There is something important to point out here, and that is the distinction between Big Boss and Venom Snake. Venom Snake is a body double for Big Boss. He had surgery done to look and sound just like Big Boss, and had Big Boss's memories and experiences planted inside his brain. They are essentially the same person, which is why this is a respect thread for both of them. People who knew Big Boss well could not tell the difference in the two of them, from how they looked down to their combat ability. That is why this is a respect thread for both of them. Venom Snake has facial scars, a piece of shrapnel sticking out of his forehead, and a prosthetic left arm, but he was in the same helicopter crash as Big Boss was when he received those injuries, so while Big Boss was in hiding everyone just believed that Venom Snake was Big Boss, just with injuries from the crash. Venom Snake was Big Boss' best soldier in his private military faction, the MSF. And since Big Boss was the best soldier in the world at this time, it makes sense that at the very least he should be able to do everything Venom can. I will note when a feat is done by Venom and not Big Boss so that you can decide for yourself.

One of Big Boss' best feats is defeating Volgin in hand to hand combat. First it is important to establish Volgin as a combatant, so that this feat actually means something. If you watch this video a little further form the timestamp, you will see Volgin is capable of shooting electricity from his body, durable enough to tank RPG blasts (which is not simply gameplay due to the fact Big Boss pulls the RPG out in a cutscene and Volgin is totally exposed on top of the Shagohod), and is strong enough to punch through the hull of the Shagohod which tanked RPG’s and a building exploding on it. Volgin has also punched a man about 30 feet in the air before. Yet Big Boss is easily capable of taking him down and disarming him. Volgin was also a boxing champion, so he isn’t just a brute, he actually has some fighting skills.

And when they fight later on, Snake leaves Volgin, whose superhuman strength, punching power and durability has already been explored, coughing up his own blood at 16:38 of this video.

All of Volgin’s massively superhuman stats and champion boxing skill did not matter one bit when he came to encounter Snake’s martial arts skill. Now, some may question the statement that this battle was hand to hand, since during the actual gameplay you are allowed to use any weapon, but considering we see Snake put away his weapons before the boss fight at 8:28, and that he has no weapons out after it at 11:50, it is heavily implied that the battle was done pure hand to hand. And there really isn’t any weapon that could cause internal bleeding but not lethal damage that snake has, so hand to hand makes the most sense.

Next up on the list of superhumans Big Boss, well actually Venom Snake has stomped in CQC is Quiet. The video here shows off her freakish superhuman strength, speed, agility, and durability, and she even tanks a point blank grenade blast.

And in this video, where Venom's feat is, we see further evidence of her superhuman stats. It is also worth noting that she has enhanced sense and perception, being able to see the individual blades of an operating helicopter propeller and shoot bullets in between them. Yet all of her superhuman speed and strength is rendered irrelevant when she faces Venom Snake in hand to hand combat. And like Volgin, Quiet is not unskilled. She was XOF’s (a covert operations unit for the CIA) best assassin.

The first 35 seconds of this video is a pretty generic showing of Big Boss stomping a bunch of armed soldiers.

Next up is Big Boss stomping the Ocelot unit, as well as Ocelot himself. Once again, we must establish these guys first. The Ocelot Unit comes from members of GRU Spetsnaz, Russian Special forces. And Ocelot, the leader is capable of shooting bullets at lightning coming straight at him to dissipate it

This should give an idea of the speed of the types of characters Big Boss routinely deals with. Watch until 1:26 in this video for the feat.

If you are curious enough to watch the rest of the video, you will see Big Boss getting his butt kicked a lot, but that’s the Boss doing it, his mentor who created CQC with him, and he does beat her in the end of the game so don’t hold it against him.

The skulls from MGSV are yet another superhuman foe Venom Snake easily disposes of in CQC. In this video you see many of the moves he uses against them in game. The Skulls are possessed with a different strain of the parasites that give Quiet her abilites, making them stronger and more durable. They are much faster as well, being able to essentially teleport. Their durability is shown in their ability to tank multiple impalements with their machetes, and they are strong enough to destroy a tank in a couple of strikes.

Lastly I would like to show off Venom Snake's skill when fighting unarmed against armed opponents. The timestamp shows some disarms, but the whole video is cool to watch if you want to see a montage of his CQC moves.

Punches man across room

Throw man a large distance off bridge. Big Boss can also throw an enemy into another enemy hard enough to KO both of them.

Lifts sealed hangar gate

Venom Snake physically holds off three soldiers trying to get by him, pushing back against them

Venom Snake being able to CQC Quiet and the other Skulls could also be considered a strength feat, considering how hard she can kick and how effortlessly he blocked her kick.

Stalemating Null, who can block automatic gunfire with a sword. This feat is to show that Big Boss has no problem fighting people of this superhuman speed. The bullet blocking starts at the time stamp, and at 9:54 we see that Big Boss has fought Null, and after they talk he dodges a sword attack from him. Again, the actual fight is not important, that can be approached in any method during gameplay. The important part is that Big Boss can fight people of the speed with no issue, and he does defeat Null later on in the game.

Takes down 4 soldiers before they know what is happening. The first one was KO'd stealthily but the other 3 just couldn't react fast enough, as Venom attacks them from the front.. Note, Venom Snake is the person doing this in the video, but in the prologue to the game shown, where you play as Big Boss, Big Boss had the exact same capability. Also note that these guys are being defeated in one move.

The last feat is Big Boss dodging a bullet shot by Ocelot. This is not him simply moving out of the way before Ocelot fires, because Ocelot shoots at him from behind, so Big Boss only could have reacted to the sound of the gunshot. This is legit bullet dodging.

For these first two feats, it is important to understand Volgin's powers, so check out the martial arts section if you haven't already. We already know about his striking power, capable of punching through a tank's hull. This video shows Big Boss taking a beating from Volgin. He does get knocked out in the end, but it took over a minute of straight punches for Volgin to KO him. Volgin is actually bisexual and is going all out on Big Boss for hurting his boyfriend.

Volgin is also known as a sadist, and always kills his victims during their interrogations. Big Boss not only survives, but he also refuses to speak despite being electrocuted multiple times, taking numerous electrically charged punches from Volgin, having his eye shot out, and being shot in the leg. He escapes prison right after this despite receiving no medical attention.

Lastly, Big Boss survives falling off of the top of a metal gear, easily over 100 feet tall, with absolutely no damage. This feat is at the time stamp, but go to the start of the video go get an idea of how big this machine is.

Now for this feat, I am going to have to introduce a character from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. He is called The End. He is over 100 years old, invented sniping, and is called "the Father of Sniping". He has superhuman abilities that basically make him a plant. He uses photosynthesis, and can speak to the forest/jungle to draw strength from it. He can sit in position for days or weeks to get his target, due to this superhuman endurance. He quite literally becomes a part of the environment, and has a supernatural connection to it. He also wears a ghillie suit to further aid his camoflauge, and he so good of a sniper that he does not need a spotter. In canon, he has a sniping battle with Big Boss that lasts hours. As Big Boss says in the video, "whoever moves first loses". This was a stealth battle, and Big Boss was going up against someone who was literally a part of the environment and could speak with it through supernatural abilities. Yet Big Boss managed to avoid detection, displaying his amazing stealth capabilities in battle, and he demonstrated his supreme senses and sniping skills by locating the End multiple times throughout the battle and beating the End at his own game. It isn't necessary to watch the entire video, but please watch from the timestamp until 4:05 to truly understand what the End is all about, and for confirmation of much of what I just said above.

"If you want to survive in the jungle, you’re going to need to hone all of your senses. An unnatural movement in the undergrowth, a tiny shadow peeking through the trees in the distance – always keep an eye out for any signs of the enemy’s presence. Your sense of hearing is equally important. Visibility is poor in the jungle, so you’ve got to learn to pick up the enemy’s presence from the sounds you hear around you. Always be listening for that one snap of a twig among the chirping of the birds and the babbling of the brooks. Your sense of smell is also important. Body odor, sweat, gunpowder, food… These faint smells wafting in the wind will tell you where the enemy [is]" - The Boss, Big Boss' mentor. That is what she had to say about how important senses are in battle, and Big Boss excels.

Here, we see Big Boss engage and kill multiple XOF operatives in a cutscene. XOF members were originally a covert strike force for the CIA, and here we see them attack Big Boss' base while he was away. In fact, XOF had set up a distraction for Big Boss elsewhere so that they could have a chance of destroying his base without him being there, since they know that they would likely lose if he were there at the start of the fight. That is why we see Big Boss returning to his base during the middle of the fight in a chopper. Despite most of the damage being done, Big Boss is still able to take down an enemy chopper with his assault rifle, takes no damage from having an RPG shot right near him, and displays his marksmanship skills as he shoots enemies with ease.