The Four Horsemen

The Four Horsemen is the name for a group of four men whose aims appear to become the dominant world power and usurp the Russian Federation and start a war on the United States. They are named after the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. It is the player's objective throughout Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare to uncover information on them and eventually eliminate all four. They all have some form of command role in their respective groups. Four Xbox 360 achievements are associated with them, as the player gets an achievement each time they complete a Veteran-level mission that a Horseman dies in, the only exception being The First Horseman, as it is not confirmed that he did die.

The First Horseman
The First Horseman is a somewhat mysterious individual who works for/with Al-Asad, though to what extent is unknown. He is apparently killed during the final fight in the capital, either during the battle or after the nuclear weapon detonates. The only visual reference to him is seen afterward in a photo showing all four Horsemen meeting.

Some theories of his identity include:


 * He could have been the driver of the car in "The Coup", with Zakhaev`s son and president Al-Fulani.


 * It's possible that Al-Fulani is actually the first horseman, and that the driver of the car is merely an OpFor agent. This is supported by the fact that in the photo, the face of this horseman isn't shown, and no mention of him being taken down by SAS or US forces is stated. Al-Fulani could have been with Zakhaev's plan to begin with, but didn't have much to offer, but Zakhaev needed someone to be eliminated that would refocus the world's attention. It's possible Zakhaev had no more use for Al-Fulani and used him as the scapegoat and eliminated him.  In the photo, the Fourth Horseman, Imran Zakhaev appears to be directly speaking to him.


 * It has speculated that the First Horseman is a go-between for Al-Asad and the Ultranationalists, possibly also serving as a political or financial adviser to Al-Asad.


 * "The First Horseman" is also the name of an achievement in the Xbox 360 version of the game. This achievement unlocks when the player beats the level "Shock and Awe" on Veteran difficulty. It is possible that this horseman didn't die as there have been assumed deaths before in this series, a good example is the Imran Zakhaev.


 * It is also possible that the 1st Horseman is the man who Zakhaev negotiates with in "One Shot, One Kill". If so it is possible to kill him as well as Zakhaev.


 * However, due to the time at which the player unlocks the achievement and the fact that the First Horseman is never explicitly stated or indicated to have been seen by the player, the strongest evidence appears to be that he was the one responsible for detonating the bomb in the level "Shock and Awe".


 * It has been speculated that he is the man with Al-Asad in the mission "Safehouse", and is possibly a decoy of some kind. However, this is not possible, because there is an red "X" on his face, therefore, it would be on Al-Asad's face too.


 * It is also possible that he is Vladimir Makarov who appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, who is known as "The Shadow of Zakhaev".


 * Another theory is that he is in fact the successor of Al-Asad as Makarov would be to Zakhaev and his son. This could mean he survived the events of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and is currently leading the OpFor faction only briefly glimpsed in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, who use a similar emblem, and seem to use images of Al-Asad as if he were a martyr. If this is true, he could be the multiplayer announcer in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for the OpFor and a possible character in future installments.


 * It is also speculated he that he is Kreigler, the hostage from "Mile High Club" who supposedly owned the cargo ship from "Crew Expendable", although "Kreigler" does not exist in the final version of the game. It is also speculated he is the terrorist holding the hostage at the end, but again, this mission is not part of the official story.

The Second Horseman
The Second Horseman is Khaled Al-Asad, the leader of an unnamed Middle-Eastern nation following a bloody coup. He is an ally of Imran Zakhaev. He detonated a nuclear bomb in the capital, killing many of the invading U.S. forces. Later killed by Captain Price in the twelfth mission "Safehouse". Beating said mission on any difficulty unlocks “Wrong Number”, while beating it on Veteran awards “The Second Horseman”.

The Third Horseman
The Third Horseman is Victor Zakhaev, the son of Imran Zakhaev. Victor is the commander of the Ultranationalist military forces on the ground in Russia. He committed suicide before he could be caught in the sixteenth mission, "Sins of the Father". The achievement “Desperate Measures” is achieved simply for beating Sins of the Father on any difficulty, while “The Third Horseman” is achieved for beating "Sins of the Father", and the previous mission “Heat”, on Veteran.

The Fourth Horseman
The Fourth Horseman is Imran Zakhaev, a Russian Ultranationalist and leader of the "Horsemen". He supplies Al-Asad with weapons, including a nuclear weapon. He was thought to be dead 15 years before the main events of the game, having been shot by Lieutenant Price and Captain MacMillan, however he survives this encounter and loses only his left arm. He is killed by Sergeant Soap MacTavish in the final mission "Game Over". The Achievement “The Fourth Horseman” is awarded for completing said mission on Veteran.

Trivia

 * The Four Horsemen is a reference to the Four Horsemen in the Bible, warning the world of the apocalypse. Their names were Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death, and their colours (in the same order) were White, Red, Green, and Black, and the riders carry a Bow, a Sword, a Balance (Much like the one that represents Modern day Courts), and a Scythe, and their powers being that the first has a crown, it spreads disease throughout the world, the next being to take away peace from the world, the third being to bring famine to the world, and the fourth being "over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth". It is unknown if each character represents each one of these evils.


 * The three Horsemen that can be seen in the game are all killed by an M1911 pistol.


 * Al-Fulani, Soap, Captain Price, & Gaz are the only ones who saw all three named horsemen in person.


 * Another theory for the First Horseman's death could be that he even could've killed himself.
 * Imran Zakhaev is the last horseman remaining in the game after the other 2 (possibly 3) were killed by the SAS.