Jetstream Sam

About

Jetstream Sam or Samuel Rodrigues is a villain from the 2013 video game Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. In the game, he is a cyborg mercenary and master swordsman, descended from a long line of swordsmen. He is sometimes accompanied by a mechanical dog-like machine known as IF Prototype LQ-84i or Blade Wolf. Online, Sam has inspired works of fan art and memes, often referencing his swordsmanship, good looks and memorable quotes and scenes from the game. In early 2022, Sam became the increased subject of ironic memes. Additionally, he began appearing in bait-and-switch videos to the song "The Only Thing I Know For Real / There Will Be Bloodshed."

Origin

Jetstream Sam is introduced in 2013's Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Jetstream Sam's father was in charge of a Brazilian Kenjutsu dojo where he taught the art of "the murdering sword." Sam inherited his sword from his father. After his father is killed by one of his pupils, supposedly in relation to a Brazilian cartel, Sam leaves Brazil, trains and returns to kill the pupil, then leaving Brazil forever to become a mercenary, taking out several cartels afterward.

In MGRR, Sam is hired by Steve Armstrong after taking out several cartels. Armstrong puts him through several tests, including taking out an LQ-84i prototype and a Metal Gear RAY. Armstrong asks for Sam's help to end "war as a business" but Sam refuses. The two fight but Sam ends up losing his right hand and admits defeat, joining Armstrong and his company World Marshal. His hand is replaced by a prosthetic.^[1]

On February 22nd, 2013, YouTuber LegendaryPeelz uploaded gameplay footage showcasing the boss battle between Raiden and Sam, gaining over 4.3 million views in nine years (shown below).

Spread

Jetstream Sam has inspired a variety of memes and fan art online since his reveal in 2013. Memes featuring Sam and about MGR:R became increasingly popularized in the early 2020s.

On May 20th, 2021, Tumblr^[11] user boyfromtazmily posted a GIF of Sam clapping captioned, "CRYPTOCURRENCY IS DYING REPOST THIS TO MAKE IT DIE FASTER," gaining over 44,900 notes in 10 months. On September 4th, 2021, Twitter^[9] user @subakeye posted a piece of art showing Jetstream Sam after cutting Stuart Little in half, gaining over 29,600 likes and 6,500 retweets in six months (shown below).

Memes featuring Jetstream Sam became increasingly popularized on iFunny^[10] in early 2022, many collected under the tag "jetstreamsam." On February 25th, 2022, iFunny^[8] user Konpaku_Shitposting posted an image macro referencing the 2021-2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict using a GIF of Jetstream Sam slicing people up, gaining over 9,400 smiles in six days (shown below).

Related Memes

The Only Thing I Know for Real / There Will Be Bloodshed

"The Only Thing I Know for Real," also known for its chorus lyric There Will Be Bloodshed, is a song from the soundtrack of the 2013 video game Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Starting in late 2021, following the massive resurgence of the game in pop culture, the song saw use in memes, particularly as a bait-and-switch format known as Samroll in which another video suddenly cuts off to a montage set to the song.

Jetstream Sam Thinking

Jetstream Sam Thinking, also known as Jetstream Sam's "I Should X", is a GIF caption meme format based on a cutscene of Jetstream Sam his chin in thought. The format gained popularity with surreal and shitpost captions that imagined Jetstream Sam considering intrusive thoughts and obviously stupid things and harmful such as dipping his testicles in sulphuric acid.

I Should Dip My Balls in Sulfuric Acid

I Should Dip My Balls in Sulfuric Acid refers to a series of memes in which various characters, particularly Jetstream Sam and the rest of the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance cast, ponder, promise, express an irresistible urge, and describe the consequences of dipping their testicles in acid.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References