John "Soap" MacTavish (Original)

"Right...what the Hell kind of name is "Soap", eh? How'd a muppet like you pass selection?"

- Captain Price

Sergeant "Soap" MacTavish is one of the main characters in the game, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and is to be featured in Modern Warfare 2 as a Captain and commanding officer of Gary Sanderson, the main protagonist of Modern Warfare 2. He plays a major role during the Ultranationalist crisis, a newcomer to the British SAS and part of Captain Price's Bravo Team. Soap is one of the characters the player will assume the role of, and is the primary protagonist.

Biography
"Soap" begins his SAS career hours before the six-day global war begins. He starts out as a Sergeant, unusual in that newcomers to the SAS are demoted to Trooper so that they must learn from the ground up. He is given a quick training session in weapons and techniques by Gaz, before being introduced to Captain Price and the rest of Bravo Team(this quick training session is mainly used as a new player tutorial, as it has no real purpose concerning the story). Passing the Close-Quarter-Battle test (intended to be reminiscent of the real SAS "Killing Houses") he is placed on the team and briefed on the mission, to infiltrate and assault a Cargo Ship in the Bering Strait. On board the ship, they discover a nuclear bomb bound for Russia, though enemy MiGs interrupt their investigations, and Soap is just lucky enough to escape with his life, being forced to leap for the ramp of their helicopter just as it begins flying away which causes him to lose his grip just to be rescued at the last second by Captain Price. Upon completing the mission, Soap, Captain Price and Gaz move into Russia to extract the informant who supplied them with the intelligence for the Cargoship, a man codenamed Nikolai. Working in close conjunction with Russian Government Loyalists led by Sergeant Kamarov, they successfully locate and extract Nikolai from the battle zone, though their helicopter is shot down by Ultranationalist anti-aircraft missile fire. Bravo Team, Nikolai and another SAS Operator are forced to fight their way through enemy lines, before being provided with support from an AC-130 Spectre Gunship, callsigned "Wildfire". They are extracted by helicopter under cover of heavy air support from Wildfire.

Soap's next mission would take him to Azerbaijan, with Bravo Team. Clearing through an abandoned village, Soap was witness to Khaled Al-Asad's execution by Captain Price. The next day, it appears Soap was designated the team's support man, being equipped with both an M249 and M21 sniper rifle. He was placed in charge of covering the team's retreat with the Minigun from a downed Black Hawk (destroying several Ultranationalist Helicopters in the process) and detonating the explosive charges placed at Phase Lines Bravo and Alpha.

MacTavish's final mission (that we know of) saw him infiltrating Russia as part of the joint task force of US Marines and SAS Operators in order to eliminate Imran Zakhaev's nuclear capability. He was in charge of destroying the electricity supply to the facility, and then, during the escape, provided all-around covering fire for their jeep as they made their way to the extraction site. Fighting fiercely at the bridge during the penultimate battle, he was thrown to the floor and severely injured by an exploding tanker. He was pulled into cover by SSgt. Griggs, moments before Griggs was killed, and watches helplessly as Imran Zakhaev and his bodyguards execute Gaz and two SAS Operatives. Just as all hope seems lost, a Loyalist Mi-28 gunship destroys the ultranationalist Mi-24 Hind, forcing Zakhaev and his minions to turn away from Soap and open fire on the hellicopter. A heavily wounded Captain Price slides Soap his M1911 pistol, and Soap personally killed Imran Zakhaev and two of his bodyguards. Soap whites out as he is being extracted by helicopter. His fate initially remains unknown, however, in Modern Warfare 2 it is revealed he survives and becomes a Captain.

After those events, Soap is eventually promoted to Captain. Now a grizzled, battle proven veteran, he is called to be part of the Task Force 141, as a new crisis strikes Russia.



Epilogue
After the end credits, the level Mile High Club loads where an unspecified SAS operative and his team (also known as the One-One Team) are storming a large jetliner attempting to rescue a hostage under a difficulty dependent time limit. The event takes place outside of the previous storyline and no briefing is given making it nothing more than an Easter Egg. The introductory monologue makes a reference to the film "Airplane!", and it has become something of a fan favorite.

Trivia

 * The man with the mohawk in the Modern Warfare 2 trailer is Soap, proof being the unpacking of the game's Prestige Edition which includes a sculpted head of Soap seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMSS12iY1X0
 * The man with a slight Scottish accent talking in the full length trailer could be Soap since he leads Task Force 141. Though this is more seen as a russian accent and said to be Vladimir Makarov.
 * "SAS Soap" is a medical cleaner comprising of "Salicylic acid and Sulfur". It's used to get rid of bacteria and fungus on skin complaints.
 * June's edition of Game Informer revealed that Soap will return in Modern Warfare 2 as a non-playable character; he will be a Captain.
 * Soap has the most impressive kill count of all the playable characters in Call of Duty, taking down multiple helicopters, at least four tanks, the main antagonist in the game and countless Ultranationalists in the span of six days, as well as many more Ultranationalists during Modern Warfare 2
 * Soap is the second playable character to be involved in a sequel, although in Modern Warfare 2 he returns as an NPC. The first returning character was James Doyle, but as a fully playable character.
 * In Call of Duty 4, his face was never revealed nor was he heard speaking until Modern Warfare 2; his appearance would place him in his early to mid 20's in Call of Duty 4, indicating that in Modern Warfare 2, he would probably be in his early to mid 30's with a 5 o'clock shadow.
 * The left side Capt. Soap's face has scars, most likely acquired during Game Over.
 * In the June issue of Gameinformer you can see that in one of the pictures of him shows him scaling a mountain and in his holster is a M1911 pistol. This might be the same one he used to kill Zakhaev in Game Over.
 * "Soap" appears to have adopted the many mannerisms of Cpt. Price. For example:
 * He apparently likes to smoke before missions, like in Cliffhanger (much like Cpt. Price in Crew Expendable).
 * Like Cpt. Price, Soap apparently uses the same kinds of aggressive tactics and close-combat fighting uncharacterstic for a person becoming of age like him.
 * In Cliffhanger, the part where he saves Sanderson is very similar to what Captain Price does when Soap goes onto the helicopter in Crew Expendable.
 * He has a beard/5 o'clock shadow similar to Cpt. Price

Fate
It wasn't until information about Modern Warfare 2 was released that it was certain that he survived. He will not be a playable character and instead will take on the role of Sanderson's CO, a Captain.

Appearances

 * (2 games)
 * Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (First appearance)
 * Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2