A Retrospective on the Jumpscares

[RadZakpak]

Recently I've been thinking about the random little easter eggs throughout the series, and one that stuck out to me today was the series of jump scare images we have seen in Black Ops II and Black Ops III. The most recent, from Shadows of Evil makes the most sense in retrospective. The zombified version of Richtofen from the Giant foreshadowed his appearance in the comics. Then there's the jump scare on Origins, which I think isn't totally complicated. It just seems to be a skull, possibly of one of the knight's templar buried at the dig site. I also don't think the scream that accompanies the image is totally notable.

 

But there is much more to discuss in regards to the jump scare of Mob of the Dead, pictured here:

Now the way I see it, there is a few possibilities to the identity of this face.

1. This is a character we knew at the time Mob of the Dead released, or it is a character we know about now in retrospect, but the face is not similar enough for us to have said for sure.

2. This was meant to foreshadow something or someone to come but their role in the story was dropped leaving this loose thread.

3. The face is a random zombie just meant to scare you. What leads me to this conclusion is the way the eyes are set apart and what looks like veins all over the face.

4. This is a Treyarch employee and they put the face in as a sort of in-joke.

 

Now honestly, I don't think this easter egg will be explained in the future due to its insignificance, so I don't see the harm in discussing it. If it was a cut future character or a Treyarch employee, we will never really know until Treyarch says so. But let's just assume neither of those are true for the sake of fun, shall we?

The running theories range far and wide. Basically any male character with facial hair has been thrown into the mix.

- Russman (I can see it and it would have been relevant during the map's release, but it just wasn't similar enough.)

- Nero Blackstone (I can see this one due to the mustache, and it is worth noting that as of 2013 they probably hadn't finalized the look for Nero for 2015, and probably could not have predicted he would be played by Jeff Goldblum. So if they really planned that far ahead there's no way they would know exactly what the character would look like.)

- Shadowman/Mr. Rapt, or Monty (Again, I don't think they knew what actors would portray these characters in the future and may have initially designed them this way. Also we don't know what the Shadowman's alter ego, Mr. Rapt, looked like.)

- Maxis? (They knew what he looked like as they were probably working on the initial designs for Origins as Mob released, but the face doesn't look too close to me.)

- A zombie (As I said before the face has what looks like scars or veins, and the face is clearly troubled in some way. Plus the eyes seem strangely set apart. The only thing against this theory is also in the eyes, as the retinas and pupil can be seen when every zombie seen in game and comics has had their entire eyes glow.)

 

Honestly, I don't think this image was meant to have any significance, but there very well could be something here. I'd love to hear thoughts on this.

[Guest]

Could be and reminds me of the many screenshots I had to take for “The Gift” Music vid. Every transition had something in it which was amazing 

[anonymous]

Or...another possibility. One thought by @PINNAZ, but I cannot find the topic anymore where he posted it. It sounds very random, but he found the face look very similar on this guy's face:

Spoiler

Soviet captain Viktor Reznov. There are more clues to Russians in MotD: aside from the well-known "Nikolai, Nikolai, why am I keep hearing that name" quote, we should not forget that if you PaP the Ak-47, a weapon only seen in MotD, it is called "Reznov's Revenge". Revenge is another word for Vendetta, the name of the Stalingrad mission in WaW, in which Reznov has a major role. Also, after MotD, the first map with red-eyes undead is Gorod Krovi. I'm not saying that the jumpscare actually is Reznov, but let's take that as an option as well.

 

It has nothing to do with the Jumps are, but there is something else odd with Reznov. As you might know, Reznov misses his right index finger. And do you know where a right index finger is seen?

Spoiler

Like, has Reznov ever been to Der Rise Waffenfabrik? Kinda fits with this letter:

Quote

"Comrade. I hope these schematics reach you in time so our scientists can make use of them, for I know the western front is on the brink of collapse. These schematics I have stolen from Group 935 will enable us to construct our own wonder weapons which will help us turn the tide of the war and give us victory over the German pigs. I fear, however, I will not live to see this. — V"

Was Reznov present at the Der Riese facility at one point, stealing the schematics for the Riese/Gigant robots or for the Thundergun?

 

VENGEANCE IS MINE - V.R.

 

Erm, a bit off topic, but @RadZakpak I've finally seen the movie Django Unchained, and now I know how you got all those names and stories of Schultz, Hilde and Brünhilda :P. The film was truly amazing, and it opened my eyes about slavery in that time. I mean, I knew black people were seen as a lower race, but in that movie it gets clear that black people were not even seen as humans! Just as meat. As trade products. The only difference with cattle was that cattle are not mistreated that badly. Wheew, that scene with the dogs (Masha) and the gladiator-like Mandala-fights, it is still printed on my eyes. Also made me realize what we have achieved in this relatively short period between then and now. I mean, slavery still happens but not legally and not that large-scale as back in those days. And most people look to each other as equal beings, not as a master-slave relationship.

[RadZakpak]

3 hours ago, anonymous said:

Or...another possibility. One thought by @PINNAZ, but I cannot find the topic anymore where he posted it. It sounds very random, but he found the face look very similar on this guy's face:

  Reveal hidden contents

Soviet captain Viktor Reznov. There are more clues to Russians in MotD: aside from the well-known "Nikolai, Nikolai, why am I keep hearing that name" quote, we should not forget that if you PaP the Ak-47, a weapon only seen in MotD, it is called "Reznov's Revenge". Revenge is another word for Vendetta, the name of the Stalingrad mission in WaW, in which Reznov has a major role. Also, after MotD, the first map with red-eyes undead is Gorod Krovi. I'm not saying that the jumpscare actually is Reznov, but let's take that as an option as well.

 

It has nothing to do with the Jumps are, but there is something else odd with Reznov. As you might know, Reznov misses his right index finger. And do you know where a right index finger is seen?

  Hide contents

Like, has Reznov ever been to Der Rise Waffenfabrik? Kinda fits with this letter:

Was Reznov present at the Der Riese facility at one point, stealing the schematics for the Riese/Gigant robots or for the Thundergun?

 

VENGEANCE IS MINE - V.R.

 

Erm, a bit off topic, but @RadZakpak I've finally seen the movie Django Unchained, and now I know how you got all those names and stories of Schultz, Hilde and Brünhilda :P. The film was truly amazing, and it opened my eyes about slavery in that time. I mean, I knew black people were seen as a lower race, but in that movie it gets clear that black people were not even seen as humans! Just as meat. As trade products. The only difference with cattle was that cattle are not mistreated that badly. Wheew, that scene with the dogs (Masha) and the gladiator-like Mandala-fights, it is still printed on my eyes. Also made me realize what we have achieved in this relatively short period between then and now. I mean, slavery still happens but not legally and not that large-scale as back in those days. And most people look to each other as equal beings, not as a master-slave relationship.

I had never heard that theory before and that sounds very plausible to me! I mean at the time of Der Riese's release they had just finished the WaW campaign months prior and were now drafting the campaign for Black Ops, so placing Reznov in the story would make a lot of sense and I'm surprised he has not been in more. I may just have to fit that in to the Storybook somewhere... My only problem with Reznov losing his finger at Der Riese is if that is the case the mission where you first meet him in Stalingrad doesn't make sense, because he has a rifle with him yet cannot fire it without his finger, so it must have been blown off recently. So unless broke into a 935 encampment in Stalingrad that had these schematics for Der Riese, I don't know if it is related, unless this is an alternate history. But as for the jump scare, it does not look much like him but I am open to the possibility. If he is a character we know, I could see him being an early version of Nero, as it looks a lot like him in this image, just zoomed and distorted:

 

 

And I'm glad you liked Django! One of my favorite movies. I would recommend the spiritual successor also by Tarantino, The Hateful Eight. It isn't as action packed as Django and takes place mostly all in one location, and it doesn't have any returning characters. But it takes place after slavery was abolished an tensions were still high in the US, and a bunch of untrustworthy people are trapped in a cabin during a blizzard, and they have to unravel a mystery about the other people they are staying with. It also stars Michael Madsen (Finn O'Leary of Mob of the Dead).

 

Another Quentin Tarantino movie I think you'd like is Inglorious Basterds if you have not seen that. It's a World War II movie with the same type of lighthearted-yet-intense revenge tone that Django has, and Christoph Waltz (Dr. Schultz) plays a Nazi and he is fantastic at it.

[Guest]

 

Thats a Nero quote from SoE not MoTD.. The one about Nikolai. Also the 1 thing that gives me hope for possible progression in this would be the fact that Victis lay dormant beneath Alcatraz in stasis chambers.. ?  DAJANGOOOOOO!!!!

[anonymous]

The Illuminati and Victis stuff in Alcatraz happens after MotD, I believe, so the cryptogenic status chambers weren't there yet during MotD, and the jumps are. And what? Does Nero say that as well in SoE? I'm pretty sure Weasel says this in MotD as well. So Nikolai has not only something to do with Alcatraz, but with Morgan City as well. That's interesting. What has he to do with the Hellish reality SoE and MotD take place in?

 

@RadZakpak Inglorious Basterds I've seen already. Kinda reminded me of Kino Der Totem to be honest, and a good film as well. I'll keep The Hatefully Eight in my mind!

[Guest]

 

 

July 3rd, 1941

Stanley Ferguson reports that the laboratory has been completed, and that the subjects will be placed in the stasis chambers upon arrival.
 

July 4th, 1941

Richtofen returns to the lab under Alcatraz where he meets Victis, arriving from the Empty Earth with the Kronorium. Upon reading the Kronorium, Richtofen discovers numerous timelines documenting their fates and learns about the Blood Vials. He would later write on the page "I know now what I must do - E.R. 4/7/41." Richtofen enters a rift to acquire the blood of Sal and Finn. After delivering the blood to his younger self and recovering the blood vials belonging to Victis he returns. Victis is place 'on ice', to be kept safe until they are needed next.
Primis arrives to collect the Victis blood samples from Richtofen. Following Primis' departure, Richtofen learns the location of the Summoning Key and travels to his next destination.

 

October 1st, 1941

Stanley Ferguson leaves employment at Alcatraz.

October 21st, 1943

Posing as Mr. Rapt, the Shadowman hires the Reporter to recover artifacts from the South Pacific and Russia.

December 14th, 1943

The Reporter recovers the artifacts from the South Pacific and Russia. Among them is the Summoning Key.

December 25th, 1943

As per Mr. Rapt's request, the Reporter speaks to Stanley Ferguson, a retired guard from Alcatraz. Stanley gives a detailed account of the deaths of Al Arlington, Billy Handsome, Finny O'Leary, and Sal DeLuca.

December 31st, 1943

At Mr. Rapt's request, the Reporter arrives in Morg City to take in it's sights, sounds, and smells.

January 15th, 1944

A meteor shower rains over Morg City

January 30th, 1944

The Reporter notes strange mold now growing all over the city. He also notes people are getting sick and acting delirious.

February 13th, 1944

A Fruit Vendor tells the reporter about the Ancient Order of the Keepers, and how they're the only ones "holding back the forces of the apocalypse." He talks of people hearing "chanting...from beneath the city."

March 30th, 1944

The Reporter sends Mr. Rapt a telegram, providing details and contract information for Nero Blackstone, Jessica Rose, Floyd Campbell, and Jack Vincent.

April 5th, 1944

Aware of the Shadowman's actions, Monty writes to the Reporter, warning him to not give the Summoning Key to anyone.