Joseph Allen

"So how do I look?" "Like one of the bad guys."

- PFC. Joseph Allen and General Shepherd

Private First Class Joseph Allen (AKA Alexei Borodin) was a playable character and the main protagonist in the early part of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. He is introduced in "S.S.D.D." helping Sergeant Foley train Afghan National Army troops at Firebase Phoenix in Afghanistan. He then undergoes a selection phase for Task Force 141, running "The Pit", prior to engaging local OpFor troops immediately after. He is then hand-picked by Shepherd to go undercover in Vladimir Makarov's cell under the alias Alexei Borodin. Allen was killed by Makarov when attempting to escape from Zakhaev International Airport in the level "No Russian", having learned about his real identity. He became a victim of a conflict of goals between General Shepherd and Makarov. It is interesting to note that his voice is heard later in the game after he has been picked for Task Force 141, making him the one of the few playable characters in the Call of Duty series to be heard (another example of which is the Thermal Imaging TV Operator in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare). Before joining the Rangers, he lived in Ithaca, NY.

Locations

 * Firebase Phoenix, Afghanistan - Assisted in the training of local military forces, participated in combat operations IVO Firebase Phoenix.


 * Red Zone, Afghanistan - Helped take control of small Afghan school and town.


 * Zakhaev International Airport, Moscow - Participated in CIA-sponsored deep-cover infiltration of Makarov's inner circle; compromised and killed by Makarov.

Trivia

 * The name Alexei Borodin might be a reference to the first Call of Duty game, because of the fact that the first playable Russian character's first name is Alexei, and the first person the player meets has the last name "Borodin".
 * Another possibility is that the name Alexei Borodin is a reference to Russian composer Alexander Borodin.


 * Along with Soap, Allen is given a large speaking role.
 * He is one of the only playable characters who speaks in the Modern Warfare series, the others being Cpt. Price (for two levels) and Soap, given his large role in Modern Warfare 2.


 * He is one of two playable characters in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 whose bare hands are seen; the other character being James Ramirez in "Second Sun", although Ramirez's hands were only seen through tears in his gloves.
 * He is the very first playable character to have a body, excluding arms, which can be seen when he is laying down in Team Player.


 * The tattoos on Allen's chest that were added as part of the operation are Russian Prison tattoos. The cathedral is symbolic of how long a person has been in prison, with each steeple representing a sentence. The cathedral itself may be a representation of Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.


 * PFC. Allen was the fourth youngest playable character (after C. Miller and Aleksandr Sokolov, both 20, and Dimitri Petrenko, 18 at a time) and the youngest to die up to date.


 * It is safe to assume Allen was fluent in Russian before the events of S.S.D.D. and Team Player as he was chosen to be part of Makarov's op and language would have been a large part of playing the role of a Ultranationalist prospect.


 * It is rumored that in the reveal trailer for Modern Warfare 2, that there was an early design for Allen as he is not wearing a suit but just civilian clothes like the Task Force 141 members in "Takedown".
 * It is impossible to avoid being shot by Makarov since Allen is scripted to die. The bullets will travel through any obstacle, as if they were ghost bullets.
 * He is one of the surprising amount of player characters who are scripted to die.
 * There is a PFC. Allen in Call of Duty: World at War in the mission Semper Fi. Also, there is a PFC Allen in Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare at least in the mission The Bog.
 * There is a Pvt. Allen in Call of Duty: Black Ops in the mission Crash Site once you exit the boat. He can be killed.
 * There is another Pvt. Allen in Hudson's portion of the mission Rebirth. He seems to be invulnerable for this appearance (unconfirmed).

Quotes
"So How do I look?"

- Joseph Allen to Shepherd in the Cliffhanger cutscene

"It's an honor, Sir. When do I meet the rest of the team?"

- Joseph Allen to Shepherd in the Cliffhanger cutscene

"So Makarov is the prize."

- Joseph Allen to Shepherd in the Cliffhanger cutscene

"Their feet wet?"

- Joseph Allen to Shepherd in the Cliffhanger cutscene