"Tank" Dempsey

"Field Report: Final entry. Well, this is it. The end game. I know what I have to do. Richtofen's barely holding it together, but I gotta believe he can go the extra mile. None of us really know how this is gonna play out, but we all know it's the only way forward. I can only hope that our souls may find a better future."

- "Tank" Dempsey

Corporal "Tank" Dempsey is an American Marine who fought in the United States Marine Corps, and is a playable main character in the Zombies game mode. His player indicator color in World at War and Black Ops is white (shared with John F. Kennedy and Sarah Michelle Gellar), but is randomized in his appearances since and including Moon. An alternate version of Dempsey is introduced in Origins, and reappears in Call of Duty: Black Ops III as a main, playable character in The Giant, Der Eisendrache (which features the Original Timeline "Tank" Dempsey), Zetsubou No Shima, Gorod Krovi, Revelations, and the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 map Blood of the Dead.

Original Timeline
"Tank Dempsey: American hero. Hand him a loaded weapon, a good woman, and something to shoot at and he is happy. Enrage him and he will rip your guts out and use them as a bandolier. Dempsey was selected for this mission after he showed his true grit during the Battle of Peleliu. Remarkable though it may seem, his unit was captured during the early raids before the main invasion, and he spent 2 weeks in a rat infested bamboo cage submerged in malarial water. Well that did not stop The Tank. After he gnawed his way through the cage, he then gnawed his way through his captors armed only with a Bobby pin and his Medal of Honor which he keeps secreted in various body cavities. Now you know there is no before the war for Dempsey, and there is no after. There is only the legend of Tank Dempsey, and how he will win the war for the rest of us."

- Dempsey's biography added with Map Pack 2 in Call of Duty: World at War.

On August 31st, 1945, United States Marine Corporal "Tank" Dempsey was sent to lead a squad consisting of himself, John "Banana", Smokey, and a fourth Marine to an Asylum Facility at the Wittenau Sanatorium located in Berlin, Germany ran by Group 935 to extract an American spy named Peter McCain.

Arriving on September 6th, 1945, and with no sign of Peter, the group are confronted by massive hordes of Zombies. Dempsey ends up as the lone survivor of the zombie outbreak at the Asylum. He is then captured by the Germans and is sent to be experimented on by Group 935.

On September 17th, 1945, Dempsey arrived at Group 935's Siberian Facility as a replacement of one of the three main test subjects experimented on by Dr. Edward Richtofen, a Mexican man named Pablo Marinus. Alongside fellow test subjects, a Soviet soldier named Nikolai Belinski and a Japanese soldier named Takeo Masaki, each are exposed to serums and Element 115, causing memory loss, and in Dempsey's case, loss of intellect, as Richtofen stated "his intellect seems low, but his will is strong."

On September 27th, 1945, Dempsey, along with the other test subjects, are put to sleep until further need to reawaken them.

On October 14th, 1945, Dempsey along with the other test subjects are reawakened by Richtofen. With no memory of who they are or who Richtofen is, Dempsey, along with Nikolai and Takeo, agree to help him. The four would become known as Ultimis.

On October 21st, 1945, Dempsey along with the rest of the Ultimis crew venture off to Group 935's Rising Sun facility in Japan to obtain Richtofen's diary. Unknown to Dempsey, along with Nikolai and Takeo, the plans Richtofen detailed in his diary are to take control of the Zombies and destroy the crew along with Samantha Maxis, who is the current controller of the Zombies, once he obtains the power from the M.P.D.

On October 28th, 1945, Ultimis then returned to Der Riese. Following Richtofen's orders, they planned to use the teleporter to teleport to the moon and confront Samantha. Unfortunately, the Wunderwaffe DG-2 overloaded the teleporter and sent them through time, which caused Richtofen to drop his diary.

From Der Riese, Ultimis teleported through time and space and ended up at the Kino Facility on October 28th, 1963, another station once ran by Group 935, which was located at an abandoned theater in Germany. Unbeknownst to them, they begin to receive help at this point from Dr. Monty, a Keeper, who added changes in the background across time with things such as chalk drawings of weapons on the walls, helping Group 935 come up the idea to make Perk-a-Colas, etc. Ultimis located a Lunar Lander and flew to the Ascension Facility in Soviet territory, which is where Richtofen finds out his diary is located. Ultimis then arrived at the Soviet Cosmodrome on November 6th, 1963 and following Richtofen's orders, freed Gersh, a scientist who worked for the Ascension Group from the Casimir Mechanism, after Samantha corrupted Yuri Zavoyski, another scientist of the Ascension Group, and obeyed her wish by tricking Gersh into activating the Gersh Device. The rift created by it absorbed him and allowed Samantha to travel through. Richtofen recovered his diary, and learned that they need the Vril Device from the Siberian Facility for his plan. Maintaining his ethereal form, Gersh sent Ultimis into a rift to their next destination before beginning his travels across space and time.

The group then teleports to Group 935's Siberian Facility on March 17th, 2011, where George Romero is filming a zombie movie with four well-known actors. Samantha, in her pursuit of Ultimis, unleashes an undead outbreak. The celebrities find the group trapped in a small room. The film's stars fight the undead horde, ultimately recovering the Vril Device for Richtofen. Ultimis then teleports to the exotic jungle where Richtofen once teleported to in one of his experiments, now known as Shangri-La, in an effort to acquire the next artifact Richtofen stated he required to defeat Samantha: the Focusing Stone. Ultimis soon arrived at Shangri-La on April 25th, 1956. Ultimis discovered explorers Brock and Gary, who are trying to find Agartha. During an eclipse, they're unwittingly trapped in a time loop. With the help of Brock and Gary, the group assist Richtofen in acquiring the Focusing Stone.

Having everything necessary to complete his plan, Richtofen teleported the group to Hangar 18 in Area 51 on October 13th, 2025. Overrun by zombies, Ultimis quickly ran to the teleporter in the hangar, which teleported them to Griffin Station on the Moon. Using the Vril Device and the Focusing Stone, Richtofen had completed his Grand Scheme and swaps bodies with Samantha on the Moon, giving him full control of the zombies and the Aether. Dempsey, along with Nikolai and Takeo then realized Richtofen's scheme for unlimited power and attempted to stop him by contacting Ludvig Maxis, who was present at Griffin Station on the Moon. Instead of helping the trio, however, Maxis manipulated them by claiming that Richtofen's link could be destroyed by launching three missiles to sever the link from Agartha and the Moon. The trio went forward with the plan to fire the missiles, only for the Earth's ozone layer to become polluted, and for the explosion as a result of the missiles to create more zombies and further chaos.

Sometime after the destruction of the Earth, Dempsey along with the rest of the Ultimis crew end up time traveling from the Moon in 2025 and back to the Pentagon in the 1960s as revealed in Classified. The four were discovered by Schuster and Cornelius Pernell, who recognized Dempsey and Richtofen, the latter being brain dead due to Samantha’s soul no longer inhabiting his body. Dempsey and the others are then held captive in Hanger 04 on Groom Lake for potential Element 115 experiments from the US Government. Dempsey is alive but traumatized by the fact that Richtofen used him and the others and the destruction of the Earth as heard while in Groom Lake. Later, Dempsey is seen along with Nikolai, Takeo, and Richtofen in a cell in Hanger 4. When Takeo expresses confusion on how they are back on the Earth despite blowing it up Dempsey simply puts it as “More time travel bullshit.” Dempsey is also confused on how Richtofen got his body back despite witnessing him switch souls with Samantha. Moments later, the Primis crew teleport in the cell, being led by Primis Nikolai. After uniting the team as one and telling the Ultimis crew that they must leave quickly, Primis Nikolai says that a war must be fought with Dempsey saying “War? What kind of war?” Primis Nikolai replies by saying “A war unlike anything you have seen before. The Great War.”

Dimension 63 Timeline
"Corporal Tank Dempsey: American Hero. Originally assigned to intercept Dr. Edward Richtofen in Northern France, Dempsey now fights alongside Nikolai, Takeo and Richtofen as they attempt to put an end to the enemy war machine once and for all. Though he's seen more than his fair share of bloodshed, nothing could have prepared him for the events of Der Eisendrache…"

- Dempsey's biography for Call of Duty: Black Ops III

On November 19th, 1917, Corporal "Tank" Dempsey of the United States Marine Corps was sent to spy on the German Group 935 due to reports of "prototype armored weaponry...strange lights in the sky...a mysterious plague...and even giant metal men," in Northern France. Specifically, he was assigned to grab a member of the organization as a H.V.T., and was given a transport in the form of a Mark IV Tank.

On April 14th, 1918, Dempsey reported, despite ongoing battles, he has fared well in Northern France. In a personal letter, he reveals that both the Japanese and Russian Armies have also sent spies to investigate the activities of Group 935.

On June 4th, 1918, Element 115 completely awakened the undead knights from The Great War and quickly consumed the camp. Dempsey, along with Russian spy Nikolai Belinski and Japanese spy Takeo Masaki unite with German scientist Edward Richtofen on the battlefield and help free a girl named Samantha from her imprisonment in Agartha. The four uniting marks the return of Primis from the original Great War, as the group were reincarninated versions of them. Samantha, who had been freed and sent to the House, then sent Primis to their next destination.

Dempsey, along with Nikolai and Takeo, upon learning of Richtofen's multi-dimensional travels, attempt to stop him for fearing that he will disrupt the established continuity of the dimensions. After several dimension jumps and failed attempts, they arrive at the Original Timeline which has been slightly altered due to Richtofen's past actions of travelling through universes and killing his other selves, at the Der Riese facility on October 13th, 1945, just moments after Ultimis Richtofen trapped Maxis and Samantha in the teleporter with Fluffy. Dempsey, Nikolai and Takeo confront Ultimis Richtofen, telling him that there is a chain of events that must be carried out, and prompt him to awaken the original versions of themselves.

As the zombie horde approach them from outside, Richtofen ignored the three's warning and turns on the teleporter, only to find Primis Richtofen inside. Primis Richtofen then shot the Ultimis Richtofen in the head, killing him instantly. This triggered a fracturization across the original timeline. While the group expresses disappointment in Richtofen for tampering with history, he defends his action, believing that what he does will be to secure a better future. While the others fend off the zombies, Richtofen pretended to use the Summoning Key to acquire the original Richtofen's soul, which Dempsey noticed. Eventually, the four activate a beacon in the facility, allowing Maxis from another dimension to locate them.

After acquiring a Giant Robot from the Der Riese facility, the four pursue the scattered remains of Group 935 to Griffin Castle, codenamed "Eagle's Nest", on November 5th, 1945. The Germans had captured Ultimis Dempsey's cryo chamber from being experimented on by Ultimis Richtofen and planned to bring him to Griffin Station, with Primis close behind until a German soldier fires a Panzerschreck at the Giant Robot, disabling it before it could retrieve Ultimis Dempsey. After arriving at Griffin Castle, the young four watch as a rocket containing the Ultimis Dempsey launches to the Moon. After making radio contact with Dr. Groph, Ultimis Richtofen's second-in-command, Richtofen masquerades as his Ultimis, older self in order to fool Groph. However, Groph becomes suspicious of Richtofen's change of personality and announces him as an imposter. Using the Death Ray, the young four managed to bring the rocket containing the Ultimis Dempsey back to the castle, much to Groph's anger, who activated a failsafe so they couldn't touch the chamber.

Using the Vril Device obtained from the crash site, the young four awakened a ghost Keeper and help it return it to its physical form before it returns the favor and brings the M.P.D. from the Moon to the castle. However, the Keeper becomes corrupted, forcing the four to battle it, eventually defeating it. After defeating it, Groph expresses his extreme anger, vowing to destroy them and the castle itself. In order to tie up these loose ends, the four use the Summoning Key to launch several missiles towards the Moon, destroying it, ultimately destroying Griffin Station and killing any Group 935 scientist at the station, including Groph. After walking towards Ultimis Dempsey's cryo chamber, Richtofen activated the Summoning Key, forcing the others to levitate in the air.

Here, Richtofen's plan is revealed to the Dempsey and the rest of the group. Richtofen planned to kill the Ultimis versions of themselves to be put in the Summoning Key like he supposedly did with his own at the Der Riese facility. When Dempsey himself sadly put his older self down, Richtofen briefly comforted him after it was done, showing that he had laid his previous dislike of Dempsey off to the side. Richtofen then captured the Ultimis Dempsey's soul in the Key.

Dempsey and the other three then travel to a different fractured timeline, to an island, arriving on a Japanese vessel heading for a Division 9 Facility on October 18th, 1945, before being caught and the Summoning key being taken away from him. A brief fight ensues with the Japanese soldiers with Richtofen burning one alive before he notices the Key rolling toward the ocean, luckily Takeo had managed to barely catch the Key by his fingertips much to Richtofen's relief. The four then are forced to swim to a nearby island after the ship blows up. Later, Dempsey was present when the Ultimis Takeo Masaki was cured from being a Thrasher to collect his soul.

After the Ultimis Takeo honorably sacrificed himself for a better future, Richtofen then preserved his soul. Initially Dempsey suggested going after the Ultimis Nikolai but Richtofen said a "chain of events " must be set in motion. Realizing that he wants to save his three comrades from their eventual fate, Richtofen then takes them to Alcatraz on July 4th, 1941, where he meets his younger self and acquires the Victis blood samples. Then they jump to another fractured timeline, in a war-torn Stalingrad on November 6th, 1945, to kill the Ultimis Nikolai Belinski and place his soul in the Summoning Key. Eventually the four are teleported out of the sky and parachute in front of Ultimis Nikolai's mech while he is distracted with vodka and listening to "The Ace of Spades" on his radio.

Upon seeing them the Ultimis Nikolai attempts to kill them until a dragon throws him into a building. Later, Dempsey and the others make a temporary truce with the Ultimis Nikolai in order to kill the dragon. Afterward, Dempsey and the other three demand Ultimis Nikolai to surrender to which he refuses and betrays them. After the Primis Nikolai kills his Ultimis self, Richtofen opens a portal in the sky with Maxis' help and lights a beacon from the Summoning Key which releases the Ultimis Nikolai, Takeo and Dempsey. After this, he says they will see Maxis soon.

Later, the mysterious voice contacts Dempsey, Nikolai and Takeo informing them that Richtofen can't hear him. He congratulates the crew on their progress of fixing the fracturing universe. However, he informs them that Richtofen had been searching for years for the correct versions of them to close off the dimensions, suggesting that the original timeline versions of the characters were the ones who determined the universe's disorder and fates of the incarnations of the alternate versions of the characters in other universes, who have all been erased due to the originals being killed off. He also tells them to not trust Richtofen and that's he's been in "The House" for "ages". Finally, the voice introduces himself as Doctor Monty, claiming it's so nice to see the characters.

Letters


"November 19, 1917 It seems beyond doubt that Fritz is up to no good. Air reconnaissance suggests prototype armored weaponry is being tested in Northern France. Scuttlebutt reads like the ramblings of a mad man; strange lights in the sky... a mysterious plague... even giant metal men. I'll be at the site within the week to learn the truth with my own eyes..."

- Tank Dempsey



"April 14, 1918 After far too long waiting on the sidelines, we finally got our first taste of combat. Our actions at Belleau Wood seem to have brought their Spring Offensive to a grinding halt. We even heard talk that Fritz has nicknamed us the 'Devil Dogs', following the allround ass kicking they took... and that's fine by me. We intercepted communications suggesting that we're not the only nation to learn of the enemy's plans. Scuttlebutt is that the Russians & Japanese are looking to grab a slice of the action. Things are going to get interesting."

- Tank Dempsey

Ultimis Dempsey
Ultimis Dempsey is a stereotypical United States Marine who is brash and self-satisfied. He thought highly of himself and his country, such as having a preference of using American made weapons. His narcissistic attitude, along with his tendency to break the fourth wall, was often used as comedic relief. He had a trend of using derogatory terms to refer to the Zombies such as "freakbags" and "maggot-sack".

He was also adamant on trying to figure out how he knew Richtofen before the events of Shi No Numa, as he was always suspicious of him. He despised Richtofen, liked Takeo and had mutual feelings towards Nikolai.

Primis Dempsey
Primis Dempsey is much more focused on the mission. When playing on solo, he updates his situation with field reports. While his attitude still remains vulgar, he now shows less aggressivenes and profanity, and is more inclined to use other weapons as well. As he never encountered Richtofen before and was just briefed about him, but as the journey continues, he grows suspicious about his intention. However, the relation becomes less tense after the event of Der Eisendrache. He remains neutral with Nikolai and Takeo, and tries to calm them down when they are upset.

Trivia

 * Dempsey's favorite Perk-a-Cola is Juggernog and his least favorite is Quick Revive.
 * Dempsey thinks Stamin-Up is sour.
 * Dempsey says Double Tap "tastes chewy."
 * Dempsey has a strong dislike for fish, as mentioned when he is disgusted each time after drinking a Quick Revive soda.
 * In Kino Der Toten, he says that it tastes like "fermented herring dipped in cat piss."
 * However, in Gorod Krovi, Dempsey says Quick Revive tastes delicious.
 * The Original Dempsey hates the Original Edward Richtofen, who in turn hates him as well.
 * However, in Origins, they are both more mutual in tone due to being alternate versions and the situation at hand.
 * In The Giant, Dempsey has once again become suspicious of Richtofen, in the ending of the Der Eisendrache Easter egg Dempsey states he should never have trusted Richtofen when the latter reveals his plan to kill Dempsey's Original self, despite this after Dempsey euthanized his Original self Richtofen briefly comforted him showing that Richtofen seems to no longer hate Dempsey.
 * Sometimes when Pack-a-Punching on The Giant, Dempsey can mention that he forgot why he hates Richtofen.
 * In Zetsubou No Shima, Dempsey and Richtofen make fun of each other in some quotes and Dempsey is still skeptical of Richtofen, showing that the two don't think too highly of one another yet are still friends.
 * Original Dempsey seems to disrespect Original Nikolai Belinski.
 * In the Original Characters Trapped Easter egg, Dempsey and Nikolai appear to be drunk together, demonstrating how Dempsey does not actually hate him.
 * In Origins and The Giant, he and Origins Nikolai seem to be on good terms, although their relationship becomes strained in The Giant.
 * In Der Eisendrache, their relationship begins to heal, with both of them becoming more suspicious of Richtofen.
 * Original Dempsey treats Original Takeo Masaki with much respect, but Takeo does not seem to return the same feeling, until Shangri-La where he begins to subtly reciprocate, and shows it more openly on Moon.
 * In Origins and The Giant, Origins Dempsey's friendship with Origins Takeo has gotten better as he and Takeo both agree to keep an eye on Richtofen, and their conversations are friendlier than with Nikolai or Richtofen.
 * This however is later strained in Der Eisendrache, due to Takeo's fixation with Richtofen's knowledge of the Emperor.
 * This later seems to be healed in Zetsubou No Shima.
 * Dempsey often calls the Wunderwaffe DG-2 the “Wonder Waffle", which has sparked a trend among the community, who often do the same.
 * On several occasions, Original Dempsey will break the 4th wall in his voice lines, commanding the player to get more ammo and even criticizing Treyarch themselves for having electricity in an ancient temple.
 * Rarely, while using the Pack-a-Punch machine, Dempsey will sing the jingle for Juggernog.
 * By the time of Kino der Toten, Dempsey has grown a small beard, and by the time of Ascension, he is covered in dirt and blood. This blood is gone in Shangri-La and returns in Moon.
 * In a file on the computer terminal, it says that part of the original Richtofen's super-soldier experiments were the original versions of Dempsey, Nikolai, and Takeo.
 * The Original Dempsey has a five-year-old daughter.
 * The Original Dempsey was briefly mentioned by Richtofen on Green Run, along with Nikolai.
 * In Der Eisendrache, Origins Dempsey mentions he was once kicked by a horse.
 * The Origins Dempsey had a cat.
 * In a wisp found in Revelations, Dr. Monty refers to Tank as "Thomas" and "Ringo", jokingly citing them as his first names. This is a reference to Thomas the Tank Engine from the long-running children's TV show Thomas & Friends, and the show's first narrator, Ringo Starr.
 * According to Monty, Dempsey holds the universe record of most one armed pushups; even in the universe where everyone only has one arm.
 * It is also revealed that Dempsey once made a bet that he could eat fifty hard boiled eggs in fifteen minutes for fifteen dollars. He regretted it almost immediately after winning and feared for his life.
 * Monty reveals that once Dempsey had gotten his testicles painfully stuck in bedsprings and lived to tell the tale.
 * Further more, Dempsey is able to throw a grenade farther than a professional baseball player.