History VideoGame / NaziZombies

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zombies_6757.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:'''[[AwesomeMusic/NaziZombies BRING ME 115!!!]]''']]

->''[[BrutalHonesty Let's be honest]]: People don't play [=CoD:WaW=] to play [=CoD:WaW=]; [[SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer they play it to play]] '''Nazi Zombies'''.''
-->-- '''Nervous Nick''', ''ScrewAttack.com''

Four [[SociopathicSoldier batshit insane]] grunts take on the undead hordes of the Axis. Or replace the grunts with four historical figures from the 1960s, four horror-genre celebrities, four oddball civilians, or four gangsters from the 1930s who somehow managed to survive the apocalypse, possibly less insane but still pretty CrazyAwesome.

A bonus mode in ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: World at War'' and a standalone [[IOSGames iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad game]] where you originally play as one of four [[HeroicMime silent]] US soldiers holed up in a wrecked base near an airfield, it eventually turns through DownloadableContent into... a [[ExcusePlot somewhat-better-explained]] plotless series of American (and later, Soviet, Japanese, and Nazi) soldiers massacring the undead [[EndlessGame 'til they join their ranks.]]

''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'', the successor to ''World at War'', includes Zombie Mode, a direct sequel to Nazi Zombies. The Hardened and Prestige editions of the game come with the four original maps from ''World at War''. The first new map revealed features UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy, UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, Robert [=McNamara=] and UsefulNotes/FidelCastro fighting an outbreak in the Pentagon. Cue the rejoicing. The subsequent maps continue the tale of the UsefulNotes/WW2 zombie fighters, as well as another tale featuring Creator/SarahMichelleGellar, Creator/DannyTrejo, Creator/RobertEnglund and Creator/MichaelRooker, [[AsHimself as themselves]] fighting another outbreak, this time out in an abandoned Siberian outpost, where they were filming a zombie movie for [[Film/LivingDeadSeries GeorgeRomero]], who becomes the boss zombie himself. The final ''Black Ops'' map in the Nazi Zombie saga, released in the "Rezurrection" Map Pack, is called ''Moon''. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin It should be no surprise where it takes place]].

The next game, ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps2'', also features this. Five maps were created during the lifespan of Black Ops II: Green Run / [=TranZit=] (the biggest map to date and the setting for the new campaign mode, also containing the five Survival maps)the 1960's "apocalypse of the future", [[RecycledinSPACE Nuketown Zombies]], the Chinese skyscraper zombcaper, ''Die Rise'', the mysterious [[TheAlcatraz Alcatraz]] island, ''Mob of the Dead'', and an underground western town in Angola, ''Buried''. The final map in ''Black Ops II'' is called Origins, featuring the original characters from ''World at War'' and ''Black Ops'', takes place in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, and contains ''three giant [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] robots'' as map elements.

Zombies return in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare'' as DLC, making it the first non-Treyarch game (Advanced Warfare was developed by Sledgehammer Games) to contain the mode, as well as the first time the mode is not available by launch. However, as Advanced Warfare and the Black Ops series have different continuities, the zombies now have different origins. They are now an AlternateContinuity result of the bio-weapon Manticore and can be optionally fought in the Exo Survival mode's Riot map, serving as a teaser.

The ''Zombies'' mode made a return in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps3'' on two fronts: the "main" first map will be ''Shadows of Evil'', a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Mob of the Dead'', set in a 1940's city-slicker environment. Four hardened criminals fight off zombies and more as they're lured into a mysterious game by an even more mysterious figure. An pre-order exclusive map, ''The Giant'', features the original crew of Richtofen, Dempsey, Takeo, and Nikolai, in a remake of fan-favorite ''World at War'' map '' Der Riese'', picking up the story from the cliffhanger ending of ''Origins''. The rest of the DLC solely revolves around the classic characters; from an icy Group 935 Castle at ''Der Eisendrachen'', a murky Japanese swamp in ''Zetsubou No Shima'', and a war-torn Stalingrad in ''Gorod Krovi''. The ''Black Ops III'' season of ''Zombies'' will conclude with ''Revelations'' and bring the current StoryArc to its' conclusion.

A tie-in ''Zombies'' comic was announced for release in October 2016 by Creator/DarkHorseComics, set to revolve around the main cast of ''Black Ops II'', last seen in ''Buried''.

The ''Nazi Zombies'' story is very complex; it involves practically ''everything'' from the Illuminati to the Third Reich to aliens to the works of George Romero. Each map contains tons of little Easter eggs only the most observant of players will find and these little clues often play a bigger role later on. The ongoing StoryArc is also mostly played out through increasingly complex Easter eggs while the backstory is told through audio logs. WordOfGod is mostly averted as Treyarch almost never has anything to say about the story, leaving fans to try to put the pieces together by themselves. The general synopsis can be found '''[[Synopsis/NaziZombies here]]''', put together through said audio logs and Easter eggs.

Despite the fact it was originally called ''Nazi Zombie Army'', the ''VideoGame/ZombieArmyTrilogy'' is no relation to this game, being spun out of a ''VideoGame/SniperEliteV2'' expansion series instead of a ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' one.

----
!! Tropes for this game:

* AfterTheEnd: The setting of Zombies in ''Black Ops II'', as a result of Richtofen's Grand Plan in "Moon".
* AllJustADream: [[spoiler:The ending of ''Origins'' takes place in an alternate dimension forged by Dr. Monty, where incarnations of Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, Richtofen, and the Maxis' can live out their lives in a peaceful sanctuary, where the children play with toy counterparts of zombies, characters, and vehicles of the game mode.]]
* AllTheWorldsAreAStage: ''Revelations'' is incredibly fragmented due to the proceeding events, resulting in a number of previous maps "bleeding" into it. This includes ''Kino Der Toten'', ''Nacht Der Untoten'', ''Mob of The Dead'', ''Shangri-La'', ''Origins'', ''Der Eisendrache'', and ''Verruckt''.
* AllYourPowersCombined:
** On a musical level, the three singers of the Easter egg songs, Elena Siegeman, Clark S. Nova, and Malukah all collaborate with Kevin Sherwood for "Archangel".
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Fidel Castro and Robert [=McNamara=] in ''Five''.
* AbandonedHospital: "Verrückt". Actually an asylum, though.
* AnIcePerson:
** Anyone who gets the Winter's Howl gun (which, as the name suggests, freezes zombies).
** The Ice Staff and it's upgraded form in ''Origins''.
* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: Generally in effect when a new cast is introduced, or new features.
** "Five" replaces the original four with real-life figures JFK, Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon, and Robert [=McNamara=]. A map later, ''Call of the Dead'' features the tale of Creator/DannyTrejo, Creator/MichaelRooker, Creator/RobertEnglund, and Creator/SarahMichelleGellar squaring off with a zombified [[Film/LivingDeadSeries George A. Romero]] on a movie set.
** ''Black Ops II'' introduces a system where you can build various tools, devices, and weapons, and introduces a new main cast consisting of ActionGirl Misty, InsufferableGenius Marlton, ConspiracyTheorist Samuel Stuhlinger, and BadassGrandpa Russman. Also, Clark S. Nova and Malukah take over music duties from Elena Siegeman until ''Origins'', where they collaborate.
** ''Mob of the Dead'' is a dark, sombre story of four murderous mobsters fighting to escape an overrun Alcatraz [[spoiler:in Purgatory]].
** ''Shadows of Evil'' is a map based in the 40s, where four people with dark and gruesome pasts end up fighting off the hordes of Cthulhu. [[spoiler:And if you complete the Easter Egg in full, Richtofen from Origins comes and takes away the key to saving the world. It is implied Morg City, where [=SoE=] takes place exists in another dimension.]]
* AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:The Origins crew gets erased from existence by Dr. Monty at the end of Revelations, only to change his mind the last minute and have them sent back in time as the legendary Primis heroes, effectively repeating the time loop once again.]]
* ApocalypticLog:
** Radio transmissions in ''Shi no Numa'', experiment records in ''Der Riese'' and film reels in ''Kino Der Toten.'' When you play by yourself in ''Kino der Toten'', you hear Richtofen making one last note before they're transported to the theatre during the loading screen.
** This occurs even more so in, ''Die Rise''. Hidden televisions allow you to hear what just has been going on outside the world... and it is ''not'' pretty.
* ArtifactTitle: By ''Black Ops'', it's safe to say that the zombies aren't Nazis anymore.
* ArcNumber: 115, the number of the chief periodical element that appears throughout the series.
* ArcWelding: Found in every map.
* ArcWords:
** "You must ascend from darkness."
** "Beware the Doc" and "Teddy is a liar" for Richtofen's arc
** "Letting go" first shows up in Mob of the Dead and remains a theme for the final three maps. A savvy fan decoded a cypher on the lyric video of "Where Are We Going" that further points to this phrase: [[spoiler:"Let go and the beginning will become the end."]]
* AscendedFanfic:
** One of the most popular [[GameMod custom gamemodes]] in previous multiplayer COD (or just about any other first person shooter) was/is "[[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies zombie mode]]" or some variation of it. So much so that it led Treyarch to simply include it as a factory gamemode.
** Some suspect that the interpretation of [[ThoseWackyNazis Richtofen]] being a DepravedHomosexual in a lot of Nazi Zombies fanfics ([[FoeYay particularly with]] [[EagleLand Dempsey]]) led to Treyarch [[RuleOfFunny throwing in a joke]] in Call Of The Dead where Richtofen is implied to have [[AccidentalPervert accidentally]] [[GroinAttack yanked on Dempsey's crotch]], and another joke where Richthofen is explicitly stated to have [[AssShove puts his finger in Dempsey's ass]] (although Dempsey [[DopeSlap quickly proceeds to kick]] [[AbhorrentAdmirer Richtofen's]]), as well as giving him a LOT more suggestive dialogue:
--> "It's a little gun, but it has a long barrel, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything like my college roommate]]."
* ArmCannon: The Russian Mangler in Gorod Krovi has this as a primary weapon. Shooting and breaking it will cause it to go [[BerserkButton ballistic and sprint]] after whoever was responsible.
* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:In the original timeline (and the canon ending of the split Easter Eggs), Dr. Maxis took control of the Aether and destroyed the Earth in an attempt to find Samantha in Agartha - but failed to find his daughter, having destroyed Earth for nothing. To help create a better future for the universe, the new incarnation of Maxis helps the ''Origins'' crew and directs them along their quest in ''Black Ops III''.]]
* AxCrazy:
** Richtofen is a crazed scientist who relishes the blood and gore of his battles with the zombies.
** [[CreepyChild Samantha]], too, as she's not right in the head after spending who knows how long [[spoiler: in the hellish Aether controlling zombies that have killed countless people, and presumably meeting entities like the Apothicons]].
** Billy Handsome is a trained killer who is the most eager for blood out of the ''Mob'' crew.
* BadassBoast: More or less all of the characters do this in-game.
** Richtofen, especially, has one in his theme song for Tranzit, ''Carrion''.
---> '''Lyrics:''' I was spawned from eternal night, by infernal right, and I '''need''' your carrion. Neurons fire when I violate, pupils dilate, and I '''feel''' your carrion. I bring doom and defile light, your entire life, will now '''cease''' to carry on! I've returned and I'm not alone, never to atone, and forever carry on.
* BadassBookworm:
** Richtofen, an accomplished scientist in his own right who's arguably the central character of the series.
** Robert [=McNamara=], who often makes accounting jokes while slaughtering zombies.
** Marlton in ''Black Ops II'', seeing as he's a bespectacled nerd who still manages to slay zombies with the best of them.
* BackToBackBadasses: A variation in an early trailer advertising ''Nacht der Untoten'', it ended with four nameless American soldiers putting their backs together to cover all angles from the approaching zombies.
* {{BFG}}: Excluding the already massive machine guns that you can hip-fire:
** The Wunderwaffe and the Thundergun.
** The Jet Gun may not function as well as the Wunderwaffe and Thundergun, but ''good lord'' is it big.
** Introduced first as a power-up in 'FIVE' is the Death Machine, which is the crown jewel of [=BFGs=] as it is a ''fricking'' minigun!
*** And you can upgrade it too! It becomes the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Meat Grinder]] and holds 550 rounds per 'magazine'... MoreDakka anyone?
** The Paralyser. A gun so big, you can't aim down sights with it (The Thundergun and Jet Gun also cannot aim down sights.) And it is very useful. (Not quite a gun, [[RuleOfCool but who cares?]])
** In Origins, we now have the water cooled [[MoreDakka MG08]]. The fact that is is meant to used by ''two'' people, in a '''static position'''...
** In Black Ops III, the Gorgon and the SVG-100 are the biggest weapons you can get out of the Mystery Box and both fire massive .50 caliber rounds.
--->'''Kennedy:''' As Teddy Roosevelt once said: walk lightly and carry a BFG!
* [[{{BFS}} BFK]]:
** The Bowie Knife, which kills most zombies with one strike before round 10.
** Danny Trejo wields machetes in the ''Call of the Dead'' opening cutscene, but not in-game, unfortunately.
* BigBad:
** [[spoiler:Richtofen. He swaps bodies with Samantha in ''Moon'' to gain control of the zombies]], if you carry out his Grand Scheme.
** [[spoiler:Dr. Maxis takes over as the announcer in Buried, if you listen to his commands. If you stick with Richtofen, Dr. Maxis is gone for good, which may or might be the better choice.]]
** In the new timeline forged by the ''Origins'' crew, [[spoiler:Richtofen and Maxis are working together to save the universe from the Apothicons, horrific entities who seek to plunge the universe into destruction by planting Divinium in all dimensions, making them the BigBad of the entire series. Their [[TheHeavy chief enforcer]] is the Shadow Man.]]
* BilingualBonus: The soldiers in the "Zetsubou No Shima" intro speak only untranslated Japanese.
* BloodBath: Richtofen longs to bathe naked... '''IN YOUR BLOOD!!!'''
* TheBluebeard: Nikolai. [[spoiler:Subverted in Gorod Krovi, where it's revealed that Nikolai had only one wife that was killed during the war.]]
* BoomHeadshot: Not necessary, but gains you the most points (other than knifing - and since zombies will kill you in one or two hits, and knifing zombies can take up to five swings, this isn't recommended) and uses less ammo. However, on the later rounds, people care less about headshots and more on ''staying alive.'' However, headshot damage multipliers still help with the staying alive bit.
** Characters will often brag aloud about their headshots.
** One of the Perk-A-Cola machines (Deadshot Daiquiri) gives you a perk that adjusts your quick aim to the head instead of the chest.
** As of Tranzit, it is possible to gain a 'persistent perk' that increases the power of headshots.
** [[spoiler:Ritchtofen does this to his older self in the cutscene of The Giant.]]
** [[spoiler:Nikolai also does this to his older self in the end of the Easter Egg for Gorod Krovi.]]
* BondOneLiner: All the time. Nikolai makes shitty ones all the time, and then gets a bit confused on the aspect of it being after a kill.
-->''"You are dead now! But you were dead before! Ah, fuck you!"''
-->'''Nikolai''' again, in Black Ops: "Do you know how to say 'own' in Russian? [[LameComeback OWNT!]]
-->'''Nikolai''' also seems fairly adept at rhyming: ''"Nikolai cannot die! Hey, that rhymes!"''
* BreakingTheFourthWall:
** In ''Kino der Toten'', one of Dempsey's "Out of Ammo" quotes is:
--->''Hey, player! Drop the chips and get me some ammo!''
** And then at the start of ''Ascension'', Dempsey may say:
--->''Hey, Treyarch, can we get a new objective!?''
** Dempsey has more such "Out of Ammo" lines in ''Shangri-La'', right down to outright mentioning when he'll be saying another "Out of Ammo Line".
** Again with Dempsey.
--->'''Dempsey:''' Hey, Player. If you looked at your score, you'd see we weren't doin' so well. And it's '''YOUR FAULT!'''
** Also, Richtofen has this to say:
--->''I'VE BEEN RECOGNIZED BY [[LastSecondWordSwap TREYAR-]] I mean the Illuminati!''
* BreatherEpisode:
** Nuketown is this for ''Black Ops II'', being the only one that doesn't feature an Easter egg, though you get to listen to [[spoiler:Richtofen carrying out his scheme on the Moon]].
** ''Mob of the Dead'' takes a break from the Maxis/Richtofen arc and doesn't advance the main plot, but it is in no means LighterAndSofter than the other maps.
** ''Call of the Dead'' is largely a love-letter to horror fans with an all-star cast and an original song written for the game by Avenged Sevenfold, and only advances the main plot minimally through the Easter egg.
** ''The Giant'', the first proper map for ''Black Ops III'', doesn't contain the tragedy found in every other map of the game and is a trip down memory lane with a remaster of ''Der Riese''.
* BuffySpeak: Nikolai does this in Shangri-La when low on ammo.
-->''I need one of those floaty green ammo container thingys."
* ButtMonkey: Creator/RobertEnglund gets hit in the face by George Romero, thumped on the back of the head by Creator/DannyTrejo and karate-kicked onto his back by Creator/SarahMichelleGellar.
* CallingYourAttacks: Takeo and Dempsey on Moon. ''Pokemon'' style, no less.
* CelebritySurvivor: ''Call of the Dead'' features four celebrities as zombie-killers -- Creator/SarahMichelleGellar, Creator/RobertEnglund, Creator/MichaelRooker, and Creator/DannyTrejo. And [[Film/LivingDeadSeries George A. Romero]], but he's a boss zombie.
* CerebusSyndrome:
** The intel in ''Black Ops'' reveals that [[spoiler:Dempsey and company were guinea pigs for the virus, but instead of turning into zombies, they got stronger and healthier, but were inflicted with LaserGuidedAmnesia.]] Word of God confirmed that [[spoiler:Richtofen is Edward from the messages and he ''lacks'' the aforementioned amnesia, and he's the one who infected them.]]
** One of the funniest RunningGag's of the series has been Nikolai mentioning his love for vodka and his many, many wives. [[spoiler:''Gorod Krovi'' reveals that he only ever had ''one'' wife, and after she was killed in an air raid, he became a drunk to forget the pain of losing her.]]
* ClusterFBomb:
** The [[SemperFi generic Marines]] in [[BedlamHouse Veruckt]], and [[EagleLand Tank Dempsey]] and [[HuskyRuski Nikolai Belsinki]] in all of their maps (with [[KatanasOfTheRisingSun Takeo Masaki]] and [[ThoseWackyNazis Edward Richtofen]] preferring to use a PrecisionFStrike here and there).
** The [=TranZit=] characters also invoke this trope, to somewhat of a lesser extent.
** Everyone in Mob of the Dead invokes this, but if there's one who takes the cake, it has to be [[ProfessionalKiller Billy Handsome.]]
--->'''Billy:''' There's layers to this shit. It's like peeling back an onion...OR SOME FUCKER'S FACE!
* CoolButInefficient: Most of the weapons get straight upgrades that are required. However, the [=MG42=], Browning M1919 and the Wunderwaffe get lackluster upgrades. Of course, [[{{BFG}} machine guns]] [[BiggerIsBetter are cool in their own way]]... not to mention the [[LightningGun Wunderwaffe]]. And not to mention necessary - a low rate of fire ''will'' kill you on rounds nearing or past 20.
** Even ''a friggin' pistol that shoots grenades, an alien RayGun, and a bazooka'' are worse than the machine guns and the Wunderwaffe.
** Rebalanced in ''Black Ops'', where the machine guns do less damage, allowing [=SMGs=] and assault rifles to compete, even at higher rounds.
** Shows up in Tranzit, where you build a massive Jet Engine that can suck up zombies and rip them to shreds... however is notably weak compared to other Wonder Weapons and lacks their efficiency.
* CosmicHorrorStory: After the revelation that the Shadow Man in ''Shadows of Evil'' is [[spoiler:a servant of an eldritch entity bent on destroying our dimension,]] the story of the series becomes a race to change history and save the Earth from [[spoiler:this otherworldly evil. ''Revelations'' reveals that the Apothicons, masters of the Shadow Man, are evil entities from the Dark Aether who seek to bring about destruction to all dimensions by planting Divinium in each dimension. Planting it in the original timeline led to its' discovery at Shi No Numa, and eventually ''Black Ops II'' in which both Richtofen and Maxis destroyed the Earth after being guided by the Shadow Man. Now, the heroes are tasked with defeating the Shadow Man and the Apothicons and saving the universe from annihilation.]]
* CreepyChild: Samantha. Good god, '''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNcCedQNaFE&feature=related Samantha]].''' She's spent years [[spoiler: killing countless people with the zombie hordes and encountering hellish entities from other dimensions, so she's not put together that well once we get to meet her properly.]]
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: All the zombies end up dying in cruel ways due to the way some [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill wonder weapons and traps work]]. Of course, it's not like many people care, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman they're brain-munching zombies!]]
** [[HighVoltageDeath The Electro-Shock Defenses]] have been a staple since Verruckt, appearing again in all WAW maps and in some Black Ops maps. They return in two maps during ''Black Ops III''.
** The flogger is as deadly as it is hilarious - zombies who run into it [[RagdollPhysics get ragdolled a great distance away]].
** The fire pit in Kino Der Toten is crucial to certain strategies to reach high rounds.
** In ''Mob Of The Dead'', one trap put in the way towards the Warden's office consists of two fans that [[DeadlyRotaryFan gib any zombie that passes through them.]] The other trap is located in the Cafeteria and rains ''pure acid'' onto the zombies.
** Traps return in ''Shadows Of Evil'' as chains hidden in the walls that launch and shred zombies into bits.
** In ''Zetsubou No Shima'', one trap consists of two precariously held B-17 engines, which lower down and decapitate any zombie that passes through it when activated. The second trap is a turbofan embedded in a wall that [[TurbineBlender sucks zombies in and gibs them on it's rotors.]]
** In ''Gorod Krovi'', flinger traps appear in three locations and, well... [[CaptainObvious fling zombies.]]
** Most of the Wonder Weapons cause this, as they usually fire things that no one would want to get hit by.
** The Wunderwaffe electrocutes zombies and chains lightning towards any other zombie in the vicinity.
** The 31-79JGb215 is a gun that shoots a ray that shrink zombies into rat-sized bobbleheads. Which you can [[GoombaStomp stomp on]] or just kick away (which is a lot funnier).
** The Wave Gun causes a zombie's insides to expand and it to float away and [[PopGoesTheHuman eventually explode on a shower of gore.]]
** The Sliquifier shoots a liquid that pops zombies into bits and chains similarly to the Wunderwaffe. If shot in the floor, it causes the zombies [[SlipperySkid to slip in hilarious manners.]]
** The Apothicon Servant is an organic EldritchAbomination weapon that shoots black holes that suck in the zombies and crush them.
** Taken to a new level with the Bows in Der Eisendrache.
*** The Lava bow traps zombies inside small lava graves, which them erupt like a volcano and burn the zombies into a crisp.
*** And then there's the Void Bow. Shooting a charged shot causes a rip in dimensions to open and mini Keeper demons to appear. They then proceed to '''EAT THE ZOMBIES ALIVE.''' Lampshaded by Dempsey.
---->'''Dempsey:''' Owww! That's a BAD way to go!
*** The Storm Bow creates an electrical tornado that grabs and electrocutes zombies. It has enough force to lift them with the electrical charge!
*** The KT-4 in Zetsubou No Shima shoots a liquid that causes spores to grow in the zombies and make them pop.
---->'''Dempsey:''' GET PLANTED, FLESHSORE!
*** The new Ray Gun in Gorod Krovi has two guns: One that shoots a Paralyzer-like ball, and a Ray Gun Mark III. Firing the Ray Gun into the ball causes it to create a black hole that disintegrates the zombies.
* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Black Ops II'' is not as lighthearted as the previous games. There are still some wonderful one liners, but in general, many of the situations in the game are not PlayedForLaughs. ''Black Ops III'' goes even darker, as the series becomes an all out CosmicHorrorStory as the heroes race to [[spoiler:kill their original counterparts and save the universe from the ancient evil known as the Apothicons.]]
** And topping off this trope is ''Mob of the Dead'', the darkest map in the series, with very, '''''very''''' few lines PlayedForLaughs. In this map, we also have straight up criminals instead of [[{{Jerkass}} jerkasses]] and soldiers as protagonists, including [[AxCrazy Billy Handsome]] and [[TheDon Sal DeLuca.]]
** ''Buried'' is incredibly dreary and solemn. It's clear the crew has gone through hell to get here and they spend the entirety of the map in dark, tight spaces, following the orders of unseen people in the hopes of saving the world. [[spoiler:No matter who you help, it's heavily implied the four are killed regardless. Either Richtofen has the world as a plaything, only to be trapped in Samuel's body, or Maxis ''destroys the Earth'' for nothing.]] Even the Easter egg song, "Always Running" is far and away the saddest song.
** ''Origins'' has the original four back, but not the crazy schizophrenic Richtofen, ComicallySerious Takeo, crass drunk Nikolai, or BloodKnight Dempsey. Instead, we have a very solemn battle to save Samantha from Agartha.
** If Shi No Numa was dark enough, ''Zetsubou No Shima'' in Black Ops III takes it to new levels. The map's atmosphere is dreary, the only sounds are crickets and what it seems to be screams or moans of pain, and everyone that managed to survive the zombies was killed by giant spiders, not to mention the dreadful experiments that took place in the island.
** ''Gorod Krovi'' takes the four to a destroyed Stalingrad taken over by undead and dragons controlled by Group 935. All that can be seen in the distance is Russian aircraft desesperately trying to kill the dragons and artillery fire all around, alongside moans of pain all over.
* DaylightHorror: ''Gorod Krovi'', ''Buried'' and ''Shangri-la'' take place in broad daylight. ''Kino Der Toten'' might count, but the action is restricted to the interior of said cinema. Other maps take place either with a heavy fog or a grey sky (''Die Rise, TranZit, Origins, Ascencion, Nuketown, Call Of The Dead'') or during the night (the rest).
* DeadlyDoctor: Guess.
* DeadpanSnarker: Richtofen in ''Black Ops III'' is a lot more sarcastic than his... [[AxCrazy older counterpart.]]
* DeathByIrony: Each of [[spoiler:the original four]]'s death in ''Black Ops III''.
** ''The Giant'': [[spoiler:Edward, who was central to the storyline, manipulated all the characters to further his plans and was the BigBad of the main timeline, get uncermoniously headshotted by his ''Origins'' self as part of a plan he had no idea about in the intro of the map, meaning he is the only one to not have an EasterEgg about his death.]]
** ''Der Eisendrache'': [[spoiler:Tank, the stereotipical angry gung-ho Marine, who was always ready to fight another day, is barely clinging to life in his stasis pod and die peacefully by his other self merely turning the life support systems off.]]
** ''Zetsubou No Shima'': [[spoiler:Takeo, who always went about honor and serving the Emperor, got betrayed by the very same Emperor he was following with UndyingLoyalty, was the subject of horrible experiments by Division 9 and dies by seppuku, the only way for a samurai to die with some honor.]]
** ''Gorod Krovi'': [[spoiler:Nikolai, who always joked about killing his numerous wives in violent ways and was always drunk, goes ballistic when his Origins self mention the death of their first and only wife in an air raid, something that they couldn't prevent and wracked them with guilt, tries to kill his Origins self before getting a shotgun to the face.]]
* DefconFive: Played straight. Handwaved with DEFCON ONE locking down critical access to a few rooms, and FIVE releasing enough security to get you some new toys.
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: ''Ascension'' begins this way. The color only returns when you turn on the power. Lampshaded at the start, right before Gersch requests your assistance.
** Also, shown at the end of the ''Ascension'' side quest/easter egg where [[spoiler:Samantha lets out a howl that disorients the players and brings back the monochrome coloring for a few seconds.]]
* DepravedHomosexual: The fans suspect Richtofen 1.0 of being this.
** Quotes from his appearance in Call of the Dead pretty much prove this, with special mentions to [[AssShove him probing Dempsey's anus with a finger]] and [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything asking if anyone wanted to play a game in the dark]]... Although at that point, it may have been PanderingToTheAudience, or the developers making AscendedFanon.
* DieselPunk:
** Very much so. Much of the Nazi tech in the game just echoes this.
** ''Origins'', the last map of ''Black Ops II'', [[UpToEleven is built on this trope]].
** ''Shadows of Evil'' has an explicitly 1940's-style retrofuturistic setting.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Crosses over with DoubleEntendre, many of the characters are prone to this.
--> '''Nikolai''' "Taste my Russian steel!"
* DoubleEntendre: Nikolai is full of these. Both good [[SoBadItsGood and terrible]]. For some reason they tend to involve Dempsey.
--> ''(on Moon)'' "Such explosive power in my hands! No dirty thoughts, Dempsey."
--> ''(getting a Shotgun)'' "Hey! Who wants to try out my new boom-dick!?"
** And then we have this little gem from Call of the Dead's easter egg:
--> ''Dempsey (to Richtofen after getting the last item)'': "Kinda sick of me to ask this, but Richtofen, is that a rod in your pocket?"
** Later maps don't lack those even through the characters are supposed to be more serious.
--> '''Dempsey:''' ''"Time to [[ThatCameOutWrong whip out my...]] little light!"''
--> '''Nikolai:''' ''"Who wants to play with my monkey? Anyone?"''
* DownerEnding[=/=]TheBadGuyWins: At the end of ''Buried'', which is the last map before ''Origins'', players have the choice of either siding with Maxis or Richtofen. [[spoiler:If Maxis wins, he banishes Richtofen from the Aether and uses his powers to open a rift to Agartha, which will destroy Earth in the process. If Richtofen wins, he destroys Maxis' soul, possesses one of the characters, gains full control over the Aether, and uses it to turn the Earth into his personal playground. Thankfully, this chain of events is undone when their ''Origins'' counterparts change this timeline by killing the original Richtofen.]]
* DropTheHammer:
** George Romero (seriously) uses a giant hammer made out of a stage light.
** The Trasher in ''Zetsubou No Shima'' has a club for a left arm that [[OneHitKill downs players in one hit]], even with Juggernog.
* DrowningMySorrows: Nikolai would love to be doing this. He can't.
** What he can't drown, he shoots. Like his first wife. She was bitch.
** And there's no bloody Vodka in these Perk-A-Cola dispensers.
** After ''Call of the Dead'', Nikolai finally gets his vodka and makes references to being able to drink from it.
** [[spoiler:Gets a much sadder tone once you complete the Easter Egg in Gorod Krovi. The reason he drowns his sorrows is because his only wife was killed by artillery fire.]]
* {{Eagleland}}: Tank Dempsey, a cross between type one and two, being an ultra-violent, ultra-patriotic psycho, who nonetheless sticks up for his un-American comrades.
* {{Earworm}}: The Pack-A-Punch jingle:
-->''"Friends, neighbors, ladies, gentlemen, if you're feelin' underpowered, I'll help you make amends.\\
Just stick your weapon in the slot, and let it change your luck.\\
Few things in life are guaranteed, but I promise this won't suck\\
Punch your fists into the air and raise a rebel yell!\\
There's lots of bad 'uns out there you need to send to hell!\\
With Pack-A-Punch, I have a hunch, all your problems will be gone, but if you end up on the ground, sing a country western song.\\
Pack-A-Punch (Everybody)! Pack-A-Punch (Yee-haa)! Pack-A-Punch! Pack-A-Punch! Pack-A-Punch (Everybody)! Pack-A-Punch! Pack-A-Punch(YEE-HAA!!!)Pack-A-Punch (WAA-HHAAAW)!"''
** Most of the Perk-A-Cola machines account for this, too.
* EarthShatteringKaboom: Two. One in [[spoiler:''Moon'' where you blow up the Earth]] and another in [[spoiler:''Der Eisendrache'']], where you return the favor. [[spoiler:Though technically that last one counts as an example of DetonationMoon.]]
* EasterEgg: There are three types of Easter Eggs - Radios that serve as the backstory of Group 935, Dr. Maxis, or other important characters; ones that activate original music created exclusively for the map; or major Easter Eggs that directly affect gameplay and the storyline.
** ''Black Ops II'' splits the story Easter Egg into two, as during the maps you can choose to complete an Easter Egg for either Richtofen or Maxis. The culmination of the main ''Black Ops II'' storyline has two different endings: [[spoiler:Richtofen's side, where Richtofen causes Dr. Maxis to simply cease to exist, and then joins a character in their body, or Dr. Maxis' side, where Maxis throws Richtofen out of his spot as the "Demonic Announcer" and then starts to destroy the Earth to get his daughter Samantha back.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: After eight years of maps and a battle across time and space, [[spoiler:Richtofen, Dempsey, Nikolai, and Takeo are save the universe from the Apothicons and kill the Shadow Man. Despite initially wishing to destroy them, Monty agrees to send them back in time to become Primis, four revered warriors who led the first battle between humanity and the Apothicons. The crew lives out the rest of their days as heroes, saving the Earth from the Apothicons again, and ultimately, completing the cycle so that one day, they will save the universe in ''Revelations'' again. The cycle is complete, with the heroes achieving their destiny and true place in the universe.]]
* EasyModeMockery: In easy mode of ''Black Ops II'', all EasterEggs are disabled, save for the musical ones. These things can only be done on Original difficulty.
* ElaborateUndergroundBase: ''Der Riese'', though parts of it are on the surface.
* EldritchAbomination: The Apothicons. [[spoiler:They are the true main antagonists of the series, bringing destruction and chaos to all dimensions, and are utterly alien in appearance and power.]] The Keepers as well, althrough they happen to be creatures hellbent in keeping the balance of the dimensions and aiding in the purge of the Apothicons.
* EnemyMine: One bloodthirsty [[{{Eagleland}} American]] [[SemperFi Marine]] and one [[VodkaDrunkenski always drunk]] [[RedsWithRockets Red Army soldier]] fight zombies alongside a [[MadDoctor mad]] [[StateSec Waffen-SS]] [[HerrDoktor doctor]] and one [[HonorBeforeReason fanatical]] [[KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese officer]]. [[CrazyAwesome Cool]].
** In the trailers Dempsey and Takeo team up, despite them being direct enemies. Same goes for Richtofen and Nikolai.
* EndlessGame: If this mode DOES have an ending, [[KillScreen it's most likely not what you would expect.]]
** Which turns into CanonDiscontinuity which each new map. Just when you think they're all dead, the teleporter overuse takes them to a new place. Except, maybe, for ''Five''.
*** And then in ''Call Of The Dead'' [[spoiler:the original cast shows up trapped, [[EasterEgg and you can help free them]].]]
*** Subverted in ''Mob of the Dead'', if you carry out the EasterEgg to completion.
*** And again in ''Origins''.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Well, except for ''Shi no Numa'' and ''Five'', which are Japanese zombies and zombified White House/CIA/American zombies. It's now simply Zombies Mode in ''Black Ops'', subsequent games, and the iOS ports, due to the fact you don't fight just Nazis anymore.
* [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys Everything's Worse With Space Monkeys]]: In ''Ascension'', you are attacked by cosmonaut undead monkeys.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Applied to Nikolai and Richtofen, in that their respective factions are ''scared shitless'' of them. Especially Nikolai, who scared ''Stalin.''
* EvilLaugh:
** Dempsey does this occasionally, but Richtofen indulges in this ''very'' often.
** Expect to hear the announcer do this a lot when the Mystery Box is moved.
--->'''Dempsey:''' 'Oh just when I thought we were getting along, box!'
* EvilSoundsDeep: {{Averted}} with Dr. Richtofen, who has a high-pitched voice in spite of being a [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] MadScientist.
* EvilVsEvil:
** ''Mob of the Dead'', where four, blatantly obvious criminals fight against hoards of the undead, led by an evil guard in [[HellholePrison Alcatraz.]] Yes, [[TheAlcatraz that Alcatraz.]]
** [[spoiler:Maxis vs. Richtofen, where the former wants to destroy the Earth, and free Samantha, and the latter wants to heal the Earth, and make it his own plaything, making the lives of whoever is still alive, [[HellOnEarth complete hell.]] Either way, [[DownerEnding the result is crappy]].]]
* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler:WW2!Takeo]] at the end of ''Zetsubou No Shima'' 's EasterEgg accept his fate and commit seppuku, with [[spoiler:Takeo]] being the one actually killing him, contrasting with [[spoiler:WW2 Dempsey]] who [[PassedInTheirSleep die while in stasis]] in ''Der Eisendrache'' and [[spoiler:WW2 Richtofen]] who is [[BoomHeadshot summarily executed]] in ''The Giant'' 's intro.
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Richtofen in ''Moon'']], not that he was good to begin with, what with [[spoiler:attempting to kill his partner, Dr. Maxis, and his daughter, Samantha Maxis, before the events in ''Der Riese'', and brainwashing the other characters and using them as experiments, among other things.]]
** [[spoiler:Dr. Maxis pulls one in the ''Buried'' easter egg, by becoming the announcer and planning to destroy the world.]]
* FeedItABomb: The Margwa in ''Shadows of Evil'' is only vulnerable when it has a mouth open, at which point you need to feed it bullets until the head explodes. Do this three times and it will die.
* FeelNoPain: Zombies, being zombies, do not react in pain to the weaponry that hit or dismember them - they keep coming unless they die. They'll even generally crawl after you if you've knocked their legs off.
* FilmNoir: "Shadows of Evil", is [[http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/gaming/589854/Black-Ops-3-PS4-Call-of-Duty-beta-release-date-Sony-Activision-Black-Ops-Zombies-Mode explicitly going for this]]. Its characters are all FilmNoir archetypes like "the FemmeFatale", "the Cop", "the Magician", and "the Boxer".
* FireForgedFriends: Well, not friends, but as they are under increasingly serious attack, the characters will act more like a team. (At least they say they will. Whether they do or not is up to the players.)
* FlamingSword: The Keeper Sword in ''Shadows of Evil'' is wreathed in flame, similar to the Keepers.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Everywhere. For some notable examples:
** The fly trap easter egg in ''Der Riese'' feels like a horror movie where you communicate with an unseen demonic force. Come Moon, it's revealed [[spoiler:that's exactly what you're doing: whoever's soul is within an alien device is taken to another dimension, the Aether, where they can control the Zombies. Richtofen knew this all along]] and only in ''Der Riese'' did he realize it was all just a game to Samantha.
** On the Wii version of ''Kino'', one can find a very poor quality video clip revolving around the Great Leap Forward[[note]]an incredibly crude effort implemented by Mao Zedong to boost China's prosperity by having everyone work themselves to death trying to make steel for the country - which resulted in [[EpicFail an even bigger economic loss and the deaths of millions of people]][[/note]]. In ''Black Ops II'', the first DLC map is in a location called "Great Leap Forward" in Shanghai, China.
** Takeo muses in ''Ascension'' that the zombies are the greater threat than [[spoiler:Richtofen]] and resolves to focus on the former. In a way, he's right: whatever force controls the Zombies [[spoiler:and is the source of power behind whoever is the Demonic Announcer]] is a far greater threat than Samantha, [[spoiler:Richtofen or Maxis. This evil entity turns out to be the Shadow Man and the Apothicons.]]
** In ''Nacht'', ''Der Riese'', ''Ascension'', and ''Shangri La'', the Moon is clearly visible. You can just see a red smudge that grows more and more visible with each map. The final map of ''Black Ops'' and ''the'' WhamEpisode of the story takes place on the Moon.
** In ''Shangdi La'', Takeo and Dempsey both realize [[spoiler:Richtofen]] is up to something big. [[spoiler:Turns out in ''Moon'', everything so far has been a part of his grand scheme to take over the Zombies.]]
** Some of the survivors of ''Black Ops II'' seem to realize Maxis intends to [[spoiler:destroy the Earth,]] although considering all the insanity and hysteria of the apocalypse, the player probably didn't take them too seriously. [[spoiler:They should have.]]
** The translated cypher on the lyric video for "Where Are We Going" - [[spoiler:"Let go and the beginning will become the end." - revealed what the final map would be like - a return to the original six major characters during the first zombie outbreak, which (for now at least) seems to wrap up the story and has the characters finally reaching the fabled [[spoiler:Agartha]].
** In the trailer of ''Der Eisendrache'', Dempsey calls the titular map "a suicide mission". [[spoiler:He ends up being the one to kill his WW2 self at the end of the Easter Egg]].
** All over the place in recent maps, where ciphers delivering clues about next maps are hidden.
** The voices Richtofen and other characters have been feeling since the beginning of the series? [[spoiler:''Revelations'' strongly implies this to be the voice of the Shadow Man, who's bent on letting his masters, the Apothicons, destroy this dimension.]]
** Notice how the plot of the series really started when a meteor of Element 115 landed in the swamps of ''Shi No Numa''? [[spoiler:That's because Element 115 is a material created by the Apothicons, who speak to whoever comes in contact with it via the Shadow Man and direct the listener towards bringing about the destruction of their dimension for them. Richtofen and Maxis eventually destroyed the Earth in the original timeline after the insanity of exposure to Element 115.]]
** In ''Mob of the Dead'', Weasel complains that he can't get the name "Nikolai" out of his head for some reason. Later, the opening cinematic of ''The Giant'' uses the ''Mob of the Dead'' round music when 2.0 Richtofen emerges from the teleporter. Later, the same cue is used during the first trailer for ''Revelations''. In the end cutscene, [[spoiler:after the Apothicons are defeated, Richtofen reveals that he took vials of blood from the ''Mob'' gangsters, as their dimension had been sealed off from the Apothicons, creating a paradox that allowed the crew to survive the resetting of the universe.]]
** In ''Origins'', we see strange statues in the likeness of the crew in the Crazy Place. [[spoiler:Ultimately, the ''Origins'' crew is allowed to live out the rest of their days as the heroes and leaders of the human-Keeper alliance to fend off the Apothicon invasion in Primis, making it clear why there were statues of the crew in the Agarthan place.]]
* ForgotToPayTheBill: Nikolai sometimes says this in ''Kino der Toten''.
--> ''"Who didn't pay electric bill?"''
* FourIsDeath: Takeo when finding a nesting doll on ''Ascension'':
--> "One becomes two becomes three becomes... Death?"
* FrickinLaserBeams:
** If a gun fired bullets before you upgraded it in the Pack-a-Punch, chances are, it'll now fire lasers.
** The RayGun technically counts, but it's more like O-shaped beams of death.
** The [[NewAndImproved Mark II]] variant plays straight as, well, [[ShapedLikeItself a laser.]]
* GambitRoulette:
** [[spoiler:Richtofen used the group to help him find Samantha so he could switch bodies with her and gain control of the zombies.]]
** [[spoiler:Dr. Maxis had a counter {{plan}}. Now existing as a digital entity, he had recordings instructing the party how to weaken Rictofen. That was the destruction of the Earth's atmosphere, essentially loosening Rictofen's control over the zombies on Earth]].
* GatlingGood: On the map ''Five'', you can find a power-up which gives you the [[MoreDakka Death Machine, a portable minigun with unlimited ammo, for a limited time.]]
** The Death Machine serves as a power-up for the rest of the ''Black Ops'' maps. As of ''Der Eisendrache'' in ''Black Ops III'', it is also avaliable in all ''Black Ops III'' maps and can also be summoned with a specific Gobblegum.
* GiantMook: Most of the "Boss Zombies" fall into this category, including George Romero, Brutus (aka the Warden), the Panzer Soldat, the Margwa, the Trasher and the Russian Mangler.
* GhostTown: Considering that Buried is set in an '''''underground''''', mostly-abandoned ghost town, and you'll wonder why they built it there in the first place.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Throughout the series it's been hinted that there's a larger evil force behind the zombie mayhem, greater than Richtofen or the Maxis family. The final ''Revelations'' DLC map from ''Black Ops III'' confirms that [[spoiler:the Shadow Man and the other Apothicons were behind it all from the beginning.]]
* GroinAttack: This happens to Nikolai.
-->''"Oh No! It's biting area is closer to my [[UnusualEuphemism fun fun area]]!"''
* {{Griefer}}: Actually encouraged in a game mode called [[MeaningfulName Grief]], where two teams must compete to win, despite being technically co-operative. You have actively sabotage the other team to survive, as you can't directly attack the opponents.
** 1. Using an EMP Grenade while you're using the Mystery Box. It cancels the spin and you don't get your points back!
** 2. Using said EMP, however now on the Pack-A-Punch not only powers it off, but will get rid of whatever gun was in it. Massive trolling.
** 3. Blocking you from using the Bus by blocking the doors. Good luck running through the fog with no idea where to go with those bloody denizins coming after you...
* GroundhogDayLoop: Important to the ''Mob of the Dead'' map's storyline. [[spoiler:The four mobsters intended to escape Alcatraz using a plane constructed by Weasel, but infighting caused Sal, Billy and Finn to turn on the former and kill him on the prison roof; a crime for which they would be exectued via electric chair. They ended up in the Afterlife, where they attempt to recreate their escape while fighting zombies. Save for Weasel, the mobsters cannot recall what exactly happened, but regain their memories (if the map's Easter Egg is performed), in which case, they kill Weasel and die once more, repeating the cycle. The cycle can be broken if Weasel successfully defeats the others, at which point he is freed from his repeated deaths.]]
* GunsAkimbo: When you upgrade your pistol, you'll gain two of them. They both spit out grenades. Nixon also wields two shotguns in the intro to the first Black Ops Zombies map.
** Again in ''Moon'', where the Wonder Weapon [[InfinityPlusOneSword Wave Gun]] can be taken apart on a whim to become a dual wield shock gun.
-->'''Ritchofen:''' "Double the pleasure, double the pain, double the DAMAGE!"
** In ''Zetsubou No Shima'', the [[HandCannon Marshall]] [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter 16]] Dual Wield is avaliable from the mistery Box.
** In ''Gorod Krovi'', the GKZ-45 Mk. III are basically two experimental weapons: one that fires clouds that slow down zombies, similar to the Paralyzer, and a Ray Gun Mark III in the other hand. Firing the Ray Gun into the cloud of the GKZ turns the cloud into a Gersch Device-like black hole. [[AutomaticCrossbows The NX Shadowclaw semi-automatic crossbow]] is also avaliable in Dual Wield version.
* {{Ghostapo}}: This is what happens when you expose alien metals to undead Axis soldiers.
* HealingShiv:
** A literal example in the form of the Pack-A-Punched Ballistic Knife, the Krauss Refibrillator. You can revive downed players by stabbing or shooting the blade at them.
** In ''Gorod Krovi'', the NX Shadowclaw Dual Wield crossbow does this once upgraded.
* TheHeavy: [[spoiler:Richtofen is the most prominent antagonist for ''Black Ops'' and ''Black Ops II''. However, in ''Black Ops III'', the Shadow Man takes this position as he's the most prominent antagonist representing the ''true'' antagonists of the franchise, the Apothicons.]]
* HellholePrison: ''Mob of the Dead'''s Alcatraz is portrayed as this, showing massive amounts of decay, shoddy repair, and overrun with zombies covered in razor wire, and impaled with chunks of wood. [[spoiler:Though considering that this is while the group is in purgatory, it's understandable.]]
* HeroicMime: The soldiers in ''Nacht der Untoten''. Thankfully, the other levels avert this completely.
* HerrDoktor: Richtofen.
* HonorBeforeReason: Takeo Masaki. [[{{Squick}} To the point he has a proverb related to honor tattooed on the insides of his eyelids.]]
--> '''Takeo:''' Argh! Your foul odor dishonors my sinuses.
* IncrediblyLamePun:
** Nikolai is fond of these.
--->'''Nikolai:''' And the limbs go flying! How's that for an '''ARM'''-y?! Get it? With the arms?...''(no one answers)'' ...fuck you.
** Rictofen also does this... In a more funny, sinister way.
--->'''Richtofen:''' He can't fight now... He's being... DISARMED! [[EvilLaugh Ahahahaha!]]
** Lots of them in newer maps.
--->'''Dempsey''', upon seeing a Trasher: ''"He's like a boar! A... vegetaboar!"''
--->'''Dempsey''', when turning on the Giant Eye Laser: ''"He's got his eye on you, maggot addicts!"''
--->'''Ritchtofen''' after turning on the Electric Trap: [[HurricaneOfPuns The extreme voltage I conduct will amplify my resistance to the current hellspawn circuit]], ehehe... That's enough electricity puns, moving on.
--->'''Nikolai:''' It crawls like baby... Hellpiglet! Hehe, see what I did there?
* InfinityPlusOneSword: All the way back to the very first map, ''Nacht der Untoten'', the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Random Weapon Box]] would occasionally give you a Ray Gun, which could usually [[OneHitKill kill zombies in 1 hit, even on higher rounds.]] ''Shi No Numa'' gave us the [[LightningGun Wunderwaffe]] which took out multiple zombies with one shot. The last ''World At War'' map, ''Der Riese'', gave us the Pack-A-Punch machine, which upgraded your weapons into [[{{BFG}} super-enhanced death machines.]] Even the weakest weapon, the M1911, turned into an ''automatic grenade launcher'' when put into the machine.
** Slowly gets subverted the higher the round number due to the zombies getting more health every round. The subversion is why the Bowie Knife was introduced in ''Der Riese'', and THAT gets subverted after a while.
** And then the Thundergun in ''Kino der Toten'', which is always a one hit kill. And then the Winter's Howl on ''Five'', and ''they'' get subverted eventually, too! But that's only due to ammunition reasons.
** Then there's the Wave Gun in ''Moon'', which follows the Thundergun in being a one hit kill. But not only that, but it can be taken apart to make a dual wield version that is ''also'' a one hit kill!
** The pistol inside the bus in Tranzit, usually one hit kills zombies with its three round bursts, costs less than most other weapons, and is available right from the start.
** Probably the king of all these weapons is the ''Sliquifier'' from ''Die Rise''. Originally thought by the fans as an absolutely terrible new Wonder Weapon, the ''Sliquifier'' has proven that it is the ''greatest'' Wonder Weapon yet. There's a video in which a player kills [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill 91 zombies in a single shot.]]
** In ''Tranzit'', the superweapon was a Jet Gun that worked on a cooldown and shredded zombies to bits. [[AwesomeButImpractical It wasn't that great.]] With the release of ''Buried'', we receive the Paralyzer. Insanely quick cooldown, slows zombies to a halt and kills them in seconds, massive range, ''and'' you can fly in the air with it? [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon Sign me up!]]
** In Shadows of Evil, you make some sort of {{Eldritch Abomination}} gun that shoots black holes. It's like having ten Gersch Devices!
** In ''Der Eisendrache'', it is possible to obtain a bow by feeding three dragons. The bows can be upgraded to bows that draw in power from elements: the [[ShockAndAwe Storm Bow]], the [[NightOfTheLivingMooks Void Bow]], the [[NobleWolf Wolf Bow]] and the [[KillItWithFire Lava bow.]]
** In ''Zetsubou No Shima'', the KT-4 and it shoots a liquid that makes spores grow in zombies and makes them explode, similar to the Sliquifier.
* InsaneTrollLogic: Maxis's plan to save the world from zombies: [[spoiler:blow it up, at least at first glance. He was actually out to destroy the Earth's atmosphere and strike a critical blow to Richtofen's power over the Aether.]]
* InteractiveNarrator: All the player characters can hear the Demonic Announcer. Leading to these lovely exchanges:
-->'''Demonic Announcer:''' '''FETCH ME THEIR SOULS!'''\\
'''Nikolai:''' ''"[[OhNoNotAgain Oh, no! They're going to fetch our souls again!]]"''\\
'''Dempsey:''' Fetch my grenade, Devil-voice!
* JungleJapes: ''Shangri-La'' and ''Zetsubou No Shima''.
* KillItWithFire: Flamethrower + Nazi Zombies = Good times, but Flamethrowers are useless unless someone's got the Insta-Kill power-up.
** Flamethrowers are useful if you have the Double Tap perk, because the increased [[IncrediblyLamePun fire]] rate means that the zombies burn up a lot quicker. Pack-A-Punching it adds nitrogen cooling to your flamethrower, making this much more practical.
** ''Black Ops III'' allows a second pack-a-punch for all bullet-firing guns, and one of the secondary bullet types is Blast Furnace. Once triggered, it sets all zombies in the vicinity on fire.
* KnifeNut:
** Everyone in ''Der Riese'' once they get their hands on a Bowie Knife, which looks more like a short sword.
** Misty from ''Tranzit'' is a self admitted knife nut, and was a six-time knife fighting champion.
** The ''Origins'' characters in the newer maps once they buy a Bowie Knife.
--->'''Demspey:''' Welcome to the one-stop maggot spillin' brain muncher chop shop. Proprietor: Tank Dempsey!
* LampshadeHanging:
** Some of the characters will comment on the finding of the musical {{Easter Egg}}s being just that. They'll also get pissed off every time the Mystery Box chucks up a Teddy Bear instead of a weapon.
** After an explosive caused by Nikolai leaves a zombie alive, but legless, he will make a remark on how players do this to be free to run around the map and do whatever:
--->''Look, I just made a new pet. I'll take it for a walk for about five minutes while the rest of you dick around.''
--->'''Dempsey''', when out of ammo: Hey, player! Drop the chips and get me some ammo!
*** It gets more and more explicit as the DLC maps come in, with the last one hanging these after almost every power-up pickup.
-->'''Dempsey''', after picking up a nuke: ''"Gotta love how that doesn't hurt us. [[OhCrap Wait, is my hair falling out?!]]"''
** The ''Call of Duty'' games brought in "quick scoping", that is, use a sniper rifle scope for a millisecond for a kill. Get one to Sarah in ''Call of the Dead'' and she will bring this up.
* LargeHam: Pretty much everyone after a kill.
-->'''Dempsey:''' I'm gonna do a jig on your insides, maggotsack!\\
'''Nikolai:''' ''"No, it's my Vodka! MINE! MY OWN!"''\\
'''Richtofen:''' ''"The Doctor prescribes you... '''PAIN!'''"''\\
'''Takeo:''' ''"Your blood will rain on me!"''\\
'''Kennedy:''' ''"Forgive your enemies, but '''NEVER, EVER,''' forget their names!"''\\
'''[=McNamara=]:''' ''"Consider yourself, '''ITEMIZED!'''"''\\
'''Castro:''' ''"Only ''I'' can punish crimes of such '''MAGNITUDE!'''"''\\
'''Nixon:''' ''"Get your hands off me, '''HIPPIE!'''"''\\
'''Misty:''' ''"Oh ho, you're done, [[{{ThisIsForEmphasisBitch}} BITCH!]]"''\\
'''Richoften:''' '''"I DRINK YOUR PAIN!"''' *slurping sounds*\\
'''Dempsey:''' ''"I WILL CUT YOU BAD!'' '''''REAL BAD!'''''"\\
'''Ritchtofen''', when knifing a zombie: '''''"SILENCE!!!"'''''\\
'''Nikolai:''' ''"YOU DID NOT FINISH JOB, '''BIG MISTAKE!"'''''\\
'''Takeo:''' ''"You? Kill me? NOO! I KILL YOU!"''\\
'''Dempsey:''' ''"DO I NEED TO SPELL IT OUT? You're D-E-A-D, MAGGOT ADDICTS!"''\\
'''Nikolai:''' ''"YOU DARE INSULT '''ME'''? ON '''MY HOMELAND??'''"''
* LethalJokeWeapon: The Golden Spork in ''Mob of the Dead''. As ridiculous as this sounds, it's more lethal than the '''Galvaknuckles'''. Yes, a ''spork'' is more deadly than electric brass knuckles! Holy crap! To specify, the Golden Spork is five times more deadly than the Galvaknuckles. [[spoiler:Getting it requires using the acid infused Blundergat in the laundry room after mixing the spoon in the bathtub of blood. A laugh later, and go back to bathtub.]] Have fun using it to {{Curbstomp| Battle}} zombies.
* MacGuffin: Each maps has one or several of those, necessaries to complete it's EasterEgg. The Summoning Key can be considered as one of to the entire ''Black Ops III'' storyline.
* MadScientist: '''Richtofen'''.
* MagicMusic: In ''Origins'', gramophones and records can apparently open up entire tombs, and open portals to another dimension.
* MagikarpPower: That Pack-A-Punch machine can turn your somewhat useless weapon, into a slaughtering machine, [[ScrappyWeapon save for]] [[AwesomeYetImpractical a few exceptions.]]
* MeaningfulName:
** "verrückt" means "crazy" in German.
** ''Nacht der Untoten'', which means ''Night of the Undead'' in German, and ''Shi no Numa'', which is Japanese for ''Zombie Swamp'' or ''Marsh of Death''... and you fight Japanese Zombies in it.
** ''Kino der Toten'' in ''Black Ops'' roughly translates to ''Theater of the Dead'', which is appropriate considering it's a ShoutOut to ''Film/InglouriousBasterds''.
** ''Ascension'' is a Soviet rocket launch facility, complete with cosmonaut training device and zombie astro-monkeys.
** ''Call of the Dead'', combining ''Call of Duty'' and ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' (the latter of which was directed by George A. Romero, who shows up as the final boss of the level).
** ''Mob of the Dead'' has 'Icarus'. A plane that is supposed to fly the Mobsters out of Alcatraz, crashes on the Golden Gate Bridge.
** ''Buried'' is named for the character's situation - they have to decide to follow either Richtofen or Maxis, but they overall don't have the best of hopes anyway. [[spoiler:No matter who they help, they all die in the underground town, unable to return to the surface.]]
** ''Der Eisendrache'' is German for "The Iron Dragon", named after the dragons you have to feed, and that it is the motif of the long gone king.
** ''Zetsubou No Shima'' translates from Japanese to "Island of Despair". Considering what happens in the island...
** ''Gorod Krovi'' translates directly from Russian to "City of Blood."
* MoodWhiplash: A lot of the musical easter eggs by Elena Siegman. Often, they change from normal singing to furious screaming in the blink of an eye. For example, in "Beauty of Annihilation":
-->Bring me down... '''WITH 7.62 AND HIGH VELOCITY!!!'''\\
Bring you down... '''WITH 7.92 AND NO IMPUNITYYYYY!'''
** The songs themselves can do this; having a playlist of all the songs on random and you can go from a quiet solemn song (Always Running) to a screamo (Paredolia + Coming Home) and back to a 'soft' grunge song (Lullaby for a Dead Man) within a ten minute span.
* MoreDakka:
** Pack-a-Punching your guns in ''Der Riese'' onwards often includes a gigantic increase in firing rate. It even turns some semi-auto weapons into full-auto weapons. However, trying to compensate for a lack of accuracy in this manner will just cause your ammunition reserves to run dry. (although the lack of accuracy becomes a problem because headshots in the later rounds are the only way to quickly kill a zombie.)
* MultipleHeadCase: The Margwa in ''Shadows of Evil'' has three heads. All three have to be destroyed to kill it.
* TheMultiverse: The ''Black Ops III'' zombies arc is the original crew's attempts to erase the zombies from all realities, and save it all from [[spoiler:the Apothicons, ancient evils that seek to destroy all realities.]]
* MythologyGag:
** In ''Origins'', the steps to the Easter egg are the steps of Reznov's plan during the ''Black Ops'' campaign.
** "Gag" might not be the right word, [[TearJerker considering the mood of the scene]], but [[spoiler:WW2!Takeo]]'s fate is eerily similar to [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps Reznov]]'s.
** In ''Revelations'', the license plate of the truck in the spawn area reads "M45ON", which is LeetLingo for "Mason", the protagonist of the first ''Black Ops''.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: All the upgraded weapons sound scary. Well, except for the PTRS-41, which is called [[DoubleEntendre The Penetrator]].
** The Dingo becomes the ''Dire Wolf'' once pack-a-punched.
** The SVG-100 turns into the Ikken Hissatsu. Which is Japanese for "To annihilate in one blow".
* NaziNobleman: Averted in Richtofen's biography, which makes reference to this trope, saying he gained influence amongst German's high-class, but disagreed with the Nazi Party (though mostly because he considered them not evil enough). He did join the army to fulfill his sadism, however. And also Averted with Group 935 as a whole, as Maxis joined with the Nazi party to further their agenda, but Maxis is strongly implied to have stalled as much as possible so as to not hand their advanced weaponry over to the Third Reich.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** The ''Call of the Dead'' cast, unbeknownst to them. [[spoiler:They gave the Vrill Device to Richtofen, who would use it to take control of the zombies in the Aether, and this would lead to the Earth's destruction.]]
** [[spoiler:No matter who the Green Run group help, they only make things worse. If Richtofen succeeds, the Earth remains as is, and Richtofen ends up trapped in Samuel's body and seems doomed to die with the other three. If Maxis succeeds, he destroys the Earth and everyone still on it. The worst part? ''He still fails to find Agartha.''.]]
** [[spoiler:Richtofen and the crew all manage to save their 1.0 versions and create the perfect world... Then Maxis fiddles with the Summoning Key and gets tricked by the Shadow Man. Who then proceeds to unleash his overlords on the perfect world that Richtofen worked so hard for. Dr. Monty admits it's not really Maxis' fault, as he doesn't actually have a soul since he only had his brain to work with.]]
* [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Nazi Zombies]]
** ''Japanese'' Zombies!
** Flaming exploding zombie dogs!
** Russian Cosmonaut Zombies!
** Mutant Jumping Space Monkeys!!
** Now all lead by '''ELECTRIFIED, STAGELIGHT-WIELDING, NEARLY INVINCIBLE ZOMBIE GEORGE ROMERO!'''
** Now completely and [[{{IncrediblyLamePun}} utterly crushed]] by not one, not two, but '''THREE''' 1000ft tall giant robots in Origins!
** Now summoned by the spawn of the Apothicons, complete with turning into tentacle monsters and making living guns that shoot black holes!
** GIANT SPIDERS AND PLAYER-EATING ZOMBIES!
** '''AND SET AFIRE BY GIANT DRAGONS AND ELECTRIFIED BY NAZI ROBOT DRONES!'''
** And now including zombies and tidbits from ALL maps in one single place alongside {{Eldritch Abomination}}s you couldn't imagine in your worst nightmares!
* NintendoHard: The game is a lot harder to play solo, especially if you aren't intimately familiar with the maps and zombie behavior. There's a huge emphasis on headshots and all the players are [[OneHitpointWonder Two-Hitpoint Wonders]]. ''Black Ops'' [[FromBadToWorse takes things a step further]] by making it much harder to hold up in one spot, introducing ankle-biting gas zombies, and [[{{Nerf}} nerfing]] the machine guns. If you know how to properly lead the zombies, though, it's a lot easier to get high scores playing alone than it is with groups. In later games, there ''is'' a way to lower the difficulty, at the cost of being able to do the Easter egg.
** ''Black Ops III'' takes the [[UpToEleven difficulty to unimaginable levels]] by having the zombies attack '''twice''' as fast in any previous map. [[ZergRush They also run moderately faster and spawn a LOT quicker.]]
* NotTheFallThatKillsYou:
** Done in ''Mob of the Dead'', where the mobsters end up crashing into the Golden Gate Bridge support beam with their makeshift airplane and fall to the ground below, they just merely get dazed as a result. [[spoiler:Justified, they are not in the real world, they are in purgatory.]]
** A little purge from the giant robot and the player falls a great height in Origins, 1000 ft. They survive of course. Handwaved somewhat with this quote.
--> '''Richtofen''': The initial test subjects did not survive the purge sequence, hence the addition of the velocity compensator.
* PoweredArmor: What the Panzer Soldat technically wears.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Nikolai in ''Der Riese'', albeit for one line:
--> '''Nikolai:''' His head is waist high, Dempsey, ''(suddenly losing Russian accent)'' don't get too excited!
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: They're made via "Element 115" or repeated teleportation, and don't need headshots. Their eyes glow and move faster over time, and they're somewhat controllable.
** In fact, later zombies can survive for short times without their heads. At a late enough round, you could have an armless, legless, headless zombie still making its way towards you.
** With the right application of 115, they can be turned back into regular humans. [[spoiler:This includes George Romero, but only for a short time.]]
* PetTheDog: [[ThoseWackyNazis Richtofen]] is noticeably empathetic towards the Hellhounds when they come knocking at the door. [[FridgeBrilliance Considering Nazi Germany had a surprisingly humane policy on animals...]] That, and the fact [[spoiler:that he helped create the first Hellhound, [[MoralEventHorizon which he used to kill Maxis and Samantha by locking them into the room it had appeared in]]. At least, that's what everyone, including Rictofen thought. Turns out, they were teleported to the Group 935 base on the ''Moon''.]]
* ThePowerOfRock: Well, technically, Rock was far from invented yet in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI 1918]], but a Gramophone and some records are needed in ''Origins'' to open up specific areas, all which are very important to creating the map's [[InfinityMinusOneSword wonder weapons.]]
* PrecisionFStrike: The end of "Archangel".
-->''I am the end\\
a fucking archangel''
* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:Both sides in the original timeline have variations. If you follow Maxis, Richtofen's threat is no more, but [[GoneHorriblyRight Maxis is arguably worse, with him destroying Earth outright.]] If you follow Richtofen, he will be excited, but he will soon realize how dangerous the battlefield is again, how he gets bored, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking how there is a stench.]]]]
* PoisonMushroom: The Tombstone perk cola in ''Black Ops II'', which gives you a quick suicide if downed.
* PorkyPigPronunciation
-->'''Dempsey:''' ''"Gotta link up this terra... er, tele... bah... machine."''
* PowerUp:
** Comes in six flavors: [[NukeEm Nuke]], [[MagicTool Carpenter]], [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill Insta]]-[[OneHitKill Kill]], [[ScoreMultiplier Double Points]], [[GarageSale Fire Sale,]] [[AfterBossRecovery Max Ammo, usually dropped after Hellhound rounds.]]
** ''Five'' also introduced Bonfire Sale, which opens the Pack-A-Punch room and cuts the price in half.
*** And with ''Ascension'' comes the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Random Perk Bottle.]] Pretty nifty.
*** And now in ''Call of the Dead'', completing [[spoiler:the trapped characters EasterEgg]] will reward you with the lightning bolt power-up that grants the player a Wunderwaffe-[=DG2=]
*** [[BlessedWithSuck Just don't expect to be able to buy anything until you use all of the ammo up.]]
* PowerUpLetdown:
** The Death Machine in some ''Black Ops'' maps can be this on later rounds when you realize that it doesn't do that much damage and makes you unable to run. And then you realize you can't buy things or revive people when you have it...
** The Nuke powerup instantly kills every zombie on the field and awards all players 400 points each. The problem with this is that the number killed are usually worth more than the points the powerup gives you, it makes attempts to activate secrets on the map harder by possibly ending the round (leaving one or two zombies alive is often used to extend a round indefinitely for this purpose) or killing zombies that players need to directly kill for certain reasons, and in the early rounds you can grab it by accident simply because it's cheaper and earns more points to knife zombies than shoot them.
* PsychoElectro: Dempsey's more... fond of the Wunderwaffe than the other characters, as well as the Storm Bow in Der Eisendrache.
* RasputinianDeath: Nikolai [[LampshadeHanging notes]] the ability for a zombie to keep coming at you with arms, legs, and even a ''head'' blown off in one of his quotes.
-->'''Nikolai:''' ''"What are you? Fucking '''RASPUTIN?!''' Just die already!"''
* RecycledINSPACE: The Rezurrection map pack features a new map ''on the moon.''
** Also in that map is an achievement called 'Perks in Spaaaaace', which is unlocked once you've had all 8 perks at some point in the game (not necessarily all at the same time)
* TheReveal:
** ''Moon'' reveals that [[spoiler:Richtofen has been using the other three to help him enter the Aether and take control of the zombies.]]
** ''Buried'' reveals that [[spoiler:Maxis has been plotting to use the survivors of Earth to help him take Richtofen's place in the Aether, only to destroy the Earth so he may reach Agartha and find Samantha.]]
** ''The Giant'' sets forth the new direction for the story, and that the ''Origins'' crew is from an alternate dimension from the one up to ''Buried''. They are also [[spoiler:systematically killing their original timeline selves]] to prevent the original timeline from happening.
** ''Gorod Krovi'' reveals that [[spoiler:Dr. Monty is an omnipotent being who has tried to keep the universe in balance, and is going to help the gang save it.]]
** ''Revelations'' has already set forth a ton of reveals just in the pre-release material, unsurprising given the title of the map. [[spoiler:The ending of ''Origins'' was actually set in a reality inside the Aether, created by Dr. Monty as a safe haven for new incarnations of the original four and the Maxis' after all the horrors they've faced. Furthermore, the Apothicons are unveiled as the true main antagonists of the series, as they are beings of pure evil who seek to destroy the universe by sending Element 115 to all realities - and the element corrupts any who come into contact with it, and in the original timeline's case, led Richtofen and Maxis to destroy the Earth. The Shadow Man is properly identified as the chief enforcer of the Apothicons, who now are about to conquer the Aether and destroy the entire universe.]]
* RevolversAreJustBetter: Played straight, and subverted. The revolver ''is'' a good weapon and a good choice for early rounds... but later on, its low rate of fire and the zombies' increased health is a crippling weakness.
** Completely played straight in ''Transit'' onwards, where the revolver ''Executioner'' is massively more powerful than most of the weapons in the box, ''even'' the Ray Gun!
** And in ''Buried'', we get a new revolver by the name of the ''Remington New Model Army''. It's damage against the body is above average, and it has a decent reload time. However, it gets ''massive'' damage multipliers with headshots. Said multipliers rise even ''higher'' when the weapon is upgraded.
* RuleOfCool: Why are you fighting as a crazed Nazi, a drunken Russian, an honor-obsessed Japanese soldier, and an even crazier American? Why are there miniature grenade launchers and electric guns? Who cares?
** Alternatively, why are you fighting zombies as John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Robert [=McNamara=] and Fidel Castro in the Pentagon? I think you know exactly why.
*** Gets better when celebrities are thrown into the mix.
*** And why is Sarah Michelle wearing a sleeveless cut off shirt in the middle of Siberia?
*** And eventually, mobsters fighting zombies in Alcatraz.
** The weapons themselves. Started from the Ray Gun and now we got cluster grenades disguised as a Russian nesting toy and a ''miniature black hole generating bomb'' along with elemental based weapons.
* RunningGag: When attempting to purchase something he doesn't have enough points for, Nikolai will make references to a stripper who took his money:
-->'''Nikolai''' on ''Kino der Toten'': What?! That stripper must have stolen my money!\\
'''Nikolai''' on ''Ascension'': That stripper DID take all my money!...bitch....\\
'''Nikolai''' on ''Shangri-La'': Where does all my money go? [[VodkaDrunkenski Vodka]], [[DrowningMySorrows she is cruel mistress]]. (which, in itself, is a RunningGag)
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: Richtofen's goal in the ''Black Ops III'' storyline is stopping himself from accessing the MPD in all realities.
* SceneryGorn: ''Nuketown Zombies'' is pretty much Nuketown from the first ''Black Ops''...given a very destructive makeover.
* ScreamsLikeAlittleGirl: Nikolai does this in ''Shangri-La''.
-->''Aah! It almost [[GroinAttack made me woman!]]''
** Nikolai actually does this a lot, particularly when something comes close to hurting, um... [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything his]] "[[ICallHimMisterHappy Little Nikolai]]".
* SemperFi: Tank Dempsey. Oo-fuckin'-rah.
* SequelDifficultySpike: ''Black Ops II'' 's zombie mode is a few orders of magnitude harder than the one in the original ''Black Ops'', especially on Solo. Zombies get stronger and faster much earlier on, and the smaller levels and narrower corridors make it much more difficult to form zombie trains. ''Black Ops'' 's zombie mode was already more difficult than ''World at War'' 's, as each weapon had been nerfed, and machine guns were less viable.
** Played straight with Black Ops III. The zombies run faster and are able to attack '''MUCH''' faster than in previous games - to the point that being trapped is basically a death sentence, and one running zombie is a HUGE threat. To not make it downright impossible, players can now take three hits without Juggernog. Not that it helps...
* SequelEscalation: Each of the {{DLC}}s' settings and atmospheres become progressively more over-the-top.
** ''Black Ops''' first Zombie Mode map features John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Robert [=McNamara=] and Fidel Castro fighting zombies in the Pentagon during JFK's presidency days/weeks after the Cuban Crisis.
** ''Ascension'' brings the group from a Nazi theater to a Russian rocket base.
** And as for ''Call of the Dead'', [[http://youtu.be/3_Cx82OFXM0 well]]........
** And now the final Zombies map being produced for ''Black Ops'' has Tank, Nikolai, Takeo, and Richtofen fight zombies on a base on the surface of Earth's moon. If that isn't absurdly over the top then I don't know what is. [[spoiler:About as over the top as the Earth blowing up.]]
** ''Black Ops II'' has [=TranZit=], one of ''the'' biggest Zombie Mode maps to date, featuring interconnected areas that also serve as smaller maps. The premise behind said map counts [[spoiler:as it shows the ''[[AfterTheEnd very]]'' [[ZombieApocalypse destructive]] aftermath of Richtofen's antics in ''Moon'']].
** Now we have ''Die Rise'', which is also an incredibly large map, and expands greatly on the after affects of ''Moon'' and the [[spoiler:conflict between Doctor Maxis and Richtofen's plans.]]
** And after that, "Mob of the Dead." This is the largest zombies map to date, with a boss who can shut down perks and the box.
** The final map, "Origins:, takes place during World War I, in a {{Dieselpunk}} France, is the largest map to date, features a tank you can ride on, and a skyscraper-sized [[HumongousMecha robot]].
** ''Black Ops III'' starts relatively tamely with ''Shadows of Evil, where you fight zombies in a 40s city. And then the aliens shows up. And then you fight a [[spoiler:servant of the ancient evil the maps have been foreshadowing since the beginning]].
*** ''The Giant'': Did Richtofen just got [[spoiler:killed by his Origins self, saying it's to "secure a better tomorrow"]]?!
*** ''Der Eisendrache'': Well, there goes [[spoiler:[[DetonationMoon the Moon remake]].]]
*** ''Zetsubou No Shima'': Zombie-eating plants, player-eating zombie-plant hybrids, and gigantic spiders. Have fun sleeping!
*** ''Gorod Krovi'': Dragons! Nazi flying drones! Ultra-advanced German AI! More giant robots! Giant Russian zombies with arm cannons!
*** ''Revelations'': Now we combine all maps in one huge frankendrabble in a fight to save the ENTIRE universe and all of existence as it is known from an abominable, tentacle-wielding ancient evil.
* SerialEscalation: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN9CuxO-_HI This secret on]] ''Ascension''. It requires a LOT of time and is extremely difficult to do on a regular room unless you know exactly what you're doing.
** Every subsequent Zombies map has even more elaborate {{Easter Egg}}s, [[spoiler:culminating in the [[ApocalypseHow destruction of the Earth]].]]
*** [[spoiler:As of Black Ops III, the Origins characters are in a mission to destroy all of their WW2 counterparts to avoid the collapse of dimensions, and creating a perfect world for them to live away from all the fighting.]]
* SillinessSwitch: The main campaign of ''World at War'' is serious. As you might have guessed, this isn't. Well, eventually.
** And then it becomes [[CerebusSyndrome progressively darker.]]
** The trailers and teasers for Nazi Zombie maps and Dead Ops Arcade are pretty serious.
** At the end of ''Black Ops'' after hearing a solemn quote from JFK, the game cuts away to JFK joking about said quote with Castro, Nixon, and [=McNamara=] just before the zombies attack.
** Dead Ops Arcade takes the cake though. If the bleeptune music and the helicopter and tank power-ups weren't a big enough clue, maybe the ''spacesuit gorilla'' will tip you off.
** [[spoiler:[[OhCrap With the Earth blowing up in ''Moon'',]] it's safe to say that the tables have turned.]]
** Extremely averted in ''Die Rise'', where the [[spoiler:beginning of a new 115-related plague and the absolute rule of Richtofen are shown.]]
** Averted ''again'' in Buried, if you listen to Maxis, [[spoiler:he becomes the Demonic Announcer, and tells you that he plans on destroying the Earth to be with Samantha.]] Listen to Richtofen, and he jumps into Stuhlinger's body.
** ''Black Ops III'' moves the story firmly into that of a CosmicHorrorStory, as it becomes a desperate battle against the [[spoiler:Apothicons, who are trying to destroy the universe.]]
* ShotgunsAreJustBetter:
** The Executioner. A shotgun [[RevolversAreJustBetter revolver]] that has a lot of spare ammo. Even better upgraded.
** The [=KSG=] in ''Origins''. It still fires slugs, which gives it massive range for the weapon, and when upgraded, you have more ammo than the rest of the shotguns. Add a reflex sight, fast mag, and massive stopping power (Even better with Double Tap II) and you've got the one weapon you can use for the rest of the game.
** The 205 Brecci and the Haymaker 12 in ''Black Ops III''. Pack-a-punched, both have around 120 plus shells available and utterly annihilate anything in it's way - to the point that most zombies [[LudicrousGibs simply become red mist.]] Hell, even the KRM-262 pump shotgun is amazing once it's pack-a-punched.
*** [[UpToEleven Taken to new levels]] with the [[HandCannon Marshal 16]] [[GunsAkimbo Dual Wield]] in Zetsubou No Shima, with each one being powerful enough to kill zombies in one shot all the way to ''round 31!''
* ShoutOut:
** The trailer for ''Der Riese'' says of the Bowie Knife - ''[[Film/CrocodileDundee "Now that's a knife!"]]''
** One of the American soldiers in ''Verruckt'' - '''''"[[Film/ArmyOfDarkness THIS IS MY BOOMSTICK]]!!"''''', among other ''Franchise/EvilDead'' lines.
** ''Kino der Toten'' is a ''huge'' one to ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'', being set in a bombed-out theatre - complete with [=MP40=], the only available WWII weapon!
** Pack-A-Punching the Spectre in ''Black Ops''' Zombies Mode will turn it into the Phantom, which is [[AKA47 the name the Spectre went by]] in [[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 another game.]]
** ''"[[Series/{{Batman}} Holy Undead Space Monkeys]]!"''
*** Pack-A-Punching the Film/{{Commando}} assault rifle turns it into the Film/{{Predator}}, both Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger action flicks.
** Takeo's various quotes include [[{{Naruto}} "Summoning Jitsu"]] and [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII "Hadou]][[KamehameHadoken ken!"]]
** Occasionally, Nixon will say '''''[[{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} "AROO!"]]'''''
** ''"Yeah, yeah, yeah, [[Film/DieHard I've got a machinegun]], ho ho ho...."''
** Creator/DannyTrejo's lines are more or less his dialogue from ''Film/{{Machete}}''.
** And Creator/SarahMichelleGellar is just playing Series/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}.
--->''"Let's slay some stiffs."''
** In Origins, when you upgrade the Mauser, you get a muzzle brake and a scope. Oh, and it fires [[FrickingLaserBeams lasers]] too from a 50 shot magazine. [[Franchise/StarWars Sound familiar?]]
* SlippySlideyIceWorld: "Call of the Dead", taking place in an icebreaker stuck in, uhm, ice.
-->''"I ''really'' didn't dress for the cold."''
* SmallGirlBigGun: [[Creator/SarahMichelleGellar Buffy]] addresses this upon picking up a [[GattlingGood Death Machine.]]
--> Huh, this gun's bigger than me.
* SmurfettePrinciple: Lampshaded/invoked in ''Black Ops'' by Dempsey.
-->''"Maann, I wish we could trade Richoften for a hot chick. I'm getting lonely here..."''
** However, it's played straight in ''Call of The Dead'', with Creator/SarahMichelleGellar being the only female.
*** [[spoiler:And after completing Richtofen's Grand Scheme on ''Moon'', Samantha Maxis becomes the the second female character playable in Zombies via a soul transfer with Richtofen.]]
*** Played straight again with ''Black Ops II'''s Zombies mode, wherein Misty is the sole female character.
* SociopathicSoldier: All of the speaking soldiers enjoy the slaughter far too much.
* SoulJar: The Summoning Key can be used as this, catching and preserving the soul of the recently deceased.
* SovietSuperScience: In the first ''Black Ops'' DLC map, ''Ascension''.
** Also in ''Gorod Krovi'', where it shows they became advanced enough to create ''mechs'' and ''arm cannon prosthesis in masse.''
* SmokingIsCool: Fidel Castro. He lampshades it.
* StandardFPSGuns: In addition to the standard ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' weapons, the Wunderwaffe fills the role of the electricity gun.
* TheStarscream: Richtofen to Maxis during their time in Group 935. Maxis refuses to allow Richtofen's experiments with the teleporters to continue, convincing Richtofen to work behind his back. Eventually Richtofen decides Maxis is unfit to lead 935, especially after declining to mass-produce his prized invention, the Wunderwaffe. Maxis had his reasons, as he truly had no intentions of giving such powerful weapons to the Third Reich, who were funding them at the time. Things probably would not have gotten so bad if Maxis had bothered to explain this to Richtofen...
* TimeTravel: First seen when Element [[ArcNumber 115]] overloaded the teleporter in ''Der Riese'' to send our heroes to the future.
** The basis of the entire storyline. Includes [[TemporalParadox Temporal Paradoxes]], {{Alternate Timeline}}s, and more.
** And again in ''Call of the Dead'', when they managed to reach modern times.
** The time bomb does the exact opposite in Buried, it send players back in time, to the point when it was set down. If you lost your entire team, ''[[WrittenSoundEffect *click*]]'' they're back with all of their weapons back.
* ThirdPersonPerson: Nikolai seems fond of this.
-->''"Nikolai will put their brains on the outside!"''
* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: The upgraded M1911 pistol is called the C-3000 ''b1atch''35.
* ThoseWackyNazis: Richtofen is a mad doctor. His former buddy, Doctor Maxis, was ''much'' more level headed, though still a Nazi.
** Actually, Group 935 is a worldwide group and preceded the Nazi party. They simply decided to help the Nazis by giving them some of their Wonderweapon technology in exchange for funding.
* UnstableEquilibrium: If you can avoid getting knocked down, get headshots consistently, and Pack-A-Punch your weapons to stay in the game, you'll rack up a nice buffer of points and the zombies can be very easy to kill even in rounds 20-30. Conversely, getting downed forced you to rebuy perks while being chased by zombies, and dying in a round forces that plus the Pack-A-Punch, which will cost a lot of points that are harder to earn without those features. Combine that with the cost of reloads and the ever-increasing strengths of the zombies, and it can become borderline impossible to keep playing.
* UnusualEuphemism: Nikolai uses a couple of these in ''Shangri-La''.
-->''"Aah! That was too close to my hammer and sickles."''
* UnwittingPawn:
** Dempsey, Nikolai, and Takeo [[spoiler:as of the events during ''Moon'']].
** As are the Green Run group.
** The ''Origins' group is this for a while [[spoiler:until Richtofen reveals his plans of killing their WW2 counterparts to avoid the collapse of the dimensions.]]
* VillainSong: "Not Ready To Die" appears to be Dr. Richtofen's. A number of the series' songs seem to apply to Samantha, but "115" appears to be the main one and the one the fits the trope most.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Everyone insults everyone, but they'll help them, anyway. In fact, the characters themselves are programmed with different reactions to their teammates. They each have one teammate who they are friendly and hostile to, as well as one who they do not react to at all. For example, Dempsey likes Takeo, does not react to Nikolai and hates Richtofen.
-->''"Fidel's down. '''EVERYONE POINT AND LAUGH!'''"''
* VerbalTic: Tank Dempsey says ''"Oorah"'' more times than the combined ''"Hooahs"'' of ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare2''!
** He also calls ammo ''"gun juice"'', which happens a lot when you run out of ammo or get max ammo, resulting in-
-->'''Dempsey:''' '''JUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUIIIICCCEE!!!'''
* VodkaDrunkenski: Nikolai, obviously. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]].
-->'''Nikolai:''' Nothing is more dangerous than a drunk Russian with an MG!
* WhamEpisode:
** [[spoiler:The EasterEgg on ''Moon'', Richtofen's Grand Scheme.]]
** ''Buried''. [[spoiler:Dr. Maxis' EasterEgg makes everything worse, with the further destruction of Earth.]]
** ''Der Eisendrache''. [[spoiler:Ritchtofen reveals that he is hunting their older versions to hopefully save all dimensions from the zombies.]]
** ''Gorod Krovi''. [[spoiler:[[TheManBehindTheMan Dr. Monty]] finally shows himself and reveals some future plans.]]
** ''Revelations''. [[spoiler:The Shadow Man is the [[TheHeavy enforcer]] of the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Apothicons]]. ''[[FromBadToWorse And he's loose in the perfect world.]]'']]
* YourCostumeNeedsWork: In ''Call of the Dead'', George Romero tells a ''real zombie'' to get back to hair and make up because they "don't look dead enough". Said zombie is missing his lower jaw and is ''very'' decayed.
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: ''Moon's'' description makes it seem like it's the last map... [[spoiler:Then Richtofen's Grand Scheme kicks in....]]
* ZombieApocalypse: Implied via radio messages.
** It's reached the Pentagon during JFK's term as President.
*** George Romero found out about the project while doing research for a UsefulNotes/WW2 movie. [[spoiler:It infects him, turning him into a [[PsychoElectro super-mutant electric zombie.]]]]
*** They even managed to go back in time and wind up on the Moon... [[LampshadeHanging somehow.]]
** Outright shown in ''Black Ops II''. The main storyline is about surviving one.
----

* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:In the original timeline (and the canon ending of the split Easter Eggs), Dr. Maxis took control of the Aether and destroyed the Earth in an attempt to find Samantha in Agartha - but failed to find his daughter, having destroyed Earth for nothing. To help create a better future for the universe, Maxis helps the ''Origins'' crew and directs them along their quest.]]

%%** Richtofen. Good ''lord''.
%%** [[CreepyChild Samantha]], too.
%%** Billy Handsome....Just....Holy shit.

** Mob of the Dead takes a break from the Maxis/Richtofen arc and doesn't advance the main plot, but it is in no means LighterAndSofter than the other maps.
** Call of the Dead is largely a love-letter to horror fans with an all-star cast and an original song written for the game by Avenged Sevenfold, and only advances the main plot minimally through the Easter egg.

%%* CharacterDevelopment: Later in a match, especially on ''Der Riese'', the characters will insult each other less and yell about trying to help each other more. It happens in nearly every map, as we learn more about the characters and their backgrounds through more quotes and radio messages.

%%* CreepyChild: Samantha. Good god, '''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNcCedQNaFE&feature=related Samantha]].'''

** [[HighVoltageDeath The Electro-Shock Defenses]] have been a staple since Verruckt, appearing again in all WAW maps and in some Black Ops maps. They return in two maps during Black Ops III.

* DieselPunk: Very much so. Much of the Nazi tech in the game just echoes this.

--> Richtofen: The initial test subjects did not survive the purge sequence, hence the addition of the velocity compensator.

** And now including zombies and tidbits from ALL maps in one single place alongside EldritchAbominations you couldn't imagine in your worst nightmares!

''Black Ops III'' takes the [[UpToEleven difficulty to unimaginable levels]] by having the zombies attack '''twice''' as fast in any previous map. [[ZergRush They also run moderately faster and spawn a LOT quicker.]]