Metal Gear (mecha)
Metal Gears are the mecha in the Metal Gear series. In the series, a Metal Gear is a bipedal, nuclear weapons-equipped tank. The Metal Gears are typically autonomous nuclear launch platforms which the player must destroy to save the world and complete the game. Often, confronting the latest Metal Gear model is one of the final challenges of each game.
Concept and creation
said that the idea of the "Metal Gear" weapon, a nuclear-capable walking tank, was conceived in response to the nuclear war hysteria during the 1980s that resulted from the Cold War as the U.S. military had no mobile land-based nuclear weapons delivery system at the time.However, in reality this was not the case as the U.S. had significant amounts of various mobile, land based nuclear delivery systems since at least the early 1950s. In fact the start of the 1980s alone saw the deployment of two separate mobile systems that would make up the bulk of America's land-based nuclear component in Europe: the Pershing II and the BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile.
In video games
The Metal Gear weapon has been consistently described as an all-terrain, nuclear-equipped, walking battle tank capable of launching a nuclear warhead from anywhere on the planet. In the original Metal Gear, the Outer Heaven fortified military state attempts to achieve military dominance over the West and East through the use of the TX-55 Metal Gear model built by Eastern scientist Dr. Drago Pettrovich Madnar after being forced against his will. In Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, another hostile nation Zanzibar Land uses improved model Metal Gear D to raid nuclear disposal sites.Metal Gear Solid shows new model Metal Gear REX designed by Dr. Hal Emmerich after being misled into believing that Metal Gear would be used as an anti-nuclear device that would be capable of safely shooting down nuclear missiles via a railgun system that shoots nuclear warheads. The weapon was produced by the U.S. Army on Shadow Moses Island, Alaska. The proliferation of Metal Gear-like weapons led to the creation of the Marines' Metal Gear RAY before the events of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater reveals that Metal Gear's design originates with Soviet weapons designer Dr. Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin comparing the concept to the theory of the missing link between apes and men, evidenced by two design drawings on his desk, with him calling it the missing link between infantry and artillery. Infantry can go anywhere but are easily destroyed and carry limited firepower. Artillery can inflict and sustain far more damage, but are at the mercy of terrain. In short, for a tank to be perfect, it needs legs. Early Metal Gear models are also seen thanks to Dr. Granin's colleagues in direct sequels; Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops features the quadrupedal design [|Intercontinental Ballistic Metal Gear] by Dr. Nikolai Stepanovich Sokolov and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker features the first bipedal design [|Metal Gear ZEKE] by Dr. Huey Emmerich.
Models in the canonical series
Metal Gear
TX-55 Metal Gear is the Metal Gear model's designation in the original Metal Gear game, although it is simply referred as "Metal Gear" and no particular meaning is given behind this codename. Within Outer Heaven, Solid Snake learns Metal Gear's weakness after rescuing creator Dr. Pettrovich and his daughter Ellen. The player must place a certain number of plastic explosives on Metal Gear's feet in the order stated by Dr. Pettrovich. Metal Gear is stored in the 100th basement floor of the third building, inside a room guarded by two laser cams and never actually becomes operational; the final challenge is instead a battle with Outer Heaven's mystery leader and a race against time to escape the self-destructing base.The Revised Metal Gear D is the more advanced Metal Gear model featured in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. Metal Gear D is equipped with a Vulcan cannon and a six-missile pod. The improved model was also built by Dr. Pettrovich, willingly this time after his radical ideas were rejected by the Western scientific community. The Metal Gear is piloted by Gray Fox and can only be destroyed by Solid Snake throwing grenades over its feet. This Metal Gear's mecha design was chosen through an internal contest between Konami's development staff, with the primary criterion being realism. The final design is credited to Tomohiro Nishio, who also built the Metal Gear model that was used in magazine advertisements, which was repurposed from a certain retail resin kit.
The titular Metal Gear itself never actually appears in the NES conversion of the original Metal Gear - in its place the player must blow up a Supercomputer that controls its activities guarded by four enemy soldiers. Otherwise, the final battle plays out the same way as in the MSX2 original. However, the Metal Gear does make an appearance in the non-canonical sequel Snake's Revenge during the game's attract sequence after the title screen, as well as during the early portions of the game itself, in which mass-produced versions of the original are stored inside an enemy cargo ship that ships from the first enemy base that the player infiltrates.
The wreckage of the original makes a cameo in Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, which is set in Galuade, a rebuilt version of Outer Heaven.
Both, the TX-55 and D are referenced in later Metal Gear Solid works: the blueprints of Metal Gear D are visible on Dr. Granin's desk in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and the TX-55 is depicted in a psychic vision along with Big Boss and the three "Les Enfants Terribles" sons in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.
Metal Gear REX
Metal Gear REX is an entirely different Metal Gear model that appears in Metal Gear Solid designed by Yoji Shinkawa. Unlike previous Metal Gears, its legs are heavily armored and reinforced.Metal Gear REX has near-impenetrable compound armor, a pair of 30 mm gatling guns, anti-tank missiles, and a free-electron laser, to protect itself from conventional forces. Its primary weapon, however, is a magnetic railgun capable of delivering an untraceable nuclear warhead anywhere in the world, without the propellant trail or launch flare that gives away the launch position of a traditional ballistic missile. It also possessed a radome, a satellite antenna-shaped object on REX's left side that provides information about the environment outside of the cockpit while keeping the pilot safe from harm, and increasing the accuracy of all weapons as well. Destroying the radome is crucial to rendering the virtual reality interface useless and forcing the pilot to manually control REX. The pilot is also forced to expose himself to enemy fire, by opening the cockpit in order to see outside.
File:Metal Gear Solid - Metal Gear REX.jpg|thumb|left|Solid Snake battling Metal Gear REX in Metal Gear Solid
The story of Metal Gear Solid shows weapons company ArmsTech president Kenneth Baker bribes DARPA chief Donald Anderson to get covert U.S. Government funding for Metal Gear REX's development for the U.S. Army, and sends the single prototype to be tested at a nuclear weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island. However, the Shadow Moses facility is taken over by rogue special forces unit FOXHOUND attempting to use REX as leverage to extort the U.S. Government. Solid Snake comes out of retirement and infiltrates the Shadow Moses facility in order to find out about REX. Liquid Snake and Revolver Ocelot intend to use REX to hold the world hostage. Later, Liquid uses REX to fight Snake. Snake, with the help of engineer Dr. Hal Emmerich and the Cyborg Ninja, eliminates FOXHOUND and destroys the mecha.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty reveals that Metal Gear REX's battle data were sold on the black market and Metal Gear variants spread worldwide; in response, Metal Gear RAY is designed to combat these variants and render them useless.
In the prequels, Metal Gear REX is seen in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater as Dr. Aleksandr Granin's original blueprints that are shown to Naked Snake which are later stolen by Ocelot, and seen in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops in a psychic vision along with Big Boss's sons.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots sees Old Snake sent back to Shadow Moses Island to re-acquire Metal Gear REX which has become Liquid Ocelot's new target. Liquid plans to remove REX's railgun to launch nuclear weapons since REX predates the SOP system of no ID lockout mechanism. Arriving at the old hangar, Snake finds the damaged Metal Gear but discovers that Liquid has already removed the railgun. Later, Snake uses REX to confront Liquid piloting Metal Gear RAY. Even though RAY was developed as an anti-Metal Gear weapon and REX being handicapped, Otacon reveals that REX has a "street fighter" program to execute kicking moves which Liquid was apparently not aware of. Snake and REX manage to fight Liquid to a stalemate; Otacon credits this to his assistance. REX is not seen destroyed and what happened to the mecha after the battle is unknown.
Metal Gear REX, Metal Gear RAY, and a [|Gekko] make cameo appearances in the Shadow Moses Island stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It also made its appearance as the final boss from LittleBigPlanet with the use of Metal Gear Solid Packs. In Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, in the Isla Del Monstruo as part of a collaboration with Capcom's Monster Hunter series, defeating both the Rathalos and the Tigrex unlocks a monster known as "Gear REX", which heavily resembles its mecha counterpart.
Metal Gear RAY
Metal Gear RAY aka AM-01 is an anti-Metal Gear introduced in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty also designed by Yoji Shinkawa. This Metal Gear model comes in two variants: a manned prototype version developed to combat Metal Gear derivatives and an unmanned, computer-controlled version refitted to defend Arsenal Gear.Metal Gear RAY differs from previous Metal Gear models in that it is not a nuclear launch platform, but instead, a weapon of conventional warfare, originally designed by the U.S. Marines to hunt down and destroy the many Metal Gear derivatives that became common after Metal Gear REX's plans leak following the events of Shadow Moses. RAY is designed to be even more maneuverable and flexible in deployment than other models and can operate both on land and in water. While RAY has a pair of Gatling guns and missile launchers on its back and knees to defend itself from more conventional battlefield threats, its primary weapon is a powerful water jet cutter, which can cut through heavily armored foes, such as Metal Gear derivatives. RAY is more organic in appearance and in function than previous models. Its streamlined shape helps to deflect enemy fire and allows for greater maneuverability both on land and in water. Its interior workings are also somewhat organic, as it has artificial fibers that contract when electricity is applied, much like natural muscle, instead of typical hydraulics; this pseudo-muscle tissue makes it very maneuverable. It also has a nervous-system-like network of conductive nanotubes, which connect the widely dispersed sensor systems and relay commands from the cockpit to the various parts of RAY's body, automatically bypassing damaged systems and rerouting to auxiliary systems when needed. Another feature is its blood-like armor-repair nanopaste, which is secreted from valves and coagulates wherever the exterior surface is damaged. Particularly unusual is its "face", with two "eyes" and a gaping "mouth", only seen when the head armor is removed. The original version is an operational prototype labeled "MARINES", which has a cockpit for a single pilot, and a long tail intended for balance while making leaps or operating underwater. The entire forward interior of the cockpit is a heads-up display, allowing the pilot to look around as if there were no obstruction between him and the battlefield. The mass-production model labeled "U.S. NAVY" lacks the tail of the prototype, but it has rounded knees and only one sensory input or "eye" instead of the prototype's two. They are also painted in an olive-drab camouflage pattern.
During the Tanker chapter, Revolver Ocelot steals Metal Gear RAY off the disguised oil tanker and delivers the stolen prototype to The Patriots, an organization secretly running the United States. During the Plant chapter, Arsenal Gear has a force of unmanned mass-produced Metal Gear RAYs ready for immediate deployment against any possible threats under the command of the ship's AI GW. When Solidus Snake takes over Arsenal along with the slave RAYs, Solidus has them confront Raiden but some of them end up destroyed.
In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Liquid Ocelot pilots a modified version of Metal Gear RAY that sports the prototype's two "eyes", cockpit and greyish-blue coloring, and the mass-production model's tailless design and rounded knees. It is labeled "OUTER HAVEN". Despite being an anti-REX Metal Gear, RAY was immobilized during a battle with Metal Gear REX piloted by Old Snake.
Metal Gear RAY, Metal Gear REX, and a Gekko make cameo appearances in the Shadow Moses Island stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A modified, unmanned version of Metal Gear RAY used by Desperado appears in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Unlike previous versions, it is equipped with giant swords and stealth cruise missiles in the arms, a plasma cannon instead of a water jet cutter, carbon nanotube fibers instead of synthetic muscle material, and a different tail.