Psycho Mantis

Template:Metal Gear Character Psycho Mantis is a fictional character and boss in the game Metal Gear Solid. His real name is unknown, although he is also known as The Dream Robber. In the game, he has been affiliated with FOXHOUND, with mention of past history in the KGB and the FBI. His special abilities include the psychic powers of telekinesis and telepathy. He is 190 cm tall.

History

Psycho Mantis was born in a small Russian village before the collapse of the Soviet Union. His mother died giving birth to him, which made his father resent and hate him. He discovered his father's true emotions one day while accidentally reading his mind. He wondered if his father would kill him, and the shock of this revelation awoke his sub conscious, and inadvertently caused the deaths everyone in the village (approx. 1,000 people). This release of psychic energy caused severe burns across his body, particularly his face.

The official cause of death for the people of the village was found to be brain hemorrhaging and he was then taken into custody by the KGB, who found his psychic powers impressive. He was taught to control his abilities in a boarding school owned by Soviet Intelligence, along with other possibly psychic children.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mantis was drafted as a psychic profiler by the FBI. He moved to the United States and began to work immediately for the FBI. He would enter the minds of a suspected killer and uncover the truth about their crimes. He eventually delved too far into the mind of a serial killer, and the killer's thoughts infected his mind, driving him insane. This created a violent multiple personality called the parasite.

The parasite caused Mantis to go into killing rages, but he found he could use his mental abilities to control his alternate personality. This greatly reduced his psychic abilities, so after he was recruited by FOXHOUND, he let the parasite roam free in his mind, allotting him even greater psychic ability.

By this time he had taken to wearing a gas mask, partially to hide his deformed facial features, but also to prevent the thoughts of others to enter his mind involuntarily.

In the current incarnation of FOXHOUND, its members (Liquid Snake, Vulcan Raven, Revolver Ocelot, Psycho Mantis, Sniper Wolf, and Decoy Octopus) grew tired of their roles as puppets to the government, and attacked Shadow Moses Island, a nuclear disposal facility. Psycho Mantis used his powers to gather the aid of the Genome Army, a group of genetically enhanced soldiers.

This is the point where the game Metal Gear Solid takes place.

During the course of that game, Mantis attempts to stop Solid Snake's progress, at first taking control of Meryl Silverburgh, then revealing himself. Psycho Mantis is ultimately defeated by Snake, and tells Snake of his past before revealing the route ahead in his dying moments. He remarks that it is the first time he has used his powers for good, and that it felt "nostalgic" (in the English original translation of the game, "kind of nice").

Gameplay

When Solid Snake faces Mantis, Mantis demonstrates his psychic powers by breaking the fourth wall. In the pre-battle cut-scene, he activates the controller's rumble feature, then reads the player's memory card.

In the original PlayStation game, he reads off the titles of Konami's other games (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night,Suikoden among others), while in the remake Twin Snakes, he reads Nintendo's games (Super Smash Bros. Melee and Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, among others). In the Japanese versions, if the player has save data from Snatcher and Policenauts, they will receive a special message from Hideo Kojima.

While being fought, he predicts the player's movements, and in order to counter this, the player must move his controller to the next controller port and fight from that position. Mantis continues to disregard the forth wall by apparently changing the television channel. His primary offensive ability is telekinesis, throwing various objects at Snake and using them to defend himself; he also psychically controls Meryl.