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DejaVuPortableOps Cropped2 "Hmm, I don't remember that one. It mustn't be that important."
This article is about a subject from outside Hideo Kojima's core "Metal Gear Saga." Its canonicity within the continuity is disputed, therefore reader discretion is advised.[?]

"Free will is a myth, religion is a joke, we are all pawns controlled by something greater: Memes, the DNA of the soul."
―Monsoon to Raiden

Monsoon (季節風) was a Cyborg Ninja and a member of Desperado Enforcement LLC. He was one of the Winds of Destruction alongside Sundowner and Mistral, and was named after the seasonal wind systems that occur in West Africa and Asia-Australia. Monsoon was capable of magnetically dislocating his entire body to attack from a distance, and wielded Sai weapons called "Dystopia", which were enhanced via magnetic fields.[4][5] He also seemed to believe that the point of humans was to fight, be consumed with greed and kill, which was based on his childhood in Cambodia. His serial number was 976-AZQEE. He was fluent in Khmer, Chinese, and English. Unlike the other Winds of Destruction, he wasn't a former member of any military or paramilitary organizations prior to enlisting with the group. Instead, he was a former gang member.

Biography[]

Background[]

Full details on his past are unknown, although he claimed that he inherited his stance on killing people or ending up killed and his nihilistic views from the Cambodian capital city of Phnom Penh and the reign of terror from the Khmer Rouge regime and the Killing Fields between 1975-1979.[6] At some point later, he joined a Cambodian organized crime syndicate, and was rumored to have had involvement in the drug trade and human trafficking. He also mastered the use of sai weapons, and his crime record was extensive enough to far outrank any ordinary gang member. He eventually got cyberneticized with a magnetics-based body after being caught in a gang shootout and mortally wounded. It was at this point that he decided to work with the Delaware-based PMC Desperado, apparently feeling it was much safer to work at a PMC instead of in a crime syndicate. Monsoon was also victim of Cambodian Genocide.

World Marshal Incident[]

See also: Raid at World Marshal, Ambush in Africa, Abkhazian Coup, Investigation in Guadalajara, Raid in Denver, and Operation Tecumseh

Recruiting Samuel Rodrigues[]

In 2016, he and Steven Armstrong took interest in a Brazilian swordsman named Samuel Rodrigues, who had killed several drug cartel members, and likewise arranged for his arrival in Denver, Colorado. While waiting for Sam's arrival, he and Armstrong had a small chat regarding the newly renovated reception area, with Armstrong expressing disgust at the cherry blossoms, and Monsoon viewing them as simply existing, neither beautiful nor ugly. He later encountered Sam face-to-face within a hangar area of the HQ, where he questioned Sam's motives for attacking drug cartels and leaving Brazil. He then proceeded to leave, although not before dropping a RP grenade on Sam and summoning a Metal Gear RAY UG for him to fight. He later contacted Sam, informing him when Sam insinuated that he'd tear the group apart that even if he did tear the limbs off, he still couldn't kill their organization.

Raid at Denver[]

Two years later, Monsoon intercepted and confronted Raiden before World Marshal HQ, and with Sam bearing witness, fought Raiden. Having been informed by Sam about Raiden's stance regarding his sword as a tool of justice, he then told Raiden that he considered the "pretty meme" to be "exquisite," and also revealed their similar pasts of "growing up on the killing fields." Raiden, already emotionally unstable from Sam’s earlier speech regarding the same subject, succumbed to his "Jack the Ripper" persona and admitted that he hid behind this excuse to conceal his true nature. Sam eagerly accepted Raiden’s sudden aggression, but Monsoon dismissed Sam, wanting the battle for himself. Monsoon noted that he misjudged Raiden and that Raiden really was like his group after all. Jack the Ripper offered to "demonstrate" to Monsoon where his childhood nickname of "Jack the Ripper" came from.

Monsoon dueled with Jack the Ripper, while mocking the Ripper's potential. Monsoon also hurled various military vehicles at Jack, split himself apart to avoid blows, summoned large heaps of vehicles to run Jack over, and eventually hurled an obelisk at Jack as if it were a missile. Jack evaded the last attack and rammed him into the side of World Marshall HQ before stamping on his chest repeatedly. Afterwards, Jack decapitated Monsoon after slicing his body to shreds, which promptly exploded after Monsoon's head fell to the ground.

Afterwards, his disembodied head mentioned that he'd "return to the earth" and that he succeeded in imparting a meme onto Jack. After Monsoon died, his tactical sais, named Dystopia, were later copied after careful analysis of his battle data.[7] Raiden and Kevin Washington later deduced from Monsoon's comments to the former that Monsoon's train of thought was likely formed due to his early life under the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge, but nonetheless agreed that it was still no excuse for Monsoon's crimes.

After death[]

Like Mistral, Monsoon possessed a spare cyborg body; while his mind was lost when his head shut down, this body was later outfitted with a standard battle AI and used against Raiden.

Personality and Traits[]

Monsoon

Monsoon, circa 2018.

"War is a cruel parent, but an effective teacher. Its final lesson is carved deep in my psyche: That this world, and all its people, are diseased. Free will is a myth. Religion is a joke. We are all pawns, controlled by something greater: Memes. The DNA of the soul. They shape our will. They are the culture, they are everything we pass on. Expose someone to anger long enough, they will learn to hate. They become a carrier. Envy, greed, despair... All memes. All passed along."
―Monsoon explaining his beliefs to Raiden.

Monsoon was a misanthrope and nihilist, as he admitted to Raiden during their meeting, also believing that the only thing that truly mattered besides war was memes, which he referred to as the "DNA of the soul." He claimed that warfare, although a cruel parent, proved to be an effective teacher, as it allowed him to learn and internalize the notion that humans were "diseased," and that the concepts of free will and religion were a myth and a joke, respectively. In addition, he claimed that humans were merely pawns controlled by memes, in which it shaped people's will with any individual acting as a carrier to whatever memes had been passed onto them. Also, these memes went to Mistral, who greatly respected Monsoon. It was strongly implied that he developed these views and his sociopathy from being a victim and survivor of the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror. His nihilism was severe enough that he also didn't care if he died, as evidenced by his final actions being his telling Raiden to finish him when meeting defeat. However, if Raiden was very aggressive during the battle, Monsoon instead frantically shouts at Raiden to stop, showing that Monsoon was in fact willing to beg for his life. The only time he actually expressed any emotion other than sociopathic hatred was shortly after Raiden succumbed to his Jack the Ripper persona, in which he was initially shocked, remarking with a slightly remorseful tone that Raiden had "lost his mind."

Unlike his compatriots, Monsoon avoided coarse language, even when losing his temper. Similarly, he also doesn't wear a coat or similar outer covering when not in battle, which is implied to be due to any outer wear interfering with his electromagnetic body's properties.

Viewing nature as neither ugly nor beautiful, he described his actions as simply part of nature running its course. As such, he believed in the concept of "survival of the fittest"; elaborating that the strong will inevitably prey upon the weak. While he was resigned in his mentality as an expert killer, he likened this self-acceptance to the notion of memes simply being passed onto him, as he described that anything that a person was exposed to will naturally influence said person's mentality; implicating that Raiden's self-denial as unnatural and in direct contradiction of nature running its course. While he lauded Raiden's ideal of using a sword as a "tool of justice", even describing it as a "pretty meme", he berated Raiden for merely using said ideal as an excuse for his inner guilt, later revealed to be rooted to Raiden's self-awareness in which he actually enjoyed murder, describing it as an illusion that Raiden simply imposed upon himself to justify his actions.

When Raiden had finally revealed his pleasure of killing through his "Jack the Ripper" persona, Monsoon was open-minded enough to quickly change his presumptions about Raiden's character and personality, saying that he "misjudged" him and then happily remarking that Raiden was "like us [the Winds of Destruction] after all." During his dying moments, Monsoon displayed signs of resignation towards his fate. In addition, he believed that he had passed his meme of survival of the fittest onto Raiden, describing that Raiden's triumph would allow the "slaughter" to continue.

Despite his antagonism with Sam during his recruitment into World Marshal, in 2018, Sam and Monsoon were seemingly on good terms as implied by their casual acknowledgement towards one another during their verbal exchange with Raiden. The two had also conversed in their own spare time as Monsoon explained that Sam had told him about Raiden's ideal of using his sword as a "tool of justice." Besides this, Monsoon was also seemingly well-acquainted with Steven Armstrong, as implied by their casual discussion with each other just prior to Sam's arrival at Denver.

Powers and Abilities[]

Monsoon's body was a unique cyborg chassis consisting of a series of segments held together by powerful electromagnetic forces which could separate considerable distances while still remaining part of the whole. This ultimately allowed Monsoon to perform incredible feats that other cyborgs couldn't such as dodging sword slashes and separate his body to increase his reach or attack from multiple angles at once.

In addition, the generator was powerful enough to even allow Monsoon to lift even huge objects like Stryker APCs and Hammerhead gunships in the air to hurl at Raiden. The generator was also refined enough to also lift up objects that at least possessed trace amounts of metal, as evidenced by Monsoon's lifting of a reinforced concrete obelisk. This also granted him the ability to stick on metal structures, as his magnetic abilities allowed him to walk upside down such as when he first introduced himself to Samuel Rodrigues.

The cyborg body itself was highly maneuverable with incredible jumping abilities, being on par of other powerful Cyborgs like Raiden. His eyes were hooked up to cables that attached to a bump in his helmet.[8] Similar to Raiden, Monsoon's cybernetic feet also had extensions at his heels. The electromagnetic generator was activated by part of his visor extending outwards.

However, even with all of his unique traits, Monsoon's electromagnetic abilities had their weaknesses. His body was not unique from other cyborg bodies as his was still susceptible to EMP grenades, and a direct strike at the extended generator would instantly cut him off from his electromagnetic abilites, also stunning him briefly (though he can reactivate his electromagnetic abilities again once he had recovered from the initial blast at any given time).

In addition to his magnetic abilities, Monsoon also carried a pair of sais called "Dystopia," which he was extremely skilled with, and a belt with pouches containing red phosphorous grenades. He used the latter to disorient foes, attacking from multiple directions.

Codename[]

Similar to his compatriots, Monsoon's codename was derived from a wind pattern on Earth. In his case, it was derived from a seasonal pattern that, although technically present everywhere on Earth, was most common in Southeast Asia. Monsoons generally bring in a lot of rain before dissipating.

Behind the scenes[]

Monsoon (モンスーン Monsūn?) is a boss character who appears in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. In the Japanese version of the game, he speaks his name, and that of the Winds of Destruction, in English. Similar to Raiden, he spoke with a deep voice in the Japanese version, and with a high-pitched voice in the English version. Coincidentally, his Japanese voice actor, Masashi Ebara, had voiced a character in the Anime Angel Cop who shared the same name as his nemesis.

Monsoon is the only Cyborg Ninja in Desperado that implements actual Ninjutsu techniques, such as smoke bombs and sais as weapons. Monsoon's boss theme is called "The Stains of Time." Its lyrics depict a storm that washes away all reasons for fighting and hope for a peaceful life, and only allows for hatred to remain.

A Japanese magazine article unveiled some details for the Monsoon fight. One of these details showed that a Canard Rotor/Wing aircraft would have been involved in the fight. The game revealed that this was his via his use of magnetic force.[9]

Due to Raiden having succumbed to his Jack the Ripper persona late into Chapter 3, Monsoon is the only boss character to be canonically killed in Jack the Ripper mode. The line Jack the Ripper says when ramming Monsoon into glass upon defeating him was reused from the lines he uttered when performing a successful Zandatsu move against an enemy soldier (i.e., "Bullseye!" or "Dead on!"). His reaction when being killed depends on the player's playstyle beforehand. If the player either exploited his weakness to electromagnetic grenades or otherwise played below optimal levels, he will simply tell Raiden to "do as [Raiden] please[s]", implying that his nihilism was such that he literally doesn't even care if he survives the battle or even getting a painful death. If the player either avoided exploiting his weakness to electromagnetic grenades or otherwise managed to get a high combat rank, he'll instead yell "No! Stop it!"

The development notes included in the Collector's Edition Metal Gear Rising Piggyback guide mentioned that Monsoon's character, although strongly indicative of Psycho Mantis, was not actually based on him, but on true ninjas. It was also mentioned that they had initially considered making Monsoon originate from Okinawa on the Ryukyu Islands, due to his use of Sais, but they decided Cambodia was more fitting for his name.

Monsoon later reappears in the Jetstream DLC. In it, Monsoon is walking on a ceiling of a large hangar Saying, WELCOME TO DENVER! prior to the Metal Gear RAY attack. Monsoon likewise was the only one of the Winds of Destruction to appear in the DLC story, as well as the only named Desperado member other than the LQ-84i to appear.

Monsoon is the only human boss not to have his full face shown. Where as all others boss's faces are shown and later partially covered by cybernetics only the lower half of his is ever shown and then later covered by his helmet.

Monsoon is the only member of the Winds of Destruction to never be shown wearing some form of coat when not in battle.

Monsoon had also appeared in Versus Battle, where he fought against Vamp.

"STRENGTHS:
Cyborg Master of Magnetic Fields
WEAKNESSES:
Do Winds of Destruction Have Any?
FEATURED FACT:
Monsoon's ability to magnetically dislocate his body during battle is incredible
FEATURED GAME:
METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE
"
―Monsoon on Versus Battle

Appearances[]

Gallery[]

Videos[]

References[]

  1. ^ This can be inferred by his having grown up in the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge regime, which was around from 1974 to 1979 in Cambodia.
  2. ^ http://sgcafe.com/2012/09/tgs-2012-konami-booth-coverage/
  3. ^ http://gematsu.com/2012/09/three-new-metal-gear-rising-enemies-introduced
  4. ^ http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/09/the-brand-new-metal-gear-solid-rising-revengeance-trailer-and-its-sexy-new-bad-guys/
  5. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU29-0LwOlM
  6. ^ Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Kojima Productions/Platinum Games (2013).
    Monsoon: Kill or be killed, Jack. Phnom Penh taught me that. Yes, you aren't the only one who grew up on the killing fields. War is a cruel parent, but an effective teacher. Its final lesson is carved deep into my psyche: That this world, and all its people, are diseased.
  7. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn3DgYhh1Lg&feature=player_embedded
    0:46
    "A sai dagger powered by Lorentz force. Following Fleming's left-hand rule for motors, this force is generated by a magnetic field (created by the user's cyborg body) and the electrical current flowing through the sai. Developed after careful analysis of Monsoon's battle data."
  8. ^ Artwork of Monsoon in the Collector's Edition Piggyback guide.
  9. ^ [1]
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