Hunter (Metro)

Hunter is a major character the Metro series. He serves as a minor but important character in Metro 2033, one of the protagonists of the novel Metro 2034, and a minor character in Metro 2035.
One of the experienced members of the Spartan Rangers, as well as Alexander Sukhoi's (Artyom's stepfather) friend, he later orders Artyom to visit the station of Polis and warn Sviatoslav Konstantinovich Mel'nikov, the Order's leader, of the threat of the Dark Ones and save the Moscow Metro from impending annihilation.
It is unclear what happened to Hunter in the game, but in the novels it is revealed that Hunter became a shell of his former self, presumably due to his unfortunate encounter with the Dark Ones who "broke" his mind psychologically.
==Biography==
=== Background ===
Hunter is a high-ranking ranger and one of the best the Order has to offer, having been trusted to cross the surface alone with heavy equipment. Hunter follows his adage, which states, "If it's hostile, you kill it." 
He is adamant about combating dangers that might devastate the entire Metro system. He heads to the station when the Dark Ones assault Exhibition. He appears to be well-known in VDNKh, as evidenced by the fact that upon his arrival at the station, he offers Artyom a postcard depicting the Statue of Liberty.
His arrival puts the plot of both the novel and the video game in motion. He goes for the Dark Ones that stormed the station at the end of his titular level. Artyom must take his ranger token (metal capsule in the novels) to Melnik in Polis and report the present situation at Exhibition if he is not returned by dawn. Artyom's trip begins when he does not return.
===Video Games===
====Metro 2033====
Hunter's fate is presently unknown in the video game continuity. He might have been slain or abducted by the Dark Ones, as Artyom witnesses during the Dark One's mind game in "Ethereal." However, this is only a guess. Khan addresses Hunter's disappearance in Metro: Last Light (probably because no body was found). Hunter is one of the protagonists of Metro 2034, therefore he is likely to have survived in the video game continuity.
Hunter appears in Artyom's visions a few occasions, implying that Artyom regards Hunter as his mentor.
During the mission "Chase," when Artyom collides with its spirit, he can be seen firing down a Dark One who is pushing him down. This indicates Hunter most likely murdered it when it entered or exited Exhibition, and it is reliving its dying moments indefinitely. Being a ghost and yet being able to project telepathic images for Artyom to view demonstrates the dark ones' telepathic skills, allowing them to be conscious and project themselves in visions even while dead and in limbo.
As Artyom is fleeing through a peculiar vision while trapped by the dark ones at the conclusion of the game, he hears Hunter's voice and dashes towards him. He stumbles as he approaches Hunter; when he rolls over, a brilliant light beams in Artyom's face; Hunter emerges from the light and says, "If it's hostile, you kill it," before hurling a revolver at him. Artyom shoots the Dark One with his revolver.
====Metro Last Light====
Artyom has transported all of his previous postcards to his new room in D6 in Metro: Last Light. Hunter's ranger token from the first game is also there, as is the Statue of Liberty postcard Hunter handed him.
====Metro Exodus====
Artyom is protected from being shot in Metro Exodus by Hunter's ranger token, which he had begun wearing.
===Novel Series===
====Metro 2033====
After returning from security duty, Artyom sees Hunter for the first time. Hunter reappears as he speaks with Sukhoi about the Metro's destiny. Hunter invites Artyom to meet him outside his tent later that day and offers the young guy a covert trade.
Hunter is told the story of Artyom's childhood excursion to the Surface and the events that transpired. Hunter goes after the Dark Ones that assaulted the station in order to seal the barrier. He is presumed lost after failing to return, and Artyom sets off on his trek to Polis in response to Hunter's plea.
====Metro 2034====
The battle with the Dark Ones "broke" him by exposing his actual colours: how violent and nasty he had always been as a human, and how he used his ranger status to satisfy his bloodlust. Unfortunately, by revealing his "true image," the dark ones have reawakened the evil inside him, which has begun to devour him rather than tame him. The man ran away from them and avoided contact with others, remorseful and fearful of his new persona. Hunter began injuring himself as a kind of self-punishment for who he was and had become.
The ex-ranger reappears a year later at Sevastopolskaya Station, where he takes on the post of brigadier - he's been known as that ever since.
Hunter is characterised by his insane need for violence and blood, as well as his severely scarred visage. He hardly speaks, and reasoning with him is impossible; once he sets his mind on a goal, he will go to great lengths to finish it.
As Sevastopolskaya Station is attacked by an unknown threat, he announces himself to be the one to fix the station's crisis, enlisting the support of Homer and Ahmed.
Ahmed is soon slain at Nagornaya Station by a hideous mutant. Hunter and Homer arrive to Tulskaya Station not long after to discover that all caravans are detained there owing to a mysterious sickness that is a mix of plague and rabies. Hunter, faced with no other option, decides to travel to Polis in order to obtain reinforced troops and flamethrowers in order to sanitise the entire station, once again bringing Homer along with him.
After seeing the inundation of Tulska Station, he returned to Sevastopolskaya and assumed the job of brigadier once more.
Hunter forms a unique and odd friendship with Sasha, a much younger female character, throughout the novel Metro 2034. Hunter fails to reciprocate the girl's love for the icy ranger, who has deteriorated into a dark, shattered shadow of his former self.
This is consistent throughout the tale, with a few outliers where Hunter expresses more human feelings. By yelling at his dying partner that he "needs" her at the end of the novel, the former ranger eventually admits that he has begun to experience comparable sentiments of (unusual) 'love' towards his female companion. But it's too late by then, and Sasha is on the verge of death.
====Metro 2035====
Hunter is described as being alive at the time of the events of Metro 2035, although he does not play a part in the plot. Sasha, on the other hand, claims that Homer idealised Hunter's characteristics in his novel. Hunter was, in fact, a relapsed alcoholic. He walks about with a flask in one hand and a Stechkin gun in the other, and is often unable to walk straight, according to Sasha.
==Gallery==
Hunter Metro 2034.jpg|Metro 2034
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