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Dead-cell

Dead Cell

Dead Cell was a former special forces unit specialized in counter-terrorism operations that was established by U.S. President George Sears. Although officially a part of the U.S. Navy, it answered directly to the President.

History[]

Dead Cell was formed in the early to mid-2000s as a small government organization that would carry out surprise assaults on allied bases, such as embassies, consuls, and military installations, to provide anti-terrorism training for the Navy SEALs and Marine Corps. One of the earliest recruits to join Dead Cell during its formation was Vamp.

Mgs2-antagonists

The surviving members of Dead Cell in 2009.

After its original leader, Colonel Jackson, died while incarcerated for corruption, the group's actions became more extreme. Under the leadership of Fortune, Jackson's widow, Dead Cell was blamed for the mass murder of civilians, though this had been orchestrated by the Patriots, the shadowy organization behind American politics. As a result, Dead Cell became a rogue unit.[1]

The U.S. military became concerned by Dead Cell's activities, and on October 2008 it set a trap to eliminate the group. Members Chinaman[2] and Old Boy[2] were killed, leaving only Fortune, Fatman, and Vamp alive. Although Fortune and Vamp were devastated, Fatman was unconcerned, feeling free to become the "Emperor of Explosives." On April 29, 2009, the Patriots manipulated Dead Cell into joining Solidus Snake (former President Sears) and the Sons of Liberty terrorist group in the armed takeover of the Big Shell. Together they stole Arsenal Gear and its nuclear payload to seek revenge on the Patriots.

Deadcell

Dead Cell (from left to right): Fatman, Fortune, Vamp, and former President George Sears (a.k.a. Solidus Snake).

As part of the Patriots' S3 Plan, Dead Cell had been carefully chosen to play the "role" of FOXHOUND in an elaborate recreation of the Shadow Moses Incident. Fatman appeared to betray the unit and attempt to destroy the Big Shell, ruining the Sons of Liberty's plans. In reality, he was working for the Patriots directly and had been assigned to test Raiden's progress: if the Big Shell had been destroyed, the simulation would have ended. The Patriots dragged Peter Stillman into the situation to coax his former protégé into agreement. Fortune also been implanted with an electromagnetic device that could deflect incoming bullets, to convince her that she was endowed with supernatural luck.

Following Arsenal Gear's destruction, Dead Cell was wiped out except for Vamp. When he was killed by Raiden in 2014, the unit was completely eradicated. 

Members[]

Behind the scenes[]

Dead Cell is based on the real-life U.S. Navy counterterrorist units called Red Cell. Red Cell’s backstory somewhat resembles its fictional counterpart’s: both Colonel Jackson and Red Cell founder Richard Marcinko were incarcerated for misappropriation of government funds, though Jackson died in prison while Marcinko did not. During the game's production, Dead Cell was originally known as the Black Cell, and all of its members were intended to wear sunglasses.[3] The sunglasses made it as far as the final script but were cut before release because the characters in The Matrix wear sunglasses.[4][5]

Like FOXHOUND’s, Dead Cell’s members wore trench coats.

The characters Old Boy and Chinaman were originally going to appear in Metal Gear Solid 2 as Dead Cell members to be fought by the player, but were cut from the final version. However, the characters remain in the game's script, described as members who died during the unit's liquidation.[2] While concept art of Chinaman exists, Old Boy makes his first and only visual appearance in the IDW comic book Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty.[6]

At one point, after Raiden witnesses a man in a cardboard box crossing the strut connection bridge, he speculates to Iroquois Pliskin that the man might be a member of Dead Cell, as Raiden thinks it is "stupid to be seen walking around in that" and calls the man a psycho—unaware that he’s describing Pliskin, who is actually Solid Snake.

The Dead Cell boss battle theme, known as "Yell 'Dead Cell'", occurs in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a randomly played song on the Shadow Moses Island stage or as a set track on a custom stage. The theme is also available for listening in the Sound Test mode. This version sounds largely the same as the original but lasts a few more seconds.

Although the game refers to Dead Cell as stand-ins for the Sons of Big Boss from the previous game, they are more similar in character to Black Chamber, the enemy group from the non-canon game Metal Gear: Ghost Babel. This includes their willingness to risk harming innocent people to punish an anonymous person or group for their personal tragedy, believing that the innocent people are just as guilty, as well as their strong hatred of Solid Snake for his perceived role in their misery.

The whole Dead Cell unit appears in Versus Battle, fighting the Cobra Unit.

"STRENGTHS:
Nasty Navy Seals & SF Led by Solidus Snake
WEAKNESSES:
The Patriots, Raiden
FEATURED FACT:
Originally formed as an anti-terrorist unit reporting directly to the President, Dead Cell counted Vamp, Fortune, Fatman, Chinaman, & Old Boy
FEATURED GAME:
METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION
"
―Dead Cell on Versus Battle

According to Kojima’s Twitter account, as well as the Piggyback Deluxe Metal Gear Solid V game, the Dead Cell bosses were partly inspired by "kaijin" (怪人), which the latter source translated as "mysterious individuals". That translation is accurate literally, but Kojima meant the word to refer to the monsters of the week from Japanese TV shows such as Super Sentai and Kamen Rider, as he explained in a podcast.[7]

Gallery[]

Notes and references[]

  1. ^ Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2001).
    Vamp: Six months ago, we lost everything we believed in... We were abandoned to take the fall in [the Patriots'] cover up. We were labeled as killers responsible for the mass-murder of civilians as well as our own allies. And the "public" believed every word, turning a deaf ear to whatever we had to say to the contrary. Our only goal is to wipe them from the face of the earth -- and destroy this world of deceit they have created along with them. // Raiden: You're insane. // Vamp: Insane? We might be the only ones telling the truth...
  2. ^ a b c Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (script), Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2001).
    Images of Dead Cell members stumbling around on a battlefield. Vamp carries a wounded [sic] in his arms. The deaths of Chinaman and the Old Boy.
    Iroquois Pliskin: The unit was devastated. There are only three of them left, and [Raiden] just saw one of them. [1]
  3. ^ http://www.tentenpro.com/muni_shinobu/mgs2/production.html
  4. ^ Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (script), Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2001)
    Vamp: (hisses aggressively) // His breath is white, though the room is not particularly cold. The idea is that since Vamp came back from the dead at one point, he has abnormally low body temperature. He wears black shades to cover his eyes, and the holster he wears over his coat gives him a bat-like silhouette.
  5. ^ http://www.metalgearsolid.net/features/yoji-shinkawa-interview
    KCEJ: She [Fortune] is wearing shades here, unlike in the game. // Yoji Shinkawa: In the beginning, all of them [Dead Cell] wore sunglasses. They were supposed to remove them right before battle. Then we saw "The Matrix" and everyone in that movie were wearing sunglasses. We didn't want to do something someone else has already done.
  6. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty, IDW Publishing (2005).
  7. ^ https://twitter.com/Arc_Hound/status/977719638892138497

Appearances[]

See also[]

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