Joseph Bowman

"You don't scare me. Communist piece of shit..."

- Bowman's last words.

Chief Petty Officer Joseph Bowman is a SOG operative who appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops. He is Woods' right-hand man. He appears in almost every mission played by Mason up until Payback, in which he is killed. He is voiced by O'Shea Jackson, better known as "Ice Cube."

Death
After being captured by Viet Cong fighters, Bowman is brutally clubbed several times in the back of the head with a lead pipe by a Spetsnaz operative when he refuses to play Russian Roulette at the beginning of "Payback." According to his dialogue, he purposely angered the interrogator in order to kill him, supported by what he says, "I'm tired, I just wanna end this.", though before Mason enters to play Russian Roulette, the narrator (Mason) says that "Bowman had given up".

Trivia

 * His face bears a striking resemblance rapper Ice Cube, his own voice contributor.
 * Ice Cube also voices the announcer for the SOG, so it is possible that Bowman may be the announcer.
 * Throughout the entire campaign, Bowman is the only African American soldier.
 * In the mission Crash Site, Bowman crosses himself after the forward gunner of the boat is killed. This action implies Bowman is a Christian.
 * He is also the only person in the campaign who addresses Mason by his first name. In S.O.G he says, "It's good to see you, Alex."
 * After Bowman is killed by "The Russian", his body disappears after the cutscene. Though a soldier appears to start dragging him away when the camera loses focus on him.
 * In earlier trailers it appears Bowman was going to be white as he looks more paler than he does in-game.
 * Bowman and Woods appear to be good friends, which is indicated as Bowman arrives to Mason, Hudson and Woods in Vietnam, leading the duo to ignore Hudson as they leave.
 * Also when Bowman was killed, Mason screamed at the top of his lungs and swore to kill the Russian; when chasing him down, Woods yelled something along the lines of "That bastard's gonna die," and when they killed him finally, they both said, "For Bowman."
 * It is strange how Bowman died before Woods, but on the dates it says Woods died first (Woods:2/12/1968 Bowman:2/19/1968). Note: Woods was present when Bowman was clubbed to death. (This could be because they were presumed dead when captured in the plane wreck)
 * Bowman appears to be multilingual because in Executive Order, he speaks to the Soviet soldiers in Russian to get them out the way of a door before killing them with Brooks. Bowman also seems to understand Vietnamese, because in The Defector Woods asks Bowman what the NVA are saying over the loudspeakers, which Bowman translates into "Kill the civilians".


 * Bowman carries some similarities and traits from the Call of Duty 4 SSgt.Griggs :
 * Both were African-American.
 * Both were killed by Russians.
 * Multiplayer announcer for their own faction.
 * Right-hand men for their leaders.
 * When Bowman is clubbed to death, you could see blood coming out of his head and nose.
 * Both faces bear a striking resemblance their own contributor (also, both contributors are rappers).
 * If you listen to the sound of the announcer on multiplayer it kind of sounds like Bowman.
 * In the mission "Operation 40", Bowman is seen looking at the dancer in the bar, though when he turns back to look at the map he puts on a "disgusted" face.