Rod of Asclepius

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In Greek mythology, the Rod of Asclepius (⚕; sometimes also spelled Asklepios or Aesculapius), also known as the asklepian,^[1] is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicine. The symbol has continued to be used in modern times, where it is associated with medicine and health care, yet frequently confused with the staff of the god Hermes, the caduceus. Theories have been proposed about the Greek origin of the symbol and its implications.

Greek mythology and Greek society[link]

The Rod of Asclepius takes its name from the god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicinal arts in Greek mythology. Asclepius's attributes, the snake and the staff, sometimes depicted separately in antiquity, are combined in this symbol.^[2] The serpent and the staff appear to have been separate symbols that were combined at some point in the development of the Asclepian cult.^[3] The significance of the serpent has been interpreted in many ways; sometimes the shedding of skin and renewal is emphasized as symbolizing rejuvenation,^[4] while other assessments center on the serpent as a symbol that unites and expresses the dual nature of the work of the physician, who deals with life and death, sickness and health.^[5] The ambiguity of the serpent as a symbol, and the contradictions it is thought to represent, reflect the ambiguity of the use of drugs,^[6] which can help or harm, as reflected in the meaning of the term pharmakon, which meant "drug", "medicine" and "poison" in ancient Greek.^[7] Products deriving from the bodies of snakes were known to have medicinal properties in ancient times, and in ancient Greece, at least some were aware that snake venom that might be fatal if it entered the bloodstream could often be imbibed. Snake venom appears to have been 'prescribed' in some cases as a form of therapy.^[8]

The staff has also been variously interpreted. One view is that it, like the serpent, "conveyed notions of resurrection and healing", while another (not necessarily incompatible) is that the staff was a walking stick associated with itinerant physicians.^[9] Cornutus, a Greek philosopher probably active in the first century CE, in the Theologiae Graecae Compendium (Ch. 33) offers a view of the significance of both snake and staff:

Asclepius derived his name from healing soothingly and from deferring the withering that comes with death. For this reason, therefore, they give him a serpent as an attribute, indicating that those who avail themselves of medical science undergo a process similar to the serpent in that they, as it were, grow young again after illnesses and slough off old age; also because the serpent is a sign of attention, much of which is required in medical treatments. The staff also seems to be a symbol of some similar thing. For by means of this it is set before our minds that unless we are supported by such inventions as these, in so far as falling continually into sickness is concerned, stumbling along we would fall even sooner than necessary.^{[citation needed]}

In any case the two symbols certainly merged in antiquity as representations of the snake coiled about the staff are common. It has been claimed that the snake wrapped around the staff was a species of rat snake, Elaphe longissima.^[10]

Theories[link]

Some commentators have interpreted the symbol as a direct representation of traditional treatment of Dracunculus medinensis, the Guinea worm. The worm emerges from painful ulcerous blisters. The blisters burn, causing the patient to immerse the affected area in water to cool and soothe it. The worm senses the temperature change and discharges its larva into the water. The traditional treatment was slowly to pull the worm out of the wound over a period of hours to weeks and wind it around a stick. ^[11] The modern treatment may replace the stick with a piece of sterile gauze but is otherwise largely identical.^[12]

Some commentators have linked the symbol to the Nehushtan, a sacred object consisting of a serpent wrapped around a pole mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Numbers (Numbers 21:6-9).^{[13][14][15][16]} The section in the Book of Numbers reads as follows:

Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.^[17]

Modern use[link]

The US EMS Star of Life features a rod of Asclepius

A number of organizations and services use the rod of Asclepius as their logo, or part of their logo. These include:

• NHS ambulance services in England and Wales
• American Academy of Physician Assistants
• Academy of Medicine of Malaysia
• American Osteopathic Association
• American Medical Association
• American Medical Response
• American Academy of Family Physicians
• American College of Osteopathic Internists
• American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
• American Hippocratic Registry
• American Medical Student Association
• American Veterinary Medical Association
• Army Medical Department of the U.S. Army (AMEDD)
• Australian Medical Association
• Australian Veterinary Association
• British Medical Association
• British Royal Army Medical Corps
• Canadian Association of Physician Assistants
• Canadian Medical Association
• Canadian Forces Medical Service
• International Medical University, Malaysia
• Pakistan Army Medical Corps
• Royal Australian Army Medical Corps
• Malaysian Medical Council
• Medical Council of India
• MedicAlert
• Spanish National Council of Medical Student's Association (CEEM)
• Student Osteopathic Medical Association
• Star of Life, symbol of emergency medical services
• United States Navy Hospital Corps
• United States Air Force Medical Corps
• World Health Organization

Confusion with the caduceus[link]

The U.S. Army Medical Corps Branch Plaque. In 1902 the caduceus was added to the uniforms of Army medical officers.

It is relatively common, especially in the United States, to find the caduceus, with its two snakes and wings, used as a symbol of medicine instead of the correct rod of Asclepius, with only a single snake. This usage is erroneous, popularised largely as a result of the adoption of the caduceus as its insignia by the US Army medical corps in 1902 at the insistence of a single officer (though there are conflicting claims as to whether this was Capt. Frederick P. Reynolds or Col. John R. van Hoff).^[18][19]

The rod of Asclepius is the dominant symbol for professional healthcare associations in the United States. One survey found that 62% of professional healthcare associations used the rod of Asclepius as their symbol.^[20] The same survey found that 76% of commercial healthcare organizations used the Caduceus symbol. The author of the study suggests the difference exists because professional associations are more likely to have a real understanding of the two symbols, whereas commercial organizations are more likely to be concerned with the visual impact a symbol will have in selling their products.

The initial errors leading to its adoption and the continuing confusion it generates are well known to medical historians. The long-standing and abundantly attested historical associations of the caduceus with commerce, theft, deception, and death are considered by many to be inappropriate in a symbol used by those engaged in the healing arts.^[19] This has occasioned significant criticism of the use of the caduceus in a medical context.

Standard representation[link]

The rod of Asclepius has a representation on the Miscellaneous Symbols table of the Unicode Standard at U+2695 (⚕).

See also[link]

• Kundalini
• Aaron's rod
• Bowl of Hygieia
• Phurba
• Chakra
• Caduceus

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rod of Asclepius

Solid Snake (ソリッド・スネーク, Soriddo Sunēku^?), real name David (デイビッド, Deibiddo^?),^[2][3] is a fictional character and the protagonist of Konami's Metal Gear series. Created by Hideo Kojima, Snake is introduced in the first game of the series, Metal Gear from 1987. Snake has appeared in the majority of subsequent games and spin-offs. Japanese voice actor Akio Ōtsuka voices Snake in Japanese, while actor and screenwriter David Hayter provides the English voice of the character.

Introduced in Metal Gear, Solid Snake is a combination of spy, special operations soldier, and mercenary commando of FOXHOUND – a black operations and espionage unit. He is tasked with disarming and destroying the latest incarnation of Metal Gear, a bipedal nuclear weapon-armed mecha. Controlled by the player, Solid Snake must act alone, supported via radio by commanding officers and specialists. While during his first two appearances Snake's designs were references to Hollywood films, by Metal Gear Solid he was given a consistent design by artist Yoji Shinkawa alongside an established personality.

The character of Solid Snake has been well-received by critics to the point he appeared in several lists of best characters in gaming history. His development in the series has been praised although his accelerated aging in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots resulted in mixed reactions.

Description[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (December 2010)

While during his debut appearances, Solid Snake's visual appearances were references to popular actors, he was given his own consistent design in Metal Gear Solid. Such design shows him as a an brown haired adult wearing dark sneaking suit as well as a bandana. This appearance suffered little changes in the sequel besides the fact Snake was older but during the beginning of the Plant Chapter he disguises himself wearing a uniform and bleaches his hair. By Metal Gear Solid 4, Solid Snake suffered a notable change as a result of his accelerated aging which makes him look like an elder. Nevertheless, he still wears his sneaking suit for missions and has access to different disguises to look like other characters as well as his younger self.

Solid Snake has been on the battlefield for most of his life,^[4] a hardened veteran, he has his emotions buried very deep inside himself. Every one of his missions has different motives.^[5] He is immediately shown as a loner^[6][7] and with no intentions of taking orders from anyone anymore,^[8] he shows no sign of longing for the army or the country he was part of.^[9]

Along with these traits he has a more human side, being flirtatious,^[10] self-sacrificing^[11] and with a strong belief that even on a battlefield friendship^[12] and love^[13] can flourish, and that violence is not glorious.^[14] Although the last bit is debatable due to statements from his enemies and at least one of his allies that he might enjoy all the killing, and even being labelled as being truly evil at one point.^[15][16][17]

[edit] Metal Gear series

[edit] Metal Gear games

Metal Gear, initially released in 1987, introduces Solid Snake, the rookie recruit of the elite special-forces unit FOXHOUND. Snake is sent by team leader Big Boss into the rogue nation Outer Heaven to rescue his missing teammate Gray Fox and discover who or what the "METAL GEAR" mentioned is.^[18][19] As his mission progresses he finds out that he has been set up; the leader of Outer Heaven is actually Big Boss, who intends to use Metal Gear—an experimental, nuclear-armed mecha—to establish Outer Heaven as a nuclear power.^[20] After destroying the Metal Gear itself, he then confronts Big Boss and defeats him.^[21]

In the sequel, titled Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake and initially released only in Japan for the MSX2, follows after the original Metal Gear rather than Snake's Revenge; indeed, all later games ignore the events of Snake's Revenge.^[22]

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake sees Solid Snake once again called up to infiltrate a heavily fortified enemy base, this time in Zanzibarland. Zanzibarland has aggravated an international oil crisis and declared themselves a nuclear power by kidnapping Dr. Kio Marv, the creator of a bio-engineered algae that produces an oil substitute, and Dr. Pettrovich Madnar, the developer of the original Metal Gear.^[23] Snake infiltrates the base and discovers that Pettrovich and his former comrade Gray Fox have defected to Zanzibar Land, and that Zanzibar Land is led by Big Boss.^[24] Snake destroys their new Metal Gear D, and defeats his former comrades Gray Fox and Big Boss.^[25][26]

[edit] Metal Gear Solid games

Metal Gear Solid sees Solid Snake pulled out of retirement by Colonel Campbell in a mission to deal with FOXHOUND. Under the leadership of Liquid Snake, FOXHOUND has gone rogue, seizing Shadow Moses Island, an isolated American nuclear weapons disposal facility.^[27] Snake infiltrates the base and meets up with Meryl Silverburgh, a rookie soldier, and Dr. Hal "Otacon" Emmerich, the designer of Metal Gear REX. Snake defeats each member of FOXHOUND one by one, destroys Metal Gear REX, and confronts Liquid. Liquid reveals that he and Solid are twin brothers artificially conceived from Big Boss' genes during a government project designed to create the perfect soldier titled "Les Enfants Terribles", in which one brother was genetically modified to be superior over the other.^[28] Liquid harbors a strong resentment towards Snake since his brother was given their father's dominant "soldier genes" and Liquid was cast aside. After a grueling series of battles, Liquid dies from the Fox-Die virus that was previously implanted into Snake in order to wipe out FOXHOUND without risking any damage to Metal Gear REX and the Genome soldiers' bodies for retrieval.^[29] In the end, it is revealed that Liquid got Big Boss' superior "soldier genes", not Solid.^[30]

Solid Snake is the playable character of the extensive prologue sequence of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, in which he is sent by the anti-proliferation organization Philanthropy to infiltrate a cargo tanker and photograph Metal Gear RAY, the latest Metal Gear model.^[31] During the operation, however, the Metal Gear RAY is hijacked and the tanker destroyed, with the apparently dead Snake framed for the deed.^[32] The remainder of Sons of Liberty follows the actions of the rookie FOXHOUND agent Raiden (the character now controlled by the player), who has been assigned to rescue the U.S. President and a number of other government officials being held hostage at a remote offshore oil shell facility. Solid Snake, who survived the explosion in the prologue, appears throughout the main portion of the game (initially adopting the pseudonym Iroquois Pliskin (イロコィ・プリスキン , Irokoi Purisukin^?), as a non-playable character who assists Raiden.^[33]

The PlayStation 3 game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots features an aged Snake, once again the main protagonist and identified as Old Snake (オールド・スネーク, Ōrudo Sunēku^?) by the game. On account of his genetic code being a potential threat if it fell into enemy hands, he was designed with a short life span; as such, while Snake is only 42 years old, he has the body of an old man.^[34] In the game, he wears a sneaking suit outfitted with "Octocamo" technology, which allows him to blend with his environment, as well as a face mask which alters his appearance.^[35] Snake is once again enlisted by Campbell to defeat Revolver Ocelot who is following Big Boss' by taking control of the Patriots' A.I.s.^[36] Snake and his allies are forced to destroy the Patriots' A.I.s to stop Ocelot, and fights most of his soldiers, until killing Ocelot. Having learned that his rapid aging can cause an epidemic because of the FOXDIE virus mutating, Snake tries to commit suicide but changes his mind and is then confronted by the surviving Big Boss who reveals he can spend the rest of his life peacefully. After making up with Big Boss, Snake decides to live out the remainder of his life in peace.^[37]

In spinoffs[link]

Three Metal Gear spinoffs, which do not follow the storyline of the main Kojima-directed series, were directed by Shinta Nojiri.^[38] The first of these games is the Game Boy Color version of Metal Gear Solid (released in Japan as Metal Gear: Ghost Babel). In Ghost Babel, Solid Snake infiltrates a rebuilt Outer Heaven (now called Galuade) to defeat a FOXHOUND-like team of rogue agents called Black Chamber and destroy a stolen Metal Gear prototype, Gander. While the promotional art for the game was drawn by Yoji Shinkawa, the actual in-game character designs were done by Ikuya Nakamura.

In Metal Gear Acid, Solid Snake must retrieve "Pythagoras" from the Lobito Physics and Research Laboratory, in order to satisfy hijackers who have kidnapped presidential candidate Viggo Hach. This mission is complicated by La Clown, an expert mimic who impersonates Solid Snake's contact Teliko, and subtle brainwashing that nearly convinces him that he is Hans Davis, a ruthless scientist that worked at the Lobito facility. He overcomes both and contacts the real Teliko, then destroys the latest model of Metal Gear, Metal Gear KODOQUE. The sequel, Metal Gear Acid 2, features a main character who is not the real Solid Snake, but a clone created from tissue samples of the Solid Snake from the original Metal Gear Acid, following the events of the Lobito Island mission; the Solid Snake from the original Acid is dead.

Though Snake does not explicitly appear in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, he is mentioned, though not referred to by name; Elisa, a teenage German psychic with multiple personalities, has a prophetic vision of Naked Snake's future as she dies: she mentions that one of his sons will save the world after another son (Liquid Snake) brings it to ruin.^[39] He appears in his Metal Gear Solid 4 form as a recruitable character in Portable Ops Plus.^[40] He is also playable in an updated pack from Metal Gear Online.^[41]

Other appearances[link]

Solid Snake has appeared in a number of other games, including other Konami games, and more unusually, under license in games developed and published by other companies, such as Sony and Nintendo.

Hideo Kojima makes a habit of referencing his previous work. In the Kojima-produced Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django (and Boktai 3: Sabata's Counterattack), Snake appears as an unnamed character who sells items to the player. Konami's Evolution Skateboarding features Snake and Raiden as hidden characters, as well two stages set in the Big Shell (the Skateboarding minigame in Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance is a demo of Evolution Skateboarding composed exclusively of these elements).^[42]

Solid Snake also appears in both halves of a crossover between the Metal Gear and Ape Escape franchises: the Ape Escape monkeys appear with Solid Snake in the "Snake vs. Monkey" minigame featured in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. In turn, Snake (voiced by Peter Lurie in the English version instead of David Hayter, his usual voice actor) appears in the corresponding Metal Gear Solid minigame featured in Ape Escape 3, where he is rescued by Pipo Snake. Snake's character design in this mini-game is taken directly from Naked Snake's.

He has also appeared in a pair of cross-company fighting games. In DreamMix TV World Fighters, Solid Snake appears as a playable character alongside other third-party characters such as Bomberman and Convoy (Optimus Prime). Similarly, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a popular fighting game from Nintendo, Solid Snake appeared alongside Nintendo-owned characters such as Mario and Donkey Kong, and Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog. According to producer Masahiro Sakurai, Snake's inclusion in Brawl was done under Kojima's request, who wanted Snake to be featured.^[43]

Snake has appeared as a playable character in the Nintendo DS game, New International Track & Field, alongside fellow Konami characters such as Sparkster and Simon Belmont, as well as new original characters.^[44] Also, Old Snake has appeared in the Japanese version of Scribblenauts, having been published by Konami in that region.^[45]

Customizations in Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet for the PlayStation 3 allow the player character, Sackboy, to take on the appearance of Old Snake.^[46]

Creation and development[link]

Much as Metal Gear began as a pastiche of action movies of the time, Solid Snake began as a pastiche of contemporary action movie heroes. For example, on the cover artwork of the original Metal Gear, he resembles Michael Biehn in The Terminator, and the in-game portrait of Snake in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake resembles Mel Gibson in the game's opening sequence.^[47] Solid Snake was even named after another fictional special forces operative: Snake Plissken, Kurt Russell's character in Escape from New York.^[48][49] In Guns of the Patriots, Snake is modeled after Lee Van Cleef, who appeared in Escape from New York.^[50] His real name, David, is a tribute to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey that has a character with the same name.^[51] Kojima later described Snake's role in the original Metal Gear as the "player's presence", contrasting the defined personality Solid Snake acquired in Metal Gear Solid.^[52]

In addition to expanding Solid Snake's backstory, as the first Metal Gear game to feature voice acting Metal Gear Solid established his characteristic voice and appearance.^[53] Yoji Shinkawa's Solid Snake design, characterized by his navy blue bandanna and "sneaking suit", would serve as the template for all future incarnations of Snake in later Metal Gear games. According to Shinkawa, Snake's physique in Metal Gear Solid was based on that of action star Jean-Claude Van Damme, while his facial appearance in the same game was inspired by actor Christopher Walken. Shinkawa described his rendition of Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid as a "middle ground" between the younger Snake who graced the cover artwork of the first Metal Gear and the middle-aged Snake from the MSX2 version of Metal Gear 2.^[49][54] For the initial events from the Big Shell chapter from Metal Gear Solid 2, Snake's visual appearance was sightly modified with his hair being more blonde.^[55] Solid Snake became one of the characters easiest to draw by Shinkawa as he notes that his appearance is consistence, suffering minor changes across the games.^[56]

Various scenes from the games relate Snake's ideals with Hideo Kojima's. During Metal Gear Solid 2 Snake encourages Raiden to trust himself in making his own choices with the former representing the veteran developer and the latter the younger staff who are to decide whether a sequel to the series would be made without Kojima.^[51] In Metal Gear Solid 4, Snake tries to protect the next generation by stopping Ocelot which was representing by Kojima working with the staff to avoid bugs from occurying within the game.^[57] Kojima introduced the cloning origins of Solid Snake to Metal Gear Solid in order to provide Solid Snake with an adversary who would be his equal, since the story, being a continuation to the original MSX2 games, established Snake as an experienced soldier.^[58] Kojima explained that his decision to introduce a new playable character in Solid Snake's place for Sons of Liberty was done in order to develop Snake from another character's perspective, but also to avoid treating Snake as a rookie by having a new character be instructed via Codec instead.^[59]

By the time of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots started development, Kojima told Shinkawa about his idea of making Snake look like an elder which surprised the designer. Once Shinkawa showed his artwork of Old Snake to the staff, they were all also surprised by the idea of playing as an old Solid Snake. However, as they were satisfied with end product as the staff started liking the character.^[57] In Guns of the Patriots one of Kojima's endings for the game would have had Snake and Otacon turn themselves in for breaking the law, and subsequently they would be convicted and executed.^[58] However, comments from Kojima's staff who were disappointed with his death resulted in the character's survival.^[60] According to Ryan Payton of Konami, Guns of the Patriots is the final canonical Metal Gear game to feature Solid Snake as the main character.^[61] Kojima himself stated that the series will continue but he does not want the character to be handled by anyone else.^[58]

In the games, Snake has been voiced by Akio Ōtsuka starting with Metal Gear Solid. Ōtsuka remembers being surprised during his debut as a result of the large amount dialogue Snake was given.^[62] In the English adaptations, Snake's role was made by David Hayter who found his work notable as he was originally a screenwriter and did not expect to become famous for dubbing a character.^[63] While Hayter comments having issues with some of Snake's lines in his first game, most notably a conversation regarding romance with Hal Emmerich, he stated he would talk about such things if he was asked again. By the time Metal Gear Solid 4 had its first trailers released, Hayter was frustrated by Snake's flinchs during his attempt of committing suicide based on the character's experience in the battlefield.^[64] For the crossover game Super Smash Bros, Hayter remembers having fun in voicing the character due to the comical lines Snake had to say.^[63]

Reception[link]

The character of Solid Snake has received positive response, ranking in various polls as one of the best video games characters in history. In an Oricon poll from 2008, he was voted as the fourth most popular video game character in Japan, tying with Nintendo's Pikachu.^[65] In a Famitsu poll done in February 2010, Snake was voted by readers as the most popular video game character.^[66] In the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition from 2011, Snake was voted as the fourth most popular video game character.^[67] Also, Electronic Gaming Monthly listed him as number three as the Top Ten Video Game characters of all time.^[35]

Critics have often praised Snake's commitment to war as well as his appealing personality.^[35][68] Snake appeared in multiple GameFAQs "Character Battle" contests, and was runner-up in two, the "Character Battle V" in 2006,^[69] and the "Character Battle VII" in 2008.^[70] His character was amongst the last sixteen contestants on the greatest video game hero on GameSpot contest held in 2009, and lost out to Gordon Freeman on a tiebreaker.^[71] He was ranked seventeenth in UGO Networks's "Best Heroes in Entertainment."^[68] GameDaily listed him on their top 10 Smash Bros. characters list,^[72] while Play listed him as one of the characters they wanted to be playable in Mortal Kombat.^[73] Sites have also commented on his traits and appearance. 1UP listed him second in the "Top 5 Video Game Smokers" while GamesRadar placed him at the top of "The 10 manliest men in videogame history."^[74][75] Complex.com ranked him as fourth on the list of "Top 25 Pervs in Games".^[76] Solid Snake's endurance in the face of extreme punishment was even made the focus of a comedy article in the satirical newspaper, The Onion.^[77] The character customization in Soul Calibur 4 that allowed to create Snake was listed by UGO as one of the best ones from the series owing to his popularity within gamers.^[78] The character's Metal Gear Solid 2 design was at the bottom of the "8 Worst Game Character Makeovers" by GamePro, condemning his conversion in hairstyle in comparison to the one in Metal Gear Solid,^[79] and was also at the top of IGN's "Worst Videogame Haircuts".^[80] Before Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Snake was thought to be the game's protagonist because of the physical resemblances between him and Naked Snake. However, later previews speculated how was it possible for Solid Snake to be in the game's settings, leading to the conclusion it was a young Big Boss.^[81][82][83] A comparison between Solid Snake's and Big Boss' characters was made by IGN's Phil Pirrello in articled called "Stars Thunderdome: Snake vs. Big Boss."^[84] David Hayter's performance as Snake's English voice actor has received praise to the point of being called one of the best ones in gaming as well as one of the character's most recognizable traits.^[85][86]

Snake's appearance in Metal Gear Solid 4 has received mixed opinions. Before it was released, various speculations were made regarding Snake's role. As he was the only who suffered from a drastic change in appearance, IGN commented that the most famous rumor was the one of Snake's body deteriorating across the game.^[87] Moreover, since it had been announced it would be his last appearance, IGN and GamesRadar wondered whether the character would die during the game and if Raiden would replace him following his death.^[88][89] GamesRadar commented that Snake was one of the few gaming characters that aged across video games.^[90] GamePro also listed Old Snake as one of the biggest surprises from Metal Gear Solid 4 as the character was found interesting in contrast to pessimistic thoughts they had before the game's release.^[91] GameDaily listed the "old hero" as one of their top 25 video game archetypes, using the old version of Snake as an example of this.^[92] Play gave praise to his moustache considering how highly detailed it is, and represents the change from Snake's character.^[93] On the other hand, 1UP placed him third in the article of "Top 5 Gracelessly Aging Characters" as it gave negative messages about aging.^[94]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Solid Snake - The Metal Gear Wiki

v t e Metal Gear series Main games Metal Gear Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes MGS2: Sons of Liberty 3: Snake Eater Portable Ops 4: Guns of the Patriots Peace Walker Spin-off games Snake's Revenge Ghost Babel Acid Acid 2 Acid Mobile Mobile Online Touch Arcade Rising: Revengeance Creators Hideo Kojima Shuyo Murata Yoji Shinkawa Motosada Mori Shinta Nojiri Mineshi Kimura Characters Solid Snake Big Boss Gray Fox Revolver Ocelot Raiden Related articles Metal Gear (weapon) List of media HD Collection Kojima Productions Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy (fan film) DreamMix TV World Fighters Super Smash Bros. Brawl Book:Metal Gear series  · Category:Metal Gear  · Portal:Video games

Revolver Ocelot (リボルバー・オセロット, Riborubā Oserotto^?), also known as Shalashaska (シャラシャーシカ, Sharashāshika^?), is a fictional character of the Metal Gear series. He was originally introduced as a gunslinger-themed member of FOXHOUND from the former Soviet Union in the video game Metal Gear Solid acting as one of its main antagonists. The game's ending and its sequel reveal Ocelot as an agent from The Patriots an organization that controls the United States. The prequel Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater explores the character's backstory as a young Spetsnaz Major, rivalizing the game's main protagonist Big Boss. While these games would reveal how Ocelot becomes one of the founders from the Patriots alongside Big Boss, in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots he starts a plan to destroy them upon being seemingly controlled by the mind of his late comrade Liquid Snake.

Ocelot was created by Hideo Kojima and designed by Yoji Shinkawa with the former wishing to add Western tones to a character from the franchise. Critical reception to Ocelot's character has been positive, with video game websites and magazines listing him as one of the best video games antagonists. Although Ocelot's possession by Liquid Snake has been found nonsensical by writers and Kojima himself, they praised the character's role in Metal Gear Solid 4.

Appearances[link]

In Metal Gear Solid, Revolver Ocelot is one of the FOXHOUND terrorists involved with the hostile takeover of Shadow Moses Island, serving as the team's interrogation expert and their leader Liquid Snake's right hand man.^[1] He challenges agent Solid Snake to a gunfight in the game's first boss encounter and appears later to torture a captured Snake.^[2] He is the sole surviving FOXHOUND member by the end of the game, losing only his right hand during an encounter with the Gray Fox. After the ending credits, it is revealed that Ocelot is in league with Solidus Snake, the third surviving offspring of the Les Enfants Terribles project that created Snake and Liquid, as well as the current U.S. President.^[3]

In Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Ocelot gains a new surgically attached right arm that belonged to Liquid Snake. This results in Revolver Ocelot developing a dormant personality in which Liquid's persona often takes over Ocelot's mind.^[4] He is under the employ of his old friend Sergei Gurlukovich during the introductory Tanker Chapter, but ends up betraying him and his mercenaries when he hijacks Metal Gear RAY. He then forms part of the terrorist group "Sons of Liberty" during the Plant Chapter with Solidus Snake, but ends up betraying him as well, revealing his true allegiance to the Patriots, a group a that controls the United States. Shortly afterwards, Ocelot is taken over by his Liquid persona who escapes from Solidus, intending to kill the Patriots' leaders.^[5]

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, a prequel set four decades before the original Metal Gear Solid, features a young Ocelot (オセロット, Oserotto^?), whose real name is Adamska (アダムスカ, Adamusuka^?) as a GRU Major under the command of Colonel Volgin and leader of his own "Ocelot unit" within Spetsnaz. He acquires his preferences for revolvers as a result of his initial encounter with Naked Snake, who suggests that his tendency to absorb the gun's recoil with his elbow is more of a revolver technique. He is revealed to be a triple agent at the game's ending, working not only for the KGB, but also under the direct orders of the DCI (under the codename ADAM) as well. He was supposed to intercept and assist Snake, but another Philosopher's agent, EVA, got there first.^[6]

Ocelot plays a minor role in the plot of Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and appears as a recruitable character in the game.^[7] In the story, he is in league with Gene and near the end of the game, he assassinates his former employer (the DCI) and reports to a new employer, an unidentified character who invites Ocelot to join his new organization, The Patriots, on the grounds that Naked Snake join as well.^[8]

In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (set five years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 2) Ocelot assumes the identity of Liquid Ocelot (リキッド・オセロット, Rikiddo Oserotto^?), with the Liquid Snake personality having seemingly taken complete control of his mind. He attempts to resurrect Outer Heaven in his conflict with the Patriots, establishing a dummy corporation that runs the five largest PMCs that exist in the game.^[9] After Ocelot hijacks one of the Patriots' systems that control the soldiers' weapons, his group engages Solid Snake's until Snake uses a virus to delete the Patriots' A.I.s.^[10] Following A.I.s' destruction, Ocelot challenges Snake to a fist fight. Although he appears to die from exhaustion after the final fight, Ocelot's death is actually caused by the new strain of FOXDIE that was injected into Snake by Drebin as revealed by Big Boss.^[11] Ocelot's possession by Liquid is also revealed to have been deliberate, made possible through self-hypnosis and nanomachines, in order to act like Liquid Snake and trick the Patriot AIs into focusing their energies on battling Liquid.^[12]

Character design[link]

He is normally clothed in a duster, spurs and gunbelts, the traditional garb of gunslingers in spaghetti westerns, as well as a black armband on his left arm, and wields the Colt Single Action Army revolver, which he refers to as "the greatest handgun ever made" and quoting to Snake in MGS "Six bullets, more than enough to kill anything that moves" represents Ocelot's clever remarks toward his marksmanship.

In the making of the character, Kojima wanted to add Western tones to a character resulting in Ocelot's appearance.^[13] His appearance is based on that of veteran Western film actor Lee Van Cleef.^[14] For Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Yoji Shinkawa originally intended to give Ocelot a cybernetic arm in place of the one Gray Fox took from him. However, this idea was not used as the staff intended to have Ocelot use the arm of Liquid Snake.^[15] While Kojima recalls fans finding ridiculous the idea of Liquid Snake's arm possessing Ocelot's mind following Sons of Liberty, he stated he would answer the reason behind it in Guns of the Patriots.^[13]

Reception[link]

The character of Revolver Ocelot has received positive response by video game publications based on his role as an antagonist. He is one of the only characters to appear in every major Metal Gear Solid game (but not in the original Metal Gear games) besides Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, and is thus considered "one of the only characters to have a major role in all five Metal Gear Solid titles."^[16] Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine called Revolver Ocelot underrated in comparison to Final Fantasy VII antagonist Sephiroth, stating "...Ocelot is just a persistent, sneaky, and cool villain. Heck, just watch the MGS3 trailer and you'll see that he was a badass even in the 60's."^[17] Ocelot was ranked number 28 on IGN's "Top 100 Video Game Villains" list.^[18] Additionally, Ocelot was in lists of best Metal Gear villains. He was seventh in IGN's "Top 10 Metal Gear Solid Boss Battles" based on his battle from Metal Gear Solid and second on the "Top 10 Metal Gear Villains".^[19][20] GameSpot listed him as one the twenty best Metal Gear bosses calling him one of the most important characters from the story alongside Solid Snake and Big Boss.^[21] G4's Filter placed him at number ten in their top ten video game villains list.^[22] The torture he makes in Metal Gear Solid was listed as one of the best moments from the game due to how Ocelot toys with Snake and how difficult is to pass it besides how significant is the outcome for the rest of the game.^[23] In response to his role in Metal Gear Solid 3, GameSpy called Ocelot one of the "series mainstay", hoping he would become an entertaining opponent.^[24]

Ocelot's change to his alter-ego persona of Liquid Snake was commented by GameSpy writers as one of the most non-sensical events from the Metal Gear series. Mixed critics was given to such change by GameSpy who also praised his action scenes at the start of Metal Gear Solid 2 and joked about Ocelot's sudden change of accent.^[25] UGO Networks stated that in the first game Ocelot's motives for his actions were unknown until being revealed to be with the Patriots in Metal Gear Solid 2. Because of being born from the medium The Sorrow, it was speculated that Ocelot could communicate with dead people which ended in Liquid Snake taking possession of his body.^[26] Edge magazine stated of his Liquid Ocelot appearance "Kojima has forged a superb villain, far more complete than in MGS2."^[27] In a game guide by GamePro, the final fight against Liquid Ocelot was mentioned to become "epic" as the third shift phases, while in the final one, it was commented he was easy to defeat as he became "a punching bag."^[28] Furthermore, UGO's K. Thor Jensen listed such fight as the seventh best cutscene ever owing to the fighting styles employed and the interaction between the two fighters.^[29] On the other hand, 1UP.com listed such fight in their article "The 13 Most Dumbass Boss Battles" for its simple style in comparison to other more challenging bosses from Metal Gear Solid 3 and its excessive length for a hand-to-hand fight between two old people.^[30] An IGN article from October 2009 titled "Big Boss of the Day: Liquid Ocelot" focused on Ocelot's appearances across the franchise.^[31] 1UP listed the scenes from the games in which he controls the PMC's weapons to attack the protagonists and his imitation of Liquid Snake's death from Metal Gear Solid as one of the most surprising moments in the game.^[32] Moreover, he was also listed by IGN as one of the fictional characters who required his own spin-off.^[33]

References[link]

v t e Metal Gear series Main games Metal Gear Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes MGS2: Sons of Liberty 3: Snake Eater Portable Ops 4: Guns of the Patriots Peace Walker Spin-off games Snake's Revenge Ghost Babel Acid Acid 2 Acid Mobile Mobile Online Touch Arcade Rising: Revengeance Creators Hideo Kojima Shuyo Murata Yoji Shinkawa Motosada Mori Shinta Nojiri Mineshi Kimura Characters Solid Snake Big Boss Gray Fox Revolver Ocelot Raiden Related articles Metal Gear (weapon) List of media HD Collection Kojima Productions Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy (fan film) DreamMix TV World Fighters Super Smash Bros. Brawl Book:Metal Gear series  · Category:Metal Gear  · Portal:Video games