Highlights
- Eli, also known as Liquid Snake, has a bizarre introduction in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. He is seen lying back on a chair with a pig head covered in flies next to him, and he randomly attacks Snake.
- Johnny, a recurring character, has an unexpected introduction in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. He is found squatting inside a barrel due to his gassy stomach, which is later revealed to be caused by his irritable bowel syndrome.
- Vamp makes a memorable entrance in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. He jumps off a platform in a crouching pose, spins around, dodges bullets, and bites into the neck of a soldier, showcasing his bloodthirsty powers.
Hideo Kojima is often considered one of the best storytellers in gaming, and while he is a genius at creating engaging narratives that manage to roll fact and fiction into one, he's also renowned for his iconic characters. As a result, the Metal Gear Solid series is packed full of weird, whacky, and wonderful characters who are all incredibly unique in their ways, but to make a character stand out to the audience from the get-go, they need to have a good introduction.
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Considering just how odd and unusual a lot of Metal Gear characters are, it makes sense that most of them have some pretty weird intros, but there's a handful of them who made their faces known as soon as they appeared because of how unusual they were. These are the strangest and most unusual character introductions ever seen in the Metal Gear Solid series.
7 Eli
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- Released
- September 1, 2015
- Developer(s)
- Kojima Productions
- Genre(s)
- Action , Open-World
Eli, the boy who would grow up to become Liquid Snake in future games, has a pretty weird and rather unexpected introduction during Metal Gear Solid 5. He goes by the codename "White Mamba" in the game, and as Snake approaches him inside a small hut, Eli can be seen lying back on a chair with a pig head next to him which is covered in flies.
The whole scene looks like it's been ripped right out of Lord of the Flies, but what's even more jarring is that he randomly decides to attack Snake, but obviously, he's no match for the legendary Big Boss. This is at least a good precursor to the arrogant and self-centered villain that he would become later on in the wider story, but his intro in Metal Gear Solid 5 was still a surprise for longtime fans of the series.
6 Johnny
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
- Platform(s)
- PS3
- Released
- June 12, 2008
- Developer(s)
- Kojima Productions
- Genre(s)
- Stealth
Johnny is a recurring character throughout the series who is usually no more than a random NPC that the player can interact with, but Kojima decided to make him a key player in the story of MGS4, though his introduction is far from normal. Before fans are formally introduced to Johnny and the RAT PATROL, he's actually squatting down inside a barrel due to having a gassy stomach.
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Unlucky for Johnny, a guard manages to hear his grunts and decides to lift the barrel, resulting in a pretty awkward scene of the young soldier being almost fully exposed on the battlefield. It's revealed later on that Johnny was suffering from irritable bowel syndrome due to his lack of Nanomachines. Only Kojima could make a scene this ridiculous make sense in the plot.
5 Vamp
Behind the pop-culture references and silly gags, the Metal Gear games always have a very realistic and sometimes gritty tone to their stories which often try to present themes regarding the modern world. Therefore, the series rarely delves into the supernatural, but Vamp seemingly appears to be a literal vampire, who shows off his bloodthirsty powers as soon as he shows up in Metal Gear Solid 2.
The first time players get a full view of Vamp is when he jumps off a platform in a crouching mantis pose, landing right in front of a group of soldiers. As he spins around, dodging every single bullet fired his way, he is shown biting into the neck of a soldier, making for a memorable entrance.
4 The End
The End is one of the final bosses Snake must overcome in Metal Gear Solid 3, and despite being nothing more than just an old sniper perched up on a hill, Kojima still managed to make him just as, if not weirder than, his Cobra unit allies. Just as the fight is about to commence, The End is shown lying face-down on a cliff with a snake slithering its way over his body, only for him to then wake up upon hearing Snake's footsteps drawing near.
His one eye enlarges and bulges out of the socket which is a pretty gruesome visual, but it also helps him get a better look at his target when looking through the sniper scope. This is already pretty strange on its own, but he then thanks Snake for waking him up, claiming that he otherwise would have fallen into an "eternal" sleep. This is most probably a subtle nod to the easter egg where players can set the time forward on their device, which will cause The End to die from old age.
3 Fatman
If a boss went by the name "Fatman," most players would probably presume that he would be a large hulking man who might use his extra weight as a weapon, or who would at least have a little trouble moving around during the encounter. However, Kojima completely subverts expectations when introducing this member of Dead Cell who shows up on rollerskates, gliding past Raiden before giving him a speech about bombs and the beauty of time.
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That's not all though, as he then pulls out a beverage even though he's wearing high-grade explosive gear. He's undoubtedly one of the weirdest characters in the entire game, and his introduction went a long way in highlighting just how whacky and maniacal he is as a character.
2 Revolver Ocelot
Ocelot is one of Snake's primary antagonists in Metal Gear Solid 3, and while he does have an introduction scene that makes him look fairly intimidating, there are also a few things about him that make him stand out as quite the oddball. Before he opens fire on the group of soldiers standing in his way, he spins his revolver around a ridiculous amount of times, something that is a signature trait of his character.
He also pulls off some pretty weird poses and even demands that the soldiers remember his name and rank, despite shooting them a second later. By far the weirdest and most unusual part of this whole scene is just before he has a scuffle with Snake, where he lets out a random meow. Ocelot is truly a very strange character, but this is exactly why he's become so beloved by the fanbase.
1 Psycho Mantis
There are several hints to Psycho Mantis' telekinetic powers sprinkled throughout the first Metal Gear Solid game, but it's not until near the end of the game that players can fully realize just how unique and unusual this villain was when he was officially introduced. The boss already has a pretty strange design, having a gas mask covering his face along with what looks like a skin-tight military vest, but what makes this introduction so unusual, especially for those experiencing it for the first time, is how Mantis is able to fully analyze the person playing the game.
Not only will he read the memory card and mention any games that the player has enjoyed in the past, but he will also comment on how frequently they have saved during their playthrough, vibrate the controller at will, and even make it seem like he's changed the TV channel. It's an incredibly effective introduction that personifies just how strange and twisted, but also powerful, Psycho Mantis is as a character.