The Importance of Snake's Bandana in The Metal Gear Series

gamerant.com:

People who look atMetal Gear's Solid Snake or Big Boss are likely drawn to three distinct features. First are the characters' rugged and unkempt faces, and second are the out-of-date mullets — relics of the 1980s. Since Solid Snake is a clone of Big Boss, so both share a disinterest in how they look and are more preoccupied with the missions they are given.

The final piece of the puzzle is by far the most iconic. A simple bandana covers the circumference of each character's heads, holding their hair back and preventing unwanted foreign bodies from obscuring their vision. While the bandana may seem like just a normal accessory, it has a wide number of uses and implications in the Metal Gear universe.

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Being the older of the two characters, Big Boss (then known by his codename «Snake») started sporting a bandana during Operation Snake Eater. After seemingly being betrayed by The Boss in the prior Virtuous Mission, his former mentor broke Snake's arm before tossing him off the Dolinovodno bridge. The only thing Snake has to remember the encounter is the bandana he managed to remove from The Boss's person before he fell off the bridge.

Snake (the man who would become Big Boss) wore the bandana during Operation Snake Eater as a reminder of his and The Boss' prior relationship. Not only were they mentor and student, but lovers as well. The bandana's significance changed after he defeated The Boss and took her place as Big Boss. It became a way for Big Boss to remember The Boss and her will (or at the very least how he envisioned it).

While Solid Snake doesn't have such a storied history behind his bandana, his first one was provided as part of his FOXHOUND field