Monkey Bomb


 * For other uses, see Monkey

The Monkey Bomb (or the Cymbal Monkey, as referred to by Treyarch in Call of Duty: Black Ops or simply the Monkey, as shorthand by players) is a secondary grenade first seen in Der Riese. In Call of Duty: Black Ops, it appears in the maps Kino der Toten, "Five", Shangri-La, and all of the Classic maps. It was created by Doctor Richtofen as shown by a document from vbush. It could possibly be made from the monkey that was bugging Richtofen in the first radio of Call of the Dead. It can only be obtained through the Mystery Box in Zombies.

Overview
The Monkey Bomb was first discovered in Call of Duty: World at War in one of the achievements Treyarch released on their website. The achievement/trophy "Acquire Waffle Weapons!" requires a player to have the Ray Gun, Wunderwaffe DG-2 and the Monkey Bomb simultaneously. In the Der Riese trailer it is shown as a "Cymbal-Banging Musical monkey toy" that has a bomb attached to it. The Monkey Bomb when thrown plays a short jingle, then (after about seven seconds) explodes. It attracts Zombies until the explosion, killing the group of zombies around it. However, the Monkey Bomb will not attract Hellhounds, though the explosion of the Monkey Bomb can still kill them. On the iPhone app, the Monkey Bomb will attract zombies and Hellhounds alike.

Up to three can be carried at a time (except on the iPhone app, where two are received and these are dropped instead of thrown). The Monkey Bomb is used by pressing the tactical grenade button. When thrown, the player will first wind the monkey and then fix its hat (this takes about one and a half seconds). This extends the period before throwing which can be lethal if the player gets cornered. On the iPhone app it takes approximately seven seconds before the Monkey Bomb is dropped. If a grenade explodes next to the Monkey Bomb, it will not cause the Monkey Bomb to detonate prematurely. It attracts all zombies to the bomb for a respite and explodes in a blast. While the explosion is usually non-lethal, it gives the player much needed time to reload, retreat, or revive.

The Monkey Bomb is often thrown to allow the player(s) retrieve power-ups, as it allows the zombies to be distracted with it for a short time while reloading occurs, as well as the retrieval of the power-up itself. Monkey Bombs are also replenished by Max Ammo. Therefore, meaning throwing one is not a waste. Another good strategy is to get close to the horde of zombies around the monkey and either throw Stielhandgranates or fire Wunderwaffe DG-2/Thundergun blasts, which will quickly kill all of the zombies. More points can be achieved if done with a bullet firing weapon, such as an MG42. If a grenade explodes next to the Monkey Bomb, it will not cause the Monkey Bomb to detonate prematurely.

Call of Duty: World at War
In Call of Duty: World at War the Monkey Bomb is a new tactical grenade that can only be obtained through the Mystery Box in Der Riese and is activated by pressing Left Bumper (Xbox 360) or L2 (PS3) on Default Control settings, as with any tactical grenades.

The Monkey Bomb also has two achievements/trophies. The first is "Acquire Waffle Weapons!" which is given to the player when the player has the Ray Gun, Wunderwaffe DG-2, and the Monkey Bomb at once. The other achievement/trophie is "The Might of the Monkey!" which is considered one of the easiest achievements/trophies to obtain of the Map Pack 3 achievements/trophies, because all the player has to do is use the Monkey Bomb once. However, it's completely luck-based, as obtaining the Monkey Bomb from the Mystery Box is completely random and can take some time and points.

The Monkey Bomb's origin is unknown, although evidence that the Monkey Bomb is made from a real monkey can be found in the character biography of Dr. Richtofen where it says: "He has a collection of stuffed animals, most of them posed in positions of terror at the instant of their death." Since Richtofen worked at the Der Riese facility, it is highly plausible that he had something to do with their creation, and that they are in fact stuffed monkeys which he had cruelly killed.

It is also hinted that the Monkey Bomb was once one of Samantha Maxis' toys and is now possessed. This is strengthened by the fact that it says: "Here I come, Sam" or "You're not Sam!" and after a Monkey Bomb explodes, the surviving zombies will sometimes say: "Sam", "Monkey" and sometimes even "Play time!" This is further backed up by an easter egg in Der Riese. If the Monkey Bomb is thrown in the furnace it will not play a song, instead it will hop around and crying out in pain. After the monkey explodes, a female voice, presumably Samantha, yells at the player: "Why are you so cruel to Mister Monkey!? Mister Monkey just wanted to play!".

Call of Duty: Black Ops
The Monkey Bomb appears unchanged in Kino der Toten, "Five", Shangri-La and all of the classic maps revamped from Call of Duty: World at War.

It also appears as a power-up in Dead Ops Arcade. When obtained, a large Monkey Bomb is placed and zombies run towards it, like in the other maps. This monkey will lie on its back. This only happens in Dead Ops Arcade. Unlike in other Zombies maps, not all zombies will run after it.

The Monkey Bomb does not appear in Ascension or Call of the Dead, as it is replaced by the Gersch Device and the V-R11, respectively, as each does something different to attract zombies.

Usage
The Monkey Bomb's ability to distract zombies can make it one of the most useful tools in Zombie mode. It is most commonly used to avoid a horde of zombies or to avoid getting cornered. However, the time it takes to prepare the Monkey Bomb for throwing can be disastrous, as the player may get cornered regardless and killed because there is such a long time for preparation and throwing, also the player may get cornered by zombies that are running towards the Monkey Bomb; they will not attack the player while the Monkey Bomb is active, but in their obsession to get to the Monkey Bomb they may unintentionally corner the player and kill the player after the monkey has exploded. Due to this, the player should consider the place where he or she wants to throw the Monkey Bomb to avoid getting unintentionally cornered. Also, be aware that the monkey begins to attract zombies only after it has landed. This can make a difference if the monkey is thrown far away instead of close to the player. Therefore, calmness rather than blind panic is advised.

The Monkey Bomb can be used for a variety of things. More common usages of the Monkey Bomb are to avoid zombies, especially on harder waves, or to gain some time to safely revive a downed teammate. However, the Monkey Bomb can also be used as a way to gather a mass of zombies which can easily be shot to provide easy and quick points. It can also be used when the player's magazine is out of ammo and needs to reload, or when needing to switch to a weapon with a long-drawn time to extract and prepare for firing, though as the Monkey Bomb itself takes about two seconds to prime and throw, it would be faster to switch to the other gun anyway without throwing the Monkey Bomb. Also, it can be used if the player is about to buy another weapon from the Mystery Box, which naturally takes approximately five seconds to obtain the weapon after opening the box. The Monkey Bomb allows for a safe reload, or weapon swap, during the time it distracts zombies.

Another more useful tactic with the Monkey Bomb is to throw it when a power-up is dropped. Sometimes a Max Ammo or Nuke can make the difference between life and death, so throwing a Monkey Bomb to collect these is something to consider, especially on higher rounds. It is particularly advisable to do this for a Max Ammo since obtainment replenishes all Monkey Bombs anyway.

Trivia

 * On the Monkey Bomb's hat there is the Group 935 logo.
 * Sometimes, if the player throws a Monkey Bomb it will just disappear, but the player will still do the throwing animation. This also occurs if the player is downed while preparing the Monkey Bomb. The animation will continue, but the Monkey Bomb will not be thrown.
 * The Monkey Bomb will sometimes say: "What the Fu-" before blowing up, the last word being cut off; a reference to the WTF Boom, a popular internet meme.
 * If the "give all" command is used via the console (in the PC version), the player will get 12 special grenades. Nine will be Molotov Cocktails thrown like normal grenades and the three will be Monkey Bombs that will not make any sounds and will not attract zombies. However, if the player has already received Monkey Bombs before using the "give all" command the three Monkeys Bombs received from the command will attract zombies and make sound. This does not increase the number of monkeys that can be carried though, as this will stay the same.
 * In Samantha's intact room in Kino der Toten, a monkey can be found lying on the pillow facing up, right next to the Film Reel. Instead of a bomb strapped to its back, it has a basket with drawing tools.
 * The Monkey Bomb screams if the player throws it in the furnace in Der Riese.
 * On the Zombies loading screen it mentions the Monkey Bomb as a "Cymbal Monkey".
 * While being distracted by the Monkey, zombies may still attack the player. On occasion, the Monkey Bomb will not explode when thrown.