Call of Duty: Modern Warfare/Characters

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For characters in the rest of the franchise see: Call of Duty.

United Kingdom Special Air Service

Members of the UK SAS appear in the first Modern Warfare game, conducting a number of covert counter-terror operations that connect to the larger conflict in Al-Asad's nation and the Ultranationalist's civil war in Russia. SAS members appear in Modern Warfare 2, but primarily as part of Task Force 141. In the third, they are tasked with containing an apparent terrorist threat in London.

Captain John Price

The humorless, straightforward and unflappable leader of the SAS units in Modern Warfare 1. Suffers severe injuries at the climax of the first game. Captured by the Ultranationalists and locked up in a gulag during casevac, and spends five years being tortured, which leaves him a bit.... off, when rescued in Modern Warfare 2.

• Anti-Hero: He's a Type IV or a Type III depending on how you look at it.
• Badass And how.
  • Bash Brothers: With Gaz and Soap, and just watch some of the stuff he does with the latter! Eventually forms one with Yuri, though nowhere as tightly.
• Badass Beard
• Badass Boast: During "Dust To Dust":

Yuri: Makarov's got a small army in there. Price: It won't help him.

• Badass Family: Granddaddy Price was pretty awesome too (and possessed the same love of epic mustaches and unduly persistent headwear).
• Book Ends: The first mission of the Modern Warfare trilogy opens with him smoking a cigar. The last mission of the trilogy ends with him smoking a cigar.
• The Captain
• Cold Sniper: At one point.
• The Comically Serious
• Deuteragonist
• Disney Death: Seemed to have died in the last level in Modern Warfare, but he turned out to be alright if just pissed at the Ultranationalists and Shepherd.
• Dynamic Entry: Does this to Shepherd, just before the latter shoots Soap.
• Expy: From the Captain Price in Call of Duty 1 and Call of Duty 2. Popular Fanon makes him the original Price's son or grandson. Word of Dante/Word of St Paul makes him officially Price's grandson.
• Heroic BSOD: Experiences one when Soap dies. Fortunately, it doesn't last long.
• He Who Fights Monsters:
  • In Modern Warfare 2, five years in a gulag turned Price into a borderline psycho not much different from the bad guys. His first act upon release is hijacking a Russian nuclear submarine, launching a nuclear missile and detonating it above Washington D.C. to knock out Russian equipment.
  • Possibly subverted in Modern Warfare 3: he is shown to be aware of the wider context and not just blindly charging after Makarov. In the end, he repeats Makarov's quote "it takes the will of one man to change the world" in more positive light, in the same way Makarov twisted his quoting "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Used on Al-Asad. Verging on Gene Hunt Interrogation Technique with what he does to Waarabe in Modern Warfare 3. Ordering 'masks on', deliberately opening a nerve gas canister, and then telling Waarabe that he'll give him a gas mask if Waarabe talks? There's over-the-top, and then there's Captain Price.
• Made of Iron
• Never Bareheaded: Price does not go anywhere without some kind of hat. Even in the gulag, he has a nifty wool hat on, and after he removes his bomb disposal suit, he's shown wearing his boonie hat underneath.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown:
  • Ends up on the receiving end of one of these, thanks to General Shepherd, and only survives thanks to some timely intervention by Soap.
  • Unleashes one on Makarov at the end of Modern Warfare 3.
• Not Quite Dead
• Porn Stache: Taken Up to Eleven in Soap's field journal, where he frequently mentions it and calls it a "dick tickler".
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: in Modern Warfare 2's ending. Also, the end of Modern Warfare 3. He seems to have a tendency for these...
• Unexplained Recovery
• Warrior Poet: His impossibly awesome intro to Just Like Old Times.

Captain (fmr. Sgt) John "Soap" MacTavish

One of the player characters from the first Modern Warfare and general protagonist of the Modern Warfare series. Begins the game as a newly recruited SAS trooper, but after surviving the events of the first game, is placed in command of Task Force 141.

• Anyone Can Die: We all knew this trope was played straight in this series, but it's still a surprise when Soap dies.
• Badass
• Bash Brothers: With Price. And fucking how!
• The Captain: In the second game.
• Cold Sniper: Sometimes.
• Determinator: Fell down from an exploding building and dying from massive blood loss?? Doesn't stop him from gunning down any enemy that gets too close with his pistol.
• Dynamic Entry: Does this to Rojas in the favela.
• Heroic Mime: In the first game.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He could have made it out of the blast radius in time, but pushed Yuri out first. Made even better by the fact that he'd just learned Yuri might not be trustworthy.
• Implacable Man
• Killed Off for Real: It took three games to do it, but in the Modern Warfare 3 mission "Blood Brothers", Soap kicks the bucket. Needless to say, Price is not amused.
• Knife Nut
• Lodged Blade Recycling: Does being stabbed in the chest with a knife the size of his forearm stop Soap from killing the bad guy? Hell no. However, said wound does eventually kill him. It just takes a massive army and continuous fighting for weeks to make it stick.
• Made of Iron: He got shot a bajillion times, blown up by an oil tanker, fell off a waterfall, stabbed in the chest, facestomped, pulled out said knife and used it to shank the guy who put it in him. Deconstructed in Modern Warfare 3. The knife wound doesn't close properly and eventually helps to kill him.
• Perma-Stubble
• Player Character: Of course.
• Protagonist
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In Modern Warfare 2's ending.
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • Takes one between "F.N.G." and "Game Over!", then takes about 30 in the 5 year gap. From the first moments of your time as Roach, he makes this obvious.
  • In Modern Warfare 3, the loading screen of "Stronghold" briefly shows a partial list of Soap's decorations. Among them is a Victoria Cross (pretty much the equivalent of the American Military's Medal of Honor).
• Undying Loyalty: Potentially verging on My Master, Right or Wrong by the end of the second game. Needless to say, he will follow Price to the ends of the Earth and beyond.
• Violent Glaswegian: Well, he's at least capable of being stealthy before violent, unlike what one would expect.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Soap hates dogs (probably due to being repeatedly attacked by guard dogs in the first game), and mentions it during the Modern Warfare 2 mission "Contingency".

Price: Five men, automatic rifles, frag grenades, one German Shepherd. Soap: Dogs. I hate dogs. Price: These Russian dogs are like pussycats compared to the ones in Pripyat. Soap: It's good to have you back, old man.

Gaz

Captain Price's right hand man. Known for his sense of humour humor. His real name is never stated.

• The Ace
• Badass
• Bash Brothers: With Price/Soap at times.
• Catch Phrase: "Let's do this." (in multiplayer) "Team Deathmatch."
• Deadpan Snarker: At times.
• Killed Off for Real
• The Lancer
• Number Two: To Price in the first game.
• Pink Mist: It appears that Zakhaev performs Coup De Grace on his head from point blank with a Desert Eagle. In reality, the shot goes into his back; the angle makes it look like a headshot.
• Wearing a Flag on Your Head: His hat has a UK flag on it, for a literal interpretation.

Captain MacMillan

Price's former superior. He accompanied Price in the assassination attempt on Zakhaev in Prypiat, Chernobyl. As of Modern Warfare 3, he becomes the head of the SAS.

• Asskicking Equals Authority: As mentioned above, he is head of the entire SAS in Modern Warfare 3.
• Badass Cold Sniper: He very much embodies this trope. At least before the escape.
• Big Good: By Modern Warfare 3.
• Deadpan Snarker
• Everything Sounds Sexier in Scottish: His Scottish accent has its own following.
• The Faceless: Due to wearing a ghillie suit.
• Friendly Sniper: He IS personally nice to you, aside from when you decide to be a cocky dumbass, then any Jerkass behavoir from him is rather justified.
• Handicapped Badass: Silly little things like having his feet/legs broken by a falling Mi-28 helicopter gunship won't stop him from providing fire support without ever missing a single shot.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: He never, ever misses. Not even after his legs are broken by a falling helicopter gunship.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite Price being a wanted terrorist, MacMillan is willing to listen to him and help, even supplying him with intel and equipment.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right/Screw the Rules, I Make Them: Helps Price, even though he's a wanted terrorist. Considering their close relationship though, it's likely he never believed his protege could turn evil.
• Took a Level in Badass: In Modern Warfare 3, he is now head of the entire SAS.
• Unflinching Walk: Subverted. After shooting down a helicopter, he walks away saying "Good night ye bastards...". Then the helicopter crashes on his legs.
• Violent Glaswegian: Being a Cold Sniper, he's arguably a much calmer variation of the trope.

Marcus Burns

An SAS commando who accompanies Wallcroft, Griffen and others in a mission to intercept a suspicious shipment near Canary Wharf in London in Modern Warfare 3 in "Mind the Gap".

• Heroic Mime
• Made of Iron: Is involved in a crash between two trucks and a tube train inside the London underground, but then gets up and carries on fighting after blacking out for several minutes. Also survives the chemical attack.
• Player Character

Sgt. Wallcroft

SAS operator in Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 3. He appears first in "Crew Expendable" as a guy assigned to rear guard, and reappears in Modern Warfare 3 as PC Marcus Burns's commanding officer.

• Expy: Of Gaz and Ghost: it comes with the territory when you're voiced by Craig Fairbrass in a Modern Warfare game. Gets kinda weird when you realize that he actually knew Gaz though.
• The Faceless: He's never seen without his gas mask. It ends up saving his life.
• Mauve Shirt: He appears in Modern Warfare in one level and has maybe three lines. He returns, having Took a Level in Badass and now voiced by Craig Fairbrass.
• Rule of Three: Third character to be voiced by Craig Fairbrass. Also the only one not to die horribly.

United States Military

Members of the United States military appear throughout the Modern Warfare games, usually from different branches. US Marines form the primary American forces in Modern Warfare 1 with US Air Force and US Navy supporting them during the invasion of al-Asad's country. Modern Warfare 2 primarily focuses on the US Army Rangers, with Air Force and Marines supporting them. Modern Warfare 3 has special operations unit Delta Force in the lead role, who are supported by regular Army, Air Force and Navy.

Lieutenant Vasquez

Leader of Sergeant Jackson's Marine Force recon unit in the first Modern Warfare game.

• Badass
• Big Damn Heroes: Subverted. Hard.
• No Indoor Voice
• The Stoic: Along with all American characters except Griggs.
• Verbal Tic: Oorah (USMC shout, equivalent to the Army's Hooah).

Sergeant Paul Jackson

Player character for the Marine Force Recon segment of the first Modern Warfare game.

• Badass: Until his Cruel and Unusual Death.
• The Black Dude Dies First: Though he's not seen in game, he can be seen in promotional pictures, and it appears that he's black. He's also the first major Player Character to die, beginning Modern Warfare's august tradition of Anyone Can Die.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Blown up by a nuke. Then you get to see through his eyes as he helplessly staggers through the radioactive landscape and dies.
• Decoy Protagonist
• Heroic Mime
• Player Character

Staff Sergeant Griggs

SAW gunner for Jackson's Force Recon squad in the first Modern Warfare game.

• Author Avatar: He is modeled after and voiced by Infinity Ward employee Mark Grigsby.
• Badass
• The Black Dude Dies First: While he is one of the few Americans to survive the Nuclear blast, he is the first major Bravo member to die, though Gaz wastes no time following him.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: His Russian interrogators start looking for a hacksaw, before Price and Gaz kill them.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He got shot while dragging the paralyzed Soap to safety.
• Number Two: He seems to be second-in-command of Lt. Vasquez's unit.
• Theme Tune Rap: The end credits feature a rap sung by him.
• Token Minority.

Sergeant David Foley

Leader of Ramirez's Army Rangers squad in Modern Warfare 2. Voiced by Keith David.

• Badass
• Bash Brothers: With Dunn/Ramirez.
• Determinator: His response to a SAM damaging his helicopter? Damn well not to retreat and land, that's for sure.

Foley: Then take us up! If we're going down, we're taking as many of those SAMs with us!

• Genre Savvy: Foley knows that if you've got a Player Character in your squad, damn well make use of him.
• Large Ham
• Sergeant Rock

Private James Ramirez

Player character for the US Army Rangers segment of Modern Warfare 2.

• Badass: Related to Hypercompetent Sidekick.
• Bash Brothers: With Dunn/Foley.
• Butt Monkey: Ramirez deserves some kind of award for all the CRAP he takes during the course of the campaign.
• Cool Shades If it's really him on the cover of the box, then the man has some very slick sunglasses. He even wears them at night!
• Do Anything Soldier: Ramirez! Do everything!
• Heroic Mime
• Hypercompetent Sidekick
• Player Character

Corporal Dunn

Soldier in Ramirez's Army Rangers squad.

• Badass: Mostly played straight, but the one time this is kinda subverted can be excused since it was literally raining AIRCRAFT!
• Bash Brothers: With Ramirez/Foley, though more often the latter.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: I'm cutting through History Class!
• Deadpan Snarker
• Freak-Out: After Price makes the sky fall.
• The Medic: Dunn is assigned to check over the incapacitated "Raptor", and later on check a downed soldier for a pulse.
• Southern-Fried Private: But snarkier and wittier than most.

Master Sergeant Sandman

Leader of the Delta Force unit "Metal" in Modern Warfare 3. Commanding officer to player character Derek "Frost" Westbrook.

• Badass
• Badass Mustache
• Cool Shades
• Elites Are More Glamorous: Delta Force, duh.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He stayed behind to cover Price, Yuri and the Russian President.
• Remember the New Guy?: He's revealed to be an old friend of Price, whom he met back in 2013 when they, Ghost, and Soap embarked on Operation Kingfish, the first mission to find Makarov.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: Captain Price is considered a terrorist in Modern Warfare 3. Sandman listens to his intel, and works with him to save the President. This is probably because they are old friends.
• Sergeant Rock: Well, Master Sergeant, to be precise, but you get the idea.

Staff Sergeant Derek "Frost" Westbrook

An American Delta Force soldier and playable character for several missions in Modern Warfare 3.

• Badass
• Elites Are More Glamorous
• The Faceless: Due to wearing goggles and a mask.
• Heroic Mime: Was slated to be voiced but in the end wasn't...
• Hypercompetent Sidekick
• Player Character
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Frost does not accompany his Delta Force teammates in "Down The Rabbit Hole", nor does he accompany Price and Yuri on their mission to eliminate Makarov. His absence is never explained.

Sergeant 1st Class Grinch

Another member of Team Metal, who accompanies Frost and Sandman on their missions. Seems to serve as Sandman's right hand.

• Badass
• Cool Shades
• Deadpan Snarker: Usually to Truck's quips.
• Guns Akimbo: He wields dual Desert Eagles, aimed at different targets in the penultimate mission.
  • Note that he is the only NPC to ever dual wield guns, and even the player characters can't shoot them in different directions.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Along with Sandman and Truck, he sacrifices himself in the collapsing mine to allow Price and Yuri to escape with President Vorshevsky.
• Southern-Fried Private
• Weapon of Choice: Almost always carries the MK14.

Sergeant 1st Class Truck

The fourth member of Team Metal, and usually the one with the least dialogue.

• Badass
• The Big Guy: Has shades of this, judging from his tendency to carry the Mk. 46 LMG, his callsign and his deep voice.
• Captain Obvious: Does it teasingly, often to Grinch.

Sandman: Friendlies! Hold your fire! Truck: That means don't shoot 'em, Grinch. Grinch: No shit.

• Heroic Sacrifice: See Sandman and Grinch's entries above.
• The Quiet One
• Token Minority

"Warhammer"

Callsign "Warhammer" is an AC-130 gunship that first appears in Modern Warfare to support an extraction of Price's team. Warhammer can be overheard in radio transmissions in Modern Warfare 2, providing fire support around Washington D.C. Later on in Modern Warfare 3, they support Team Metal's extraction of Volk from Paris. The names of the crew are never specified beyond their roles in the crew (i.e. "AC-130 TV Operator").

• Big Freaking Gun: All three of the guns on the plane: the 25mm gatling gun, the Bofors 40mm autocannon and the 105mm howitzer.
• The Cameo: Only appears in Modern Warfare 2 in background radio transmissions, but they're doing what they do best.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: Though in the first game, they're not in immediate danger, in the third, they actually get shot at by ground fire and Russian planes, but manage to keep their cool.
• Death From Above: The actual name of the first level they appear in. It's what they do.
• Escort Mission: Your providing air cover for ground units, containing your other Player Character, both times. It's really cool though, and the ground units are competent.
• Gunship Rescue: Their specialty.
• Ludicrous Gibs: "Good hit. I see lots of little pieces down there."

Task Force 141

A multinational special operations unit formed after the events of the first game, Task Force 141 conducts a number of high-risk counter-terror special operations across the globe, with particular emphasis on containing the threat presented by Ultranationalist Russia.

Ghost

British soldier in Task Force 141, who prefers to wear a skull-faced ski mask. His face is never shown, and name is never stated in-game, though the tie-in comic centered on him revealed that it's Lt. Simon "Ghost" Riley. Has a suspiciously similar voice to Gaz.

• The Ace
• Badass
• Bash Brothers: With Soap/Roach.
• Catch Phrase: "Let's do this!"
• Cool Mask
• Cool Shades
• Dark and Troubled Past: As shown in the comics... and boy is this man's past ever tragic and messed up. But does that make him an even bigger Badass then he already is? Wait... then that whole torture of Rojas and his right hand man in the favela have suddenly become... a lot more frightening. Granted.
• The Faceless: Never seen without his trademark skull mask and sunglasses. Ever. Except in the comic book.
• Freak-Out: When the nuclear submarine's missile doors open and the missile launches. Justified, as he didn't know what Price was up to.
• The Lancer: Until Price shows up, then Soap becomes the Lancer.
• Mask Power
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Gaz.

Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson

Player character for most of the Task Force 141 segments of Modern Warfare 2.

• Badass
• Bash Brothers: With Ghost in "Loose Ends". Then he got wounded by a mortar and Ghost dragged him to the evac chopper. Then Shepherd shoots them and lights them on fire, burning Roach alive.
• Book Ends: His story begins and ends with the throw of a lit cigar.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Burned alive after being shot.
• Heroic Mime
• The Ishmael: In Modern Warfare 2, he mostly serves as a viewpoint character to show how badass Soap really is. Until he dies and you go back to Soap, that is.
• Meaningful Name: Roach survives a lot of crap, even for a Call of Duty Player Character. It takes him being clipped by a mortar, shot at point blank range with a revolver, and then SET ON FIRE while bleeding out to finally kill him.
• Player Character

General Shepherd

Commander of the US military task force invading Khaled Al-Asad's nation in Modern Warfare. Afterwards, becomes commander of Task Force 141. Who gets betrayed by him.

• Authority Equals Asskicking:
  • To say he leads from the front is an understatement. He can be seen fighting alongside the Rangers in Team Player. While carrying a .44 Magnum Revolver.
  • The whole Shadow company, though far more competent than other in-game enemies, failed to stop Price and Soap. Shepherd nearly takes them down in one-on-two combat, after surviving a helicopter crash.
• Badass Grandpa: Falls down a water fall after his helicopter crashes and explodes, but it doesn't seem to phase him. After this, he proceeds to beat two highly trained commandos who are much younger than him in hand to hand combat.
• Badass Mustache
• Bald of Evil: Well, a rather obvious buzz cut.
• Big Bad: Of Modern Warfare 2.
• Big Good: At first.
• The Chessmaster: He has made the whole thing in Modern Warfare 2.
• Colonel Kilgore: He sees the war as a time for heroes and legends and he brags all the time about how good the United States Armed Forces are... but then we see how much of a warmonger he actually is, and it ain't pretty.
• Despair Event Horizon: Crossed it when his entire task force was nuked in the first Modern Warfare.
• Embarrassing First Name: As stated below, Shepherd's full name was revealed as Hershel Von Shepherd III by a Word of God twitter shot.
• Eye Scream: Soap throws a knife. It hits him in the eye.
• Face Heel Turn: Partially subverted in that he wasn't a face to begin with.
• Fallen Hero
• Four-Star Badass
• General Ripper: Pretty much to the letter. Extends to, possibly even exemplified, after his Face Heel Turn. The causes and reasons that he wants the war to continue are magnified after we find out what role he really played in the game's events.
• Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: At the end of Loose Ends, he briefly enjoys a smoke... just before using it to light Ghost and Roach on fire.
• He Who Fights Monsters: He eventually becomes a monster himself.
• Knight Templar
• Made of Iron: Soap and Price, two highly trained SAS agents, fall off a waterfall and end up barley being able to stand. Shepherd falls off a waterfall and gets blown up in a helicopter, and he's fine.
• Motive Rant: A truly epic one after stabbing Soap.

Five years ago, I lost thirty thousand men in the blink of an eye, and the world just fuckin' watched. But tomorrow, there will be no shortage of volunteers, no shortage of patriots. *Dramatic Gun Cock* I know you understand.

• Nice Hat: He is never seen without his beret.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: He does this to Price in the final mission, and will actually kill him if you don't stop him in time.
• The Plan
• Praetorian Guard: He has them in the form of the American Shadow Company, which are more competent than the Russian soldiers you usually fight. It's not really explained whether they're a black ops unit or a Private Military Contractor.
• Precision F-Strike: Makes his Motive Rant all the more effective.
• Revolvers Are Just Better: He uses a .44 Magnum.
• Rouge Angles of Satin: For a while, on this very wiki, people had trouble spelling S-H-E-P-H-E-R-D.
• Start of Darkness: See Despair Event Horizon above.
• Villain with Good Publicity
• The Von Trope Family: His full name is Hershel von Shepherd, as confirmed by Robert Bowling.
• We Have Become Complacent
• We Have Reserves:
  • As stated by Cpl. Dunn:

Cpl. Dunn: C'mon, since when does Shepherd care about danger close?

• • Subverted in that at least once he can be seen fighting the enemy alongside the Rangers, even while calling in the danger close air strikes.
  • "All units, this is Gold Eagle. The site has been compromised. I am executing directive one-one-six-bravo. If you're still inside, your service will be honored. Shepherd out."
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wants American citizens to know how much is sacrificed for the freedom and safety that they took for granted. Saying that he used extreme measures to achieve this is like saying tsunami victims are wetter than other people.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: To Makarov and ALL of Task-Force 141, a rare case of this being done to Unwitting Pawns instead of Mooks.

Private First Class Joseph Allen

Player character for a few missions in Modern Warfare 2, Army Ranger and later TF141 member.

• Badass: Initially, until "No Russian".
• Decoy Protagonist
• Heroic Mime: Averted, though he only speaks in cutscenes.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Nice Job Breaking It, Hero.
• If You're So Evil Eat This Kitten: In the mission No Russian, he is ordered to slaughter Russian civilians along with Makarov's men in order to prove himself as a member of the squad.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: Subverted. In fact, his acting on this lead directly to the invasion of his homeland and untold death and destruction.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Being at the "No Russian" mission seems to be the reason for pretty much the entire plot of the second and third games.
• Player Character
• Reverse Mole: He's sent on an undercover mission to infiltrate Makarov's terrorist cell. It does not end well.
• This Loser Is You: Representing the murderous nature of the players.
• Unwitting Pawn: "No Russian".

Russian Loyalists

Members of the Pro-West Russian government/military fighting against the Ultranationalists. They ultimately lose the war, with the Ultranationalists coming into power by the events of the second game. By the third, Loyalist soldiers form a sort of La Résistance aimed at stopping Makarov.

Nikolai

Russian informant and mercenary who works with Price and Soap. Appears in the first Modern Warfare game as a spy inside the Ultranationalist camp. By the events of the second game, he is a support asset for Task Force 141, who is frequently called in as for emergency extractions, but the third game reveals that he is in command of an entire PMC made up of former Loyalist soldiers dedicated to stopping Makarov.

• Ascended Extra: In the first game, he was a minor character who was central to a rescue and Escort Mission, who provides a bit of intel on where to find al-Asad. By the later games, he takes on a much bigger role, becoming part of Price's group of trusted associates.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • Plays the part no fewer than three times in the second game.
  • Every level where the action is focused on Price, Nikolai is this, sometimes twice.
• Captain Obvious: In Modern Warfare 2. It is not appreciated either time.
  • In "The Hornet's Nest":

Nikolai: My friend, from up here, it looks like the whole village is trying to kill you! Captain MacTavish: Tell me something I don't know! Just get ready to pick us up!

• • In "The Enemy of My Enemy":

Nikolai: (witnessing the massive three-way fight between Task-Force 141, Makarov's men, and Shadow Company Price, I am approaching the boneyard. I see you do not have situation under control. Very unsafe to land. It looks like when I was in Afghanistan with the Soviets! Captain Price: Nikolai! Just shut up and land the bloody plane! We're on our way!

• Escort Mission: Averted. In "Hunted", he is invincible and carries an AKS-74U.
• Former Regime Personnel: Fought in Afghanistan.
• La Résistance: Heads up a force of Russian Loyalists that oppose the Ultranationalists.
• Reverse Mole
• True Companions: Part of a three-man one between Soap, Price and himself.
• Undying Loyalty: During the Second Russian Civil War, Price and Soap went deep behind enemy lines to walk him out of Hell. Five years later, he returned the favor.

Sergeant Kamarov

Leader of a Russian Loyalist Spetznaz squad.

• Back for the Dead
• Big Damn Heroes: Climax of the first Modern Warfare. About two minutes too late though.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him
• La Résistance: Leader of the Prague resistance forces against Ultranationalist occupation.
• The Load: He really gets in the way of the SAS in his first appearance, to the point where Gaz holds him over a ledge and threatens to drop him if he won't stop it. They all get along much better in his next three appearances, though Soap lampshades this when he doesn't respond on the radio.
• Manly Tears: "You're going to be alright, my friend!"
• Noodle Incident: What happened with him in Beruit, anyway?
• Reverse Mole: Infiltrated Makarov's inner circle to help Price in Modern Warfare 3. Unfortunately, Makarov already knew he was a mole working against him.

Yuri

Former Spetsnaz who thoroughly hates Makarov and his organization, and serves as the player character for the Task Force 141 mission in Modern Warfare 3. Was a former member of Makarov's inner circle, until his opposition to Makarov's increasing insanity led to his former boss shooting him and leaving him for dead.

• The Atoner
• Badass: Being a Call of Duty player character, this is a given.
• Big Damn Heroes: He storms the roof and shoots Makarov just in time to prevent him from executing Price. He gets killed for it, but gives Price the opening he needs.
• Cold Sniper: At times.
• Defector From Decadence: Defected from the Ultranationalists when he saw how increasingly insane Makarov has become. Gets shot in the gut for his trouble.
• Determinator: Getting shot in the stomach by Makarov doesn't stop him from grabbing a gun and trying to stop the massacre at the airport.
• The Gump: He was there when Zakhaev got his arm shot off, when the nuke was set off in al-Asad's capital, and was the sixth man in Makarov's team during the attack on the airport.
• Heel Face Turn: During "No Russian".
• Made of Iron:
  • He got shot in the stomach with a Desert Eagle and survived. Note that he is the only person in the entire series to have pulled this off.
  • In "Dust To Dust", he is impaled on a spike of iron rebar when he tells Price to go after Makarov. After Price crashes Makarov's helicopter, he comes charging in to save the day, pistol blazing, and Makarov has to shoot him three more times to actually put him down.
• Not What I Signed Up For: He betrayed Makarov because he stopped being a soldier fighting for a worthy cause and instead became a psychotic monster.
• Only Sane Man: Was the only member of Makarov's Inner Circle to realize what a monster Makarov had become.
• Redemption Equals Death
• Remember the New Guy?
• Revenge: One of his driving motivations for opposing Makarov; it is stated that he is the one man in the world who hates Makarov even more than Price does.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Yuri wants Makarov dead. That's all that motivates him by the point in the story that he joins Price's group. It eventually culminates in the two-man assault on the Oasis Hotel in Juggernaut armor.
• Russian Guy Suffers Most: Out of all of the series' protagonists, he probably suffers the most beatings across a single game, including getting dumped off a cliff into a river, shot repeatedly in the stomach, impaled by a piece of rebar, knocked senseless in the mining complex, thrown down a flight of stairs by Price and eventually getting shot in the head by Makarov.
• True Companions: Averted. Of all of the Modern Warfare characters who work with Price, Yuri is distinct in that he never truly ingratiates himself with Price, Nikolai or Soap. When Price learns that Yuri was once one of Makarov's trusted lieutenants, he makes it clear afterwards that he doesn't care if Yuri lives or dies, and that Yuri has to "keep up or be left behind." Price does eventually warm to Yuri, but never to the same degree as he did to Soap, Nikolai, MacMillian, Sandman, Griggs or Gaz.

Ultranationalist Russia/OPFOR

The primary opposition across all three games, made up of three primary factions: the Ultranationalists, OPFOR and the Inner Circle. The Ultranationalists are hardcore nationalists dedicated to rebuilding Russia's power and turning it against perceived enemies, and formed a loose alliance with Al-Asad's revolutionaries (simply referred to as OPFOR or "Opposing Force") to draw US attention away from the war in Russia and to inflict as much damage as possible on the West. By the second game, the Ultranationalists were split by Zakhaev's death, with Boris Vorshevsky controlling the more moderate elements of the Ultranationalist government and Vladimir Makarov heading up the much more violent and radical elements, with Makarov's personal army becoming known as the Inner Circle. The conflict between Vorshevsky's regime and Makarov's private army comes to a head in Modern Warfare 3.

Khaled Al-Asad

Leader of the unnamed Middle-eastern nation in the first Modern Warfare.

• Authority Equals Asskicking: Brutally averted.
• Co-Dragons: To Zakhaev, with Zakhaev's son, and later Makarov, as revealed in Modern Warfare 3.
• Dirty Coward: He is explicitly called this by Nikolai after he apparently nukes his own capital.
• Dying Like Animals: A cowardly chicken of the worst sort.
• Nuke'Em: Apparently does this to the entire Marine task force in the first Modern Warfare. In reality, Makarov was the one who ordered the nuclear detonation.
• President Evil
• Rebel Leader
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized
• Sinister Shades: Never seen without them.
• Smug Snake
• Starter Villain: Al-Asad lasts only halfway through the first game, and the remnants of his forces comprise the opposition in a single mission in the second game.
• Unwitting Pawn:
  • Really, his entire role was to draw the US's attention away from the civil war in Russia. The nuclear bomb that he used on the Marines was actually set off by Makarov, to both kill American troops and keep the blame pinned on al-Asad.
  • The very first moment that you see him in the flesh confirms al-Asad's status as a pathetic puppet of the Ultranationalists. Al-Asad, in his own country, surrounded by his own men, walks up to Zakhaev, who points a pistol in his face, and al-Asad stops like a deer trapped in the headlights. Zakhaev then casually spins the pistol around and hands it to al-Asad, as if saying "now go kill al-Fulani like a good dog." And he does as the master commands.

Imran Zakhaev

Leader of the Ultranationalists in the first Modern Warfare. The SAS attempted to assassinate him in 1996 at Chernobyl because he was dealing spent nuclear fuel rods to terrorists; during the assassination attempt his arm was blown off by Price, though he survived thanks to Makarov and Yuri. Soap eventually kills him at the end of the first game. Becomes a martyr after his death and serves as a rallying point for the Ultranationalist Russians.

• Bald of Evil: Might be caused by his tendency to hang around radioactive areas.
• Beard of Evil
• Big Bad: Of the first, and casts his shadow over the next two.
• Death by Disfigurement: Subverted. His arm was blown off by Price, but he survives, thanks to the intervention of Makarov and Yuri, until Soap shoots him at the ending.
• Disproportionate Retribution/Nuke'Em: His response to his son's death.
• He Was Right There All Along: He is briefly seen in "The Coup", far before his role becomes apparent.
• He Who Must Not Be Seen: Nobody knows that he is involved in the conflict until Price answers the call on Al-Asad's phone.
• Only a Flesh Wound: He was able to survive for 15 years after Price blew his arm off.
• Papa Wolf: He does not take his son's suicide well.
• The Quiet One
• Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him: Played straight in the first game, when Soap shoots him on the bridge. Deconstructed hard in the second, where the Ultranationalists portrays him as a martyr gunned down by evil Americans while fighting the corrupt government. Hell, the airport in "No Russian" is named Zakhaev International Airport.

Viktor Zakhaev

Imran Zakhaev's son, and a major Ultranationalist leader.

• Better to Die Than Be Killed: Then again, if the SAS, the Marines and the Spetsnaz are after my rear, I'd shoot myself in the head too.
• The Brute
• Co-Dragons: With Al-Asad, to his father.
• Overlord, Jr.
• The Quiet One: He only speaks twice (at the beginning of "The Coup" and at the end of "Sins of the Father"), both in Russian.
• Sins of Our Fathers: The protagonists go after him to lure his dad out. It doesn't end well.

Vladimir Makarov

Russian terrorist who supports the Ultranationalists. Described by Shepherd as a "whore" who sells himself to the highest bidder. Heads up the False-Flag Operation that triggers the Russian invasion of the US.

• Badass: Subverted: he can plan attacks and hold his own in combat, but he doesn't stand a chance once Price gets his hands on him.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: The only time he's not seen in a nice suit are in the flashbacks before he becomes the Ultranationalists' new leader. He seem to hate ties though.
• Big Bad: Of Modern Warfare 3, but he'd been a major (if unseen) player much earlier. He saved Zakhaev after he was shot, he ordered the nuclear detonation in al-Asad's capital, and he masterminded the entire Russian invasion of Europe.
• Dragon with an Agenda: Considering the fact his apparently main safehouse gets raided and all his data is in American hands, he somehow manages to control nearly every major asset in the Russian military in Modern Warfare 3 which shows that he had a much bigger and better equipped facility elsewhere, meaning he's probably been feeding lies to Shepherd since the start.
• Enemy Mine: In the level "The Enemy of My Enemy", he gives away the location of Shepherd's hideout to Price and Soap to save his own arse from inevitable destruction by Shepherd's forces.
• Evil Former Friend: To Yuri.
• Famous-Named Foreigner: Named after the former Soviet Union's standard issue pistol. Becomes a case of Hilarious in Hindsight for some when said pistol appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops. "Wait, what do you mean the guard was trying to beat you with Makarov's butt?"
• From Nobody to Nightmare: He was just an ordinary soldier with dreams of patriotism. Then he rose through the ranks, and became the world's greatest terrorist.
• Hero-Killer: Every time he is encountered in the flesh, without exception, Makarov ends up killing or critically wounding a Player Character. Allen, Harkov, Soap and Yuri (twice!). Though he doesn't personally encounter them he also kills Jackson and Mr. Davis.
• Mismatched Eyes: His eyes are slightly different colors. Blue and green, according to his dossier ^{[dead link]}.
• Mook Lieutenant: Begins as one, then goes through a series of mook promotions, as detailed above.
• Mook Promotion: In Modern Warfare 3, it's shown that Makarov was just one of Zakhaev's many Mooks attending the Chernobyl arms deal in 1996. He and Yuri end up saving Zakhaev's life after his arm is shot off by Price, which leads to Makarov gaining Zakhaev's favor and rapidly ascending the ranks of the Ultranationalists, making him a Dragon, albeit under Co-dragons in chief Al-Asad and Victor Zakhaev. After Al-Asad's and bothZakhaevs' deaths, he becomes the leader of the extremist wing of the Ultranationalists, and by the time of Modern Warfare 3, he's secretly controlling a large portion of the Russian military from behind the scenes.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Find himself on the receiving end of one via Captain Price and leads into his death.
• Noose Catch: Receives one in Modern Warfare 3, courtesy of Captain Price.
• Psycho for Hire: Shepherd explicitly states that he works for money. Subverted though. Makarov has an agenda, though said agenda involves plunging the world into a massive world war in which Russia conquers Europe.
• Rasputinian Death: He's in a helicopter crash, gets shot through the chest by Yuri, is bludgeoned and thrown through a glass window by Price, and finally ends up hanged with a winch hook cable.
• Unwitting Pawn
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: In Modern Warfare 3, Yuri pretty much paraphrases this word for word when describing how Makarov's rapid ascent up the ranks turned him from a regular patriotic Mook into a Complete Monster.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
  • Once he's no longer useful to Shepherd, the General tries to kill him. Makarov survives and continues on to inflict even greater tragedy.
  • Might be a subversion: Modern Warfare 3 clearly shows he had to have had some major plans going on in the background and that he may have been doing this to Shepherd. If the infamous safehouse level is compared to his actions in Modern Warfare 3, then its likely that Makarov was at least feeding false information to Shepherd's intelligence assets and probably was intending to kill Shepherd anyway, sending Price and Soap was probably just seizing an opportunity.

Boris Vorshevsky

President of Russia and leader of the mainstream Ultranationalists after the civil war.

• I Have Your Wife: Makarov kidnaps his daughter to get him to give up the nuclear launch codes.
• Our Presidents Are Different: President Target.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He decides to pursue peace so more Russians won't die. One wonders how much control he has over the Russian military, given that they launched the massive invasion of Europe even though he wanted peace.
  • It should be noted that several members of his staff, and possibly his Cabinet, were with him on his plane. They were presumably loyal to him, but were all killed when Makarov's men attacked it.
• You're Insane!: Says this to Makarov.

Alena Vorshevsky

The daughter of President Vorshevsky.

• Bridal Carry: She gets this briefly from Price When she is rescued in "Down the Rabbit Hole".
• Cold-Blooded Torture: She seems to have gone through this at least to a minor degree when you find her in the diamond mine.
• Damsel in Distress: Well, yeah. But you have to admit, you'd be pretty scared too if the Ultranationalists were after you.
• Hair of Gold
• I Have Your Wife: The reason why the Ultranationalists keep trying to kidnap her is so they can coerce President Vorshevsky into giving up the launch codes.

Andrei Harkov

An FSO (equivalent of American Secret Service) agent, in charge of President Vorshevsky's security.

• Badass
• Determinator

Major Petrov

Commander of an Ultranationalist airbase in Modern Warfare 2.

• Department of Redundancy Department: "...surrender now or your comrade dies! Put your hands in the air and surrender to us or your comrade dies!" "You have five seconds to comply!" "Very well, we give you five seconds to comply!"
• Large Ham

Other

Sat1

An astronaut briefly controlled in Modern Warfare 2.

• Cruel and Unusual Death
• Heroic Mime
• Player Character
• Recycled in Space: He mostly serves the same role as Call of Duty 4's Al Fulani, but IN SPACE.

Yasir Al-Fulani

President of the unnamed Middle Eastern country in the first Modern Warfare.

• Boom! Headshot!: How he dies.
• Controllable Helplessness
• Crucified Hero Shot: He is tied to a cross before Al-Asad shoots him.
• Meaningful Name: Equivalent to the English "President X" in Arabic.

The Davis family

A family seen vacationing in London during Modern Warfare 3. Killed in a gas attack predicating the Russian invasion of Europe.

• Cheerful Child: Sarah, the daughter in the family.
• Genki Girl: Sarah, again.
• Heroic Mime: You briefly play as the father recording his family. As required by Call of Duty law, he is completely silent.
• Infant Immortality: Brutally averted. None of them survive the gas attack, not even the daughter.
• Red Shirts

Waraabe

Somalian warlord seen in the Modern Warfare 3 mission "Return to Sender".

• Authority Equals Asskicking: Averted. He quickly cracks when Price threatens to use Deadly Gas on him.
• Bald of Evil: Despite the fact that his dossier in "Return to Sender" says he has black hair, he is actually bald.
• Boom! Headshot!: Price kills him this way.
• Names to Run Away From Really Fast: "Waraabe" means "hyena" in Somali.

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