10 Most Dangerous Metal Gear Solid Villains Without Superpowers

Throughout five main Metal Gear Solid video games and countless spinoffs released from 1987 to 2018, there have been roughly 70 primary and secondary villains in the popular franchise. Many are equipped with inherent superpowers that give them a leg up on their enemies, while others do not possess such supernatural skills and must rely on quick wit, powerful influence, military acumen, fighting ability, weapons expertise, and the like to take down Solid Snake.

Of course, what makes Metal Gear Solid so special is the ability to play the game as one of the villains, and those looking to do so without inherent superpowers would be wise to find the most formidable among them.

Naomi Hunter

A secret antagonist posing as one of Snake’s allies in Metal Gear Solid, Naomi Hunter is a scientific expert specializing in nanotechnology. Her peril derives purely from being a traitorous mole whose secret vendetta cannot be detected by Snake until it’s too late.

Hunter is Gray Fox’s adopted sister, who infiltrated Snake’s crew after he killed her brother and vowed lethal revenge as a result. Snake was left unguarded as a sitting duck, making Naomi’s vengeful ruse highly dangerous. Fortunately for Snake, Naomi learned that Gray Fox killed her parents, which makes her rethink her mission in one of the best video game plot twists.

Hot Coldman

The main villain in MGS: Peace Walker, Hot Coldman sounds like a superpowered foe. On the contrary, Hot uses masterful manipulation, including faking his death, to carry out Operation Snake Eater. His danger comes from his deception and the power he wields as the former director of the CIA.

Coldman directly ordered Huey to develop A.I.-based weaponry, including the highly lethal Peace Walker nuclear device, showing a brazen disregard for the collateral damage the blast may incur. His most dangerous move? Activating the launch codes upon his death.

Khamsin

With raw military might only to be outranked by the three members of the Winds of Destruction, Khamsin is a minor DLC villain in Metal Gear Rising Revengeance. Also known as Desert Storm, the barbarous brute who uses old-fashioned weaponry to compensate for his lack of superpowers.

Bolstered by impenetrable armor, Khamsin slaughters foes quite effortlessly with his gigantic battle-ax adorned with a gnarly chainsaw device at the end, which is so powerful that he can hardly pick it up at times. One strike, however, will kill an enemy on impact.

Vulcan Raven

A secondary villain in the OG game, Vulcan Raven is a demolition artist and heavy weapons expert who uses his military background to atone for his inherent superpowers. However, it’s his brute strength as a towering strongman that makes him so dangerous in combat.

Armed with one of the best Metal Gear Solid weapons, his trusty M61 Vulcan Autocannon, a 250-pound anti-aircraft firearm with a humongous drum that can shoot down planes with ease, Vulcan is also adept at fashioning explosives and precision marksmanship. He does have shamanistic qualities that hint at the supernatural, but he rarely uses them.

Solidus Snake

As the third clone of Big Boss and main foe in MSG2, Solidus Snake is the former U.S President turned terrorist who is extremely dangerous in his goal to kill Raiden in the popular post-apocalyptic video game. Political power and global influence in conjunction with peerless combat and swordsmanship skills make him perilous.

While Snake is bolstered by an exoskeleton that enhances his protection, they can hardly be construed as inherent superpowers. It’s caused some on Reddit to wonder why Snake suddenly does have superpowers in The Twin Snakes.

Big Boss

Proficient in Aikido, Boxing, Judo, Jujitsu, Karate, and Kali, Big Boss is hailed as the most formidable hand-to-hand fighter in the MGS series. In addition to knowing nearly every weapon made, what makes the character so fascinating is evolving from antagonist to protagonist.

Without a shred of superpowered help, Big Boss was able to waylay Volgin, the Shagohod, the Ocelot, and Peace Walker, thanks to the form of martial arts he created and mastered, known as CQC.

Skull Face

The main baddie of MGSV, Skull Face is known as The Ghost without A Past. Despite being a vengeful spirit, he doesn’t possess a lot of superpowers, if any. He’s most adept at psychological warfare, mental manipulation, torture, interrogation, and delegating authority as the secret commander of the XOF.

The evil villain uses advanced head-games to become an expert assassin, killing large swaths of innocent people and making it look like a total accident. While he does draw strength from biological parasites in his stomach, Skull Face’s danger lies in his deadly duplicity.

The Boss

One of the best villains in MGS3: Snake Eater, The Boss aka The Joy is the founder, leader, and mother of the Special Forces. Without superpowers, the highly skilled soldier was able to beat Snake several times via CQC, which she helped co-found before turning on her ally in one of the biggest plot twists. She also took down Volgin with ease.

In addition to being an expert military combatant, The Boss quintuples her danger by delegating authority to her subordinates, The End, The Fear, The Fury, The Pain, and The Sorrow, all of which comprise the ultra-deadly Cobra Unit.

Revolver Ocelot

As his name suggests, Revolver Ocelot is one of the most excellent and accurate marksmen in the MGS series. The recurring baddie is a perilous terrorist who makes Snake’s life a living hell due to his strategic mastermind, and ability to manipulate his foes.

Whether using his trusty Colt Single Action Army Revolver, or his Tornado-6, Makarov PM, Thor .45-70, or Bayonette Knife, Revolver Ocelot has no time for channeling superpowered abilities. He’s too busy locking and loading on his targets with his dangerous stockpile of firearms that can neutralize superpowers with ease.

Liquid Snake

Despite being genetically enhanced, Liquid Snake has no real superpowers to speak of. Instead, the original series villain uses enhanced speed, strength, durability, and knowledge to outwit his enemies. This makes him a highly trained super soldier who specializes in close combat, such as the time he beat Venom Snake as a child.

Thanks to his genius-level IQ and perfect impersonation skills, Liquid Snake can imitate anyone he wants to, which makes him dangerous to deal with. Moreover, he is an expert pilot who can fly choppers and planes alike, giving him a major leg up in air combat.