Jason Hudson

"Hudson was a fuckin' ice cube, but that's why I liked the bastard."

- Mason

Special Agent Jason Hudson is a CIA agent responsible for handling Alex Mason. He is one of the main playable characters in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

The callsign for his squad during the mission "WMD" is Kilo-1. It is also revealed during the mission "Revelations" that he and Grigori Weaver are Mason's interrogators.

He is voiced by Ed Harris.

Early life
Jason Hudson was born in Washington D.C. on March 26, 1932. Jason was a double major in psychology and political science.

Government Service
He was recruited right out of Georgetown University on recommendations from his academic adviser and former OSS field operative Marshall Bryant (a recipient of the Intelligence Star, 1950).

Hudson is an excellent tactician and skillful mission coordinator, bringing the full brunt of his genius level I.Q to the field. As such, he has earned great trust within the halls of Langley and will undoubtedly go far considering his ability to command a room and crisis management skills. As one associate said, "Jason has a way with words; when he speaks, you can't help but listen."

Though much of his work keeps him away from the front lines, Jason is a very capable soldier (U.S 101st Airborne, honorable discharge, 1955), particularly when the mission calls for an element of subtlety and finesse.

Hudson was the one who introduced Alex Mason to President Kennedy, who gave him his first assignment.

Vietnam
By 1968, the Studies and Observations Group was established in Vietnam to investigate the Soviets' presence. Hudson works together with Mason and Frank Woods defending Khe Sanh.

Clarke Interrogation and the Hunt for Steiner
Later, Hudson and Weaver interrogate Clarke, an engineer who stabilized Nova-6 in Kowloon. Clarke identifies Steiner as part of the conspiracy, and reveals the location of a hidden facility in Mount Yamantau before being killed by Dragovich's men. Hudson and Weaver head to Mount Yamantau to destroy the facility and apprehend Steiner. During the mission, Hudson receives a transmission from Steiner requesting to meet him at Rebirth Island in the Aral Sea to learn how to halt a numbers broadcast with instructions to release Nova-6 gas in American cities. Mason heads to Rebirth Island to assassinate Steiner. Hudson witnesses Mason kill Steiner.

Interrogation of Alex Mason
"DAMNIT! Why can't you remember?!?"

- Hudson when interrogating Mason

Following the death of Steiner, Hudson and Weaver interrogate Mason continuously. Hudson realizes that Dragovich brainwashed Mason to understand the numbers broadcasts, effectively becoming a Soviet sleeper agent. The duo repeatedly play the numbers sequence to Mason, with no avail. Out of options, Hudson deliberately sets Mason free in order to follow him. It is revealed that Reznov died during the Vorkuta break out, and Mason’s visions of Reznov are a result of a personality disorder caused by the brainwashing program. Reznov had, in fact, reprogrammed him to assassinate Dragovich, Kravchenko and Steiner instead of President Kennedy prior to the Vorkuta breakout. After subduing Mason, Hudson plays the numbers recording for Mason a final time, prompting him to remember the location of the Russian cargo ship Rusalka off the coast of Cuba. By dawn, the team launches an assault on the Rusalka, with Mason and Hudson infiltrating an underwater broadcast station protected by the ship, a Soviet submarine station intended to be used as a staging point for US invasion after the planned Nova-6 attack. Confirming that the Rusalka is the numbers station, Hudson calls in the US Navy to destroy the ship and its underwater base. Mason and Hudson finally find Dragovich in the lower levels of the facility and manage to kill him before the destruction of the base, swimming for the surface during the destruction of the targets. Weaver declares victory, but Mason is unsure.

Operation Charybdis
According to the unlocked Intel, Mason never fully recovered from the brainwashing, making the CIA suspicious of his future actions. Weaver and Hudson became targets of suspicion as well for their association with Mason and their supposed complicity in gathering top secret information for Mason. Sometime in 1978, Mason's decision to chase an as of yet unknown lead led the CIA to deem him "burnt" and a threat to national security, along with Hudson and Weaver, who had escaped to South Africa with him. As of October 28, 1978, the CIA was making plans to form a joint task force with MI-6 in order to find and eliminate Mason, Hudson, and Weaver in what they dubbed Operation Charybdis.

Quotes
"The numbers, Mason, what do they mean?!"

- Hudson's repeated question

"Not yet... I have one more card to play."

- Hudson before finally revealing himself to Mason

"Jason Hudson, CIA. Thank you for your time, Sergeant."

- Hudson to Woods after his helicopter landing

"Dragovich brainwashed you, but Reznov had plans of his own. He was never in Vietnam. The real defector with the Nova 6 dossier died during the attack on the MAC-V. He was never in the rat tunnels. He was never at Rebirth Island. Viktor Reznov's been dead for five years. He died at Vorkuta during the escape! All the years you thought he was with you - that was just in your mind!"

- Hudson's revelation to Mason

Trivia

 * Hudson speaks in the mission "WMD" and "Numbers" (where he is a playable character), like Mason speaks in other missions.
 * Hudson can be seen breaching in the facility in WMD in Gamestop's pre-order avatar trailer. His face can briefly be seen, however he wears a balaclava only exposing his eyes.
 * In the majority of Hudson's promotional pictures, he is wearing sunglasses.
 * Hudson can be seen wearing U.S Army name tape.
 * Of the five playable characters in Call of Duty: Black Ops campaign, Hudson was the first one to have his face exposed. Mason's was revealed in a screenshot, and you can also see him unconscious in Rebirth, while Neitsch's and Mosely's faces have not been revealed because they are wearing Pressure suits.
 * Hudson is one of only 22 out of 71 playable characters to have his face revealed (the others being "Soap" MacTavish, Captain Price, C. Miller, Dimitri Petrenko, Viktor Reznov, James Doyle, Alex Mason, the Call of Duty: Finest Hour characters and the Nazi Zombies characters).
 * Hudson's sunglasses appear to be his trademark, the only times we have so far seen him without them are the beginning of the World Premiere trailer when he is in a helicopter, in Revelations and when he is playable.
 * The photo of Hudson in Vietnam while in combat is wrong as Hudson lost his shades before encountering any enemies in the jeep crash.
 * He also bears a slight resemblance to his voice actor; Ed Harris, who starred in The Rock, which had a scene that heavily inspired The Gulag's shower sequence.
 * His resemblance is also similar to Black Ops operator Major Shane Caxton (who in turn was modeled after Ed Harris's character from The Rock) from the anime Black Lagoon.
 * Hudson has a noticeable scar on his temple that runs down his face a bit. He most likely got this during his time in the military.
 * Hudson looks very similar to Major Gordon from Call of Duty: World at War.
 * Mason referred to him as "Mr. Shades" because of his signature sunglasses.
 * Even though Hudson's face was first seen in the new campaign trailers, Hudson was first actually seen is the first teaser campaign trailer without his shades on in a helicopter.
 * Hudson's dossier lists him as in his mid-30's, standing 6'0, and weighing 210 pounds.
 * Hudson is referred to as 'Rock' by his team mates according to his profile. This is a nod to the 1996 film The Rock in which Ed Harris starred in.
 * Hudson is referred to as "Ice Cube" by Alex Mason . This is probably due to the fact that Mason believes Hudson has a cold personality. It could be also a reference to fellow character Bowman's voice actor, Ice Cube.
 * During the five years since the Baikonur mission, Mason was digging through intel and data that's beyond his pay grade, and worse being sloppy in leaving paper trail. Though not approved of his action, Hudson helped Mason to cover his track and warned him of the danger in the email.
 * The informant, known only as "X", warned Hudson in 1978 that his supervisor D. King cannot be trusted, he report to Richard Kain and Kain was keeping watch on Hudson.
 * By 1978, CIA has deemed Hudson, along with Mason and Weaver, as "burnt" and marked for termination, under Operation Charybdis. As of 10/27/1978, CIA higher-ups is making preparations for this, and it'll be a joint operation with the British MI-6.
 * At the main menu if you choose Zombies the character in the window (Believed to be Hudson or Weaver. It was confirmed Weaver was the man behind the glass in the mission Revelations, however Hudson often joins Weaver up there and they switch throughout the story.) will leave and turn/be replaced by a zombie and come back and attempt to break the window.
 * He doesn't seem to get much respect from Woods and Bowman, as they mostly ignore him when he is talking, possibly due to his affiliations - not as CIA but perhaps because he was in the Army before he joined CIA; on the other hand, Mason and Woods were Marines and Bowman was in the Navy before they joined the CIA. The two factions (Army and CIA) have a slight rivalry. There is also a small hatred for the CIA among the US Army as they have been known to take control of missions the Army has control over.
 * You can get a Jason Hudson gamer picture by hacking his account on the terminal.
 * On the Computer on the menu screen, you can log into Hudson's profile with the username: jhudson and the password: BRYANT1950.
 * Hudson as an e-mail that he sent to Mason says to mix his password with someone's name (Bryant) and the year Bryant won an award (1950).
 * Hudson has had three pairs of sunglasses.
 * Because he attended Georgetown University, a private Jesuit university, it is likely that Hudson is Catholic.
 * An observant player can deduce that he is one of Mason's interrogators without any spoilers, if one pays attention to the silhouette in the window, one can easily note that the interrogator has a shaved head, and is wearing the formal apparel that Hudson uses in U.S.D.D. Despite Hudson's voice being altered when he is interrogating Mason, he still speaks in the same tone, so that can be easily deduced as well. Also, similar dialogue when speaking to Mason and Clarke, such as "cooperate, and we will guarantee your safety".
 * In Hudson's computer account accessible from the game's main menu, there is a breakup letter to him from his girlfriend (who is known only by her first initial, the letter A). In the letter she explains that the reason she is breaking up with him is because she feels that he cares more about his country and the CIA than her. It's possible that the identity of the woman is Adrienne Smith, who shares the same first initial as the sender.
 * In Hudson's computer mailbox, there are four messages from John Trent. John Trent was the man who sent the threatening message to John F. Kennedy the day before his assassination. If you read the third message in Hudson's inbox (or the first letter sent by John Trent), it says " You don't know me, but I know Alex Mason. You will learn to trust me. Everything changes on Friday." The message was sent on Tuesday, November 19, 1963, which was three days before JFK's assassination, which was on that Friday, thus making Hudson 'aware' (it is unknown if Hudson knew about the event or not) that something would occur that Friday
 * Hudson in the level S.O.G. is often ignored by Woods.
 * Though Hudson and Weaver are the interrogators of Mason, Hudson refers to himself in third person, most likely not to give Mason any clue about who he really is.