Myth: Gray Fox was an asshole

No, this is NOT what happened at Outer Heaven.

Fact: Nahhh.

By Ravi Singh, Posted on July 4, 2007

This one surprises me, but hey, at least I’ve got something to type out here. It’s a popular myth that Gray Fox’s personality completely changes from Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake to Metal Gear Solid.

Typical claim: “Gray Fox is an asshole in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. He just kills people. He kills Gustava (Natasha in the original) and then fights Snake. In Metal Gear Solid he’s all chill and shit and considers Snake as a friend. In Zanzibar he says he isn’t.”

It’s not complete change at all and most of Gray Fox’s actions in Zanzibar Land is heavily misunderstood by everyone besides Solid Snake.

In Metal Gear Solid, Solid Snake talks to Naomi about him being friends with Gray Fox:

Sure, this conflicts with the following quote from Gray Fox once Solid Snake steps onto the elevator in the Tower Building in Zanzibar Land, right before The Four Horsemen (UltraBox in the original) show up:

Sure, that sounds like an asshole being… an anal opening. Yet, later on, he still gives you hints as your “#1 Fan” and becomes the biggest ass kisser ever:

And then some:

I mean, wow, he’s a lot more useful than DEEPTHROAT ever was despite the promising name. Sure, Gray Fox brings up his “fuck off pussy” attitude when Snake confronts him again:

As we know, instead of tasting defeat, Snake tastes victory, to which Gray Fox angrily yells out:

However, near his death, Gray Fox shows his soft side and also sort of hints why he was being a complete dick:

How sad. He’s an asshole because, well, that’s all he can be. He can only run around killing people and being an asshole. Making people happy is something he sucks at.

See, even Gray Fox noticed that he was a prick. That’s why he was the super nice and helpful #1 Fan.

Now some wonder why he’s different in Metal Gear Solid. Easy. He’s come back to life, is on drugs, and really has nothing to do with his life. If Gray Fox were to be revived, they should have done it during a conflict so that he can do what he does best–killing. Instead, he went insane, killed Dr. Clark, and ran around killing some of the Genome Army. When he finds out about Solid Snake being in the area, he freaks out and starts looking for him, just to see how he’s doing. That, and a rematch of their fist fight. He’s not an asshole to Snake because he’s not fighting for Liquid Snake. In fact, the fact that he totally fucked himself over to destroy REX would suggest he’s fighting for Snake. That, and he wanted to die again, but doing something important perhaps?

Can you guess which one actually occurred?

One more thing I need to clear up–

Then Gray Fox dies for the first time, in peace, looking forward to meeting Gustava in Heaven.

But wait a second, what the fuck? Gray Fox kills Gustava! GRAY FOX IS AN ASSHOLE, AM I RIGHT?!!

Outside the Detention Center, Gray Fox, piloting Metal Gear D, fires a missile which blows up the bridge, fatally injuring Gustava. Gray Fox then shows himself and goes all “I’ll let you live if you leave” on Snake, making no reference to Gustava’s death.

This ironic action seems to be more accident than anything. Gray Fox has killed many people. He probably thought Snake was with some random whore. Maybe he even knew that the woman was Dr. Kio Marv’s bodyguard, but not her name or face. With that in mind, it’s safe to say that Gray Fox didn’t intend to kill Gustava.

The lesson? If you want to get laid, don’t become a ruthless mercenary killing everyone you see. That, and Gray Fox doesn’t change dramatically between Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake and Metal Gear Solid, though Portable Ops did change his backstory so who fucking knows what’s canon anymore besides Kojima and maybe some high-paying producers?

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