to the extraction zone, Chico reveals that the tape Skull Face gave him contains Paz' screams as she was tortured by Skull Face. There are more tapes to be found, revealing the torture of Chico and Paz through Skull Face. Skull Face tortured them for information, specifically for information relating to Mother Base and MSF. He even went as far as forcing Chico to rape Paz. Afterwards, Skull Face told him he wanted him to record a SOS signal to Big Boss and MSF to distract him into trying to rescue Chico, although he also revealed if Big Boss did so, Paz would have to be killed. Chico eventually ended up making the SOS signal on the condition that Paz's death be painless, and was dragged back to his holding cage. Using the information gained from Paz, Skull Face was able to find Zero, proceeding to infect Zero with a parasitic insect that would gradually render Zero invalid, eventually taking effect before 1977, as his hatred was such that he wasn't content with merely killing his former commanding officer. However, his chance at revenge came at the cost of Skull Face himself being infected with several of the same bug inside his vocal chords, forcing him to find a cure for his infection to no avail. He was later manipulated by Code Talker into undergoing experimental radiation therapy, the latter hiding from him that there was a far simpler cure in the form of the bacterium wolbachia.

On board of the extract helicopter it is revealed that Skull Face has planted a bomb inside Paz' body. Snake and Chico hold Paz down as a medic gets the bomb out of her which Snake then drops out of the helicopter. When the helicopter returns to Mother Base, Snake finds his headquarter a burning ruin, having been attacked by Skull Face and the XOF under the disguise of a UN inspection. Snake is able to get Miller and a few soldiers inside his helicoptered before fleeing from Mother Base. During the flight, Paz awakes and reveals that Skull Face has planted another bomb in her body and jumps out of the helicopter seconds before an explosion brings down the helicopter.

The Phantom Pain
One year after Ground Zeroes, Skull Face sends Zero a pin badge that once belonged to The Boss, Big Boss's late mentor. Unknown to Zero, who pricks his finger on the pin while unpacking it, it is actually a fake laced with a parasite sample; Skull Face kept the real pin for himself. Skull Face shifts the topic of discussion to the parasite project, which Zero abandoned years earlier. During this exchange, the parasite suddenly takes effect and Zero realizes Skull Face betrayed him, having gotten info on his whereabouts out of Paz. As Zero convulses in pain, Skull Face mocks him and announces he will carry out The Boss's will himself from there. As a result of Skull Face's treachery, Zero later falls into an unconscious vegetative state for the rest of his life (as seen at the end of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots).

Eight years later, in early 1984, Venom Snake, a stunt-double standing in for Big Boss, awakes in a hospital from his coma. The hospital, however. is infiltrated by XOF, who murder anyone inside, patient or staff. Snake escapes and is able to reunite with Miller and Ocelot at the new Mother Base.

When Snake is on the mission to get the Honey Bee missile launcher, a mist appears. Snake ventures into the mist and is grabbed by Sahelanthropus. Skull Face then comes out of the mist and wonders why Snake has become "a demon" for a little weapon as the Honey Bee but states thas Snake will see the bigger picture eventually if he survives. Skull Face then takes his leave, walking onto the open hand of Sahelanthropus and is carried away while Snake has to face the Skulls Parasite Unit. When Snakes invades a base in Afghanistan to find Huey Emmerich, Snake witnesses an angry conversation between Emmerich and Skull Face revealing that the past nine years, Emmerich was forced to work for XOF to build a weapon to surpass Metal Gear. When Emmerich tells Skull Face that the Sahelanthropus is not operational yet and that the A.I. control has not reached the application stage, Skull Face reveals that Sahelanthropus will not be controlled by an A.I. When a guard tells Skull Face that Emmerich was in contact with Big Boss, Skull Face confronts Emmerich and throws him down the stairs. A soldier with walker gears then takes Emmerich, ordered to bring him to the base, while Skull Face enters a jeep and is driven away. While trying to leave with Emmerich, Snake's escape is disrupted when Sahelanthropus lands next to them. Skull Face, who is standing on the hand of Sahelanthropus, tells Emmerich that he is as useless as expected, having Sahelanthropus finished without Emmerichs help. Sahelanthropus then lets Skull Face enter a XOF helicopter before attacking Snake.

Skull Face later re-encounters Snake (who was trying to rescue an African child soldier unit leader named Shabani) at the Ngumba Industrial Zone shortly after executing one of the test subjects. When he shoots the subject Shabani screams which alerts Skull Face. At first intending to shoot the intruder, Skull Face changes his plans when he finds out that it is Snake and tells him to "burn with the rest of them" and leaves, intending for Snake to die by the hands of the Man on Fire. Snake ultimately escapes with his life, although Shabani is not as lucky. After Snake's escape the Diamond Dogs have clarity that the Man of Fire is controlled by Skull Face.

When meeting with Code Talker to find a cure for the epidemic that has infected Mother Base, Snake finds out that Skull Face is in posession of a parasite that kills the host if he speaks a certain language. Miller realises that Skull Face plans to wipe out every language except English, calling it an ethnic cleansing. After saving Code Talker from the Skulls, he reveals to Snake and Ocelot that Skull Face plans to sell nuclear weapons that he enriched with a parasite that allows him to arm or disarm them, giving him the full control of them. To avoid detection, he intends to export minerals containing small amounts of uranium in the form of his parasite which later enriches the Uranium and weaponizes it.

Believing that Sahelanthropus in the hands of the Soviets would turn countries without nuclear weapons to line up to buy from Skull Face, Miller and Ocelot interrogate Emmerich to find out where Sahelanthropus is before Skull Face can unveil it in Afghanistan.

Anticipating that Snake and the Diamond Dogs will locate the Sahelanthropus as well as himself, Skull Face orders his men to ignore Snake sneaking to the heliport where Snake hopes to find and capture Skull Face. At the Heliport Skull Face, Tretij Rebenok and XOF soldiers await Snake, with Skull Face telling him that they are both demons and ordering Snake to follow him. On the way Skull Face mentions that he and Snake formerly worked together, with Skull Face cleaning up the mess Naked Snake made during the Operation Snake Eater. They enter a jeep and during the ride Skull Face tells about his violent past, were he was forced to speak many different languages when his masters changed. As he thinks his language and his past were stolen from him, he plans revenge against Zero, with killing him hoping to kill his past. He then reveals an English strain of the vocal parasite to Snake, revealing that he, opposed to what Miller expected, plans to destroy the English language with it. He then states that his Metal Gears will be the new universal language, with no words needed. When the jeep arrives at the hangar containing Sahelanthropus, Skull Face shows Snake the Man on Fire, stating that he lives because of Snake. They are interrupted when Sahelanthropus awakes, which prompts the XOF members to drag Skull Face outside, to safety. While his men drag him outside, Skull Face screams that he wants to know who is doing that with such a lust for revenge. Outside, Snake obseves Skull Face ordering his units to move in to destroy Sahelanthropus, but his helicopters and tanks are quickly destroyed by it. Snake loses view of Skull Face in the erupting chaos during Sahelanthropus' attack and is not able to see the XOF commander crushed by the mechanical feet of Sahelanthropus.

To ensure that Skull Face's plans don't come true, Snake destroys Sahelanthropus. After its destruction, Snake returns to the base to find Skull Face. He and Miller walk through the rubble and find Skull Face crushed by a fallen antenna girder. Examining the box containing the parasites, Snake realizes that one is missing. Skull Face then begs Miller and Snake to kill him. Snake takes Skull Face's shotgun and shoots off his limbs but leaves him to die with Miller telling Skull Face to do it himself. However, on their way back to the helicopter, Emmerich goes behind his superiors' backs and finishes Skull Face off with a gunshot to the head, getting revenge for his nine years of forced work. The trio then fly off, leaving Skull Face's hemorrhaging corpse behind.

Trivia

 * Right before the rampaging Sahelanthropus kicks rubble into Skull Face during its rampage due to the young Liquid Snake aka. Eli's influence with the young Psycho Mantis as medium, he was yelling, "Major... I'm burning uuuuppp!!!", referring to one of the lyrics to the David Bowie song "Space Oddity".
 * In the cutscene depicting Skull Face's demise, the player can choose whether to act on shooting Skull Face in revenge or waiting until the scene transitions to Miller aiding Venom Snake in shooting him. If the former, it will depict Venom Snake shooting him three times in the chest while flashing back to his appearance during the events of the Hospital Raid, hinting he shot him in revenge for sending Quiet and XOF to try and kill him at the hospital.
 * In spite the fact that he is the main antagonist, he didn't fought by the player as one of the game's boss unlike most other antagonists that eventually confronted as boss.
 * According to Hideo Kojima's notes in the Piggyback Collector's Edition Guide's art gallery, Skull Face's role is that, while he is indeed the story's villain and antagonist, his character is not simply about Good and Evil: He has lost something, which results in him suffering from the phantom pain. He also states that his absence will leave the player with a sense of lasting phantom pain. He also explains in the same source that the reason he doesn't have a standard boss battle is to further promote the theme of a chain of revenge, a phantom pain, the continuous chain that one experiences when a target of vengeance is gone, something that would not have been possible via a standard boss fight, unlike most stories where good vs. evil encounters are given in Hollywood movies to satisfy the audience.