Highlights
- Call of Duty 2024 may be set during the Gulf War and within the existing Black Ops timeline if leaks are to be believed, but a reboot would have its upsides.
- A reboot of the Black Ops franchise could bring back beloved characters like the iconic villain Raul Menendez.
- Rebooting the Black Ops universe would give Treyarch the opportunity to tell new stories with its best villain, as Menendez cannot appear in a Gulf War game without breaking the established canon.
Based on the latest leaks, Call of Duty 2024 may be set during the Gulf War and within the existing Black Ops timeline. While a new setting is exciting, as Call of Duty has yet to properly explore this time period, the game continuing the existing Black Ops story has its pros and cons. On the positive end of the spectrum, fans who care about the existing Black Ops lore will be rewarded. Existing characters can be further expanded to become even deeper, too. However, a reboot also has potential.
The less obvious benefits of a Call of Duty: Black Ops revival include a return of the first Black Ops game’s chair escape Easter egg, but the more pronounced upsides are worth discussing as well. A fresh start would mean beloved characters like Viktor Reznov could make a comeback, though protagonists are not the only characters to consider. After all, Black Ops boasts one of the best villains in the Call of Duty franchise, and a reboot can introduce newer players to Raul Menendez.
Raul Menendez Deserves a Resurgence Like Vladimir Makarov
The benefits of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s rebooted universe have become clearer as time has gone on. Proper relationships have been forged between characters like Soap and Ghost, while depth has been added to factions like Shadow Company and new characters like Farah have been smoohtly incorporated. Despite all of this, fans are most excited for the return of Vladimir Makarov, something that will finally be happening with the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Call of Duty has wasted no time capitalizing on the No Russian tease from Modern Warfare 2’s post credits scene, with the new Makarov already revealed for the sequel. This has led to a lot of hype given Makarov’s reputation as a terrific foe in the original trilogy, and fans are interested to see how this version will stack up to the original. While some things will likely be similar, such as a vendetta against Captain Price, others could be different this time around. The same thing could happen with Raul Menendez.
2012’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is beloved for its multiplayer mode and the latter half of its Zombies releases, but its campaign was also a major strength. Choices that impacted the game’s ending as well as side content and optional challenges made for a replayable singleplayer experience, though it was the story that stole the show. Telling a tale in two timelines meant a wider variety of weapons, sure, but it also allowed for a single villain to influence the lives of Alex Mason and his son David.
While another Cold War-era game would be necessary for a Black Ops reboot to recapture the magic of the franchise, Raul Menendez’ debut could be teased in a post credits scene similar to Makarov’s debut, with the game showing a look at a cartel several years after the Cold War. The sequel could then focus fully on Menendez, potentially even splitting his war with the Mason family into two games. Given how great of a villain Menendez was in Black Ops 2, his story and charisma is surely enough to support two games.
Just like the new Modern Warfare has an opportunity to take Makarov in a few different directions, Treyarch rebooting the Black Ops universe would give the developer a chance to tell new stories with its best villain. Perhaps this time around, Mason could be tricked into killing Woods and the story could be flipped on its head. While Black Ops Cold War had a strong narrative without a villain that was constantly present, most fans believe that the best Black Ops campaigns were found in its first two entries. Good villains - especially Raul Menendez - were a part of that early success. Menendez cannot appear in CoD 2024 without breaking the established canon, so Call of Duty rebooting Black Ops is the only way to bring him back into the fold.