

Dr. Kio Marv was a Czech scientist, responsible for the creation of the genetically-modified oil-producing microbe, OILIX.[1]

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Biography

Life and career

While conducting research in the East on biomass pesticide modification, Dr. Marv accidentally discovered the basis for OILIX in one of his experiments, subsequently refining the concept to completion. OILIX was a microalgal organism capable of producing high amounts of petroleum-grade hydrocarbons, with relatively little expense and effort.[1][2]

A renowned computer game enthusiast, Marv had them shipped to him from the West every month. He also frequently submitted home-brewed games to a variety of magazines to rave reviews.[1] At some point in his life, he and Drago Pettrovich Madnar met at the Prague Academy.[3] In his later years, Marv suffered from severe heart problems. By the late 1990s, he had no surviving family.[1]

Main article: Zanzibar Land Disturbance

In 1999, during a global fuel crisis, Dr. Marv, along with STB agent Gustava Heffner and fellow scientist Dr. Madnar, were kidnapped in America by agents of Zanzibar Land, while en route to the International Energy Crisis Summit.[1][3][4][5] Taken to the military fortress in Zanzibar Land, Marv had a microtransmitter removed from one of his teeth that had been given to him by Gustava.[6][7][8][9] He was then interrogated for information on OILIX, which Zanzibar Land intended to use in order to gain a monopoly. The microtransmitter was later utilized by the mercenary Black Ninja to lure Solid Snake into a trap, after FOXHOUND commenced a rescue operation.[9]

During his captivity, Marv was able to send out a carrier pigeon, more specifically a wood pigeon that he had brought with him, after attaching a scrap of paper to its leg with his radio frequency written on it.[10][11][12][13][14] Marv was eventually contacted by Snake, after the latter discovered the pigeon on the roof of the Tower Building. The Czech scientist attempted to converse with him, asking him to save him as well as that he only wanted peace and to do his job, though Snake was unable to understand Marv's native language.[15] Fortunately for Snake, Dr. Madnar told him about Gustava as well as where he could find her.[4] Ultimately, Snake was able to contact Gustava, who had escaped imprisonment, and was able to ascertain Marv's whereabouts from her.[8]

While awaiting rescue, Marv had been able to hide a microfilm containing the OILIX plans from his captors inside an MSX cartridge that was placed inside a locker.[16] In addition, in order to ensure the one sent to retrieve the OILIX formula could find it, he also programmed the cartridge's bootup screen to carry his signature.[17] Learning of this, Dr. Madnar tortured his supposed friend in order to obtain the cartridge, revealing himself to be an agent of Zanzibar Land, but Marv refused to cooperate.[18] Subjected to strangulation, Marv was unable to withstand the ordeal due to his heart condition, and died.[16] Despite arriving too late to save Marv, Snake successfully procured the cartridge and delivered it to his superiors, denying Zanzibar Land its ambitions for global economic superiority.[17]

Behind the scenes

Marv's original (left) and revised (right) Transceiver Mode portraits in Metal Gear 2.

Kio Marv (キオ・マルフ, Kio Marufu?) is a character who appears in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, with the player's primary objective being to rescue him from Zanzibar Land. His name in reverse is effectively "VRAM 01K", thus his cartridge hacks the system message that normally shows the amount of available VRAM (64K or 128K) when booting up the MSX2, for which Metal Gear 2 was originally developed. This subtle change in the system boot screen is commented upon in the ending of the game, when Campbell, Holly, and Snake deduce that the MSX cartridge they obtained is genuine, due to his signature having been written backwards.[17] Despite the fact that Black Ninja impersonated Marv in-game, his character sprite is actually that of Dr. Madnar. In the initial release, Kio Marv's likeness was derived from Gene Hackman.[19]

Marv's last name was mistransliterated as "Marf" in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, when the Colonel mentions the mission briefing from Metal Gear 2.[20]

At the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards, a trailer for The Phantom Pain debuted that featured an unidentified doctor talking to a patient.[21] While it was claimed that a Swedish company named Moby Dick Studio was developing the game,[22] one of the clues some fans and sources used to indicate that The Phantom Pain was really a Metal Gear game was the fact that they thought that the doctor bore a resemblance to Kio Marv.[23] This resemblance was later revealed to have been a coincidence in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, as this unrelated character is a reconstructive surgeon named Evangelos Constantinou.

Appearances

References