This article is dedicated to all those would-be characters who never made it on-screen or who were written out of the story at the last minute. Without further ado, in no particular order, we give you Metal Gear’s discarded characters!Snake-Man was cut during the development of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. His concept artwork appeared in the Japanese-exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4: Master Art Works. He was designed with armor similar to that of Solidus Snake’s with “snakehand” cables protruding from his body. He has a similar ‘bishōnen’ (‘dashing young man’appearance to Raiden. His design (along with that of ‘Adam’was cut early in development, a decision that concept artist Yoji Shinkawa noted was unfortunate and wasteful due to his charm.Maxine was cut during the development of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and was supposed to act as a member of Raiden’s support team, assisting him via radio during the Big Shell Incident. Max would have provided the player with in game assistance including providing information on sensor equipment and radar support. She would have done so whilst quoting the works of William Shakespeare, a character trait which was derived from that of Mei Ling (who was versed in both Shakespeare and Chinese proverbs), from the previous game: Metal Gear Solid. Like other members of Raiden’s support team, Max was set to be revealed as an AI construct, a role that would later be passed over to the character of Rosemary.Max’s name is a reference to one of the many aliases used by the protagonist in Paul Auster’s novel ‘City of Glass’.Like Max, Karen Hojo was also cut from the final version of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty although she was still included in the script for the game in The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2. Her character was cut alongside the game’s Arsenal Gear crash sequence as a sign of respect during the aftermath of 9/11.Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima previously worked on Konami title Policenauts, from which the characters of Karen Hojo and Meryl Silverburgh were derived. Despite their similarities Kojima stated that they were not intended to be the same characters.Hojo was included in an IDW official comic book adaptation for Metal Gear Solid 2, which was later adapted into Metal Gear Solid 2: Bande Dessinée for the PSP and PlayStation 3.Doc Wilson was cut during the development of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. With a background in AI (during his teens he would have created the AI that defeated ‘Deep Blue': the computer that famously beat the world chess champion of its time) Doc was to have beaten the scientist who developed Arsenal Gear’s AI system. During the Big Shell incident Doc would have provided radio assistance to Raiden offering information about the marine wildlife and environment (similar to Master Miller’s role in the previous game). As with Max, it would later have been revealed that Doc was actually an AI construct himself, a role that would later be passed over to the Colonel.His character is echoed in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance’s character of Dr. Wilhelm Voigt, who goes by the name ‘Doktor’.Old Boy was meant to appear in the Plant Chapter of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. He was cut fairly early in the game’s development and the specifics surrounding his ‘would be’ encounter with Raiden are unknown. He would have commanded a unit of enemy soldiers called the Fallschirmjäger and it would later be revealed that he was a former mentor to Big Boss (a back story that was instead passed on to The Boss). Like Chinaman, Old Boy remains in the game’s script as a member of Dead Cell who died in 2008. Old Boy’s character design was echoed in The End, an original character in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.Old Boy appeared in the 2005 IDW Sons of Liberty comic book adaptation, along with the other members of Dead Cell, prior to the group’s liquidationAdam was cut during the development of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. He was to be a member of the Russian Military. His concept art appeared in the Japanese-exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4: Master Art Works alongside that of Snake Man. Adam’s uniform was designed to resemble that of a Russian commando wearing a balaclava. Concept artist Yoji Shinakawa commented that, like Snake Man, Adam would have a ‘dashing young man’ appearance when unmasked. His character (along with that of ‘Snake Man’was cut due to him not fitting in with the finalized story.Chinaman was written to appear in the Plant chapter of Metal Gear Solid 2 as Dead Cell’s CQB specialist and mystic. He was killed six months before the events of the Big Shell Incident.Chinaman was to have felt a deep hatred for America after being abducted by a black market adoption agency and sold to American buyers. He would spent his life as a subject of discrimination in New York before running away to Chinatown. His hatred of America was supposed to be the driving force behind his participation in the Big Shell Incident. He was to have battled Raiden in one of the Big Shell’s filtration chambers. Chinaman would boast abilities that reoccur throughout the Metal Gear series including a tattoo that would come to life and attack at will (a trait he shares with Vulcan Raven). After he was scrapped, some of his skills were given to Vamp, including his ability to walk across water and up vertical walls.His character was based on actor Jet Li, and remains in the game’s script, where he is described as having died during Dead Cell’s liquidation. In addition, in the flashbacks of Dead Cell’s liquidation, Vamp was seen cradling an injured member of Dead Cell, although it is never made clear whether the person in question is supposed to be Chinaman or Old Boy.