As the Black Ops franchise celebrates its 14th anniversary, there will undoubtedly be many new players diving in for the first time, alongside those who haven’t had the opportunity to experience every installment in this iconic series.
Each Black Ops game up to this point has followed a cohesive narrative featuring recognized characters and adversaries. In the latest installment, Black Ops 6, three characters from earlier campaigns return to take center stage. Frank Woods, Russel Adler, and Helen Park play crucial roles in this thrilling new espionage adventure.
Before you step into their roles for an immersive six to nine-hour cinematic journey, it’s essential to revisit the origins of the Black Ops saga.
How Black Ops 6 Fits into the Black Ops Timeline
The setting for Black Ops 6 is the 1990s, following the events of the original Black Ops, Black Ops Cold War, and Black Ops 2. The inaugural title took place during the 1960s, while Black Ops Cold War explored the tensions of the 1980s. The narrative in BO2 picks up in 1986, continuing the overarching story.
The Original Black Ops
Frank Woods made his debut during the Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961, a covert U.S.-backed operation aimed at toppling Fidel Castro. The mission went awry, resulting in the capture of Woods’ ally, Alex Mason, who was handed over to the Soviets.
Although Mason managed to escape, he was subjected to brainwashing as part of the Numbers Program designed to create sleeper agents. Woods, Mason, and their colleagues ultimately dismantled the program before it could activate the sleeper agents embedded in the U.S.
Exploring Black Ops Cold War
Thirteen years later, Mason, Woods, and Jason Hudson reunited to thwart a terrorist threat during the heightened tensions of the Cold War. Their investigation led them to a Soviet operative named Perseus, who was orchestrating a sinister plot.
Perseus uncovered a CIA initiative involving the placement of neutron bombs in critical European cities as a deterrent to Soviet incursions and managed to steal one of these bombs. Although the team successfully destroyed the bomb’s detonation code transmitter, Perseus managed to escape.
Eventually, it was revealed that Perseus represented a broader ideology rather than a single individual, shedding light on the difficulty in capturing him.
The Events of Black Ops 2
After retiring in 1986, Mason was reluctantly drawn back into action when Woods was captured during a Central African investigation.
Once freed, Woods sought retribution against Raul Menendez, the leader of the Menendez Cartel, who was responsible for his capture.
In 1989, during an American operation in Panama, Menendez deceived Woods into killing Hudson, whom Woods mistakenly believed he was apprehending. To add to the tragedy, Menendez appeared and shot Woods in both knees, resulting in his later reliance on a wheelchair during the campaign in Black Ops 6.
Hudson made the ultimate sacrifice to save Woods, leaving David, Mason’s son, and Woods to grapple with their profound losses.
The Premise of Black Ops 6
Now confined to a wheelchair and bearing the weight of immense sorrow, Woods heads his own Black Ops team, tasked with nurturing a new generation of operatives. Concurrently, Russel Adler faces a capture-or-kill directive after being accused of being a mole during the Panama incident that led to Woods’ capture.
Helen Park, a British MI6 operative, previously collaborated with Adler on a CIA-backed project, assisting him in managing safehouse operations during the events of Black Ops Cold War.
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