Top 5 Strongest Metal Gear Machines

What Are Metal Gears?

Practically everyone has heard the name Metal Gear, but anyone who hasn't played the games may not realize what the title actual refers to: deadly walking bipedal tanks often equipped with nukes. As described by Gray Fox, "Metal Gear is the ultimate weapon—an all-terrain, nuclear-equipped walking battle tank."

Usually, your main objective in the MG franchise is to infiltrate and disrupt the plans of a nuke-threatening organization, and you'll often find yourself face-to-face with one of the bipedal menaces. Judging by lore (not necessarily gameplay), these are the five strongest Metal Gear weapons! Warning, massive spoilers ahead.

5. Arsenal Gear/Outer Haven

Game: Metal Gear Solid 2/4

Arsenal Gear isn't so much a walking mecha as a submersible gigantic base, constructed in secret using Big Shell as cover. The base is where most of MGS2 occurs, and proves capable of flight at the end of the game.

Outer Haven is the altered version seen in Guns of the Patriots, and like Arsenal Gear, is less a mecha and more an enormous moving base. But hey, in terms of sheer size, these mobile bases absolutely dwarf traditional Metal Gears and are arguably a bigger threat thanks to their sheer scale.

4. Metal Gear RAY

Game: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Designed as an anti-Rex countermeasure, Ray lacks the nuclear capability than defines most Metal Gears, but was custom-made as a sleeker, more agile weapon to disable other Metal Gears. It's also the best-equipped robot for marine environments, and has been seen in both manned and auto-controlled variants.

3. Metal Gear ZEKE

Game: Metal Gear: Peace Walker

Created by Huey Emmerich and Doctor Strangelove, ZEKE works best piloted but can function autonomously to an astonishing degree. it can fire nukes, wields a railgun, and was created from previous machines, including parts from Peace Walker. ZEKE's biggest weakness is its legs, which are by far the least protected area.

2. Metal Gear REX

Game: Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

As the series really gained popularity when the Solid games released, to many players, Rex was the first Metal Gear seen and thus the most memorable. Designed by Hal Emmerich (Otacon), it presents a devastating threat to the world, able to launch untraceable nuclear weapons, and it's no slouch in physical combat either. Mobile and bearing a fierce railgun, Rex is heavily armored, and Solid Snake needed Gray Fox's help to expose Rex's pilot (Liquid) to even stand a chance.

Years later, Snake piloted Rex against Liquid Ocelot's Ray. Despite Ray seeming to have the advantage due to Rex's prior damage, turns out Otacon had programmed more battle capacity into Rex than previously thought, and it's a testament to the weapon's strength that it defeated Ray even when damaged.

1. Sahelanthropus

Game: Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

This giant walking tank uses drones to find enemies and is much more agile than REX, leaping about the battlefield with surprising speed. Standing on two feet gives it greater range and intimidation, it's heavily armored, and lacks the weaknesses found in the other models. The base version is certainly no joke, and a stronger charcoal-black version is fought late in MGS5.

Other Metal Gear Mechs

Today we covered the cannon, er, canon machines throughout the franchise, but there's plenty of other mobile tanks to explore. From deadly machines that aren't technically Gears like Volgin's Shagohod to canon-questionable mechs such as Metal Gear Kodoque, Gander, Eldera, and (my personal favorite from Ape Escape) Mesal, there's plenty left for mechheads to explore. But for now, vote for your favorite nuclear armament and I'll see you at our next Metal Gear countdown!

© 2022 Jeremy Gill