With the release of Metal Gear Solid: The Master Collection, a whole new generation of gamers will get to experience the wacky world of Hideo Kojima’s hybrid of spy thriller and anime. So why not take the time to count down the top 10 villains from the franchise?
Though The Master Collection has had its fair share of criticisms, it was also praised by some for finally bringing a way for Metal Gear Solid newcomers to experience the games, many of which were stranded on old hardware. With the first three titles now available through this collection, as well as a couple of the 2D entries, the games can now be found on modern consoles that include Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
In case you weren’t already aware, the games usually center on a character who goes by Snake in one form or another. The goal of this highly skilled soldier typically revolves around infiltrating a secret base operated by terrorists who have obtained access to a version of a nuclear-equipped battle tank called Metal Gear so that they can have the ability to launch a nuke from anywhere on the planet and become a world power. That’s the gist of each adventure, but along the way, you usually run into a rogue’s gallery of villains who are part of the terrorist group, which varies from game to game. It’s not uncommon for these dastardly antagonists to sport colorful names and sometimes even some superpowers.
To keep our list focused, we are narrowing the villains down a bit to only a certain set of games. First of all, we’re confining the list to just the Metal Gear Solid games, not Metal Gear 1 or 2. In other words, it has to have “Solid” in the title to count. Secondly, we are only counting games directed by Hideo Kojima, so nothing from Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops or Metal Gear Solid for the Gameboy Color. And lastly, for it to count on our list, the villain must be someone you fight in a boss battle at some point. So no Decoy Octopus from Metal Gear Solid, for instance, since we never fight him (even if we accidentally killed him with Foxdie while he was disguised as the DARPA Chief). With all of that out of the way, let’s get to our rankings.
10. Laughing Octopus
Of all the Beauty and the Beast Unit mercenaries from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Laughing Octopus is probably the most memorable. Though her elaborate backstory which involves becoming a child soldier involuntarily is relegated to an exposition dump of a codec call from Drebin, just like all the other soldiers in her unit, she still brought a terrifying presence in her one-on-one battle. That maniacal laughter and ability to camouflage herself as inanimate objects or people still inject a dose of terror just thinking about it.
9. Vamp
Vamp may be more of a henchman than a true, full-blown villain in his own right. However, as one of the few characters who you battle in more than one game in the franchise, the vampire-like mercenary is truly a formidable opponent. His ability to rapidly heal (to the point of near immortality), taste for blood, and ability to walk on walls and water proved a thrilling first encounter in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. He was a welcome return, complete with another boss encounter and returning voice actor Phil LaMarr, in the chronological follow-up, MGS4.
8. Volgin
As the main villain in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin was an intimidating figure due to his large stature, bombastic voice, and electric abilities that proved a challenge in combat encounters. His grandiose nature made him the perfect foe to cap off the James Bond vibes of his debut game. What’s more, his return as the reinvented Man on Fire in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain proved a terrifying and inventive boss encounter.
7. Skull Face
The mysterious Skull Face, the arch-nemesis of protagonist Venom Snake in MGSV, is an all-time iconic villain of the franchise due to his disfigured look, interesting fashion choices with his Lone Ranger style mask and cowboy hat, and distinct voice alone by actor James Horan. However, it is his insidious and unique plan to plunge the world into chaos by ridding it of the English language through the use of a highly targeted parasite that truly makes him stand out. We also appreciate how the game presents Skull Face as the mirror image of our hero in subtle and interesting ways.
6. Solidus Snake
One of the many characters on our list who borders on antihero, we find out near the end of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty that his ultimate plan was to free the world from being controlled by the A.I. shadow government called The Patriots. As the third clone of Big Boss alongside Solid Snake and Liquid Snake, Solidus’ wacky backstory involves him being the former President of the United States, George Sears. Solidus may be as out-of-left-field as they come in the Metal Gear Solid franchise, but there’s no denying his foreboding presence and awesome exo-suit made for an all-time great boss fight in the franchise as Raiden battles his metallic tendrils and rockets on the roof of a building with nothing more than a samurai sword.
5. Sniper Wolf
Though you grow to hate Sniper Wolf through the course of Metal Gear Solid due to her nearly killing (or in one ending, succeeding in killing) Meryl, your love interest, the humanity of the character is never lost throughout the game. Indeed, it’s hard not to have sympathy for her as she relays her entire life story to you (“I was born on the battlefield”) after Solid Snake fatally wounds her following one of the all-time best sniper battles in video game history. Plus, we will never forget the vicarious heartbreak we felt for Snake’s new best friend, Otacon, grieving the doomed romance he had with her.
4. Psycho Mantis
As the first character to truly introduce players to paranormal elements in Metal Gear Solid, the impact of Psycho Mantis in the story of that first game — and indeed the entire franchise — can’t be understated. As the lone psychic member of the rogue unit FOXHOUND, Psycho Mantis uses his abilities to do everything from messing with the minds of the characters to throwing inanimate objects across the room with his mind when you are doing battle with him. The sheer confusion and fear induced by the many fourth-wall-breaking moments of the boss battle are some of the most iconic in gaming history, such as the screen displaying “Hideo” in one corner as if it is a video input selection on your TV, Mantis reading your memory card files, and needing to physically switch ports to the second controller to beat him more easily.
3. Revolver Ocelot
Is Revolver Ocelot a friend or foe? That is the question you will be asking yourself with his every appearance, which includes the likes of all of the mainline console entries, MGS 1-5. When he first appears in the original Metal Gear Solid, he represents the first of the many iconic boss encounters in a one-on-one handgun duel. Then in Metal Gear Solid 2, with the aid of an arm from a deceased Liquid Snake that seems to possess him, he comes across as some kind of evil mastermind. For our money, though, we remember him best as the foolhardy squad leader in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater who you have multiple boss encounters with. On one occasion as an individual in a gun duel, and again as the leader of a squad you battle later. It is the perfect encapsulation of this enigmatic figure. But, you know, the final battle with him in MGS4 where he sneaks in a smooch on Solid Snake’s cheek isn’t half bad either.
2. Liquid Snake
There’s an almost Saturday morning cartoon quality to Liquid Snake, the twin brother of protagonist Solid Snake who serves as the main villain in 1998’s Metal Gear Solid. His over-the-top British accent, the tendency to give a maniacal laugh with every exposition dump outlining his insidious plot to overthrow the world, and long blond hair just scream Sting-as-a-1980s-Bond-villain. However, there is little doubt that his motivation for revenge as the discarded clone of the supposedly chosen bloodline of Big Boss is rock solid, no pun intended. We understand completely why Liquid Snake resents Solid Snake, his brother and fellow clone who was favored, as he tells him straight up, “You took everything from me before I was even born!”
1. Cyborg Ninja, AKA Gray Fox, AKA Frank Jaeger
It might be a stretch to even call the Cyborg Ninja from Metal Gear Solid a villain, per se, but we think he just barely meets the criteria for our purposes. For most of the game, you don’t know his true identity, only that he is a cybernetically enhanced individual who can pull off some impressive acrobatic moves and likes to wield a sword, which he uses to chop off Revolver Ocelot’s arm early in the game. About halfway through the game, you finally do battle with him in one of the most intense moments of the narrative due to his ability to turn invisible and demand that you battle him without weapons like the good old days.
In the end, the ninja reveals himself to be the former friend who double-crossed Solid Snake in the past, Gray Fox, AKA Frank Jaeger. Even though it was Solid Snake who left Gray Fox for dead after a one-on-one fistfight in a minefield battle that occurred in the 2D predecessor Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, the Cyborg Ninja ultimately transforms from a villain to an antihero by the close of Metal Gear Solid. Gray Fox will forever be seared in our memory and hearts since he sacrificed himself to help Solid Snake defeat Liquid Snake while he was in the cockpit of the nuclear-equipped mech, Metal Gear Rex.