Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain - 10 Fan Theories That Save The Ending

9. OR Venom Snake Sabotages Big Boss' Legend From The Inside

However, another theory is that the real Big Boss remains the semi-good anti-hero we all know and love, and that it's actually Venom Snake (aka, the "Big Boss" that's on display to the public) who purposefully tarnishes his reputation from the inside, so to speak. Given the ambiguous nature of the final cutscene that sees Venom Snake receive the "truth tape" from Big Boss revealing that he was only a stand-in the entire time, the final smashing of the mirror and sly smirk to the camera has been viewed as the rather sinister beginning of a quest that would ultimately warp the legend of Big Boss into something much more twisted than the man himself. Fans have argued that, feeling betrayed by the real Big Boss, Venom Snake spends the time between finding out the truth and the Outer Heaven uprising completely trashing the real Snake's reputation as a form of revenge. It would explain the character's 180 view on nuclear weapons and child soldiers, as Venom Snake is pretty against both ideas in MGS V but rather gung-ho about them in the original Metal Gear.