One of the more mysterious characters from Metal Gear Solid, Grey Fox has become a cult favourite. His deranged behaviour mixed with his battle prowess makes Grey Fox one of the more intriguing characters in the MGS pantheon. Read on for a full character profile on the Cyborg Ninja.
Metal Gear Solid: Grey Fox Profile
With six games filling out the main franchise and a plethora of spin-offs in addition, the Metal Gear series has a stunning pantheon of storylines, narrative & characters. Countless characters have been developed throughout the entire series. It is in the depth of storytelling and character design that Metal Gear truly excels, with irregular machinations played off against the gritty jadedness of Solid Snake, contrasting the fantastical with faux-realism.
This article will run a fine comb over one of the more mysterious characters from the franchise, the deranged Cyborg Ninja from Metal Gear Solid, Grey Fox. The character appears prominently in the early games. From the original MSX Metal Gear up until Metal Gear Solid , Grey Fox has become as much a part of the universe as Solid Snake or Revolver Ocelot, even being payed homage in later games such as MGS2 or even MGS4.
Early Beginnings For Metal Gear Solid Grey Fox Character
The mimicking of his character is a trait inherent to the series as a whole, where repeating elements are used in a post-modern manner, often mocking themselves for being overtly cyclic. It can be seen with similar boss battles in MGS2 to that of MGS and in the characters of Vamp or Raiden. Given Grey Fox’s inherent impact on the universe and storyline, homage to his character is almost necessary, at least in keeping with the themes of repeating plot elements. Anyways, now for details on both pre-and-post Metal Gear Solid Grey Fox.
Born Frank Jaeger to American-German & Vietnamese parents, he rose from child soldier during the Mozambican war, to the first and only member of FOXHOUND to attain the codename status of “Fox”. After being used for the CIA’s Perfect Soldier project, Metal Gear: Portable Ops deals with this series of events during the early seventies, he adopted the erstwhile Doctor Naomi Hunter after killing her parents in a Rhodesian conflict.
The Birth of The Cyborg Ninja
Before Metal Gear Solid, Grey Fox led an operation into Outer Heaven, providing reconnaissance for Snake’s later Operation Intrude N313. He was captured during his own infiltration mission and subsequently rescued by Snake during the events of the MSX Metal Gear . Four years later, Grey Fox would anonymously direct Snake through the obstacles he faced, in his attempts to track down the new Metal Gear D in Zanzibar Land. Much like the later “Deepthroat” character, Fox would lead Snake under the alias of “Snake’s #1 Fan”, leaving ominous messages for the protagonist.
To Snake and the player’s surprise, Grey Fox survived the final confrontation at the end of Metal Gear 2, albeit in a mangled form due to a mine explosion after Snake’s barehanded victory against him. After his remains were recovered, he was put into an exo-skeleton and used in gene therapy experiments, culminating in his appearance in Metal Gear Solid as Cyborg Ninja.
Metal Gear Solid: Cyborg Ninja’s Final Act
Once he appears in Metal Gear Solid , Cyborg Ninja demonstrates his crazed battle prowess, wanting to battle Snake in an ultimate fight to the death. Unfortunately, after Snake discovers his identity, the wishes of Grey Fox aren’t met when he flees the office where Otacon was being held captive. Grey Fox doesn’t reappear until Snake confronts Metal Gear REX near the end of the game, when he breaks the radome, allowing Snake an opportunity to hit stinger missiles into the now opened cockpit.
This opening was initially wasted by a hesitant Snake, who didn’t want to allow Fox to die in the robotic arms of REX, when he fired the stinger missile at the cockpit. However, Liquid threw Grey Fox onto the ground and began to stomp on him with the huge mechanical legs of REX, taking two stomps to crush the legendary warrior. After remembering his past life, Grey Fox had finally been given death, while Snake witnessed it to Fox’s appreciation.
