Decoy Octopus

Decoy Octopus
Biographical information
Also known as	Donald Anderson
Died	February 2005 Shadow Moses Island, Alaska, USA
Physical description
Eye color	Blue
Hair color	Reddish-brown
Career and family information
Affiliation(s)	FOXHOUND Sons of Big Boss
Occupation	Spy Impersonator
Behind the scenes
Main appearance(s)	Metal Gear Solid
Voiced by (Japanese)	Masharu Sato (as Donald Anderson)
Voiced by (English)	Greg Eagles (as Donald Anderson)

Decoy Octopus was a member of FOXHOUND that specialized in impersonation. His disguises were so thorough, that he would even inject the blood of those he impersonated into his own body. Along with the rest of his unit, he went rogue during the Shadow Moses Incident in 2005.

Biography

Shadow Moses Incident

Main article: Shadow Moses Incident

In February 2005, Octopus and the other members of FOXHOUND staged a revolt against the U.S. government on Shadow Moses Island, taking DARPA Chief Donald Anderson and ArmsTech President Kenneth Baker as hostages. After fellow FOXHOUND member Revolver Ocelot tortured Anderson to death, Octopus disguised himself as the DARPA Chief, as part of FOXHOUND's plan to access the island's nuclear weapons. After Anderson's blood was drained from his corpse, Octopus took it into himself to "perfect" his disguise.

Decoy Octopus in 2005.

Disguised as Anderson, Octopus awaited rescue by ex-special forces agent Solid Snake. After Snake gained access to his holding cell, Octopus revealed to him that the terrorists had captured the nuclear-armed Metal Gear REX, and that they needed two detonation codes to activate it. He lied to Snake that the terrorists had successfully obtained Anderson's code, and that they only required President Baker's code to launch REX. The misinformation was intended to trick Snake into arming REX via the PAL system, which FOXHOUND were unable to access. During this time, Octopus had unknowingly become infected by the FOXDIE virus, for which the Pentagon had secretly used Snake as a vector. As Octopus tried to glean further information from Snake regarding the PAL system and whether the White House or Pentagon would give in to FOXHOUND'S demands, he suddenly succumbed to FOXDIE and suffered a heart attack, dying at Snake's feet.

Octopus's body was eventually retrieved by fellow FOXHOUND member Vulcan Raven, who later revealed the deception to Snake.

Physical traits

Described as a "master of disguise," Decoy Octopus would alter his appearance and voice to perfectly match that of the subject he was impersonating, going as far as to take their blood into his body. In his normal appearance, he lacked ears and possessed a flattened nose. According to Revolver Ocelot, Octopus was among the older members of FOXHOUND under Liquid Snake's command.

Unconfirmed history

The following information has been detailed in official Konami-licensed media, written by various external authors. Its status in the Metal Gear canon is unconfirmed.[?]

Decoy Octopus became a successful actor and SFX artist after moving to Hollywood. He was later recruited by the CIA for his exceptional skills in mimicry, where he was assigned to impersonate government VIPs on top secret missions, and requested that the military to give him a full mental deprogramming after missions to avoid becoming mentally confused about his identity. He eventually left the CIA to join the FOXHOUND unit. Octopus was fluent in a dozen languages. At least some of these languages were French, German, Spanish, and Ebonics. At some point, he had his hairline, cheekbones, jaw, and nasal bones shaved down, and cut off his ears to make disguising himself easier, and had computerized implants which allowed for him to change his voice.

Behind the scenes

Decoy Octopus (デコイ・オクトパス) appears in Metal Gear Solid, although his normal appearance is only partially visible during a flashback sequence (excluding the profile images in the briefing videos). His actual voice is never heard. He is the only member of FOXHOUND in the game who does not serve as a boss character. In addition, his background is never revealed.

Decoy Octopus's place of birth was first detailed in the Metal Gear Solid Official Mission Handbook by Millennium Books. This was later confirmed by his card description in the non-canon game Metal Gear Acid 2.

Decoy Octopus's "ghost" appears in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, if the player photographs the cargo elevator in the Tank Hangar with the Camera. The image is that of his face portrait from artwork for Metal Gear Solid.

He appeared in Versus Battle, where he fought against the Metal Gear Mk. II.

"STRENGTHS:
Master of Disguises and Mimicry
WEAKNESSES:
FOXDIE, Lack of Combat Expertise
FEATURED FACT:
Decoy Octopus’s disguise field craft was so exceptional he even transfused the blood of his subjects and fooled Solid Snake himself
FEATURED GAME:
METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION"

―Decoy Octopus in Versus Battle

Decoy Octopus, or rather, his disguise as Donald Anderson, appears in the Déjà Vu mission for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. He appears in the animal cage where Chico is held in the main game, although he'll only be shown as Anderson if the player is using either the Classic Snake or Cyborg Ninja skin.

Appearances

• Metal Gear Solid / Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (mentioned and flashbacks [disguised as Donald Anderson]; mentioned via In the Darkness of Shadow Moses)
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (flashbacks, ghost and painting [disguised as Donald Anderson]; ghost and painting are non-canon)
• Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (Déjà Vu mission [disguised as Donald Anderson]; non-canon)

Gallery

Decoy Octopus sketch, used for promotional postcards.

Decoy Octopus artwork by Yoji Shinkawa.

The DARPA Chief, whom Octopus impersonated.

Decoy Octopus unmasked.

Decoy Octopus unmasked (closeup).

Sources

• Metal Gear Solid