A Weapon to Surpass Metal Gear

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About

"A Weapon to Surpass Metal Gear" is a memorable quote from the 2015 video game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which became a popular catchphrase and copypasta after the release of the game's extended trailer at E3 2013. The phrase is often used alongside images and videos of abnormal machinery or weapons, much like the tacticool format, implying the machinery shown could take on a "Metal Gear." Videos referencing the phrase often contain the songs "Sins of The Father" or "Nuclear."

Origin

At E3, on June 10th, 2013, Konami presented an extended version of the trailer for its upcoming video game "Metal Gear Solid V" during the Microsoft panel. At the end of the trailer's credit sequence, narration from Revolver Ocelot is heard saying, "He mentioned something interesting, Cypher is pursuing new research. He claims what they're doing in Africa is the missing piece, a weapon to surpass Metal Gear," before Snake rides off in one of the mech suits. On June 11th, Konami uploaded the trailer to YouTube, garnering over 3.1 million views in seven years (shown below).

On 4chan's /v/ board, discussions regarding the phrase began immediately after the trailer's reveal with several users theorizing that the phrase may refer to "The Les Enfant Terrible Project" (example shown below). Early discussions about the phrase can be found on sites like The Metal Gear Wikia,^[1] Metal Gear Informer,^[2] IGN,^[3] GameFAQs^[4] and Reddit.^[5]

Spread

On June 23rd, 2014, Yuyu13379 uploaded a video to YouTube^[6] titled, "A weapon to surpass Metal Gear" in which a remote-controlled dildo machine powers up and moves over to a woman's car window then spins wildly in front of her while Revolver Ocelot's audio from the trailer plays (shown below). The video gained over 450,000 views in six years and helped inspire similar video edits representing various machines as weapons that could combat a Metal Gear.

On August 19th, YouTuber^[12] Slendermang uploaded a video using Garry's Mod footage along with the audio from the trailer, garnering over 400,000 views in six years (shown below, left). On September 3rd, YouTuber^[13] AirplaneRandy uploaded a similar video featuring footage of an animated Hitler in a mech suit, garnering over 50,000 views in a similar span of time (shown below, right).

On February 2nd, 2015, YouTuber^[8] João Mostarda uploaded a video titled "A /v/ to surpass Metal Gear" consisting of footage with various contraptions from the videogame Besiege. The video gained over 719,000 views in five years (shown below).

On April 3rd, 2015, FunnyJunk^[7] user joelizardman uploaded an image using the phrase as the title which shows Carl Wheezer from the 3D animated series The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius riding a two-legged vehicle. Within a month, the image gained more than 4,700 views and 69 upvotes (seen below, left). On May 7th, 2015, Imgur^[9] user TrijezniMujo uploaded an image using the phrase as the title showing a glitched character in the video game Red Orchestra, gaining over 500 views in six years (seen below, right).

On February 10th, 2016, YouTuber^[10] Red Shyguy uploaded a video featuring the phrase as the title showing a machine swinging a knife around by what appears to be a tentacle, garnering over 1.3 million views in five years (shown below, left). On February 23rd, YouTuber^[11] supramanx1997 then uploaded another example featuring footage of a crab with a knife, garnering over 1.3 million views in five years (shown below, right).

On September 23rd, 2018, Redditor /u/Saffronthes posted an image of a comically modified Solid Snake figurine under the title, "Cursed snake a weapon to surpass metal gear" to /r/BossFight,^[14] garnering over 19,000 upvotes in two years (shown below, left). On October 17th, Redditor /u/Anarchist_Leon uploaded an image of a cat hiding in someone's sleeve titled "Hidden cat, a weapon to surpass metal gear" to the same subreddit,^[15] garnering over 19,100 upvotes in a similar span of time (shown below, right).