Frank Woods

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This article contains information about a subject that is scheduled to make an appearance in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Please do not add non-referenced or speculative content until it can be confirmed by the game's release.

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For the subject's CIA account, see Fwoods.

"Aside from the fact that I'm still alive, none of this surprises me. Technology got stronger, but we got weaker. We built computers, robots, whole unmanned armies. But no one ever asks, what happens, when the enemy steals the keys? When the things they built to keep us safe were turned against us, that's when they figured it out. They'll always need men like us, those who are willing to do what others can not."

— Woods in the Call of Duty: Black Ops II reveal trailer.

Sergeant Frank^[1] Woods is one of the main characters in Call of Duty: Black Ops.^[2] Woods was part of the Studies and Observation Group. On Woods' left arm is a USMC tattoo, which suggests his branch of service.

Biography

Early life and military career

Woods was born and raised 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.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

"Movement inside. Get in position. This is it... Ready to make history?"

— Woods to Mason as they prepare to breach the bedroom

Carlos, Bowman, and Woods, Operation 40 intro — Carlos, Bowman, and Woods at the start of "Operation 40".

Woods is first seen in a Cuban bar with Mason and Bowman talking to Carlos in "Operation 40". Woods talks to Carlos about the location of Castro. Suddenly the police arrive, and when a Tropas Officer 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 imprisonment and then escape from Vorkuta.

Operation Flashpoint

"No, no, no, somethin's wrong. There is way too much activity."

— Woods

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 scientists in it killing them, but failing to stop the missile. However, Mason uses a guided missile 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.

Capture, Escape, and Presumed Death

"FUUUUUUUCK!"

— Woods playing Russian roulette

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 "The 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 were 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 Viet Cong 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.

Aftermath

"Mr. Mason-- Woods is alive and remains the sole remaining American guest at the Hanoi Hilton. Thought you should know."

— "X" to Mason about Woods' whereabouts

^[3]

In the message of a mysterious informant codenamed "X", Woods is reported as being a prisoner in Hanoi Hilton, and whilst it is known that he survived, it is unclear as to whether or not this is the truth; it is possible that this is a trap to lure Mason, Hudson, and Weaver there, in order to kill them.

Retirement

File:Woods chair.JPG

Woods seen on June 19, 2025 in "The Vault".

Although having aged significantly to the age of 95, it is confirmed in the reveal trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops II that Woods had survived the previous events of Call of Duty: Black Ops and his supposed death with Kravchenko but due to his incapacitation, he was retired from the United States Marine Corps. In 2025, Woods narrates about the other war involving the United States in an unknown place called "The Vault".

Trivia

Though Woods is a Sergeant, in the mission "Payback" at the start of the mission in the chopper, the player can see briefly that it says "Pvt. Woods".
If the player types "cat notex2.txt" on the computer on the menu screen, a message from X appears saying that Woods is alive and being held in the Hanoi Hilton, the prison mentioned in the intel of "Payback". The message was sent on July 4, 1978.
Woods has Marine Corps Sergeant stripes 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 "S.O.G." and the levels after, other than "Payback", the "115" tattoo is changed to read "SOG TOUGH."
Mason, Woods, Bowman, Shepherd and PFC. Allen are the only characters that are part of multiple factions in the Call of Duty series.
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.
Woods and Kravchenko are both born on March 20.
On the computer on the menu screen, the player can log into Woods's profile with the username "fwoods" and the password "PHILLY".
In the multiplayer map Nuketown, Woods' name is on one of the mailboxes; the other says "Mason".
Woods was voted "The Best Video Game Character of the Year" at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards. Two modified scenes were shot for the occasion.^[4]^[5]
Despite unlockable intel saying Woods' eyes are brown, in the mission "S.O.G.", one can see Woods eyes are blue. Woods' eyes are also blue in the Black Ops II reveal trailer.
According to an early casting call and texture file names, Woods was initially named "Barnes".
Woods is 95 years old as of 2025. This makes Woods, so far, the oldest living character in the Call of Duty series.
Woods is the only known retired character in the whole Call of Duty series.