BB... Don't worry. It's ok. I'll always be with you.
– Cliff to his BB
Clifford "Cliff" Unger was a United States Army Special Forces Captain who was shot dead attempting to reclaim custody of his son from Bridges. Following his death, he became beached in a restless search for his "BB" as the "Combat Veteran".
Story[]
Background[]
Captain Clifford Unger served in the United States Army Special Forces before the Death Stranding, having fought in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and many other countries. He was known for consistently bringing back his unit alive and unscathed. Among his unit was a soldier known as John Blake McClane, who would later go by the name "Die-Hardman", a moniker given to him because Cliff kept saving him and bringing him home. Later on, Cliff married Lisa Bridges, and they conceived a son. Because of his impending fatherhood, Cliff left active duty to be with his family.
Following his return, Cliff and Lisa were involved in an accident, from which both came out alive, but with Lisa rendered brain dead and their unborn son at risk of death. Desperate to save his family, Cliff willingly brought them to Bridges for experimental procedures, not realizing what would become of his son. Lisa was put on life support to prevent her death and necrosis, and their baby inside a portable pod full of amniotic fluid, keeping him suspended in development until further notice.
Cliff gradually came to accept that his wife would never come back to him, and so turned his attention to his unborn son, whom he took to calling "BB". Cliff bonded with his son, telling him stories, singing to him, and bringing him a cake for his would-be birth date. He also reconnected with John, who was working as security personnel for Bridges. However, Bridget Strand forced Cliff into putting BB through further experiments.
Attempt to reclaim BB[]
Cliff talks to John to save his son.
Eventually, John came to Cliff and warned him that Bridges would be moving BB to another facility. He claimed that despite his sworn allegiance to Bridget's presidency, he wanted Cliff's suffering to be over. Though he could not help Lisa, Die-Hardman wanted to give Cliff and his son a fighting chance at life, and offered him an opportunity to escape. However, he warned Cliff that if he caught him, he would be ordered to kill Cliff and would do so.
On the night of the escape attempt, Die-Hardman revealed that Lisa's life support could not be taken offline, so Cliff would have to kill her himself. Providing him with a loaded revolver, Die-Hardman left Cliff to make a decision while the systems were down. Wrapping his gun in cloth, Cliff apologized to Lisa and swore to protect their son, kissing her and calling her his "Anomalisa". He then put a pillow over her head and shot her twice. Cliff then took BB and fled the hospital room.
Making his way through the hospital, Cliff tried opening the exit doors, but they were locked automatically. An alarm went off and two guards stumbled upon him. Threatening to shoot BB, Cliff ran, but was shot through the back several times by Bridges security. An intervening Die-Hardman caught up to Cliff bleeding out against a wall and tried to stop security forces from gunning him down. Cliff briefly used his friend as a shield, thanking him for his efforts to help, before retreating into Lisa's room and shooting the electronic lock to seal security out briefly. Cliff apologized to his wife for his failure, and sang to BB as they waited for security to break into the room. Die-Hardman tried to divert them from the room, but Bridget ordered the doors to be forced open.
Cliff readied to take on the Bridges security personnel, but was quickly gunned down. In his final moments, Cliff took BB out of his pod and told him that abandoning his duty and being there for his family is what made him brave, and begged him to not make the same mistakes as him and to be free. After realizing BB had been removed from the pod, Bridget ordered Die-Hardman to execute Cliff. When he hesitated, Bridget grabbed his arm and pulled the trigger of his gun, shooting Cliff in the chest and killing him, as well as BB. This led Bridget to defer to her "ka", Amelie, on the Beach, who healed and repatriated BB from the other side - an act that precipitated the Death Stranding.
Restless search for BB[]
Cliff would continue on as the restless beached "Combat Veteran", obsessed with reuniting with his BB and, unlike other BTs, he retains both a human form and his intelligence, and with it, a great amount of tactical ability. During three supercell events, on a war-torn Beach, he regularly attacks the adult Sam, mistaking Lou for his BB and wanting to take the bridge baby away. During these clashes, he does not hesitate to order his four soldiers to hunt down Sam, eventually facing him in person but being defeated. At some point, probably invited or sensing the revolver held by Die-Hardman, Cliff reaches Amelie/Bridget Beach just when his old comrade is also present. Cliff doesn't recognize him at first, since Die-Hardman is wearing the ludens mask, but when he takes the mask off he remembers him and starts saying his name. Starting to remember the past events, Cliff first points his rifle at John, then changes his mind and points it at Amelie/Bridget asking for his BB back. When the woman tells him to look to the right, at Sam and Lou, Cliff resumes the hunt.
Cliff embraces his son
In his final confrontation with Sam as the Combat Veteran, he finally realizes Lou is not his BB and comes to acknowledge Sam as his "bridge to the future". He is reunited with his son one last time in a metaphysical reenactment of the day they both died, wherein he is allowed an intermission of respite to embrace his son before he is shot dead as he was in the past.
Traits[]
Personality[]
Before fatherhood, perhaps because of his military career and actions in battle, Cliff saw his life as a dead end, with no way out for the future and an obstacle to the world that men like Sam were building. When he found out he was going to be a father, he was initially scared because it meant he would always have to be there for his family, which would no longer allow him to go on missions and potentially be killed. However, he realized that being a father did not make him scared but brave, so much so that he could handle the situation of his wife and son all by himself, and rebel against the same company that kept them "alive" to take his son back.
During Sam's time as a BB, not a day went by that Cliff didn't talk to him, read him books, make him promises and tell him how much he loved him. He did the same to his wife Lisa, perhaps in the hope that she would feel his love, showing himself as a loving family man. But when he realized that Bridges, and Bridget, were actually lying about his son's situation, he didn't hesitate to put his wife out of her misery and attempt to free and escape with Sam, even if it meant shooting his way into an organization that was the very government he once served.
When he became beached, as the Combat Veteran, his resentment and love for "his BB" shows his darker side as he confronts Sam on the war-torn Beach identifying Lou as his BB instead of Sam. However, when he finally realizes that Sam is his BB all the resentment disappears and he returns to Cliff's personality, embracing his long-lost son and moving on.
Physical description[]
When he was alive, Cliff was a man in his mid 40s or early 50s, with short brown-greying hair. When he is not on duty he wears a light blue suit, a black shirt, a watch on his left wrist and, during the attempt to rescue his son, a brown-light coat.
When he become stranded, at first he appears completely naked on the Beach, with a particular scar on his abdomen, and completely covered in tar, but later he wears what was probably his battle uniform when he was in the US Special Forces: a Desert Camouflage Uniform (DCU), combat boots, tactical vest with compass, a series of ammo pockets and a holster with a service pistol on his chest. Like the skeletal soldiers he commands, his uniform is dripping with tar in several places. Cliff depending on the situation is able to wear a tactical combat helmet with night-vision goggles mounted on it. In all of his battles with Sam, Cliff used a customized assault rifle equipped with a long-range optical scope, tactical laser, and a fore grip with an integrated flashlight.
Abilities[]
In his human years Cliff was a highly trained soldier, having been in the US special forces and in numerous battlefields. In the words of Die-Hardman, Unger was an excellent soldier and team leader, as he was able to bring his team back unharmed from battle.
These abilities combined with the powers he got when become a BT entity makes him a dangerous enemy. In addition to his skills as a soldier, Cliff is capable of controlling four skeletal, glowing-eyed soldiers at a time, through a series of black cables reminiscent of umbilical cords emerging from his torso and, after being summoned, Cliff can sever the cables to send the soldiers out further without breaking his connection with them. Often, the soldiers take up tactical positions to guard the area Cliff is patrolling or surveying, and when first summoned from tar, they surround Cliff defensively. He seems to control them using tactical orders, calling back to his experience of leading his special forces unit and once slain, they disintegrate into embers and return to Cliff's position. He is also able to materalize his combat helmet and rifle at will.
Aside from using the skeleton soldiers, Cliff uses his rifle when he has to fight or is unprotected, and when injured, he will flee by shortly turning invisible, which leaves foot marks in the ground comparative to a BT. During the second encounter with Sam, Cliff showcases that he has the ability to jump, but it is not prevalent during the fight.
Notes[]
In-universe[]
- The scar on Cliff's abdomen is the same as Sam's, as they were both fatally shot in the same place by the same bullet.
- As a modern soldier Cliff commands his BT troops with modern combat tactics, despite those soldiers having fought in WW1, WW2 and Vietnam, where these tactics didn't exist yet.
- Uniquely from other enemies in the game, the skeletal soldiers (and possibly Cliff himself) are susceptible to both conventional and hematic weaponry. This means they take roughly double damage from lethal weapons on the hematic firing mode, or when firing through blood clouds. The soldiers will also be instantly destroyed upon being bound by a Strand.
- If you play the game on your birthday, Cliff will greet you through the flashbacks.
Out-of-universe[]
- Cliff is a heavy smoker. Hideo Kojima had not initially planned for Cliff to be a smoker, but after seeing Mads Mikkelsen smoke during a film break, decided to give Cliff the actor's habit.[2]
- According to Kojima, when he first mentioned his interest in casting Mikkelsen in Death Stranding, Nicolas Winding Refn recommended Keanu Reeves as a potential prospect for the role.[3]
- Cliff does not appear in Death Stranding 2.[4]
- Cliff's name appears to be a wordplay on "cliffhanger."
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ Twitter · @HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN – "Left one is the female character of DEATH STRANDING by Lindsay Wagner A.K.A. "The Bionic Woman". Right one is "the mysterious soldier" by Mads Mikkelsen."
- ^ IGN – "Death Stranding Character Heartman Detailed in Hideo Kojima Panel - Comic Con 2019"
- ^ GameRant – "Hideo Kojima Confirms 1 Major Character Who is Not Returning for Death Stranding 2"