Every character in Metal Gear has had an iconic appearance. Whether it be the gruff and heroic snake, the diminutive yet charming Otacon, or the lightning fast Cyborg Ninjas, fans of the series have come to expect something extraordinary from Kojima co.’s design team. Jonathon showed up in a Russian soldier’s uniform, face covered with a mask and bearing no memorable marks whatsoever. I could have been forgiven in thinking he was nothing more than a lazy storytelling device on the part of Kojima.

I could not have been more wrong.

[Note, there are spoilers of the events in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops in the following.]

When I first met Jonathan, he was a faceless soldier devoid of personality or meaning. He was introduced as the player’s first example of the recruitment mechanic when Snake caught him off guard and pulled him away for interrogation. After this he became a boring polygonal model with the name Jonathan attached, no different than any of the other countless recruits I would procure over the course of the game. His only special virtue was that he was first. His opening exposition with Big Boss seems like nothing more than a list of story points, complete with a monologue by the Snake himself on loyalty and battle. Typical Metal Gear.



But this is where the similarities end. Where in any other game a character like Jonathan would be forgotten with the fade of the cutscene, Jonathan remained. He became the tutorial for the game’s recruitment gimmick. Immediately he filled the number two slot of Snake’s sneaking team, and I found myself switching out Snake for Jonathan in places it was absolutely necessary. Soon it became apparent that two were better than one, and that Jonathan was as adept a partner as any for a man who hides in boxes. From this point on, it was no solo-sneaking mission – Jonathan would take equal part in Snake’s adventures. When others were recruited, Jonathan’s slightly improved stats would ensure his presence in the party. When it came time to form a second group of soldiers to take on missions, it was familiar Jonathan who would become team leader. Completely by accident, I had made Jonathan my second in command.

Over the course of my time with the game, Jonathan took on an even more important role. In the documentary for Metal Gear Solid 4, Kojima said that he always wanted players to see the protagonists of Metal Gear as reflections of themselves, yet Snake and Raiden have always had their own distinct stories to follow. With Jonathan, for the first time I was able to see myself in my avatar’s shoes. In my playthrough, he got as much screentime as Snake himself, becoming a character of equal pedigree. The genius was that this was never forced. Jonathan was not introduced as a protagonist, and I was not required to use him. Yet through a combination of early attachment, superior statistics, and the simple fact that he has a name that doesn’t begin or end with an animal, I inevitably became attached to the seemingly ignorable secondary character. Kojima’s goal was finally met in this almost perfect blank slate upon which I was able to passively project my playstyle, personality, and finally attachment.

Because of this, Kojima ultimately achieved a success that I doubt even he anticipated.

When Jonathan jumped in front of Snake to take the bullet that would have ended the life of Big Boss (and significantly cut short the plot of Metal Gear Solid, I imagine) everything dropped into place. All the minutia of Jonathan’s achievements over the course of the game ceased to be gameplay and became plot. He was no longer just the unofficial second in command of my army, he was a fully fledged Metal Gear character.



The death of any Metal Gear character is met by a few weepy eyes and tired lines. Jonathan is different. No tragic past or future highlights him. His entire story is summarized in the time the player spent with him. For some this may have made his death empty and meaningless. For myself, it made it genius.

Only Jonathan ever had a real impact on me. For the first time in a videogame, I had died. Certainly in other games I had projected myself onto a character, but never before had that character died. Jonathan’s character has no character at all. The achievement is that despite this, I still cared.

It wasn’t an accident that Jonathan evolved throughout the game to become a reflection of myself. It was natural, and that is why he meant so much. I may have put my face on my avatars in games such as Oblivion or World of Warcraft, but only with Jonathan was it so forcibly torn off.