Snake Plissken
Snake Plissken is a male film character who features in Escape from New York.
Contents |
Biography
Snake Plissken
Plissken served in the United States Army, achieving the rank of Lieutenant. He served with the Special Forces unit Black Light and earned two Purple Hearts between Leningrad and Siberia. He was the youngest man to be decorated by the President. Around 1993, Snake and his associates Fresno Bob and Harold Hellman embarked on a job in Kansas City. However, Hellman abandoned them and Bob was killed by the United States Police Force.
In 1997, Snake was arrested for robbing the Denver Federal Reserve Depository with his friend Bill Taylor, who was killed by the United States Police Force. Snake was processed at Liberty Island Security Control, to be imprisoned in the New York Maximum Security Penitentiary. When John Harker, President of the United States, crash-landed inside the prison while carrying an important tape for the Hartford Summit, Commissioner Bob Hauk offered Snake a mission to retrieve the President within twenty-four hours in exchange for a pardon from his crimes. Snake accepted and was briefed on the mission. To ensure that he would complete this assignment, he was then injected with capsules containing small explosives that would explode at the end of his mission's time limit, killing him.
Commencing his mission, Snake flew a Gullfire to the World Trade Center and proceeded to follow a homing beacon placed in a vital signs bracelet the President wore. His search led him through an opera house where he met the cab driver Cabbie. Outside the opera house, he fended off a few hostile prisoners and found the vital signs bracelet being worn by a drunk. Informing Hauk of the situation, Snake was told to continue his mission. He was then pursued by a group of crazies and sought refuge in a dilapidated Chock full o'Nuts. There, he encountered a woman who asked him to get her out of the prison with him, but she was then pulled through the floor and killed by crazies. Snake ran from the crazies until Cabbie – whilst playing a tape of "Bandstand Boogie" – found him and picked him up, telling Snake that the President had been taken by the Duke of New York. Cabbie took Snake to Harold Hellman – now going by "Brain" – and Brain's "squeeze," Maggie. Brain worked closely with the Duke, who was planning an escape from the prison through the use of a diagram Brain had made of the mined 69th Street bridge. Brain reluctantly agreed to help Snake. Outside, the Duke and his entourage arrived to see Brain, who hid with Snake and Maggie as Cabbie fled. Snake then commandeered a vehicle from the entourage and escaped the area with Brain and Maggie. Brain led Snake through Broadway and to a train yard, where the Duke held the President. Snake managed sneak in and free Harker, but was subsequently ambushed. Imprisoned, Snake was forced to fight Slag to the death, ultimately defeating him and managing to activate a tracer the USPF had given him for his mission. Snake then returned to the World Trade Center, where Brain, Maggie, and the President reached, but the Gullfire was pushed from the building by a group of prisoners. The group went back down to the ground floor, where the Duke ambushed them but managed to escape. Outside, they were picked up by Cabbie, who had traded Romero his hat for the President's tape. They were pursued to the 69th Street bridge as Brain helped Snake navigate. However, he ran over a mine, splitting the cab in half and killing Cabbie. They continued on foot, and Brain accidentally stepped on a mine and died. Maggie, stricken by his death, stayed behind with Snake's revolver until being run over by the Duke. As Snake sent the President over the prison containment wall, the Duke attacked. Snake managed to subdue him and begin his ascent over the wall, but the President stopped him in order to shoot the Duke to death before allowing Snake to complete his climb. Over the wall, Hauk demanded the tape from Snake, who gave him Cabbie's "Bandstand Boogie" tape instead. The explosives in Snake's neck were then deactivated with only seconds to spare. As the President prepared for the Hartford Summit, he offered Snake anything in return for his rescue. Snake simply asked for a moment of his time, asking how he felt about the deaths that occurred to bring him to safety. The President responded with half-hearted condolences and Snake made his way over to Hauk, who offered him a job. Snake dismissed him and walked away, destroying the President's tape and throwing it away.
Snake Plissken was escorted into the Liberty Island security center in handcuffs where he was presented to Police Commissioner Hauk. He received a briefing regarding a crash involving Air Force One inside the Manhattan Maximum Security Penitentiary and was offered a full pardon for his prior criminal convictions in exchange for retrieving the President of the United States. Following a medical procedure where two microscopic explosive charges were injected into his carotid arteries, he boarded a Gullfire glider and piloted it onto the roof of the World Trade Center. He navigated the interior of the derelict building, exited into the street, and utilized a tracking device to locate the President's life-monitor signal in an old theater. Upon discovering the signal was being worn by a vagrant, he proceeded to a diner where he encountered a woman and was subsequently forced to retreat from a group of individuals emerging from the sewers. He later located an associate known as Cabbie, who provided him with information that led him to a library to meet an individual named Brain. After securing a map and a guide, he infiltrated the headquarters of the Duke of New York, engaged in a gladiatorial combat match with a large opponent using spiked clubs, and successfully retrieved both the President and a critical cassette tape. He concluded his actions by piloting a vehicle across the 69th Street Bridge, detonating the explosive charges via a remote signal provided by Hauk, and intentionally destroying the primary evidence he was sent to recover.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Snake Plissken was a male Caucasian with a rugged, weathered face, a prominent jawline, and long, dark-brown hair that fell to his shoulders. His most distinguishing facial feature was a black patches that completely covered his left eye, while his right eye remained visible and alert. He possessed a lean, athletic, and corded muscular build that suggested a high level of physical conditioning and agility. His attire consisted of a sleeveless, black muscle shirt made of a ribbed material, paired with urban camouflage trousers in shades of grey, black, and white. He wore heavy-duty black combat boots and a wide brown leather utility belt that held his various weapons and specialized equipment. Additionally, he wore a brown leather holster strapped to his right thigh and a black countdown timer device secured to his left wrist. On his abdomen, a large tattoo of a cobra was visible, extending upward from his waistline toward his chest.
Powers and abilities
Plissken demonstrated the skills of a highly decorated former special operations soldier, specialising in covert infiltration and urban survival. He exhibited advanced piloting abilities by navigating a Gullfire glider onto the roof of a high-rise building under low-visibility conditions. He showed expert proficiency in the use of specialized tactical gear, including tracking monitors, high-powered explosives, and silenced submachine guns. His hand-to-hand combat skills were evidenced during a gladiatorial match where he utilized heavy improvised weapons to defeat a much larger opponent through superior agility and timing. He displayed significant expertise in stealth and navigation, moving through derelict structures and hostile territories without alerting large groups of armed adversaries. Additionally, he demonstrated extreme physical endurance and a high threshold for pain, continuing his mission after sustaining multiple physical injuries and while under the threat of internal explosive devices. He also exhibited mastery in tactical improvisation, utilizing his environment to create diversions and successfully coordinating a high-speed vehicular escape across a mined bridge.
He has two Purple Hearts and is said the youngest soldier to be decorated by the U.S. President for bravery during campaigns in Leningrad and Siberia in World War III against the USSR.
Notes
- Snake Plissken was created by John Carpenter and Nick Castle where he was portrayed by actor Kurt Russell and featured in the setting of the Escape from New York universe.
In other media
Video games
Appearances
- Escape from New York: (1981)
External Links
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