Is there a reason why Snake Plissken and the young Snake from Metal Gear are so much alike?
In the movies Escape from New York and Escape from LA there is a character called Snake Plissken. However in the Metal Gear Series there is a character who has the code name Solid Snake and goes by the name Iroquois Pliskin in the second Metal Gear Solid Games.
The two are quite similar, both are given stealth missions, for are former military and special ops and in Metal Gear Solid, Solid Snake is shocked to find that the leader of FOXHOUND Liquid Snake looks just like him and cuts his hair before the mission, Liquid Snake looks quite similar to Snake Plissken.
because Solid and Liquid Snakes are identical twin clones of their father Big Boss.
Also in the second Metal Gear Solid Games Solid Snake's hair has grown back some and it is similar to Snake Plissken's hair.
In the third Metal Gear Solid Games, Naked Snake looses one of his eyes which ends up being his trademark in all of his other appearances not to mention he looks like Solid Snake from the second Metal Gear Solid Games.
because Naked Snake is Big Boss.
Finally, both Snake Plissken and the Snakes from Metal Gear smoke.
I am wondering if there is some sort of link between Snake Plissken and the young Snake's from Metal Gear as to my knowledge Konami, the developers behind the Metal Gear games had no hand in the development of the Escape From movies and vice versa and the similarities are way too numerous to be just a coincidence.
NOTE: I've only seen LA and haven't been able to find where my dad has kept New York. I would assume Snake looks the same in both.
Best Answer
As you have pointed out several times in your own question, the MGS games explicitly reference Snake Plissken throughout.
At the time of the games release, part of the press package given and dispersed by media outlets saw Konami take ownership of this association, and actively draw people's attention to it as reference material.
John Carpenter even got involved, drawing people's attention to the association and explaning how he'd give Hideo Kojima 'his blessing'.
If you're looking for some kind of hidden material somewhere that indicates they are the same character, operating within the same Universe, I'm afraid you'll be found wanting.
MGS Snake is directly inspired by Snake Plissken, but Hideo Kojima has personally explained that they are different entities. that's as close to a literal cross over as I imagine we'll ever get.
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Answer 2
Hideo Kojima, MGS creator said in one of his interviews that when he was a kid, his favourite movie was - you guessed it - Escape from New York. Kojima, passionate about creating his own stealth hit and (with his love for the protagonist Snake Plissken) wished to re create his vision of Snake so he wrote a letter to John Carpenter saying he was a huge fan of his sci-fi stealth action movie asked for his blessing and permission to inspire his counterpart like Snake Plissken.
Although the characters are similar in appearance, names and habits they are two very different people in nature however Snake Plissken's hate for government I can kinda see in Big Boss.
Snake Plissken was a convicted bank robber and war vet. who received medals of honor for being a great infiltrator in Leningrad. He became blind in a plane crash and lost friends and family in the war. When it was over, he kinda wanted compensation so he began participating in heists robbing the government. Snake Plissken only now saves the world because he has to, when his freedom is threatened. He isn't a government tool like Big Boss. They are more alike if anything they were both used, eye patch, hair, crimes etc.
Solid Snake however is a loyalist and saves the world because he wants to. he is a government tool, and eventually becomes tired of this but continues to get used anyway. He says for a little that he doesn't give a damn but deep down, he loves the war and being a soldier to the end. Solid Snake has mixed feelings about caring for humanity and ignoring them, and he has never broken the law.
Without a doubt Big Boss and Snake Plissken are very alike. They fight for themselves, Big Boss a world for soldiers. Snake Plissken as seen in LA a world without power. Both wishing to live in a land of freedom, after government corruption. And Solid Snake no matter how tough, which is why I love this character, fights for the people always and keeps the world a stable place.
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