Liquid Snake

Liquid Snake (Japanese: リキッド・スネーク, Hepburn: Rikiddo Sunēku) is a fictional character from Konami's Metal Gear series.

Characteristics and design

Introduced in Metal Gear Solid, Liquid Snake is Solid Snake's twin brother and Big Boss's second clone via the Les Enfants Terribles project.^[1] In contrast to the other members of FOXHOUND who are referred primarily by their animal codenames (e.g. Ocelot, Mantis, Wolf), he is commonly referred to simply as "Liquid" due to "Snake" being the common name for his brother. Raised in the United Kingdom following his birth, Liquid served as an operative for the British SAS and later became the field commander of FOXHOUND prior to the events of the game.^[2] One of Liquid's motivations is his hatred towards Snake, as Liquid believes that Snake received all of Big Boss's superior genes, and that he was destined to be inferior. After the game's credits, it is revealed that Liquid was intentionally deceived in order to drive him to carry on with Big Boss's legacy.^[3] Liquid resembles Snake in terms of facial appearance and physique, with the primary differences being his different skin tone and medium-length blond hair, as well as a tattoo of a snake entwined around a sword on his left arm.

It was intended during the finalization of Metal Gear Solid 2 for Liquid Snake to send Arsenal Gear crashing into Manhattan in the game's climax.^[4] However, the line of dialogue that was intended to explicitly state this was cut from the final release, due to the September 11 attacks occurring as the game was nearing finalization. The dialogue, however, was retained in the novelization.

Appearances

Liquid Snake is introduced in Metal Gear Solid as the game's main antagonist. He Is Solid Snake's twin brother and Big Boss's second clone. He and Snake meet for the first time face to face in the torture room where Donald Anderson was killed by Revolver Ocelot. His ultimate goal is the restoration of Big Boss's "dying wish" in attempts to sever the world from control from "hypocritical politicians". Liquid battles Snake multiple times throughout the Shadow Moses Incident, the first being the Hind D battle, then piloting Metal Gear REX against Snake, after Liquid manipulated Snake into activating the PAL codes via his Master Miller disguise. Though REX was armed and ready, Snake managed to destroy REX. However, Liquid survived and took his unconscious brother to the top of REX where he revealed their own "birth" as a result of the "Les Enfants Terribles" project. Both Liquid and Solid battled hand-to-hand atop REX, before Solid prevailed, causing Liquid to fall from the Metal Gear. However, Liquid survived again, and pursued Snake and Meryl Silverburgh in a jeep chase that resulted in a crash outside the island's facility. Liquid tried to kill Solid one final time, but finally succumbed to the FOXDIE virus that had been injected into Snake. Liquid's death left Snake perplexed as to when "[Snake's] time is up", as FOXDIE was designed to target specific genomes. Although Liquid believed to be Big Boss's inferior clone, Ocelot later revealed Liquid's the superior while Solid's the inferior.

Liquid Snake returns in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty as Revolver Ocelot's dormant personality. Ocelot has an arm transplant from Liquid's corpse thanks to Solidus Snake. Liquid's personality takes over Ocelot's mind and goes after Solid Snake with Metal Gear RAY.^[5] Liquid later returns near the end of Solidus's takeover, escaping with RAY from Snake, Solidus and Raiden to kill the Patriots.^[6]

Liquid is alluded in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops as Big Boss's "son [who] will bring the world to ruin" and in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on a secret tape that implies that Liquid and Solid act as an insurance policy for the Patriots in the event that Big Boss did not return to their fold.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots revealed that "Liquid Ocelot" is actually Liquid's doppelgänger meant to fool everyone.^[7] Meanwhile, Liquid's corpse and Solidus's biomort were used to surgically reconstruct Big Boss.

Liquid Snake makes a non-canon appearance in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes during the "Deja vu" sequence. The character's next canonical appearance happens in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain as Eli, where the twelve-year-old meets Venom Snake in Africa, and vocally expresses his rage at being a mere clone, after which he decides to break away from the genetic destiny by surpassing Big Boss, even killing Big Boss if necessary.

Reception

In 1999, readers of GameSpot voted Liquid Snake into the list of top ten video game villains.^[8] IGN included him in their 2011 list of top 100 video game villains, as number 53.^[9] He was ranked as the 16th "coolest" video game villain by Complex in 2012.^[10] GameDaily ranked him ninth on their "Top 25 Evil Masterminds of All Time".^[11] Liquid ranked first on IGN's 2008 list of the Metal Gear series' top ten villains,^[12] also placing as seventh on their list of top ten Metal Gear boss battles.^[13] Play ranked Liquid Snake the fifth best Metal Gear character, adding he "has become one of the most iconic villains of the franchise and is still one of its most popular characters."^[14]

Liquid was included on GamesRadar 2008 list of "outrageously camp bad guys" at fifth place,^[15] also giving honourable mention on their list of "mega plot twists you never saw coming" to finding out Master Miller is actually Liquid Snake.^[16] In 2011, UGO Networks ranked Liquid as the fourth scariest fictional terrorist in entertainment,^[17] also featuring him revealing himself in Metal Gear Solid on the list of the most shocking twists in gaming.^[18] In 2012, GamesRadar featured both him and Solidus Snake at the second place on the list of most evil clones in gaming, commenting that "as evil clones go, the ones that threaten the world with thermonuclear war and eradication rank as some of the worst,"^[19] and also listing him and Solid Snake as having one of best brotherly rivalries in gaming.^[20] IGN also remarked their rivalry, saying "Few rivalries in games have spanned as massive and confusing a timeline as Solid Snake and Liquid Snake".^[21]

References