Raiden

From a child soldier in Liberia to a cybernetic operative fighting alongside Solid Snake.

Raiden (Japanese: 雷電), real name Jack (ジャック, Jakku), is a fictional character and one of the protagonists of Konami's Metal Gear series. Created by Hideo Kojima and designed by Yoji Shinkawa, Raiden was introduced in the series as the main player character of the 2001 game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. In Metal Gear Solid 2, he appears to be a member of the U.S. special operations unit FOXHOUND and is participating in his first mission against terrorists. Despite coming across as a young rookie, he is later revealed to have been a child soldier in his native Liberia, having earned the nickname "Jack the Ripper" (ジャック・ザ・リッパー, Jakku za Rippā). Raiden also appears as a supporting character in the 2008 game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, in which he is assisting the series' main protagonist Solid Snake in his fight against Revolver Ocelot's forces. He is also the main character of the 2013 game Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, in which he is dealing with his past and his present life as a combatant who faces enemies from private military companies.

Quick Facts

First

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)

Series

Metal Gear

Creator

Hideo Kojima

Designer

Yoji Shinkawa

Voice

Quinton Flynn
Charlie Schlatter (MGS3 Secret Theater)
Kenyu Horiuchi (Japanese)

Motion actor

Eiji Morisaki (MGS2); Takeshi Yoshioka (MGS4)

Nickname

Jack the Ripper

Nationality

Liberian-American

Reader's Guide

Codename: Raiden | Real Name: Jack | Role: Main player character in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty; supporting character in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots; main character in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Raiden's arc begins in Metal Gear Solid 2 as a member of FOXHOUND on his first mission against terrorists. He is later revealed to have been a child soldier in Liberia, earning the nickname "Jack the Ripper." In Metal Gear Solid 4, Raiden assists Solid Snake against Revolver Ocelot's forces. His design for Metal Gear Solid 4 was a response to criticism that only his face remained in his cybernetic body. Shinkawa wanted to convey both Raiden's beauty and sorrow in his cybernetic body. Raiden was given the ability to wield swords with his own legs, giving players the impression he was a ninja. His first fight against Vamp in the game caused motion and voice actors difficulty because of carefully planned movements performed by the two fighters. The staff was satisfied with the outcome, considering it one of the best battles in the game. In Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Raiden deals with his past and his present life as a combatant who faces enemies from private military companies. Developers stated that while Raiden "has grown up" in comparison to previous Metal Gear games, he is still conflicted with his life as a child soldier in the First Liberian Civil War, leading him to become a "hero with a dark past."

Did You Know?

Raiden's codename was based on the Mitsubishi J2M Raiden, a combat aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service.
His full name was originally going to be 'Raiden Brannigan' but the idea was scrapped.
Raiden's inclusion in Metal Gear Solid 2 was kept secret from gamers before his debut; Konami replaced Raiden with Snake in teaser trailers and other preview materials.
The surprise that Raiden was not Snake was inspired by the plot twist of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, where the titular character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger was not a villain.
Raiden is voiced by Kenyu Horiuchi in Japanese and Quinton Flynn in English.