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| “ | I'm already a demon, Heaven's not my kind of place, anyway. | „ |
| ~ Venom Snake's most famous quote.
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Punished "Venom" Snake, also known as Big Boss, or simply Boss, is a major character in the Metal Gear franchise.
He was voiced by Kiefer Sutherland, who portrayed David in The Lost Boys, Bosco, Freddie Lee Cobb in A Time to Kill, Bob Wolverton in Freeway, John Merrill in Stand by Me, Jonathan Kendrick in A Few Good Men, The Caller in Phone Booth, Bosco in Marmaduke, and Senator Quintas Corvus in Pompeii. In Japanese, he was voiced by Aiko Ōtsuka, who previously voiced Solidus Snake in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Blackbeard in One Piece and Thorkell in Vinland Saga. Both Ōtsuka and Sutherland also voiced his template Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Biography[]
Serving Big Boss[]
| “ | He was always the best man we had. | „ |
| ~ Big Boss on the Medic. |
The medic was born in 1932 in California, and joined Big Boss' group, Militaires Sans Frontières. The medic acted as a combat medic, and was considered the "best man" by Big Boss, implying that he was a capable soldier, as a reliable field medic, and his loyalty to the Boss was unquestioned.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes[]
During his time as a medic, Venom Snake as the medic operated on Paz Ortega Andrade to extract a bomb from her stomach during the escape from the destruction of MSF in 1975. When Paz jumped out of the helicopter, the medic jumped in front of Big Boss to prevent him from being killed by the bomb, causing both to be injured.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain[]
| “ | Now do you remember? Who you are? What you were meant to do? I cheated death, thanks to you. And thanks to you I've left my mark. You have too – you've written your own history. You’re your own man. I'm Big Boss, and you are too… No… He’s the two of us. Together. Where we are today? We built it. This story – this “legend” – it’s ours. We can change the world – and with it, the future. I am you, and you are me. Carry that with you, wherever you go. Thank you... my friend. From here on out, you’re Big Boss. | „ |
| ~ Big Boss on the cassette tape to Venom Snake. |
Main article: Venom Snake
Despite saving Big Boss' life, the medic and the Boss both were in critical conditions, and both were put into comas. The medic suffered more extensive injuries, having 108 shrapnel in his body, humane bone and teeth embedded in his body, and his left arm amputated above the wrist. Though most pieces of shrapnel was removed, certain pieces located to his heart and inside his cerebral cortex were too risky to extract, as he could have died from the removal.
Once Big Boss and the medic were stable enough for transport, Zero and EVA move them to the Dhekelia SBA Memorial Hospital in Cyprus to hide them from their enemies, and receive medical treatments while they were comatose. Zero planned to make the medic Big Boss, making him a body double for Big Boss so that he could hide from his enemies. Ocelot reluctantly agreed to help Zero, and all of Big Boss' missions, knowledge, experiences, mental and physical state were implanted into the medic via induced hypnagogia. In addition, planted surgery was used by doctors to make him more like Big Boss, and explain his physical injuries after the incident.
In 1984, after he was helped by the original Big Boss (disguised as Ishmael) in the hospital, Venom Snake was saved by Ocelot and given command over the mercenary unit Diamond Dogs, which had been founded by Kazuhira Miller as a successor to MSF. While in charge, Venom Snake defeated the XOF unit and took vengeance on its leader, Skull Face. After eventually discovering the truth, he was given Big Boss's "From The Man Who Sold The World" tape, which confirmed his memories, and thanked him for his role in the deception. With "Ishmael" dubbing Snake Big Boss, just as much as he was, Venom darkly smiles as he accepted his role.
Metal Gear[]
Venom Snake went on to command the military fortress of Outer Heaven during the time Big Boss returned to FOXHOUND. In 1995, Venom Snake initiated the Outer Heaven Uprising, forcing scientist Dr. Madnar to build TX-55 Metal Gear by holding his daughter, Ellen, hostage. After receiving information on Operation Intrude N313 from Big Boss, Venom Snake's forces captured FOXHOUND agent Gray Fox, and later attempted to eliminate rookie agent Solid Snake, who had been sent to rescue Fox and destroy Metal Gear.
It was intended that Solid Snake report misinformation back to the West, in order to protect Outer Heaven, but he proved too successful. Following the destruction of Metal Gear, Outer Heaven's self-destruct sequence was activated. Venom Snake then blocked Solid Snake's escape from the doomed fortress, revealing the FOXHOUND commander's deception to the rookie, while maintaining his role as Big Boss. Venom Snake proved to be a worthy match for the younger Snake, but was killed by Solid Snake's resourcefulness. With his body destroyed in the subsequent explosion, the real Big Boss used these events to fake his death and go underground.
Personality[]
| “ | Solid Snake! I've been expecting you... ...I am the supreme commander of the FOXHOUND unit... And... The leader of the fortress of Outer Heaven, Big Boss! I gave this mission to you, a rookie, thinking I could use you to fool the rest of the world... But you were too good. You went too far! Solid Snake! I'm not going down alone. I'm taking you with me! Prepare to die! | „ |
| ~ Venom Snake's last words to Solid Snake in Metal Gear. |
Unlike Big Boss himself, Venom is a much more introspective and quiet leader. He avoids making comments, jokes or any type of quote about things that happen around him. Due to the injuries from the helicopter crash, and the nine-year coma, Venom has serious moments of hallucinations that border on insanity. His emotional instability reflects the guilt he feels for not being able to save Paz, for example, as he imagines her still alive at the Diamond Dogs mother base for a period.
As a medic and member of the MSF, Venom is extremely loyal and devoted to his leader, Big Boss, and considers him a close friend. Even after discovering the true nature of his actions under the name Big Boss, and discovering that he is just a pawn, Venom embraces the mercenary identity and feels proud of his actions under that name.
As the leader of Diamond Dogs, Venom is shown to care much more for his comrades than Big Boss does. When an epidemic on Mother Base infects countless of his men, Venom is forced to kill many of them, and the trauma of such an event wiped out what little humanity was left in Venom. Furthermore, he shows hatred and disgust for Huey's actions, and unconditional affection for Quiet, with whom he falls in love. By the time of Metal Gear, Venom had fully embraced his Big Boss identity, and it's likely that what little of his own personality was swallowed up by the illusion of being the legendary mercenary. He arrogantly underestimates Solid Snake, and loudly exclaims his plans. Such arrogance under the title of Big Boss leads to his death, as Solid proves to be more competent than he expected, and ends up killing him.
Trivia[]
- He is referred to as Venom Snake, Snake, or Boss more so than Punished Snake.
- There is foreshadowing that he isn't Big Boss:
- Eagle-eyed players can notice that in Ground Zeroes, somebody is front of Big Boss, taking the burnt of the explosion from Paz's bomb. Also during the hospital sequence where Big Boss is convulsing in bed with Miller by him, it is from a bed-side view point of somebody who isn't Big Boss.
- Once the player creates their avatar, it changes back to Big Boss' face.
- He doesn't speak as much as Big Boss, and didn't possess fluency in languages.
- He doesn't remember all of Big Boss' events from the past, and has to be reminded by Miller and Ocelot.
- During the monologue at the end of Paz's side story, she says "I hijacked ZEKE, I fought Snake" instead of "I hijacked ZEKE, I fought you".
- While very subtle; the execution of many of his CQC techniques and striking combinations are not the same that Big Boss has in Ground Zeroes.
- In The Phantom Pain, if the player makes Venom Snake perform darker acts, earning Demon Points, his appearance changes. His first form is "Horned Snake", where his shrapnel in his head resembles a 'horn'. His "Demon Snake" form leaves his face permanently bloody, and his shrapnel 'horn' is longer and sharper.
- Demon Snake seems to be a representation Venom acting like the real Big Boss, This can be seen in actions such as indiscriminately wounding or killing animals and soldiers, regardless of what side they are on, executing prisoners, and note damningly of all, building a nuclear weapon.
- Venom Snake is only seen in his demonic form twice in the story mode. The first being in the end of Shining Lights Even in Death, after being forced to euthanize his own men. In the latter part of the end cutscene of Truth, implied to occur during the events of Metal Gear, Demon Snake is seen in the mirror, due to him having knowingly worked as Big Boss's proxy. As well as this, at the end of Kingdom of the Flies, Demon Snake is reflected in the helicopter window, due to Venom abandoning Eli to die in an airstrike.
External Links[]
- Venom Snake on the Heroes Wiki.
- Venom Snake on the Metal Gear Wiki.
