Captain Price

John Price
Call of Duty character
John Price in Modern Warfare 3
Created by	Infinity Ward
Voiced by	Billy Murray (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3) David Kinsman (Find Makarov: Operation Kingfish)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Information
Nickname(s)	Prisoner 627 (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2) 9051210 (serial number in "Endgame" mission) $ (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3) Black Viking (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3)
Gender	Male
Occupation	British Army, Special Air Service, Task Force 141
Nationality	British (English)

Captain John Price is a major fictional character in the Call of Duty series, being one of three characters to be featured in all of the games in the Modern Warfare series. The other two are Captain John "Soap" MacTavish and Nikolai. Price first served as a Lieutenant under the orders of Captain Macmillan, participating in a mission to assassinate Imran Zakhaev in Pripyat, Ukraine in 1996. He was then promoted to a Captain and took charge of a Special Air Service squad, codenamed "Bravo Team", which included Captain John "Soap" MacTavish, before being held prisoner in a Russian gulag after Find Makarov: Operation Kingfish. After being rescued by Task Force 141 from the gulag, he was assigned to Task Force 141 but was considered a war criminal after he and Captain MacTavish killed General Shepherd. He then participated in a joint operation with Delta Force's Team Metal, rescuing Alena Vorshevsky, and her father, who was the Russian President, after they had been kidnapped by Makarov and his forces. He then killed Vladimir Makarov in a hotel in January 2017.

Character design

The character is said to have been based upon British SAS soldier John McAleese,^[1] who was involved in the Iranian Embassy siege and also co-hosted the television series SAS: Are You Tough Enough? in 2003. He is also a reference to a similarly looking character in the famous war film A Bridge Too Far.^[2] Price's callsign, Bravo Six, is a direct reference to the 1986 war movie Platoon, in which Captain Harris' callsign is exactly the same as Price's. John Price was voiced by actor Billy Murray.

In an interview with Sami Onur, a character designer for Infinity Ward, the explanation was provided that John Price is the grandson of the Price who appeared in early Call of Duty games, though this has not yet been confirmed by Infinity Ward staff.^[3] In the early developments of Modern Warfare 2 (MW2), Price was scheduled to be the player's commander, not "Soap" MacTavish, as he was supposed to be the playable character instead of Roach. This is further explained in the artbook for MW2.^[4]

Personality

Price is known to be ruthless towards his enemies. This can be seen when he tells Captain Macmillan that he was going to "kill them all" after Macmillan asked him what he was going to do with all of the equipment that he had required. However, he is also a man who can be funny at some times, often cracking jokes during missions. Price is also a very caring man. Although he seemed to be very hostile to Soap when they first met, they eventually became the best of friends, and Price was devastated over his death.

Appearances

Price first appeared as a Lieutenant in the mission "All Ghillied Up", which showed him and his former commanding officer in the 22nd S.A.S. Regiment, Captain Macmillan, go on a mission to assassinate Imran Zakhaev in Pripyat, Ukraine. He then appeared again as the commanding officer of an S.A.S. squad, "Bravo Team", this time being a Captain when the then-Sergeant "Soap" MacTavish met him. He then assaults an Estonian cargo ship containing a nuclear device in the Bering Strait with his squad, before going to Russia to rescue the informant Nikolai. The team moves to Azerbaijan after receiving intelligence from Nikolai, and tortures Khaled Al-Asad in a warehouse, before killing him after he picked up a phone call meant for Al-Asad, which was from Imran Zakhaev. After being rescued by a unit of Force Recon Marines, he leads a joint operation between the S.A.S., the U.S.M.C. and loyalists to capture Viktor Zakhaev, Imran Zakhaev's son, but Viktor commits suicide before Soap can restrain him. This infuriates Imran, who threatens to release nuclear missiles at the United States. Price then fights through the facility with his squad and the Marines and manages to self-destruct the missiles. He then escapes from the facility but ends up being badly wounded after an enemy Hind destroys the bridge that he was on. He does, however, manages to slide an M1911 pistol to Soap before losing consciousness, which Soap used to kill Imran Zakhaev. As Soap was airlifted out by Russian loyalists, he saw that a soldier was trying to revive Price but to no avail.

Price survived, and participated in Operation Kingfish, but was captured when he stayed behind to defend the helicopter for extraction from enemy troops, and was imprisoned in a Russian gulag. A few years later, the newly-formed Task Force 141, led by Captain MacTavish assaulted the gulag and rescued Price. Price initially thought that the force were enemies, and this can be seen when he aims his rifle at Sgt. Sanderson before recognizing that Soap is there too.

He joins Task Force 141 but insists that the war in the United States must be ended before they focus on their main priority, which was to eliminate Makarov. He then launches a nuclear missile towards the United States but actually uses an electromagnetic pulse on the eastern coast of the United States. This saved countless lives but also damages all the electrical equipment in range in the Battle for Washington, D.C. He then realises Shepherd's betrayal after Shepherd's men attack him and Soap while they were investigating an arms deal in southwestern Afghanistan. He then tries to tell Roach and Ghost about Shepherd's true colours, but he is too late, and Shepherd kills Roach and Ghost. Price then asks Makarov for intel on Shepherd's location. Makarov grudgingly tells Price that Shepherd is at Site Hotel Bravo, a secret mountain base in Afghanistan. After Price and Soap battled Shepherd's forces in the base and survived an airstrike ordered by Shepherd, they pursue him through a river in a Zodiac. Price manages to shoot down a Pave Low that Shepherd was boarding, but the Zodiac that he is in falls down a waterfall. During this time, Soap attempts to kill Shepherd with a knife, only to be stabbed in the chest by Shepherd with his own knife. Price then saves Soap from being killed by Shepherd with a pistol and engages in hand-to-hand combat with Shepherd, but is overpowered. Soap then manages to get the knife out of his chest and throws it at Shepherd, hitting him in the eye and killing him.

Shepherd is then regarded as a war hero and Price and Soap are regarded as war criminals. Task Force 141 is disavowed and a warrant is issued for Price and Soap's arrests. The pair are rescued by Nikolai, who transports them to a warehouse in India. Soap is now critically ill but survives, and participates in missions again with Price, and a newfound ally, Yuri, who is an ex-Spetznaz operative and Makarov's former right-hand man. They discover that Makarov intends to ship chemical weapons to all national European capitals as a preemptive strike to lead the way for a Russian invasion. Price sends a transmission to London to warn about the impending chemical attacks, but it is too late, and many people are affected as a result of the attacks, including the GIGN. They then travel to Somalia to interrogate Waraabe, a local warlord, after Macmillan gave them intelligence when Price convinced him to aid them as a personal favour "for Pripyat". Waraabe gives them intelligence about Makarov's bomb-maker, Volk, before Price executes him. This leads to Delta Force's Team Metal's apprehension of Volk.

The acquired intelligence from Team Metal leads Price, Soap and Yuri to Makarov's current location in Prague, Czech Republic. With the aid of Sgt. Kamarov, they use the distraction of the local Czech Resistance to reach the Hotel Lustig, where a meeting including Makarov will be taking place. Makarov, however, manages to stop the assassination plot (mainly because he looked directly at Soap when he first arrived at the Hotel Lustig in his convoy) and plants bombs on Kamarov and in the church that Yuri and Soap were providing overwatch from. The blasts reopen Soap's wound and Price arrives at the church to carry Soap to safety while Yuri provided cover fire. Price tries to stop Soap's bleeding but Soap mumbles before he dies that "Makarov... knows... Yuri...". Price is clearly saddened by Soap's death, shouting the word 'no' a few times before putting an M1911 pistol on Soap's chest, which was the same pistol that Price had slid over to Soap a few years ago to kill Imran Zakhaev and the same pistol that Soap returned to Price when they met in the Russian gulag. Gunfire from Makarov's forces then forces Yuri and Price to escape. However, Price punches Yuri down a flight of stairs afterwards, threatening to execute him. Yuri then told Price that he was formerly Makarov's right-hand man in the Inner Circle and that he was present at the meeting in Pripyat where Imran Zakhaev's left arm was severed due to the then-Lieutenant Price's attempt to execute him. He was also present when Makarov gave the order to detonate a nuclear bomb that virtually wiped out the entire U.S. invasion force in the Middle East that was sent to assault the capital and capture Khaled Al-Asad. He also attempted to stop the massacre at Zakhaev International Airport in 2016, but was shot by Makarov after Makarov learnt that Yuri had betrayed him.

Price grudgingly maintains their alliance, and the pair travels to Karlstejn Castle.to learn more about Makarov's current location. However, Price also uses this as a chance for revenge, when he tells Macmillan that he is intending to "kill them all" during their conversation. They also discover the location of Alena Vorshevsky and that her father is being tortured by Makarov for the nuclear missile launch codes. Price then heads to a fortress in Prague and discovers intelligence that Makarov's men have found Alena Vorshevsky in Berlin. They quickly relay the message to Team Metal, and Team Metal tries to save Alena from being kidnapped, but they are too late, and Alena is transported to a Siberian mine. Another joint operation is conducted again between the pair and Delta Force's Team Metal to rescue the Vorshevskys. The operation is successful but Yuri is wounded and Delta Force operatives Sandman, Grinch and Truck die sacrificing themselves to ensure the safety of the Vorshevskys.

Along the ride back to Moscow, Price tells Boris Vorshevsky about the pair's plight and Vorshevsky is convinced. He vows to clear their name and aid them in their pursuit of Makarov. Vorshevsky signs a peace treaty with the U.S., ordering all offensive action against Europe to be halted and giving Price and Yuri the chance to continue their search for Makarov again. The pair discovers that Makarov is seeking shelter in the Hotel Oasis in the Arabian Peninsula following the war's conclusion and launch a massive assault on the hotel, killing countless mercenaries protecting Makarov. They ascend the hotel with Juggernaut armour, but the armour is shredded after an enemy helicopter crashes into the elevator that they were in. They then go to the top floor in an alternate elevator, but another enemy helicopter shoots missiles at the top floor of the hotel in an attempt to kill both men.

Both men survive, badly wounded but Yuri is pinned down by a metal rod. Price then pursues Makarov on his own after Yuri convinced him to leave him alone and not to let Makarov get away again. Makarov tries to escape in a helicopter but Price manages to kill the pilot and destroy the helicopter's controls, forcing it to crash land on the hotel roof. Both men are shell-shocked by the impact and try to grab an IMI Desert Eagle. Price successfully grabs it, but Makarov stomps on his hand, forcing him to let go of the pistol. Makarov then aims the pistol at Captain Price, but Yuri suddenly appears and fires a few shots using his own gun, wounding Makarov. Makarov then fires at Yuri, killing him instantly as he shot Yuri in the head. Price uses this as a chance to subdue Makarov, punching him before tying a steel cable around his neck into a noose. He then slammed Makarov into the glass roof, causing the roof to shatter and both men to fall. Price falls down onto the atrium floor but Makarov is left hanging from the ceiling, killing him. Price then lights a cigar while a faint police siren can be heard.

Other Appearances

An Xbox 360 avatar based upon Captain Price is available for purchase.^[5] Machinima posted a video in YouTube entitled "Captain Price Plays Halo 3", part of their Call of Duty and Halo crossover series, with other Call of Duty characters portrayed playing Halo.^[6] Captain Price also appears in the mobile game Call of Duty: Heroes as the first hero to be unlocked and has a statue skin that can be unlocked for 250 Celerium.

Reception

The character was well received by video game publications and fans alike. This praise included Captain Price being ranked as eight on Game Informer's list of "30 Characters Who Defined a Decade"^[7] and voted as 17th top video game character of all time in Guinness World Records 2011 Gamers' Edition.^[8] He was also one of the 64 characters chosen for GameSpot's "All-Time Greatest Sidekick" poll,^[9] while voted as the eighth-top character of the 2000s decade by Game Informer's readers,^[10] and Complex in 2013 ranked Price as the 26th greatest soldier in video games.^[11] In 2008, The Age ranked Price as the eighth-greatest Xbox character of all time, calling him "the most familiar of the Call of Duty supporting cast and a damn fine army man indeed" and saying "What a guy; what a [mous]'tache."^[12] A GamesRadar's article demanded "a whole game" exclusively starring Price because "Call of Duty 4 's best dialogue comes from Captain Price" as well as its "best missions are the ones in which you play as Captain Price."^[13] GamesRadar's staff further placed him at number 41 in a list of the 50 best game characters of the generation, commenting, "Arguably no other character in the history of games goes harder than Captain John Price. ... Truly, the man is a badass."^[14] He was also ranked as the 48th "most memorable, influential, and badass" protagonist in video games history.^[15]

References

External links

• Captain Price on Call of Duty, an external wiki