Metal Gear Solid: All 9 Confirmed Members of the Patriots
Metal Gear Solid is a series known for its dozens of twists and turns in each installment. Perhaps one of the more confusing and secretive aspects of the overarching plot of Metal Gear Solid concerns the organization known as the Patriots.
The Patriots were first revealed during the mind-bending climax of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. They are a secret organization that has enough power to influence militaries, governments, and economies across the entire globe, a faceless organization that controls the world from the shadows. In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, it becomes the goal of series protagonist Solid Snake, and his crew, to defeat the Patriots and put an end to their control once and for all.
However, during most of the Metal Gear Solid series, the Patriots remain faceless and mysterious, and in fact at a point they exist in the form of computer AI. So just who exactly are the actual members of the Patriots? Here is what we know.
Major Zero, real name David Oh, was the true founder of the Patriots organization. He was the commander for Operation Snake Eater, a mission to assassinate the (supposed) defector The Boss, destroy the Russian nuclear weapon the Shagohod, and recover The Philosopher's Legacy. The Philosopher's Legacy was a massive slush fund left behind by the defunct international group The Philosophers, and Zero used these funds to begin the Patriots.
The original goal of the Patriots was to carry out The Boss's wish of having a conflict-less, unified world. However, over time Zero's views corrupted, and the Patriots later sought complete influence over the entire globe. During the events of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, Zero loses his speech and motor controls during a bioweapon attack. He remains alive for many years, but reassigns the leadership of the Patriots to another member who shapes the organization's future.
Big Boss, previously codenamed Naked Snake, was a special forces operative who, essentially, carried out Operation Snake Eater singlehandedly. He was world-renowned for his skills and was enlisted to join the Patriots primarily to be an icon for their cause. However, Big Boss and Zero began to have a conflict of interest. The two interpreted The Boss's dying wish differently; while Zero thought she desired a unified world, Big Boss thought she wanted soldiers to have more freedom and not be controlled by country's governments. When Zero's goal became solely to achieve world dominance, Big Boss parted ways with the Patriots, and dedicated his life to putting a stop to the Patriots rising influence.
Revolver Ocelot, real name Adamska, is a major reoccurring character throughout the Metal Gear Solid series. During Operation Snake Eater, Ocelot worked as a triple agent to keep half of the Philosopher's Legacy funds hidden from Russia. After the successful completion of the operation, Ocelot was recruited by Zero to join the Patriots.
Ocelot had a strong affirmation for, and friendly rivalry with, Big Boss, and joined the Patriots on his behalf. Ocelot trusted the remaining half of the Philosopher's Legacy to Zero, but much like Big Boss, when the Patriots goal changed, Ocelot drifted away from the organization.
Paz Ortega Andrade, real name Pacifica Ocean, was a young undercover agent for the Patriots during the 1970's where the organization was renamed Cipher, due to Big Boss's departure. Paz played the role of an innocent student, and was taken in by Big Boss and his newly-formed independent military group. After her successful infiltration, Paz takes control of a new nuclear weapon, and threatens to launch a nuclear strike if Big Boss does not return to the Patriots.
Big Boss defeats her before she can accomplish her plan, and she is presumed to be dead. In Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, it is revealed Paz survived and was recovered by Cipher, only to be tortured due to her questioning her loyalty to the group.
Skull Face is a major antagonist in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. He was the commander of Zero's military unit XOF, and was strongly trusted by Zero to use the group's resources in any ways he wants. Skull Face has the dangerous goal of unifying the world by using a deadly parasite that can infect people using specific spoken languages.
He was one of the few agents of the Patriots to have direct contact with Zero through proxy phonelines, but he eventually learned Zero's true location by torturing Paz. Skull Face strikes a bioweapon attack against Zero, forever crippling him. Skull Face has complete control over the Patriots for a limited time, before he was ultimately defeated and killed by Big Boss and his crew during Metal Gear Solid 5.
Para-Medic, real name Dr. Clark, was the medical adviser for Operation Snake Eater. She joined the Patriots along with her crewmates Zero and Big Boss. Once Big Boss began to lose faith in the Patriots, Zero began a secret project to create a clone of Big Boss, so they could continue to use him as an icon even after Big Boss leaves the Patriots. Para-Medic was the lead physician in charge what was dubbed the "Les Enfants Terribles" project, which created the birth of two Big Boss clones, who were later named Solid Snake and Liquid Snake.
EVA, real name Tatyana, was a spy who fought alongside Naked Snake during Operation Snake Eater. EVA and Snake began to develop a romantic relationship, but EVA's true goal in Operation Snake Eater was to retrieve the blueprints for the Shagohod nuclear weapon and deliver them to the Chinese government, which lead her to leaving Snake behind. The Shagohod blueprints EVA received during the mission were actually counterfeit, which lead to EVA losing her position as a Chinese spy. After a rescue mission, Big Boss and EVA reunited once again and EVA was recruited to join the Patriots. EVA served as the surrogate mother for the clones of Big Boss. After the birth of the clones and Big Boss's bitter departure from the organization, EVA left the Patriots.
Sigint, real name Donald Anderson, was another founding member of the Patriots in the Metal Gear Solid games. He worked on Operation Snake Eater as a dedicated weapons and strategy expert, assisting Big Boss as he carried out the operation. Upon joining the Patriots, he became interested in the potential of AI and the rise of internet technologies.
After Zero is crippled in a bioweapon attack, Sigint becomes the leader of the Patriots and, with Zero's influence, creates an AI network to fulfill the Patriots' goal. His research and inventions singlehandedly shaped the future form of the Patriots, as well as the eventual dystopian state of the world dependent on a War Economy in Metal Gear Solid 4.
Beginning in the 2000s, a set of four proxy AIs took control of the Patriots' and carried out their goal of complete global influence. Five AIs were created: Abraham Lincoln (AL), Theodore Roosevelt (TR), Thomas Jefferson (TJ), George Washington (GW), and John Doe (JD). The JD core was created to oversee and control the other four cores, the other four cores were intended to be successors to the founding members of the Patriots. The AIs were programmed with the ability to learn for themselves, and given the simple instruction to follow the Patriots will. However over time, due to their self-learning ability, they deviated from their intended purpose and garnered a malice towards the entire human race. They rose to higher power by gaining the ability to entirely control the world's digital flow of information, attempting to create a world completely tailored towards their ideology and outlook on the human race. During the events of Metal Gear Solid 4, Solid Snake and his crew successfully stop the AIs' control, finally putting an end to the Patriots for good.
This covers the major founding members of the Patriots, but since the organization had its hands in nearly every aspect of the world, there are many characters and organizations that worked for the Patriots without even realizing it. For example this becomes the crux of the plot in Metal Gear Solid 2, as Raiden eventually learns his whole mission was lie and he was following direct orders from the Patriots, not the U.S government like he thought.
The Patriots pose both a major and a secretive threat in the Metal Gear Solid series. Many characters in the franchise either end up working for them, or following the Patriot's lead without their own volition. The Patriots' eventual fall to AI control illustrates an interesting and dark potential future for the real world. With so many twists and different organizations at play, it is difficult to pinpoint the motives for many Metal Gear Solid characters, but upon looking deeper into the lore of the series, it all comes back to the Patriots.