10 Metal Gear Solid Characters with DISTURBING Backstories

Beauty and the Beast Unit

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)

I wish we had the time to go through the backstory of each of the four female soldiers in the Beauty and the Beast unit, as the core of these characters lies in the sheer intensity of their trauma. It's what shatters them enough to become a part of this ruthless and elite group of female soldiers. I also understand that it's a bit of a cheat to group them together, but choosing just one is nearly impossible. One is trapped for weeks in a torture chamber, surviving on filthy puddles and the corpses shes forced to eat, all while hearing the screams of other victims. Another is made to slaughter her own loved ones with a smile at gunpoint. A third is torn apart by birds while still alive. And the last must smother her infant brother to keep wolves from hearing his cries. Their stories are brutal. Perfect way to start this list.

Skull Face

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)

Skull Face from MGSV stands as one of the most malevolent figures in the entire series, responsible for countless horrific acts committed against innocent people. However, his backstory offers some insight into what shaped him. As a child, his home was bombed, leaving him both physically and mentally scarred. He spent much of his life enduring torture and was ultimately robbed of the ability to speak his native language. These experiences instilled in him a deeply nihilistic worldview, driving much of his hatred and cruelty, including his plan to release a virus that kills anyone that speaks English. While it doesn't excuse his actions, it helps explain the dark path he ultimately chose.

Kazuhira Miller

Metal Gear Series (1987-)

Kazuhira Millers life is marked by relentless tragedy, making him a part of the crew of characters in this series whose lives have been relentless from birth. He was born as a result of his mothers work as a prostitute, and eventually left her to find his father in the United States. Years later, he returned to Japan, only to find his mother no longer recognized him, her memory ravaged by a disease she had contracted long ago (as a result of the aforementioned prostitutioning). Back in America, he learned his father had died by suicide. What followed were years of hardship alongside Big Boss, including brutal war stories we dont have time to get into. His unit was ambushed by the Parasite Unit prior to MGSV TPP, leading to the death of his comrades, the loss of his right arm and left leg, and his capture and torture by the Soviets. He later withdrew to a quiet life in Alaska, only to be quietly assassinated, likely by Ocelot, a longtime ally turned executioner. What is happening to this guy?

Sunny

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)

Sunny made her first appearance in MGS4 as the daughter of Olga, the villain-turned-friend in MGS2. By this point she was already 11 years old, but her life leading up to this game wasnt easy. Immediately after her birth, Sunny was taken from her mother by the Patriots, the secretive organization manipulating global events from the shadows. Olga Gurlukovich was allowed only a brief glimpse of her newborn daughter before Sunny was used as leverage to force Olga into serving their agenda. Tragically, Olga was killed during the events of MGS2, never getting the chance to reunite with her child. The only silver lining is that Sunny was eventually rescued by Raiden and raised by Snake and Otacon in an unconventional but caring environment. Two dads is better than none.

Ocelot

Metal Gear Series (1987-)

Ocelot. What a G. Metal Gear Solid V is the only time we truly see the man behind the mask, because in nearly every other appearance, hes a double or even triple agent, constantly deceiving everyone around him to serve a greater mission. Like his mother, The Boss, who birthed him on the battlefield, no one ever realizes he's playing a role, casting himself as the villain so others can hate him while hiding his true intentions. This might not sound THAT traumatic on paper, but there is something deeply disturbing about spending his life in service to a cause and never really living for himself. The only times he seemed truly free were alongside Big Boss and later who he believed to be Big Boss in Venom Snake. In the end, on his metaphorical deathbed, his real self resurfaces one final time for a duel with the clone of the man he admired most. He dies alone, unrecognized, with the world unaware of the sacrifices he made to defeat the Patriots.

Psycho Mantis

Metal Gear Solid (1998)

Making his appearance in MGS1 as the offputting psychic villain of FoxHound, Psycho Mantis had a life shaped by tragedy from the start. As a child, he survived a devastating plane crash. Its sole survivor... Seems sus. Gifted (or cursed) with the ability to read minds, he saw the world for what it truly was, including the hatred his father held for him, blaming him for his mothers death in childbirth. Did I mention his mother died in childbirth? My bad. Convinced his father wanted him dead, Mantis killed him after reading his thoughts. From that point on, he was consumed by trauma, never knowing love. He wore a mask to shield himself from the constant flood of other peoples thoughts. Isolated and tormented, he cared for no one, until he met Solid Snake. Ironically, it was the man who killed him that stirred something in him. In that final moment, Mantis glimpsed a better side of humanity, and in death, found a sliver of redemption. It was a poignant moment for a game in the 90s, and stuck with most of us for years to come.

Gray Fox

Metal Gear Series (1987-)

Frank Jaeger (Gray Fox) is one of the more disturbing characters in the whole series, with fans who didnt play the original Metal Gear games not realising his humble beginnings before his big appearance in MGS1. Frank began life as a child soldier in Mozambique, where his unmatched skills quickly made him a deadly force. Hed often use his small stature and disarming charm to catch guards off guard before striking with lethal precision, which I can imagine did a number on his brain. After his time on the battlefield, he entered rehabilitation. The CIA soon enlisted him in a secret program designed to create super-soldiers, giving him the codename Null. This version of him first appears in Portable Ops, marking the earliest point players see his transformation. Unfortunately, his story only grows darker from here. We havent even touched getting exploded and put back together like Darth Vader, or his lost loves and relationship with Naomi Hunter... Yeesh.

Raiden

Metal Gear Series (1987-)

When Raiden first appeared, many fans disliked him, viewing him as too soft and a stark contrast to the Solid Snake. But few realized the horrific life he had endured, because it was arguably worse than Solid Snake himself. In a later codec conversation with Rose, Raiden reveals that he was raised in war-torn Liberia as a child soldier under the command of Solidus Snake, a clone of Big Boss, who trained him to kill from an early age. Though Raiden tried to leave that life behind, the trauma never stopped. Everyone thinks it comes full circle in Metal Gear Solid 2, when hes forced to confront Solidus once again, but truly its MGS4 where the trauma of war has broken down his home life, leaving him completely alone.

Paz

Metal Gear Series (1987-)

Paz Ortega, first introduced in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, masks a deeply traumatic history behind her seemingly innocent character. While she presents herself as a peace-loving student, she is, in truth, a brainwashed agent working for Cipher. Born Pacifica Ocean, she was subjected to intense psychological conditioning and ideological manipulation from a young age, trained in espionage and deception, another member of this crap-from-birth club, alongside Raiden, Gray Fox, and Ocelot. In Ground Zeroes, after being captured, Paz suffers horrific torture, including the implantation of bombs inside her body. She was also, without a doubt, sexually assaulted, but it will genuinely ruin my week if I think about those cassette recordings too hard.

Otacon

Metal Gear Series (1987-)

Otacons entire life is marked by relentless tragedy, both in his backstory and everything he endures throughout the series. His grandfather helped develop the atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project Bad start. His father was unstable, killed his mother, and later drowned himself. His stepmother had sex with him when he was a minor - theres another word to describe this act, but I dont want to get flagged. His sister nearly drowned as a child and later died, in front of him. He unknowingly helped design a weapon of mass destruction. His first love died. Another romantic interest became entangled with the man who murdered his sister, then took her own life. Meanwhile, Snake, his best friend, grew older, sicker and eventually, died. Yeesh.