New teasers for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 have revealed the return of one of the franchise’s most iconic characters, Frank Woods.
The official Call of Duty blog has shared this update:
“They Died by a Traitor’s Hand
It appears a rogue Black Ops agent has accessed Operator Infil Comms, and has been identified as Frank Woods. Classified CIA evidence is currently out in the wild, and Operators are encouraged to locate this information immediately.”
For those who have not had the pleasure, Frank is one of the main characters of the Call of Duty: Black Ops timeline, and debuted in the very first Call of Duty: Black Ops. He is a former Marine, recruited by the CIA to the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Operation Group, or the SOG for short.
The SOG did several covert military actions in Vietnam, and it was in this capacity that Frank was captured by the Viet Cong from 1968 to 1972. Frank also reappears in the far future of the Call of Duty timeline, but of course, we don’t need to be concerned with that.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is firmly set at the same time as or in the vicinity of the Gulf War. That war occurred between 1990 to 1991, which means we will meet the Frank Woods who just lived through the events of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 & 2.
And Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 in particular is what interests us. At this time, Frank was crippled by that game’s antagonist, Raul Menendez, during the events of the 1989 Panama invasion. Menendez allowed Frank to go free at that time, promising to gain his revenge against him later.
Big story spoilers follow below.
Menendez’ vendetta against Frank Woods is personal. Frank inadvertently killed his sister Josefina with a grenade during an operation targeting Menendez. While Menendez would eventually fall, at the time of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, he has presumably simply manipulated Woods and threatened to keep ruining his life.
There is definitely an information gap between the games as to what happened to Frank in the time of the Gulf War. We don’t entirely know why he is labeled as a rogue agent now, though some fans may have some credible theories.
Could it be that Frank was brainwashed? Is there someone in the CIA now who is targeting Frank and other former members of the SOG? Is “The Truth Lies” code for said brainwashing, or perhaps gaslighting? We may find out soon enough with the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct 2024.
