Highlights

  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 brings back familiar faces like Frank Woods, linking the new game to the franchise's classic characters.
  • Fans of the series can expect the storyline of Black Ops 6 to bridge the gaps between Black Ops 2 and Cold War, with Menendez's legacy continuing.
  • The game offers a chance to delve deeper into Raul Menendez's story, potentially exploring his shady activities during the 90s and his impact on characters like Woods.

The narrative for the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 already seems like a huge statement from Treyarch, with its use of real-world political figures and government agencies being very in-line with the Black Ops franchise's earliest roots. The recent Direct presentation for the title finally dropped the curtain in terms of the main characters and core setting of the game's campaign, and a lot of familiar faces are already confirmed to be making appearances.

The Direct presentation for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 of course featured new characters, like protagonist Troy Marshall and CIA insider Jane Harrow, but also made sure to focus on veterans of the franchise like Frank Woods. Long-term fans of the series will notice that the 90s setting of Black Ops 6 is very close to the late-80s flashback sequences of Black Ops 2's story, with Woods being in a wheelchair in BO6 following his near-fatal encounter with Raul Menendez. As the main antagonist of Black Ops 2, Menendez is one of the most pivotal figures in the entire sub-franchise, and Black Ops 6 is primed to feature appearances or, at the very least, references to the character to bridge the narratives of both games even further.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Should Pay Respects to the Legacy of Raul Menendez

The narrative timeline of the Black Ops franchise is now quite confusing, with the series often jumping back and forward through time to tell the tales of its most important figures. Thankfully, fans can ignore the stories of Black Ops 3 and 4 going into the upcoming Black Ops 6, with Black Ops 2 and Cold War seemingly being the most relevant games to the story of BO6. For example, Cold War's Russell Adler will play a pivotal role in the story of Black Ops 6.

Treyarch has made it clear that 2012's Black Ops 2 holds just as much narrative importance, however, with its flashback sequences telling the story of the events between Cold War and Black Ops 6. It has sadly been confirmed that this means that Alex Mason has been killed going into the story of Black Ops 6, with Woods also being forced out of combat due to his disabilities inflicted by Raul Menendez.

Menendez is considered by many as one of the most iconic antagonists in Call of Duty history, as his fifty-year feud with the core Black Ops characters culminates with the figure attempting to stoke a global revolution. While Menendez's conflict with the likes of Woods and Alex Mason occurred mainly in the 1980s, the villain was not fully dealt with until the year 2025. Menendez essentially worked in the shadows between these two dates, but there is still clear room for the antagonist to appear in some capacity in Black Ops 6.

Black Ops 6 Can Flesh Out Raul Menendez's Story Even Further

Of course, it seems unlikely that Menendez will be the main antagonist of Black Ops 6 due to how surprised characters were to see him resurface in Black Ops 2, but it would be a missed opportunity not to make any reference to the figure. Woods' injuries make it clear that Menendez is canon to the story of Black Ops 6, and the player could stumble across references to his shady networking from the shadows during the 1990s. Alternatively, showing the moment where Woods is injured in a more modern game could be worthwhile, as newer fans may be unaware of how he lost the ability to walk. If this happens, an updated version of Menendez could appear in the flesh though a flashback sequence where Woods thinks back to what happened, clearly haunted by the trauma.

Menendez could even appear in cutscenes between the main antagonists of Black Ops 6, maintaining the ignorance of the main characters to his involvement while showing the player how deeply the upcoming game is linked to the story of Black Ops 2. Exploring such an important era of the Black Ops timeline would be incomplete without nods to Raul Menendez - especially with Woods' injuries being put on clear display - and Black Ops 6 finds itself with the perfect opportunity to pay respect to such an iconic character.