History Characters / CallOfDutyZombies

* [[Characters/CallOfDutyZombiesEnemyTypes Enemy Types]] [[note]]World at War (Zombie, Hellhound), Black Ops I (Nova Six Crawler, The Pentagon Thief, Space Monkey/Zombie Monkey, George A. Romero, Napalm Zombie, Shrieker Zombie), Black Ops II (Avogadro/[[spoiler:Cornelius Pernell]], Denizen of the Forest, Jumping Jack, Brutus/The Warden, Ghost Women,Panzer Soldat), Black Ops III (Margwa, Parasite, Insanity Elemental, Thrasher, Spider, Russian Mangler, Valkyrie Drone, Apothicon Fury), Black Ops IV (Blightfather, Catalyst, Destroyer/Marauder, Tiger, Stoker, Nosferatu, Werewolf, Gegenes, Spartoi), Black Ops Cold War (Megaton, Demented Echoes, Mimic, Orda, Tempest, Disciple), Vanguard (Boom Schreier, Sturmkrieger)[[/note]]

* [[Characters/CallOfDutyZombiesOtherCharacters Other Characters]] [[note]]Ludvig Maxis, Samantha Maxis, Sophia, Groph, Schuster, Arthur, Ghost Women, Doctor Monty, The Shadow Man, The Apothicons, The Keepers, Marines, Peter [=McCain=], Cornelius Pernell, Rushmore, George A. Romero, Brock and Gary, Sally, George Barkley, Pablo Marinus, Alistair Rhodes, The Order, The Oracle, Pegasus, Requiem, Omega Group, The Forsaken[[/note]]

* [[Characters/CallOfDutyZombiesVictisAndOtherPlayableCharacters Victis and other playable characters]] [[note]]Victis (Misty, Marlton, Samuel, and Russman), John F. Kennedy, Robert [=McNamara=], Richard Nixon, Fidel Castro, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Robert Englund, Danny Trejo, Michael Rooker, Salvatore [=DeLuca=], Billy Handsome, Finn O'Leary, Al Arlington. Nero Blackstone, Jack Vincent, Jessica Rose, Floyd Campbell, Diego Necali, Scarlett Rhodes, Bruno Delacroix, Stanton Shaw[[/note]]
* [[Characters/CallOfDutyZombiesOtherCharacters Other Characters]] [[note]]Ludvig Maxis, Samantha Maxis, Sophia, Groph, Schuster, Brutus, Stanley Ferguson, Arthur, Ghost Women, Doctor Monty, The Shadow Man, The Apothicons, The Keepers, Marines, Peter [=McCain=], Cornelius Pernell, Rushmore, George A. Romero, Brock and Gary, Sally, George Barkley, Pablo Marinus, Alistair Rhodes, The Order, The Oracle, Pegasus, Requiem, Omega Group, The Forsaken[[/note]]

* [[Characters/CallOfDutyZombiesOtherCharacters Other Characters]] [[note]]Ludvig Maxis, Samantha Maxis, Sophia, Groph, Schuster, Brutus, Stanley Ferguson, Arthur, Ghost Women, Doctor Monty, The Shadow Man, The Apothicons, The Keepers, Marines, Peter McCain, Cornelius Pernell, Rushmore, George A. Romero, Brock and Gary, Sally, George Barkley, Pablo Marinus, Alistair Rhodes, The Order, The Oracle, Pegasus, Requiem, Omega Group, The Forsaken[[/note]]

* [[Characters/CallOfDutyZombiesOtherCharacters Other Characters]] [[note]]Ludvig Maxis, Samantha Maxis, Sophia, Groph, Schuster, Arthur, Ghost Women, Brutus, Stanley Ferguson, George A. Romero, Marines, Brock and Gary, Sally, George Barkley, Spoiler Character[[/note]]
* [[Characters/CallOfDutyZombiesEnemyTypes Enemy Types]] [[note]]World at War (Zombie, Hellhound), Black Ops I (Nova Six Crawler, The Pentagon Thief, Space Monkey/Zombie Monkey, George A. Romero, Napalm Zombie, Shrieker Zombie), Black Ops II (Avogadro/[[spoiler:Cornelius Pernell]], Denizen of the Forest, Jumping Jack, Brutus/The Warden, Ghost Women,Panzer Soldat), Black Ops III (Margwa, Parasite, Insanity Elemental, Thrasher, Spider, Russian Mangler, Valkyrie Drone, Apothicon Fury), Black Ops IV (Blightfather, Catalyst, Destroyer/Marauder, Tiger, Stoker, Nosferatu, Werewolf, Gegenes, Spartoi)[[/note]]

* [[Characters/CallOfDutyZombiesEnemyTypes Enemy Types]]

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:George A. Romero]]
!Creator/GeorgeARomero

->''Well, I've always liked the "monster within" idea. I like the zombies being us. It's like, zombies are the blue-collar monsters.''

->'''Appearances''': ''Call of the Dead''

After discovering Nazi documents on zombies, he brings in four well-known horror actors to make a movie about it, until he becomes the first victim of the outbreak.
----
* AscendedFanboy: Well he was talking about zombies being the classic horror monster and his fascination with the Nazi zombies. Now he is one.
* BigBad: He's the boss zombie.
* CelebritySurvivor: Kind of...he retains some of his human self as a zombie.
* InkSuitActor: George Romero pitched in his likeness via motion capture.
* UncertainDoom: The only follow-up to ''Call of the Dead'' so far has been the radios in ''Revelations'', which mention that the cast and crew have been missing for six weeks.
* ZombieInfectee: It's rather unlike other examples we've seen as he remains self-aware after apparently dying.
[[/folder]]



!!Alcatraz

[[folder:Brutus]]
!Brutus/The Warden

->'''''YOU CAN'T ESCAPE YOUR FATE!!!'''''

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/NolanNorth, Creator/GeorgeARomero [[note]]Romero’s roars from ''Call of the Dead'' are recycled for ''Mob''[[/note]], Creator/TomKane (as the Warden)
->'''Appearances''': ''Mob of the Dead'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

A boss zombie. He appears and 'patrols' Alcatraz, locking perks and the box as he goes. He is actually the warden as a zombie.
----
* ActuallyIAmHim: Subverted. In ''Mob of the Dead'', Sal speculates that he is in fact some sort of reincarnation of Ferguson. ''Blood of the Dead'' makes it clear that Brutus and the Warden are in fact one and the same.
* AscendedExtra: In ''Mob of the Dead'', while he was a prominent feature of the map, he mostly functioned as a tough boss zombie. ''Blood of the Dead'' greatly increases his presence and role in the overall story of the setting.
* BigBad: Downplayed, he's the boss zombie, no doubt. But [[{{Evil Vs Evil}} the prisoners are no better than him.]] He is firmly in the role for ''Blood of the Dead'', since he’s targeting the far more heroic Primis crew.
* TheDragon: Implied to be this to the Satanic entity behind the events going on in the map. [[spoiler: ''Blood of the Dead'' confirms it. In the boss fight, he begins chanting in the Apothicon language, suggesting he is a servant of the Apothicons.]]
* DrunkOnTheDarkSide: ''Blood of the Dead'' makes it clear that his service to his evil master drove him insane. He waxed poetically about how he loved having a prison full of inmates to rule over.
* EnemyMine: He and Weasel join forces in the EasterEgg climax to ensure Weasel survives.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: From the warden of a prison to a servant of an eldritch power.
* HearingVoices: As a human, he prayed to and received instructions from an unknown evil entity that spoke to him in his head.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: In ''Blood of the Dead'', his defeat is partially brought on by the very prisoners (Sal, Finn, and Al) he either had executed to appease his master, or that he tortured endlessly in ''Mob of the Dead''.]]
* IHaveManyNames: In ''Blood of the Dead'', Richtofen reveals that Brutus is an entity that has taken on many forms and names.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:After Revelations!Richtofen unleashes the energy from his crystal, his next death kills him for good, releasing all of the souls trapped in Alcatraz.]]
* NoSell: The Acid and Fan Traps in the map will ''not'' hurt him, and he will disable them if he comes across them. He can die from the Tower Trap, however, especially if it is upgraded to fire rockets.
* PetTheDog: At present, it appears his aid to Weasel is this, since he helps him survive against the attack from Sal, Finn, and Billy.
* ScaryImpracticalArmor: [[SubvertedTrope Kind of.]] He wears hardened leather armour over a blue suit covered in barbed wire. Not exactly a match for the sort of armour-peircing weapons that the Mystery Box gives the Mobsters and Primis, but then it barely matters considering he's so tough-as-nails anyway.
* SealedEvilInACan: He wasn't kidding when he said he was trapped in Alcatraz. [[spoiler:Him wanting out is what motivates him to attack Richtofen and crew, and they had the means to get him out.]]
* SmokeShield: Knocking off his helmet causes him to unpin the smoke grenades attached to his vest and release smoke in the area, making him harder to see.
* SpannerInTheWorks: In ''Blood of the Dead'', he suddenly appears and destroys the portal to ''Zetsubou No Shima'' that Primis was about to use, trapping them in the purgatory Alcatraz. [[spoiler:It also breaks the cycle, ensuring that later events are going to turn out quite different.]]
* PunchClockVillain: It's implied Brutus is just doing his job for his master, whatever or whoever that may be, and claims he's stuck in Alcatraz like the mobsters. [[spoiler:Him being trapped is what motivates him to attack Primus, as they could free him from his trap for good.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: Belts out, "No! IMPOSSIBLE!" after Post-Rev Richtofen unleashes energy from his crystal, killing all the zombies and removing his own power. He is cut down by Primis not long after this.]]
* VocalEvolution: In the opening cinematic of ''Blood of the Dead'', his voice does not have the processing it did in ''Mob of the Dead''.
* WardensAreEvil: As a demonic prison warden, it's sort of his job to actively get in the Mobsters' way. He locks up the box, the perk-a-cola machines, the work benches and even the plane if he gets near them. Unlocking them costs 2000 points, a price that increases every time he locks it down within a round. ''Blood'' confirms that he was evil even from the start, serving a dark master who corrupted him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Stanley Ferguson]]
!Stanley Ferguson

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/NolanNorth
->'''Appearances''': ''Mob of the Dead'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

A guard in Alcatraz who watched over the inmates. Killed in the intro by Albert.
----
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Killed in the intro, [[{{NotQuiteDead}} except not really.]]
* FriendlyEnemy: Likes Sal and Finn. Billy and Albert however...
* TheIlluminati: He is implied to be a member by the timeline, which states that he was contacted by Richtofen through his Illuminati connections to build the secret lab below Alcatraz.
* NotQuiteDead: More like never died at all.
[[/folder]]


!!''Buried'' Residents
[[folder:Arthur]]
!Arthur

->'''Appearances''': ''Buried''

A giant man trapped in Angola.
----
* TheAlcoholic: He drinks the vaguely named ''booze''. Give it to him, and he'll ram the zombies, and whatever debris you want knocked down.
* AmbiguouslyHuman: Zombies typically go after ''every'' living human, but ignore him, implying he's not human at all.
* BigGuy: He's the tallest person that isn't a zombie.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: He actually heralds from 14th century Europe, having been teleported to the Angolan town thanks to Element 115-induced teleportation.
* TheJuggernaut: He's unstoppable.
* ManChild: He's not exactly intelligent, but he's a real nice guy.
* NoNameGiven: His actual name, Arthur, was not given until the release of the ''Zombies Chronicles'' timeline, which was released four years after the release of ''Buried''.
* SweetTooth: He likes candy, and if you give it to him, he'll help you. You know what's burned on his knuckles? [[UpToEleven SUGR.]] That's right.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ghost Women]]
!Ghost Women

->'''Appearances''': ''Buried''

Spirits of women who attack the player, and steal their points too.
----
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: A bit of type 4. They are also physical aspirations, so the best way to repel them is simply to open fire.
* HauntedHouse: They live in a mansion. You better hope they don't overrun you. Oh, and the Pack-A-Punch Machine is behind the mansion, beyond [[TheMaze a maze.]] Good luck trying to upgrade those weapons you have.
[[/folder]]


!!Group 935 and Affiliates

[[folder:Dr. Ludvig Maxis]]
!Dr. Ludvig Maxis
!!Ultimis Maxis
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ludvigmaxis.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"The paradox must be resolved! The loophole must be closed!"'']]

->''Kill them all.''

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/FredTatasciore
->'''Appearances''': ''Der Riese'' | ''Kino der Toten'' | ''Moon'' | ''[=TranZit=]'' | ''Die Rise'' | ''Buried'' | ''Classified''

A top scientist and leader of Group 935, he has seen Richtofen fall from grace and sanity, and has set out some counterplans to thwart Edward, resulting in a power struggle that drives the main storyline of ''Black Ops II''.
----
* AllForNothing: Though he succeeds in attaining power over the Aether, and reunites with Samantha, [[spoiler: he's been driven to evil by the Apothicons' corruption and]] it's all for naught since she flees to Dimension 63 to seek the help of Primis Maxis. Ultimis Maxis ends up destroying the Earth, but loses his daughter and is left with absolutely nothing. [[spoiler: Monty later destroys him and the Ultimis timeline for his troubles.]]
* AscendedExtra: In ''World at War'' and most of ''Black Ops'', he plays a small yet critical role, heard only through audio logs and radios. However, come Moon, Maxis is revealed to be alive, and helps the group deal Richtofen a crucial defeat by nuking the Earth. In ''Black Ops II'', he's a full-blown major character, even becoming the Demonic Announcer if you aid him.
* BadBoss: In many of the radios across the earlier maps, he is very impatient and irate with his subordinates, especially Richtofen.
* BigGood: He at first helps the original three and his daughter strike a huge blow against Richtofen's control of the zombies in Moon. In ''Black Ops II'', he enlists the [=TranZit=] group, and by extension humanity's aid to stop Edward's control over the zombies. Subverted though, when he takes control, [[GoneHorriblyRight he just continues the fight anyway]].
* BitchInSheepsClothing: For about a decade, he presented himself as a benevolent force trying to save humanity from Richtofen and his evil. However, ''Buried'' reveals he was EvilAllAlong and was trying to use humanity to get him the ultimate power to destroy Earth.
* BoomHeadshot: He shot himself in the head after ordering Samantha to wipe out Group 935.
* BrainUploading: Completely unintentional, but when he died in front of the MPD, his soul entered the systems of Griffin Station, leaving him a digital being.
* CoolOldGuy: Is this to the Victis crew in ''Black Ops II'' (particularly during ''Buried'' when he's noticeably on his best behaviour). It ends up being cruelly subverted when it's revealed he's been manipulating humanity to help give him the power to destroy the Earth.
* TheDeterminator: Nothing, and we mean nothing - not zombies, Hellhounds, traitors, dimensional planes, demons, or any living human being - will stop him from reuniting with his daughter.
* EarthShatteringKaboom: Accidentally causes one at the end of the ''Black Ops'' storyline, setting ''Black Ops II'' into motion, though this ended up playing nicely into his plans when he sought to open the Rift and reach Agartha.
* EvilAllAlong: After pretending to be the BigGood for ''[=TranZit=]'', ''Die Rise'', and ''Buried'', he reveals in the endgame of the latter map that he's been manipulating our heroes all along so he can destroy the Earth in a misguided attempt to find Samantha. The timeline later clarified that he has been corrupted by the Dark Aether.
* TheFaceless: This incarnation of Maxis is never seen, only heard in audio logs and various devices.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Once he's in control of the Zombies, he goes on cheering about how he'll be reunited with his daughter and thanks the players... and then less-than-sincerely announces the impending destruction of Earth and humanity's survivors as he heads for Agartha.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Maxis' betrayal is foreshadowed by his maniacal laughing upon the Earth's destruction, and some of the survivors seem to realize he intends to destroy the Earth. [[spoiler:All of this turns out to be because he was being corrupted by the Apothicons thanks to the Divinium they planted years ago.]]
* GreaterScopeVillain: Of the Ultimis timeline (though he pales in comparison to the [[spoiler:Apothicons]]).
* KickTheDog: Frustrated with his lack of progress with the teleporters, he tossed Samantha's ''pregnant dog'' Fluffy into the teleporter and inadvertently created Hellhounds. He ends up backstabbing the [=TranZit=] group and humanity even after they help him attain ultimate power.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: A familial version, in that when Samantha goes missing, Maxis is happy to first nuke the Earth, lie to gain support among Earth's survivors, ultimately to control the Aether and the zombies, and tear open the Earth to reach Agartha, where his daughter may not even be.
* MrExposition: Maxis' radios and direct quotes often help inform the player on the goings-on of the map. In ''Classified'', he essentially provides a recap of the Ultimis timeline up until shortly before ''"Five"''.
* NecessaryEvil: What he views his plans to destroy Earth as, though he doesn't sound too sincere when he claims to regret it.
* PapaWolf: He will destroy ''humanity and the planet Earth'' to find his daughter.
* PosthumousCharacter: Was assumed to be one for ''World at War'' and ''Black Ops'', until ''Moon'' revealed he's alive and well, albeit as a digital entity following his body's death in front of the MPD.
* SmugSnake: Once he takes control of the Aether, he's smug and gloating about how he's won and how Earth will be destroyed.
* TakingYouWithMe: He committed suicide in front of the MPD, but not before commanding Samantha to kill all of Group 935.
* UnwittingPawn: Through exposure to 115, he eventually became corrupted by the Dark Aether, and ultimately successfully destroyed the Earth for [[spoiler: the Apothicons]], while thinking he was merely acting out his own agenda.
* VillainProtagonist: As with Richtofen, it's played with. He definitely seems more heroic than Richtofen from ''Moon'' to ''Buried'', but it's all just a farce so he can destroy the Earth to reach Samantha in Agartha.
* VillainSong: ''We All Fall Down'' in ''Die Rise''. Played with, as at this point in the story he seems to be the good guy and is describing how Richtofen destroyed his life just for power and fun.
* WalkingSpoiler: An extremely critical character to the lore and relevant to quite a lot of the plot twists and revelations.
* WoobieDestroyerofWorlds: Quite literally.

!!Primis Maxis

->'''Appearances''': ''Origins'' [[note]]First physical appearance[[/note]] | ''The Giant'' | ''Revelations'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

Following the destruction of the Earth in the original timeline, the original Maxis had shattered the universe into countless timelines. Samantha found her way to Agartha, where she beseeched a new incarnation of Maxis, one who was already an old man by the time of World War I, to free her from the place. Samantha took a toll on Maxis' sanity, not helped by the new plague of Element 115 at the excavation site in France. After creating replicas of the Primis staves as well as many other fantastical technologies with 115, Maxis succumbed to the element's corruption. Richtofen was forced to lobotomize his old friend to save his life, and Maxis was put in a drone in which he helped the others free his daughter from Agartha. Maxis then instructed Richtofen to embark on an epic journey to save the universe from the horrors of 115.
----
* BigGood: He coordinates Richtofen's journey in ''Black Ops III'', though he defers to [[spoiler:Monty.]]
* BrainInAJar: In ''Origins''. Thankfully, you can build him a new body, a drone. Considering the circumstances, there really wasn't much choice in the matter besides UnwillingRoboticisation, since he was technically dead. [[spoiler:It is in this form that he is delivered to Dr. Monty.]]
* BrainUploading: More like [[InvertedTrope "Brain Download"]]. In ''Revelations'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:only his brain was placed into a new body by Monty, [[TheSoulless his soul being apparently lost for the time being]]]].
* CoolOldGuy: During World War I he tried to be a father figure to Richtofen, and now he's helping him save the universe, [[spoiler:but as he lacks a soul, he's vulnerable to being corrupted by the Shadow Man.]]
* TheCorruption: [[spoiler:In ''Revelations'', he is corrupted by the Apothicons and accidentally unleashes the Shadow Man]].
* TheFaceless: Subverted, unlike his Ultimis counterpart. He is finally seen in an old photograph from World War I in the opening cutscene of ''Origins'', and he makes his first physical appearance when we first see his lobotomized body, and then when he is uploaded into a quadrotor drone. It isn't until ''Revelations'' that his human form ([[spoiler: or at least, the one Monty gives him based on his Primis body]]) makes a physical appearance.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Revelations'', he and Sophia use their life force to help seal away the Apothicons forever.]]
* LikeASonToMe: He became a father figure to Richtofen after the death of his parents before World War I.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: In ''Revelations'', [[spoiler:the Shadow Man is able to corrupt him with the warning that only he can help save his daughter and the new world that Monty created for him.]]
* OutOfFocus: While he's still critical to the story, he's far less prominent in ''Black Ops III'' as opposed to the previous game.
* SixthRanger: Well, more like fifth, unless you count Samantha. In ''Origins'', he becomes a valuable ally in the fight against the zombies.
* TheSoulless: [[spoiler:After ''Origins'', Monty gave him a new body, but was literally unable to give him back his soul which he lost when he was killed and lobotomized by Richtofen. This led to his corruption by the Shadow Man.]]
* TeamDad: [[spoiler:Appears to be the only adult figure in the House, the realm created by Dr. Monty for Samantha and the ''Origins'' cast to live out peaceful lives, as his daughter and the others are all children, making him this.]]
* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler: His last words are assuring SOPHIA that they will be together always as they prepare to sacrifice their lives to seal away the Apothicons.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: Most of the new timeline Maxis' story comes in the series' endgame, necessitating a lot of spoiler tags.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Samantha Maxis]]
!Samantha Maxis

->''The darkness will swallow you whole! [[GreaterScopeVillain Something]] far more terrible than you lies here!''

->'''Voiced By''': Julie Nathanson (Ultimis), Grace Kaufman (Primis)
->'''Appearances''': ''Nacht der Untoten'' | ''Verruckt'' | ''Shi No Numa'' | ''Der Riese'' | ''Kino der Toten'' | ''Ascension'' | ''Call of the Dead'' | ''Shangri La'' | ''Moon''[[note]]First physical appearance[[/note]] | ''Nuketown Zombies'' | ''Origins'' | ''Revelations'' | ''Classified''

Maxis' daughter who took control of the zombies when she accidentally teleported to the Moon after Richtofen's betrayal and entered the alien M.P.D., her soul entering the Aether. Her father's dying wish was to kill all of Group 935, triggering the zombie storyline of ''World at War'' and ''Black Ops''.
----
* AntiVillain: She's not evil, she just wants to kill Richtofen and stop his plans by any means necessary, which would actually be for the best considering Ultimis Richthofen's plans for world domination. A phone in ''Classified'' shows that she's ultimately lonely and traumatised, missing her father and her dog and wanting to go home.
* AxCrazy: She's almost completely bonkers when the four find her on ''Moon'', although that's likely because of all the things she's endured.
* BackForTheFinale: She's a central figure in the story, but disappears for all of ''Black Ops II'' until ''Origins''. It happens again in ''Black Ops III'', where she doesn't show up until ''Revelations''.
* BigBad: Of the ''World at War'' and ''Black Ops'' arcs. At first.
* CreepyChild: Thanks to getting corrupted by the Dark Aether and whatever lurks in there, and the fact she commands legions of the undead bent on killing the heroes.
* DemotedToExtra: Barely appears in the series after ''Black Ops'' besides a critical and major role in ''Origins''.
* TheDreaded: ''Classified'' reveals that the Kennedy administration eventually came to fear the threat she poised to the world and was prepared to form an alliance with their eastern rivals to combat her.
* {{Expy}}: Of [[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon Alma]].
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Inexplicably drops her German accent in trade for an American one in ''Origins'' and onwards, though she briefly returns to it in the red phone message in ''Classified''.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Her goal to kill the rest of Group 935 has elements of this, to say the least.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: In-universe. She feels she did a much better job at controlling the zombies and constantly complains about Richtofen making it too easy once he gets in charge.
* WhamLine: "My name is Samantha. I'm going to tell you how all of this ''really'' began."
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: She only sends the zombies after the original crew to kill Richtofen to fulfill her father's dying wish to have all of Group 935 killed.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sophia]]
!Sophia/Strategic Operations Planning Heuristic Intelligence Analyzer (S.O.P.H.I.A.)

->''"My relationship with Ludvig is... complicated."''

->'''Voiced by''': Christa Lewis
->'''Appearances''': ''Der Riese'' | ''Kino der Toten'' | ''Moon'' | ''Zetsubou No Shima'' | ''Gorod Krovi'' [[note]]first physical appearance[[/note]] | ''Revelations

Dr. Maxis' secretary in Group 935. In the new timeline, she was transferred into a robotic form after being infected with 115 after a zombie attack.
----
* AscendedExtra: Originally just a character mentioned in passing in ''World at War'' and ''Black Ops'', she becomes a major supporting character in the endgame of the series.
* BrainUploading: After she was [[spoiler:infected from an attack from Subject Two-Six, Maxis poisoned her and transferred her brain into S.O.P.H.I.A. to save her life.]]
* EleventhHourRanger: [[spoiler:Joins in the final battle with the Shadow Man and the Apothicons.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Revelations'', she and Maxis sacrifice themselves to seal away the Apothicons forever.]]
* SecondLove: For Maxis, after his first wife died giving birth to Samantha.
* SexySecretary: At least, Maxis found her to be one.
* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:Maxis says that after they sacrifice themselves to seal away the Apothicons, they will be together forever.]]
* UnwillingRoboticisation: [[spoiler:She certainly didn't volunteer to be poisoned by Maxis, and is distressed when she finds herself in her new form.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Groph]]
!Dr. Groph

->''"It is grim work, Doctor… May God have mercy on us all."''

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/SteveBlum
->'''Appearances''': ''Moon'' | ''Der Eisendrache''

A scientist who joined Richtofen's splinter cell of Group 935.
----
* ArbitrarySkepticism: He was incredulous at Richtofen's claim that the MPD led to the Aether, and Richtofen pointed out that it was no more ridiculous than him teleporting them all to the Moon to build an entire base.
* AscendedExtra: He was a minor character during "Moon" before becoming close to the BigBad of "Der Eisendrache".
* AssholeVictim: It was assumed he was this when he was supposedly killed by Samantha, but he's definitely now this as Richtofen has killed him in ''Der Eisendrace''.
* BaldOfEvil: He's revealed to be bald in "Der Eisendrache".
* BigBad: The closest thing to a main antagonist in ''Der Eisendrache''.
* TheBusCameBack: His appearance in ''Der Eisendrache'' is the first time the character has appeared since "Moon", which was released about four years prior.
* CoDragons: With Dr. Schuster to Richtofen, though Groph himself is the one nominally in charge of Griffin Station.
* DirtyOldMan: Richtofen mentions in ''Moon'' that he is obsessed with young American women.
* EtTuBrute: He's enraged when it appears Richtofen has gone rogue and vows to kill him.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He was horrified to have to harvest 100 souls to fuel the MPD.
* LastNameBasis: We've only learned his last name.
* NotQuiteDead: Subverted. It was initially assumed he somehow survived Samantha's original purge of Group 935, but it was revealed that ''Der Eisendrache'' all took place in a new timeline formed by the death of the original Richthofen.
* TheStarscream: Joined Richtofen in betraying Maxis.
* YouAreInCommandNow: After the fall of Der Riese and the death of the original timeline Richthofen, he assumes command of Group 935.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Schuster]]
!Dr. Schuster

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/TomKane
->'''Appearances''': ''Moon'' | ''Classified''

A Group 935 scientist who bore witness to Richtofen's inventing teleportation, and who joined his splinter cell of Group 935.
----
* TheCassandra: When he joined the Pentagon’s 115 research division, he warned the Americans that creating undead soldiers would invite the wrath of Samantha. He was laughed off by his colleagues for quite some time before they realized he was telling the truth.
* CoDragons: He and Dr. Groph are Richtofen's left and right-hand men, though Groph is the one officially in charge of their base, Griffin Station.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Never appears again after ''Moon'', not even in ''Der Eisendrache'' where Groph appears and has a prominent role. He finally returns in ''Classified''.
* DeadpanSnarker: Downplayed, but Schuster is clearly bored and not even pretending to be interested in their first test teleportation of a walnut.
* NotQuiteDead: He was believed to have been immediately killed when Samantha agreed to fulfill her father's dying wish to wipe out 935, but ''Classified'' reveals that he managed to escape back to Earth.
* SecretKeeper: He was one of the few 935 members to learn about Maxis' private deal with the Third Reich for funding.
* TheStarscream: He was the first of Richtofen's followers who schemed to overthrow Maxis.
* VillainousFriendship: He is one of Ultimis Richtofen's closest cohorts and they seem to genuinely share an appreciation for each other.
[[/folder]]


!!Agartha

[[folder:Monty]]
!Doctor Monty
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dr_monty.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"This. Is. It."'']]

-> ''"Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better."''

->'''Voiced by:''' [=Malcom McDowell=]
->'''Appearances:''' ''Nacht der Untoten''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Verruckt''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Shi No Numa''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Kino der Toten''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Ascension''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Moon''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Origins''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Gorod Krovi'' | ''Revelations''

Doctor Monty is a mysterious being who is responsible for the creation of the Perk-A-Colas, Gobblegums, power drops, as well as the very important [[{{Macguffin}} Summoning Key]]. An omnipotent being who watches over all of the timelines and the entire universe, he makes a sudden appearance during ''Gorod Krovi'', and turns out to be perhaps the most important character of the entire series.
----
* AmbiguouslyEvil: There are some ominous signs that Monty is not the benevolent guy he's cracked up to be. Trying to erase the Primis crew is one thing, he meant no harm and genuinely came to like them by that point. But in his last notes, Primis Dempsey mentioned if Monty ever found a certain place, they'd all be doomed. Richtofen and Maxis are certainly both eager to keep certain information from him. [[spoiler: At the end of ''Blood of the Dead'', post-''Revelations'' Richtofen says that they need to defeat him.]]
* BeenThereShapedHistory: The true creator of all the Perk drinks and other machines seen throughout the entire series? Not Group 935, this guy.
** To a more literal extent, there are a number of extra radios scattered across all eight remastered maps of the ''Zombie Chronicles'' DLC, with him explaining a fair amount about the map in question - with some not-too-subtle ribbing.
* BigGood: He's the most powerful non-hostile entity encountered in the game mode so far and he's willing to help the main four save the universe. As he steps into the role during the endgame of the series and the reveals about his knowledge of the Apothicons, this makes him the BigGood of the entire series.
* CoolOldGuy: For the most part, he's a wry, helpful guy who's also an ancient being who's been around since the beginning of the universe.
* DeadpanSnarker: Pretty much every word he says is dripping in sarcasm.
* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler: ''Blood of the Dead'' seems to confirm that he is in fact an antagonist when post-''Revelations'' Richtofen tasks Nikolai and the others with defeating him.]]
* TheFaceless: Appears in no physical shape or form until ''Revelations''.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Implied by the fact he takes on a human form when appearing to the crew in ''Revelations''.
* {{God}}: While he doesn't claim to be God, he certainly has some of the characteristics of one: (near-)Omnipotence, acts InMysteriousWays, is the BigGood, created a [[{{Heaven}} perfect reality for the children]], oversees the different realities and opposes the Apothicons.
* HeroicFatigue: Two of his quotes in ''Revelations'' indicates that he suffered from it at some point, or may be still suffering from it.
-->'''Monty:''' It's too much information sometimes, know what I mean? I know you must be struggling to take it all in, but can you imagine how I feel? I've got heart felt prayers to the Angels, dying people's wish lists and letters to fucking Santa coming out of my bleeding ears! It's hard to keep up, honestly! I hardly ever get any time for myself, or even just time to stand back and appreciate all the good that I've done.\\
\\
'''Monty:''' I made an app once, at least I think that's what you call it. It started off really simple: All people did was press a button to indicate whether or not they had a good day. I tracked the data for everyone in the world, I mean it was meant to help me understand people. It worked. But even in its simplest form it was too much to take in. It actually made me depressed. It's hard trying to please everyone. Ahh, I'm getting worked up, honestly! You have NO idea how hard it's been from my side. Sorry... Keep up the good work. I'm sure you'll sort it out.
* InkSuitActor: His actor Malcolm [=McDowell=]'s likeness is used to portray the form he appears in during ''Revelations''.
* InMysteriousWays:
** Claims to be how he was influencing things until the Origins crew forced him to take a more direct approach.
** One of his quotes in ''Revelations'' has him complain about how much work keeping this reality together is tiring:
-->'''Monty:''' Honestly, if you could see just what was going on outside your realm of perception, it would blow your minds! That's the main reason I kept it back. If I were to give you an analogy, I'd describe it like this: when a duck swims on the water, you only see it glide, apparently effortlessly across the lake. But underneath, as in beneath the surface, it's a whole different story. Its legs are moving like he's pedaling a fucking bicycle up a mountain! Well, that's me right now. I am that duck!
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He never hesitates to condescend the main characters for their limited, mortal understanding of the universe, but he still agrees to help nudge them in the right direction to fix it.
* TheManBehindTheMan: He reveals himself to be the true source behind the magical powers of the game mode to date, including the Perks, Mystery Boxes, wall guns, and more.
* MesACrowd: He advises against this line of thought when it comes to the original and new timeline incarnations of the main four.
-->'''Dr. Monty''': You need to stop thinking in terms of originals - old and new, it's not like that. When you look in the mirror, it's still you. If you crack that mirror you see multiple reflections. It doesn't mean you've actually multiplied, does it?
* MrExposition: Monty explains much of the backstory of the series, particularly in regards to the Apothicons, Agartha, and the Shadow Man. He also provides some little tidbits of trivia here and there that aren't essential, but are still interesting nonetheless.
* TheNeedsOfTheMany: In the ''Revelations'' trailer, he asks the crew to do the right thing for ''everyone''.
* TheOmnipotent: Downplayed as while he's the one who keeps an eye on the universe, a few of his quotes in ''Revelations'' have him says he's not actually omnipotent, but barely.
* RealityWarper: Comes with being God, but he formed the House in Agartha, created new bodies for Maxis and the children, and almost erased the four from existence in the ending cutscene of ''Revelations''. He also casually mentions creating a new moon in the ''Zombies Collection'' version of ''Moon''.
* RememberTheNewGuy: Only introduced in the penultimate map, and yet provided nudges to the creation of every single thing relating to the Perk machines, Pack-a-Punch, the Summoning Key and everything in-between.
* {{Satan}}: In ''Revelations'', the Shadow Man claims that Monty is in fact the Devil of most of humanity's religions. [[spoiler: Whether or not he's the actual Devil, ''Blood of the Dead'' seems to confirm he is indeed an antagonist.]]
* SirSwearsALot: Drops swears quite frequently.
* SophisticatedAsHell: Compared to the 2.0 Timeline survivors, his dialogue is a lot more informal - and a lot more condescending.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: He intended for Primis to fade out of existence with the defeat of the Apothicons, but to his dismay, Richtofen caught on and ensured they survived the resetting of the universe. Monty allows them to go back in time to be Primis in Earth's Middle Ages.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Demonic Announcer]]
!The Demonic Announcer

->'''''FETCH ME THEIR SOULS.'''''

->'''Voiced by''': Julie Nathanson (as Samantha ([=WaW/BO1=])/Satan/[[spoiler:the Apothicons]]), Creator/NolanNorth (Richtofen), Creator/FredTatasciore (Maxis) and Grace Kaufman (Samantha ([=BO2=]))

The title of the demonic, and in at least one universe Satanic, entity who controls the zombies. In ''World at War'' and ''Black Ops'', Samantha takes the reigns. Starting from the end of Moon, extending into ''Black Ops II'',Richtofen takes over, and by the end of his side of Buried's story easter egg, Dr. Maxis usurps him. On Mob of the Dead, it's implied to be Satan himself, and as of ''Black Ops III'', the Apothicons have taken the mantle, though both recycle Samantha's voice lines. A new entity takes over for the Chaos story, supposedly being the High Priest of Chaos in ''IX'', but otherwise unknown.

The concept of the Demomic Announcer is also used in other Zombie modes; ''Advanced Warfare's'' Exo Zombies has AN-G and ''Infinite Warfare's'' Zombies mode uses Willard Wyler, but Sledgehammer's Nazi Zombies lacks a counterpart. Outside of the concept (and in some cases the name), they are unrelated to the Treyarch incarnation.
----
* DemonicPossession: Appears to do this to some degree to both the Maxis' and Richtofen once they begin their tenure as the Demonic Announcer.
* EvilSoundsDeep: Averted with Demonic Richtofen in ''Black Ops II'', though he's still "ethereal" sounding.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Of the game mode. While Samantha, Richtofen, Maxis, and The Shadow Man are the most direct antagonists you face, whatever this entity is, it's definitely far more powerful than any of them and appears to be behind everything. Samantha even warns Richtofen that something far worse than him lurks in the Aether. ''Shadows of Evil'' and ''Revelations'' imply that the Shadow Man is unfamiliar with this entity since he has to be told it by his reporter friend, and ''Blood of the Dead'' strongly implies that this entity is separate from the Apothicons.
* {{Satan}}: It is heavily implied to be Old Scratch himself controlling the zombies in ''Mob of the Dead'' (although the quotes are Samantha's reused), what with the Satanic motifs decorating the prison, the zombies having red eyes, and the characters debating if they're in purgatory. The big clue, however, is entering either 115 or 935 into the electric number pad, and an unknown voice speaks, changing the numbers to 666. Additionally, Samantha had stated that there was something worse than even Richtofen in the Aether.
** ''Blood'' ultimately josses this, with Brutus shown to be speaking Apothicon in events within the map, revealing the Apothicons rule Alcatraz as well.
* TheUnreveal: Despite all the foreshadowing from Samantha and ''Mob of the Dead'', we never learn what this entity's true nature really is. Given the late revelations that the Apothicons and the Shadow Man are behind pretty much everything evil in the series, it's possible, but unconfirmed, that this entity ''was'' an Apothicon, at least before ''Black Ops III'' where they firmly take the reigns as the announcer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Shadow Man]]
!The Shadow Man/"Mr. Rapt"
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadowman.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"This has always ended one way. I have foreseen it."'' [[labelnote:True form]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zombies_shadow_man_apothicon.jpg[[/labelnote]][[labelnote:Final form]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadow_man_final_form.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]


->''"You are but fragments of a bigger universe. Your sins serve only as an invitation... An invitation to an evil beyond your imagination."''

-> '''Played By:''' Creator/RobertPicardo
->'''Appearances''': ''Shadows of Evil'' | ''Revelations'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

A mysterious figure who offers the Morg City survivors a chance at redemption. At the dawn of time, he was a member of the Keepers and best friend of Doctor Monty. However, he joined the Apothicons and now serves as their emissary.
----
* BackForTheFinale: Returns for the final map pack of ''Black Ops III'' as the main antagonist of ''Revelations''.
* BenevolentBoss: He's very polite and generously compensates his reporter friend for all of his hard work (it helps that as a reality-warping demon he can conjure as much money as he'd like), even if he is out to destroy him and his dimension. [[spoiler: Judging by his conversations with the Warden in ''Blood of the Dead'', he's also pretty gracious and gives him several pep talks.]]
* BigBad: Of the ''Shadows of Evil'' map. Turns out they were manipulating the four into unleashing his masters upon our universe.
* BarrierWarrior: When you fight him, you have to find a way to deplete his barrier before you can harm him.
* TheCorruption: Whispers and speaks to Maxis, telling him what to do. It was ''his'' voice that the original Richtofen heard after making contact with the MPD, leading him to a path of destruction.
* {{Cthulhumanoid}}: His real (or close enough) form.
* DarkMessiah: Paints himself as a savior to most people he communicates with. He uses the Morg City crew to help try to bring his masters to our dimension after promising them redemption, and promised Maxis to help save his world by speaking to him.
* EvilAllAlong: His real goal is to pave the way for his masters to enter our realm directly.
* EvilFormerFriend: Of Doctor Monty. They were best pals until the Apothicons got their tentacles on him and corrupted him.
* FinalBoss: Of the game mode, as the ''Revelations'' Easter egg ends with a fight with him.
* FauxAffablyEvil: He's not a good person to say the least, but his speeches of "redemption" and various other WeCanRuleTogether-themed spiel has all the charm of an obvious ConMan.
* GrandTheftMe: Corrupts Maxis through the Summoning Key and takes over his body to bring the Apothicons to the Aether.
* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler: Of ''Mob of the Dead'' and ''Blood of the Dead''. He is the true master of the Warden who is the more direct antagonist of the maps, though he never appears in either of them, bar a jumpscare Easter Egg in ''Blood''.]]
* TheHeavy: He's the direct enforcer of the Apothicons' will and is the most present antagonist of the ''Black Ops III'' - and by extension the entire Aether arc's - story.
* HumanoidAbomination: Whatever he is, he most certainly ain't natural. Turns out he's the servant of an eldritch power, the Apothicons.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The four people who he manipulated into opening a portal into his masters' realm turn on him, kill him and send the horrors he unleashed back to where they came from when they realise his deceit. It then happens ''again'' where upon his death at the hands of Richtofen, Dempsey, Nikolai, and Takeo, they use the Summoning Key, the same thing the previous four he manipulated used to imprison him to send the Apothicons back to oblivion.
* KnightOfCerebus: His presence heralds the endgame of the series' arc up to this point, and it grows DarkerAndEdgier as well. It also helps that he's an evil entity bent on bringing about the destruction of the entire universe through his masters, who are even ''worse'' than he is.
* TheManBehindTheMan: He was the one who corrupted Ultimis Richtofen and drove him to insanity and his mad quests for power that resulted in the destruction of the Earth. He calls that Richtofen his former "apprentice".
* ManipulativeBastard: He orders the four chosen around to help them look for redemption. It's a crock of shit. His real goal is to cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
* OmnicidalManiac: His mission is to let his dimension-destroying overlords turn the universe into a pile of rubble, so he more than fits the bill.
* OutsideContextProblem: Monty was unaware of his presence inside the Summoning Key.
* TheReveal: He's actually an evil entity who works as an emissary of the Apothicons, seeking to help them corrupt and bring chaos and destruction to the entire universe.
* {{Satan}}: [[spoiler: ''Blood of the Dead'' reveals ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgwhB71WSqM via a datamined quote]]) that he is the Warden's Satanic master.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: When the four chosen by him plot against him, his veneer slides away as his plans are uprooted from under his feet. It happens again in ''Revelations'', when he tries to sweet-talk Primis into surrendering and turn them against Monty, and his last wisp has him furiously roaring that they'll pay for disobeying him.
* VillainsNeverLie: During ''Revelations'', he's actually telling the truth when he informs the crew that once they defeat him, Monty will allow them to simply fade out of existence. [[spoiler: ''Blood of the Dead'' also seemingly confirms his claims that Monty is evil, as in the ending, post-''Revelations'' Richtofen tasks Primis with defeating Monty.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: As TheHeavy of the series, he has quite a few spoiler tags to his name.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Apothicons]]
!The Apothicons

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/apothicon.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"This isn't any vague "woo-hoo" evil."'']]

->'''Appearances''': ''Moon''[[note]]mentioned only[[/note]] | ''Shadows of Evil'' | ''Revelations''

The Apothicons are ancient entities that Doctor Monty regards as the ultimate evil in the universe. They bring chaos and darkness wherever they go, and Doctor Monty drafts the Primis crew to save the entire universe from them and their emissary, the Shadow Man. From ''Shadows of Evil'' onwards, one of them serves as the Demonic Announcer.
----
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Their sole focus seems to be spreading chaos and destruction throughout the universe by way of Element 115.
* AncientEvil: First alluded to by this title in the ''Origins'' selection screen, and then consistently referred to as such from then onward.
* TheCorruption: They are the ones who send Element 115 into the various dimensions, bringing havoc and destruction to any unfortunate dimension. The original timeline initially suffered this fate, as they corrupted Richtofen through the MPD and eventually caused the Earth's destruction via Maxis ''twice''.
* EldritchAbomination: They are utterly alien in appearance and abilities.
* FinalBoss: They serve this purpose when it comes to the narrative of ''Black Ops III'' and the entire ''Zombies'' story to this point.
* TheGhost: They are first alluded to when Samantha warns Richtofen during ''Moon'' that something worse than him is lurking in the Aether, but do not properly appear nor is their role in the story explained until the endgame of the ''Black Ops III'' season.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Of the entire series until ''Black Ops III'', where they are properly introduced and take center stage. They are the true main antagonists of the entire series, having been behind all the horrors the cast has faced over the years.
* {{Kaiju}}: Their physical forms are gigantic and monstrous.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: Perfectly visible from the outside, but you can get go inside an Apothicon during ''Revelations'' and you get to see countless teeth as you plummet down its throat.
* SpaceWhale: They generally give off this vibe since they spend most of their time gently flying through space, yet are gigantic beasts.
* ShoutOut: They bear some resemblance to the Leviathans from ''[[Film/TheAvengers2012 The Avengers]]''.
* UltimateEvil: Referred to as such by Doctor Monty, and they are not properly seen in full until ''Revelations''.
* WeWait: After being defeated in the War of Agartha, they decided to wait eons until humanity's actions would tear open a rift for them to invade the universe. They planted some Divinium on Earth just to give a little nudge, however.
* WombLevel: In ''Revelations'', one of them eats the Pack-A-Punch machine, and after trapping it with Doctor Monty's Tesla Death Ray, you can get eaten by it and explore inside.
[[/folder]]

!!Miscellaneous Characters
[[folder:Marines]]
--> '''Appearances''': ''Nacht Der Untoten''[[note]]World At War only [[/note]] | ''Verrückt''[[note]]World At War only [[/note]] | ''Revelations''

A four man squad of US Marines. In ''Verruckt'', they are formed by Tank Dempsey, John Banana, Smokey, and an unknown, fourth Marine.
----
* ApocalypticLog: In ''Revelations'', you can find the last radio message recorded by John Banana, who details the failure of the mission to extract Peter [=McCain=] from the asylum and that the now-zombified Smokey is eating his brain as he speaks.
* CoversAlwaysLie: The promotional artwork for ''Shi No Numa'' and ''Der Riese'' depicted Marines fighting zombies in the new locations, seemingly implying more Marines would be the playable characters. ''Shi No Numa'' instead introduces the Ultimis crew, and until the extra game modes of ''Black Ops II'' such as Grief, generic characters like the Marines are never used again.
* EatenAlive: John Banana dies a long, slow death as the zombified Smokey slowly eats his brain.
* TheGenericGuy: [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness Unlike the other survivors after them]], these guys have no real personality or characterization to speak of.
* RedShirt: With the exception of Dempsey, the other seven Marines all perish at the end of ''Nacht'' and ''Verruckt''.
* SemperFi: They're US Marines.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Brock and Gary]]
!Brock and Gary
->'''Voiced by''': Creator/FredTatasciore (Brock) and Creator/SteveBlum (Gary)
->'''Appearances''': ''Shangri-La''

A fearless explorer and his assistant, respectively, who were on the hunt for a gateway into Agartha, and found themselves in the ancient temples of Shangri-La. They found far more than they bargained for, however, and end up pawns in Richtofen's grand scheme.
----
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: They are subjected to several of these during ''Shangri-La'', with starving to death being their most generous death by far.
* ShaggyDogStory: All of their struggles end up for naught, as they are trapped presumably forever in the time loop of Shangri-La, doomed to die again and again without end.
* SkewedPriorities: Brock is taken with all the fantastical mechanisms and architecture of Shangri-La, and this often ends up leading to his and Gary's deaths.
* ThoseTwoGuys: A pair of explorers who stick together for the duration of their journey.
* UnwittingPawn: They are ultimately manipulated by Richtofen to help him acquire the Focusing Stone, giving him the last relic he needed to take control of the zombies on the Moon.
* TheVoice: Neither of the pair are seen in person, and they are only heard.
* WhatTheHellHero: At one point, Gary yells at Brock for being more interested in agriculture than getting out alive.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sally]]
!Sally
--> '''Appearances''': ''Revelations''

George Romero's mysterious assistant, a woman who ended up traveling far and wide to investigate the disappearance of the ''Call of the Dead'' cast and crew, but ended up lost in time at Shangri-La.
----
* BeenThereShapedHistory: Sally was responsible for at least ''one'' of Brock and Gary's multiple deaths in ''Shangri-La''.
* FateWorseThanDeath: She jokes that being harassed by a horde of agents is worse than her current peril at the hands of hungry zombies.
* GroundhogDayLoop: She becomes trapped in the cycle at Shangri-La, just like Brock and Gary.
* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: She makes her debut in ''Revelations'', the final map of ''Black Ops III'' and the final major map of the Aether/Apothicon storyline.
* MysteriousWatcher: She's investigated several trails of Ultimis' 115-powered adventures, and appears to have been present at ''Shangri-La'' during part of Ultimis' visit.
* ObliviouslyEvil: She sets several traps that impede Brock and Gary, and by extension, Ultimis during ''Shangri-La''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:George Barkley]]
!George Barkley
->'''Voiced by''': Creator/FredTatasciore
->'''Appearances''': ''Die Rise''

Former assistant director of the CIA facility in Georgia. Following the destruction of the Earth, he led a group of survivors, including fellow former CIA agents, from his headquarters in Druid Hills. Ten years after the missile strike, however, his headquarters was lost and he began to suffer from the new 115 plague.
----
* {{Irony}}: In his message, he warns that symptoms of 115 infection include psychosis, delusion, paranoia, and short-term memory loss. The thing is, in his message, he displays ''exactly'' those symptoms: he goes into a rant asking listeners if their closest companions are plotting against them, repeats short-term memory loss a few seconds later, etc.
* ShootTheDog: Barkley killed ''fourteen'' members of his team when they appeared to display symptoms of infection. Given his own paranoia, they may or may not have actually been infected.
* TheVirus: He is the one who discovered that a new plague of 115 has become airborne, meaning that all survivors are infected.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Spoiler Character]]
!Post-''Revelations'' Edward Richtofen
->'''Voiced by''': Creator/NolanNorth
->'''Appearances''': ''Origins''[[note]]Statue only [[/note]] | ''Revelations'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

A version of Richtofen cyrogenically frozen in another version of himself's lab. His appearance is where it's made clear that the Aether story in Black Ops IV is ''not'' a PostScriptSeason.
----
* HopeSpot: His very existence was this, as he is a doctor that could have saved Primus!Richtofen, but instead he cruelly says that the future is changed and that he won't be needing the blood vials anymore before taking the others and leaving him to his fate.
* KillTheGod: His goal is to defeat Dr. Monty, presumably because the war against the Apothicans seems not be what it seems.
* TheUnfettered: Doesn't really care the Primis!Richtofen is dying in the machine, even saying to his face that he isn't sorry about it.
* WalkingSpoiler: That fact that this version of Richtofen appears after Primus!Richtofen performs a HeroicSacrifice, that the cycle is broken and that the Primis story isn't over quite yet.
[[/folder]]

!!"Five" Survivors
[[folder:John F. Kennedy]]
!President [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy John F. Kennedy]]

->''Do not pray for easy lives, my friends. Pray to be stronger men.''

->'''Voiced by''': Jim Meskimen
->'''Appearances''': ''"Five"'' | ''Ascension''

The 35th president of the United States. He is forced to fight for his life alongside his allies and rivals when the Pentagon is overrun by zombies.

* AlternateHistory: ''Ascension'' and ''Revelations'' reveal that in one fractured timeline, he actually died at the Pentagon during the zombie attack.
* EnemyMine: Not a big fan of Castro, understandably, but still stands alongside him in their LastStand. More downplayed with Nixon, who ran against him in the election. [[spoiler: ''Classified'' reveals that the true purpose of the fateful Pentagon meeting was to form an alliance with Castro against the threat of Samantha.]]
* ForgivenButNotForgotten: He invites Nixon to the meeting with Castro as a gesture of goodwill - "forgive your enemies, but remember their names."
* TheLeader: Is nominally in charge of the four, as he's the president and all.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Subverted. He barely blinks at the sight of zombies approaching, but as the lower levels of the Pentagon make clear, the American government was well acquainted with 115, Group 935, and the whole zombie shebang.

[[folder:Robert [=McNamara=]]]
!Secretary Robert [=McNamara=]

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/RobertPicardo
->'''Appearances''': ''"Five"'' | ''Revelations'' | ''Classified''

Secretary of State under President Kennedy. He's Kennedy's most loyal supporter and unofficial bodyguard during the attack on the Pentagon.

* BackForTheFinale: Makes a surprise return in an audio log found in ''Revelations'', the final map of ''Black Ops III''.
* BadassBookworm: Perhaps the brainiest of the four and still slaughtering zombies with the rest of them.
* TheCameo: As Radios in both ''Revelations'' and ''Classified''.
* EnemyMine: He's even more hostile to Castro than Kennedy, but is forced to team up with him.
* TheLancer: As the only member of the group with absolute loyalty to Kennedy and his de facto right hand man.
* MyGreatestFailure: Deeply regrets not being able to save the president (and to a lesser extent Nixon and Castro) in his final log.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: In his final audio log, he derogatorily suggests that the zombies are actually a bunch of "hippies".
* SoleSurvivor: He was the last surviving member of the four for a while in one fractured dimension, and got out one last distress signal that the ''Origins'' crew listens to in ''Revelations''.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Kennedy.

[[folder:Richard Nixon]]
!Vice President UsefulNotes/RichardNixon

->''[[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} NIXON'S BAAAACK]]!!!''

->'''Voiced by''': Dave Mallow
->'''Appearances''': ''"Five"'' | ''Ascension''

The Republican candidate for president who lost to Kennedy, who bears him no ill will and invites him to the Pentagon for a meeting with Castro.

* AlternateHistory: Nixon never became president in one fractured ''Zombies'' timeline, having been killed in the Pentagon attack.
* TheBigGuy: The least... put together of the four, and also one of their best fighters.
* CassandraTruth: When Nixon hears a zombie encroaching on the group, he jumps up and starts panicking, and Kennedy dryly assures him it was just a storm outside. Moments later, it's proven that they really ''are'' in danger.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: He has become a nominal ally to Kennedy in the wake of his defeat in the election.
* GracefulLoser: He's accepted his defeat at Kennedy's hands and now submits to his command in the attack.
* SanitySlippage: On full display in the opening when he immediately flips out upon hearing a zombie approaching.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Castro, of all people.

[[folder:Fidel Castro]]
!Prime Minister UsefulNotes/FidelCastro

->''Viva la Revolucion.''

->'''Voiced by''': Marlon Correa
->'''Appearances''': ''"Five"'' | ''Ascension''

The dictator of Cuba and leader of a Communist revolution. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, he meets with Kennedy's group to try to hash out a peace before they are attacked.

* AlternateHistory: He is killed in the Pentagon attack before he could become president of Cuba in at least one fractured timeline.
* EnemyMine: It's plainly obvious why he's not on good terms with Kennedy and America at the time of the attack, but he nevertheless teams up with them for their survival.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Subverted. He is the only character whose real-life counterpart was alive at the time of the release of ''Black Ops'' in 2010 [[note]]Kennedy of course died in 1963, Nixon died in 1994, [=McNamara=] in 2009, and Castro himself died in late 2016, six years after ''"Five"''[[/note]].
* SmokingIsCool: Is seen enjoying a Cuban cigar (what else?) during the opening cutscene.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Nixon.

!!Celebrity Survivors
[[folder:Sarah Michelle Gellar]]
!Creator/SarahMichelleGellar

->''Let's slay some stiffs!''

->'''Appearances''': ''Call of the Dead''

Famous for her roles in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', ''Film/CruelIntentions'', ''Series/{{Ringer}}'' and others, Creator/SarahMichelleGellar is one of the actors working a film with George Romero until the zombie outbreak.

* ActionGirl: It ''is'' [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Sarah Michelle Gellar]] after all.
* BareYourMidriff: Thanks to playing a MsFanservice character, even in the cold of Siberia, her belly is exposed as if it were a summer day. She often lampshades this during several quotes.
* CelebritySurvivor: If ''you'' were caught in a ZombieApocalypse you could frankly do a whole lot worse than Buffy the Vampire Slayer herself by your side.
* DoesntLikeGuns: Surprisingly averted for the actress.
* InkSuitActor: Or rather Ink Suit Character: from hefting a minigun bigger than she is tall to her general personality, quips and fighting prowess, while they borrow from some of her other roles and the woman herself Sarah is basically a stand in for her most famous role.
* MsFanservice: She was clearly intended to be so in the film-within-a-game, and serves as this in the game proper. Which is the only reason she's wearing such revealing clothes in the cold conditions.
* ShoutOut: Most if not all of them are to...well, ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.
* TheLeader: Appears in this role for the film and assumes it when the zombies arrive.
* VisualPun: She prefers Submachine Guns above all else, what are her initials? [[spoiler:[[DontExplainTheJoke S.M.G.]]]]

[[folder:Robert Englund]]
!Creator/RobertEnglund

->''This must be a nightmare!''

->'''Appearances''': ''Call of the Dead''

The man who played Freddy Krueger in ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'', Creator/RobertEnglund is one of the four actors trapped on the set of the film he's making when the zombies attack.

* ButtMonkey: Abused by Romero, Trejo and Gellar in that order.
* CelebritySurvivor: With the others.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Inflicts this on zombies using a pitchfork in the opening cutscene.
* InkSuitActor: Like the other four characters of ''Call of the Dead'', Robert England's exact likeness is used via motion capture.
* ShoutOut: [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet "This must be a nightmare."]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Danny Trejo]]
!Creator/DannyTrejo

->''You just fucked with the wrong Mexican!''

->'''Appearances''': ''Call of the Dead''
A popular and well liked former crook from works such as ''Film/{{Machete}}'' and ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'', Creator/DannyTrejo has to put his toughness to the test in order to survive.

* TheBigGuy: The biggest and burliest of the celebrities.
* CelebritySurvivor: As with the other members of the group.
* InkSuitActor: His likeness is provided for motion capture by Danny Trejo.

[[folder:Michael Rooker]]
!Creator/MichaelRooker

->''Things ain't looking too good, folks!''

->'''Appearances''': ''Call of the Dead''

Creator/MichaelRooker has experience with zombies from his role in ''Series/TheWalkingDead''. Never did he dream that he would be in a real life outbreak.

* CelebritySurvivor: As with the others.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: He keeps missing the stunt zombie actor he's supposed to be hitting in the intro cutscene.
* InkSuitActor: His actor Michael Rooker's likeness is employed.

[[folder:George A. Romero]]
!Creator/GeorgeARomero

->''Well, I've always liked the "monster within" idea. I like the zombies being us. It's like, zombies are the blue-collar monsters.''

->'''Appearances''': ''Call of the Dead''

After discovering Nazi documents on zombies, he brings in four well-known horror actors to make a movie about it, until he becomes the first victim of the outbreak.

* AscendedFanboy: Well he was talking about zombies being the classic horror monster and his fascination with the Nazi zombies. Now he is one.
* BigBad: He's the boss zombie.
* CelebritySurvivor: Kind of...he retains some of his human self as a zombie.
* InkSuitActor: George Romero pitched in his likeness via motion capture.
* UncertainDoom: The only follow-up to ''Call of the Dead'' so far has been the radios in ''Revelations'', which mention that the cast and crew have been missing for six weeks.
* ZombieInfectee: It's rather unlike other examples we've seen as he remains self-aware after apparently dying.

!!Victis
[[folder:As a whole]]
The main cast of ''Black Ops II'', referred to as "Victis". After the blast from the missiles hitting Earth and reducing it to a zombie wasteland, these four come to band together against the undead. These four seem to get along a bit better than the original four did, but they come into contact with both Richtofen and Maxis. As they grow to depend on each other, they must make their choice between the two otherworldly rivals, their actions determining the fate of the world and humanity. They are also the main protagonists in the ''Call of Duty: Zombies'' comic.

* BadassCrew: Four survivors who managed to survive an entire decade of the apocalypse.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: All of them, as with Ultimis. However, their pasts are not truly shown or discussed outside of a few random references, and as such are a lot more vague and don't go anywhere, [[AbortedArc eventually getting thrown to the wayside entirely]] by ''Black Ops III''. The timeline does explain some of Russman and Samuel's backstory.
** Misty implies her parents were killed by the zombies years ago.
** Marlton apparently had a part in Russman's departure from Broken Arrow, the latter ending up homeless until the apocalypse.
** Samuel was a member of a fanatic cannibalistic cult that ate zombie flesh, and hides it as best he can.
* FireForgedFriends: They form a powerful alliance as they fight the undead together without end.
* FiveManBand: They form one in ''Buried''.
** TheLeader: Russman, who's led the group this far.
** TheLancer: Misty, who always qualifies as TheHeart as she is able to stop their bickering.
** TheBigGuy: The unnamed giant, who can help access areas for free and fight the zombies.
** TheSmartGuy: Marlton, who will never let you forget it.
** TheChick: Samuel, though this is downplayed compared to past maps, he's definitely more prone to panic than the others.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: They star in the Creator/DarkHorseComics series depicting their adventures post-''Buried''.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: They are fooled into helping Maxis destroy the Earth.
* PlotArmor: Invoked in-game. Richtofen wants them to fulfill his plans to regain ultimate power, and from ''Die Rise'' onward, he begins resurrecting them whenever they fall to the undead so that they can have another chance to work for him.
* ShootTheShaggyDog: They're screwed over ''hard'' after all their work due to siding with Maxis. Eventually Subverted; they're able to provide a key part of Primis Richtofen's plan to save the universe, though, and are put in stasis for safe keeping. [[spoiler: If ''Classified'' and ''Blood of the Dead'' are any indication, their story is far from over.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Their last appearance in ''Black Ops II'' is ''Buried'', having given Maxis the power to destroy the Earth to reach Agartha. The ''Zombies'' timeline eventually revealed that they helped deliver the Kronorium to Primis Richtofen and were put on ice for "when they are needed next". They cameo in ''Blood of the Dead'', but their fate at the end of that map's story is ambiguous once more.

[[folder:Abigail "Misty" Briarton]]
!Abigail "Misty" Briarton
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/misty.png]]

->''We keep moving, we keep fighting. It's what we do, day in, day out. If you really need a reason why we do this, I'll give you one. We do it because doing something--anything, is a whole lot better than doing nothing!''

->'''Voiced by''': Stephanie Lemelin
->'''Appearances''': ''[=TranZit=]'' | ''Die Rise'' | ''Buried'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

An abrasive young woman who has a crush on Marlton, likes Russman and will grudgingly get along with Samuel.

* ActionGirl: The second fully playable female character in Zombies mode.[[note]]This does not count Samantha, who only became playable once she was forced to possess Richtofen's body).[[/note]]
* BareYourMidriff: Her stomach is completely exposed thanks to her MsFanservice get-up.
* BoobsOfSteel: Well-endowed and an extremely kickass combatant.
* FireForgedFriends: Even though she usually hates Samuel, she still considers him a member of the team.
* FingerlessGloves: For a couple of frames in Buried's opening cutscene, most likely an artistic error.
* {{Gasshole}}: She belches loudly and shamelessly, to the point the game's own wiki notes that she burps the loudest out of everyone on the team upon drinking Perk-A-Cola, and seems to be proud of it.
* TheHeart: She is able to end the others' bickering in the opening cutscene of ''Buried'' and rallies them to keep going.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Russman.
* KnifeNut: Mentions being a champion in knife-fighting.
* TheLeader: She seems to alternate the role with Russman.
* MsFanservice: Pretty much the only reason she continues to wear such revealing clothing in a middle of a zombie apocalypse.
* ShipTease: With Marlton. She's far more open about her feelings to the point of what's implied to be ''very'' direct sexual advances, while he doesn't openly reciprocate. When Marlton fails to openly reciprocate, she gradually stops flirting with him.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The only female member of the ''[=TranZit=]'' group.
* StepfordSmiler: Well, she's not necessarily smiling, but she was putting on a lot of bravado to keep the others going. Various comments in ''Buried'' indicate she's very broken by this point.
* UglyGuyHotWife: While they never end up together and Marlton isn't exactly ugly, he is overall unpleasant yet the beautiful, nice Misty is in love with him.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: With Marlton.

[[folder:Marlton Johnston]]
!Marlton Johnston
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marlton.png]]
->''Payback's a bitch! Just so you know, so is Russman.''

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/ScottMenville
->'''Appearances''': ''[=TranZit=]'' | ''Die Rise'' | ''Buried'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

A self-loving nerd, who was present at Nuketown when the missiles hit. Afterwards, he met up with Misty, who he ended up developing feelings for, and later Russman and Samuel, the both of whom he shares a mutual hatred.

* BadassBeard: Sports a goatee.
* BadassBookworm: He's a zombie-fighting nerd.
* {{Claustrophobia}}: He's afraid it'll kick in when riding upon the bus.
* EarlyBirdCameo: If you knife the fallout shelter in ''Nuketown Zombies'', you can hear him locked in there. This is set ten years before the start of ''[=TranZit=]''.
* FriendlySniper: His preferred weapon is the DSR-50, and can be seen wielding one in ''Die Rise'''s opening cutscene.
* {{Jerkass}}: While the others will happily snark at each other, they are when it comes down to it friends. Marlton is far more abraisive, and pretty ungrateful when revived, usually wanting you to get away from him. The only one he seems soft towards is Misty, and even then he won't exactly openly reciprocate her feelings. While most characters have one character they hate, one they are neutral towards, and one they like, Marlton hates two of the other three, and he's not that much better around Misty as it is.
* PrecisionFStrike: In ''Buried'', when killing a zombie that attacked him.
-->'''Marlton''': It is rare for me to resort to profanity, but would you please just ''fuck off''!
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Often speaks in overly complicated diction.
* ShipTease: With Misty. The two clearly have feelings for one another, but the zombie apocalypse isn't the best place to have a romance. Plus, Marlton's all about his no-touch policy anyway.
* SoleSurvivor: The only one to walk away from Nuketown after Maxis' missiles struck the site.
* SpecsOfAwesome: He wears large glasses.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: And considering he's surviving in a post-apocalyptic nightmare, he's pretty screwed.

[[folder:Samuel J. Stuhlinger]]
!Samuel J. Stuhlinger
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/samuel_9.jpg]]

->''I'm the only one who knows what to do!''

->'''Voiced by''': Dave Boat
->'''Appearances''': ''[=TranZit=]'' | ''Die Rise'' | ''Buried'' | ''Blood of the Dead'' | ''Classified''

A paranoid conspiracy theorist, who's the only one who can hear Richtofen's voice in his head. He's friends with Russman, grudgingly gets along with Misty, and like Russman, shares a mutual hatred with Marlton.

* BadassMustache: Sports a mustache.
* BigEater: He's always hungry and often complaining about what he'd like to eat. Whether it's [[BreadEggsMilkSquick booze, cheese, or zombie flesh]].
* BookDumb: From the quotes he has, he does not sound too intelligent in terms of... standard education.
* TheCameo: A voiced one, no less, in both ''Classified'' and ''Blood of the Dead''.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: At times; compared to the other survivors, some of his quotes come off as total non-sequiturs.
* CrazySurvivalist: Thanks to his paranoia.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: After the apocalypse began, Samuel joined up with The Flesh, a cult that consumed zombie flesh to survive. Eating 115-laced meat caused them to hear the voice and demands of Richtofen, leading them to go to war with a group of survivors who followed Maxis. During the ensuing battle, a horde of zombies came and killed most of the two groups, with Samuel being one of the few survivors of The Flesh.
* FireForgedFriends: With Misty. He usually returns her dislike of him, but he's willing to listen to her and regard her more as a valuable comrade as the group's story progresses.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: He's the most unpopular member of Victis. Both Misty and Marlton hate him, while Russman, who even Samuel sees as a "buddy", grows more exasperated with him as time goes on. This plays a large part in why Victis ultimately sides with Maxis as opposed to listening to Samuel and Richtofen.
* HearingVoices: Richtofen's, to be exact. It gets flipped on its' head when [[spoiler: ''Blood of the Dead'', Richtofen actually hears ''Samuel's'' voice in his head. The irony is not lost on either of them.]]
* [[ImAHumanitarian I'm a Zombietarian:]] A well-kept secret of his, and likely the reason for both his ability to hear Richtofen and his seemingly random comments about being hungry after killing zombies.
* TheLancer: Misty observed that Samuel was Russman's lancer when they met, or his "lapdog".
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Makes several sexist remarks about Misty.
* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: Gives off plenty of comments indicating this, especially in ''[=TranZit=]'' when he makes several sexist comments about Misty.
* SharingABody: If you complete all easter eggs in Richtofen's favor, he will enter Samuel's body. Samuel isn't pleased.
* SoleSurvivor: He is one of the few survivors of The Flesh.
* SpecsOfAwesome: Wears glasses.
* TheSmartGuy: Considers himself this, but Russman claims he only knows what Richtofen tells him to think.
* ThoseTwoGuys: With Russman. They traveled together in the bus before finding Marlton and Misty in [=TranZit=].
* TookALevelInBadass: In ''Buried'', he sounds a lot more confident than in the other maps. Judging from his recent redesign, he may have been a recent attack, and survived.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Cheese.
* WeaponOfChoice: {{Handguns}}.
* WordOfStPaul: Dave Boat, his voice actor, claims that Samuel is a former CIA agent.

[[folder:Russman]]
!Russman
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/russman.png]]

->''The world is broken, very broken.''

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/KeithSzarabajka
->'''Appearances''': ''[=TranZit=]'' | ''Die Rise'' | ''Buried'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

An elderly survivor suffering from Alzheimer's, who was a homeless man before the missiles hit. He's good friends with Samuel and Misty, but has a mutual hatred with Marlton. He acts as the group's leader following Die Rise.

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: PlayedWith in ''Die Rise''. He's killed in the opening cinematic by a Jumping Jack, but it's revealed that whenever Victis falls to the undead, Richtofen uses his powers to bring them back.
* CoolOldGuy: A mostly pleasant, funny old man.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: He was a member of Broken Arrow, America's answer to Group 935 formed after the Pentagon outbreak, but left after suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's brought on by exposure to 115. He became homeless before meeting up with and surviving with Samuel when the zombie apocalypse came.
* GunsAkimbo: Wields them in ''Die Rise'''s opening cutscene while defending Samuel.
* HatesBeingTouched: "Ain't no one allowed to touch Russman!"
* HeroicSacrifice: Buys Samuel some time to run while he's devoured by a Jumping Jack in the opening of ''Die Rise''. He gets better, though, with the others.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Misty.
* ItsPronouncedTroPay: Pronounces his own name as "Russ-MAN", as opposed to the expected "Russmun".
* TheLeader: He led the group on foot from ''Die Rise'' to ''Buried'', and was the more dominant between him and Samuel before they met Marlton and Misty.
* NoodleIncident: Something happened that resulted in his departure from Broken Arrow, but it's implied it had something to do with Marlton apparently not keeping his mouth shut.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: "We could just use the key."
* StuffBlowingUp: Loves it. Reason why he loves the [[{{NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast}} RPG and War Machine]].
* ThirdPersonPerson: Often refers to himself in third-person.
* ThoseTwoGuys: With Samuel, though as said he's the more dominant of the pair.
* TokenMinority: The only black survivor.

!!Alcatraz

[[folder:The Mobsters]]
A group of mobsters who have been incarcerated in Alcatraz for some time thanks to their own misdeeds. Their plan to escape goes awry as they are caught up in the zombie story when Alcatraz is overrun with the undead. Their attempts to escape and even to kill themselves are thwarted every single time, since they just keep coming back. Desperate to escape the hellish nightmare, the four learn the truth behind their fates, and must break the cycle if they've any hope of escaping and finding out where they are going from here.

* AndIMustScream: They're trapped in a prison fighting zombies over and over in a loop, and are far from happy when they find that fact out.
* BadassCrew: They've been fighting zombies conjured by Satan for God know how long.
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:They end up being instrumental in stopping Brutus and freeing the souls in Alcatraz once and for all.]]
* BlackSheep: Not counting the Exo Zombies, Infinite Warfare Zombies and Sledgehammer Nazi Zombies continuities, the Mobsters are the only group in Treyarch Zombies where their story is not related to the rest of it in the slightest. As it turns out, this means their universe was one of the very few sealed off to the Apothicons, something Primis!Richtofen was counting on.
* DeadAllAlong: It's revealed that the four mobsters are damned to a purgatory where they escape the prison, only to go back, over and over again.
* {{Determinator}}: They're getting out of Alcatraz and even God wouldn't prevent them from doing so. Satan, on the other hand...
* TheMafia: Sal was TheDon, Billy his hitman, Finn was in charge of gambling and fraud and Albert was the money handler.
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: Their reaction when they remember/discover that they're in Hell/Purgatory is ''not'' acceptance
-->'''Sal:''' So this is my punchline. The universe taking its grand revenge for all my misdeeds. Well, I ain't taking it. You hear me? I ain't playing anymore. I don't regret a damn thing. If I had my time over, I'd do it all again. Every fucking part of it. So universe, you wanna know what I think? I think, you can go fuck yourself!
-->'''Finn:''' This is all just a game isn't it? A big, twisted, fucked-up game. What am I supposed to do, come to some great realization about my life? Throw myself to the ground, beg for forgiveness? Well I got news for you, not gonna happen.
-->'''Billy:''' Am I stuck here until I see the error of my ways?! Until I repent? Well you're gonna have to wait a long time. Because I don't regret a damn thing!
* TheReveal: Two, one in their map and another in ''Black Ops III'';
** "Mob of the Dead": They've been trapped in Purgetory for God knows how long, fighting demonic beings, for murdering Weasel after his plane plan didn't take off. This one is more ItWasHisSled territory nowadays.
** ''Black Ops III'': They've not been corrupted by the Apthoicons and thus remain after their defeat, something Primis!Richtofen uses to his advantage by taking blood from each of them to avoid him and his team vanishing from reality after the Apothicons have been dealt with.
** ''Blood of the Dead'' later confirms that the Alcatraz purgatory is a pocket dimension separate from the rest of the multiverse.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: None of them particularly ''like'' each other, but they work together well enough. Until TheReveal, that is.
* ToHellAndBack: Only Weasel gets to walk away though, if the cycle is broken.

[[folder:Salvador "Sal" [=DeLuca=]]]
!Don Salvador "Sal" [=DeLuca=]

->''Let's get off this rock.''

->'''Voiced by''': Chaz Palminterri
->'''Appearances''': ''Mob of the Dead'' | [[spoiler: ''Blood of the Dead'']]

A mob boss who was sent to Alcatraz for his crimes of bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution.

* AffablyEvil: He's very polite and professional, but dips into FauxAffablyEvil territory towards the end of the story.
* TheChainsOfCommanding: It's heavily implied by one of his downed speeches that he didn't particularly like being a mob boss.
--> '''Sal''': All those years, pulling and pushing those guys into shape, teaching them the value of respect. You had to kiss-ass to all those creeps at city hall, Mayor's office, and worst of all, Chicago's finest. They were all too happy to take your money. Kickback after kickback, bribe after bribe.
* ClusterFBomb: Along with Billy, the f word seems to be a major staple of his vocabulary.
* DeathEqualsRedemption: [[spoiler: In ''Blood of the Dead'', he, Finn, and Al help hold off Brutus long enough for Primis to progress to the final boss fight to save their souls.]]
* TheDon: Led a successful gang until the police finally quit turning a blind eye to him.
* FaceHeelTurn: At the end of the major Easter egg, he turns against The Weasel and tries to kill him.
* FriendlyEnemy: He genuinely liked Ferguson, a guard in Alcatraz, and regrets having him killed.
* HumanSacrifice: The Warden executed him not just for killing Weasel, but to appease his Satanic master.
* KickTheDog: He knowingly leaves Billy to die in the opening cinematic. He, along with Finn and Billy, also murdered the more sympathetic Weasel.
* TheMafia: Leads one.

[[folder:Billy Handsome]]
!Billy Handsome

->''The harder you try not to feel… anything, the more it hurts.''

->'''Voiced by''': Ray Liotta
->'''Appearances''': ''Mob of the Dead''

A hitman who was sent to Alcatraz for a grand total of 116 confirmed cases of murder, and quite possibly more.

* AxCrazy: He really likes to kill zombies.
* BloodKnight: The most eager of the mobsters to fight.
* TheBrute: Of the four mobsters.
* ColdSniper: Defied, Billy wants to be as close as possible actually.
--> '''Billy''': (''after receiving a sniper rifle from the box'') I'll take it, but I won't like it.
* DecoyProtagonist: He's at the forefront of the ''Mob of the Dead'' "movie poster" released by Treyarch, and narrated the first trailer. However, it's ultimately Weasel who breaks the cycle and brings the story to its conclusion. [[spoiler:He doesn't even return for ''Blood'' when the others do.]]
* FaceHeelTurn: At the end of the major Easter Egg, he turns against The Weasel and tries to kill him.
* HumanSacrifice: As with Sal and Finn, his execution was partially to satisfy the Warden's dark master.
* SmokingIsCool: Lights a cigarrette in the intro.
* MoreDakka: His preferred way of fighting the zeds.
* PsychoForHire: For Sal's mob.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Even among the group of hardened, murderous criminals, Billy stands out as the most violent and psychopathic of them all. [[spoiler: Notably, he does not return in ''Blood of the Dead'' to help the others fight Brutus, suggesting that he really was damned to hell.]]
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Averted, he's still on good terms with Sal, despite Sal closing the door on him, resulting in his eventual devourment by the zombies.

[[folder:Finn O'Leary]]
!Finn O'Leary

->''This is all just a game, isn't it?''

->'''Voiced by:''' Michael Madsen
->'''Appearances''': ''Mob of the Dead'' | [[spoiler: ''Blood of the Dead'']]

An Irish-American con man who was married to a silent film actress, whom then backstabbed him and got him sent to Alcatraz.

* DeathEqualsRedemption: [[spoiler: At the climax of ''Blood of the Dead'', he helps Sal and Al fight off Brutus long enough for Primis to succeed in saving the captured souls of Alcatraz, helping him pass on to the afterlife in peace.]]
* FaceHeelTurn: At the end of the major Easter Egg, he turns against The Weasel and tries to kill him.
* FightingIrish: Makes a few references to his Irish heritage.
* FriendlyEnemy: He and Ferguson liked each other, even exchanging horse racing tips in the intro.
* HumanSacrifice: His death by electric chair was not just capital punishment, the Warden was instructed to kill him by his unseen dark master.
* {{Oireland}}: As evidenced by some of his quotes.
* TheEvilGenius: He's a highly intelligent con-man who also was able to successfully bet on several horse races.

[[folder:Albert "The Weasel" Arlington]]
!Albert "The Weasel" Arlington

->''If they don't already suspect you they will soon.''

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/JoePantoliano
->'''Appearances''': ''Mob of the Dead''

A con man who was also the money handler of Sal's mob.

* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: At the climax of ''Blood of the Dead'', his soul, along with the souls of Sal and Finn, help fight Brutus to give Primis a chance to save Alcatraz's captured souls, along with his own.]]
* TheCameo: You can wear his hat in ''Revelations''. It can be found in the open cell on the left just before the entrance to the trenches of the ''Origins'' section that is opened after the power is turned on.
* DirtyCoward: When he see himself about to fight zombies, he bolts, leaving the others to fend for themselves. Rather predictably, he's the first to die. Possibly justified; as he's gone through this so many times, it's very possible he knew what was going to happen and at what time to make his move to escape, though he clearly mistimed it.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: One of Weasel's downed monologues alludes to this being a prime motivator for many of his actions, particularly his propensity to stretch the truth. A particular truth he stretched concerned his plane Icarus, which, in real life, failed miserably and lead to his death.
--> '''Weasel''': Rejection hurts. But it's not the worst thing...is it, Albert? What really hurts is to be ignored. You know how that feels better than anyone, don't you? Sure, they want your skills, your expertise, but only on their terms. They don't care what else you have to offer. How different you could be, if only they noticed you. Is that why you lie to them - why you promise things you can't deliver?
* EnemyMine: Joins Brutus in the EasterEgg finale to ensure he himself lives.
* FinalBoss: Of ''Mob of the Dead'': his allies turn against him at the end of the map's easter egg. Inverted if you're playing as him, in which case the other playable characters are his final opponent.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: ''None'' of the other mobsters like him, as evidenced by their quotes. The easter egg reveals they even killed him, then try again in the easter egg's climax. They hate him so much, he qualifies as an InUniverse [[TheScrappy Scrappy]].
* InfinityPlusOneSword: Loves these types of weapons, including the RayGun and the [[{{ShotgunsAreJustBetter}} Blundergat]].
* KillEmAll: To break the cycle (get the ''good'' ending for the easter egg), Weasel has to kill the others. Killing ''him'' results in the ''bad'' ending, which continues the cycle.
* RippleEffectProofMemory: Not ''completely'' immune but one of his quotes is him asking (and pleading) the others to tell him something they did the day before just so he knows they haven't been trapped forever. Other quotes have him saying him he has a very strong feeling of having already done those things before.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Despite his being a prolific con man, he's still a decent dude (at the very least nowhere near as psychotic as the others) and Brutus even helps him escape the Hell of the cycle.

[[folder:Brutus]]
!Brutus/The Warden

->'''''YOU CAN'T ESCAPE YOUR FATE!!!'''''

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/NolanNorth, Creator/GeorgeARomero [[note]]Romero’s roars from ''Call of the Dead'' are recycled for ''Mob''[[/note]], Creator/TomKane (as the Warden)
->'''Appearances''': ''Mob of the Dead'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

A boss zombie. He appears and 'patrols' Alcatraz, locking perks and the box as he goes. He is actually the warden as a zombie.

* ActuallyIAmHim: Subverted. In ''Mob of the Dead'', Sal speculates that he is in fact some sort of reincarnation of Ferguson. ''Blood of the Dead'' makes it clear that Brutus and the Warden are in fact one and the same.
* AscendedExtra: In ''Mob of the Dead'', while he was a prominent feature of the map, he mostly functioned as a tough boss zombie. ''Blood of the Dead'' greatly increases his presence and role in the overall story of the setting.
* BigBad: Downplayed, he's the boss zombie, no doubt. But [[{{Evil Vs Evil}} the prisoners are no better than him.]] He is firmly in the role for ''Blood of the Dead'', since he’s targeting the far more heroic Primis crew.
* TheDragon: Implied to be this to the Satanic entity behind the events going on in the map. [[spoiler: ''Blood of the Dead'' confirms it. In the boss fight, he begins chanting in the Apothicon language, suggesting he is a servant of the Apothicons.]]
* DrunkOnTheDarkSide: ''Blood of the Dead'' makes it clear that his service to his evil master drove him insane. He waxed poetically about how he loved having a prison full of inmates to rule over.
* EnemyMine: He and Weasel join forces in the EasterEgg climax to ensure Weasel survives.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: From the warden of a prison to a servant of an eldritch power.
* HearingVoices: As a human, he prayed to and received instructions from an unknown evil entity that spoke to him in his head.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: In ''Blood of the Dead'', his defeat is partially brought on by the very prisoners (Sal, Finn, and Al) he either had executed to appease his master, or that he tortured endlessly in ''Mob of the Dead''.]]
* IHaveManyNames: In ''Blood of the Dead'', Richtofen reveals that Brutus is an entity that has taken on many forms and names.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:After Revelations!Richtofen unleashes the energy from his crystal, his next death kills him for good, releasing all of the souls trapped in Alcatraz.]]
* NoSell: The Acid and Fan Traps in the map will ''not'' hurt him, and he will disable them if he comes across them. He can die from the Tower Trap, however, especially if it is upgraded to fire rockets.
* PetTheDog: At present, it appears his aid to Weasel is this, since he helps him survive against the attack from Sal, Finn, and Billy.
* ScaryImpracticalArmor: [[SubvertedTrope Kind of.]] He wears hardened leather armour over a blue suit covered in barbed wire. Not exactly a match for the sort of armour-peircing weapons that the Mystery Box gives the Mobsters and Primis, but then it barely matters considering he's so tough-as-nails anyway.
* SealedEvilInACan: He wasn't kidding when he said he was trapped in Alcatraz. [[spoiler:Him wanting out is what motivates him to attack Richtofen and crew, and they had the means to get him out.]]
* SmokeShield: Knocking off his helmet causes him to unpin the smoke grenades attached to his vest and release smoke in the area, making him harder to see.
* SpannerInTheWorks: In ''Blood of the Dead'', he suddenly appears and destroys the portal to ''Zetsubou No Shima'' that Primis was about to use, trapping them in the purgatory Alcatraz. [[spoiler:It also breaks the cycle, ensuring that later events are going to turn out quite different.]]
* PunchClockVillain: It's implied Brutus is just doing his job for his master, whatever or whoever that may be, and claims he's stuck in Alcatraz like the mobsters. [[spoiler:Him being trapped is what motivates him to attack Primus, as they could free him from his trap for good.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: Belts out, "No! IMPOSSIBLE!" after Post-Rev Richtofen unleashes energy from his crystal, killing all the zombies and removing his own power. He is cut down by Primis not long after this.]]
* VocalEvolution: In the opening cinematic of ''Blood of the Dead'', his voice does not have the processing it did in ''Mob of the Dead''.
* WardensAreEvil: As a demonic prison warden, it's sort of his job to actively get in the Mobsters' way. He locks up the box, the perk-a-cola machines, the work benches and even the plane if he gets near them. Unlocking them costs 2000 points, a price that increases every time he locks it down within a round. ''Blood'' confirms that he was evil even from the start, serving a dark master who corrupted him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Stanley Ferguson]]
!Stanley Ferguson

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/NolanNorth
->'''Appearances''': ''Mob of the Dead'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

A guard in Alcatraz who watched over the inmates. Killed in the intro by Albert.
----
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Killed in the intro, [[{{NotQuiteDead}} except not really.]]
* FriendlyEnemy: Likes Sal and Finn. Billy and Albert however...
* TheIlluminati: He is implied to be a member by the timeline, which states that he was contacted by Richtofen through his Illuminati connections to build the secret lab below Alcatraz.
* NotQuiteDead: More like never died at all.
[[/folder]]


!!''Buried'' Residents
[[folder:Arthur]]
!Arthur

->'''Appearances''': ''Buried''

A giant man trapped in Angola.
----
* TheAlcoholic: He drinks the vaguely named ''booze''. Give it to him, and he'll ram the zombies, and whatever debris you want knocked down.
* AmbiguouslyHuman: Zombies typically go after ''every'' living human, but ignore him, implying he's not human at all.
* BigGuy: He's the tallest person that isn't a zombie.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: He actually heralds from 14th century Europe, having been teleported to the Angolan town thanks to Element 115-induced teleportation.
* TheJuggernaut: He's unstoppable.
* ManChild: He's not exactly intelligent, but he's a real nice guy.
* NoNameGiven: His actual name, Arthur, was not given until the release of the ''Zombies Chronicles'' timeline, which was released four years after the release of ''Buried''.
* SweetTooth: He likes candy, and if you give it to him, he'll help you. You know what's burned on his knuckles? [[UpToEleven SUGR.]] That's right.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ghost Women]]
!Ghost Women

->'''Appearances''': ''Buried''

Spirits of women who attack the player, and steal their points too.
----
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: A bit of type 4. They are also physical aspirations, so the best way to repel them is simply to open fire.
* HauntedHouse: They live in a mansion. You better hope they don't overrun you. Oh, and the Pack-A-Punch Machine is behind the mansion, beyond [[TheMaze a maze.]] Good luck trying to upgrade those weapons you have.
[[/folder]]


!!Group 935 and Affiliates

[[folder:Dr. Ludvig Maxis]]
!Dr. Ludvig Maxis
!!Ultimis Maxis
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ludvigmaxis.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"The paradox must be resolved! The loophole must be closed!"'']]

->''Kill them all.''

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/FredTatasciore
->'''Appearances''': ''Der Riese'' | ''Kino der Toten'' | ''Moon'' | ''[=TranZit=]'' | ''Die Rise'' | ''Buried'' | ''Classified''

A top scientist and leader of Group 935, he has seen Richtofen fall from grace and sanity, and has set out some counterplans to thwart Edward, resulting in a power struggle that drives the main storyline of ''Black Ops II''.
----
* AllForNothing: Though he succeeds in attaining power over the Aether, and reunites with Samantha, [[spoiler: he's been driven to evil by the Apothicons' corruption and]] it's all for naught since she flees to Dimension 63 to seek the help of Primis Maxis. Ultimis Maxis ends up destroying the Earth, but loses his daughter and is left with absolutely nothing. [[spoiler: Monty later destroys him and the Ultimis timeline for his troubles.]]
* AscendedExtra: In ''World at War'' and most of ''Black Ops'', he plays a small yet critical role, heard only through audio logs and radios. However, come Moon, Maxis is revealed to be alive, and helps the group deal Richtofen a crucial defeat by nuking the Earth. In ''Black Ops II'', he's a full-blown major character, even becoming the Demonic Announcer if you aid him.
* BadBoss: In many of the radios across the earlier maps, he is very impatient and irate with his subordinates, especially Richtofen.
* BigGood: He at first helps the original three and his daughter strike a huge blow against Richtofen's control of the zombies in Moon. In ''Black Ops II'', he enlists the [=TranZit=] group, and by extension humanity's aid to stop Edward's control over the zombies. Subverted though, when he takes control, [[GoneHorriblyRight he just continues the fight anyway]].
* BitchInSheepsClothing: For about a decade, he presented himself as a benevolent force trying to save humanity from Richtofen and his evil. However, ''Buried'' reveals he was EvilAllAlong and was trying to use humanity to get him the ultimate power to destroy Earth.
* BoomHeadshot: He shot himself in the head after ordering Samantha to wipe out Group 935.
* BrainUploading: Completely unintentional, but when he died in front of the MPD, his soul entered the systems of Griffin Station, leaving him a digital being.
* CoolOldGuy: Is this to the Victis crew in ''Black Ops II'' (particularly during ''Buried'' when he's noticeably on his best behaviour). It ends up being cruelly subverted when it's revealed he's been manipulating humanity to help give him the power to destroy the Earth.
* TheDeterminator: Nothing, and we mean nothing - not zombies, Hellhounds, traitors, dimensional planes, demons, or any living human being - will stop him from reuniting with his daughter.
* EarthShatteringKaboom: Accidentally causes one at the end of the ''Black Ops'' storyline, setting ''Black Ops II'' into motion, though this ended up playing nicely into his plans when he sought to open the Rift and reach Agartha.
* EvilAllAlong: After pretending to be the BigGood for ''[=TranZit=]'', ''Die Rise'', and ''Buried'', he reveals in the endgame of the latter map that he's been manipulating our heroes all along so he can destroy the Earth in a misguided attempt to find Samantha. The timeline later clarified that he has been corrupted by the Dark Aether.
* TheFaceless: This incarnation of Maxis is never seen, only heard in audio logs and various devices.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Once he's in control of the Zombies, he goes on cheering about how he'll be reunited with his daughter and thanks the players... and then less-than-sincerely announces the impending destruction of Earth and humanity's survivors as he heads for Agartha.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Maxis' betrayal is foreshadowed by his maniacal laughing upon the Earth's destruction, and some of the survivors seem to realize he intends to destroy the Earth. [[spoiler:All of this turns out to be because he was being corrupted by the Apothicons thanks to the Divinium they planted years ago.]]
* GreaterScopeVillain: Of the Ultimis timeline (though he pales in comparison to the [[spoiler:Apothicons]]).
* KickTheDog: Frustrated with his lack of progress with the teleporters, he tossed Samantha's ''pregnant dog'' Fluffy into the teleporter and inadvertently created Hellhounds. He ends up backstabbing the [=TranZit=] group and humanity even after they help him attain ultimate power.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: A familial version, in that when Samantha goes missing, Maxis is happy to first nuke the Earth, lie to gain support among Earth's survivors, ultimately to control the Aether and the zombies, and tear open the Earth to reach Agartha, where his daughter may not even be.
* MrExposition: Maxis' radios and direct quotes often help inform the player on the goings-on of the map. In ''Classified'', he essentially provides a recap of the Ultimis timeline up until shortly before ''"Five"''.
* NecessaryEvil: What he views his plans to destroy Earth as, though he doesn't sound too sincere when he claims to regret it.
* PapaWolf: He will destroy ''humanity and the planet Earth'' to find his daughter.
* PosthumousCharacter: Was assumed to be one for ''World at War'' and ''Black Ops'', until ''Moon'' revealed he's alive and well, albeit as a digital entity following his body's death in front of the MPD.
* SmugSnake: Once he takes control of the Aether, he's smug and gloating about how he's won and how Earth will be destroyed.
* TakingYouWithMe: He committed suicide in front of the MPD, but not before commanding Samantha to kill all of Group 935.
* UnwittingPawn: Through exposure to 115, he eventually became corrupted by the Dark Aether, and ultimately successfully destroyed the Earth for [[spoiler: the Apothicons]], while thinking he was merely acting out his own agenda.
* VillainProtagonist: As with Richtofen, it's played with. He definitely seems more heroic than Richtofen from ''Moon'' to ''Buried'', but it's all just a farce so he can destroy the Earth to reach Samantha in Agartha.
* VillainSong: ''We All Fall Down'' in ''Die Rise''. Played with, as at this point in the story he seems to be the good guy and is describing how Richtofen destroyed his life just for power and fun.
* WalkingSpoiler: An extremely critical character to the lore and relevant to quite a lot of the plot twists and revelations.
* WoobieDestroyerofWorlds: Quite literally.

!!Primis Maxis

->'''Appearances''': ''Origins'' [[note]]First physical appearance[[/note]] | ''The Giant'' | ''Revelations'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

Following the destruction of the Earth in the original timeline, the original Maxis had shattered the universe into countless timelines. Samantha found her way to Agartha, where she beseeched a new incarnation of Maxis, one who was already an old man by the time of World War I, to free her from the place. Samantha took a toll on Maxis' sanity, not helped by the new plague of Element 115 at the excavation site in France. After creating replicas of the Primis staves as well as many other fantastical technologies with 115, Maxis succumbed to the element's corruption. Richtofen was forced to lobotomize his old friend to save his life, and Maxis was put in a drone in which he helped the others free his daughter from Agartha. Maxis then instructed Richtofen to embark on an epic journey to save the universe from the horrors of 115.
----
* BigGood: He coordinates Richtofen's journey in ''Black Ops III'', though he defers to [[spoiler:Monty.]]
* BrainInAJar: In ''Origins''. Thankfully, you can build him a new body, a drone. Considering the circumstances, there really wasn't much choice in the matter besides UnwillingRoboticisation, since he was technically dead. [[spoiler:It is in this form that he is delivered to Dr. Monty.]]
* BrainUploading: More like [[InvertedTrope "Brain Download"]]. In ''Revelations'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:only his brain was placed into a new body by Monty, [[TheSoulless his soul being apparently lost for the time being]]]].
* CoolOldGuy: During World War I he tried to be a father figure to Richtofen, and now he's helping him save the universe, [[spoiler:but as he lacks a soul, he's vulnerable to being corrupted by the Shadow Man.]]
* TheCorruption: [[spoiler:In ''Revelations'', he is corrupted by the Apothicons and accidentally unleashes the Shadow Man]].
* TheFaceless: Subverted, unlike his Ultimis counterpart. He is finally seen in an old photograph from World War I in the opening cutscene of ''Origins'', and he makes his first physical appearance when we first see his lobotomized body, and then when he is uploaded into a quadrotor drone. It isn't until ''Revelations'' that his human form ([[spoiler: or at least, the one Monty gives him based on his Primis body]]) makes a physical appearance.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Revelations'', he and Sophia use their life force to help seal away the Apothicons forever.]]
* LikeASonToMe: He became a father figure to Richtofen after the death of his parents before World War I.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: In ''Revelations'', [[spoiler:the Shadow Man is able to corrupt him with the warning that only he can help save his daughter and the new world that Monty created for him.]]
* OutOfFocus: While he's still critical to the story, he's far less prominent in ''Black Ops III'' as opposed to the previous game.
* SixthRanger: Well, more like fifth, unless you count Samantha. In ''Origins'', he becomes a valuable ally in the fight against the zombies.
* TheSoulless: [[spoiler:After ''Origins'', Monty gave him a new body, but was literally unable to give him back his soul which he lost when he was killed and lobotomized by Richtofen. This led to his corruption by the Shadow Man.]]
* TeamDad: [[spoiler:Appears to be the only adult figure in the House, the realm created by Dr. Monty for Samantha and the ''Origins'' cast to live out peaceful lives, as his daughter and the others are all children, making him this.]]
* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler: His last words are assuring SOPHIA that they will be together always as they prepare to sacrifice their lives to seal away the Apothicons.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: Most of the new timeline Maxis' story comes in the series' endgame, necessitating a lot of spoiler tags.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Samantha Maxis]]
!Samantha Maxis

->''The darkness will swallow you whole! [[GreaterScopeVillain Something]] far more terrible than you lies here!''

->'''Voiced By''': Julie Nathanson (Ultimis), Grace Kaufman (Primis)
->'''Appearances''': ''Nacht der Untoten'' | ''Verruckt'' | ''Shi No Numa'' | ''Der Riese'' | ''Kino der Toten'' | ''Ascension'' | ''Call of the Dead'' | ''Shangri La'' | ''Moon''[[note]]First physical appearance[[/note]] | ''Nuketown Zombies'' | ''Origins'' | ''Revelations'' | ''Classified''

Maxis' daughter who took control of the zombies when she accidentally teleported to the Moon after Richtofen's betrayal and entered the alien M.P.D., her soul entering the Aether. Her father's dying wish was to kill all of Group 935, triggering the zombie storyline of ''World at War'' and ''Black Ops''.
----
* AntiVillain: She's not evil, she just wants to kill Richtofen and stop his plans by any means necessary, which would actually be for the best considering Ultimis Richthofen's plans for world domination. A phone in ''Classified'' shows that she's ultimately lonely and traumatised, missing her father and her dog and wanting to go home.
* AxCrazy: She's almost completely bonkers when the four find her on ''Moon'', although that's likely because of all the things she's endured.
* BackForTheFinale: She's a central figure in the story, but disappears for all of ''Black Ops II'' until ''Origins''. It happens again in ''Black Ops III'', where she doesn't show up until ''Revelations''.
* BigBad: Of the ''World at War'' and ''Black Ops'' arcs. At first.
* CreepyChild: Thanks to getting corrupted by the Dark Aether and whatever lurks in there, and the fact she commands legions of the undead bent on killing the heroes.
* DemotedToExtra: Barely appears in the series after ''Black Ops'' besides a critical and major role in ''Origins''.
* TheDreaded: ''Classified'' reveals that the Kennedy administration eventually came to fear the threat she poised to the world and was prepared to form an alliance with their eastern rivals to combat her.
* {{Expy}}: Of [[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon Alma]].
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Inexplicably drops her German accent in trade for an American one in ''Origins'' and onwards, though she briefly returns to it in the red phone message in ''Classified''.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Her goal to kill the rest of Group 935 has elements of this, to say the least.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: In-universe. She feels she did a much better job at controlling the zombies and constantly complains about Richtofen making it too easy once he gets in charge.
* WhamLine: "My name is Samantha. I'm going to tell you how all of this ''really'' began."
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: She only sends the zombies after the original crew to kill Richtofen to fulfill her father's dying wish to have all of Group 935 killed.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sophia]]
!Sophia/Strategic Operations Planning Heuristic Intelligence Analyzer (S.O.P.H.I.A.)

->''"My relationship with Ludvig is... complicated."''

->'''Voiced by''': Christa Lewis
->'''Appearances''': ''Der Riese'' | ''Kino der Toten'' | ''Moon'' | ''Zetsubou No Shima'' | ''Gorod Krovi'' [[note]]first physical appearance[[/note]] | ''Revelations

Dr. Maxis' secretary in Group 935. In the new timeline, she was transferred into a robotic form after being infected with 115 after a zombie attack.
----
* AscendedExtra: Originally just a character mentioned in passing in ''World at War'' and ''Black Ops'', she becomes a major supporting character in the endgame of the series.
* BrainUploading: After she was [[spoiler:infected from an attack from Subject Two-Six, Maxis poisoned her and transferred her brain into S.O.P.H.I.A. to save her life.]]
* EleventhHourRanger: [[spoiler:Joins in the final battle with the Shadow Man and the Apothicons.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Revelations'', she and Maxis sacrifice themselves to seal away the Apothicons forever.]]
* SecondLove: For Maxis, after his first wife died giving birth to Samantha.
* SexySecretary: At least, Maxis found her to be one.
* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:Maxis says that after they sacrifice themselves to seal away the Apothicons, they will be together forever.]]
* UnwillingRoboticisation: [[spoiler:She certainly didn't volunteer to be poisoned by Maxis, and is distressed when she finds herself in her new form.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Groph]]
!Dr. Groph

->''"It is grim work, Doctor… May God have mercy on us all."''

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/SteveBlum
->'''Appearances''': ''Moon'' | ''Der Eisendrache''

A scientist who joined Richtofen's splinter cell of Group 935.
----
* ArbitrarySkepticism: He was incredulous at Richtofen's claim that the MPD led to the Aether, and Richtofen pointed out that it was no more ridiculous than him teleporting them all to the Moon to build an entire base.
* AscendedExtra: He was a minor character during "Moon" before becoming close to the BigBad of "Der Eisendrache".
* AssholeVictim: It was assumed he was this when he was supposedly killed by Samantha, but he's definitely now this as Richtofen has killed him in ''Der Eisendrace''.
* BaldOfEvil: He's revealed to be bald in "Der Eisendrache".
* BigBad: The closest thing to a main antagonist in ''Der Eisendrache''.
* TheBusCameBack: His appearance in ''Der Eisendrache'' is the first time the character has appeared since "Moon", which was released about four years prior.
* CoDragons: With Dr. Schuster to Richtofen, though Groph himself is the one nominally in charge of Griffin Station.
* DirtyOldMan: Richtofen mentions in ''Moon'' that he is obsessed with young American women.
* EtTuBrute: He's enraged when it appears Richtofen has gone rogue and vows to kill him.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He was horrified to have to harvest 100 souls to fuel the MPD.
* LastNameBasis: We've only learned his last name.
* NotQuiteDead: Subverted. It was initially assumed he somehow survived Samantha's original purge of Group 935, but it was revealed that ''Der Eisendrache'' all took place in a new timeline formed by the death of the original Richthofen.
* TheStarscream: Joined Richtofen in betraying Maxis.
* YouAreInCommandNow: After the fall of Der Riese and the death of the original timeline Richthofen, he assumes command of Group 935.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Schuster]]
!Dr. Schuster

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/TomKane
->'''Appearances''': ''Moon'' | ''Classified''

A Group 935 scientist who bore witness to Richtofen's inventing teleportation, and who joined his splinter cell of Group 935.
----
* TheCassandra: When he joined the Pentagon’s 115 research division, he warned the Americans that creating undead soldiers would invite the wrath of Samantha. He was laughed off by his colleagues for quite some time before they realized he was telling the truth.
* CoDragons: He and Dr. Groph are Richtofen's left and right-hand men, though Groph is the one officially in charge of their base, Griffin Station.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Never appears again after ''Moon'', not even in ''Der Eisendrache'' where Groph appears and has a prominent role. He finally returns in ''Classified''.
* DeadpanSnarker: Downplayed, but Schuster is clearly bored and not even pretending to be interested in their first test teleportation of a walnut.
* NotQuiteDead: He was believed to have been immediately killed when Samantha agreed to fulfill her father's dying wish to wipe out 935, but ''Classified'' reveals that he managed to escape back to Earth.
* SecretKeeper: He was one of the few 935 members to learn about Maxis' private deal with the Third Reich for funding.
* TheStarscream: He was the first of Richtofen's followers who schemed to overthrow Maxis.
* VillainousFriendship: He is one of Ultimis Richtofen's closest cohorts and they seem to genuinely share an appreciation for each other.
[[/folder]]

!!Morg City Survivors
[[folder:As a whole]]
A group of four people who, one night where they were all at the Burlesque, fell asleep and woke up into a twisted version of their town.
----
* KillEmAll: [[spoiler:Maxis and Richtofen are unable to save them from the destruction of their dimension.]]
* MarkOfTheBeast: A symbol ressembling a "6" on the back of their hands, given to them by the Shadow Man and which allows them to (among other things) transform into the Beast for a while.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Trapping the Shadow Man in the Key did save their world, but it also meant that he ended up in a position to corrupt Maxis in the House (see below) and fucked up the perfect world Monty created.]]
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: Downplayed. In one conversation Floyd theorizes they've been brought here as a punishment for being "bad people". When Jessica asks if they should repent, he answers that they instead should "embrace [their] darker side." This isn't ''Mob'', however, and they're there for a very different reason.
* UnwittingPawn: Help the Shadow Man [[spoiler:assimilate their world with his]]. Fortunately, they stop this before it happens.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nero Blackstone]]
!!Nero Blackstone/"The Magician"
-> '''Played By:''' Creator/JeffGoldblum

->'''Appearances''': ''Shadows of Evil''
----
* {{Metaphorgotten}}: He states that ThePenIsMightier... unless you're in a sword fight.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: In the intro, after asking his lawyer how much debt his wife has accumulated, he then asks if their life insurance policies are fully paid up and then quickly added ''"Oh no, no! I can assure you that I'd never, ever, think of taking such a course of action. No, I just want to make sure our affairs are...in order."'' All during a shot of how he killed his wife.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jack Vincent]]
!!Jack Vincent/"The Cop"
-> '''Played By:''' Creator/NealMcDonough
->'''Appearances''': ''Shadows of Evil''
----
* DirtyCop: His lines often hint at various illegal activities, such as taking bribes and planting evidence.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: After completing his ritual, he may angrily shout this:
-->'''Jack:''' No one ever said "Good job, Jackie". No one ever says "Hey, thanks for keeping the streets safe for normal folks. Here's a raise in pay so you don't have to go on the fuckin' take to pay for your bills". NO ONE EVER FUCKING SAID THAT TO JACKIE FUCKING VINCENT!"
* {{Metaphorgotten}}: "When life gives you lemons, buy a fucking gun!"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jessica Rose]]
!!Jessica Rose/"The FemmeFatale"
-> '''Played By:''' Creator/HeatherGraham
->'''Appearances''': ''Shadows of Evil''
----
* ActionGirl: The least combat-inclined of the four, yet can kick ass with the best of them.
* FemmeFatale: It's in the name. The cinematic opens with her shanking a guy she's seduced.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The only female of the five characters.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Floyd Campbell]]
!!Floyd Campbell/"The Boxer"
-> '''Played By:''' Creator/RonPerlman
->'''Appearances''': ''Shadows of Evil''
----
* ICouldaBeenAContender: He hid brass knuckles under his gloves for a chance at a title shot.
[[/folder]]

!!"Chaos" Story Characters

[[folder:Diego]]
!Diego Necali
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ChristianLanz
->'''Appearances:''' ''Voyage of Despair'' | ''IX''

A master manipulator and the leader of his crew of thieves.
----
* BitchInSheepsClothing: He uses his good looks and charm to steal a wealthy woman's key right under her nose.
* TheCasanova: Diego is a smooth, attractive man who could seduce an heiress out of her entire fortune if he wanted.
* TheLeader: Of his crew.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Scarlett]]
!Scarlett Rhodes

->'''Voiced by''': Courtenay Taylor
->'''Appearances:''' ''Voyage of Despair'' | ''IX''

A genius inventor and a member of Diego's crew.
----
* ActionGirl: She's a capable warrior before and after the zombie outbreak.
* DisappearedDad: She's on the search for her missing father, Alistair.
* FieryRedhead: Her hair is nearly cherry red and she's a ferocious woman in combat.
* TheHero: The trailers of ''Voyage of Despair'' seem to imply she's shaping up to be the main protagonist of the Chaos story arc.
* MsFanservice: Scarlett wears a tight outfit that emphasizes her curves, and she strikes an attractive pose during the money-making shot of the crew at the end of the ''Voyage of Despair'' cutscene.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bruno]]
!Bruno Delacroix

->'''Voiced by''': Andrew Morgado
->'''Appearances:''' ''Voyage of Despair'' | ''IX''

A hulking, brutish Frenchman.
----
* TheBigGuy: He's the main muscle of the heist team. In the prequel comic, he singlehandedly ''flipped a whole car over by himself''.
* BoisterousBruiser: He's a huge, powerful man who loves fighting.
* GentleGiant: Bruno may be huge and intimidating, but he's loyal, hardworking, and can be very gentle and a real team player. Scarlett notes how sensitive he can be when being revived by him during ''IX''.
* OneManArmy: Regardless of the fact any playable character is this by default, in the prequel comic, Bruno tears through numerous opponents with ease.
* PowerFist: Bruno wields brass knuckles in melee combat.
* PerpetualFrowner: He's the most glum and morose member of the crew.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shaw]]
!Stanton Shaw

->'''Voiced by:''' Nick Boraine
->'''Appearances:''' ''Voyage of Despair'' | ''IX''

An elderly member of the crew responsible for making sure everyone is on schedule.
----
* LastNameBasis: He’s the only member of the Chaos crew who is largely referred to by his surname.
* TheSmartGuy: Seems to be the most intellectually inclined member of the crew.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Usually works together with Bruno.
[[/folder]]


!!Agartha

[[folder:Monty]]
!Doctor Monty
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dr_monty.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"This. Is. It."'']]

-> ''"Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better."''

->'''Voiced by:''' [=Malcom McDowell=]
->'''Appearances:''' ''Nacht der Untoten''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Verruckt''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Shi No Numa''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Kino der Toten''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Ascension''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Moon''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Origins''[[note]]''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Gorod Krovi'' | ''Revelations''

Doctor Monty is a mysterious being who is responsible for the creation of the Perk-A-Colas, Gobblegums, power drops, as well as the very important [[{{Macguffin}} Summoning Key]]. An omnipotent being who watches over all of the timelines and the entire universe, he makes a sudden appearance during ''Gorod Krovi'', and turns out to be perhaps the most important character of the entire series.
----
* AmbiguouslyEvil: There are some ominous signs that Monty is not the benevolent guy he's cracked up to be. Trying to erase the Primis crew is one thing, he meant no harm and genuinely came to like them by that point. But in his last notes, Primis Dempsey mentioned if Monty ever found a certain place, they'd all be doomed. Richtofen and Maxis are certainly both eager to keep certain information from him. [[spoiler: At the end of ''Blood of the Dead'', post-''Revelations'' Richtofen says that they need to defeat him.]]
* BeenThereShapedHistory: The true creator of all the Perk drinks and other machines seen throughout the entire series? Not Group 935, this guy.
** To a more literal extent, there are a number of extra radios scattered across all eight remastered maps of the ''Zombie Chronicles'' DLC, with him explaining a fair amount about the map in question - with some not-too-subtle ribbing.
* BigGood: He's the most powerful non-hostile entity encountered in the game mode so far and he's willing to help the main four save the universe. As he steps into the role during the endgame of the series and the reveals about his knowledge of the Apothicons, this makes him the BigGood of the entire series.
* CoolOldGuy: For the most part, he's a wry, helpful guy who's also an ancient being who's been around since the beginning of the universe.
* DeadpanSnarker: Pretty much every word he says is dripping in sarcasm.
* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler: ''Blood of the Dead'' seems to confirm that he is in fact an antagonist when post-''Revelations'' Richtofen tasks Nikolai and the others with defeating him.]]
* TheFaceless: Appears in no physical shape or form until ''Revelations''.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Implied by the fact he takes on a human form when appearing to the crew in ''Revelations''.
* {{God}}: While he doesn't claim to be God, he certainly has some of the characteristics of one: (near-)Omnipotence, acts InMysteriousWays, is the BigGood, created a [[{{Heaven}} perfect reality for the children]], oversees the different realities and opposes the Apothicons.
* HeroicFatigue: Two of his quotes in ''Revelations'' indicates that he suffered from it at some point, or may be still suffering from it.
-->'''Monty:''' It's too much information sometimes, know what I mean? I know you must be struggling to take it all in, but can you imagine how I feel? I've got heart felt prayers to the Angels, dying people's wish lists and letters to fucking Santa coming out of my bleeding ears! It's hard to keep up, honestly! I hardly ever get any time for myself, or even just time to stand back and appreciate all the good that I've done.\\
\\
'''Monty:''' I made an app once, at least I think that's what you call it. It started off really simple: All people did was press a button to indicate whether or not they had a good day. I tracked the data for everyone in the world, I mean it was meant to help me understand people. It worked. But even in its simplest form it was too much to take in. It actually made me depressed. It's hard trying to please everyone. Ahh, I'm getting worked up, honestly! You have NO idea how hard it's been from my side. Sorry... Keep up the good work. I'm sure you'll sort it out.
* InkSuitActor: His actor Malcolm [=McDowell=]'s likeness is used to portray the form he appears in during ''Revelations''.
* InMysteriousWays:
** Claims to be how he was influencing things until the Origins crew forced him to take a more direct approach.
** One of his quotes in ''Revelations'' has him complain about how much work keeping this reality together is tiring:
-->'''Monty:''' Honestly, if you could see just what was going on outside your realm of perception, it would blow your minds! That's the main reason I kept it back. If I were to give you an analogy, I'd describe it like this: when a duck swims on the water, you only see it glide, apparently effortlessly across the lake. But underneath, as in beneath the surface, it's a whole different story. Its legs are moving like he's pedaling a fucking bicycle up a mountain! Well, that's me right now. I am that duck!
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He never hesitates to condescend the main characters for their limited, mortal understanding of the universe, but he still agrees to help nudge them in the right direction to fix it.
* TheManBehindTheMan: He reveals himself to be the true source behind the magical powers of the game mode to date, including the Perks, Mystery Boxes, wall guns, and more.
* MesACrowd: He advises against this line of thought when it comes to the original and new timeline incarnations of the main four.
-->'''Dr. Monty''': You need to stop thinking in terms of originals - old and new, it's not like that. When you look in the mirror, it's still you. If you crack that mirror you see multiple reflections. It doesn't mean you've actually multiplied, does it?
* MrExposition: Monty explains much of the backstory of the series, particularly in regards to the Apothicons, Agartha, and the Shadow Man. He also provides some little tidbits of trivia here and there that aren't essential, but are still interesting nonetheless.
* TheNeedsOfTheMany: In the ''Revelations'' trailer, he asks the crew to do the right thing for ''everyone''.
* TheOmnipotent: Downplayed as while he's the one who keeps an eye on the universe, a few of his quotes in ''Revelations'' have him says he's not actually omnipotent, but barely.
* RealityWarper: Comes with being God, but he formed the House in Agartha, created new bodies for Maxis and the children, and almost erased the four from existence in the ending cutscene of ''Revelations''. He also casually mentions creating a new moon in the ''Zombies Collection'' version of ''Moon''.
* RememberTheNewGuy: Only introduced in the penultimate map, and yet provided nudges to the creation of every single thing relating to the Perk machines, Pack-a-Punch, the Summoning Key and everything in-between.
* {{Satan}}: In ''Revelations'', the Shadow Man claims that Monty is in fact the Devil of most of humanity's religions. [[spoiler: Whether or not he's the actual Devil, ''Blood of the Dead'' seems to confirm he is indeed an antagonist.]]
* SirSwearsALot: Drops swears quite frequently.
* SophisticatedAsHell: Compared to the 2.0 Timeline survivors, his dialogue is a lot more informal - and a lot more condescending.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: He intended for Primis to fade out of existence with the defeat of the Apothicons, but to his dismay, Richtofen caught on and ensured they survived the resetting of the universe. Monty allows them to go back in time to be Primis in Earth's Middle Ages.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Demonic Announcer]]
!The Demonic Announcer

->'''''FETCH ME THEIR SOULS.'''''

->'''Voiced by''': Julie Nathanson (as Samantha ([=WaW/BO1=])/Satan/[[spoiler:the Apothicons]]), Creator/NolanNorth (Richtofen), Creator/FredTatasciore (Maxis) and Grace Kaufman (Samantha ([=BO2=]))

The title of the demonic, and in at least one universe Satanic, entity who controls the zombies. In ''World at War'' and ''Black Ops'', Samantha takes the reigns. Starting from the end of Moon, extending into ''Black Ops II'',Richtofen takes over, and by the end of his side of Buried's story easter egg, Dr. Maxis usurps him. On Mob of the Dead, it's implied to be Satan himself, and as of ''Black Ops III'', the Apothicons have taken the mantle, though both recycle Samantha's voice lines. A new entity takes over for the Chaos story, supposedly being the High Priest of Chaos in ''IX'', but otherwise unknown.

The concept of the Demomic Announcer is also used in other Zombie modes; ''Advanced Warfare's'' Exo Zombies has AN-G and ''Infinite Warfare's'' Zombies mode uses Willard Wyler, but Sledgehammer's Nazi Zombies lacks a counterpart. Outside of the concept (and in some cases the name), they are unrelated to the Treyarch incarnation.
----
* DemonicPossession: Appears to do this to some degree to both the Maxis' and Richtofen once they begin their tenure as the Demonic Announcer.
* EvilSoundsDeep: Averted with Demonic Richtofen in ''Black Ops II'', though he's still "ethereal" sounding.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Of the game mode. While Samantha, Richtofen, Maxis, and The Shadow Man are the most direct antagonists you face, whatever this entity is, it's definitely far more powerful than any of them and appears to be behind everything. Samantha even warns Richtofen that something far worse than him lurks in the Aether. ''Shadows of Evil'' and ''Revelations'' imply that the Shadow Man is unfamiliar with this entity since he has to be told it by his reporter friend, and ''Blood of the Dead'' strongly implies that this entity is separate from the Apothicons.
* {{Satan}}: It is heavily implied to be Old Scratch himself controlling the zombies in ''Mob of the Dead'' (although the quotes are Samantha's reused), what with the Satanic motifs decorating the prison, the zombies having red eyes, and the characters debating if they're in purgatory. The big clue, however, is entering either 115 or 935 into the electric number pad, and an unknown voice speaks, changing the numbers to 666. Additionally, Samantha had stated that there was something worse than even Richtofen in the Aether.
** ''Blood'' ultimately josses this, with Brutus shown to be speaking Apothicon in events within the map, revealing the Apothicons rule Alcatraz as well.
* TheUnreveal: Despite all the foreshadowing from Samantha and ''Mob of the Dead'', we never learn what this entity's true nature really is. Given the late revelations that the Apothicons and the Shadow Man are behind pretty much everything evil in the series, it's possible, but unconfirmed, that this entity ''was'' an Apothicon, at least before ''Black Ops III'' where they firmly take the reigns as the announcer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Shadow Man]]
!The Shadow Man/"Mr. Rapt"
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadowman.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"This has always ended one way. I have foreseen it."'' [[labelnote:True form]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zombies_shadow_man_apothicon.jpg[[/labelnote]][[labelnote:Final form]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadow_man_final_form.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]


->''"You are but fragments of a bigger universe. Your sins serve only as an invitation... An invitation to an evil beyond your imagination."''

-> '''Played By:''' Creator/RobertPicardo
->'''Appearances''': ''Shadows of Evil'' | ''Revelations'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

A mysterious figure who offers the Morg City survivors a chance at redemption. At the dawn of time, he was a member of the Keepers and best friend of Doctor Monty. However, he joined the Apothicons and now serves as their emissary.
----
* BackForTheFinale: Returns for the final map pack of ''Black Ops III'' as the main antagonist of ''Revelations''.
* BenevolentBoss: He's very polite and generously compensates his reporter friend for all of his hard work (it helps that as a reality-warping demon he can conjure as much money as he'd like), even if he is out to destroy him and his dimension. [[spoiler: Judging by his conversations with the Warden in ''Blood of the Dead'', he's also pretty gracious and gives him several pep talks.]]
* BigBad: Of the ''Shadows of Evil'' map. Turns out they were manipulating the four into unleashing his masters upon our universe.
* BarrierWarrior: When you fight him, you have to find a way to deplete his barrier before you can harm him.
* TheCorruption: Whispers and speaks to Maxis, telling him what to do. It was ''his'' voice that the original Richtofen heard after making contact with the MPD, leading him to a path of destruction.
* {{Cthulhumanoid}}: His real (or close enough) form.
* DarkMessiah: Paints himself as a savior to most people he communicates with. He uses the Morg City crew to help try to bring his masters to our dimension after promising them redemption, and promised Maxis to help save his world by speaking to him.
* EvilAllAlong: His real goal is to pave the way for his masters to enter our realm directly.
* EvilFormerFriend: Of Doctor Monty. They were best pals until the Apothicons got their tentacles on him and corrupted him.
* FinalBoss: Of the game mode, as the ''Revelations'' Easter egg ends with a fight with him.
* FauxAffablyEvil: He's not a good person to say the least, but his speeches of "redemption" and various other WeCanRuleTogether-themed spiel has all the charm of an obvious ConMan.
* GrandTheftMe: Corrupts Maxis through the Summoning Key and takes over his body to bring the Apothicons to the Aether.
* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler: Of ''Mob of the Dead'' and ''Blood of the Dead''. He is the true master of the Warden who is the more direct antagonist of the maps, though he never appears in either of them, bar a jumpscare Easter Egg in ''Blood''.]]
* TheHeavy: He's the direct enforcer of the Apothicons' will and is the most present antagonist of the ''Black Ops III'' - and by extension the entire Aether arc's - story.
* HumanoidAbomination: Whatever he is, he most certainly ain't natural. Turns out he's the servant of an eldritch power, the Apothicons.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The four people who he manipulated into opening a portal into his masters' realm turn on him, kill him and send the horrors he unleashed back to where they came from when they realise his deceit. It then happens ''again'' where upon his death at the hands of Richtofen, Dempsey, Nikolai, and Takeo, they use the Summoning Key, the same thing the previous four he manipulated used to imprison him to send the Apothicons back to oblivion.
* KnightOfCerebus: His presence heralds the endgame of the series' arc up to this point, and it grows DarkerAndEdgier as well. It also helps that he's an evil entity bent on bringing about the destruction of the entire universe through his masters, who are even ''worse'' than he is.
* TheManBehindTheMan: He was the one who corrupted Ultimis Richtofen and drove him to insanity and his mad quests for power that resulted in the destruction of the Earth. He calls that Richtofen his former "apprentice".
* ManipulativeBastard: He orders the four chosen around to help them look for redemption. It's a crock of shit. His real goal is to cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
* OmnicidalManiac: His mission is to let his dimension-destroying overlords turn the universe into a pile of rubble, so he more than fits the bill.
* OutsideContextProblem: Monty was unaware of his presence inside the Summoning Key.
* TheReveal: He's actually an evil entity who works as an emissary of the Apothicons, seeking to help them corrupt and bring chaos and destruction to the entire universe.
* {{Satan}}: [[spoiler: ''Blood of the Dead'' reveals ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgwhB71WSqM via a datamined quote]]) that he is the Warden's Satanic master.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: When the four chosen by him plot against him, his veneer slides away as his plans are uprooted from under his feet. It happens again in ''Revelations'', when he tries to sweet-talk Primis into surrendering and turn them against Monty, and his last wisp has him furiously roaring that they'll pay for disobeying him.
* VillainsNeverLie: During ''Revelations'', he's actually telling the truth when he informs the crew that once they defeat him, Monty will allow them to simply fade out of existence. [[spoiler: ''Blood of the Dead'' also seemingly confirms his claims that Monty is evil, as in the ending, post-''Revelations'' Richtofen tasks Primis with defeating Monty.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: As TheHeavy of the series, he has quite a few spoiler tags to his name.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Apothicons]]
!The Apothicons

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/apothicon.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"This isn't any vague "woo-hoo" evil."'']]

->'''Appearances''': ''Moon''[[note]]mentioned only[[/note]] | ''Shadows of Evil'' | ''Revelations''

The Apothicons are ancient entities that Doctor Monty regards as the ultimate evil in the universe. They bring chaos and darkness wherever they go, and Doctor Monty drafts the Primis crew to save the entire universe from them and their emissary, the Shadow Man. From ''Shadows of Evil'' onwards, one of them serves as the Demonic Announcer.
----
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Their sole focus seems to be spreading chaos and destruction throughout the universe by way of Element 115.
* AncientEvil: First alluded to by this title in the ''Origins'' selection screen, and then consistently referred to as such from then onward.
* TheCorruption: They are the ones who send Element 115 into the various dimensions, bringing havoc and destruction to any unfortunate dimension. The original timeline initially suffered this fate, as they corrupted Richtofen through the MPD and eventually caused the Earth's destruction via Maxis ''twice''.
* EldritchAbomination: They are utterly alien in appearance and abilities.
* FinalBoss: They serve this purpose when it comes to the narrative of ''Black Ops III'' and the entire ''Zombies'' story to this point.
* TheGhost: They are first alluded to when Samantha warns Richtofen during ''Moon'' that something worse than him is lurking in the Aether, but do not properly appear nor is their role in the story explained until the endgame of the ''Black Ops III'' season.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Of the entire series until ''Black Ops III'', where they are properly introduced and take center stage. They are the true main antagonists of the entire series, having been behind all the horrors the cast has faced over the years.
* {{Kaiju}}: Their physical forms are gigantic and monstrous.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: Perfectly visible from the outside, but you can get go inside an Apothicon during ''Revelations'' and you get to see countless teeth as you plummet down its throat.
* SpaceWhale: They generally give off this vibe since they spend most of their time gently flying through space, yet are gigantic beasts.
* ShoutOut: They bear some resemblance to the Leviathans from ''[[Film/TheAvengers2012 The Avengers]]''.
* UltimateEvil: Referred to as such by Doctor Monty, and they are not properly seen in full until ''Revelations''.
* WeWait: After being defeated in the War of Agartha, they decided to wait eons until humanity's actions would tear open a rift for them to invade the universe. They planted some Divinium on Earth just to give a little nudge, however.
* WombLevel: In ''Revelations'', one of them eats the Pack-A-Punch machine, and after trapping it with Doctor Monty's Tesla Death Ray, you can get eaten by it and explore inside.
[[/folder]]

!!Miscellaneous Characters
[[folder:Marines]]
--> '''Appearances''': ''Nacht Der Untoten''[[note]]World At War only [[/note]] | ''Verrückt''[[note]]World At War only [[/note]] | ''Revelations''

A four man squad of US Marines. In ''Verruckt'', they are formed by Tank Dempsey, John Banana, Smokey, and an unknown, fourth Marine.
----
* ApocalypticLog: In ''Revelations'', you can find the last radio message recorded by John Banana, who details the failure of the mission to extract Peter [=McCain=] from the asylum and that the now-zombified Smokey is eating his brain as he speaks.
* CoversAlwaysLie: The promotional artwork for ''Shi No Numa'' and ''Der Riese'' depicted Marines fighting zombies in the new locations, seemingly implying more Marines would be the playable characters. ''Shi No Numa'' instead introduces the Ultimis crew, and until the extra game modes of ''Black Ops II'' such as Grief, generic characters like the Marines are never used again.
* EatenAlive: John Banana dies a long, slow death as the zombified Smokey slowly eats his brain.
* TheGenericGuy: [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness Unlike the other survivors after them]], these guys have no real personality or characterization to speak of.
* RedShirt: With the exception of Dempsey, the other seven Marines all perish at the end of ''Nacht'' and ''Verruckt''.
* SemperFi: They're US Marines.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Brock and Gary]]
!Brock and Gary
->'''Voiced by''': Creator/FredTatasciore (Brock) and Creator/SteveBlum (Gary)
->'''Appearances''': ''Shangri-La''

A fearless explorer and his assistant, respectively, who were on the hunt for a gateway into Agartha, and found themselves in the ancient temples of Shangri-La. They found far more than they bargained for, however, and end up pawns in Richtofen's grand scheme.
----
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: They are subjected to several of these during ''Shangri-La'', with starving to death being their most generous death by far.
* ShaggyDogStory: All of their struggles end up for naught, as they are trapped presumably forever in the time loop of Shangri-La, doomed to die again and again without end.
* SkewedPriorities: Brock is taken with all the fantastical mechanisms and architecture of Shangri-La, and this often ends up leading to his and Gary's deaths.
* ThoseTwoGuys: A pair of explorers who stick together for the duration of their journey.
* UnwittingPawn: They are ultimately manipulated by Richtofen to help him acquire the Focusing Stone, giving him the last relic he needed to take control of the zombies on the Moon.
* TheVoice: Neither of the pair are seen in person, and they are only heard.
* WhatTheHellHero: At one point, Gary yells at Brock for being more interested in agriculture than getting out alive.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sally]]
!Sally
--> '''Appearances''': ''Revelations''

George Romero's mysterious assistant, a woman who ended up traveling far and wide to investigate the disappearance of the ''Call of the Dead'' cast and crew, but ended up lost in time at Shangri-La.
----
* BeenThereShapedHistory: Sally was responsible for at least ''one'' of Brock and Gary's multiple deaths in ''Shangri-La''.
* FateWorseThanDeath: She jokes that being harassed by a horde of agents is worse than her current peril at the hands of hungry zombies.
* GroundhogDayLoop: She becomes trapped in the cycle at Shangri-La, just like Brock and Gary.
* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: She makes her debut in ''Revelations'', the final map of ''Black Ops III'' and the final major map of the Aether/Apothicon storyline.
* MysteriousWatcher: She's investigated several trails of Ultimis' 115-powered adventures, and appears to have been present at ''Shangri-La'' during part of Ultimis' visit.
* ObliviouslyEvil: She sets several traps that impede Brock and Gary, and by extension, Ultimis during ''Shangri-La''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:George Barkley]]
!George Barkley
->'''Voiced by''': Creator/FredTatasciore
->'''Appearances''': ''Die Rise''

Former assistant director of the CIA facility in Georgia. Following the destruction of the Earth, he led a group of survivors, including fellow former CIA agents, from his headquarters in Druid Hills. Ten years after the missile strike, however, his headquarters was lost and he began to suffer from the new 115 plague.
----
* {{Irony}}: In his message, he warns that symptoms of 115 infection include psychosis, delusion, paranoia, and short-term memory loss. The thing is, in his message, he displays ''exactly'' those symptoms: he goes into a rant asking listeners if their closest companions are plotting against them, repeats short-term memory loss a few seconds later, etc.
* ShootTheDog: Barkley killed ''fourteen'' members of his team when they appeared to display symptoms of infection. Given his own paranoia, they may or may not have actually been infected.
* TheVirus: He is the one who discovered that a new plague of 115 has become airborne, meaning that all survivors are infected.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Spoiler Character]]
!Post-''Revelations'' Edward Richtofen
->'''Voiced by''': Creator/NolanNorth
->'''Appearances''': ''Origins''[[note]]Statue only [[/note]] | ''Revelations'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

A version of Richtofen cyrogenically frozen in another version of himself's lab. His appearance is where it's made clear that the Aether story in Black Ops IV is ''not'' a PostScriptSeason.
----

!!Original Survivors (Ultimis and Primis)
[[folder:As a whole]]
!!Ultimis:
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/original_crew.jpg]]
The original cast who made their debut in ''Shi No Numa'', referred to as "Ultimis". Richtofen found the other three and wiped their memories, and allied with them once Samantha set out to wipe out Group 935. Richtofen then led them across the two games from location to location, gathering things he needed for his grand scheme. Takeo recovers fully by Ascension, and Dempsey begins recovering as well, though Nikolai shows no progress. Though they insult each other, they ultimately become (whether they admit it or not) FireForgedFriends. Richtofen's scheme ultimately culminated on the Moon when the others inadvertently help him take control of the zombies. They realize their mistake, and ally with Maxis to try to stop their former ally, and ended up destroying the Earth to do so.

* BadassCrew: Natch.
* KilledOffForReal: All of the original versions of the characters in the fractured dimensions are killed by their respective Primis counterparts in order to ensure a better tomorrow.
* MesACrowd: In ''Classified'', we have [[spoiler: ''two'' incarnations of Ultimis; the four that have just come off of ''Shangri-La'', and a four that have already survived the events of ''Moon'' and are currently held as test subjects by the Americans.]]
* PaletteSwap: Well, Model Swap. All four started off as edited versions of character models from ''World at War'', with their first-person models the same as Miller's from the campaign (though they differ in ''Black Ops''). Later games, specifically ''Black Ops II'' and beyond, gave them original character models and designs. The models were;
** Dempsey: Private Polonsky from the American campaign. Black Ops viewmodel is of Mason during "Payback".
** Nikolai: Private Chernov from the Russian campaign. Black Ops viewmodel is of Mason during "Vorkuta".
** Takeo: A basic enemy model from the American campaign. Black Ops viewmodel comes from the NVA faction in multiplayer.
** Richtofen: Heinrich Amsel from "Vendetta", though with his black clothing recoloured green. Black Ops viewmodel is of Hudson during "Rebirth".
* TokenEvilTeammate: Richtofen, who is the main antagonist of the original timeline.
* UnwittingPawn: Nikolai, Takeo and Dempsey; as their memories were wiped by Richtofen, and are duped into helping his scheme to control the zombies.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Besides Richtofen and Maxis, the Ultimis incarnations of Nikolai, Takeo, and Dempsey disappear from the plot and are never seen again post-''Moon''. Different incarnations of the characters are created when Primis Richtofen kills his Ultimis counterpart in ''The Giant'', but they are eventually killed, and the incarnations of the characters we last saw on ''Moon'' are never seen again. [[spoiler: ''Classified'' reveals that they were teleported back in time to the Cold War-Era Pentagon.]]

!!Primis:
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/original_characters_origins_boii.PNG]]

After the Earth was destroyed twice over by Richtofen and Maxis, Samantha traveled to an alternate timeline in which the four heroes were World War I era soldiers, and they formed an alliance to free Samantha from Agartha. After a few years of peace, Richtofen recruited the gang yet again to help him purge the universe of the zombies and influence of Element 115. This meant killing off their original counterparts in the ''World at War''-''Black Ops II'' storyline. The group succeeds after changing the original timeline by killing the original Richtofen, and go to live out their lives in peace in the Aether with Dr. Monty, only for the Shadow Man to return and threaten the universe on behalf of his masters, the Apothicons. After a great battle, the evil is vanquished, and as a reward for their services, Monty allows the group to live out the rest of their lives as Primis, medieval warriors who originally defended Earth from the Apothicons, completing the cycle.

* AdaptationalHeroism: The Primis versions of Takeo, Nikolai, Dempsey and Richtofen are also much more heroic, even at the start, being willing to save the universe. Although this is much more emphasised with Richtofen, considering that his original timeline version was an AxCrazy psychopath who enjoyed wanton death and destruction, while this Richtofen never loses his desire to actively help people even in his darker moments.
* BadassCrew: Even moreso than the original group, thanks to the technology and powers they attain and the fact they're up against the UltimateEvil of the universe and win. Twice.
* DarkerAndEdgier: These versions of the characters are more serious and less goofy than their originals, with more mature personalities and designs. Nikolai and Richtofen in particular are almost unrecognisable due to them lacking a good deal of their insanity. Eventually they begin to mellow out and have quips and one-liners much like their Ultimis counterparts, due to the universes bleeding together.
* FireForgedFriends: Even more notable than the original group, since they become genuine friends by the end of their journey, whereas Richtofen betrayed the rest of the group, who were still as likely to turn on each other to some extent.
* FiveManBand: They form one in ''Origins''. They later become TheTeam.
** TheLeader: Dempsey - the most affirmative, and he's the first to decide to band together with Richtofen and the others follow suit.
** TheLancer: Takeo - He contrasts from Dempsey in that he's still the most willing to bring Richtofen in for his country.
** TheBigGuy: Nikolai - The biggest, strongest and burliest, though here he's more intelligent than previous maps.
** TheSmartGuy: Richtofen - Being the last survivor of the excavation team, he knows the most about Samantha, Element 115, the zombies, and practically everything.
** TheChick: Samantha, by default, who may also qualify as the [[BigGood Big Good]].
** SixthRanger: Maxis, once you build him a drone to use as a vessel.
* TheTeam: In ''Black Ops III'', Richtofen is both TheLeader and TheSmartGuy, Dempsey is TheLancer, and Nikolai and Takeo share the role of TheBigGuy.
* TrueCompanions: The crew becomes this by the end. In Primis Dempsey's last note, he mentions looking forward to seeing his old friends again in the afterlife.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Monty intended for them to be erased from existence after they helped him save the universe from the Apothicons, but just to protect the new world from any leftover taint of the ancient evil. Richtofen foresaw this, and had the crew drink blood vials from realities closed off from the Apothicons to make a paradox that would save them from erasure.

[[folder:"Tank" Dempsey]]
!Corporal "Tank" Dempsey
!!Ultimis Dempsey
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tankwawderriese.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Tank Dempsey! Kicking ass and making messes!"'']]
->''Oorah! Don't fuck with a Marine!''

->'''Voiced By''': Creator/SteveBlum
->'''Appearances''': ''Nacht der Untoten''[[note]]''Black Ops'' and ''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Verruckt'' | ''Shi No Numa'' | ''Der Riese'' | ''Kino der Toten'' | ''Ascension'' | ''Call of the Dead'' | ''Shangri La'' | ''Moon'' | ''Der Eisendrache'' | ''Classified''

The American character. Your stereotypical American Marine, ripping his way through his enemies like butter. Takes up the white space on the scoreboard and serves as the host in ''World At War''.

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Thanks to Richtofen, along with Takeo and Nikolai. By ''Ascension'', he's starting to recover.
* CallingYourAttacks: In ''Moon''.
* DoesNotLikeSpam: He has a massive dislike of Revive Soda on account that it tastes of (seemingly rotten/raw) fish. Nikolai comes to agree with him, but Takeo loves it.
** [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Trademark Favorite Drink]]: On the flipside, he loves Juggernog.
* {{Eagleland}}: A type 1.
* EnemyMine: He's good friends with Takeo, despite the fact their countries were direct enemies at the time. Takeo, however, doesn't return the favour. Averted with [[ThoseWackyNazis Richtofen]].
* LastNameBasis: He's usually referred to by his surname since we never learn his first name.
* MoreDakka: He's a massive fan of Light Machine Guns (specifically the MG-42 and BAR in ''World At War''), though in ''Black Ops'' this switches to the M16 and the former just get generic quotes.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Dempsey accidentally created the ''Classified'' scenario when he tried to use the ShrinkRay on a zombie while on a teleporter. Cue FacePalm from Richtofen shortly after teleportation.
* NoFourthWall:
** He knows he's being controlled by a player and he knows he was created by Treyarch, leading to some very humorous lines. {{Flanderization}} of this started happening in the ''Black Ops'' instalments. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Of course, this is all part of the charm for Ultimis.]]
--> '''Dempsey''': "Hey, player! DROP THE CHIPS AND GET ME SOME AMMO!!!"
* PassedInTheirSleep: In ''Der Eiseindrache'', he is asleep [[spoiler:inside a stasis pod, and dies by his Origins self shutting its life support system down.]]
* PsychoElectro: He and Richtofen share one thing in common: they love using the [=WunderWaffe=] and Wave Gun.
* {{Retcon}}: The Marines playable in ''Verruckt'' initially were unnamed generics. However, later games retconned that one of them was in fact Dempsey himself.
* SemperFi: He was a Marine before the events of Zombies Mode in both timelines.
* SoleSurvivor: Dempsey was the only survivor of the Marines sent to rescue Peter [=McCain=] from the Wittenau Sanatorium, with John Banana, Smokey, and their fourth companion all falling to the zombies.
* VerbalTic:
** He enjoys saying "Oorah!" and calling ammo "Gun Juice", which Sarah Michelle Geller picks up in ''Call Of the Dead''.
** He also calls the Wunderwaffe DG-2 the "Wonder Waffle".
* WeaponOfChoice: During the WWII era, the [[CoolGuns/MachineGuns BAR]]. Afterwards, the [[CoolGuns/AssaultRifles M16 and its upgraded variant.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After ''Moon'', his original timeline self wasn't seen until ''Der Eisendrache''. [[spoiler:It's finally revealed that once Ultimis Richtofen was killed and the timeline was changed, Ultimis Dempsey was captured and put in a cryogenic pod by Group 935, and the Primis crew have to rescue him - or so they think, since Richtofen reveals that they need to kill all the Ultimis Survivors to capture their souls with his artifact. Eventually, Primis Tank convinces Richtofen to let him kill his Ultimis self, and he does so by cutting the life support on Ultimis Tank's cryogenic pod]].

!!Primis Dempsey
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dempsey_20.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"We were supposed to secure the package, be in and out clean. Instead, the whole thing's just been one disaster after another."'']]

->'''Voiced By''': Creator/SteveBlum
->'''Appearances''': ''Origins'' | ''The Giant'' | ''Der Eisendrache'' | ''Zetsubou No Shima'' | ''Gorod Krovi'' | ''Revelations'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

In the new timeline formed in ''Black Ops III'', Dempsey is a far more serious character who may be even more badass than the original Dempsey. He does not trust Richtofen, which reaches its peak when the truth comes out that the group's new mission is to exterminate their original counterparts.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Narrates the ''Der Eisendrache'' trailer and its EasterEgg is about him.
* DecoyProtagonist: The trailers usually beef him up as the central protagonist of the story, though it's Richtofen who is the protagonist with the most focus in the story.
* EnemyMine: The most distrustful of the gang towards Richtofen, until he realizes his intentions are true.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: Once he learns the truth of the group's mission, he agrees to [[spoiler:be the one to put his other self down, and grants him a peaceful death in his sleep.]]
* GatlingGood: At some point prior to ''Blood of the Dead'', he ''procured'' a minigun from a Group 935 armory, and named it [[NoKillLikeOverkill Overkill.]]
** SwissArmyWeapon: Upgrading this adds a [[StuffBlowingUp grenade launcher]] and at max level, Dempsey can self-destruct it to [[NukeEm wipe the entire map of zombies with a nuke.]]
* GunsAkimbo: Appear to be his weapon of choice; He sports them in ''The Giant'' intro, the ending cutscene of ''Der Eisendrache'' and both ''Revelations'' 's and ''Blood of the Dead'' 's intro.
* TheLancer: Is the most hesitant about Richtofen's plans and always voices his concerns.
* TheLeader: [[spoiler:When the group is reincarnated as Primis, he appears to be the most prominent member of the four.]]
* NoNameGiven: Even Monty claims to not really know his true name, though he suggests Thomas as a theory. The Shadowman also asks if he even has a first name.
* SoleSurvivor: [[spoiler:According to a hidden cipher, he was the last surviving member of the original four to die after the great battle with the Apothicons.]]
* TookALevelInCynic: Is a lot more morose than his original counterpart, thanks to actually having his sanity and memories.
* VisualPun: He debuts in the ''Origins'' cutscene riding a ''tank''.
* WeaponOfChoice: [[GunsAkimbo Dual pistols]], then later a minigun dubbed "Overkill".

[[folder:Nikolai Belinski]]
!Sergeant Nikolai Belinski
!!Ultimis Nikolai
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nika.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Ahh, Just what we needed. Although some vodka would be nice."'']]

->''Reach for Vodka tonight!!!''

->'''Voiced By''': Creator/FredTatasciore
->'''Appearances''': ''Nacht der Untoten''[[note]]''Black Ops'' and ''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Verruckt''[[note]]''Black Ops'' and ''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Shi No Numa'' | ''Der Riese'' | ''Kino der Toten'' | ''Ascension'' | ''Call of the Dead'' | ''Shangri La'' | ''Moon'' | ''Gorod Krovi'' | ''Classified''

The Russian character, another stereotype who adores vodka and killing his wives in great plenty. He's the only one not showing signs of recovery from his brainwashing. Takes up the blue slot in the scoreboard in ''World at War''.

* TheAlcoholic: He CRAVES vodka, but alas he can't find any. The only time he does is in ''Call of The Dead'', where you have to find it and give it to him. The closest he got before that was that the cut Perk-A-Cola Turfbrew makes Nikolai remark it tasted like beer. When Richtofen experimented with him, he needed a Vodka-based serum to stay responsive. [[spoiler:As revealed in ''Gorod Krovi'', he began drinking to forget the loss of the love of his life]].
* BadassBoast: Quite a few: "Don't [[PrecisionFStrike fuck]] with the Red Menace!"
* TheBigGuy: He's definitely burlier and bigger than the others.
* TheBluebeard: Generally PlayedForLaughs. In ''World At War'', he had at least five wives and killed them all. The fourth was killed with an axe and the others with varying weapons. By ''Moon'' in ''Black Ops'', this has gone up to SEVEN wives... "and new girlfriend". [[spoiler:Subverted in that he only had one wife, who he lost in a bombing raid, and that all the other stories were [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy lies concocted by his own drunkenness]].]]
* DoubleEntendre: Quite a few in the later maps.
* DrowningMySorrows: He wants to, but he can't. [[spoiler:It's revealed in ''Gorod Krovi'' that it's to forget the death of his wife, with all his claims of killing multiple wives being [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy Alcohol Induced Lying]].]]
* FirstNameBasis: Never referred to by his surname.
* ForgotToPayTheBill: Will sometimes ask this when realising there is no power.
--> '''Nikolai''': Who didn't pay electric bill?
* EnemyMine:
** Averted with Richtofen - Nikolai takes Richtofen's... [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything "interest"]] in him as [[ComicallyMissingThePoint sucking up for a free drink]].
** Averted for a different reason in the 2.0 timeline; Nikolai fears Richtofen will betray him and the others again in time (while Takeo is all for Richtofen's plan and Dempsey is mostly neutral towards it), leading to a great deal of contempt.
* LargeHam: Nowhere near as loud as Dempsey or Richtofen, but he certainly chews the scenery. Taken UpToEleven during ''Gorod Krovi'', where Nikolai 1.0 is piloting a HumongousMecha, and makes over-the-top taunts when battling the zombies, the dragon, [[spoiler:and the 2.0 survivors]]:
--> "When victory is mine, I will BATHE in your blood!! Russians know NOTHING of surrender!!"
* LudicrousGibs: [[spoiler:Basically how 1.0 Nikolai goes out in Gorod Krovi; it's not seen, but 2.0 Nikolai kills him by shooting him ''point-blank'' with his shotgun. One can only assume you could have poured what remained of the former into his vodka bottle.]]
* MadeOfIron: Both versions qualify, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation if only outside of gameplay]]. while it takes several rounds of Pack-a-Punched gunfire and a massive dragon to take down 1.0 Nikolai's mech in Gorod Krovi. [[spoiler:Eventually subverted; see LudicrousGibs above.]]
* NoodleIncident: Often brings up past events every now and then with zero context, usually involving his wives.
--> '''Nikolai''': You know, I was on fire once, It was no fun.
* OneManArmy: In ''Gorod Krovi'', he's pretty much owning the battlefield by himself, a battlefield that involves dragons, giant robots and hordes of zombies.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
** You know things are getting bad when Nikolai flatly refuses to aid Richtofen any further during the events of ''Moon'', without any of his regular, boastful attitude.
** Throughout ''Gorod Krovi'', Ultimis Nikolai is [[DrunkenMaster drunkenly blowing the shit out of zombies and dragons with a]] HumongousMecha, and coming up with hilariously drunk boasting and curses. [[spoiler:Then Primis Nikolai calls him out, saying he's only drunk because he's trying to forget the death of his wife in an air-raid. Ultimis Nikolai drops any pretense of drunken silliness and screams that some things are forgotten for a reason, before attempting to ''kill'' his alternate]].
* RealAfterAll: [[spoiler:Inverted. ''Gorod Krovi'' reveals, at least in this new timeline, that Nikolai only had ONE wife; the rest were drunken lies he made up when she was killed in an air raid. One has wonder how much of his life from the ''World at War''-''Black Ops II'' timeline was that delusional fantasy.]]
* TookALevelInDumbass: He went from a serious, competent, physically-fit, and ''sober'' soldier, to...
** AlcoholInducedIdiocy: ...a smelly, bumbling, alcoholic man with a weight problem.
*** TookALevelInBadass: In Gorod Krovi, Nikolai 1.0 is still drunk off his ass, but is also ''piloting a HumongousMecha'' while mulching zombies and shooting up dragons. [[spoiler:[[DefiantToTheEnd He also refuses to surrender to the other 2.0 Survivors, fighting until his mech is destroyed, and even then tries to shoot Nikolai 2.0 before getting blasted with a shotgun from the latter]].]]
*** TookALevelInJerkass: He's also much more violent in Gorod Krovi, seemingly being the last human alive in this alternate Stalingrad. [[spoiler:When 2.0 Nikolai forces the truth about his alcoholism on him, his goofy demeanour vanishes completely and he becomes totally murderous...which doesn't exactly last]].
* VodkaDrunkenski: See above.
* WeaponOfChoice: The [[CoolGuns/SubmachineGuns PPsH-41]] during the WWII era. Afterwards, the [[CoolGuns/BattleRifles FAL]] and the upgraded [[CoolGuns/MachineGuns HK21]]. He also shares the Hellfire with his Primis counterpart in ''Black Ops IIII''.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: His original timeline self didn't appear after ''Moon'' until ''Gorod Krovi'', two games and five out of universe years later. Even then, the Ultimis Nikolai we last saw on ''Moon'' didn't return until ''Classified'', a further two years after that.

!!Primis Nikolai

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nikolai_20.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"They say it is better to have loved and lost than to have never have loved at all... I disagree."'']]
->'''Voiced By''': Creator/FredTatasciore
->'''Appearances''': ''Origins'' | ''The Giant'' | ''Der Eisendrache'' | ''Zetsubou No Shima'' | ''Gorod Krovi'' | ''Revelations'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

In the new timeline, Nikolai is almost unrecognizable. A world-weary, battle-worn soldier, Nikolai looks forward to the end of the group's war with the powers of darkness. However, for this to come to pass, Nikolai must confront the darkest moment of his past if they are to save the universe.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Narrates the ''Gorod Krovi'' trailer and its Easter egg is about him.
* AnAxeToGrind: Wields a massive axe in the ''Origins'' opening cutscene and is able to chop zombies in two with little effort. Sadly, this axe is not available in-game.
* TheBigGuy: The biggest and burliest member of the gang, again.
* DentedIron: It's clear that Nikolai is still suffering, mentally if not physically. He mentions as much when asked about his use of expletives in ''Gorod Krovi''; it takes his mind off of the horrors he has seen.
* FireForgedFriends: With Takeo in particular. It's especially notable since they were always at each other's throats in the original timeline. In the ''Revelations'' ending, they both suspect Monty is about to betray them and silently agree to try to kill him together.
* GentleGiant: He's huge and powerful, but he's surprisingly sweet and soft-spoken when it really comes down to it.
* KillItWithFire: At some point prior to ''Blood of the Dead'', he apparently gathered a bunch of scrap metal and made a functional flamethrower out if it. He thusly named it [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Hellfire.]]
* LargeHam: Averted. This incarnation of Nikolai is pretty restrained and calm.
* TheLeader: [[spoiler: At the end of ''Blood of the Dead'', post-''Revelations'' Richtofen appoints him as the new leader of Primis after the death of the original Primis Richtofen.]]
* MadeOfIron: He tanks a handgun bullet pretty well (albeit with it being deflected by his chest plate).
* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: See WeaponOfChoice.
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler: During ''Blood of the Dead'', he suggests to Dempsey that they both kill Richtofen to take command.]]
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Of all the members of Primis, Nikolai is the one who has the most hatred for Richtofen and even by the time of ''Revelations'', his opinion of him has hardly changed. When Richtofen's plans go awry in ''Blood of the Dead'', Nikolai spends the entire map insulting him and cursing him.
* TookALevelInBadass: From ''Origins'' on, Nikolai is back to being a serious and competent soldier. He later recognizes that this does not detract from the original's combat prowess ''at all'', however.
* UndyingLoyalty: To the group as a whole by the end of their adventures.
* WeaponOfChoice: Nikolai is often seen using a shotgun in cutscenes; the Olympia in Origins, the KRM-262 in ''Black Ops III'' and the MOG-12 in ''Black Ops IIII''. The latter also gives him a personal Specialist Wonder Weapon, the Hellfire flamethrower.

[[folder:Takeo Masaki]]
!Captain Takeo Masaki
!!Ultimis Takeo
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/takeo_g11.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Death before dishonor!"'']]

->''Richtofen, his evil is great. But not as great as what we fight today. One day, when the time is right I will make him pay for what he has done!''

->'''Voiced By''': Creator/TomKane
->'''Appearances''': ''Nacht der Untoten''[[note]]''Black Ops'' and ''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Verruckt''[[note]]''Black Ops'' and ''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Shi No Numa'' | ''Der Riese'' | ''Kino der Toten'' | ''Ascension'' | ''Call of the Dead'' | ''Shangri La'' | ''Moon'' | ''Zetsubou No Shima'' | ''Classified''

The Japanese character, [[HonorBeforeReason obsessed with honour FAR before reason]] and has completely recovered from his brainwashing. Takes up the [[YellowPeril yellow]] slot on the scoreboard in ''World at War''.

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Completely recovered as of ''Moon'', rendered moot as of ''The Giant''.
* ComicallySerious: From ''Ascension'' onwards.
* CallingYourAttacks: ''Pokemon Style'', too.
* InterchangeableAsianCultures: His constant comments on honour, ancestors, etc. make him the biggest walking stereotype of all the characters.
* EnemyMine: With Dempsey in the trailers, with Richtofen at first.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: To escape his tortured existence and to help save the universe, he humbly agrees to die with honor, and even asks Primis Takeo if he would be his kaishakunin as he committed {{seppuku}}.
* IntentionalEngrishForFunny: Though this petered out as the maps went on.
* LastNameBasis: As "Masakai" is his first name, and everyone refers to him as Takeo, he employs this trope.
* TheLeader: He seems to take over once Richtofen enters the Aether and takes control of the Zombies and Maxis leaves them, since he's completely recovered his memory. Averted in ''Origins'' and onwards.
* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: Richtofen barely remembers him, except in ''Call of The Dead'''s radio messages. This also may be out of spite since Takeo was the only one who had recovered his memory and was more onto him. Was often this to the rest of the cast prior to ''Ascension''. [[{{Flanderization}} After that]], he managed to break out as the ComicallySerious.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: By ''Ascension'', it's no secret Takeo wants to kill Richtofen, and he had the perfect chance in ''Moon''. But thanks to gameplay, he helped his cause and let him take over the Zombies and then ''nuked the earth!''
* PrecisionFStrike: Compared to [[SirSwearsalot Dempsey and Nikolai]].
* {{Seppuku}}: How he meets his end, with Primis Takeo serving as his kaishakunin.
* [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Trademark Favorite Drink]]: Revive Soda.
** BizarreTasteInFood: The reason is that it tastes like fish. This comes back to bite him quite hard in ''Call of the Dead''.
* WeaponOfChoice: The [[CoolGuns/AssaultRifles AK-74u]] and [[CoolGuns/BattleRifles the upgraded M14.]] And, of course, his katana; the Path of Sorrows.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The Ultimis incarnation of Takeo is never seen again post-''Moon'' until ''Classified''.

!!Primis Takeo

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/takeo_3.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Destiny is not on your side. It is on ours!"'']]

->'''Voiced By''': Creator/TomKane
->'''Appearances''': ''Origins'' | ''The Giant'' | ''Der Eisendrache'' | ''Zetsubou No Shima'' | ''Gorod Krovi'' | ''Revelations'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

Ever the honorable warrior, the new incarnation of Takeo sets out with the others to save the universe from darkness. During their mission, Takeo finds his own honor and loyalties in question as he begins to discover the depths of evil even his own beloved home country will sink to.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Narrates the ''Zetsubou No Shima trailer'' and its EasterEgg is about him.
* BrokenPedestal: He's devastated when he learns his older self was tortured and experimented on by orders of the Emperor himself, after devoting his life to the Emperor's honor.
* CoolSword: The Path of Sorrows, his signature Katana.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Voices his horror at the level of depravity inflicted on his older self by Division 9.
* HeroicBSOD: Has a brief out in ''Zetsubou No Shima's'' Easter Egg, where his older self tells him he's been imprisoned on the island on the orders of the Emperor of Japan himself.
* InterchangeableAsianCultures: His Primis counterpart even ''returns'' to some of the conventions of the ''World at War''-era Takeo when the others almost abandoned theirs.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Any time Takeo is in a fight during a cutscene, you can bet he'll be using a katana while the others will be using guns. He manages to keep up and even outdo the others in kill counts at times too. As of ''Black Ops IV'', you can equip said katana, which has to compete with the [[ShockAndAwe Ragnarok DG-5]], [[GatlingGood Overkill]] and [[KillItWithFire Hellfire]]. It still keeps up with the best of them and can end up with a blood red BattleAura once fully leveled out too.
* MercyKill: Delivers one to his Ultimis self at the end of ''Zetsubou No Shima'''s Easter Egg, decapitating him after he commits seppuku (an extremely painful ritual that is supposed to bring honour back to oneself and often followed by decapitation).
-->'''Ultimis Takeo:''' Will you be my kaishakunin?\\
'''Primis Takeo:''' It would be my ''honor''.
* OffWithHisHead: Does this to his Ultimis self at the end of ''Zetsubou No Shima'', at his demand.

[[folder:Dr. Edward Richtofen]]
!Dr. Edward Richtofen
!!Ultimis Richtofen
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/richtofenofthedamned.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"I long to bathe naked... IN YOUR BLOOD!"'']]
->'''''THE VOICES!!!''' THEY'RE SO LOUD!!!''

->'''Voiced By''': Creator/NolanNorth
->'''Appearances''': ''Nacht der Untoten''[[note]]''Black Ops'' and ''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Verruckt''[[note]]''Black Ops'' and ''Black Ops III'' only[[/note]] | ''Shi No Numa'' | ''Der Riese'' | ''Kino der Toten'' | ''Ascension'' | ''Call of the Dead'' | ''Shangri La'' | ''Moon'' | ''[=TranZit=]'' | ''Nuketown Zombies'' | ''Die Rise'' | ''Buried'' | ''The Giant'' | ''Classified''

A crazy German Doctor who worked for Group 935 in the past and is behind (almost) ''everything'' in the story, including nuking the Earth. From ''[=TranZit=]'' to ''Buried'', he is the Demonic Announcer. Takes up the green slot on the scoreboard in ''World at War''.

* ArcWords: "Beware the Doc", "Teddy is a Liar", and "Mend the rift".
* AxCrazy: After getting corrupted by the Apothicons by way of touching the MPD, Richtofen quickly loses his mind and becomes all too eager for a slaughter.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: In the non-canon ending of ''Buried'', after killing Maxis and taking control of Samuel's body, it seems Richtofen is stuck in a corporeal body. Richtofen's not pleased at the stink, nor having to fight off the minions he's controlling.
* BigBad: Of the ''Black Ops II'' arc of the original timeline, what would become known as the Victis timeline. He styles himself as the BigGood to Samuel and others who can hear him. He’s canonically usurped by Maxis, making him form a BigBadEnsemble with his rival.
* BoomHeadshot: On the receiving end by his younger self.
* BreakoutCharacter: Probably the most popular character of the series, and this got him a starring role as the true protagonist of the series, whether he's TheHero or a VillainProtagonist, as well as a tenure as the Demonic Announcer. He later returns in the comics and ''Black Ops IIII'', revealing his fate after ''Buried''.
* DeadlyDoctor: "Be afraid of the Doctor!"
* DemotedToDragon: At the end of ''Buried'', Maxis assumes control of the Aether and condemns Richtofen to be trapped inside a zombie's body.
* DepravedHomosexual: A few jokes in ''Call of the Dead'' and ''Shangri-La'' seem to imply this, with Richtofen "accidentally" grabbing Dempsey while trying to pull a lever ([[GettingCrapPastTheRadar the implication being]] [[GroinAttack Richtofen grabbed Dempsey's dick]]) and [[AssShove putting his finger in his ass]] ([[PervertRevengeMode with Dempsey punching Richtofen flat on his in response]]), and in ''Shangri-La'', [[AssShove getting spikes shoved up his ass]] has him [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl Scream Like A Little Girl]] [[TooKinkyToTorture before saying they should buy him dinner next time]], and he sometimes says "It's a small gun, but it has a LONG barrel - [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything like my college roommate]]". And that's not mentioning his VillainousCrush on Nikolai.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Unceremoniously [[BoomHeadshot shot in the head]] by his younger self at the start of Primis' journey in ''Black Ops III''. Well, a version of him is, at least.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Maxis isn't that impressed by Richtofen's inventing teleporting, playing a part in his StartOfDarkness.
* {{Expy}}: While likely not intentional, his original incarnation resembles a warped version of the Medic from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'';
** They're both German (obviously).
** They're both misidentified as Nazis (Richotfen's group worked for them but did not share their view, while Valve has gone on record as stating that making Medic a nazi would be "too easy").
** Both have created technology more modern sciences both in and out of universe have yet to create (Medic: Healing Rays. Richtofen: Wonder Weapons and Teleporters)
** Both are friends with large, strong Russians (Heavy, Nikolai) and Nationalistic Americans (Soldier, Dempsey).
** Both hold a certain sympathy towards animals (Medic: Pigeons. Richtofen: Dogs)
** And both share a fascination with magic and otherworldly beings - though in Richtofen's case, [[spoiler:it was not exactly of his own will]].
* FacePalm: When Dempsey slightly derails his plans by teleporting them to the Pentagon in ''Classified''.
* FateWorseThanDeath: The canon Maxis ending of the Victis timeline has Maxis rip Richtofen from the Aether and stick him into the body of a zombie, transferring to another one upon that body's death. He remains an enemy in ''Buried'' after this, constantly crying about his fate and giving the player a Power Up drop every time he's killed.
** The ''Zombies'' comic eventually revealed that he managed to escape ''Buried'' and continued to roam the Earth as a zombie, though at least being able to reaquire his old threads, and working with Primis!Richtofen to help out the Victis crew. [[spoiler:Punch Cards in ''Classified'' eventually reveal that he managed to get into the Pentagon and re-enter his old body, imprisoned in the Pentagon after ''Moon'' and brain-dead after Samantha was...removed.]]
* ForTheEvulz: All the brainwashing and amnesia? Richtofen did that. A recording on Moon showed him as reasonable, if also TheRival to Dr. Maxis. His... [[AxCrazy later behavior]] is due to [[DemonicPossession being corrupted by the]] [[spoiler:Shadow Man]] after touching the MPD, and now being an UnwittingPawn trying to help bring about the destruction of the Earth for [[spoiler:the Apothicons]].
* {{Ghostapo}}: Similar to above, but even more so when he gains control of the Zombies.
* GrandTheftMe: Though he doesn't really miss having a physical body, if you've completed all ''Black Ops II'' easter eggs in his favour, he begins using Samuel's body as his own, though it seems he can't fully take control for some reason. An inverted version occurs when siding with Maxis instead, as he's forced to body-hop among Zombie bodies, never dying permanently, but forced to inhabit stinking rotting bodies completely against his will.
* HeelFaceTurn: Downplayed. While still amoral and very much evil, he ultimately assists his more moral Primis counterpart to get the blood vials he needs in the comics.
* HerrDoktor: Of course.
* LargeHam: Oh, so much.
* LastNameBasis: Usually referred to by his surname except by the Maxis family, who knew him personally before the outbreak.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: You can't play ''Black Ops II'' and avoid the fact that he became the new Demonic Announcer at the end of ''Black Ops'', to the point it leaps into ItWasHisSled territory. Likewise you can't play ''Black Ops III'' without avoiding the fact he stuffed up at the end of the last game and his alternate has to fix it.
* TheLeader: Especially by the time of ''Black Ops'', when he's the one leading [[UnwittingPawn the others]] throughout the various maps to achieve his goals.
* MadScientist: After touching the MPD.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: Played with. Even though he's still very much insane, he knows far more than he lets on about the zombies, Group 935, and Samantha. By ''Shangri-La'', the others finally notice he's up to something big, but at that point it's too late to stop him. [[spoiler:''Blacks Ops III'' reveals that he wasn't mad, per se, more posessed by the Apothicons and obiliviously doing their bidding.]]
* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: As much as he loves his "minions", if they get too close or too numerous, Richtofen's ready to shit his pants and haul some ass out of there.
* SharingABody: If you complete all easter eggs in Richtofen's favour, he will enter Samuel's body. Complete them all in Maxis' favor, and he's forced to enter the body of a random zombie.
* ShootTheMedicFirst: In-universe. Samantha is targeting only him, as the others are his experiments.
* TheStarscream: To Maxis, especially after coming into contact with the MPD.
* ThoseWackyNazis: Subverted. Group 935 was around long before the Nazi Party, but ended up exchanging their Wonder Weapons for funding, though they never saw service. It's implied Maxis never intended to help the Nazi Party and was just stalling, even when the Wunderwaffe exceeded expectations, and refused to mass-produce it for the Nazi's. There are a number of references to Richtofen still having traits of the Nazis, such as him wearing a Nazi outfit and owning a Hitler Youth knife, but he is not a Nazi himself.
* TimeTravel: Starting after ''Der Riese'' he's leading the gang through time.
* {{Troll}}: To Dempsey, and even moreso to the [=TranZit=] crew.
* UnwittingPawn: After touching the MPD, [[spoiler: he began to hear the voice of the Shadowman, who basically instructed him to take control of the zombies and damn the Earth for the Apothicons to invade, all while thinking he was pursuing his own ambitions.]]
* VillainProtagonist: [[PlayedWith Apparently]], if you chose to help Maxis, Maxis will take over the zombies, but will kill them all nonetheless, [[NecessarilyEvil regretfully.]] Apparently, Edward was right when he mentioned that [[{{Foreshadowing}} "Maxis will kill you all!"]] ''Blacks Ops III'' reveals this to be the canon ending, and the comics would expand more on his fate post-Buried.
* VillainSong: ''Not Ready to Die'' in ''Call of the Dead''; and ''Carrion'' in ''[=TranZit=]''.
* VillainousCrush: On Nikolai. It's especially obvious in ''Shangri-La''.
* WeaponOfChoice: If it's not the [=Wunderwaffe-DG2=], it's the [[CoolGuns/SubmachineGuns MP40]] until he changes over to the [[RareGuns/SubmachineGuns Spectre]]. He also has a preference for the [[RareGuns/AssaultRifles upgraded G11]].
* WouldHurtAChild: He experimented on Samantha for an unknown amount of time with dangerous, reality-warping Divinium.

!!Primis Richtofen

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/richtofen_20.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"I am no fool! What I do, I do only to secure a better tomorrow."'']]

->'''Voiced By''': Creator/NolanNorth
->'''Appearances''': ''Origins'' | ''The Giant'' | ''Shadows of Evil'' | ''Der Eisendrache'' | ''Zetsubou No Shima'' | ''Gorod Krovi'' | ''Revelations'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

The new incarnation of Richtofen makes his debut in ''Origins'', and helps guide his new friends to help Samantha reach Agartha. After learning of the different realities and in particular what befell the original Richtofen's timeline on his watch, this Richtofen sets out to save the universe from himself and his friends' original counterparts and atone for his original sins.

* TheAlcoholic: If the numerous bottles of wine in his room in ''Der Eisendrache'' are any indication, [=WW2=] Richtofen was this.
* TheAtoner: It's heavily implied he's working so hard to repair the damage from his Ultimis counterpart in particular, who caused the destruction of the Earth and brought the Apothicons to their universe in the first place.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:Being drained of your own blood via some cruel machine while your allies abandon you would definitely qualify for this trope.]]
* DidntSeeThatComing: He did not foresee the Kronorium's pages changing at all, nor did he take the new future well ''at all''. [[spoiler:Given that the cycle of Primus breaking led directly to a very cruel death, as well as his allies finally having enough of his plan due to it resulting in them being trapped in an outright hell, his outcry of ''[[PrecisionFStrike you son of a bitch]]'' was appropriate.]]
* DrJerk: Make no mistake; although this Richtofen is firmly one of the good guys, he's still a pretty severe JerkAss.
* DyingAlone: [[spoiler: In ''Blood of the Dead'', he dies by having his blood drained by the others to escape Alcatraz, which has now been purified and its' captured souls freed.]]
* {{Expy}}: Continued from above, Richtofen 2.0 is a lot closer to the ''[=TF2=]'' Medic visually, having black hair, and an outfit resembling the Medic without his BadassLongcoat.
* FamousLastWords: [[spoiler:"I wanted to keep going... This me. I was the nicest one... And you won't even remember."]]
* GenreSavvy: He began to sense that [[spoiler:saving the universe would mean the end of him and his friends, so he led the gang to the hell of Alcatraz and collected vials of Arlington, Sal, Billy, and Finn, as their universe had already been sealed off from the Apothicons. It creates a paradox that spares them from the CosmicRetcon that occurs upon the defeat of the Apothicons. Sadly, he did not expect the cycle to ''break'' at any point, which led to his death.]]
* GoodIsNotNice: Is arguably the central protagonist of the Primis Timeline, but is still an abrasive JerkAss who avoids telling his comrades anything unless he can help it, and shows remarkably little remorse for the various inviduals he [[IDidWhatIHadToDo has to screw over to accomplish his goals.]] [[RealityEnsues This comes back to bite him]] ''hard'' in ''Blood of the Dead''; trapping everyone in a demonic Alcatraz and being vague about why they're even there causes everyone else to slowly hate him[[spoiler:, and they abandon him to his gruesome demise the moment they can escape]].
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: His justification for killing the 1.0 Survivors in the new timeline is that he "only wants to secure a better tomorrow". It's revealed that the reason he has to kill them is because the artifact allowing him to preserve their souls can only work if the subject is recently deceased, i.e. killed by him or another member of the 2.0 Survivors.
* IHatePastMe: In ''The Giant'' intro, his [=WW2=] self seems ecstatic to meet his Origins self, taking off his hat to salute him. Origins!Richtofen makes his dislike of his older self clear, [[BoomHeadshot by putting a bullet through his head]].
** May be subverted - although Richtofen 2.0 doesn't say anything on Richtofen 1.0, he reveals that killing him wasn't out of malice, but to put his soul inside an artifact that would fix the dimensional rifts. [[WhamEpisode Unfortunately]], that also means [[GottaKillThemAll needing to kill the other 1.0 Survivors to get THEIR souls too]]. In ''Revelations'', when he arrives in the portion based on Alcatraz Prison, he remembers the torment Samuel endured from his Ultimis counterpart during ''Black Ops II'', and expresses remorse (but also acknowledges it wasn't really him who did it).
* IronicEcho: [[spoiler:"The future has changed." First time said was in ''The Giant'' after Ultimis!Richtofen is killed. The second time is in ''Blood Of The Dead'', when Post-Revelations Richtofen tells this to him as ''he's'' dying.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Richtofen genuinely wants a better world to live in, and he'll get it. Doesn't mean he'll be nice about it.
** He apparently claims to be the nicest version of Richtofen. Not that far of a stretch given that Ultimis Richtofen is a genuine psychopath, [[spoiler:and post-Revelations Richtofen doesn't even bother with the niceties at all when leaving him to die.]]
* TheLeader: Of the Primis crew. He's the one leading them to wherever and whenever they need to go to complete their mission.
* MoralityPet: As a sharp contrast to his 1.0 counterpart, Maxis is Richtofen 2.0's, albeit in a rather twisted way.
* OhCrap: His reaction to the Kronorium's pages changing.
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: His objective in the new timeline is to stop himself from dooming the world in all realities.
* TheSociopath: It's strongly hinted that even this version of Richtofen is one, despite being a heroic character; while his ultimate goal is to save the universe and preserve his and his comrade's lives in the process, he shows essentially no remorse for the fates of Samantha in ''Origins'', S.O.P.H.I.A. in ''Gorod Krovi'', or what his past self did to Samuel. There's also his cutting out Maxis's brain and sticking it in a robot; Maxis apparently considers this a FateWorseThanDeath, but Richtofen is just happy to keep Maxis alive.
* TheSoulless: Monty confirms that Primis Richtofen doesn't have a soul during the events of ''Black Ops III''. The others notice at the end of ''Gorod Krovi'' that only their three souls floated into the heavens to the House.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: [[spoiler:The general tone he has when he has to fulfill the broken cycle's future and get into a machine that drains him of his blood.]]
* ThoseWackyNazis: Subverted by this Richtofen, since he's with Germany during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, and he also is more moral than Richtofen 1.0. [[FutureMeScaresMe Richtofen 2.0 makes this even more clear]] [[BoomHeadshot by shooting Richtofen 1.0 in the head when meeting him]].
* TimeTravel: The opening for ''The Giant'' has Richtofen 2.0 travel to 1945 after the rest of Primis and [[BoomHeadshot execute his future self]].

!!"Five" Survivors
[[folder:John F. Kennedy]]
!President [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy John F. Kennedy]]

->''Do not pray for easy lives, my friends. Pray to be stronger men.''

->'''Voiced by''': Jim Meskimen
->'''Appearances''': ''"Five"'' | ''Ascension''

The 35th president of the United States. He is forced to fight for his life alongside his allies and rivals when the Pentagon is overrun by zombies.

* AlternateHistory: ''Ascension'' and ''Revelations'' reveal that in one fractured timeline, he actually died at the Pentagon during the zombie attack.
* EnemyMine: Not a big fan of Castro, understandably, but still stands alongside him in their LastStand. More downplayed with Nixon, who ran against him in the election. [[spoiler: ''Classified'' reveals that the true purpose of the fateful Pentagon meeting was to form an alliance with Castro against the threat of Samantha.]]
* ForgivenButNotForgotten: He invites Nixon to the meeting with Castro as a gesture of goodwill - "forgive your enemies, but remember their names."
* TheLeader: Is nominally in charge of the four, as he's the president and all.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Subverted. He barely blinks at the sight of zombies approaching, but as the lower levels of the Pentagon make clear, the American government was well acquainted with 115, Group 935, and the whole zombie shebang.

[[folder:Robert [=McNamara=]]]
!Secretary Robert [=McNamara=]

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/RobertPicardo
->'''Appearances''': ''"Five"'' | ''Revelations'' | ''Classified''

Secretary of State under President Kennedy. He's Kennedy's most loyal supporter and unofficial bodyguard during the attack on the Pentagon.

* BackForTheFinale: Makes a surprise return in an audio log found in ''Revelations'', the final map of ''Black Ops III''.
* BadassBookworm: Perhaps the brainiest of the four and still slaughtering zombies with the rest of them.
* TheCameo: As Radios in both ''Revelations'' and ''Classified''.
* EnemyMine: He's even more hostile to Castro than Kennedy, but is forced to team up with him.
* TheLancer: As the only member of the group with absolute loyalty to Kennedy and his de facto right hand man.
* MyGreatestFailure: Deeply regrets not being able to save the president (and to a lesser extent Nixon and Castro) in his final log.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: In his final audio log, he derogatorily suggests that the zombies are actually a bunch of "hippies".
* SoleSurvivor: He was the last surviving member of the four for a while in one fractured dimension, and got out one last distress signal that the ''Origins'' crew listens to in ''Revelations''.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Kennedy.

[[folder:Richard Nixon]]
!Vice President UsefulNotes/RichardNixon

->''[[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} NIXON'S BAAAACK]]!!!''

->'''Voiced by''': Dave Mallow
->'''Appearances''': ''"Five"'' | ''Ascension''

The Republican candidate for president who lost to Kennedy, who bears him no ill will and invites him to the Pentagon for a meeting with Castro.

* AlternateHistory: Nixon never became president in one fractured ''Zombies'' timeline, having been killed in the Pentagon attack.
* TheBigGuy: The least... put together of the four, and also one of their best fighters.
* CassandraTruth: When Nixon hears a zombie encroaching on the group, he jumps up and starts panicking, and Kennedy dryly assures him it was just a storm outside. Moments later, it's proven that they really ''are'' in danger.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: He has become a nominal ally to Kennedy in the wake of his defeat in the election.
* GracefulLoser: He's accepted his defeat at Kennedy's hands and now submits to his command in the attack.
* SanitySlippage: On full display in the opening when he immediately flips out upon hearing a zombie approaching.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Castro, of all people.

[[folder:Fidel Castro]]
!Prime Minister UsefulNotes/FidelCastro

->''Viva la Revolucion.''

->'''Voiced by''': Marlon Correa
->'''Appearances''': ''"Five"'' | ''Ascension''

The dictator of Cuba and leader of a Communist revolution. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, he meets with Kennedy's group to try to hash out a peace before they are attacked.

* AlternateHistory: He is killed in the Pentagon attack before he could become president of Cuba in at least one fractured timeline.
* EnemyMine: It's plainly obvious why he's not on good terms with Kennedy and America at the time of the attack, but he nevertheless teams up with them for their survival.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Subverted. He is the only character whose real-life counterpart was alive at the time of the release of ''Black Ops'' in 2010 [[note]]Kennedy of course died in 1963, Nixon died in 1994, [=McNamara=] in 2009, and Castro himself died in late 2016, six years after ''"Five"''[[/note]].
* SmokingIsCool: Is seen enjoying a Cuban cigar (what else?) during the opening cutscene.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Nixon.

!!Celebrity Survivors
[[folder:Sarah Michelle Gellar]]
!Creator/SarahMichelleGellar

->''Let's slay some stiffs!''

->'''Appearances''': ''Call of the Dead''

Famous for her roles in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', ''Film/CruelIntentions'', ''Series/{{Ringer}}'' and others, Creator/SarahMichelleGellar is one of the actors working a film with George Romero until the zombie outbreak.

* ActionGirl: It ''is'' [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Sarah Michelle Gellar]] after all.
* BareYourMidriff: Thanks to playing a MsFanservice character, even in the cold of Siberia, her belly is exposed as if it were a summer day. She often lampshades this during several quotes.
* CelebritySurvivor: If ''you'' were caught in a ZombieApocalypse you could frankly do a whole lot worse than Buffy the Vampire Slayer herself by your side.
* DoesntLikeGuns: Surprisingly averted for the actress.
* InkSuitActor: Or rather Ink Suit Character: from hefting a minigun bigger than she is tall to her general personality, quips and fighting prowess, while they borrow from some of her other roles and the woman herself Sarah is basically a stand in for her most famous role.
* MsFanservice: She was clearly intended to be so in the film-within-a-game, and serves as this in the game proper. Which is the only reason she's wearing such revealing clothes in the cold conditions.
* ShoutOut: Most if not all of them are to...well, ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.
* TheLeader: Appears in this role for the film and assumes it when the zombies arrive.
* VisualPun: She prefers Submachine Guns above all else, what are her initials? [[spoiler:[[DontExplainTheJoke S.M.G.]]]]

[[folder:Robert Englund]]
!Creator/RobertEnglund

->''This must be a nightmare!''

->'''Appearances''': ''Call of the Dead''

The man who played Freddy Krueger in ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'', Creator/RobertEnglund is one of the four actors trapped on the set of the film he's making when the zombies attack.

* ButtMonkey: Abused by Romero, Trejo and Gellar in that order.
* CelebritySurvivor: With the others.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Inflicts this on zombies using a pitchfork in the opening cutscene.
* InkSuitActor: Like the other four characters of ''Call of the Dead'', Robert England's exact likeness is used via motion capture.
* ShoutOut: [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet "This must be a nightmare."]]

[[folder:Danny Trejo]]
!Creator/DannyTrejo

->''You just fucked with the wrong Mexican!''

->'''Appearances''': ''Call of the Dead''
A popular and well liked former crook from works such as ''Film/{{Machete}}'' and ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'', Creator/DannyTrejo has to put his toughness to the test in order to survive.

* TheBigGuy: The biggest and burliest of the celebrities.
* CelebritySurvivor: As with the other members of the group.
* InkSuitActor: His likeness is provided for motion capture by Danny Trejo.

[[folder:Michael Rooker]]
!Creator/MichaelRooker

->''Things ain't looking too good, folks!''

->'''Appearances''': ''Call of the Dead''

Creator/MichaelRooker has experience with zombies from his role in ''Series/TheWalkingDead''. Never did he dream that he would be in a real life outbreak.

* CelebritySurvivor: As with the others.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: He keeps missing the stunt zombie actor he's supposed to be hitting in the intro cutscene.
* InkSuitActor: His actor Michael Rooker's likeness is employed.

[[folder:George A. Romero]]
!Creator/GeorgeARomero

->''Well, I've always liked the "monster within" idea. I like the zombies being us. It's like, zombies are the blue-collar monsters.''

->'''Appearances''': ''Call of the Dead''

After discovering Nazi documents on zombies, he brings in four well-known horror actors to make a movie about it, until he becomes the first victim of the outbreak.

* AscendedFanboy: Well he was talking about zombies being the classic horror monster and his fascination with the Nazi zombies. Now he is one.
* BigBad: He's the boss zombie.
* CelebritySurvivor: Kind of...he retains some of his human self as a zombie.
* InkSuitActor: George Romero pitched in his likeness via motion capture.
* UncertainDoom: The only follow-up to ''Call of the Dead'' so far has been the radios in ''Revelations'', which mention that the cast and crew have been missing for six weeks.
* ZombieInfectee: It's rather unlike other examples we've seen as he remains self-aware after apparently dying.

!!Victis
[[folder:As a whole]]
The main cast of ''Black Ops II'', referred to as "Victis". After the blast from the missiles hitting Earth and reducing it to a zombie wasteland, these four come to band together against the undead. These four seem to get along a bit better than the original four did, but they come into contact with both Richtofen and Maxis. As they grow to depend on each other, they must make their choice between the two otherworldly rivals, their actions determining the fate of the world and humanity. They are also the main protagonists in the ''Call of Duty: Zombies'' comic.

* BadassCrew: Four survivors who managed to survive an entire decade of the apocalypse.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: All of them, as with Ultimis. However, their pasts are not truly shown or discussed outside of a few random references, and as such are a lot more vague and don't go anywhere, [[AbortedArc eventually getting thrown to the wayside entirely]] by ''Black Ops III''. The timeline does explain some of Russman and Samuel's backstory.
** Misty implies her parents were killed by the zombies years ago.
** Marlton apparently had a part in Russman's departure from Broken Arrow, the latter ending up homeless until the apocalypse.
** Samuel was a member of a fanatic cannibalistic cult that ate zombie flesh, and hides it as best he can.
* FireForgedFriends: They form a powerful alliance as they fight the undead together without end.
* FiveManBand: They form one in ''Buried''.
** TheLeader: Russman, who's led the group this far.
** TheLancer: Misty, who always qualifies as TheHeart as she is able to stop their bickering.
** TheBigGuy: The unnamed giant, who can help access areas for free and fight the zombies.
** TheSmartGuy: Marlton, who will never let you forget it.
** TheChick: Samuel, though this is downplayed compared to past maps, he's definitely more prone to panic than the others.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: They star in the Creator/DarkHorseComics series depicting their adventures post-''Buried''.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: They are fooled into helping Maxis destroy the Earth.
* PlotArmor: Invoked in-game. Richtofen wants them to fulfill his plans to regain ultimate power, and from ''Die Rise'' onward, he begins resurrecting them whenever they fall to the undead so that they can have another chance to work for him.
* ShootTheShaggyDog: They're screwed over ''hard'' after all their work due to siding with Maxis. Eventually Subverted; they're able to provide a key part of Primis Richtofen's plan to save the universe, though, and are put in stasis for safe keeping. [[spoiler: If ''Classified'' and ''Blood of the Dead'' are any indication, their story is far from over.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Their last appearance in ''Black Ops II'' is ''Buried'', having given Maxis the power to destroy the Earth to reach Agartha. The ''Zombies'' timeline eventually revealed that they helped deliver the Kronorium to Primis Richtofen and were put on ice for "when they are needed next". They cameo in ''Blood of the Dead'', but their fate at the end of that map's story is ambiguous once more.

[[folder:Abigail "Misty" Briarton]]
!Abigail "Misty" Briarton
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/misty.png]]

->''We keep moving, we keep fighting. It's what we do, day in, day out. If you really need a reason why we do this, I'll give you one. We do it because doing something--anything, is a whole lot better than doing nothing!''

->'''Voiced by''': Stephanie Lemelin
->'''Appearances''': ''[=TranZit=]'' | ''Die Rise'' | ''Buried'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

An abrasive young woman who has a crush on Marlton, likes Russman and will grudgingly get along with Samuel.

* ActionGirl: The second fully playable female character in Zombies mode.[[note]]This does not count Samantha, who only became playable once she was forced to possess Richtofen's body).[[/note]]
* BareYourMidriff: Her stomach is completely exposed thanks to her MsFanservice get-up.
* BoobsOfSteel: Well-endowed and an extremely kickass combatant.
* FireForgedFriends: Even though she usually hates Samuel, she still considers him a member of the team.
* FingerlessGloves: For a couple of frames in Buried's opening cutscene, most likely an artistic error.
* {{Gasshole}}: She belches loudly and shamelessly, to the point the game's own wiki notes that she burps the loudest out of everyone on the team upon drinking Perk-A-Cola, and seems to be proud of it.
* TheHeart: She is able to end the others' bickering in the opening cutscene of ''Buried'' and rallies them to keep going.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Russman.
* KnifeNut: Mentions being a champion in knife-fighting.
* TheLeader: She seems to alternate the role with Russman.
* MsFanservice: Pretty much the only reason she continues to wear such revealing clothing in a middle of a zombie apocalypse.
* ShipTease: With Marlton. She's far more open about her feelings to the point of what's implied to be ''very'' direct sexual advances, while he doesn't openly reciprocate. When Marlton fails to openly reciprocate, she gradually stops flirting with him.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The only female member of the ''[=TranZit=]'' group.
* StepfordSmiler: Well, she's not necessarily smiling, but she was putting on a lot of bravado to keep the others going. Various comments in ''Buried'' indicate she's very broken by this point.
* UglyGuyHotWife: While they never end up together and Marlton isn't exactly ugly, he is overall unpleasant yet the beautiful, nice Misty is in love with him.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: With Marlton.

[[folder:Marlton Johnston]]
!Marlton Johnston
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marlton.png]]
->''Payback's a bitch! Just so you know, so is Russman.''

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/ScottMenville
->'''Appearances''': ''[=TranZit=]'' | ''Die Rise'' | ''Buried'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

A self-loving nerd, who was present at Nuketown when the missiles hit. Afterwards, he met up with Misty, who he ended up developing feelings for, and later Russman and Samuel, the both of whom he shares a mutual hatred.

* BadassBeard: Sports a goatee.
* BadassBookworm: He's a zombie-fighting nerd.
* {{Claustrophobia}}: He's afraid it'll kick in when riding upon the bus.
* EarlyBirdCameo: If you knife the fallout shelter in ''Nuketown Zombies'', you can hear him locked in there. This is set ten years before the start of ''[=TranZit=]''.
* FriendlySniper: His preferred weapon is the DSR-50, and can be seen wielding one in ''Die Rise'''s opening cutscene.
* {{Jerkass}}: While the others will happily snark at each other, they are when it comes down to it friends. Marlton is far more abraisive, and pretty ungrateful when revived, usually wanting you to get away from him. The only one he seems soft towards is Misty, and even then he won't exactly openly reciprocate her feelings. While most characters have one character they hate, one they are neutral towards, and one they like, Marlton hates two of the other three, and he's not that much better around Misty as it is.
* PrecisionFStrike: In ''Buried'', when killing a zombie that attacked him.
-->'''Marlton''': It is rare for me to resort to profanity, but would you please just ''fuck off''!
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Often speaks in overly complicated diction.
* ShipTease: With Misty. The two clearly have feelings for one another, but the zombie apocalypse isn't the best place to have a romance. Plus, Marlton's all about his no-touch policy anyway.
* SoleSurvivor: The only one to walk away from Nuketown after Maxis' missiles struck the site.
* SpecsOfAwesome: He wears large glasses.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: And considering he's surviving in a post-apocalyptic nightmare, he's pretty screwed.

[[folder:Samuel J. Stuhlinger]]
!Samuel J. Stuhlinger
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/samuel_9.jpg]]

->''I'm the only one who knows what to do!''

->'''Voiced by''': Dave Boat
->'''Appearances''': ''[=TranZit=]'' | ''Die Rise'' | ''Buried'' | ''Blood of the Dead'' | ''Classified''

A paranoid conspiracy theorist, who's the only one who can hear Richtofen's voice in his head. He's friends with Russman, grudgingly gets along with Misty, and like Russman, shares a mutual hatred with Marlton.

* BadassMustache: Sports a mustache.
* BigEater: He's always hungry and often complaining about what he'd like to eat. Whether it's [[BreadEggsMilkSquick booze, cheese, or zombie flesh]].
* BookDumb: From the quotes he has, he does not sound too intelligent in terms of... standard education.
* TheCameo: A voiced one, no less, in both ''Classified'' and ''Blood of the Dead''.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: At times; compared to the other survivors, some of his quotes come off as total non-sequiturs.
* CrazySurvivalist: Thanks to his paranoia.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: After the apocalypse began, Samuel joined up with The Flesh, a cult that consumed zombie flesh to survive. Eating 115-laced meat caused them to hear the voice and demands of Richtofen, leading them to go to war with a group of survivors who followed Maxis. During the ensuing battle, a horde of zombies came and killed most of the two groups, with Samuel being one of the few survivors of The Flesh.
* FireForgedFriends: With Misty. He usually returns her dislike of him, but he's willing to listen to her and regard her more as a valuable comrade as the group's story progresses.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: He's the most unpopular member of Victis. Both Misty and Marlton hate him, while Russman, who even Samuel sees as a "buddy", grows more exasperated with him as time goes on. This plays a large part in why Victis ultimately sides with Maxis as opposed to listening to Samuel and Richtofen.
* HearingVoices: Richtofen's, to be exact. It gets flipped on its' head when [[spoiler: ''Blood of the Dead'', Richtofen actually hears ''Samuel's'' voice in his head. The irony is not lost on either of them.]]
* [[ImAHumanitarian I'm a Zombietarian:]] A well-kept secret of his, and likely the reason for both his ability to hear Richtofen and his seemingly random comments about being hungry after killing zombies.
* TheLancer: Misty observed that Samuel was Russman's lancer when they met, or his "lapdog".
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Makes several sexist remarks about Misty.
* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: Gives off plenty of comments indicating this, especially in ''[=TranZit=]'' when he makes several sexist comments about Misty.
* SharingABody: If you complete all easter eggs in Richtofen's favor, he will enter Samuel's body. Samuel isn't pleased.
* SoleSurvivor: He is one of the few survivors of The Flesh.
* SpecsOfAwesome: Wears glasses.
* TheSmartGuy: Considers himself this, but Russman claims he only knows what Richtofen tells him to think.
* ThoseTwoGuys: With Russman. They traveled together in the bus before finding Marlton and Misty in [=TranZit=].
* TookALevelInBadass: In ''Buried'', he sounds a lot more confident than in the other maps. Judging from his recent redesign, he may have been a recent attack, and survived.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Cheese.
* WeaponOfChoice: {{Handguns}}.
* WordOfStPaul: Dave Boat, his voice actor, claims that Samuel is a former CIA agent.

[[folder:Russman]]
!Russman
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/russman.png]]

->''The world is broken, very broken.''

->'''Voiced by''': Creator/KeithSzarabajka
->'''Appearances''': ''[=TranZit=]'' | ''Die Rise'' | ''Buried'' | ''Blood of the Dead''

An elderly survivor suffering from Alzheimer's, who was a homeless man before the missiles hit. He's good friends with Samuel and Misty, but has a mutual hatred with Marlton. He acts as the group's leader following Die Rise.

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: PlayedWith in ''Die Rise''. He's killed in the opening cinematic by a Jumping Jack, but it's revealed that whenever Victis falls to the undead, Richtofen uses his powers to bring them back.
* CoolOldGuy: A mostly pleasant, funny old man.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: He was a member of Broken Arrow, America's answer to Group 935 formed after the Pentagon outbreak, but left after suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's brought on by exposure to 115. He became homeless before meeting up with and surviving with Samuel when the zombie apocalypse came.
* GunsAkimbo: Wields them in ''Die Rise'''s opening cutscene while defending Samuel.
* HatesBeingTouched: "Ain't no one allowed to touch Russman!"
* HeroicSacrifice: Buys Samuel some time to run while he's devoured by a Jumping Jack in the opening of ''Die Rise''. He gets better, though, with the others.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Misty.
* ItsPronouncedTroPay: Pronounces his own name as "Russ-MAN", as opposed to the expected "Russmun".
* TheLeader: He led the group on foot from ''Die Rise'' to ''Buried'', and was the more dominant between him and Samuel before they met Marlton and Misty.
* NoodleIncident: Something happened that resulted in his departure from Broken Arrow, but it's implied it had something to do with Marlton apparently not keeping his mouth shut.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: "We could just use the key."
* StuffBlowingUp: Loves it. Reason why he loves the [[{{NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast}} RPG and War Machine]].
* ThirdPersonPerson: Often refers to himself in third-person.
* ThoseTwoGuys: With Samuel, though as said he's the more dominant of the pair.
* TokenMinority: The only black survivor.
[[/folder]]

!!Alcatraz

[[folder:The Mobsters]]
A group of mobsters who have been incarcerated in Alcatraz for some time thanks to their own misdeeds. Their plan to escape goes awry as they are caught up in the zombie story when Alcatraz is overrun with the undead. Their attempts to escape and even to kill themselves are thwarted every single time, since they just keep coming back. Desperate to escape the hellish nightmare, the four learn the truth behind their fates, and must break the cycle if they've any hope of escaping and finding out where they are going from here.

* AndIMustScream: They're trapped in a prison fighting zombies over and over in a loop, and are far from happy when they find that fact out.
* BadassCrew: They've been fighting zombies conjured by Satan for God know how long.
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:They end up being instrumental in stopping Brutus and freeing the souls in Alcatraz once and for all.]]
* BlackSheep: Not counting the Exo Zombies, Infinite Warfare Zombies and Sledgehammer Nazi Zombies continuities, the Mobsters are the only group in Treyarch Zombies where their story is not related to the rest of it in the slightest. As it turns out, this means their universe was one of the very few sealed off to the Apothicons, something Primis!Richtofen was counting on.
* DeadAllAlong: It's revealed that the four mobsters are damned to a purgatory where they escape the prison, only to go back, over and over again.
* {{Determinator}}: They're getting out of Alcatraz and even God wouldn't prevent them from doing so. Satan, on the other hand...
* TheMafia: Sal was TheDon, Billy his hitman, Finn was in charge of gambling and fraud and Albert was the money handler.
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: Their reaction when they remember/discover that they're in Hell/Purgatory is ''not'' acceptance
-->'''Sal:''' So this is my punchline. The universe taking its grand revenge for all my misdeeds. Well, I ain't taking it. You hear me? I ain't playing anymore. I don't regret a damn thing. If I had my time over, I'd do it all again. Every fucking part of it. So universe, you wanna know what I think? I think, you can go fuck yourself!
-->'''Finn:''' This is all just a game isn't it? A big, twisted, fucked-up game. What am I supposed to do, come to some great realization about my life? Throw myself to the ground, beg for forgiveness? Well I got news for you, not gonna happen.
-->'''Billy:''' Am I stuck here until I see the error of my ways?! Until I repent? Well you're gonna have to wait a long time. Because I don't regret a damn thing!
* TheReveal: Two, one in their map and another in ''Black Ops III'';
** "Mob of the Dead": They've been trapped in Purgetory for God knows how long, fighting demonic beings, for murdering Weasel after his plane plan didn't take off. This one is more ItWasHisSled territory nowadays.
** ''Black Ops III'': They've not been corrupted by the Apthoicons and thus remain after their defeat, something Primis!Richtofen uses to his advantage by taking blood from each of them to avoid him and his team vanishing from reality after the Apothicons have been dealt with.
** ''Blood of the Dead'' later confirms that the Alcatraz purgatory is a pocket dimension separate from the rest of the multiverse.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: None of them particularly ''like'' each other, but they work together well enough. Until TheReveal, that is.
* ToHellAndBack: Only Weasel gets to walk away though, if the cycle is broken.

[[folder:Salvador "Sal" [=DeLuca=]]]
!Don Salvador "Sal" [=DeLuca=]

->''Let's get off this rock.''

->'''Voiced by''': Chaz Palminterri
->'''Appearances''': ''Mob of the Dead'' | [[spoiler: ''Blood of the Dead'']]

A mob boss who was sent to Alcatraz for his crimes of bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution.

* AffablyEvil: He's very polite and professional, but dips into FauxAffablyEvil territory towards the end of the story.
* TheChainsOfCommanding: It's heavily implied by one of his downed speeches that he didn't particularly like being a mob boss.
--> '''Sal''': All those years, pulling and pushing those guys into shape, teaching them the value of respect. You had to kiss-ass to all those creeps at city hall, Mayor's office, and worst of all, Chicago's finest. They were all too happy to take your money. Kickback after kickback, bribe after bribe.
* ClusterFBomb: Along with Billy, the f word seems to be a major staple of his vocabulary.
* DeathEqualsRedemption: [[spoiler: In ''Blood of the Dead'', he, Finn, and Al help hold off Brutus long enough for Primis to progress to the final boss fight to save their souls.]]
* TheDon: Led a successful gang until the police finally quit turning a blind eye to him.
* FaceHeelTurn: At the end of the major Easter egg, he turns against The Weasel and tries to kill him.
* FriendlyEnemy: He genuinely liked Ferguson, a guard in Alcatraz, and regrets having him killed.
* HumanSacrifice: The Warden executed him not just for killing Weasel, but to appease his Satanic master.
* KickTheDog: He knowingly leaves Billy to die in the opening cinematic. He, along with Finn and Billy, also murdered the more sympathetic Weasel.
* TheMafia: Leads one.

[[folder:Billy Handsome]]
!Billy Handsome

->''The harder you try not to feel… anything, the more it hurts.''

->'''Voiced by''': Ray Liotta
->'''Appearances''': ''Mob of the Dead''

A hitman who was sent to Alcatraz for a grand total of 116 confirmed cases of murder, and quite possibly more.