Russman

"In case you boneheads have forgotten, the world is broken. Very broken. The dead walk the earth, and what remains of civilization is at the mercy of forces we barely understand."

- Russman

Russman is one of four playable characters in the Zombies game mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

His name was revealed as Arthur Russman in-game by various quotes and also in the credits.

Appearance
His appearance is of an elderly African-American man with white hair, wearing a brown trench coat and jeans. He wears a boot on one foot and a sneaker on the other. Russman also has the appearance of a homeless man.

Background
Russman was formerly an agent from Broken Arrow before an outbreak of zombies at the facility, which was either mistakenly or intentionally caused by other members of Broken Arrow, and possibly himself. This outbreak was connected to the larger global zombie pandemic that followed Richtofen's Grand Scheme. Around the time of the incident, he became homeless, and began to travel around the world. At some point, he met Samuel J. Stuhlinger, and the two traveled together. Russman also commandeered a bus, driven by a robotic driver, to a town in Washington, where he and Stuhlinger met Marlton Johnson and Abigail "Misty" Briarton. It was here that the four survivors were contacted by Dr. Ludvig Maxis, who instructed them into activating the Pylon tower located there, which acted as a polarization device. At the same time, Stuhlinger also heard the voice of Edward Richtofen in his head, telling him to activate the tower in his own method for unknown purposes.

After activating the tower, the group was teleported by Richtofen to a skyscraper in Shanghai. Russman managed to save Stuhlinger, who was talking to Richtofen at the time, from a horde of zombies. However, he was then tackled by a Jumping Jack, and was ripped in half. The other three were killed soon after as well. However, Richtofen then somehow revived them (though they have no memory of being killed), in order for them to carry out his tasks. Once again, Maxis and Richtofen continued to give the four survivors instructions on activating the second polarization device.

After the task was done, the group traveled on foot towards Africa. They set up camp in the desert, planning what to do next. The day after, the survivors proceeded to "the rift", and ended up in an underground Western town. Here, Maxis and Richtofen continued to give the survivors instructions to activate the third tower, and warned them of the other's plans. In the end, their allegiance shapes what happens to them next.

Outcome 1=If the player decides to follow Maxis' side of all three Easter Eggs, Maxis assumes control of the zombies (giving them orange eyes in the process), and sends Richtofen's soul into a single zombie (which has blue eyes). However, Maxis then reveals his true intentions of destroying the Earth to reach Agartha, and informs the survivors that they will perish along the way.
 * -|Outcome 2= If the player decides to follow Richtofen's side of all three Easter Eggs, Richtofen enters Samuel's body and uses him as a physical host on Earth, with his eyes now flickering blue. Maxis, meanwhile, is banished by Richtofen from the systems of Griffen Station for good.

Personality
Russman seems to despise Marlton greatly, which is a mutual contempt. He pities Samuel and often gives support, though Russman occasionally calls out to him when ammunition runs dry. Russman likewise dosen't seem to have much respect for Misty. He is a spiritual person, believing certain things to be a bad omen and referring to some things (like the Mystery Box) as the work of the devil.

He is pessimistic and grumpy a lot of the time, suffers from memory loss and sometimes refers to himself in the third person. As a child Russman got picked on and discriminated against for being African-American, cauing him to develop a big insecurity and to cover this acts like "the boss".

Russman also appears to be fond of explosives, particularly the War Machine. However, Russman holds a high disdain for sniper rifles. Likely it is because of his hate for Marlton, who is very fond of sniper rifles, or perhaps the fact that explosive-launching weapons are incredibly different from sniper rifles.

Quotes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqHcuMET2MI Russman's Quotes

Trivia

 * He is referred to as " in the game files.
 * Russman dislikes Marlton a lot, often mocking him by calling him "Darlington." Stuhlinger also used this nickname to insult Marlton in Die Rise.
 * This relationship is similar to the one Takeo and Nikolai had.
 * Russman refers to himself in third-person almost all the time.
 * Russman has multiple diseases (although this does not affect gameplay), one of which is Alzheimer's.
 * Russman has arthritis which seems to be cured by drinking Speed Cola.
 * Russman also has a bad hip which seems to be cured by Stamin-Up.
 * Russman also has bad eyesight which seems to be cured by Vulture Aid.
 * Russman also has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease which makes his legs weak, this seems to be cured by PhD Flopper.
 * Russman also has a bad knee which seems to be cured by Quick Revive.
 * Russman favors explosive weaponry, such as the RPG and War Machine, with the latter being his favorite weapon.
 * Russman hates the AN-94 as he says "What is this heap of junk?" when purchased.
 * Russman is constipated.
 * Russman dislikes the Mystery Box, often calling it a "Devil Box."
 * Russman loves the Pack-A-Punch machine often calling it an "Angel Machine."
 * Russman has a fondness for the Five Seven, both single and dual-wielded.
 * Russman is the first playable African American character in Zombies.
 * Russman's mother has been dead for 50 years. She was apparently a good cook.
 * Russman's dad has been dead 46 years. He was a good baseball player.
 * His exact age is not known, but in Buried, he reveals he is older than 75 after consuming Speed Cola.
 * Russman has a liking for the Remington New Model Army, as he constantly praises its power.