Army of the Devil Jack among the Army of the Devil's Small Boy Unit, during the First Liberian Civil War. Founded c. 1980s Key people Solidus Snake (commander)

Jack (Small Boy Unit captain) Industry Irregular military organization

The Army of the Devil was a military group that fought in the First Liberian Civil War. One of its units included the Small Boy Unit, which was comprised of child soldiers and led by a teenage Solidus Snake.

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History

The Army of the Devil participated in the First Liberian Civil War in the 1980s.

While commanding the Small Boy Unit, Solidus Snake inducted a young boy into its ranks, whom he named Jack. After receiving his first taste of battle, Jack went on to become an accomplished killer, eventually being promoted to captain at only age 10.[1] In order to keep the child soldiers controlled, they would be fed food mixed with gunpowder and toluene, and be forced to watch Hollywood action movies to help keep them focused on killing.[2]

Warning: The following information is from outside Hideo Kojima's core "Metal Gear Saga." It has some level of canonicity within the continuity, but reader discretion is advised.[?]

Solidus trained child soldiers in Liberia while working as a CIA paramilitary. During this time, an information leak resulted in an enemy force learning of the group's numbers, military strength and position, resulting in Solidus's men interrogating one of the soldiers about it. Also, members of the Small Boy Unit were forced to kill POWs and civilians.

According to an adult Jack, known then by his codename Raiden, other surviving members of the Small Boy Unit had managed to adapt to American life well by the late 2010s, far better than he believed himself to have done.[3]

Non-"Metal Gear Saga" information ends here.

In 2009, the Patriots claimed that they "chose" Jack in large part because the other child soldiers accepted their pasts and "[paid] for it daily."[4]

Former members

Warning: The following information is from outside Hideo Kojima's core "Metal Gear Saga." It has some level of canonicity within the continuity, but reader discretion is advised.[?]

Physician

African soldier

Interrogated soldier

Physician

A physician associated with the Army of the Devil once injected Jack with a syringe, under orders from Solidus. Before commencing, the physician assured Solidus that Jack would survive the procedure, after Solidus threatened to kill him should any permanent harm be done. Afterwards, he helped to restrain Jack while forcing him to watch violent war footage under Solidus' watch.

African soldier

An African soldier in the Army of the Devil told Jack that he would follow the group from now on, shortly after his injection from the physician. Later, he helped restrain Jack while forcing him to watch violent war footage under Solidus' watch. Afterwards, the soldier participated as an interrogator towards another soldier, regarding an information leak that had given away their strength to the enemy. He then proceeded to threaten the soldier with death to both him and his family if he didn't respond, while also implying that he'd rape his wife before killing her, until he let Solidus slit the soldier's throat as a demonstration to Jack of the "nobility" of blades.

Interrogated soldier

A soldier in the Army of the Devil was interrogated after the group's activities were leaked to the enemy. The soldier was married and had a family, the knowledge of which a fellow soldier used against him, by threatening to take their lives, and implying that he would rape his wife. The interrogated soldier was later killed by Solidus, who slit his throat with a knife as a demonstration to Jack.

Non-"Metal Gear Saga" information ends here.

Unconfirmed history

The following information has been detailed in official Konami-licensed media, written by various external authors. Its status in the Metal Gear canon is unconfirmed.[?]



During the First Liberian Civil War, the Army of the Devil captured at least ten Liberian terrorists responsible for the deaths of several Americans. Solidus Snake later had ten of them acting as "birthday candles" for the child soldier Jack the Ripper's tenth birthday, by having Jack decapitate each one.[5]

Behind the scenes

In the script for Metal Gear Solid 2, Raiden, when admitting to Rosemary his past as one of Liberia's child soldiers, also mentioned that he and the other members of the Army of the Devil conducted war games via live bullets, although this was cut from the final version.

In the "Arm" and "Sword" trailers for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, also known as Video Data Access File #01000001 and #01000100, respectively, the sounds of helicopters can occasionally be heard in the background. Dogs can also be heard barking in the "Sword" trailer. What roles they served in the Army of the Devil, if any, is unknown.

Prior to the release of the trailers, the physician was first mentioned in a leaked casting call for at least four actors to portray characters for a then-upcoming live action trailer for Metal Gear Rising. The recommended traits for the live actor portraying the doctor were that he was Caucasian, within his 50s, possessed strong eyes, scars, and even wrinkles if necessary.[6] The physician and African soldier first appeared in the "Arm" trailer for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance in a first person view flashback experienced by Jack. Although the interrogated soldier appeared briefly in the trailer for the Metal Gear Rising teaser site during the game's release countdown, he didn't appear in the flashback segments on the actual site until the final entry, "Sword."

In an optional Codec conversation with Kevin Washington during Chapter R-03, Raiden reveals that Solidus, at that time, had been CIA paramilitary, although it isn't elaborated on whether the Army of the Devil itself had any ties to the CIA or not.

Appearances

Notes and references