Solid Snake

Solid Snake is one of the main characters from the Metal Gear franchise.

Solid Snake, real name David, also known as Old Snake, and briefly known as Iroquois Pliskin, or simply Snake, was a former spy, special operations soldier, and mercenary. Possessing an IQ of 180 and fluent in six languages, he was known as "the Man Who Makes the Impossible Possible" and his exploits made him into a living legend among the military black ops.

A product of the Les Enfants Terribles project, Snake was a clone of world renowned soldier Big Boss, along with his brothers Liquid Snake and Solidus Snake. Initially a Green Beret, Snake was later inducted into High-Tech Special Forces Unit FOXHOUND in the mid 1990s while it was commanded by Big Boss. Repeatedly tasked with disarming and destroying the latest incarnation of Metal Gear, a bipedal nuclear weapon-armed tank, Snake would thrice avert potential nuclear catastrophe, becoming a famed war hero.

Following the Shadow Moses Incident and subsequent smear campaign by the Patriots, the secret organization behind American politics, Snake was labeled a terrorist. He faked his own death in the Manhattan Tanker Incident, though he re-emerged years later to assist Raiden in the Big Shell Incident. During this time, his body entered a state of accelerated aging, due to intentional genetic changes made during the cloning process, causing his health to decline.

In 2014, Snake performed his final mission, during which he defeated Liquid Ocelot and destroyed the Patriots. After one last encounter with Big Boss, Snake chose to live his remaining days in peace.

Personality
Solid Snake, a hardened career soldier, often displayed a calm and collected demeanor, rarely showing any signs of fear in extreme circumstances. He buried his emotions deep inside himself, causing some to see him as cold and uncaring. Despite this perceived attitude, Snake occasionally showed a more human side, expressing great concern for allies' well being during dangerous operations, and even demonstrating compassion towards fallen enemies. During the Zanzibar Land Disturbance, Snake claimed to be different from Big Boss, and that he loved life. Unlike his clone brothers, Snake never displayed anger over his origins and accepted who he was.

Though mostly reserved, Snake showed some prominent change in his outlook towards life throughout the years. Big Boss's betrayal in 1995 and his battle to the death with Gray Fox and again with Big Boss in 1999 left a deep-seated emotional pain leading to PTSD, alcoholism and cynicism. His reunion with Gray Fox at Shadow Moses, as well as his newfound friendship with Otacon and love towards Meryl, invigorated his desire to live. With Philanthropy, Snake aspired towards building a better future for the world by eradicating Metal Gears and liberating humanity from digital subjugation. His accelerated aging, however, would create a morbid willingness to accept death as he was no longer exuberant in his words or actions in 2014. It was only by Big Boss's dying words that Snake was finally able to absolve himself of all guilt and torment and accept peace.

Though he was born with what were known as Big Boss's "flawed recessive genes," he defeated Liquid Snake, the clone with the "dominant genes" on multiple confrontations in 2005. Unlike Liquid and Solidus who spent their lives under the pressure of Big Boss's legend, Snake did not burden himself with such weight and defiantly sought out a life of his own. In the end, his indomitable will for justice made him the final survivor and victor among the clones because he lived through Naomi Hunter's theory spoken in Shadow Moses: not "to be chained to fate."

Due to his extensive military background, Snake found his calling on the battlefield, having spent most of his life there, and believed it was the only place where he felt truly alive. Because of this, he was often accused of enjoying the killing in warfare, by both allies and enemies. Although Snake refused to admit to such views, his clone brother Liquid believed that he was in self denial, while Psycho Mantis remarked that he was even "worse" in this regard than Liquid himself. Despite conceding that he was "heartless," Snake showed himself to be self-sacrificing and with a strong belief that even on a battlefield friendship and love can flourish, and that violence is not glorious. Even so, Snake rejected any idea that he was a hero, in the face of praise and admiration from fellow operatives. Though willing to take on the mission to Shadow Moses, Snake showed no sign of longing for the army or the country he was part of. Snake also had a disdain for politicians.[60]

Snake was often flirtatious towards his female team members, and expressed interest in intimate relationships on occasion, although he did not like getting involved with other people's lives and was a loner by nature, even going so far as to stand Holly White up despite promising to have Christmas dinner with her. Snake was somewhat disapproving of May-December relationships, remarking that Rosemary was young enough to be Roy Campbell's daughter, upon learning of their apparent marriage.

During the events of the Guns of the Patriots Incident, Snake calmly accepted the inevitability of his impending death. Because of this, he was more willing to risk his life, as demonstrated during the Missouri debriefing. However, he would often become annoyed upon being reminded of his accelerated age, once telling Otacon to "cut the senior citizen crap" and his psyche dropping at occasional moments when called "Old Snake." When Raiden offered to head to the microwave-protected server room on Outer Haven, Snake refused, saying that Raiden shouldn't "waste [his] youth." Through sheer willpower, Snake survived passing through the corridor, and went on to defeat Liquid Ocelot in hand-to-hand combat. Naomi stated an ordinary person wouldn't even be able to stand in his condition in 2014 and the only thing keeping him mobile, albeit limitedly, is his will. Big Boss noted that Snake had always fought for something more than himself. Big Boss also noted that if Snake had been in his place then the mistakes that he had made may not have come to pass. By this time, Snake had also developed an apprehension to nanomachine injections, due to Naomi's betrayal at Shadow Moses, and initially refused to allow Drebin 893 to administer a shot to him.

Through years of training and experience, he developed heightened levels of endurance and reflexes, surviving prolonged periods of pain, torture, and narrowly evading numerous near-fatal incidents.

Snake was a heavy cigarette smoker. During Operations Intrude N313 and F014, he smoked an unfiltered version of "Lucky Strikes." During the Shadow Moses Incident, he smoked "Moslems," his favorite brand at that time, which was a type of "bent cigarette" designed to reduce second-hand smoke. During Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection, he smoked a brand called "The Boss," which were unfiltered hand-rolled cigarettes, each containing 16mg of tar. Snake didn't like being lectured on the dangers of smoking. During the same time, he often ignored the no-smoking policy onboard the Nomad, often resulting in Sunny telling him off when she found out or caught him in the act, once even having his cigarette confiscated and disposed of by Sunny before he could get the chance to smoke it. After sharing one last smoke with Big Boss, Snake decided to quit smoking.

Snake disliked wearing hats, preferring his bandana, despite "Master Miller" warning him that 70% of body heat dissipates from the head. Snake likewise was not too keen with using bladed weapons, informing Raiden as much during the Big Shell Incident. He did nonetheless have knowledge on how to use them, and in 2014, he also utilized a stun knife during his operations.

Snake did not possess any qualms for doing things that are normally considered unacceptable social behavior if it meant completing a mission. For example, Snake entered the women's bathroom in both the Zanzibar Land and the Shadow Moses facilities in order to find a disguised female contact (Gustava Heffner and Meryl Silverburgh, respectively). In the former instance, after Snake made contact with Dr. Marv, Dr. Madnar told Snake to look for Gustava there due to her disguise. In the latter, even though Colonel Campbell, Otacon, and Master Miller had no problems about it, Nastasha complained to Snake about being in there, while Mei Ling was angry at him. He even encouraged Raiden to do the same thing during the Big Shell Incident.

Snake was fluent in six languages, including French. Although he was unfamiliar with Czech during the Zanzibar Land Disturbance, he was able to recognize the term "Matka Pluku," when Raiden told him of Big Mama's alias during the Guns of the Patriots Incident. Conversely, his knowledge of computing was somewhat limited, often relying on more technical-minded allies to deal with such matters during missions. Snake was somewhat knowledgeable about pop culture, having partially named an alias from the character Snake Plissken from Escape from New York, and once referenced Star Wars by describing Outer Haven as Liquid Ocelot's "very own Death Star."

Snake did not believe in the supernatural; when Otacon explained the technology to attach to walls, he asked if Vamp could have used it during the Big Shell Incident. Otacon said it was possible, and Snake said that Vamp was not supernatural and despite the visual evidence, believed that Vamp was not actually immortal.

Abilities
Powers and Abilities: Genius Intelligence, Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Enhanced Senses (His nanomachines, sensors, radar, and Solid Eye can allow him to see in pitch black conditions, across great distances, and help him detect others based on their heartbeats, electromagnetic fields, thermal signatures, and so on), Master Martial Artist, Expert Marksman and Infiltrator, Nanotechnology, Invisibility with Stealth Camouflage, Body Puppetry by manipulating the nanomachines of others with Screaming Mantis' dolls, Resistance to Diseases, Poisons (Possesses an enhanced immune system that allows him to better deal with such ailments), Radiation (Survived extended exposure to lethal amounts of microwaves), and Telepathy/Mind Manipulation (Psycho Mantis couldn't read his mind)

Attack Potency: City Block level (Comparable to Big Boss, who caught Cocoon, and strong enough to trade blows with people who can damage him), higher with weapons (Can injure Vamp and take down Metal Gears). He can ignores conventional durability by transmitting FOXDIE virus.

Speed: Supersonic+ with Hypersonic combat speed (Comparable to Raiden and easily superior to Tengu, can fight Ocelot and match Gray Fox in hand-to-hand combat, and dodge a railgun round in his old age) and High Hypersonic reactions (Can react to Vamp's attacks)

Lifting Strength: Class M (Should be comparable to Big Boss, who was able to lift Cocoon)

Striking Strength: City Block Class (Injured Gray Fox in hand-to-hand combat. Can knock over unsuspecting Gekkos by rolling into them in his old age)

Durability: City Block level (Comparable to Big Boss, who can survive lightning strikes from Volgin, can withstand the force of his own P-Bombs and stronger weapons, and survived walking through a microwave chamber capable of vaporizing people in his old age).

Stamina: Very high. Snake can shrug off bullet wounds, survive and keep himself from giving up information through extensive torture, withstand the constant exertion of sneaking and fighting during his long missions, endure interference with his nanomachines causing seizures and intense pain, and crawl through a hallway of microwaves that would vaporize other humans despite being in intense pain throughout the ordeal, even as he was rapidly aging and in generally horrible condition. Right after this, he went on to fight Liquid Ocelot in a long, arduous battle that pushed them both to their limits, albeit after a recuperating shot.

Range: Standard melee range, Tens of Meters to Hundreds of Meters with weaponry

Standard Equipment: Many weapons, such as his Stun Knife, pistols, rifles, sniper rifles, grenades, mines, C4, and rocket launchers. Other equipment includes a cardboard box, stealth mats, mine detectors, thermal and night vision goggles, and binoculars. Intelligence: Snake is an extremely skilled combatant and a veteran soldier who was trained personally by Big Boss, the so-called greatest soldier in the world, who taught him CQC. He is a master of hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, stealth, and free climbing, knowing six languages and having an astonishingly high IQ of 180. Known as the man who makes the impossible possible, he can destroy tanks, assault helicopters, and even Metal Gears while on foot, and has matched, outsmarted, and defeated legendary soldiers like Big Boss and his phantom, Gray Fox, Revolver Ocelot, and his twin brother, Liquid Snake. He can rapidly adapt to dangerous situations and think quickly and tactically even under pressure, defeating many opponents even with a limited arsenal, most impressively defeating Big Boss with nothing but a lighter and hairspray.
 * Anti-personnel Sensor: A small personal device that can detect the heartbeats and electromagnetic fields of nearby lifeforms.
 * Codec: A highly advanced real-time communications system. Originally built into his ear, Snake's Codec is now nanomachine based, allowing him to communicate through his nanomachines while remaining silent.
 * Infinity Bandana: A bandana that Snake received from Meryl with an infinity symbol sewed into the fabric. It provides him with infinite ammunition, which Snake has referenced before.
 * OctoCamo: An advanced form of smart camouflage utilized by Old Snake that replicates the texture and appearance of Snake's surroundings to allow him to blend into them. It also regulates his body temperature to avoid detection by thermal imaging.
 * FaceCamo: A mask that uses OctoCamo to disguise Snake's face and make it appear to be someone else's.
 * Metal Gear Mk. II/III: A miniature Metal Gear created by Otacon and Sunny that can be used for reconnaissance and object/weapon transport, utilized by Old Snake. It is also equipped with stealth camouflage technology and is immune to harmful electromagnetic radiation. The second model also has a Geiger counter.
 * Screaming Mantis' dolls: A pair of dolls taken from Screaming Mantis that allow Snake to manipulate the nanomachines of living and dead soldiers to force them to move.
 * Sneaking Suit: A special military garment with highly advanced electronic weaving technology. It clings tightly to Snake's body, acting as a second layer of muscle tissues and amplifying his endurance and strength. It also provides insulation, allowing Snake to survive the extreme temperatures of Shadow Moses, and more advanced models have sensors, protections against toxins, and the ability to interface with his nanomachines.
 * Solid Eye: A device worn by Old Snake like an eyepatch that grants him night vision and a capacity for binocular sight, though not at the same time. It allows Snake to easily make out footprints, and determine the emotional and mental states of others by recording their body temperature, heart rate, and sweat secretions.
 * Soliton Radar: A highly advanced radar system that can detect biological signatures and gives Snake greater knowledge of his surroundings by using satellites to map them out.
 * Stealth Camouflage: An electronic device that allows Snake to become effectively invisible by bending light around his body, making it appear as if he was simply not there.

Weaknesses: Snake struggles with PTSD and his genes were designed to make him age rapidly after 40. Old Snake's accelerated aging greatly reduces his strength, stamina, and afflicts him with the regular issues of old age. His FOXDIE virus began to mutate and would eventually become dangerous to himself and possibly the general population.

Trivia

 * Snake was announced to return in Ultimate on June 12th, 2018, which was also the 10 year anniversary of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
 * Snake is the only returning third-party character to have his Final Smash completely changed.
 * While Super Sonic and Super Pac-Man have different mechanics, they are otherwise the same Final Smash.
 * The official Smash Bros. website lists Snake as being the 31st character to join the series, which is coincidentally the same amount of years from the first installment of the Metal Gear series was released, back in 1987, to Snake's return to Smash, in 2018.
 * Snake is the only returning third-party character not to appear in Super Smash Bros. 4.
 * Snake is the only character in Smash history whose series symbol has been entirely changed: the FOX logo was altered to the "!" Alert symbol from Metal Gear Solid.
 * This is possibly due to the FOX logo also being the logo for the former Kojima Productions, a studio within Konami responsible for developing Metal Gear games which have since dissolved and reformed as an independent developer.
 * Ultimate is the third time Snake, Simon, and Bomberman appeared in a video game together, the first two being DreamMix TV World Fighters and Super Bomberman R.
 * Snake can be unlocked by playing Classic Mode as Simon or Meta Knight. This likely references Simon and Snake being Konami characters and Snake's team-up with Meta Knight in Subspace Emissary.