I know all about the things you did when
you were young it was what kept me going
to me you're still a legend a hero all
heroes have life cycles they are bound
by the same mortality that looms over us
even the seemingly immortal Wolverine
cannot keep fate from catching up for
after an incredible 70 years
Logan marks the final chapter of Hugh
Jackman's portrayal of the beloved
counter showing us that at some point
every hero's life cycle every hero's
journey comes to an end and all that
remains is the story of data Parcher
in a recent article hideo kojima
reflects on how he told such a story
with Metal Gear Solid 4 which was the
final chapter of its main hero known by
the codename Solid Snake our time and
ended our war is over there's one more
thing I must both Logan and snakes
journeys came to an end after
long-running franchises not necessarily
because the audience had grown tired of
them or was experiencing genre fatigue
as the nerd Ryder suggests in his video
on Logan but I think more so because in
stories that adhere to a certain degree
of continuity there comes an eventual
confrontation with our mortality we see
this expressed physically in Logan
because of his adamantium poisoning in
Metal Gear Solid 4 because of snakes
accelerated aging your body is
approaching 3 how long do I have
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happier more importantly receivers
confrontation reflected thematically
both of these heroes are among the last
relics from a world that no longer
exists living in a world that no longer
values gas which once made them heroic
in this new age heroes are replaced with
mindless soldiers and virtue is
discarded for technology with SOP my
team can literally operate as one is
that part of a system to inside this
building they are working something new
something they say is without us so what
do you think your Age of Heroes finally
over
in fact in both of these stories our
heroes have actually become a hazard in
Logan Charles is suffering from dementia
which turns a psychic powers into deadly
seizures in Metal Gear Solid 4 the
foxdie virus which snake was infected
with a Metal Gear Solid 1 to eliminate a
handful specific targets that's now
mutated and is turning him into a
biological weapon and all of this is
over you'll have no choice but to accept
that this new world also affects the way
our heroes look at their best and makes
them question everything they once were
a process of de metallization I think we
all experience as an inevitable
consequence of growing older and making
our way through a world that seems
increasingly less hopeful and more
complicated while our bodies are slowly
limiting our vitality ultimately turning
a future of endless possibilities into a
path that we can only revisit in
memories this contrast is even harsher
for our heroes as our lives have been
highly mythologized by the world around
we're Charles with ourselves an accident
and every quarter it happens even though
these stories are mostly distorted tales
of glorified past heroics they do serve
as a reminder for both snake and Logan
that they once had a place in the world
a purpose that is now gone leaving them
without hope and without meaning
trapped in a despair that makes them
question why do you even continue to
bother at all it's make we've lost we
never stood a chance this is where I
feel the confrontation with mortality
becomes a question of legacy which i
think is made clear by the fact that the
final antagonists are Logan and snakes
genetic counterparts two villains whose
existence is bound to that of our heroes
suggesting that the barges aren't just
about the passing of our heroes but also
about the legacy they leave behind this
is where Hideo Kojima poses the question
given that dying is the ultimate fate of
all humans how can you resist that fate
and attempt to overcome it both Logan
and Metal Gear Solid four seem to
provide the same answer to this by
taking responsibility for our legacy and
ensuring a future for new generations we
all like to come for our own sense we
must not pass them on to the next
generation we must not leave them for
the future
that is your true fate this is what
drives both Logan and snake into their
conclusion one final act of heroism not
for themselves but for the next
generation
in Logan represented by the young
mutants making their way to safety and
freedom in Metal Gear Solid 4 by the
secondary heroes and the countless
soldiers trapped in a perpetual state of
war by putting their effort towards a
new generation our heroes for claim
their purpose leave a lasting mark on
the world and have the final roar echo
into legend in a time of mostly static
heroes in seemingly endless cinematic
universes with each movie a stepping
stone towards another creating
franchises with no clear beginning or
end both Logan and never be a solid four
standout because they do give us a
definitive ending they give us closure
and therefore the possibility of new
beginnings in doing so they become
relatable they let us feel the true
meaning of life and death for it is
exactly the ending of their stories the
departing of our heroes that will make
us forever feel their impact
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