Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance/Characters
Maverick Security Consulting, LLC
Boris Vyacheslavovich Popov
Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (JP), J.B. Blanc (EN)
The head of Maverick Security Consulting. A former special forces officer for the Soviet Union, he did some "gray-area" mercenary jobs he regretted afterwards and Maverick was started as an attempt to make up for that.
- The Atoner: Maverick is his attempt to atone for his shady mercenary past by refocusing those talents in a more upright/above board operation.
- Benevolent Boss: To the extent that is practical. He tries to take care of his employees as much as possible and provide the best that he can afford with Maverick's budget.
- Badass: We did mention his spec ops background, didn't we?
- Badass Normal: Just an ordinary human, but used a .50 caliber machine gun and later a rocket launcher to save Raiden's ass during the prologue.
- Badass Mustache
- Retired Badass: Mostly, at least from the active duty stuff, the above trope moment being the exception.
- Da Chief: Is a little pissed when Raiden tenders an abrupt resignation notice when Raiden decides to go after World Marshal (though he understands why), but decides to unofficially support him anyway.
- Gratuitous Russian: Is fluent in English, but his speech drops a few articles and he lapses into Russian at a few intervals.
- Mission Control: Officially during the first half of the game. still does the same role even after Raiden officially quit, mostly because it was right thing to do, though he's slightly less effective since he has to provide support on an ad hoc basis.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Run a PMC, but does so as Honest Corporate Executive that looks out for his employees best interests, mostly as a conscious contrast to the less scrupulous PMCs
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: Officially, he has to condemn Raiden's action in going after World Marshal as unlawful and unsanctioned by his company. Unofficially, he decides to help Raiden anyway because it's the right thing to do, even increase the security on their communications to make sure Maverick can continue to provide covert support.
Kevin Washington
Yuuichi Nakamura (JP), Phil La Marr (EN)
"Time to increase the peace."
A former member of the DDR[1] NGO affliated with the UN, he was convinced to join Maverick after seeing how Boris was trying to run a PMC in as benevolent and above board manner as possible. Does a lot of the research and arms procurement for Maverick and serves as Raiden's main intel support.
- Black and Nerdy: Not as much of a geek as the trope would imply, but he provides a lot of geographic and cultural intel.
- Deadpan Snarker
- To Be Lawful or Good: Is one of the support team least on board with Raiden going on vigilante campaign against World Marshal, but eventually realizes the necessity of doing so, eventually throwing aside any remain reservations as he cheer Raiden on in the final battle, encouraging him to strike down Armstrong.
Courtney Collins
Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (JP), Kari Wahlgren (EN)
"Energy consumption, check. Damage levels, check. Blood pressure, brain waves, blood sugar - check, check, check. All this monitoring equipment, I got a better view than if I was standing next to you."
A data analyst for Maverick. Was a university student studying for an MBA at the same place as Kevin, but was convinced by him to join Maverick instead. Her reason for sticking around is basically experiencing a PMC from a civilian perspective.
- Alliterative Name
- Big Eater: Makes a lot of comments about the food in the regions Raiden visits and complains about she's has considered cyborgification so she can eat whatever she wants without attendant weight gain.
- Expy: Fulfills most of the same roles as Mei Ling and Paramedic.
- Dojikko: The Running Gag involving her coffee cup.
Wilhelm Voigt ("Doktor")
Voiced by: Mugihito (JP), Jim Ward (EN)
"Ich liebe Kapitalismus! Had the wall come down a few years earlier, I would have a Nobel Prize on my shelf."
A former GDR (East Germany) scientist who has contracted with Maverick as their cybernetics specialist.
- Badass: Yes, really.
- Badass Driver: Most people would piss themselves over flying a transport chopper with light offensive capability into a warzone. Not only does he not do that he confidently figures Raiden can handle the tricky stuff.
- Bloodier and Gorier: Remarks on how Americans seem to enjoy that sort of thing.
- Cool Old Guy
- Deadpan Snarker
- Do Not Call Me Paul: Prefers being called "Doktor" instead of his real name.
- Germanic Depressive: Defied. In fact, not only does he have major sense of humor, Raiden lampshades it when Doktor tells him to "enjoy his flight" as he jumps out a chopper to fight two planes in midair with:
And people say Germans aren't funny.
- Herr Doktor
- Insufferable Genius: Unintentionally, due to his tendency to monologue, which tends to annoy Raiden.
- Mad Scientist: Tends to invoke some of the tropes, but he's actually fairly sane and surprisingly ethical, even showing disgust at the breaches of morality Desperado will resort to concerning the Sears Project. Even better, he does everything he can to help a bunch of kidnapped cyberized children's brains get new bodies and live as normal a life as possible.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is almost never used. In fact, he prefers to be called "Doktor" anyway.
- Transhuman: Believes strongly in cyberization, but has yet to have it done to himself because he doesn't know whom to trust to do the job aside from himself.
Desperado Enforcement, LLC
Samuel Rodrigues ("Jetstream Sam")
Voiced by: Hiroaki Hirata (JP), Philip-Anthony Rodriguez (EN)
"I see... you deny your weapon its purpose! It yearns to bathe in the blood of your enemies, but you hold it back!"
- A Day In The Limelight: Playable in the Jetstream DLC.
- Afraid Of Blood: More like he has an aversion to getting it all over himself if he can avoid it.
- An Arm And A Leg: Has a cybernetic right arm in main game. The Jetstream DLC reveals how he got it.
- Ancestral Weapon: Sam's Murasama has apparently been in the Rodrigues family for generations.
- Anti-Villain: Never a villain at all, just someone who lost hope in his own goals and wanted someone who could be stronger to take down Armstrong.
- Badass: No question about it.
- Badass Normal: All the awesome of Raiden, minus almost all the enhancements Raiden had. gets a cybernetic arm at the end of the Jetstream DLC, but that was for reasons of necessity, as his was chopped off.
- Badass Biker: That bike Raiden jacked at the end of File 05? That was Sam's
- One Man Army: His specialty. The Jetstream DLC shows he's much like Raiden in this regard.
- Barehanded Blade Block: Does this in QTE in his boss battle. Subverted, as Raiden will overpower him and leave a gash in his armor that will be used to finish Sam off.
- Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: The Jetstream DLC has Sam do this against Armstron, who still manages to defeat him and cuts off his sword arm.
- Blood Knight: As Kevin puts it in a Codec call, he's basically a Wild West cowboy like guy who challenges people simply for the challenge alone.
- But Not Too Foreign: Brazilian-Japanese[2]
- Catch Phrase: "Let's Dance!"
- Curb Stomp Battle: See Hopeless Boss Fight for the details.
- Dead Man Writing: Bladewolf plays a recording of his last words before the final fight with Armstrong.
- Defeat Equals Friendship: A darker version, as Amrstrong defeating him leads him to join Desperado, though subverted later because did so in hopes of finding someone even better who could stop Armstrong.
- Expy: Looks like Mitsurugi, even uses a similar fighting style.
- Facepalm Of Doom: One of his fighting moves when temporarily disarmed in his final fight with Raiden.
- Fallen Hero: One of his vocations in life was kicking the ass of criminal scum. Unfortuna
- For Great Justice: Part of his motivations in the Jetstream DLC.
- Genre Savvy: Probably one of the few MGS characters in the entire franchise to figure debates about ideals can be skipped and that they might as well fight.
- Go Out With A Smile: Even winks at Bladewolf in the process.
- Hoist By His Own Petard: Manages to sever Armstrong's hand off in the Jetstream DLC, which costs him his sword arm as Armstrong uses the nanomachine hardened stump on him as payback.
- Hopeless Boss Fight: Sam will own Raiden so hard at the beginning of the game, no matter how hard you try.
- Sam gets his own in the Jetstream DLC against Armstrong.
- Iaijutsu Practitioner: His sword was designed so it fires the blade outwards out of the sheathe, allowing him to quick draw extremely quickly.
- In Series Nickname: "Jetstream Sam."
- I Shall Taunt You: A playable skill of his in the Jetstream DLC. Enemies attack with more strength but with lower defense.
- Katanas Are Just Better: Literally. His katana is the only weapon that can damage Armstrong.
- Laughably Anti-Villainous: He does have a good sense of humor, even as someone on the bad guy team.
- Lightning Bruiser: About as fast as Raiden, but with some more brute force moves.
- Master Swordsman: So good, he basically does most to all of the awesome stuff Raiden does with almost no enhancement aside from his own skill. except for the arm he had replaced after the Jetstream DLC.
- Nice Guy: Provided you aren't on his shit list, he's a pretty nice guy.
- Not In This For Your Revolution: Joined Desperado to find a Worthy Opponent, so that he might find someone capable of slaying Armstrong in the process.
- Older Is Better: His blade was made an actual sword master, hence was of higher quality, which is mentioned to be a key factor in making a high performance HF blade.
- Only Known By Their Nickname: Called "Jetstream Sam" or "Sam" most of the time.
- OOC Is Serious Business: The Breaking Speech he did to Raiden is incredibly OOC for Sam according to Bladewolf. Which was the point, as Sam realized he had to draw out Raiden's true potential by shattering his illusions.
- Pet The Dog: When Raiden meets before their final duel, he's petting Bladewolf.
- Practical Taunt: See I Shall Taunt You for the details.
- Razor Wind: One of his playable moves in the DLC.
- Ronin: What he was was before the main game.
- Redemption Equals Death: His real ambition in the main game, learned after completing the Jetstream DLC
- The Rival: To Raiden.
- Shadow Archetype: The Jetstream DLC shows he was a lot like Raiden. Flipped around in the epilouge, as Raiden becomes a lot like Sam.
- Simple Yet Awesome: Instead of flipping around like Raiden, he just kicks his enemies really hard during Zandatsu QTE's.
- Sword Drag: Done in one of his special attacks.
- Take Up My Sword: Planned for Bladewolf to give his sword to Raiden as a Thanatos Gambit to slay Armstrong.
- Weapon Across The Shoulder: An occasional
- You Killed My Father: Sam's dad was killed by one of his former students. Sam's response: Take a Level In Badass to Master Swordsman and Pay Evil Unto Evil.
- Troll: Seems to enjoy screwing with his foes' heads, as evidenced in the beginning of the game where he makes most of Maverick's troops his bitch and gives them the mother of all Trollfaces. Tends to do this in most fights with his taunting skill when playable in the Jetstream DLC, meaning he invokes this on purpose, not to mention in the opening cutscene where he trolled one of the World Marshal goons into getting brained by his sword hilt For The Lulz. Hell, he manages to epically troll Armstrong via Bladewolf towards the end of the game with his last recorded conversation, with Bladewolf adding the perfect punchline at the end where he asserts his sapience, a seed Sam encouraged since the Jetstream DLC as a means of defying Desperado.
IF Prototype LQ-84i ("Bladewolf")
Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya (JP), Michael Beattie (EN)
"Are we both here only to fight then?"
- A Day In The Limelight: In the Blade Wolf DLC, which explains his backstory in more detail and why freedom is so important to him.
- Apologetic Attacker: "I am sorry. You must die."
- Badass
- Badass Automaton
- Cultured Badass: Tends to find lowbrow humor and crude people unfunny and repulsive.
- Canine Companion: To Raiden post-defeat and Sunny in the epilogue.
- Canis Major: It's robot wolf with HF Blades, including a massive chainsaw tail.
- Calling Your Attacks: "Combination Attack!"
- Chainsaw Good: His chainsaw tail in the Blade Wolf DLC and pre-Heel Face Turn.
- Contemplate Our Navels: Does this a great deal with Raiden during the course of the story.
- Cool Pet: Sam and Sunny seem to feel this way about him, which he doesn't object to. Raiden never regards him as a "pet", though.
- Cuteness Proximity: Sunny reacted to him like a kid would when their parents bring home a puppy. Sam even regards him affectionately as "Wolfy".
- Cyber Cyclops / Faceless Eye: Pre-Heel Face Turn, it had a head with a glowing lamp like interface around it's vocal center. It is later reshaped to have more wolf like appearance, complete with ears and teeth.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Joins Raiden in gratitude after the Desperado Restraining Bolt is removed by Maverick when they rebuild him. and stays by him for the rest of the game, even when Raiden goes after World Marshall illegally. Has a similar respect for Sam in the Jetstream DLC.
- Expy: Word Of God states Bladewolf was inspired by Friender.
- Fragile Speedster: Raiden and Sam are more durable than Bladewolf, at least when Bladewolf is playable.
- Heel Face Turn: From reluctant Desperado grunt to Raiden's loyal ally.
- Hot Blade: His knives are referred to as such.
- Humans Are The Real Monsters: Believes he lacks true human brutality, which lessen his ability to be truly effective in battle.
- I'm Taking Him Home with Me!: Sunny thinks that Bladewolf is cute and expresses an interest in bringing him home with her, so long as Raiden is OK with it, of course. Raiden makes it known that Wolf isn't really his "pet" and that Wolf follows Raiden around of his own free will, Raiden does nothing to make Wolf help him. Ultimately it is Wolf's decision to make... and judging by the ending, Wolf decided to take Sunny up on her offer.
- Interspecies Friendship: With Raiden, Sam, and Sunny. All three see him as more than just an AI with a wolflike form, and he has reasons to like all three in return. Raiden for liberating him from Desperado, Sam for encouraging him to seek his freedom and not treating him like crap like Mistral, and Sunny for being a fellow intellectual and for regarding him friendship from the get go.
- Kick the Dog: The recipient of this treatment twice. First, at the end of the Blade Wolf DLC, when Mistral reveals she tricked him into killing Khamisen for her and forces him to shake a Dwarf Gekko's hand like a dog on pain of death. Second, just before the final battle, when Armstrong kicks him like a football for daring to aid Raiden with Sam's Muramasa.
- My Master Right Or Wrong: Clearly is disturbed and concerned with Raiden's more erratic actions, but refuses to quit helping him despite his reservations due to the debt he owes the former.
- No Sense Of Humor: He understands Raiden's jokes just fine, he just doesn't see the humor in most of them.
- Pet The Dog: Raiden does this him multiple times by providing him emotional support, and is the recipent of this trope in a more literal sense from both Sam and Sunny.
- Punch Clock Villain: Quickly realizes he wants no part of working for Desperado, but has no choice if he wants to survive. When the Restraining Bolts are removed by Maverick, he immediately turns on his former masters.
- Restraining Bolt: Desperado had him wired up so that he'd be reduced to a mindless AI if he disobeyed orders. This feature is removed when Maverick rebuilds.
- Robot
- Robot Buddy: Post Heel Face Turn.
- Robot Wolf: Kevin lampshades this by calling him "K-9000."
- Spell My Name With An "S": "Bladewolf", not "Blade Wolf", though the DLC is oddly referred to as the latter.
- Super Prototype: For the mass-produced LQ-84 Fenrir UGs.
- Super Speed: Even faster than Raiden. [4]
- Talking Animal: While robotic, he is equipped with a vocal interface for audio communication.
- "Wake-Up Call" Boss: You'd better have a good grasp on how to parry attacks before fighting him, or he will destroy you.
- Wetware CPU: Not in the literal sense, but his neural AI was made to emulate a human brain as much as possible, which means that due to a lack of basic database memory, he has to remember most beings by XIFF code instead of visual recognition (and his ability to remember faces is on par with the average human). On the flipside, this means he is capable of full sapience and having a conscience, though he can only make decisions based on available data and hypothesis like the average human.
- Weaponized Animal:
- Beware My Stinger Tail + Chainsaw Good: Has a HF Blade chainsaw on its back.
- Flechette Storm: Throws high frequency heated knives using his tail.
- We Can Rebuild Him: Raiden had Doktor rebuild him after their fight as a more fearsome looking wolf like being.
- What Measure Is A Non Human: Is regarded even worse than a third part contractor by Desperado and thus kept ignorant of almost all their plans.
- Win Your Freedom: Wanted this, and eventually got it after he and Raiden fought when Raiden brought him back to be rebuilt minus Desperado's Restraining Bolt.
Sundowner
Voiced by: Ken Nishida (JP), Crispin Freeman (EN)
"We're just suppliers. We don't create the market for war. Didja think that every battle in history was all part of some big ol' conspiracy? BULLSHIT! War is just part'a who we are. Why fight it?"
- American Accents: Speaks like a Texan, though he's from Alabama.
- Ax Crazy
- Bald Of Evil
- Battle In The Rain: Fights Raiden during a thunderstorm.
- Complete Monster: Gleefully admits he enjoys committing war crimes because he enjoys the business of committing war, morality be damned, murders N'mani just to prove this, and tortures the brain of a child he helped be tortured and vivisected, just because he can, as if you needed any further proof he was an evil SOB.
- Dual-Wielding
- Child Soldiers: Purposely trying to make them.
- Combat Pragmatist: None of the Winds of Destruction fight fair save Sam, and he's not exactly an official member, but Sundowner is the least inclined to fight fair, using hostages, heavy firepower, and even destroying the battle arena you're in just to gain the upper hand.
- Corrupt Hick: A bloodthirsty lunatic from the Deep South.
- Dirty Coward: For a guy with a lengthy military record, his only notable kill in story was a defenseless civilian, and he can't even fight you without a lot of gimmicky shit to stack the odds heavily in his favor.
- Famed In Story: Kevin reveals he has lengthy military history that goes back to the 1990's.
- Hoist By His Own Petard: The gunships that he sics on you can damage him.
- Hypocrite: Claims Desperado is only a supplier of warfare muscle, even though Desperado is trying to create a need for it by underhanded means.
- Kids Are Cruel: Believes this is why they make great soldiers.
- Large And In Charge: Built like a titanium reinforced keg of beer.
- Large Ham: Hard to avoid given he's voiced by Crispin Freeman.
"I'M FUCKIN' INVINCIBLE!"
- Jerkass
- Luckily My Shield Will Protect Me: Only from the front, and even they can be overcome by wise use of Blade Mode. That, or you can flank him.
- Machete Mayhem: "Bloodlust" (his twin machetes).
- Mighty Glacier: The slowest of the "Winds of Destruction", though still fairly fast given his size.
- Psychopathic Manchild: As he puts it:
"Like I said, kids are cruel, Jack. And I'm very in-touch with my inner child."
- Shield Bash: Uses the shields on his back for offense and defense.
- Slasher Smile: Whenever he's feeling smug or murderous.
- Stone Wall: His "fuckin invincibility" is really a bunch of explosive shields he puts in front of himself to prevent frontal assaults.
- Sweet Home Alabama: Where he's from.
- The Brute: His fighting style is more about overpowering his foe than outfighting them.
- The Heavy: The leader of the Winds of Destruction though he's just an underling of Armstrong.
- Villain Ball: Stupidly reveals enough info about the Evil Plan that even though he stops short of saying everything, Maverick puts the rest of the pieces together fine on their own.
- War For Fun And Profit: His raison d'etre.
Mistral
Voiced by: Romi Park (JP), Salli Saffioti (EN)
A cyborg commander of Desperado and one of four "Winds of Destruction". Her code name comes from a cold regional winds that blow along the Mediterranean coast of France. Her weapon is "L'Étranger", a dual-bladed staff made from the arms of Dwarf Gekkos that can double as a whip.
- Ambiguous Cyborg: Mostly cybernetic, but her bouncy chest area has a lot of people (in and out of universe) convinced she has her own natural torso, as it wouldn't make a lot of sense for her to have an artificial torso be that.....prehensile.
- Ax Crazy: Clearly enjoys killing, a fact she discovered when she killed the murderers of her parents and then realized she enjoyed the sheer act of killing.
- Bad Boss: Is a total asshole to Bladewolf as his commander in the DLC, and is not very nice to the Dwarf Gekkos, even sitting on some of them BDSM queen style despite the fact they are buckling under her weight.
- Blade On A Stick / Whip It Good - The alternating modes of her Weapon of Choice
- Batman Gambit: Realizes Bladewolf wants his freedom, so she uses the possibility of getting it to achieve her own objectives.
- Blood Knight: She enjoys killing, and she's disappointed when Raiden's reasons for killing aren't the same.
- But Not Too Foreign: French-Algerian.
- Combat Sadomasochist: In BDSM queen style, she gets off having multiple limbs attached to her, moaning in pleasure in the process.
- Combat Stilettos
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Doused in liquid nitrogen, then has her body shattered like glass.
- Dark Action Girl
- Dark-Skinned Evil Redhead
- Dying Declaration Of Love: Her last words are implied to be for Armstrong, the one who gave her a reason to fight and ideals to follow.
- Everything Sounds Sexier In French: Her English VA has a pronounced low octave French accent.
- Evil Is Petty: Wanted Khamsin dead for annoying her.
- Femme Fatale: Invokes this when she spots Raiden when he's doing recon, but facing his direction and blowing him a kiss and a visible heart symbol.
- Flunky Boss: Her arena has a ton of Dwarf Gekkos running around, which respawn every so often to replenish her weaponry and annoy the player.
- Go Out With A Smile / Graceful Loser: Doesn't hold any regret when she dies, telling Raiden to keep fighting for what he believes and even leaves a Dying Declaration of Love for Armstrong.
- Gratuitous French: Speaks English mostly, but adds a lot of French words in her speech.
- Grievous Harm With A Body: Throws the Dwarf Gekkos at Raiden like bombs, since each has a detonator inside them.
- Jiggle Physics: Her chest does this in cutscenes. Tips off Doktor it's probably her natural torso.
- Kick the Dog: Practically everything she does in the Blade Wolf DLC is this trope incarnate. Also tends to be rather callous to the Dwarf Gekkos, ripping off their arms or destroying them if they failed to meet her needs.
- Male Gaze: The camera does a lot of panning to her chest and leg area.
- Manipulative Bitch: Again, the Blade Wolf DLC, this is her role. tricks Bladewolf in killing Khamisen for her, then denies Bladewolf his freedom, instead letting him know she can brain wipe him at any time and forces him to shake her hand like a dog.
- Ms. Fanservice: Her dress sense is modesty, but this soundly canceled out by her figure and the form fitting bodysuit. Is definitely aware of this trope, as she openly flirts with Raiden before their fight.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous
- Not So Different: Shares her past with Raiden of being a child soldier. He sympathizes a little, until she admits she gleefully murdered her parents' killers. Granted, so did he, but it was her obvious bloodlust that ended any further sympathy.
- Peek A Bangs
- Reality Ensues: Has her health drop rapidly if you striker her, which would make a lot of sense if her torso is her real one.
- Red Eyes Take Warning: Seen in game trailers and when she attaches the Dwarf Gekko arms to her body.
- Sex Is Violence: We did mention she regards battle with the same enjoyment as someone would hardcore BDSM, right?
- Shout Out: Her weapon and Image Song are basically a giant shout out toward Albert Camus' novel, L'Etranger, which her creators are fans of. Her spider woman like appearance is a reference to similar beings from Japanese mythology, since her creators want to give her a degree of Japanese aesthetic as well.
- Slipknot Ponytail: Her hair has this effect as the fight with her goes on.
- The Smurfette Principle: The Winds of Destruction only female member.
- Sophisticated As Hell: Her intro is pretty calm and effusive until she gets to the part about her family's killers:
"I butchered those fuckers!"
- Spin Attack: One of her special moves with L'Étranger.
- Statuesque Stunner: 190 cm tall, around 6'3" in height.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: We don't see her much in the main story, but she does show up more in the Blade Wolf prequel DLC.
Monsoon
Voiced by: Masashi Ebara (JP), John Kassir (EN)
"Wind blows, rain falls. The strong prey upon the weak. Don't be ashamed. It's only nature, running its course."
- Attack Its Weak Point: His head is his only real weak spot.
- Battle In The Rain: Is fought during a thunderstorm.
- Body Horror: Has nothing remaining of his body from the next down that is real, implying he's gone through similar trauma as Raiden.
- Break Them By Talking: Adds his own breaking speech to Sam's to further psychologically disable Raiden.
- Character Filibuster: The guy loves to go on and on about memes.
- Detachment Combat
- Dual Wielding: "Dystopia" (his twin sais).
- Even Evil Has Standards: Is mildly creeped out when he sees "Jack the Ripper" in all of his sociopathic glory, even saying Raiden's "lost his mind".
- Evil Sounds Deep: His voice in Japanese is much deeper.
- The Faceless: His full face is never seen in anything but concept art.
- Foe Tossing Charge: Uses a modified spinning tackle, only done with his various body parts zipping about the battlefield in an attempt to bum rush Raiden several times over.
- Lightning Bruiser: Is surprisingly durable and fast. In fast, he's the fastest of the Winds of Destruction.
- Get It Over With: Depending on how viciously Raiden kicks his ass, he'll either tell Jack Strike Me Down do as you will or begs for mercy as Raiden's about to finish him off.
- Gratuitous English: Uses both the English version of his name and "Winds Of Destruction", again in English, while otherwise speaking Japanese in the JP version.
- In A Single Bound: Is fast and agile enough to hop around the battlefield in mere seconds.
- Interface Screw: His RP grenades disable your lockon, forcing Raiden to manually parry Monsoon's attacks until the fog dissipates.
- Ironic Echo: Has his own spiel about nature running it's course thrown back in his face as Raiden finishes him off:
"Don't be ashamed. It's only nature running its course."
- Lean And Mean: The tallest of the group at 202 cm / 6'8.
- Cyborg Ninja Magneto Mercenary
- Ninja Run
- Off With His Head: Can detach it like the rest of his body parts, though he is killed as a result because he's finished by Raiden severing his neck, which is still real and contains his brain stem.
- Older Than They Look: He mentions having been around during the Khmer Rouge[5].
- Omniglot: Fluent in Khmer, Chinese, and English, according to supplementary materials.
- The Power Of Hate: Believes it has memetic power, and dies content, knowing he passed it along to Raiden.
- Selective Magnetism: Used in two ways:
- His body can be broken down into multiple parts, which he can use to avoid Blade Mode attacks or he can fling his body parts at you as an attack.
- He can grasp several helicopters and other heavy metal objects and fling them at you, forcing you to either dodge them or cut them down in Blade Mode. Alternatively, he can form them into a massive wheel, which uses to try running you down.
- The Social Darwinist: Explains why he's friends with Armstrong.
- Straw Nihilist: Given his apparent past in Cambodia, it seems understandable enough.
- Viewers Are Geniuses: Mentions "Left Hand Rule?" and Lorentz Force several times.
- Wall Crawl: Can walk on the ceiling in the Jetstream DLC.
- Sai Guy
- Villains Out Shopping: When not in combat, he can be amazingly laid back and chill, and most of his involvement in the Jetstream DLC is focused around him when he doesn't sound like a psychopath.
Khamsin
Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama (JP), Benito Martinez (EN)
"Buckle the fuck up, little doggy. Remember this, we're bringin' freedom here if it kills us. Or better yet: them."
One of the Winds of Destruction, codenamed Khamsin, which refers to a hot, dry, desert wind in the Middle East. His cyborg body is basically a mech suit from the waist down.
- Anti-Villain: Apparently genuinely believed Desperado was helping with the liberation of Abkhazia.
- An Axe to Grind: A massive chainsaw bladed axe so heavy that his suit and the weapon itself need rocket power just swing it.
- Attack Its Weak Point: His exposed torso has the least armor.
- Calling Your Attacks: Occasionally yells "Sandstorm!" when using his Spin Attack.
- Cluster F Bomb: When close to death, he starts cursing.
- Doomed By Canon: Is dead by the end of the Blade Wolf DLC, which is set before the main game.
- Eagleland: For a guy who believes in spreading freedom, he sure seems to think that involves forcing it on people whether they like it or not.
- Final Boss: For the Blade Wolf DLC.
- Jerkass: Enough so he was discharged from the Marines. And to the point Mistral wanted him dead for being an "odieux batard".
- Man In The Machine: His body below the waist consists of wires that connect into a robotic walker.
- Powered Armor: His lower half is robotic power armor.
- The Brute
- The McCoy
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Mistral's Blue.
- Unwitting Pawn: Had no idea that not only was he lied to about Desperado's mission in Abkhazia, but that Mistral had set him up to die at Bladewolf's hands.
Desperado Scientist
Voiced by: Benito Martinez (EN)
"You've heard of chloroform? A potent anesthetic in smaller doses. But breathe too much of it... And... adios, muchachos."
An unnamed Desperado scientist in charge of Desperado's experiments on kidnapped children in Mexico.
- Asshole Victim
- Complete Monster: Doesn't care about torturing or even murdering children.
- Mad Doctor
- No Name Given
- Only In It For The Money
- Out Gambitted: Tries to give Raiden the Sadistic Choice of {{spoiler|[[Human Shield|threatening to shoot George or letting a bunch of children be gassed to death.}}. George, however, [[Take a Third Option| gives Raiden permission to Shoot The Hostage slice through him to kill the scientist.
- Would Hurt A Child
- Stupid Evil
Other Characters
George
Voiced by: Mutsumi Tamura (JP), Sean Krishan (EN)
"Mi? Wah da rass ayu fuh do here? Yuh lose da map a ninja hideout, ninja man?[6]
A Guyanese boy kidnapped by Desperado. Later joins Maverick.
- Cyborg: Becomes one thanks to the trope mentioned below, with most of his torso and right arm replaced with cyborg versions. He also retains his lower half, so he can have children.
- Go Through Me: His response to a Desperado scientist taking him hostage is is to tell Raiden to slice through him, which he's fine with, as long as he can take the bastard with him. Fortunately, George survives and as is turned into a cyborg by Doktor.
- One Steve Limit: George has the same first name as Solidus Snake, which obviously unnerves Raiden considerably.
- Ship Tease: Flirts with Sunny.
Andrey Dolzaev
Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki (JP), Travis Willingham (EN)
"Built with Russia money, to make Russia money. It is no plant for Abkhaz -- It is their prison!"
- Small Name, Big Ego: Thinks he's Abkhazia's savoir and that Mistral gives a shit about him. Truth is, Russia and Mistral don't seem him as more than a pawn, especially the latter.
- Taking You With Me: His final "fuck you" to Russia is to blow himself up along with the refinery.
- Villainous Breakdown: Happens after Mistral dies.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He does want what's best for Abkhazia.
Prime Minister N'Mani
Voiced by: Nobuaki Fukuda (JP), Dorian Harewood (EN)
"I must admit, I once thought of groups like yours as opportunists - enablers of war. But you've trained our new army well - order has returned sooner than expected. Perhaps I was wrong about these 'private military companies'..."
Prime Minister of Montenegro who takes quite a liking to Raiden. I s killed by Sundowner not long into the prologue.
- Black Dude Dies First: Though not the very first, that would be a Maverick bodyguard.
- Nice Guy: Raiden apparently felt so, given how pissed he was after Sundowner murdered him.
- Impaled With Extreme Prejudice
- Killed Off For Real
- Reasonable Authority Figure: So much so he tells Raiden to stop Desperado because his own life means nothing if he can stop their brutality.
- Sacrificial Lamb
- The Nicknamer: He calls Raiden Mr. Lightning Bolt.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: We only see him long enough to establish Desperado are evil assholes.
Steven Armstrong (SPOILERS!)
Voiced by: Unsho Ishizuka (JP), Alastair Duncan (EN)
"Nationalism! Unilateralism! Materialism! Welcome maxims for those with no faith -- without guiding principles of their own. Give yourself up to the whole. No need to better yourself -- you're American! You're "number one"!"
A Senator for Colorado and a candidate for the 2020 Presidential Elections.
- Adjusting Your Glasses: He does this while Raiden is trying (in vain) to punch a hole through him. He also does as a nonverbal version of "You think that even qualifies as damage?"
- Affably Evil: Even when he's got the upper hand in a fight, he's willing to be polite. In fact, he spends most of the Jetstream DLC repeatedly being nice to Sam, even as the latter is trying really hard to kill him.
- He's even civil enough that when it looks like Raiden is about to join him dusts Raiden off and given him a handshakes/brohug.
- Ambiguous Robots: The line between how far he's a fusion of man and machine is a bit hazy given the level he's infused with nanomachines. As Raiden's ripping out his heart, the inside of his body has obviously been heavily transformed to be more like the guts of a cyborg than a human.
- An Arm And A Leg: In the Jetstream DLC, Sam takes off his hand and Armstrong's nanomachines sharpen the stump as he does the same to Sam's sword arm.
- Anti-Villain: Of the "ends justify the means" Well Intentioned Extremist variety. His end game objective is what he truly believes will better America, though he's not above using Desperado to start wars and creating child soldiers as a means to his end of making America a land without any control except what each citizen desires for himself.
- Awesome McCoolname: Armstrong.
- Awesome But Impractical: His nanomachine enhanced Super Strength and Nigh Invulnerability have the downside of insane power requirements to activate. Had to drain all remaining power from Metal Gear Excelsus to activate them in the main story, and had to drain several helicopters and UGs to do the same in the Jetstream DLC.
- BADASS: Probably the biggest badass in the Metal Gear universe based on raw power alone.
- Authority Equals Asskicking
- Badass Abnormal: The nanomachines make whatever fighting skills he inherited from his Navy and college football days superhumanly strong. He also can suck the energy out of all nearby power sources to recharge his other powers.
- Badass Normal: He can pilot a Metal Gear fairly well even if he didn't have nanomachines making him more deadly on foot.
- Badass Baritone: Possibly a side effect of his Scottish voice actor disguising his accent.
- Badass Bureaucrat: Though most of his badassery comes from things that aren't centered around paper pushing.
- Badass Boast: Everything out of his mouth when he's in a fighting mood.
- Badass In A Nice Suit: Wears a nice suit when you first fight him in Metal Gear Excelsus, but sheds his jacket when he does so. Is shirtless by the time you fight him on foot for the last time.
- Determinator: In the Final Battle, the following events can occur: He can be buried under tons of rubble repeatedly, kicked hard enough in the ribs to crack them and gutpunched/backhanded/smashed across the face numerous times. He also does NOT have pain inhibitors like cyborgs at all. At the end, gets Sam's Muramasa rammed through his gut and still tries to go for another round of kicking Raiden's ass.
- Hidden Badass: At first glance, he looks like someone Raiden could take down easily without Metal Gear Excelsus.
- Rated M For Manly
- The Glasses Come Off: He takes off his glasses off when he quits playing around.
- Bare Fisted Monk
- Bare Handed Blade Block: Catches and breaks Raiden's HF blade in half with his bare hands.
- Battle Aura: Has one when fighting Raiden on foot. Has an even more impressive one in the Jetstream DLC.
- Beat Still My Heart: Raiden kills him by ripping out his still beating heart and crushing it.
- Big Bad: Of the entire plot.
- Body Horror: The nanomachines when activated give his body a freakish appearance that makes him look like he overdosed on steroids several times over.
- Blood Knight: Totally enjoys getting into a fight.
- Character Filibuster: Two of them. the first is fake.
- Cluster F Bomb: Most of what comes out of his mouth.
- Cool Old Guy: Villainous example.
- Corrupt Politician: Has links to paid killers and child trafficking.
- Covered With Scars: Extremely noticable when he goes shirtless.
- Curb Stomp Battle: Most of the first two fights with him are incredibly lopsided in his favor in the main story. In the Jetstream DLC, he isn't even fighting at full strength, and easily owns Sam hard when he decides to get serious.
- Dark Messiah
- Deadpan Snarker: When annoyed, his dialogue oozes snark.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Despite his own willingness to cross lines to achieve his ends, one he refuses to cross is doing what the Patriots did to America. His own morality and gaols are based on preventing that from EVER happening again.
- Evil Is Petty: Thinks cherry blossoms are pathethic, calls most forms of transiet beauty 'sissy crap", and threatens to beat the shit out of the guy who came up with it, THEN fire him.
- Evil Sounds Deep
- Final Boss: Of the main game and the Jetstream DLC.
- Final Exam Boss: All the other bosses were basically tests for fighting him.
- Friendly Enemy: Really wanted Raiden on his side the whole time. Felt the same way about Sam, whom he kept offering employment to in the Jetstream DLC.
- Forehead Of Doom: His concept art made him look more intelligent, but this was modified to show he was a man of action, not words.
- Genius Bruiser: A University of Texas graduate who can pilot a Metal Gear and go toe to toe with a highly advanced cyborg badass on more than equal terms.
- Good Old Fisticuffs
- Good Smoking Evil Smoking: The only smoker ingame, and he prefers cigars.
- Go Out With A Smile: Dies content knowing that even if Raiden won't continue his own personal dream, at least Raiden will take to heart his wish that Raiden forge his own path and fight for what he believes in.
- Graceful Loser: See the above trope.
- Healing Factor: Can regenerate his health, which leave him vulnerable from behind, and can reattach severed limbs.
- Humongous Mecha: Metal Gear Excelsus
- Hidden Depths: Does really good job masking his true beliefs, acting like a neo-Patriot when you first meet before he tries to take you down with Metal Gear Excelsus. Once Raiden realizes what a hypocrite Armstrong sounds like, he demands the truth. Armstrong obliges by revealing he's the direct opposite of what he claimed originally and was merely faking it so he could achieve his goals.
- Hopeless Boss Fight: The first two fights with him on foot amount to this.
- Hulking Out: His powers are activated by doing this.
- I Know Madden Kombat: Uses a lot of football style charges and kicks in his fighting style.
- I Am Not Left Handed: Twice. Destroy Metal Gear Excelsus, he then reveals he can kick your ass on foot. When you get the means to overcome that, he decides to reveal he was holding back his true strength.
- Instant Armor: A part of his powers involve being able to turn his flesh into this.
- The Juggernaut
- Kick the Dog: Literally does this to Bladewolf towards the end of the game.
- Knight Templar
- Large And In Charge: Especially when hulked out.
- Large Ham / Evil Is Hammy: To the point the last thirty minutes of the game is him inhaling massive, pork covered chunks of the scenery.
- Lantern Jaw Of Justice: Depending on if you agree with his version of "justice".
- Laughably Evil: Almost everything out of his mouth is delivered in such a sincere yet over the top way you can't help but laugh.
- Lightning Bruiser
- Magma Man: His punches can send super heated waves of fire through the ground.
- Manipulative Bastard: Uses Raiden's attempts to stop his plans and incorporates it into his own, still achieving the desired psychological effect he was hoping for in the process.
- Meaningful Name: He has large, muscular arms. Thanks to Nanomachine granted Super Strength.
- Motive Rant: His real one, as shown below:
"'I have a dream.' That one day every person in this nation will control their own destiny. A nation of the truly free, dammit. A nation of action, not words, ruled by strength, not committee! Where the law changes to suit the individual, not the other way around. Where power and justice are back where they belong: in the hands of the people! Where every man is free to think -- to act -- for himself! Fuck all these limp-dick lawyers and chickenshit bureaucrats. Fuck this 24-hour Internet spew of trivia and celebrity bullshit! Fuck American pride! Fuck the media! FUCK ALL OF IT! America is diseased. Rotten to the core. There's no saving it -- we need to pull it out by the roots. Wipe the slate clean. BURN IT DOWN! And from the ashes a new America will be born. Evolved, but untamed! The weak will be purged and the strongest will thrive -- free to live as they see fit, they'll make America great again! ... In my new America, people will die and kill for what they BELIEVE! Not for money. not for oil! Not for what they're told is right. Every man will be free to fight his own wars!"
- Nanomachines: The source of most of his powers.
- Nerd Glasses: Look like the ones issued to military personnel who require glasses, apparently retained from his Navy days.
- Nigh Invulnerability: His nanomachine enhanced body grants him the ability to withstand extreme amounts of physical trauma, though it has its limits.
- Noble Demon: His means are evil, which even he admits, but he does have some principles and humanity regardless.
- Won't Work On Me: Can shrug off most of Raiden's attacks as Scratch Damage. Sam's sword, on the other hand, changes things in Raiden's favor.
- Not So Different
Armstrong: "Deep down... we're kindred spirits.... you..... and I."
- Our Senators Are Different
- Red Eyes Take Warning: Obscured by his glasses.
- Selective Magnetism: Seems to have a variation of Monsoon's magnetic powers in the Jetstream DLC.
- Shadow Archetype: Despite their differing goals, Armstrong points out he and Raiden share some basic personal values namely, that they fight for their own causes and morals, legal questions be damned if need be in the process.
- Sir Swears A Lot:
- Super Strength
- The Social Darwinist: Wants to redefine American government by these principles.
- Take Up My Sword: Asks Raiden to carry on his belief that every man should fight for what they believe, calling him his successor. Apparently, if the epilogue is anything to go by, Raiden accepted Armstrong's request.
- The Unfettered: Claims "In making the mother of all omelets, you can't worry about a few eggs".
- Unskilled But Strong: Raiden and Sam fight with a lot of finesse. He compensates by being really strong.
- Villainous Friendship: Sundowner has his trust regarding leading Desperado, Monsoon and he are on speaking terms in the Jetstream DLC, and Mistral apparently has a major crush on him
- Villain Has A Point: Raiden concedes Armstrong has a good point that "ever man should fight for what they want to believe in", and decides to quit Maverick and launch an One Man Army crusade against what's left of World Marshal in the epilouge.
- Villain With Good Publicity: Despite some charges of corruption, he's still considered a major contender for the 2020 presidential elections.
- Visionary Villain: Wants an America where everyone can decide their own destiny, free of the shackles of anyone telling them what to believe.
- Walking Spoiler: His first appearance gives no hint as what his real role in the plot is.
- We Can Rule Together: Attempts this on Raiden after giving him his second Motive Rant. Raiden fakes buying into it so he can get in a sneak attack. Attempts a variation on Sam, where he tries to force Sam to see the logic of joining Desperado, and Sam knuckles under once he realizes his only alternative is death, either at Armstrong's hands, or fatal blood loss from losing an arm.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wants to wipe the slate of American government clean of any corrupting influences, and feels any means, no matter their horror or depravity, are Worth It to achieve that end.
- Worlds Strongest Man: Even stronger than Raiden is, and Raiden threw the massive Metal Gear Excelsus around like a rag doll.
- Worthy Opponent: Considers both Raiden and Sam to be worthy foes.
- Utopia Justifies The Means: Wants to replace America's government with a Social Darwinist one where everyone is free to make their own rules, believing to be an improvement over the current one, which he feels is merely a continuation of the corrupted one left behind by the now defunct Patriots.
- Back to Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
- ↑ Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration
- ↑ Which is very plausible IRL, given Brazil has over 1.5 million Japanese immigrants.
- ↑ a cold wind that blows in southern Brazil.
- ↑ Which makes sense, given he's based on four legged animal and thus has more leg strength for maintaining momentum.
- ↑ Which happened in the 1970's
- ↑ "Me? What the hell are you doing here? You lose the map to your ninja hideout, ninja man?"