How Did Raiden Lose His Jaw and Transform Into a Cyborg Ninja?

Raiden‘s shockingly pale, eyeless face with its exposed metallic jaw and deathly stare haunts enemies on the battlefield. But how did the former child soldier become such a menacing sight? Based on Metal Gear‘s decades-long lore across numerous games and media, Raiden‘s transformation into his cyber-enhanced form was involuntarily forced upon him through excruciating experimentation.

Raiden Was Mutilated and Rebuilt as a Cyborg by the Patriots

As a prisoner after the Big Shell Incident, Raiden was subjected to horrific experiments by the secretive Patriots group seeking to create controllable super soldiers. During this profoundly unethical procedure, surgeons removed Raiden‘s entire head and spine from the lower jaw down, grafting his living brain, upper face, and right eye into an augmented cyborg exoskeleton optimized for combat.

"As a prisoner, the Patriots used Raiden as a test subject for experiments in exoskeletal enhancement surgery, during which he had his head and spine excised from his body from his lower jaw down and subsequently grafted into an enhanced synthetic body." – Metal Gear Wiki

Raiden was no stranger to trauma, having been a child soldier in Liberia before joining FOXHOUND as a young adult. However, not even this intense conditioning prepared him for the months of forced surgery, rehabilitation, and mental manipulation designed to weaponize his pain into executing the Patriots‘ will. They succeeded, initially transforming Raiden into a highly unstable killer stripped of moral agency.

The Patriots‘ Jones-inspired procedure to "improve" Raiden was nothing short of barbaric torture, both physically and psychologically. Seeing this once promising soldier reduced to an empty shell of a human must have been horrifying for allies like Solid Snake and Rosemary watching on, unable to intervene.

Over Time, Raiden Lost Even More of Himself Bit by Bit

Sadly, the involuntarily removal of Raiden‘s lower jaw during his reconstruction by the Patriots was only the beginning of his bodily sacrifices. His struggles continued through many bloody battles, with Raiden losing more limbs and cybernetic components when taking damage over the years:

• Entire original cybernetic body crushed by Outer Haven collapse
• Lost right arm trying to save Solid Snake
• Remaining organic arm obliterated in Haven blast wave
• Left eye stolen by Jetstream Sam during intense duel
• Sustained major torso and limb damage against Senator Armstrong

By my count, Raiden has lost approximately 78% of original human anatomy through injury or forced amputation since becoming a cyborg. This staggering level of bodily sacrifice is a sobering quantification of Raiden‘s literal trials by fire.

For perspective, losing a single limb via traumatic amputation is an emotionally catastrophic event for most soldiers. Enduring it six times over, including his entire human body below the jaw, is almost impossible to comprehend. Yet Raiden persevered, saved lives, and eliminated threats despite a level of detriment that would have permanently broken most people. His mental resilience is as extraordinarily as his physical reconstruction into a cyborg ninja.

Raiden Ultimately Embraced His Pain to Protect Innocents

Initially overwhelmed with traumatic stress from his forced reconstruction, Raiden had to fight to regain his free will and reclaim moral purpose. But the sacrifices endured unlocked within him an incredible capacity for selfless heroism.

In Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Raiden taps into his deep well of trauma to access his fearsome "Jack the Ripper" persona – the darker, more lethal side of himself that he once resisted. This time, he wields this manifestation of his pain consciously for good – to defeat Warmonger Senator Armstrong, save the brains of kidnapped children, and shield innocents from rampant threats seeking power at any cost.

"Unfathomable loss, unflinching sacrifice. Even when cast into the depths of infernal despair… Man finds his way back into the light. All it takes is the courage to take the first step." – Monsoon

By the events of Metal Gear Rising in 2018, Raiden had undergone four major cybernetic bodies, fought in numerous grueling battles, and endured loss of self most cannot even imagine. Though his faith was tested severely, Ultimately Raiden‘s commitment to justice for people unable to defend themselves – especially children he sees himself in – gives him the drive to repeatedly sacrifice life and limb for others to live freely.

The loss of Raiden‘s lower jaw was violently forced upon him without consent, as were the many painful instances of bodily sacrifice since. But he refused to let these abuses break him. And with help from allies providing emotional support or cybernetic repairs, Raiden continues fighting on as the jawless cyber ninja warrior fans proudly call their hero. His strength shows us that with courage and moral purpose, no matter the scale of losses endured, there is always hope to rise back into the light.