Ishmael

"Good news is you’re in the land of the living. The bad news is the whole world wants you dead."

―Ishmael

Ishmael/Big Boss
Ishmael (Big Boss) in 1984.
Biographical information
Real name	John (Big Boss)
Nationality	American
Physical description
Ethnicity	Caucasian
Career and family information
Affiliation(s)	Venom Snake Quiet Revolver Ocelot
Behind the scenes
Main appearance(s)	Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Created by	Hideo Kojima
Voiced by (English)	Kiefer Sutherland

Ishmael was a hospital patient whom Venom Snake met in 1984. During this time, he wore bandages over his face, obscuring all but his mouth and eyes.

Biography

Ishmael claimed that he had watched over Venom Snake for the nine years that he had been in a coma following an attack on Mother Base, he saved Venom Snake from being assassinated by Quiet, and managed to fight her off before she disapeared out a window. He then attempted to help him escape the hospital. Ishmael also claimed that he was a former acquaintance of Venom Snake, eventually giving him a shot of digoxin that helped him move to some extent. He escorted Venom Snake over to the stairs, although he decided to take the lifts instead after it became apparent that Venom Snake had not recovered enough to actually walk. They eventually arrived at the lifts, but encountered a child wearing a gas mask standing in their path, who then levitated up through the ceiling. After witnessing this, the lift doors suddenly exploded, setting Ishmael on fire as an apparition appeared that resembled a demonic version of Colonel Volgin, before it departed due to the activation of the emergency sprinklers. Ishmael then led Venom Snake back the way they had come, in the currently blazing room, towards the emergency stairs. He also proceeded to hijack an ambulance and drove Venom Snake to safety, although he disappeared after the car crash when Ocelot arrived.

Behind the scenes

Ishmael appears in the GDC 2013 trailer for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. His English voice is provided by Kiefer Sutherland, who is providing Big Boss' English voice.

The name Ishmael is a reference to the character from the novel Moby-Dick. The Phantom Pain trailer also features an apparition resembling a burning whale, and Ishmael refers to Big Boss as Ahab, another major character in the novel.

Ishmael's likeness was later used for a mask made for Hideo Kojima regarding an interview with GameTrailers TV host Geoff Keighley, while posing as the supposed creator of the game, Joakim Mogren, on March 28, 2013. The Ishmael mask was earlier hinted at in a Twitter post on Kojima's Twitter account, where he claimed that he was bringing "a secret weapon" to the GDC 2013 presentation. Similarly, an earlier interview on the March 14, 2013 episode of GameTrailers TV, which aired prior to the GDC 2013 announcement of The Phantom Pain, had "Mogren" wearing similar bandages to Ishmael, although he claimed that it was due to him getting into an "accident."

Speculation

Journalists who previewed The Phantom Pain were forbidden to talk about Ishmael's identity, so it can be assumed that he is integral to the game's story. Leaked scans of an Italian gaming guide stated similar statements as well, although the text strongly implied (correctly) that he was actually Big Boss incognito and the player's character is actually a body double to him. When discussing about the character, they noted that Quiet when briefly asking if she should take Venom Snake out via radio is told not to by her contact as "he's seen his face", implying that Ishmael had been in contact with the sniper.