Solos are the elite fighting machines of the Cyberpunk world. From Hired assassins to bodyguards, to killers and soldiers, Solos know their way around a myriad of high impact weapons, strength-based cybernetics and combat drugs. Typically, the lone wolf freelance type, most Solos are ex-military looking for any opportunity to carve up the streets in exchange for a handsome sum of eddies. From corporate armies, to personal bodyguards to black ops assassins, there is an array of different niches a talented solo can prescribe to.
From veteran Morgan Black hand to Cyborg Solo Adam Smasher to the top-rated Solos according to the Solo of Fortune handbook, this video will highlight the top dogs when it comes to hired muscle.
The best solos from 2020 ranked from 1-10, can be found via an article called American Angels written by one of Europe’s best solos. Juan Paul “RipperDoc” Duvalier.
At #8 we have Susan Forrest, NorCal State Executioner who we saw referenced in the 2077 gameplay in The Afterlife bar. Forest is an Ex Mac tac officer, who has been designated to track down highly dangerous fugitives on the run. With 20 confirmed executions in 2020, Forest is kitted with the best of the best in equipment and weapons and carries an assault rifle with a grenade launcher, a sidearm and an SMG.
At #7 we have Shaitan an anti-corporate free-lance full borg. Shaitan despises arasaka and will take any job out there that involves trying to tear them down. This descent into obsession with destroying this Japanese megacorporation has fueled Shaitain’s rise from a good Solo, to a great solo with an outstanding record. He sports an Eclipse Covert Operations Full Conversion body which offers maximum versatility, firepower, and stealth into one compact package.
At #5 we have Jenni Flexx, the personal escort of rocker and media icon Jack Maxximum, who has averted assassination attempts, kidnappings and harassment. She has also handled Justifiable Homicide’s Long Walk tour, for more on that check out my rocker boy’s lore, where the entire band visited 16 cities in the US while fleeing federal investigations, without a casualty. Rumors are the worked under the CIA or served in the SouthAm as a SEAL or Sniper. Again, Jenni Flexx likes to remain under the radar and has a trusted biosculptor.
At #2 we have Captain Andrew “Boa Boa” Weyland, also referenced in the 2077 gameplay. One of the most feared Solos in the corporate world, Weyland worked for PetroChem in the 2020s. His crew the Water Leopards are notorious for high level extractions and assassinations and have yet to fail a job of any sort. He has survived confrontations with Blackhand, Flex and Jones and is well versed in hand to hand combat. Infighting has plagued the Water leopards however, fragmenting the water leopards and causing issues over time.
At #1 we have the solos, solo the always reliable Morgan Blackhand. A combat veteran, and highly trained killer, Blackhand felt out of place in a world post army involvement. Living a day to day life, he caught the eye of Militech after dispatching of a Gang leader who was pushing his buttons with ease. Ever since, he has been on the Militech payroll as a mercenary and has earned his reputation of being the best by thwarting the kidnapping of Kerry Eurodyne and turning in all 5 kidnappers beaten but alive all by himself. He is pragmatic and street smart.
Blackhand led a Militech special ops team during the Ocean War, which culminated in the Apex event of the 4th corporate war, the destruction of Arasaka Towers. During this conflict Metalhead solo Adam Smasher backed by Arasaka donning a DaiOni Battlesuit and Blackhand who lead a Militech strike team tussled as the tower crumbled to the ground. The outcome is unknown, although we do see Adam Smasher as an Arasaka Loyalist in the most recent trailer.
Now somewhere on this list surely fits the cyberpsychotic borg Adam Smasher. Smasher spent 6 years as a marine, before he was booted out for Insubordination. After, this aggressive Solo was hired by a corporate bigwig to snatch tech from a competitor but met an untimely demise with a rocket. This had Smasher flatlined for a good 8 minutes before his brain was recovered and was inevitably stabilized in a life-support tank. Smasher’s body was decimated, but luckily for him, the same corp who had hired him in the first place offered him an interesting proposition. A 15-year contract in exchange for a full body conversion. Realizing that Metal was in almost all ways superior to meat, Smasher was and likely still is one of the most feared Solos in the Cyberpunk world.
With the superior physical abilities of full borg solos like Shaitain and Smasher came a martial art designed for these bodies. Panzer Faust which translates into armor fist, is the means by which Metalhead solos acclimatize to their new abilities.
