Simon "Ghost" Riley

"Bloody Yanks! I thought they were one of the good guys!"

Sergeant Simon "Ghost" Riley was a British character in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 graphic novel comic series Modern Warfare 2: Ghost. He is the second in command of Task Force 141 who is known as the "silent killer" in MacTavish's squad. Ghost is seen wearing red sunglasses and a skull patterned balaclava.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Ghost
The comic miniseries tells of Ghost's exploits before and up to the Modern Warfare 2 conflict. The first mission depicted in the series has him captured in a Ukrainian school that has been taken over by terrorists (who threaten to kill one child each hour if their demands are not met). He passes the time by telling a story of a mission in Mexico. The SAS loaned him to USSOCOM to bust a heroin cartel that has recently begun smuggling terrorists into the U.S. At some point in time, he dons his iconic skull mask and moniker.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Ghost starts actively participating with Task Force 141 when they are deployed to Rio De Janeiro. He helps MacTavish interrogate Rojas's right-hand man Faust and later helps take part in cornering Rojas. He then later helps in securing an oil rig in Russia to facilitate an infiltration operation in a Russian Gulag. He seems to have replaced Gaz as the technical specialist.

While on a mission in the Caucasus Mountains on the Russian/Georgian border, Russia, Ghost and Gary "Roach" Sanderson are investigating one of Makarov's safehouses. Ghost and Roach manage to copy Makarov's files, only to later witness Sanderson get shot by Shepherd and before he can act he is also shot by General Shepherd during the middle of extraction. Ghost and Sanderson's bodies are tossed in a nearby ditch, doused in petrol, and incinerated by Shepherd's lit cigar.

Video
Video:Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 - Shepherd's Betrayal (SPOILER)|Ghost's Death.

Appearances

 * (1 game, 1 comic series, 2 comic books)
 * Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Ghost (First appearance)
 * Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Trivia

 * According to December's DC Comics advance solicitations, Ghost's real name is Sergeant Riley.
 * Upon close inspection, it can be seen that his Skull mask is actually sewn onto his Balaclava.
 * Craig Fairbrass (who voiced Gaz in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare) provides the voice of Ghost.
 * He may be the "Ghost" of Gaz (not literally of course). This is backed up by the fact that he is voiced by the same voice actor and plays the same role that Gaz did in the player's squad.
 * Coincidentally, he also dies in manner similar to Gaz, being shot with a high-caliber pistol on Day 6.
 * In military terms, a "ghost" is someone who is undetectable and is nearly impossible to follow.
 * Ghost is the multiplayer announcer for TF141, this has been confirmed from audio heard in the recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 press conference footage.
 * Ghost is also the announcer for most (but not all, such as Time Trial) Special Ops missions.
 * On Infinity Ward's website Ghost was voted the most favorite (new) character in Modern Warfare 2.
 * His outfit can be bought and worn by your Xbox LIVE Avatar for 400 Microsoft points.
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized, almost all of the SAS dress like Ghost, but without the sunglasses.
 * Ghost wears many different balaclavas, all with different colors, but they maintain the same exact skull paint.
 * One of Ghost's melee takedowns is exactly identical to the one in Call of Duty 4 when Roycewicz is taken down and killed by an OpFor terrorist.
 * An article on IGN has revealed that Infinity Ward is discussing a spin-off game for Ghost, possibly a prequel for him.
 * It's been highly speculated that Ghost's rumored game will be a DLC and that it will take place in the events of his comic series Modern Warfare 2: Ghost.
 * The Bushmaster ACR shown with Ghost during "Contingency" (pictured at the top of the page) may be another nod to Gaz, who's signature weapon is a G36C with a Red Dot Sight, which, by physical comparison, is similar.