One half of Modern Warfare’s dynamic duo – the other being Captain Price – Scottish hard man John “Soap” MacTavish remains one of the most popular and iconic heroes in the Call of Duty franchise to date. Initially starting out as the player character in Call of Duty 4, Soap goes on to appear in 2009’s smash hit Modern Warfare 2 and shows up again in the concluding chapter, Modern Warfare 3. Skilled in a variety of weapon systems, MacTavish is thorough, loyal and at times, prone to hot-headedness. A competent soldier who has risen through the ranks over the years, Soap – an alias he was given for reasons that continue to elude even his superiors – is a bloke you don’t want to get on the wrong side of.
Like Price, MacTavish isn’t afraid to get his hands a little grubby in the field of battle. As such, if an unscrupulous lead has information that needs spilling, Soap’s not going to let a little heated interrogation (i.e., giving them a good battering) get in the way of the mission. This brutal, uncompromising tenacity has ensured Soap and his comrades have lived for as long as they have, and why him and Price in particular make for such a formidable team. Soap knows what has to be done, and like the tough Scott he is, just knuckles down and gets on with it.
Soap’s globe-trotting adventure starts off in the SAS, as our grisly hero, then a sergeant, undergoes training in Credenhill, England. Passing the CQB test with flying colours – and bearing the brunt of his colleagues numerous piss-taking in the process – MacTavish gears up for his first mission; an assault on a cargo ship in the Bering Strait. After barely escaping with his life after the ship is sent to Davey Jones’ Locker by a pair of MiGs, Soap is catapulted on an adventure that will span some five years. The events of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare see Soap and his teammates on the trail of Russian Ultranationalist Imran Zakhaev, with MacTavish involved in a number of key missions across the Caucasus Mountains, Azerbaijan, Russia (where Soap personally corners and witnesses the death of Zakhaev’s son, Victor). In an effort to neutralize Zakhaev’s nuclear capabilities, the SAS team infiltrate the Atlay Mountains where the launch facility is located and successfully disable the threat.
However, upon trying to escape with the rest of his comrades, Soap and his convoy are incapacitated by Zakhaev’s forces on a bridge while en route to the extraction point. Here, a wounded Soap watches helplessly as comrades Griggs and Gaz are executed, with Zakhaev approaching the downed Scotsman as he prepares to deliver the killing shot. However, Loyalists attack the bridge, throwing Zakhaev and his forces off guard long enough for Soap to acquire a handgun from a wounded Price, which he then uses to dispatch his Russian adversary and his accomplices. The danger over, an unconscious Soap is extracted from the dilapidated bridge, though passes out before Price’s fate can be determined.
Over the next few years, MacTavish ascends through the ranks at the SAS and participants in a variety of undisclosed missions across the globe. He was later snapped up by Task Force 141 and attained the rank of Captain, where he lead a squad including Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley and Sergeant Gary ‘Roach’ Sanderson. It’s here that Modern Warfare 2 commences, with the team on the trail of Vladimir Makarov, a terrorist who inaugurates a war between his native Russia and The United States after massacring civilians at Zakhaev International Airport. After teaming up with Roach to infiltrate a base in Kazakhstan and later apprehending arms dealer Rojas in Rio de Janeiro, Soap and his team extricate Captain Price, who had been imprisoned in a Russian gulag following the events of CoD 4.
After narrowly escaping the gulag as it is blown sky high, MacTavish and his squad relocate to Petropavlovsk, Russia, ostensibly to neutralize a nuclear-equipped submarine. However, Price instead fires the missile to utilize it as an EMP that disables the on-going Russian invasion on the U.S. Task 141 then splits into two teams; one squad, comprised of Ghost and Roach and a few others head for Makarov’s safehouses in Russia, while Soap and Price scope out an arms deal in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, General Shepherd’s betrayal becomes evident as the pair are attacked by Shepherd’s troops, with the corrupt general himself brutally executing Ghost and Roach, burning their bodies in the process. MacTavish and Price immediately shift focus and track Shepherd down to his Afghanistan stronghold.
After an intense gun battle against Shepherd’s forces, Soap and Price pursue the general down the rapids via motorboat and scupper his plans of escape by dispatching his Pave Low. However, the trio plummet off the waterfall, with MacTavish momentarily losing consciousness. Waking up some time later, a lone Soap surveys the wreckage of the Pave Low and attempts to corner a wounded Shepherd. However, the general disarms and incapacitates MacTavish, before stabbing him in the chest with a combat knife. Just as Shepherd is about to execute Soap with his .44 Magnum, Price appears and a fight ensues, with Soap catching glimpses of the punch-up as he drifts in and out of consciousness. After a failed attempt to grab Shepherd’s gun, Soap manages to remove the knife from his chest just as the general pummels Price into submission. Doing his best to regain his equilibrium, MacTavish aims and throws the knife at Shepherd, impaling the villain in his left eye socket, killing him. The threat over, Price and Soap are hauled to safety by Nikolai’s chopper.
MacTavish’s third and final appearance comes in Modern Warfare 3, which sees him, Price and flyboy Nikolai labelled as fugitives. After being patched up following his trip to Death’s Door at MW2’s climax, Soap embarks on a mission to eliminate Makarov once and for all, joining Price and newcomer Yuri on numerous excursions throughout the world. After learning of Makarov’s plans to ship chemical weapons to major European cities including London and Paris, the trio heads to Somalia to confront warlord Waraabe, where Soap and Price successfully squeeze some much-needed info out of the criminal. Soap’s final hours occur after the team acquires intel from Team Metal, which sends Price, Soap and Yuri to Makarov’s Prague meeting point. Aided by Kamarov, the trio attempt to assassinate the nefarious Russian chap at Hotel Lustig, with Soap and Yuri taking up position in a nearby clock tower.
Unfortunately, Makarov is one step ahead of them, and detonates explosives planted on Kamarov killing him and destroying a large chunk of the hotel in the process. Charges are also planted on Soap and Yuri’s location, which results in the pair being thrown to the ground below as the structure goes up in flames. While Yuri escapes with relatively minor wounds, Soap isn’t so lucky, and has to be carried by Yuri as Price takes point and cuts through Makarov’s forces to find sanctuary in a resistance safe house. Mortally wounded by the explosion and subsequent fall, Soap manages to divulge some crucial details to Price before kicking the bucket: Yuri was once an acquaintance of Makarov.
With that, Soap succumbs to his injuries, leaving a devastated Price to mourn his friend’s passing before demanding the truth from Yuri and continuing the fight against Makarov. Soap, we salute you, old chap.
Stay tuned to PSU for the next instalment of In the Spotlight.