Dr. Naomi Hunter, an enigmatic and beautiful woman with immense intellect, has captivated us since the first time we saw her. Her intentions were never entirely clear, but as the Metal Gear story unfolded, our Naomi became a key figure whose decisions and mysteries have left an indelible mark on the saga.
The story of Dr. Naomi Hunter is one filled with betrayals, ethical dilemmas, and a constant quest for redemption that is not always clear, and that we only see resolved at the end of this beautiful woman’s journey. So today, we are going to delve into her mysterious story, from her childhood and debut in the saga to her darkest and most revealing moments, and the role she plays within the Metal Gear story, as her role is one that triggers unforeseen consequences. Are you ready to uncover the secrets behind this enigmatic scientist?
Childhood, adoption and revenge
At some point in 1970, Naomi is born in Rhodesia. There isn’t much information about her childhood or her parents until the tragic incident during the Rhodesian Civil War in late 1979 when her parents are murdered by a young soldier named Frank Jaeger. Naomi, on the brink of death from starvation, is discovered by Frank at the Zambezi River. Frank, deeply remorseful for what he did, gives his rations to Naomi to save her and adopts her, raising her as a sister and giving her his name.
Later, Naomi gets a second chance at life, thanks to Big Boss, whom she met in Mozambique in the 1980s. With his help, Frank and Naomi manage to settle in the United States, and Naomi goes to college. She decides to pursue a career in genetics, driven by her lack of knowledge about her own identity. This is how she graduates and earns a Ph.D. in genetics, specializing in nanomachine-based gene therapy.
After the Zanzibar Land incident in 1999, where Solid Snake defeats Big Boss, leaving Frank paralyzed, Naomi develops intense hatred towards him and vows revenge. She discovers the identity of a doctor, coincidentally sharing her name, who conveniently disappears in the Middle East. Naomi decides to assume her identity to carry out her mission.
In 2003, under her false identity, Naomi works as a contractor for a private biotechnology company overseeing gene therapy for FOXHOUND members and Genome Soldiers. This company collaborates with the United States Department of Defense. It is unclear exactly when, but I have a slight suspicion that this is where Naomi met Richard Ames, a Defense Department agent who also served as a Patriots spy and was the ex-husband of Nastasha Romanenko.
During her time at this job, Naomi witnesses Dr. Clark, known as Para-Medic, conducting genetic experiments on Gray Fox. The pain of seeing her brother suffer leads Naomi to fulfill a request from EVA and Ocelot to eliminate Clark. Naomi devises her plan, and upon releasing Gray Fox, he murders Clark. Both detonate the research center, and Naomi covers up Gray Fox’s death by faking it in the incident reports.
With no head of research due to Clark’s death, Naomi is pointed to the position (I suspect it was Richard Ames, with whom Naomi had an affair). In her new position, Naomi perfects a deadly virus as requested by the Pentagon, affectionately calling it FOXDIE (I assume the name is in honor of Frank).
Friend or Foe?
Naomi, as the head of medical staff at FOXHOUND, was assigned as part of the radio support team to assist Snake in his infiltration of Shadow Moses Island in 2005 (although the game was released in 1998, the events of Shadow Moses take place in 2005). It is during Snake’s mission briefing that Naomi, in addition to injecting Snake with nanomachines, nootropics, and an antifreeze peptide to prevent freezing, is ordered to inject the FOXDIE virus into Snake without his knowledge.
Initially, the purpose of FOXDIE was to make Snake a carrier and infect the rebellious members of FOXHOUND to eliminate them immediately, as well as Kenneth Baker, the head of ArmsTech. The virus would only affect the target, leaving everyone else Snake came into contact with unharmed, including Snake himself. However, motivated by her revenge, Naomi secretly modified the virus she injected into Snake to ensure his demise as well. She added a different value to the virus for Solid Snake, allowing it to take his life at any time in the future.
As the mission progressed, Naomi witnessed a version of Snake that was very different from what she had created in her mind. The sacrifices Snake was willing to make to rescue Meryl were contrary to the person she believed he was. While Snake was confined in the cell, Naomi discovered that Big Boss was Snake’s father, and something she had never imagined: Snake considered Frank Jaeger his best friend, despite everything.
This moment made Naomi lower her guard a bit with Snake. However, when Snake questioned her about her past, Naomi’s answers sounded uncertain, raising suspicions for Master Miller (Liquid Snake disguised, of course), who asked Colonel Campbell to place her under arrest. Later in the mission, Naomi is arrested, and Liquid Snake disguised as Miller reveals all about FOXDIE to Snake.
Although Campbell claimed at that moment that Naomi was suspected of being a spy and had been sending coded messages to the Shadow Moses base, the reality was that the Pentagon discovered the reengineering Naomi did to the virus, and Richard Ames arrested her to find out what modifications she had made. This forced Campbell to use the excuse that Naomi was working with terrorists to justify the arrest and keep the virus modification hidden from Snake.
During her arrest, Naomi manages to get a codec and immediately communicates with Snake, explaining everything about her past, Gray Fox, her connection with Big Boss, and the role FOXDIE plays in the mission. She admits that injecting the virus into his body was not a decision she made but part of the operation. In the middle of this conversation, Naomi is subdued and cannot give Snake all the information.
At the end of the mission, Naomi requests to speak with Snake about everything that happened. Snake tells her about what happened with Gray Fox but decides to keep the murder of his parents hidden, as Frank is the only family Naomi had. After telling her that Frank always loved her, he informs her that Gray Fox saved him, her, and the entire world. Naomi finds peace in his words, finally accepting her brother’s death and forgiving Snake in the process. She then tells Snake that she doesn’t know when FOXDIE will activate, and it’s impossible to know how much time he has left, but she will dedicate herself to living her life to the fullest.
If you recall that call at the end of MGS, Ocelot mentions he will “keep an eye on a certain woman,” referring to Naomi. This is how, after the Shadow Moses incident, Naomi is arrested, only to be released three weeks later by Liquid Ocelot. All of this plot with Richard Ames and Naomi’s escape is mentioned in “In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth,” written by Nastasha Romanenko.
One last deceit, and one last sacrifice
Under the surveillance of Liquid Ocelot, Dr. Naomi Hunter continues her research on nanomachines, research that Liquid will later use for his plans. On a trip to the Middle East in 2014, Naomi accompanied Liquid in his attempt to hack the SOP system using the DNA of Liquid Snake, causing soldiers to be affected on the battlefield, a result that disturbed Naomi. Amidst this chaos, she briefly encountered Solid Snake, who was also affected by Liquid’s actions. Injecting herself with a nanomachine suppressor, Naomi passed the syringe to Snake, telling him that if he doesn’t want to be a prisoner of his destiny, he must fulfill his mission, referring to FOXDIE.
Later, Naomi sent an encrypted message on a Soliton Radar map to Otacon and Snake, where she appeared to be kidnapped by Liquid Ocelot. However, she revealed that she was collaborating with him to destroy the Patriots’ AI network, who planned to control the civilian population. In South America, upon meeting Snake again, she asked to study him and discovered the truth about his accelerated aging and the dangerous FOXDIE still in his body, mutating. In an act of compassion, Naomi shared the information and revealed the second strain of FOXDIE in Snake, injected by the Patriots.
Naomi highlights the irony of Snake’s situation: the mutating strain of FOXDIE was essentially becoming an uncontrollable virus that would not respond only to a programmed genetic pattern to eliminate. Essentially, Snake would become a walking biological weapon in a very short period, and the only way to prevent it was through his death. Later, Liquid Ocelot’s men take her away from the scene, and without Otacon and Snake knowing, they allow Naomi to escape, with the goal of allowing her to finish developing FOXALIVE, a kind of vaccine for FOXDIE.
Aboard the Nomad, Naomi accompanied Snake and Otacon for a while, where she developed a bond with Sunny, as Sunny tirelessly investigated to know her origin, just as she did in her youth. She also took advantage to shamelessly flirt with Otacon. During her stay on the Nomad, she informed Snake that FOXDIE had not activated in him because his genetic code is different from Liquid’s, despite being clones. Despite completing much of the FOXALIVE program, Naomi decided to delegate the rest of the work to Sunny, as a way to help her avoid the same fate as her. The goal of FOXALIVE, in addition to serving as a vaccine, is to destroy GW.
Upon arriving in Eastern Europe, they contacted Dr. Madnar, and together with Sunny, they brought Raiden so he could recover. Unexpectedly, Naomi decides to return to Liquid Ocelot; the reasons are completely unknown to Otacon and Snake, with the latter reconsidering Naomi’s true loyalty.
Upon arriving at Shadow Moses, Snake finds Naomi with Vamp, and after a tough battle against Vamp, Naomi gives a syringe to Otacon so he can end Vamp’s suffering, giving him the opportunity to avenge his sister Emma. After finally seeing Vamp die, Raiden informs Naomi that Sunny “cooked them well,” meaning she successfully completed the FOXALIVE program, so Naomi no longer has any purpose to continue living.
At this moment, she reveals to Snake that she has cancer from all the radiation she suffered in her research, and the nanomachines “froze” her disease, which, due to her illness, she should have died from already. She decides to inject suppressors, thus ending her life, holding a digital Otacon in her arms. Her life ended in the same place where her brother Gray Fox also died, nine years ago.
She left two messages: one, a posthumous confession to Snake and Otacon that would play once FOXALIVE infected the Patriots’ network, where she tells them about her plan and apologizes to them for the lies and manipulation; the other, intended for Big Boss once he wakes up from his induced coma, where she explains about the mutated strain of FOXDIE in Snake, how it would be supplanted by the strain injected by the Patriots, meaning that Snake would no longer be a biological weapon, and his death was no longer necessary.
Among Nanomachines and Redention
The story of Dr. Naomi Hunter is also a love story, for her brother Frank, one of remorse for judging Snake before knowing him, and one of redemption, after conceiving the FOXALIVE project to end the Patriots.
From her early days working on nanomachine development to the climax of the saga, Naomi has been a key figure in the plot, contributing both her scientific brilliance and her personal struggles. As we delve into her story, we discover not only the mastery behind her advances in nanotechnology but also her internal battles. Her deep connection with Frank Jaeger, her moments of collaboration and betrayal with Snake, and her crucial role in creating FOXALIVE highlight her complexity as a character.
Redemption becomes a recurring theme in her story. From planning FOXALIVE and intending to give Sunny a chance to overcome herself, to her secret actions against the Patriots to free the world from their control, Naomi seeks to amend her mistakes and redeem herself. And as the end approaches, upon learning that Sunny successfully completed FOXALIVE, Naomi faces a final test—to fulfill her destiny, finally confronting her own illness with courage. This adds an additional layer of humanity to her tragic personal story.
Naomi Hunter bids farewell not only as that nanotechnology expert or as our medical advisor during missions but as a character who embodies the moral and emotional complexity that defines the Metal Gear Solid saga. All of this leaves us with two significant questions: How far are we willing to go to rectify our mistakes? Are we brave enough to accept that we were wrong?
Naomi’s legacy and story are proof that we can move forward and heal the damage caused—a lesson that lingers forever in our memories and reminds us that even in our darkest moments, redemption remains a beacon of hope that can light our way.
I hope you enjoyed the story of Dr. Naomi Hunter. If you’d like me to cover the story of another character, feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments. I’d love to know your choices.
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What’s up, gamers! I’m Andrea Villasmil, the one weaving magic behind Joystick Latino. From the glorious era of Metal Gear Solid on the PS1 to today’s RPGs, video games have me hooked. Besides being the boss around here, I’m an editor and translator on this wonderful website. I’m also a music teacher, delving into the world of dubbing and voice acting.
Between psychological thrillers, RPG sessions, and delicious pasta dishes, I have a great time sharing my obsession for games on Joystick Latino. See you in the game, friends!
