8. Jetstream Sam (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance)
I would have loved to include main character Raiden on this list, but sadly he made his first cyborg-enhanced appearance back in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. However the first secondary character to better him in combat is the eccentric Samuel Rodriguez, or Jetstream Sam as he's known. With Metal Gear Rising being developed by enjoyably barmy Bayonetta-developers Platinum Games, you could rest-assured they were going to think of some brilliantly inventive new weapons and character designs when given the Metal Gear toy-box to play with. Thus Jetstream has a weapon holster that actually fires his sword towards his hand, allowing him to get the best of Raiden in their first duel, unleashing a faster-than-light uppercut that takes his arm off. Sam would later be released as DLC for the main game, bringing the moveset you'd had such fun/lament over fighting in the main game under your control. He marks one of a plethora of fantastically over-the-top characters in the game, and the most memorable of all the antagonists you'll face along the way.