is cypher or zero a different character than null/Frank Jaeger/gray fox/the ninja from metal gear solid? becasue ive ether missed some infomation or thats the conclusion i am supposed to come to

Zero/ Cipher is the one who setup the precursor to the Patriots. Grey Fox was an agent of Big Boss' FOXHOUND unit, and after ninja-fication became a tool of the patriots. Grey Fox dies at the end of MGS 1. Zero has been the recursive secret villain of the whole series who is attempting to instate an Illuminati esqu totalitarian regime.

@lord_canti: It might help to know which games you've played? Zero/Cipher didn't really come up at all in MGS 1 and 2 (or the earlier Metal Gear games), but MGS3 and onwards you should probably be more aware of the character. If you're jumping into Ground Zeroes (or Phantom Pain) having not played MGS 3 and 4, you'll be missing some info.

Zero/Cipher/Major Tom was Naked Snake's handler for the entirety of MGS3, who was revealed at the end of that game to have stolen 100 billion dollars from the main villains of that game to start Cipher as an organization which became the Patriots by MGS2. He is basically the main villain of the entire series even though there hasnt been a single boss fight with him. Frank Jaegar, also known as Gray Fox, isn't a very important character in the grand scheme of things. The only important thing he did was that his death caused his adopted sister to hate Solid Snake which lead her to making the FOXDIE virus.

i have played all of them at one point but i think that i am far enough away from 3 and 4 that i have entirely forgotten about this character, it may be wise for me to get the legacy collection before phantom pain comes out as it seems i have big chunks of it missing from my memory