About

Raiden (雷電?), whose real name is Jack, is a character in the Metal Gear series.[1][2] He is the protagonist of the Plant Chapter, the main act of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (MGS2), and a supporting character in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (MGS4). His role as the protagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2 was a controversial twist, both for the unexpected substitution of the established hero, Solid Snake, and for his androgynous appearance, the latter so much that the ridiculing of his effeminate appearance became a running gag in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (MGS3) and several early Metal Gear Solid 4 promotional videos featured on Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. He will appear as the main playable character in the next Metal Gear game Metal Gear Solid: Rising.

Raiden in the Plant Chapter, where he is introduced as a newly-recruited VR trained member of FOXHOUND with no live combat experience prior to his current mission. His primary outfit in this game is a black skin-tight military uniform similar to Solid Snake's sneaking suit dubbed the Skull Suit, named due to its resemblance to a human skeleton. Assisted via Codec by his commanding officer, the Colonel, and his girlfriend Rosemary, Raiden's initial mission objective is to rescue the U.S. President and other hostages from a terrorist group dubbed "Sons of Liberty". Raiden also gains the assistance of a Navy SEALS operative named Iroquois Pliskin (Solid Snake operating under a pseudonym), and a mysterious entity dressed in a Cyborg Ninja suit calling itself Mr. X (Olga Gurlukovich in disguise).

As the story progresses, the true nature of Raiden's mission is revealed, along with his past. His commanding officer is revealed to be a computer generated A.I. built by a mysterious organization known as The Patriots, with Raiden himself unknowingly serving as one of their agents. Additionally, Raiden is revealed to had served as a child soldier for his adversary Solidus Snake during a civil war during the 1990s (specified to be the Liberian Civil War in The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2). Solidus took in Raiden after murdering his true parents. Raiden battles and defeats Solidus at the end of the game and is reunited with Rose.

Raiden appears as a non-playable character in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, now a cyborg as a result of The Patriots' machinations. The trauma of his break-up with Rose, coupled with the apparent miscarriage of his child and rigorous training, have turned Raiden into a cold and emotionless fighter. He seems to care nothing for his own life or Rose. He is outfitted with a cybernetic exoskeleton similar to the one worn by Gray Fox in the original Metal Gear Solid. Working as a free agent, Raiden rescues Sunny from the Patriots, leaving her in the care of Snake and Otacon, is recruited by Big Mama to find the corpse of Big Boss, and later leads Snake to her resistance force "Paradise Lost." In South America, Raiden reveals himself to Snake after fending off a squadron of Gekko. He informs Snake of Mama's whereabouts after fighting Vamp, whom he previously defeated during his infiltration of the Big Shell. Though victorious, he is severely wounded in the fight. Raiden later recovers and assists Snake on Shadow Moses Island and defeats Vamp once and for all after Snake returns him to his mortal state, and helps Snake escape the collapsing hangar with the reactivated Metal Gear REX. During the attack on Liquid Ocelot's Outer Haven, Raiden sacrifices himself and is apparently crushed to death by the warship. He is confirmed by Otacon to have survived but is in no condition to help Snake in his final mission aboard Outer Haven. However, as Snake makes his way deeper into Haven, he is saved once again by Raiden, missing both arms and wielding his sword in between his teeth, from a group of FROGS. Though he holds his own for a while, Raiden is ultimately overwhelmed, but the FROGS are incapacitated when Snake and Otacon shut down the Patriots' AIs using Naomi and Sunny's FOXALIVE program, thus saving Raiden's life.

In the game's epilogue, Raiden is sent to a hospital and has all of his electronic implants removed, though closer inspection reveals that he remains heavily cybernetic (with faintly-visible bar codes on his deltoid muscles), but with an even skin tone. Rosemary visits Raiden in the hospital and reveals to Raiden that their child was not miscarried, and that her marriage to Campbell was a hoax designed to protect her and their son from the Patriots. Upon learning this information, Raiden reconciles with Rose.

"Snake, it's my turn to protect you."

"I am lightning, the rain transformed"

"No, I just don't FEAR DEATH!"