John "Soap" MacTavish (Original)

"Right. What the hell of a kind of name is Soap, eh? How'd a muppet like you pass selection?"

John "Soap" MacTavish is a main character in the game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare as a Sergeant serving as the team's sniper and demolitions expert, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 as a Captain and commanding officer of Gary Sanderson (the main playable character of Modern Warfare 2), and is considered to be the general protagonist in the Modern Warfare series. He plays a major role during the Ultranationalist crisis, a newcomer to the British SAS and part of Captain Price's Bravo Team. Players assume the role of Soap in Modern Warfare as well as others. He is present as a NPC in Modern Warfare 2, except near the end of the game where the player retakes his role. Soap is the apparent field commander of Task Force 141.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
"Soap" begins his SAS career hours before the six-day global war begins. He starts out as a Sergeant, unusual in that newcomers to the SAS are usually demoted to Trooper so that they must learn from the ground up (Soap is likely a replacement for a recently deceased Sergeant and has transferred from another unit). He is given a quick training session in weapons and techniques by Gaz, before being introduced to Captain Price and the rest of Bravo Team. After passing the CQB (Close Quarters Battle) test (intended to be reminiscent of the real SAS "Killing Houses"), Soap is briefed on the mission to infiltrate and assault a cargo ship in the Bering Strait. On board the ship, they discover a nuclear bomb bound for Russia, though enemy MiGs interrupt their investigations, and Soap barely escapes with his life, being forced to leap for the ramp of their helicopter just as it begins flying away which causes him to lose his grip just to be rescued at the last second by Captain Price.

Upon completing the mission, Soap, Captain Price and Gaz move into Russia to extract the informant who supplied them with the intelligence for the cargo ship, a man codenamed Nikolai. Working in close conjunction with Russian government Loyalists led by Sergeant Kamarov, they successfully locate and extract Nikolai from the battle zone, though their helicopter is shot down by Ultranationalist anti-aircraft missile fire. Bravo Team, Nikolai and another SAS operator are forced to fight their way through enemy lines, before being provided with support from an AC-130 Spectre Gunship, callsigned "Wildfire". They are extracted by helicopter under cover of heavy air support from Wildfire.

Soap's next mission with Bravo Team would take him to Azerbaijan. Clearing through an abandoned village, Soap witnessed Khaled Al-Asad's interrogation and execution by Captain Price. The next day, it appears Soap was designated the team's support man, being equipped with both an M249 and M21 sniper rifle. He was placed in charge of covering the team's retreat with the Minigun from a downed Black Hawk (destroying several Ultranationalist Helicopters in the process) and detonating the explosive charges placed at Phase Line Bravo. Afterwards, he was the point man when the squad had to backtrack to the lower part of the village due to heavy coverage of Anti Aircraft weapons in the vicinity.

MacTavish's final mission in the Russian civil war saw him infiltrating Russia as part of the joint task force of US Marines and SAS operators in order to eliminate Imran Zakhaev's nuclear capability. He was in charge of destroying the electricity supply to the facility, and then, during the escape, provided all-around covering fire for their jeep as they made their way to the extraction site. Fighting fiercely at the bridge during the penultimate battle, he was thrown to the floor and severely injured by an exploding tanker. He was pulled into cover by SSgt. Griggs, moments before Griggs was killed, and watches helplessly as Imran Zakhaev and his bodyguards execute Gaz and two SAS operatives. Just as all hope seems lost, a Loyalist Mi-28 gunship destroys the Ultranationalist Mi-24 Hind, forcing Zakhaev and his henchmen to turn away from Soap and open fire on the helicopter. A heavily wounded John Price slides Soap his M1911 pistol, which enables him to personally kill Imran Zakhaev and two of his bodyguards. Moments later, Loyalist forces flood the scene and Kamarov comes to Soap's aid by helping him onto a stretcher, assuring him that he will be alright. Soap passes out during the middle of extraction and is revealed to have survived as the events of Modern Warfare 2 begin.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
After the events of the civil war, MacTavish is promoted to Captain and is a squad leader of Task Force 141 alongside Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley and Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson. MacTavish and Sanderson infiltrated Kazakhstan to recover an ACS module and escape on snowmobiles. Shortly after the mission, MacTavish leads Task Force 141 to capture Rojas in Rio De Janeiro only to find out from Rojas that Makarov has a strong hatred for Prisoner 627 in a Russian gulag. The task force is then swarmed by the Brazilian Militia but is saved by Nikolai, who had fought alongside Soap during the events of Modern Warfare.

Shortly after extracting from South America, MacTavish and Task Force 141 initiates a two-stage operation, the first stage being to secure a modified oil platform in order to disable SAM sites on the platform, and the second phase to infiltrate the prison itself. After infiltrating the prison, MacTavish leads forces through a Russian gulag, and reunites with Captain Price (known as Prisoner 627). Although Price is at first hostile towards Roach he rejoins after recognizing Soap and the squad manages to extract (via SPIE rig) from the area. During this time, MacTavish returns John Price's M1911 pistol he used to kill Imran Zakhaev five years earlier.

During the events of "Contingency", MacTavish facilitates Price's infiltration inside a submarine by providing Predator drone support. After the events of the nuclear launch, Task Force 141 was split up to go investigate two locations, with Price and MacTavish investigating an arms deal in Afghanistan, while Ghost and Sanderson and the bulk of the task force investigate one of Makarov's safehouses in Russia. Price and MacTavish are attacked by Shepherd's men and attempt to warn Ghost and Sanderson, only to be late in the process. Soap and Price manage to escape the arms deal with the help of Nikolai while getting some intelligence from Makarov, focusing on killing Shepherd.

The duo then pursues Shepherd through Afghanistan, where they eventually corner him and attempt to kill him. However as MacTavish attempts to stab Shepherd, the latter disarms Soap, knocks him to the ground and impales him with a knife. Before Shepherd can execute MacTavish, Price tackles Shepherd and engages him in a long hand-to-hand fight, with Shepherd eventually gaining the upper hand. However Soap, now awake takes out the knife in his chest and throws it at Shepherd, killing the general for good. Price then comes to Soap's aid and the two are evacuated by Nikolai, who arrives in a MH-6 Little Bird. During the course of Shepherd's betrayal, Soap and Price are labeled as international fugitives, and are on the run at the end of the game.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
SAS (Sergeant and Designated Sharpshooter)
 * Credenhill, UK - Began SAS training.
 * The Bering Strait - Participates in the assault on a cargo ship as part of Captain Price's Bravo Team.
 * Caucasus Mountains - Assaults a village and took part in the rescue of SAS informant Nikolai.
 * Western Russia - Helicopter crash en-route to Nikolai's base, eventually extracted.
 * Azerbaijan - Secures Al-Asad's safehouse and evacuates.
 * Southern Russia - Chases after Victor Zakhaev in joint SAS-Force Recon operation.
 * Altay Mountains - Stops missiles in joint SAS-Force Recon operation and kills Imran Zakhaev.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Task Force 141 (Captain and Field Commander)
 * Tian Shan Mountain, Kazakhstan - Assaults a base with Gary "Roach" Sanderson to recover an ACS module.
 * Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - Interrogates Rojas' assistant and Captures Alejandro Rojas a.k.a. "Alex the Red".
 * Vikorevka 36 Oil Platform, Russia - Secures an oil rig. Phase one of Prisoner Extraction operation.
 * Petropavlovsk, Russia - Led TF141 in the rescue of Prisoner #627 (Captain Price) during the assault on a Russian gulag. Phase two of Prisoner Extraction operation.
 * Kandahar, Afghanistan - Escapes General Shepherd's and Makarov's men from the boneyard with Captain Price.
 * Site Hotel Bravo, Afghanistan - Tracks down and kills General Shepherd with Captain Price.
 * Shepherd's submarine - Task Force 141 Mission briefing

Known For

 * Deactivating the missiles that would have destroyed the Eastern Coast of America.
 * Personally killing Imran Zakhaev.
 * Captain and field commander of Task Force 141.
 * Taking down Alejandro Rojas.
 * Personally killing General Shepherd.

Quotes
"Ghost, the driver is dead. We're going on foot, meet us at the Hotel Rio!"

- MacTavish to Ghost, after Rojas' assistant shot the driver of the car.

"Nikolai!We're at the top of the favela surrounded by milita!"

- Soap talking to Nikolai at the beginning of The Hornet's Nest

"Roach is down!"

- Soap,if Sanderson dies

"Ghost,we got a situation here......GET DOWN!GET DOWN!"

- Soap,when Rojas' assistant opens fire on the car the squad is driving in

"Too right, mate.Now in the eyes of the world, they're the victims. Nobody's gonna say a word when the Russians club every American they can reach."

- Soap in the cutscene before Takedown

"I know a guy. Let's find a pay phone - they still exist?"

- Captain MacTavish in the briefing of "The Hornet's Nest"

"Ok move upstairs. Control - we're advancing to Dock Two"

- Captain MacTavish after they cleared a room on the oil platform.

"Negative. They've stopped twice already - no sign of him"

- Captain MacTavish at the beginning of "Takedown"

"Place is filled with living casualties of the last war... which I swear I thought we'd won."

- Soap, in the cutscene before "The Gulag"

"This belongs to you, sir."

- Soap giving back the M1911 he received on the bridge to Captain Price in "The Gulag".

"It's good to have you back old man."

- Soap to Captain Price in "Contingency."

"We've got one good UMP. They've got a thousand."

- Soap, in the cutscene before "Just Like Old Times."

Trivia

 * Soap seems to be a designated marksman, as he starts with a long range weapon at least one time during every operation. The only two exceptions are during "Crew Expendable", as a sniper rifle would be inappropriate for such a setting, and during the events of Act Three, as an American Sniper Team is already covering the squad. Also, Kamarov refers to Soap as "your sniper" while talking to Price.
 * Soap's face in "Cliffhanger" looks much different than his face in all other missions. This is due to the fact that he is unshaven and is concealing his mohawk with a hat. Also since most of his face is covered in snow.
 * Soap is referred to as the F.N.G. in the level of the same name. This is military slang for "Fucking New Guy."
 * Soap is the second highest-ranking playable character in the Call of Duty series, with the first being Major Badanov from Call of Duty: Finest Hour.
 * Soap has killed two high profile enemies; (Imran Zakhaev and Shepherd), something few playable characters have done in the Call of Duty series.
 * Soap's first name is John, as seen during the 2007 E3 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare gameplay. However, during the SAS mission briefings in the actual game, his nickname is only shown. However, on Twitter, Robert Bowling confirmed his name was John.
 * Soap's rendering in Modern Warfare 2 may have been based off Navy SEAL Kelly Lake, a character from the film Tears of the Sun, and he also resembles Joseph Turok.
 * In Crew Expendable, Price and MacTavish slide their respirators onto their faces. This indicates that Soap was not wearing a helmet during the mission.
 * Soap is the second playable character to be involved in a sequel, as in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 he returns as an NPC and playable character. The first returning character was James Doyle, who also came back as a playable character.
 * There is a scar above MacTavish's left eye, most likely a wound that he received from the events of "Game Over".
 * There appear to be many similarities between Soap and Captain Price.
 * 1) They like to smoke before missions, like in Cliffhanger and Crew Expendable.
 * 2) In Cliffhanger, the part where Soap saves Sanderson is very similar to what Captain Price does when Soap jumps onto the helicopter in Crew Expendable.
 * 3) They have the same first name (John).
 * 4) In Modern Warfare 1, Captain Price's name when looked at is 'Captain Price' - the only name featured to have an unabbreviated rank. In Modern Warfare 2, Soap seems to inherit this distinction, as he is similarly titled without abbreviation, as 'Captain MacTavish'.
 * 5) Like Captain Price, MacTavish has a right-hand man. Price's was Gaz, and MacTavish's was Ghost. Oddly enough, both Ghost and Gaz end up being personally executed by major antagonists (with high caliber pistols) on Day 6 and are voiced by the same person.
 * 6) Their use of the word "muppet". In Modern Warfare, Price asks Soap "How'd a muppet like you pass selection?" In Modern Warfare 2, Soap tells Roach,"These muppets have no idea we're here."
 * 7) They were both under the command of a Captain at one point in Modern Warfare. Price was under the command of Cpt. MacMillan, while Soap was under the command of Cpt. Price.
 * On Soap's vest, a patch is clearly seen with the letters S.A.S, this could mean that even though Soap is a part of the 141 he still is a part of the S.A.S and it is a part of the 141 as well, or it could simply be there for sentimental value on Soap's part.
 * Soap is one of only seven playable characters to have his face revealed (the others being Captain Price and the Nazi Zombie characters).
 * A sculpted head of MacTavish is available with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition.
 * After finding Price, Price greets him as Soap. This confuses the members of Soap's team, meaning that Soap never told them his nickname and they simply call him Captain MacTavish. Worm even asks "Who's Soap?"
 * In Modern Warfare 2, he is referred to as "Captain MacTavish" until Contingency, where the subtitles refer to him as his nickname: "Soap."
 * If you take awhile to get to capture Rojas, you will here Soap say, "Shite" whenever Ghost gives him a visual of Rojas.
 * In Modern Warfare 2, whenever a C4 needs to be setup, Soap always refers it as "Plan B".
 * It is unknown how Soap became quickly ranked from Sergeant to Captain in just 5 years(perhaps the fact that he killed Imran Zakheav), whereas Price became Lieutenant to Captain in 15 years (the ordered rank goes Sergeant -> 2nd Lieutenant -> Lieutenant -> Captain, assuming he received a Late Entry Commission).
 * Despite speaking in earlier missions as an NPC, Soap no longer speaks (aside from grunts) when the player takes control of him.
 * Additionally, all of his grunts and breathing audio when controlled by the player sound nothing like Soap's usual voice and instead are identical to the other playable characters.
 * In Just Like Old Times, when hanging from the rope and stabbing the enemy soldier, Soap sighs in his actual voice.
 * In the mission S.S.D.D., one of the U.S. soldiers refers to Soap as "a guy with a mohawk", who "spoke with some funny accent", "British maybe", which is technically correct as Soap is Scottish (Scotland is part of the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"), though it can be classified as a Scottish accent as accents are not just national but also regional things (America has many accents based on which region of the country you are in for example).
 * Furthermore in S.S.D.D, a conversation regarding the performance of "Deltas" in the obstacle course "The Pit" can be heard by two soldiers. A man with a "freaky mask", referring to Ghost, and "that mohawk guy", referring to Soap, are said to have beat the course in 18 seconds, a feat which from the perspective of the two men made the actual Delta Force members on base look like they were moving in slow motion by comparison. The two men were so amazed that they thought that the men they saw run the course may have been something more than Deltas. Apparently Soap is also said to have "bitchslapped" the guys on base, which means his score on the Pit made the other guys look pathetic by comparison.
 * At the end of Endgame, when Soap pulls the knife out of his chest, you can clearly see the Infinity Ward logo near the hilt.
 * It is implausible that Soap is still alive at the end of Endgame after falling down a waterfall, smashed into a car, stabbed in the chest and being curb stomped, as he would have lost a considerable amount of blood which would have only been hampered even more by Soap dragging his body along the ground to reach Shepherd's Magnum. Also notice how Price doesn't give any attention to his head (though the process of Price patching up Soap's wounds is blacked out briefly so his head may have been attended to off screen), as it probably would have been very damaged.
 * Soap seems to respect America, as can be evidenced by when he tells Ghost to cut the chatter when he starts yelling at the Navy, this is possibly because Griggs, an American sacrificed himself in order to save Soap's life, and put Soap into a position to kill Imran Zakhaev. Though this could also be explained with how him and the American forces had a reasonably good partnership during the six day war with Zakhaev in COD4, or Soap could simply be respectful of how the British and Americans have generally had a lot of good will towards one another through their numerous economic and war related partnerships over the past century or so (save for matters involving the British Imperial possessions). Though it could have been Soap redirecting Ghost's and the rest of the squad's concentration towards the mission and is simply doing his job as Captain by maintaining discipline.
 * What's interesting is that most TF141 members use an ACR or other weapons like Ghost and Roach but Soap usually uses an M4A1 Carbine, MP5K or M1911. Maybe because they're his favorite weapons, because his main weapon was an M4A1 SOPMOD in the original Modern Warfare, also, Soap used an MP5SD in Crew Expendable, and Soap killed Imran Zakhaev with Price's M1911 so he probably keeps it as his own little trophy.
 * When Soap finds Captain Price in "The Gulag", he says "This belongs to you, sir" and hands a M1911 to Captain Price. This is the same M1911 handed to Soap by Price in the original Modern Warfare, used to take down Imran Zakhaev for good.
 * Soap and Sanderson appear to be good friends, as he smiles at Roach at the beginning of Cliffhanger, risking his life in The Hornets Nest at the end, beckoning Roach towards the helicopter. And of course, he saves Roach's life in Cliffhanger. And you can hear him mutter "No!" in the Hornets Nest when Roach falls of the building. Also during Contingency, Soap appears to be concerned of Roach's well being as he asks Price what his status is (probably since it was the first time Soap and Roach weren't side by side), so it's likely that, other than Ghost, Roach was Soap's favored comrade.
 * On that note the music that plays during "The Enemy of My Enemy...", plays as if it is reflecting Soap's mourning of the loss of his comrades, it is particularly sorrowful and it stands out in a level where there is so much chaos and action going on all around the player.
 * Also, Soap is the only NPC to acknowledge when the player dies in combat (and of course the player is Sanderson). He usually alerts the team that "Roach is down" though sometimes he will simply shout "Roach!". However, this only takes place in the mission The Gulag.
 * Soap has a unique phrase if you shoot him. He yells "Oi! Numpty, watch your fire".
 * MacTavish is voiced by Kevin McKidd in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
 * Many fans have ranked Soap among heroes of war genre video games such as John-117 from the Halo series and Solid Snake from the Metal Gear/Metal Gear Solid series.
 * It is unknown why Soap's nickname is "Soap". It is possible that its his nickname for having clean kills. Though it is also possible that during his recruit days he had a bad odor as it is quite common for fellow recruits to nickname the smelliest of their team mates "Soap" as a way of insulting them for their lack of hygiene, something that is expected from recruits as their training is designed to tax their bodies and make them sweat. Price's feelings of discontent for having a "Fucking New Guy" put on his watch would have only been enhanced had that been the reason for the nickname, though his famous line at the top of this article seems to suggest he didn't know what kind of name "Soap" is and what it may have meant.
 * In "Endgame", before you throw the knife at Shepherd, if you wait a second before throwing the knife, you can hear Soap quietly mutter "Shepherd", albiet not in his voice. He most likely does this to get Shepherd's attention and get a clear shot on him. This makes him one of the few playable characters in the series to talk during gameplay (the others being the Nazi Zombie characters and the AC-130 TV Operator).
 * It is possible that Soap met Private Joseph Allen in the pit before he was killed by Makarov, as Soap seemed to know a lot about Allen and what he was doing, and Dunn says to Allen "Hey Private. Welcome back to the Pit."
 * It can be assumed that Soap is ambidextrous because in the games he shoots right handed but in the picture above, he is holding a left handed M4A1 Carbine.
 * In the briefing for "The Enemy Of My Enemy...", Soap's tone of voice seemed to feature regret when he says "Shepherd betrayed us."

Appearances

 * (2 games)
 * Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (First appearance)
 * Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2