Simon "Ghost" Riley

"Bloody Yanks! I thought they were the good guys."

- Ghost, when the Navy accidentally bombs them while rescuing Prisoner 627 in "The Gulag".

Lieutenant 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.

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 a captured Special Ops soldier wearing a skull-patterned balaclava in a classroom filled with children of a Ukrainian school that has been taken over by terrorists (who threaten to kill one child each hour if their demands are not met). The soldier passes the time by telling a story of his friend, Simon "Ghost" Riley on a mission in Mexico. The SAS loaned "Ghost" to USSOCOM to bust a heroin cartel that has recently begun smuggling terrorists into the U.S. This mission takes place on the Mexican holiday, "Day of the Dead", when Riley and the others wear skull facepaint and skeleton costumes to blend in with the celebrating crowd at the party in which the leader of the Heroin Cartel is throwing. This is presumed at this time to be where he dons his signature skull-patterned balaclava as Riley is shot and assumed dead at the end of Modern Warfare 2: Ghost #1.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Lt. Simon "Ghost" Riley is first seen in Takedown talking to Captain MacTavish via radio while they search for Alejandro Rojas' assistant. After MacTavish and Roach begin pursuing the assistant, Ghost meets up with them at the Hotel Rio and joins the chase. Once the assistant is taken down by Roach, he is seen with MacTavish preparing to torture him. Ghost is then heard via radio for the rest of the mission as he attempts to pursue Rojas through the Favela. After the capture of Rojas, Ghost is heard requesting extraction from Command but to no avail.

Ghost appears in the mission The Hornet's Nest where Task Force 141 attempts to escape Rio de Janiero while being pursued by the Brazilian Militia. He manages to escape with Captain MacTavish and Roach aboard Nikolai's helicopter. He then takes part in the infiltration of the Russian oil rig, which is being made as a makeshift SAM (Surface-to-Air-Missile) site in The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday. After clearing the oil rig, Ghost takes part in the operation to rescue Prisoner 627 (Captain Price) from the Russian gulag. He takes control of the Gulag Security systems and guides MacTavish and Roach to the prisoner.

Ghost does not reappear until Contingency where he helps Captain Price infiltrate a Russian submarine base along with other Task Force 141 members. However, he is shocked after Price launches an ICBM at Washington D.C. where the American-Russian war rages on. Ghost's final appearance is in Loose Ends where he leads a strike-team to search for Makarov at his safehouse on the Georgian-Russian border. However, Makarov is nowhere to be seen but the safehouse is rich with intel. Ghost along with Roach, Ozone and Scarecrow with sniper support from Archer and Toad, protect the DSM while it downloads information regarding Makarov's operations. As the team head to the LZ set up by Shepherd, Ozone and Scarecrow are killed by enemy mortars and Roach is injured. Ghost manages to get Roach to the LZ but they are betrayed by Shepherd who shoots Ghost. Ghost is last seen being thrown into a ditch along with Roach before being doused with gasoline and being set alight by Shepherd's cigar.

Locations
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Task Force 141 (Technical Specialist and Assistant Field Commander)
 * Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - Caught Rojas, Tortured Rojas' right-hand man and escaped on Nikolai's Pave Low helicopter.
 * Vikorevkha 36 Oil Platform - Secured hostages and the oil rig. Phase one of Prisoner Extraction operation.
 * Petropavslok, Russia - Assisted TF141 in the rescue of Prisoner #627. Phase two of Prisoner Extraction operation.
 * 140 Miles East of Petropavslok, Russia - Raided a submarine base with Captain Price and Roach.
 * Georgian-Russian Border - Secured a DSM on Makarov's intel. Betrayed along with Roach and killed by General Shepherd.

Trivia

 * According to December's DC Comics advance solicitations, Ghost's name is Simon Riley.
 * Upon close inspection, it can be seen that his skull mask is actually sewn into his Balaclava.
 * Craig Fairbrass (who voiced Gaz in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare) provides the voice of Ghost.
 * At the end of "Loose Ends", Shepherd shoots Ghost once with his .44 Magnum Revolver. Yet when his body is tossed into the ditch next to Roach's, it looks like there are 2-3 more bullet wounds to his torso. It is likely that he was shot off-camera by a Shadow Company soldier to make sure he was dead.
 * Ghost is somehow able to use a SCUBA mask during the oil rig mission, despite wearing a mask and having no mouth hole cut out for the breathing apparatus.
 * Ghost's ever rising popularity has even prompted people to make their own |balaclava's based off of Ghosts.
 * 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 Task Force 141.
 * 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 Xbox LIVE Avatars for 400 Microsoft points.
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized, almost all of the SAS dress like Ghost, but without the skull design on the balaclava.
 * It is interesting to note that Ghost is the only member of Task Force 141 (apart from Price) who refers to Captain MacTavish as "Soap".
 * Due to his past career in the S.A.S. and his calling of MacTavish by his old nickname, he may have worked alongside Soap before joining Task Force 141, and maybe even Gaz and Price.
 * Ghost wears many different balaclavas, all with different colors, but they maintain the same exact skull pattern.
 * One of Ghost's melee takedowns is exactly identical to the one in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare when Roycewicz is taken down and killed by an OpFor soldier in "The Bog".
 * An article on IGN has revealed that Infinity Ward is discussing a spin-off game for Ghost; possibly a prequel for him. It has been highly speculated that Ghost's rumored game will be featured as Downloadable Content, and that it will take place in the events of his comic series Modern Warfare 2: Ghost.
 * It is strange how voice actor Craig Fairbrass referred to him as being "like the head of the whole S.A.S." in his interview at the London Premiere of Modern Warfare 2, while both Captain MacTavish and Captain Price outrank him.
 * The player can overhear two Rangers talking about how Ghost completed the training course in 8.28 seconds with only an M1911, far faster than any of the Rangers.
 * On a more ironic note, though Ghost is known as the "silent killer," he is very vocal throughout the missions he appears in, to the point to be told to "cut the chatter" in The Gulag.
 * It's highly speculated that Ghost is a Sergeant, but this may be false. It only states he is a Sergeant in his comic book series which takes place a few years before he joins Task Force 141, so in that time frame considering what skilled soldier he is, he may have risen one or two ranks. He also seems to be a higher rank than Roach who is a sergeant himself
 * It's odd how Ghost is always referred as a Sergeant in several places (including the first comic book information on DC Comics site), even though he is said to be a Lieutenant in the first comic book.
 * In The Hornet's Nest, Ghost can actually be seen with a Thumper.
 * In an Interview with IGN Robert Bowling was asked if there is a possibility that Ghost is still alive and he stated "Ghost... isn't exactly dead... but you'll see what I mean soon." This means that in the game for Ghost that it might take place after "Loose Ends" or explain what happened to him after the end of "Loose Ends". This could be true because if you watch when the man pours gasoline on them, it only goes on Roach and not Ghost. Or it could be figurative language as it might mean there will be a game with Ghost taking place before his death. Alternatively, maybe another SAS operator takes his name and visage in honor of him.
 * On the side of Ghost's Xbox LIVE's Avatar clothing's headphones, it says "11/10/09"; a reference to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's release date, which was November 10th.
 * The X-Box magazine says that Ghost will get his own DLC.
 * It is interesting to note that in some levels, Ghost's M4A1 can be seen with a foregrip. However, if you watch Ghost firing the weapon, his hand does not hold the foregrip, it rests on the handguard like a traditional shooting stance.
 * It is interesting to note that Ghost has brown/hazel eyes in the comic, but blue eyes in the actual game.
 * It might be said Ghost is a computer hacker, as in The Gulag, he hacks the system to help Soap and Roach find Captain Price.
 * Although it is a rumor, it is said that Ghost may be getting his own prequel to Modern Warfare 2 some time soon along with the sequel.
 * In the reveal trailer for Modern Warfare 2, one of the scenes in which Soap prepares to interrogate and torture Rojas' assistant, there is someone else holding and sparking the jumper cables. In the game, Ghost would be performing those actions with the jumper cables. This may be an extra or it may be the true face of Ghost. However, this isn't too special, as we've already seen Ghost's face in the comic. That is, assuming that Ghost truly is Simon Riley.

Appearances

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