Who is Call of Duty’s Perfect Deuteragonist?

Call of Duty had some rough and tough characters appearing in its video games and Black Ops features the most of them. From Frank Woods to Viktor Reznov, these hard-headed but charismatic characters are sure to blow anyone’s mind when they get along with the story.

But there are couple of them who deserves the title of ‘Master of Puppets’ as they possess a personality simply no one can match. Jason Hudson, who first appeared in the original Black Ops, and Russell Adler, whom we came to know in Cold War.

Mr. Shades Certainly had a Way With Words in Call of Duty

The first time I played Black Ops back in 2010, it felt like I’d stepped into a world of men. Frank Woods and Joseph Bowmen in a bar planning for their next move for the Bay of Pigs invasion. Interrupted by soldiers, Woods ends up sticking a knife in one of them.

At the moment, Woods naturally became a favorite, up until the Khe Sanh mission, when we finally get to acquaint with, as Alex Mason addresses him, ‘Mr. Shades’ or Jason Hudson. Mason also calls him ‘Ice Cube’ given his calm personality.

He has earned a great trust in the halls of Langley throughout his career for he is one capable agent with some impeccable crisis management skills. maybe that is why he is mostly away from frontlines. One associate even mentions that he has a way with words that one cannot simply help but listen.

In Black Ops: Cold War, Hudson is in charge of Operation Greenlight, a program to insert nuclear weapons in Europe to counter a potential Soviet invasion. He was the one to brief President Ronald Reagan, in the presence of the team, that a Soviet operative called Perseus was said to have stolen a nuclear weapon. That certainly makes him an important one.

As an admirer of Frank Woods, I am thankful to him for saving that hard-headed one, as we all thought he was gone for good alongside Lev Kravchenko. With the help of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi, they brought Woods back before he almost died among those rotting dead bodies.

Such a savior doesn’t deserve the death he received. A couple of shots from SPAS-12 in his kneecaps and a slit on the throat. Right? But he was behind the death of Alex Mason, as he relayed false information to him and Woods.

In a way, it was a right decision, as he was trying to save Mason’s son, whom Black Ops 2 antagonist Raul Menedez was using against him.

And Then Emerged America’s Monster in Cold War

Russell Adler enters the game in Cold War and he was part of the team Jason Hudson was overseeing during Operation Greenlight. But this character was different and somehow appeared mysterious even more than Mr. Shades.

Despite Hudson appearing to be an important one, Adler appeared to be actually the commanding force of the room. He wasn’t given the name ‘America’s Monster’ for no reason. He was definitely a silent beast every time he appeared on the screen.

He had trained as a Green Beret in the past and was recruited to the CIA’s Special Activities Division later. Only a few within Langley knew he existed. Even the ones he worked with didn’t really know well about him.

Some ask, who do we trust with our lives in Call of Duty? Frank Woods or Russell Adler? It would be the former for me. But when it comes to Adler vs Hudson, that question may send me sailing for long hours at the sea.

However, I almost made my mind during this one scene in Black Ops: Cold War when the crew finds out about the truth behind Operation Greenlight. Woods entered a little feud with him but Adler managed to calm everything down.

As soon as Adler deduces what will happen if Perseus detonates the stolen bombs, and Hudson implies none of it would’ve happened if Adler had done his job by killing Perseus in Vietnam, we can see America’s Beast dominating Ice Cube for a while. Adler was indeed an alpha.

But then I also think about Hudson’s sacrifice and the situation he was in before Menendez used Josephina’s locket on his throat.

All in all, I feel that Russell Adler was the better of the two.

As the upcoming Black Ops 6 trailer implies, “don’t trust anyone“, there’s more to the Russell Adler’s story. I hope he still remains the better one when the game ends.

Who do you think was a better deuteragonist? We would like to know your thoughts in the comments section below.