Frank Woods

"Keep your eyes on the dirt I don't want you shot in the balls!"

- Woods to Mason while Mason has control of the helicopter in "Payback."

Sergeant Frank Woods is one of the main non-playable characters in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Woods is part of the Studies and Observation Group. On Woods' left arm is a USMC tattoo, which suggests his branch of service. Woods also won the VGA 2010 Best Character of the year. Woods is voiced by James C. Burns.

Biography
Woods is from or at least was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served in the US Marine Corps, during which he had much combat experience fighting in the Korean War. This gained him a reputation that led the CIA to recruit him for their Special Activities Division.

Cuba (1961)
We first see Woods in a Cuban bar with Mason and Bowman talking to Carlos in Operation 40. Woods talks to Carlos about the assassination of Castro. Suddenly the police arrive, and when one of them questions Mason, Woods stabs his hand to the table, smashes a bottle across his face, and then executes him. The squad flees to the streets, where the police are waiting for them. The squad fights their way to a car where they escape. We next see Woods at Castro's compound as he, Bowman, and Mason zipline into it. While Carlos and the rebels make the distraction in the air field, Woods leads the raid into the compound. At some point, Bowman splits from the group and continues the search for Castro along the rooftops. Woods and Mason fight their way to Castro's bedroom, where Mason executes Castro with an ASP and either Woods or Mason kill his mistress. Regrouping with Bowman, Woods leads an escape to Carlos's C-130 where Mason jumps off and sacrifices himself for the escape of his squad. Later leading to his capture by Dragovich and Kravchenko, it is here revealed that the Castro they assassinated was a double, and the real Fidel Castro then turns Mason over to the Russians, leading to Mason's 2 year long imprisonment and then escape from Vorkuta.

Operation Flashpoint (1963)
Woods later leads his team to Baikonur, U.S.S.R on a mission to disrupt the Soviet space program at the Missile Launch Facility, and also to retrieve the captured Weaver. Woods and Mason kill two Russians idling and disguise themselves as the enemy. Woods is somewhat fluent in Russian, as 2 more Russian guards talk to him in their language and he answers back. After being exposed and fighting back, Mason and Woods zip-line and smash through a window.They kill a few Russians and finally save Weaver. They go on to the Auxiliary Control bunker, with hopes to abort the launch. They fight their way to the missile and Mason detonates the room with the scientist in it killing them, but failing to stop the missile. But Mason uses the guided missile (Valkyrie Rockets) to destroy it. As they can't stay in the open, they move to the tunnels, with plans of still killing the ascension group. As the mission comes to an end, Kravchenko escapes and there is no sign of Dragovich. It is assumed that he perished whilst inside his Limousine.

Vietnam and Laos (1968)
thumb|300px|right|Woods in Vietnam in the mission "S.O.G."Woods returns as SOG's team leader in Khe Sanh, Vietnam, and along with Jason Hudson and Mason, joined the fight against a major assault on the base by the NVA.

In the mission Defector, Woods led the team to Hue City to recover a Soviet defector along with a dossier that would unravel Dragovich's master plan. While they managed to recover the dossier, extraction became a fight for their lives amid a massive assault by the NVA on Hue City.

Following on the intel disclosed by the dossier, Woods led the SOG team to Laos to uncover Soviet's presence there, specifically those concern the Project Nova head by Kravchenko, under order from Dragovich. But it was at Laos, during the mission Crash Site, Woods and the team found the shot-down Soviet cargo plane that carried Nova 6, but subsequently captured by Kravchenko's men after a firefight.

During Payback, Woods and Mason used the chance when they were forced to play Russian Roulette by the Vietcong to stage their escape. They then proceed to take an Hind from Soviet Forces, and destroy several supply stops for North Vietnamese forces along the way to Kravchenko's Compound. In the final part of mission when Woods and Mason are attempting to kill Kravchenko in his office, Mason was brutally beaten when Woods, sneaking up behind Kravchenko, stabs him in the back. At his last breath, Kravchenko pulls a string attached to the pins of the grenade belt strapped to his body. Thinking quickly, Woods tackles Kravchenko out of the window, apparently sacrificing himself to save Mason as the grenades explode. Woods is presumed dead by everyone, including Mason and later by Hudson and Weaver during their interrogation of him.

Woods' Status
In the message of a mysterious informant codenamed "X", Woods is reported as being a prisoner in Hanoi Hilton, though this is unclear as to whether or not this is the truth. The intel information of the mission Payback (after collecting all three pieces of intel in the level), the level that Woods supposedly dies in, shows in the left border the inscription "Hanoi Hilton" (under a photo of prisoners and in the first photo), and talks about a POW camp in Hanoi; this is probably not a coincidence. An interesting thing to note is that the multiplayer map Hanoi is a POW camp, which doesn't have any references to the Black Ops campaign. It may be possible that Woods is a prisoner in this POW camp. All of these possibilities though may be simply coincidental.

Hudson and Weaver considered Woods, along with Bowman, as dead during their interrogation of Mason. Bowman's death is confirmed, but Woods' death is not totally confirmed, although the likelihood of Woods surviving the explosion caused by the multiple grenades strapped on to Kravchenko is slim, and even if he did survive the explosion, he would most likely be maimed from it. However, Woods could have landed outside with Kravchenko and all of the grenades beneath him, causing Kravchenko to absorb the entire explosion and Woods to survive.

On Call of Duty Black Ops' homepage Treyarch have got an intel update where a journalist (Burns) is talking to Woods. That could be one sure lead that Woods is alive.

One possible theory is that informant "X" is telling Mason that Woods is alive and at the Hanoi Hilton, though this is simply a ploy being used by operatives in Operation Charybdis to lure Mason to the Hanoi Hilton so he can be terminated, possibly with Hudson and Weaver, also burnt and marked for termination in this particular operation. But the message was actually sent a couple months before the preparation of the operation.

Quotes

 * "You see that Hind? We're gonna take it!" - Woods to Mason in the mission "Payback"
 * "Here, take this. Stay hunting, we'll find your Kravchenko. You'make it out of there alive." - Woods giving Mason the flashlight in "Victor Charlie".
 * "Your bird!" - Woods, announcing that Mason has control of the Helicopter.
 * "UV-32 Rockets, 12mm Nose Cannon, these bastards are ready for World War III." - Woods checking the Hind's armament.
 * "Mason we need to go!" - Woods yelling to Mason
 * "Looks don't count for shit in the jungle. This is 'Nam, baby!" - Woods to Mason
 * "Back in '64, the CIA gave up control of covert operations in South-East Asia... handed it over to the US military. From that, MAC-V-SOG was born. Now aside from being a base for the Marine Corps, Khe Sanh is our launching point for all cross-border activities. Mostly Laos and Cambodia. Missions are S&D, sabotage, black propaganda, strategic reconnaissance, POW rescue; You know, the usual shit." - Woods speaking to Mason.
 * "Here, SPAS-12, it'll hold your incendiaries." Woods giving Mason a Dragon's Breath SPAS-12.
 * "Bowman, point! Let's move!" - Woods speaking after he gives a flashlight to Mason.
 * "An animal feeding on his own men's deaths. All he wants is to win, even if that means killing his men..." -Woods to Mason when he asks about Kravchenko.
 * "Evil bastard's days are numbered!"- Woods to Mason, telling him Kravchenko will die.
 * "I'll take her up above the canopy, then hand over the stick."- Woods in Payback
 * "I'll call out targets as I see 'em. All enemy targets are valid, understand? We have coordinates to Kravtchenko's compound. We follow the river all the way." - Woods in Payback
 * "Keep your eyes on the dirt; I don't want you shot in the balls" - Woods after giving Mason control of the Hind in Payback
 * "Good job. That's the last bird those bastards bring down!" - Woods to Mason after they neutralize the SAM sites.
 * "Let me fill in the blanks for you." - Woods to Hudson
 * "Those barrels full of napalm?" - Woods to a marine
 * "Let's fuckin' go." - To Mason after marine confirms the napalm in the barrels.
 * "YOU CAN'T KILL ME!!!" - Woods to a Vietcong during the Russian Roulette
 * "For Bowman!" - Woods to Mason at Payback after Mason killed The Spetsnaz Interrogator
 * "FUUUUUUCK!!!!!!" - Woods when he is about to pull the trigger on the Python during Russian Roulette
 * "Got you now, you son of a bitch." - Woods to Kravchenko after stabbing him in the back
 * "Get the fuck out of the way" - Woods at civilians when Mason is driving the car in Operation 40
 * "Russian Tanks?! No wonder they're getting bold!" - Woods to Mason when they're defending Khe Sahn
 * "If you do that again, I will KILL you!" - One of Woods replies if the player tries to shoot him.
 * "Marines hold your positions" - Woods to a marine
 * "I'll cover you - GO!" - To Mason when saving Hudson

Trivia

 * Woods has "Sergeant", his military rank, tattooed on his left arm.
 * In "Operation 40" Woods is seen with no tattoos; by "Executive Order" he has gotten a few of them, one of which reading "115," a reference to Element 115. However, in "SOG" and the levels after, the "115" tattoo is changed to read "SOG TOUGH."
 * Mason, Woods, Bowman and PFC. Allen are the only characters that are part of multiple factions at the same time in the Call of Duty series.
 * Woods also has a tattoo on his right arm saying "Semper Fidelis," which is Latin for "Always Faithful" which is the motto of the USMC.
 * The CAR-15 Commando seems to be one of Woods preferred weapons as he is seen wielding it in many game images and also in various missions.
 * Players who buy the Hardened or Prestige edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops receive a Woods avatar outfit.
 * The outfit can also be purchased on Xbox and PS3, on the marketplace and in the Alter Ego store, respectively.
 * Despite Mason's superior rank of Captain, Woods is in command of the SOG team that Mason joins. Therefore, Woods issues orders to Mason.
 * In the computer accessible from the game's main menu there is a message to Mason from an individual who goes by the name of "X." It is dated July 4, 1978 and states that Woods is alive and the sole remaining American at the Hanoi Hilton, North Vietnam's largest POW camp. This may hint at a mission to rescue Woods in a sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops, or a DLC.
 * Woods and Kravchenko are both born on March 20, which is coincidental since they both die on the same day, and within each others presence.
 * According to Woods file in "SOG" intel section Woods wants go out with the "biggest fucking bang ever" when he retires, which is actually granted when Kravchenko blows himself and Woods up in "Payback".
 * It's also stated in Woods file that he is a Korean War veteran, and that by 1968 the CIA felt that he was nearing the end of his operational "lifespan" per say as an operative in the Special Activities Division.
 * It is thought that Woods is fluent in Russian, as in "Executive Order," two Russians come to Woods and speak to him to which he responds in Russian. He responds a bit quick, though, like he's trying to get out of the situation.
 * On the computer on the menu screen, you can log into Woods's profile with the username "fwoods" and the password "PHILLY." This password is a reference to him being from Philadelphia.
 * In multiplayer, SOG characters can have Woods' voice.
 * In the multiplayer map Nuketown, Woods' name is on one of the two mailboxes; the other says "Mason."
 * Woods seems to be completely driven by revenge in Payback. Finding Kravchenko seemed to really not interest him and he also seemed to carry it out as another order until Bowman is killed. Then, he feels the need to avenge him.
 * On the terminal, type in CAT NOTEX2.TXT to show a message from "Informant X" telling Mason that Woods is alive.
 * Frank Woods maybe based on Frank Sturgis as they are both from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They both have serve in the USMC and they both are a part of Operation 40.
 * Woods was voted "The Best Video Game Character of the Year" at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards
 * His character model looks similar to Ben Stiller in the film Tropic Thunder. As well as Rambo, as the both have headbands.
 * If the player shoots Woods, he will sometimes mention: "You do that again, I will kill you!" as a warning of friendly fire, although Woods will never actually retaliate.
 * Woods bears a striking resemblence to the character seen on the "Vengeance" movie poster seen at various points in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Gallery
thumb|250px|right|Showing that Frank Woods is still alive in Hanoi.