Metal Gear is a confusing franchise, with multiple antagonists, triple agents, time paradoxes, and an unhealthy ass fixation. Filled with names like The Wiseman's Committee, Screaming Mantis, and Vic Boss, stuffed full of proper nouns, it can be hard to keep track of it all. With MGSV on the horizon, this is going to be your one-stop shop for everything in the Metal Gear Franchise that happened pre-MGSV.
This post will contain no spoilers for The Phantom Pain, but it WILL spoil events from every other game that falls before TPP on the timeline (MGS3, Portable Ops (sorta), Peace Walker, and Ground Zeroes), as well as the relevant backstory and events that happen before and between those games.
(Portable Ops is a weird case as it wasn't helmed by Kojima and he has stated that whatever doesn't fit with his vision of the series is non-canon. As he hasn't specified, I'll do my best to include what I think is necessary and important from it.)
In order to simplify things, this is going to be all the information that I believe is relevant for MGSV. Things that require a more in-depth explanation will be in a spoiler block below their entry. Everything is arranged by date, and trimmed down to what you need to know.
(This post is specifically designed for @danryckert and @drewbert to have a total grasp of anything important going into MGSV without needed to comb through multiple wiki pages or get lost in paragraphs of unrelated text.)
Pre-MGS3
Before 1922-1940:
Pre-1922: The MGS universe and our own, for all intents and purposes, follow the exact same history up to this point. Zero is born, as are the members of the Cobra Unit except for The Boss.
1922: The Philosophers are formed by The Wiseman's Committee.
After World War 1, a secret group of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals from The US, Russia, and China, collectively known as The Wiseman's Committee, formed a group whose goal was to influence and shape the world in such a way that no future generation would ever fall into such a brutal conflict. The Wiseman's Committee were the first members of what is known as The Philosophers, but they weren't the last.
1922: The Boss is born to a member of the Philosophers.
193X: The last original member of the Philosophers (hence the last of the first Wiseman's Committee) dies. The organization begins to spiral out of control.
1935: Big Boss is born.
1936: EVA is born, and quickly taken from her parents to be raised by The Philosophers.
1940s
194X (During World War 2): The Philosophers' Legacy is created.
During the war, the Philosophers began to form a plan to construct a new world order after the defeat of the Axis Powers. To do this, they pooled their resources together to ensure victory with the promise to divide them once again after the war is over. This massive cache of funds, known as The Philosophers' Legacy, would come to total one hundred billion dollars and was used to develop the technology that would dominate warfare in the MGS universe: rocketry, super soldiers like the Cobra Unit, and nuclear weapons.
1943: Acting on false information from the Soviet Union, The Boss discovers she is pregnant while attempting to assassinate John von Neumann, who the US believe is a Nazi saboteur. She fails and is wounded, ending up in a coma for three months.
This is more important than you think: by failing to kill von Neumann, The Boss directly blames herself for the atomic bombings in WW2 as well as the rise of the Cold War, and she dedicates her life to her country in order to make up for her perceived mistake.
1944: The Boss gives birth to Ocelot, who is eventually taken to be raised by The Philosophers.
1945: Boris Volgin, father of MGS3's Volgin, steals the Legacy (which he was in charge of laundering in the first place). He disperses it to multiple banks in multiple countries by using the same skills which caused The Philosophers to put him in charge of it to begin with.
1945: The three major branches of the Philosophers begin to split up.
1946: McDonell Benedict "Kazuhira" Miller, known as Kaz or Master Miller, is born.
1950-1963
195X: Pacifica Ocean (Paz Ortega Andrade) is born.
1950: Jack (Big Boss) begins training under The Boss.
1954: Big Boss is exposed to high radiation during the Bikini Atoll nuclear tests, rendering him sterile.
1959: Russia stops funding China's nuclear and space programs, fueling the Chinese Philosophers' desire to acquire the Legacy.
196X: Volgin acquires the microfilm containing the information needed to access the Legacy's various accounts scattered across the world, effectively giving him unlimited funding.
1960: Two NSA codebreakers, ADAM (Ocelot), and the real EVA (not to be confused with MGS3's EVA, who takes the codebreaker's identity and is really working for the Chinese Philosophers) defect to the Soviet Union.
Take note that Ocelot's backstory is fairly uncertain, with one account having him raised by Volgin and the Spetsnaz right after WW2, and another having him taken in by the Philosophers. That crafty Ocelot, even his backstory is confusing!
1961: The Boss is the first American to reach space, but is injured during reentry and winds up in a coma for six months. This series really has a thing for comas.
The Boss' space mission is very important for a number of reasons. It's here that she meets Strangelove (who falls for the Boss pretty hard, although the relationship was always one sided as The Boss was fixated on a certain someone named Jack) and, while in space, where she develops the will that would drive the series from then on. Her severe injuries force the US to keep this mission a secret, and ultimately lead to the resentment which causes the US to sacrifice her in Operation Snake Eater.
1962: Solokov, designer of the Shagohod, defects from Russia but is subsequently returned by the US in high level negotiations with Russia during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
1962: Under orders, The Boss kills The Sorrow, her former lover and father of Ocelot. The Philosophers arranged it so that one must die for Ocelot to live.
The Boss had a sleeper agent in the USSR feeding rocket data to the US. The Sorrow, acting under orders from the Russian Philosophers and unaware of The Boss' involvement, turns the sleeper agent, causing him to send bogus data back to the US. When this is discovered, The Boss is sent in to kill the sleeper agent along with The Sorrow. They met each other on a bridge, and they ultimately came to the conclusion that The Sorrow would die so Ocelot could live.
1962: Major Zero creates the FOX (Force Operation X) special forces Unit.
1962: Chico is born.
1964: Metal Gear Solid 3
Virtuous Mission
EVA infiltrates the Soviet Union, tricking Sokolov into thinking she's attempting to get the Shagohod data for Khrushchev.
Naked Snake is sent on the Virtuous Mission in an attempt to rescue Sokolov and bring him back to the US.
Snake and Ocelot meet for the first time.
Sokolov reveals the existence of the Shagohod to Snake.
The Boss defects to the Soviet Union under orders from the US Philosophers, in order to infiltrate Volgin's GRU outfit and claim the Legacy. She had contacted Volgin a month prior with the offer to defect, and served as mission support for Snake in order to get close to Volgin.
Volgin uses a Davy Crocket portable nuclear warhead to destroy OKB-754, causing The Boss' mission to be greatly revised. She would now be tasked to clear the United State's name by allowing herself to die at the hands of her protégé Jack.
Operation Snake Eater
Snake is tasked with killing The Boss and Volgin, destroying the Shagohod, rescuing Sokolov, and securing the Legacy.
He teams up with EVA, still undercover as a KGB infiltrator in Volgin's GRU organization.
The Shagohod is destroyed, the Cobra Unit is eliminated, Volgin is killed by a bolt of lightning, and The Boss is killed by Snake.
Snake recovers the Legacy and spends a night with EVA, who steals it for the Chinese Philosophers. That microfilm turns out to be a fake, most likely planted by ADAM (Ocelot).
Ocelot is revealed as having stolen half of the Legacy under orders from both the American Philosophers and the CIA. The other half is assumed to be with the KGB. Ocelot reveals that he's pretty good at triple agent-ing.
Apparently, it's revealed that the CIA director lies to the government and keeps that half of the legacy for himself. This comes up again in Portable Ops. I say apparently, because I had no clue that this happened and had to look it up myself.
Jack gains the title of Big Boss and promptly leaves FOX.
Post MGS3-Pre Portable Ops
1965-1970
1965: Sigint joins APRA and begins developing ARPAnet, precursor to the internet.
1966: Big Boss finds Frank Jaeger during the Mozambican War of Independence and rescues him, placing him in a care facility where he is eventually taken by the Philosophers for their Perfect Soldier Project.
1968: In Hanoi, EVA disappears without a trace.
1970: Raikov, stripped of his rank as a result of the events of Operation Snake Eater, is exiled to the San Hieronymo Peninsula.
1970: Portable Ops
A Note On Portable Ops:
Portable Ops is sort of canon. It's left out of a lot of official materials and Kojima states that anything that conflicts with his vision will get tossed out, but it seems like it mostly counts. It's very important for a lot of reasons if it is canon; Big Boss meets Roy (future Colonel) Campbell, establishes FOXHOUND in its first iteration, shows the formation of the Patriots (NOT in MGS3 as Dan seems to believe), deals more with Frank Jaeger (later Grey Fox), and establishes Big Boss in San Hieronymo for the opening of Peace Walker. I'll cover it briefly as many of its characters are killed in the game itself and therefore won't be a factor for MGSV, and I'll link to concepts and terms instead of detailing them outright, but be careful as the wiki may contain spoilers for MGSV.
The San Hieronymo Incident takes place. Members of FOX lead by Gene, the warrior created by the Successor Project, revolt under orders of the CIA and take over the base located there. Major Zero is arrested (as he was the leader of FOX), and Big Boss is charged with treason for supposedly spearheading the revolt.
Big Boss is captured by FOX members and meets Roy Campbell in jail on San Hieronymo. They team up to take down FOX and clear Big Boss' name by forming FOXHOUND.
Big Boss encounters Frank Jaeger and recruits him to FOXHOUND after facing him in battle.
After discovering the existence of Metal Gear RAXA, Big Boss discovers Sokolov on the base who helps him to destroy it.
It is revealed that the FOX revolt was planned by the Department of Defense to discredit the CIA by having the FOX Unit launch a nuclear strike into Russia, thereby destroying their reputation as an "efficient organization."
This plot is kinda dumb, guys.
Snake kills Gene and is given Gene's funds, which were going to be used to create Army's Heaven.
Ocelot kills the Director of Central Intelligence, who has the record and location of the full Legacy. He reveals his desire to destroy the Philosophers and follow The Boss' will.
Seems like they got their wires crossed and this detail is largely ignored within minutes of introduction.
Ocelot receives a call from Zero, and agrees to join him in forming the Patriots on the condition that Big Boss is recruited as well.
Post Portable Ops-Pre Peace Walker
A note on FOXHOUND:
Some of this is contradictory. FOXHOUND is clearly established in Portable Ops by Big Boss, but official info has Zero install Big Boss as FOXHOUND's commander AFTER Portable Ops, and other materials have stated that Big Boss forms that unit in 1971 in order to carry on the FOX Unit's traditions. It shouldn't be that big of a deal.
1970: Sigint and Para-Medic join The Patriots.
1970: Zero disbands FOX and has Big Boss installed as FOXHOUND's commander.
1971: Big Boss rescues EVA from Hanoi and she joins The Patriots.
1971: The Les Enfants Terribles project begins. Zero orders Para-Medic to clone Big Boss.
1971: Big Boss establishes FOXHOUND again or something.
1971: Big Boss starts to fall out of The Patriots.
1972: Solid and Liquid Snake are born, engineered so that one has mainly dominant traits (Liquid) and the other with recessive traits. Big Boss discovers the clones and leaves The Patriots, while EVA and Ocelot begin to lose faith in Zero as well.
1972: Solidus Snake, the third clone of Big Boss, is created by the Les Enfants Terribles project in response to his departure and Zero's desire to have a perfect clone of Big Boss.
1972: Big Boss creates the Militaires Sans Frontières. During a mission, he encounters a unit led by Kaz, defeats him, and then recruits him.
1973: Huey Emmerich is hired to work on the Peace Walker project.
1974: Peace Walker
Zadornov, posing as Galvez, hires MSF to kick the CIA out of Costa Rica. With him is Paz, a so called "Student of Peace." He gives them an offshore oil platform which MSF develops into Mother Base.
Big Boss encounters the Sandinistas and their leader, Amanda, along with her little brother Chico.
Big Boss destroys the unmanned weapon Pupa and recruits Huey into the MSF.
Big Boss finds the lab of Dr. Strangelove, who is attempting to recreate The Boss in the form of an AI.
Big Boss damages Peace Walker, which flees to Nicaragua.
Peace Walker prepares to destroy Mother Base with a nuclear strike. Zadornov double crosses CIA section chief Hot Coldman by altering the launch target to Cuba. Coldman strikes back by transmitting false radar data to NORAD, forcing the US to decide whether to launch a counterattack against a (bogus) Soviet first strike.
Coldman dies and Peace Walker drowns itself to stop the transmission. Big Boss frees himself from his adoration of The Boss, stating that by putting down her gun, she betrayed soldiers everywhere.
Peace Walker's warhead is recovered and mounted onto Metal Gear ZEKE, MSF's bipedal war machine.
December 21st: Zadornov is killed serving as a distraction ("ROCKET PEACE!") for Paz, who is revealed to be an agent of Major Zero's organization (now called Cipher) and actually named Pacifica Ocean. Both of her attempts to recruit or kill Big Boss fail, and she is lost to the sea after ZEKE's defeat.
Miller reveals that he is aware of Cipher and has been working with them as a business partner to expand Mother Base.
The Lead Up To Ground Zeroes
(The timeline seriously compresses from now on.)
1975: Dr. Strangelove resigns from MSF.
1975: The IAEA requests a nuclear inspection of Mother Base, which Huey agrees to despite MSF's initial reluctance.
February 22nd: Paz's survival is confirmed and her location is determined as Camp Omega, Cuba.
March: Chico goes missing in Cuba on his way to join Amanda, and goes alone to rescue Paz. He is captured by XOF.
March: Chico contacts Paz who is in an adjoining cage. Both are tortured. Chico divulges information relating to MSF and ZEKE.
March: MSF receives a transmission from Chico; despite expecting a trap, Big Boss prepares to go into Camp Omega alone.
March 15th: C4 is planted on the legs of Mother Base's platforms by unknown individuals. Paz has bombs implanted in her.
Midnight March 16th: Big Boss arrives at Camp Omega as Skull Face and the XOF Unit depart for Mother Base.
March 16th, 1975: Ground Zeroes
Big Boss rescues Paz and Chico.
Paz undergoes emergency surgery to remove a bomb in her stomach.
Mother Base comes under attack from XOF and is destroyed.
Big Boss rescues Kaz during the assault on Mother Base.
Paz leaps to her death in an attempt to spare Big Boss' life, but the second bomb detonates, sending the helicopter into a pursuing chopper.
Post Ground Zeros - Pre The Phantom Pain
Kaz, Big Boss and a third unidentified individual make it to a hospital, seriously injured. Big Boss falls into a coma lasting nine years.
1976: The Les Enfants Terribles project is abandoned.
1979: Towards the end of the Rhodesian Civil War, Frank Jaeger rescues and adopts a young Naomi Hunter after killing her parents.
1980: Otacon is born.
1984: Big Boss Awakens From His Coma
And that's it, for now at least. Feel free to point out anything you feel I missed or misinterpreted and I'll edit it later.
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