And, in a testament to Kojima’s ability as a storyteller, the player sees positive changes in Meryl from Metal Gear Solid to Metal Gear Solid IV; she becomes more fully actualized, outgrowing the established character flaws that are unnecessary to her survival and learning to accept and embrace those that can’t be outgrown.
Similar (yet completely different) character growth is present in Naomi Hunter’s storyline. In both Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid IV, Naomi is a brilliant scientist who accepts the powers of her mind and her sexuality. Using her body and her wit to her advantage, she flirts with Snake and even seduces his best friend and sidekick, Otacon.
Naomi also plays the role of double-crosser on more than one occasion, and she plays the role well. Initially, I found Naomi’s character unsettling and unlikeable due to her deceptive nature. However, as her backstory – and relationships with Frank Jaeger, Big Boss, and the Twin Snakes – was revealed, she became complex enough to appreciate.
Not only that, but having forgiven Otacon for his relationship with his step-mother and role in the death of his father, Solid Snake for his resistance to intimacy, Revolver Ocelot for his generally annoying behavior in Snake Eater, and Metal Gear Solid II’s Raiden for a number of ill-timed existential crises, meant that I would be holding Naomi to unfair (and sexist) standards if I couldn’t accept her flaws.
Naomi’s demise and attempted redemption in Metal Gear Solid IV was made all the more poignant by a handful of seemingly unnecessary scenes with Sunny during chapter breaks. She was elevated from a woman capable of doing horrible deeds to a woman whose choices had been set in stone by her history, her intelligence and the environment she was brought up in.
She remained guilty of every treachery she’d ever committed (death, remorse and kindness to children doing nothing to lessen her crimes), but she exhibited a willingness to make amends, to forgive and to manipulate for the greater good.
Speaking on the strength of women and a necessity for manipulation brings to mind the archetype for strong women in the Metal Gear Solid universe: The Boss.
The Boss is a character so powerfully written, acted and illustrated that she almost threatens to overshadow Naked Snake (or Big Boss) and Solid Snake in my mind. Known as “The Mother of Special Forces,” she redefined martial leadership in the mid-1900s, an era more commonly known for female nurses and supply workers.
She also keeps the plot of Snake Eater moving, taking on a number of roles from the beginning to the completion of the game: she is mentor, mother, traitor, villain, victim and unsung hero. She cultivates and shakes off so many skins throughout the game that the codename of Snake suits her far better than it does John.
