Modern Warfare Reboot Trilogy Managed to Ignore the OG’s Most Iconic Hero

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare‘s soft reboot has had its fair share of ups and downs since it was released. Some love it for the visuals and the reworked characters in the game; others, not really. But Activision missed one who was pivotal to the game.

There wasn’t a great amount of screentime for the iconic Captain MacMillan in the popular military shooter. Him, alongside Price, may have failed to blow Zakhaev’s brain in Pripyat, but he did blow fans’ minds away.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Ignored the OG

No Russian is among the most controversial missions in the popular military shooter series. Credits: Fortunate on YouTube

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Most of the members in the first Call of Duty’s development team had worked on Allied Assault. Credits: MKIceAndFire on YouTube

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Ghost carrying Roach to the extraction point in Loose Ends. DraKulis Cinematic Gaming on YouTube

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Barry Sloane’s Captain Price in Modern Warfare is most certainly gathering intel on things from him. The man, the myth, the legend. This is what I think of MacMillan whenever I think of the soft reboot of the franchise.

Out of several missions I used to play back in the day, ‘All Ghillied Up’ and ‘One Shot, One Kill’ were among those that made the hairs on my neck stand. They still do. The helicopter sequence, and holding the enemies while the rescue forces arrive. Still getting goosebumps as I think about it.

To the elephant in the room, I try to see the latest iteration of Captain Price in the new Modern Warfare as MacMillan. But then it doesn’t work as this character is totally different from what the Task Force 141 leader was.

There were signs in the character played by Billy Murray that showed where the character acquired those skills. When it came to combat, he was ruthless, but he was also a caring man. We saw the emotions boiling out of him post-Soap’s demise.

I miss him now. If there is even the slightest chance of bringing him back, even as a Major General overseeing operations, Activision should have brought him back. That may also cut fans the mustard after what last game in the Call of Duty franchise let them down.

Apart from what the soft reboot of the series gave us, from visuals that were sight for the sore eyes to the mechanics that almost felt real, it had me pumped up when Captain Price mentioned his name during a conversation with Kate Laswell. I hope not all hope is lost.

If Black Ops and Modern Warfare are connected, maybe they’ll bring him back in the former. Young Zakhaev looks more monstrous than the one we saw in Pripyat. And when it comes to taking him down, who would fit the bill better than him?

MacTavish had a Lot of Things in Common With Him and Price Seemingly Don’t Have Either of Them

Where’s Soap when we need him the most? It is something that would never happen if he was with us. He was a martyr in the original series but the sendoff he got in the latter series felt like it was something of an unnecessary act for the writers of the story to include.

Price may have acquired some essential skills from his captain during the Pripyat mission but Soap was naturally Macmillan. During this mission in Call of Duty 4 called ‘Blackout’ where Soap is hunting Russian Loyalists, Captain Price implies that Macmillan would be impressed by his sniping skills.

Maybe that is why Price chose him to be his sniper in Modern Warfare 3 during the ‘Eye of the Storm’. When he is guiding Yuri to the objective point, we can notice similarities between his tactics and the ones MacMillan used while guiding Price.

Though it is not something that happens once in a blue moon during stealth missions, one cannot unsee his actions after seeing them. Most resembling of them is when he an Yuri are crawling through the enemies like the infamous sequence in Modern Warfare where MacMillan and Price are lying in the grass camouflaged.

Then, sadly, ‘Blood Brothers’ follow, and we lose Soap as his wound splits open again. Maybe Makarov knew Price would do something like that, as he was there when Zakhaev’s arm was blown off.

Captain John ‘Soap’ MacTavish was gone for good, at least until 2019. And it happened again, and this time I guess we have lost one damn fine soldier for good. Activision has plans for Call of Duty games until 2027. If we aren’t going to see him, they must bring this legendary veteran back.

What do you think about Captain MacMillan’s character in Call of Duty? We would like to know your thoughts on him in the comments section below.