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"There are some things you have to pass on. The trick is to know which one."
―Peter Stillman[src]

Peter Stillman was the bomb disposal expert who helped Raiden and Iroquois Pliskin during the Big Shell Incident. He was regarded as the foremost expert on bomb disposal and was frequently referenced in professional literature.[3]

Biography[]

Career[]

Peter Stillman was a lecturer at NAVSCOLEOD (Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal), in Indian Head, Maryland. Stillman also worked as a consultant to the NYPD Bomb Squad. During this time, Stillman met and taught his best student, Fatman. Never having had a son, Stillman thought he saw one in Fatman and taught him everything he knew about bombs (including their construction and demolition). This would prove to be a fatal mistake in the future.

THE bomb disposal guy

Documentation on Stillman.

In 2004, Stillman was called to defuse a terrorist bomb in a famous church. During the disposal, Stillman panicked and fled, leaving the bomb to explode. The church was obliterated along with a nearby playground. Unable to face the public and families of the people who were lost in the explosion, as, due to not having a family or children, his reputation was the only thing he really had and couldn't afford to lose that, he faked being injured by the blast and said he lost a leg in the explosion, making everyone believe his leg was prosthetic. After that, he retired.[4]

The Manhattan Incident[]

See also: Tanker Incident and the Big Shell Incident

On April 29, 2009, Stillman was coaxed out of retirement to deal with a number of explosives, planted on board the Big Shell by his former student Fatman, accompanying SEAL Team 10 aboard the facility. After the team was attacked, Stillman took refuge in Strut C, where Raiden and Iroquois Pliskin discovered him (although Raiden initially tried to hold him up, believing that he was a bomber at work). Joining forces with the two operatives, Stillman supplied them both with a coolant spray and a sensor to help detect and defuse Fatman's bombs. He then locked himself in a store room and gave directions to Raiden and Pliskin via Codec. When Raiden attempted to ask Stillman why he retired, Stillman falsely claimed that he forgot the reasons why, and stated to Raiden that even if he remembered, it currently wasn't the time to ask about it.

Stillman

Stillman

During the mission to disarm the bombs, Stillman became uneasy at their seemingly amateurish placement, saying that their locations were all wrong if Fatman had intended to destroy the Big Shell. During his spare time, Stillman constructed a sensor to detect any bombs that may lack Fatman's signature scent, just in case the bombs were a decoy. He then asked Pliskin to take a look at the bottom of Shell 2's Strut H in case bombs had been planted there. Pliskin reported back to Stillman that he was correct and that the other bombs were indeed decoys. Stillman was disturbed at this, not because of the use of decoys, but because Fatman had become so out of control as to fully abandoned a long-standing code of his making.[5]

Stillman then decided to head to Strut H and dismantle the last bomb by himself, revealing to Raiden and Pliskin that he had never lost his leg during the bomb accident years before. Stillman hurried to Strut H, which he had to run and was nearly exhausted. Raiden started a general conversation with Stillman, and Stillman told him the reasons behind his mistakes in the past. After much encouragement, Raiden then told Stillman to not condemn himself for what happened in the past, and to focus on Fatman's bombs. However, Fatman had surpassed Stillman in his skills and set a trap; it turned out that the decoy C4s were actually "keys" set to activate the real C4s once the decoys had been disarmed. Stillman encountered an unscented proximity, microwave-triggered bomb, which subsequently accelerated the timer countdown. Realizing that he could not escape in time, he warned Raiden and Pliskin of the proximity trigger, which had a 7 foot radius, and encouraged Raiden to dismantle its counterpart in Shell 1. The bomb then detonated, killing Stillman and destroying a large section of Shell 2.

After death[]

Stillman's corpse was later discovered by Raiden in the first floor basement of the flooded Shell 2 Core, Filtration Chamber No. 1. Raiden then, in some delirium, contacted Snake and told him that Stillman was "waiting for him." It was largely because of this that Raiden, when suggesting that Emma Emmerich focus on his heart while he got her through the flooded areas of Shell 2 Core, suggested that she keep her eyes closed.[6] It was later revealed to Raiden that Stillman's presence at the Big Shell had been engineered, in order to coax Fatman into carrying out the Patriots' agenda, thus providing him with a chance to surpass his former mentor.

Personality and traits[]

According to Stillman's dog tags, his blood type was A. Peter was a master in the art of explosives, his name being in almost every text book that involved explosives.

Behind the scenes[]

Peter Stillman (ピーター・スティルマン Pītā Sutiruman?) is a character who appears in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. He is voiced by Greg Eagles, who previously provided the voices of Donald Anderson and Gray Fox in Metal Gear Solid. Stillman's dog tags can be collected by the player after defeating Fatman and shaking his body. Stillman's name was a reference to one of the assumed names of the lead character in the New York Trilogy novel City of Glass, and was the only character with a name referencing that novel to make it into the final version. Similarly, according to character designer Yoji Shinkawa, Stillman was originally intended to be an alternate version of Ed from Policenauts. If the player tries to knock on the pantry while he is inside, he'll yell that they use the Codec if they need to contact him about anything.

In Hideo Kojima's "Grand Game Plan" for Metal Gear Solid 2, Stillman was to have worn a cross around his neck, which is what saved him from Vamp's massacre of the SEALs Bravo Team. He began wearing it after his failure to dismantle the bomb in the church, despite his religion being one that does not revere the cross. It was also intended that the church bombing in Romania, of which Vamp was victim to during his childhood, was the same as that which Stillman failed to prevent, resulting in the former's fear of the cross. In addition, he was also intended to have been a security guard at the Big Shell.

Although his role overall in the Metal Gear Solid 2: Digital Graphic Novel was the same as in the game, Stillman aided Raiden during the battle with Fatman, also playing a key role in defeating Fatman by using one of the C4 as a decoy to distract Fatman. Stillman, however, ended up killed when attempting to disarm Fatman's ultimate C4 package, with Fatman leaving a posthumous message mocking his former mentor.

In Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection, the player can unlock the trophy "Bomb Squad" after watching the cutscene where Stillman explains how to diffuse C4 bombs.

Appearances[]

References[]

  1. ^ Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2001).
    Stillman's D.O.B. is revealed on his dog tags, which can be acquired after defeating Fatman and shaking his body.
  2. ^ a b Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (script), Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2001).
    As Raiden enters the kitchen, he hears something. He continues on cautiously and discovers a man at work in front of the long counter. [...] A man [Stillman], a well-built African-American in his late 50s (only his upper body is visible), is so wrapped up in his work that he does not notice Raiden’s arrival.
  3. ^ Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2001).
    Raiden: So you’re the bomb disposal guy? // Iroquois Pliskin: Kid, this is THE bomb disposal guy. Open any explosives disposal textbook and you’ll see his name. // Raiden: ... // Raiden is put off at being treated like a rookie by Pliskin. Peter, sensing his chagrin, speaks up. // Peter Stillman: Heh, just ancient history now.
  4. ^ Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2001).
    Rosemary: But five years ago, he lost his leg in an accident and since then, he hung up his gloves to focus on being a lecturer.
  5. ^ Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (script), Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2001)
    Pliskin: That’s not the bad news either. These are sensor-proof. // Peter: What! // Pliskin: New model, I guess. The ionization sensor can’t detect them. // Pliskin: The whole thing is sealed tight to prevent vapor leak, and there’s no trace of that cologne signature. Pete, it looks like he fooled you. // Peter: Yes... // (realizing that Fatman is so out of control that he will fully abandon a long-standing code)
  6. ^ Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (script), Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2001)
    A view of the flooded route is provided for the user’s review. // Raiden: We’ve got a little longer to cover than the last time. (Emphasis on ‘little’) // Emma Emmerich: I’ll give it my best. // Raiden: Whatever you do, don’t open your eyes. // Emma: Why not? // Raiden: A dead body... not a pretty site // Emma: Oh... // An image of Peter’s body appears on screen.
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