open/close all folders
In General
- Adaptational Nationality: Some of the generic "Special Ops" soldiers are taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops II's American factions, and yet have British or Russian accents in this game.
- Awesome Anachronistic Apparel: The game's timeline takes place in real time, but that doesn't stop certain characters from dressing up like ninjas, samurais, pirates, cowboys, what have you.
- Cast of Snowflakes: Unlike most of the main games' grunts and the occasional standout villain, this game has all sorts of quirky characters, from operatives in gaudy get-up to vampires and zombies.
- Composite Character: The original and reboot continuity versions of the Modern Warfare cast tend to overlap in terms of customization and characterization.
- Crossover Alternate Universe: Considering the nature of the Call of Duty series, specifically its covering of many different time periods, this was essential for creating a cohesive story.
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: So far we have British, American, and Russian heroes, against Russian, American, and Japanese villains.
- Flat Character: In gameplay, unlike the main games, the Operators never have any unique dialogue or quips and just use the same stock phrases. They have much more characterization in cinematics and comics.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: Any Operator being able to use certain Specialist abilities can count. For example, Seraph is canonically able to wield the Annihilator because of her specialized cybernetic arm; it would shatter a human one. Here, any Average Joe soldier can use it no problem.
- Intercontinuity Crossover: All of the characters come from various Call of Duty series to team up.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Yes, this game has all of those.
- Original Generation: Several characters are created specifically for this game, introduced with every year's new seasons of content.
- 2020: Death Angel Alice, Captain Park, Urban Tracker (Season 4), Anna "Artery" Buckler (Season 6), Hazmat Bomber, Vanguard (Season 7), Emma Victorova, Tengu, American Bulldog (Season 9), Scylla, Siren (Season 10), Hidora Kai (Season 11), Templar (Season 12), Stansfield (Season 13)
- 2021: Ether (Season 1), Alias (Season 2), Rosa, Vagr Modir (Season 3), Cecilia "Dame" Perrin (Season 4), Rott, Cassius (Season 6), Hakan "Demir" Pala, Kryptis (Season 7), Lazarus, Nyx, Sliver (Season 10), Sophia Couteau (Season 11)
- 2022: Yuri (Season 1), Denise "Foxtrot" McDaniels, Alexander "Cipher" McDaniels (Season 2), Trevor "Killgore" Dangle, Agent Miller, Kui Ji (Season 3), Denise "Rampage" Michaels (Season 5), Strongarm, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk (Season 7), The Director, Tempest, Samael (Season 8)
- 2023: Shadowfall, Tiangu (Season 1), Deadman, The Marshall (Season 2), Darkwave, Dusk, Klepto (Season 3), Templar's Shadow (Season 4), Fiona "Flamewing" St. George (Season 6), Zoe, Surf Warrior (Season 7), Satsumebachi, The Iron Monk, Rin Yoshida (Season 8)
- Small Girl, Big Gun: A lot of the female characters are small and slender, but can manuever a BFG as well as any of the bulkier men.
United Anti-Terrorism Coalition
Ghost
Simon "Ghost" Riley
- Voiced by: Jeff Leach (2020-2022), Ron Bottitta (2022-)
A member of Task Force 141 working in the Coalition to bring down the Five Knights.
- Adaptational Curves: The skins based on his Modern Warfare (2019) appearance are noticeably more bulky than his original appearance.
- Composite Character: He's mostly based on his original Modern Warfare appearance, but as of Season 11, is now borrowing models and traits from his Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) appearance.
- Expy Coexistence: The Ghosts unit was introduced as an American counterpart of Ghost as a Badass Army as well as a way to implement Ghost's badassery in a new timeline. The end of the February 2021 season comic reveals that the Ghosts exist in the CODM timeline.
- Gutted Like a Fish: How Templar kills him in their battle.
- Hazy-Feel Turn: Ghost shoots Templar in front of his daughter after he just recovered the DSM and rescued his daughter. He then gives the DSM to Shepherd. Granted, Templar did stab him and leave him for dead in the past, but considering the amount of teamwork they’ve displayed in finding Stansfield, this could come as a dull surprise.
- The Lancer: To Soap. As of Season 11, he's become one to Price.
- Mission Control: He's typically the one guiding the player through tutorials.
- Series Mascot: He's the most prominently-featured character in advertising for the game, and has the most skins by far.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Not only that, when the comic debuts in May 2020 to promote the Wild West variant, he is the first character introduced to the CODM comic series. As of February 2021, he's apparently killed by Templar, and his body delivered to the Ghosts unit by Makarov for as of yet unknown circumstances.
- We Used to Be Friends: He used to serve under the same unit as Mace sometime agonote .
Soap
John “Soap” MacTavish
An SAS commando who was recruited to both Task Force 141 and the Coalition.
- Bash Brothers: With Price (naturally), as well as Mara and Alex.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Like Ghost, this version of Soap seemingly never went through the events of the original Modern Warfare trilogy, and is currently on friendly terms with both Price AND Shepherd.
Price
John Price
- Voiced by: Barry Sloane
A seasoned leader in the ranks of Task Force 141. He used to serve in the Special Air Service with his right hand man Gaz and protégé Soap.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: His original skin/model based on his original Modern Warfare appearance looked pretty derpy. His later skin taken from his Younger and Hipper Modern Warfare (2019) counterpart is seen as a vast improvement.
- The Leader: He's the de-facto leader of Task Force 141 and is an important figurehead of the Coalition.
- Younger and Hipper: Naturally, his skins taken from his Modern Warfare (2019) counterpart are younger and more attractive-looking.
Gaz
"Gaz"/Kyle "Gaz" Garrick
An SAS operative from MW 2019 working in the Coalition under Price.
- The Lancer: To Price.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: In Modern Warfare (2019), the fact that Kyle Garrick went by "Gaz" was meant to be a spoilernote . Here, he's flat-out stated to be Gaz and even uses his "Sabre" outfit (named "Broadsword" here) from the aforementioned game which has his sporting the iconic UK flag cap his original counterpart was known for.
- Race Lift: His Modern Warfare (2019) counterpart is Afro-British instead of Caucasian-British.
- Wearing a Flag on Your Head: The United Kingdom's flag, to be specific.
Dempsey
"Tank" Dempsey
- Voiced by: Steve Blum
An American Marine who serves the Coalition along his zombie-killing friends Nikolai, Richtofen, and Takeo.
- Back from the Dead: As of the premiere of Undead Siege, he's back to life and fighting alongside his comrades again.
- Boom, Headshot!: Courtesy of Mace.
- Death by Adaptation: See above.
- Mission Control: Alongside Nikolai and Richtofen in Undead Siege.
Alex
Alex Keller
- Voiced by: Chad Michael Collins
A CIA agent and former Delta Force operator from MW 2019, Alex works for the Coalition to help bring down the Five Knights. Him and Soap are deployed to Japan to capture Hidora Kai.
- An Arm and a Leg: Gets his leg cut off by a D23 Sector at the beginning of Final Snow, maintaining the status quo set from Season 3 of Modern Warfare.
Adler
Russell Adler
- Voiced by: Bruce Thomas
A deadly CIA agent known for his heavy involvement in the Cold War.
- Age Lift: As the timeline takes place in near future, he is quite old by the time we see him in Season 13 (he would be 84 years old in 2021). If you look closely at his "Mountain Drab" model (lifted directly from Black Ops Cold War), his hair has been tweaked to be grey to match the timeline and his comic appearance.
- Big Good: He seems to be The Man Behind the Man of Captain Price, and the players answer to him at the club during Season 11.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: His face is scratched to hell, but he's a good guy, all things considered.
- Old Soldier: He is 84 years old and can still kick as much ass as he did back in the Cold War.
- Sunglasses at Night: He's never seen without those shades.
Shepherd
General Shepherd
A United States general who leads the Coalition now, as opposed to Task Force 141.
- Adaptational Heroism: In a well known twist, in his home game, Shepherd betrayed and destroyed Task Force 141. However, here, it seems as if he has yet to turn on the Coalition.
- Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Used it on both Menendez and Hidora Kai, to varying results.
The Ghosts
The Ghosts
A group of soldiers aiding Makarov for unknown reasons and then later Adler.
- Adaptational Villainy: Zigzagged. The Ghosts were the heroes of their game, but here they’re aiding Makarov as well as Adler. So it seems as if they’re mercenaries working for the highest bidder, instead of what remains of the US military elite forces in their game (not to mention the US military exist in CODM-verse, just fractured after the coordinated Four Horsemen attacks).
Urban Tracker
- Voiced by: Suzie Yeung
A female soldier serving under the UAC. She is described as being able to "take what she wants and only leave footprints".
- Breakout Character: She wasn't the first female playable character in the game (that honor goes to Outrider), but she definitely left a good impression on the fanbase. She eventually became one of the game's mascots alongside series veterans like Ghost.
- Cat Girl: She wears face paint resembling whiskers, giving off this impression. Taken to a literal extent with her "Peacetime" skin, making her dress up like a tacticool anime catgirl.
- In the Hood: Her "Exile" skin gives her a hooded jacket.
Manta Ray
Naomi "Manta Ray" Mizushima
- Voiced by: Stephanie Sheh
A new, gifted recruit in the field. True to her name, she has a fondness for the sea.
- Action Girl: Kicks a lot of ass for a newbie.
- Canon Immigrant: Originating from the now-defunct, China-exclusive Call of Duty Online.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: She's Japanese, but she speaks in unaccented American English.
- Ocean Awe: She loves the ocean, which is where she gets her callsign from. Taken to its logical extreme with the "Submerged Chaos" Draw, which is her in a diving suit with a bunch of sea-based cosmetics.
Richtofen
Edward Richtofen
- Voiced by: Nolan North
An eccentric German doctor who specializes in the studies (and slaying) of zombies and all sorts of creatures from the Aether.
- Badass Bookworm: As he is also playable in Multiplayer and Battle Royale, he doesn't just slay zombies, but just about anyone who stands in his way.
- Composite Character: He takes the appearance and most of his personality from Primis Richtofen, but has brief moments of insanity that feel alarmingly similar to his Ultimis incarnation.
- Deadpan Snarker: On-brand for him.
- Insufferable Genius: He treats the Strike Team like they're just meatheads doing his bidding instead of capable soldiers.
- Jerkass: True to form, Eddie is still a bit of a dick to his companions and soldiers alike.
- Mission Control: For most of Zombies mode, including Undead Siege.
"The Five Knights"
In General
- Big Bad Ensemble: Much like the heroic side, the villainous faction is a large alliance of the franchise's Big Bads. So far, this includes Vladimir Makarov, Mace, and Gabriel Rorke.
- Mythology Gag: The faction name seems to be based on "The Four Horsemen" of which Vladimir Makarov was the first.
Vladmir Makarov
Vladimir Makarov
A notorious Russian terrorist.
- Asshole Victim: Mace shooting him is probably the most heroic action he's taken over the course of the game's storyline, as it helps tie up a loose end for the heroes. Averted when it discovered that it was staged.
- Boom, Headshot!: How Mace kills him.. or so we thought.
- Et Tu, Brute?: He gets shot and his operation taken over by his right-hand man, Mace, midway through Season 10. Subverted as this was a farce they planned together.
- Mythology Gag: As a Russian attempting to create and weaponize Nova-6, he acts as an Expy to both Nikita Dragovich and Lev Kravchenko.
- Not Quite Dead: As it turns out, he and Mace conspired to fake his death as their plans were compromised.
- Spared by the Adaptation: He appears to died differently compared to the first Modern Warfare timeline, but hasn't died for real yet.
- Surprisingly Sudden Death: In sharp contrast to his status as an Invincible Villain back in his home series, all it takes for him to be defeated is a simple close-range gunshot. This is later subverted as it is revealed that his "death" was staged.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: A rare receiving-end example. When their plans fall through, Mace shoots him and takes over command of the operation.
Raul Menendez
A former Nicaraguan drug kingpin who is the leader of Cordis Die as well as one of the Five Knights. Captured with the help of Mace in Season 2 (2021).
Mace
Callsign: "Mace"
An Operator for the Jackals.
- Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: As of Season 2 (2021), he works with the Coalition to capture the other 5 Knights, personally helping to capture Menendez. While he is restrained before and after entering the field, he doesn't attempt to escape or kill anyone in the Coalition, and even takes a bullet that was going to hit Mara with his armor.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: He dons his rather stylish "Armorer
◊" outfit as of Season 11. - Big Bad: Of Season 10, usurping many villains. Once he's captured by Ghost and revealed to be one of the Five Knights however, he is begrudgingly forced to work with the Coalition.
- The Dragon: To Makarov in Season 10 until his hostile takeover.
- Foil: To Ghost.
- Most obviously, Ghost is fighting for the greater good while Mace is doing what he does For the Evulz.
- Ghost is a British soldier fighting for Task Force 141 and the Coalition while Mace is an American soldier fighting for the Allegiance, the Jackals, and most of all, himself.
- Hero Killer: He has the honor of killing Tank Dempsey.
- Scary Black Man: He is an absolute tank, and extremely efficient at his job.
- The Starscream: He usurps Makarov after their short-lived partnership in Season 10. Subverted once it's revealed to be staged by the both of them.
- We Used to Be Friends: He used to serve under the same unit as Ghost sometime agonote .
- Western Terrorists
Hidora Kai
Hidora Kai
A mysterious Japanese samurai who conspires with Mace.
- Odd Friendship: A villainous example. Kai is a samurai while Mace is an American soldier.
Gabriel Rorke
Gabriel Rorke
A former leader of the Ghosts working with Templar.
- Face–Heel Turn: Just like in his home game, Rorke was one of the Ghosts, but now he seeks to kill them all.
- Not So Invincible After All: In his home game, he was an Invincible Villain who managed to win due to Plot Armor. However, this time he doesn’t seem to be nearly as unkillable.
