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The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Warzone The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Warzone 2 The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III The subject of this article appeared in Zombies mode The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile
For the original character, see John "Soap" MacTavish.

John Price: "John MacTavish, SAS. Sniper- demolitions. Goes by "Soap"."
Kate Laswell: "Why?"
Price: "That's classified."
John Price and Kate Laswell discussing MacTavish's file.

Sergeant John MacTavish, sometimes referred to as Johnny, also known as Soap, is a character featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. Soap is mentioned at the end of the Modern Warfare campaign and heard within a Call of Duty: Warzone cutscene. In Modern Warfare II, he is one of the three playable protagonists. In Modern Warfare III, Soap appears as a playable protagonist in the campaign, and in Zombies mode as a supporting character.

In Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone, Soap was released as a playable SAS Operator of the Coalition faction on July 14th, 2020 as part of the "Soap Operator Bundle". In Modern Warfare II, Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, he is also available as an Operator of the SpecGru faction.

Biography[]

Early life and career[]

Born in Scotland in the United Kingdom, John MacTavish was a lifelong football fan often playing as a goalkeeper.

One day, MacTavish was invited by his cousin, a member of the 23 Regiment of the Special Air Service, to see how it was like to be in the British Army. Afterwards, MacTavish often visited his cousin on weekends. When he was 16, he tried several times to enroll in the SAS and while he lied about his age, he was caught every time.

After his 18th birthday, MacTavish officially joined selection for the 22 Regiment, an elite squadron specialized in covert reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, and hostage recues. In 2014, while training in Hereford, MacTavish's evaluator was Captain John Price. Recognizing his natural skills, exceptional proficiency and relentless dedication, Price became tough and strict with MacTavish to make him the best trainee. MacTavish was also trained as a sniper and demolitions expert. His remarkable speed and accuracy in room clearance and urban warfare earned him the nickname "Soap".

When selection came, MacTavish passed it with the highest possible marks on all 3 phases of the course, coming just a few seconds behind the record holder, Kyle "Gaz" Garrick. He became the youngest candidate to pass the SAS selection in the British Army history, earning him the reputation of a perpetual FNG.

For his first mission, Soap joined Price's Bravo Team, traveling to the Bering Strait to secure a cargo manifest for potential WMDs. While Soap retrieved the manifest, but the vessel was scuttled by Russian aircrafts forcing the team to leave. Being the last to exfil, Soap almost fell to his death if not for Price pulling him to safety. Soap felt indebted to Price ever since. After this mission, Soap continued to carry out covert and overt operations worldwide.

Soap later received a Gallantry Medal, the Victoria Cross, and the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross after an operation in Urzikstan during which his patrol was attacked by Al-Qatala. After the heavy machine gun malfunctioned, Soap stripped the weapon and reassembled it before firing 150 single shots, re-cocking the gun for every round. Soap claimed however that "any and all of his comrades would have done the same thing".

In 2016, Soap almost faced disciplinary action for punching a Military Police officer, knocking him out and locking him in his own vehicle. No charge were filed to avoid embarrassment for the officer.

Encountering Makarov[]

On April 6, 2019, Soap was deployed to Verdansk, Kastovia, alongside Price and several other SAS operatives, to stop Vladimir Makarov and his Inner Circle crew from terrorizing Verdansk Stadium. Makarov was captured and taken to a helicopter, where Soap, Price, Simon "Ghost" Riley and General Herschel Shepherd interrogated him, before realizing his real target was the airport, which saw numerous explosions shortly after. Angered, Soap attempted to kill Makarov, but Price stopped him from doing so.

Task Force 141[]

Following the death of General Roman Barkov in November 2019, and under the oversight of US General Shepherd, Price established a new joint operations task force called Task Force 141 with the help of CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell. Soap was handpicked for this new task force by Price alongside Ghost and Gaz.

Death of Victor Zakhaev[]

Following the fall of Armistice in Verdansk due to Victor Zakhaev's actions, Task Force 141 was charged to hunt the Ultranationalist who remained hidden in the Kastovian city. After having tracked his location, Price caught Zakhaev and neutralized him before he could launch an ICBM towards the United States. Although Soap wasn't directly involved with the death of Zakhaev, he was still in the region and contacted Price not long after as "things were heating up" outside the city.

At some point, Task Force 141 returned to Bunker 11 in Verdansk, where they found that Zakhaev's body was gone. Though he was declared dead, rumors began to circulate about his survival.

Dark Aether Saga[]

Operation Deadbolt[]

Several months after the events in Verdansk, in 2021, Zakhaev turned up in Zaravan, Urzikstan, where he unleashed a zombie incursion after breaking open a vial of Aetherium. Soap was called on to investigate the incursion, as part of Operation Deadbolt, working alongside Laswell, former Spetsnaz captain Sergei Ravenov and SSO Selma Greene.

Missiles Crisis[]

Raid in Al Mazrah[]

In October 2022, Soap and Ghost were tasked with apprehending Hassan Zyani, who declared war on the US for the death of General Ghorbrani. Alongside a squad of MARSOC marines, they boarded a helicopter and landed in a field in Al Mazrah, the transport helicopter being shot down shortly afterwards. At Ghost's orders, the squad cleared out a building attacking the crash site and then they go to the crash site. Soap, Ghost and the crash survivor defended the crash site from AQ soldiers and vehicles with help from Kilo 0-1. The team then went to clear another building, but on the way they were attacked by snipers, whom Soap killed with his EBR-14. They cleared the building but didn't find Hassan, but instead found a missile container carrying American ballistics missiles.

Assault in Las Almas[]

After learning that Hassan escaped into Las Almas with the help of the local cartel, Soap and Ghost linked up with Colonel Alejandro Vargas and his squad, Los Vaqueros. They went through the town searching for Hassan. After being attacked by the Mexican Army, Soap, Ghost and Alejandro lured them through the mountain trails and down the river while the other Vaqueros escaped, with Shadow Company Commander Phillip Graves arriving and supporting them shortly after via a gunship. The squad regrouped at a possible location of Hassan, and they assaulted the compound with help from the Shadow Company gunship. They captured Hassan and drove to another town, where they were again ambushed by the Mexican Army and cartel. Shadow Company helped them to survive until extraction.

Meeting El Sin Nombre[]

Despite the successful capture, Task Force 141 is forced to release Hassan to avoid a political fallout. However, they planted a tracker on Hassan's phone, allowing Price and Gaz to follow up on him. Meanwhile, Soap, Ghost, Alejandro and Shadow Company acquired intel on a cartel estate party where the Las Almas Cartel leader El Sin Nombre might be. Soap infiltrated the estate claiming to have information. He was interrogated by the enforcers Diego Salgado and Valeria Garza, then was told to wait upstairs, where he linked up with an undercover Alejandro. They would later capture Valeria, after discovering her to be El Sin Nombre, and take her to the Fuerzas Especiales HQ.

Stopping the missile[]

Valeria informed Task Force 141 that the missile was on an oil rig in the ocean, prompting them to infiltrate it alongside Graves and Shadow Company troops to find the missile and controls. Soap and Ghost swept the rig, but the missile controls were actually on the ship, leading Soap and Graves to go to the ship by boat and push up to the bridge through the containers. They managed to clear the bridge, and Soap and Graves found the missile control set just as the missile started launching, but with Graves' instructions, Soap managed to make the missile hit the oil rig, with the oil rig team escaping just in time.

Betrayed[]

As the team returned to Fuerzas Especiales HQ, Graves announced a hostile takeover of the HQ on Shepherd's orders, with the Vaqueros in the base detained. A firefight broke out, with Ghost and an injured Soap escaping while Alejandro was captured. Later, under Ghost's remote instructions, Soap recovered and managed to evade Shadow Company troops, before reuniting with him and escaping to Alejandro's safehouse. The two met with Alejandro's second-in-command, Rodolfo Parra, and discuss their plan to break into the prison.

After making their plans to extract Alejandro and Los Vaqueros, Soap, Ghost and Rudy infiltrated the prison. They managed to free the Vaqueros and escape, with the help of Price and Gaz. The team was then informed of the truth behind Shadow Company's betrayal by Laswell.

Stopping Graves and Hassan[]

Task Force 141 and Los Vaqueros formed a new joint group, JTF - Ghost Team, and launched an assault on the Fuerza Especiales HQ. Soap and Rodolfo eventually caught up with Graves, who commandeered a tank to kill both of them. Using explosives and other equipment on the training grounds, Soap managed to destroy the tank, believing that Graves perished along with it.

After the team retrieved Valeria, she revealed that Hassan was in Chicago with the last missile. Task Force 141 bid farewell to Alejandro and the Vaqueros, and headed to Chicago to stop Hassan once and for all. Soap, Price and Gaz infiltrated the building where Hassan was located, while Ghost provided overwatch. The missile launched to their dismay, heading toward Washington. Eventually, the team caught up to Hassan, and Soap grabbed the control case and hid from Hassan and Al-Qatala forces. With Laswell's help, Soap stopped the missile, but Hassan grabbed him and almost executed him before Ghost intervened by killing him from afar.

Some times later, while celebrating in a bar, Laswell informed Task Force 141 that the Ultranationalists were behind the attack on Shadow Company that resulted in the missiles being stolen. Price quickly identified Makarov as their leader.

Makarov's Revenge[]

On November 10th, 2023, as Task Force 141 reached their designated jumping point for an unknown mission. Laswell radioed Price, telling him that Makarov is out. Which prompted Price to tell the pilot to turn around and bring Task Force 141 back to base.

Nuclear Power Plant Attack[]

On the same day, Soap alongside with other members of Task Force 141 were deployed to a nuclear power plant in Urzikstan after Konni forces were spotted converging to the plant. Soap and Gaz were tasked with securing the perimeter, while Price and Ghost recce the plant. There, Task Force 141 engaged with Konni forces and found out that they were trying to transport containers of Sarin gas - a remnant of Barkov's program. Despite the Task Force's best effort, Konni was still able to get away with the gas, and Price nearly lost his life while trying to prevent them from doing so.

Securing the missile[]

Thanks to the trackers that were planted on the missile containers by Farah, Laswell was able to track it back to an abandoned bunker complex in Urzistan. Prompting the Task Force to assault it in hopes of preventing the missiles from launching. The Task Force then divided their work, with Price rallying up with Farah while the rest of the Task Force sweep and clear the complex. While Laswell is going to Arklov Military Base, Verdansk to meet a contact who can help 141 in their search for Makarov. Price and Farah were able to stop one of the missiles from launching, but Soap, alongside with Ghost and Gaz failed to do so for the two remaining missiles, which were heading for the Arklov Military Base. Which made Price radioed Laswell in the blind.

Raid on Makarov's financier private island[]

Following the meeting with General Shepherd, a temporary truce was forged between Task Force 141 and Shadow Company, as they worked together to find and kill Makarov although Soap was angry to discover that Graves survived the fighting in Las Almas. Shepherd then gave Laswell intel regarding Makarov's financier - Milena Romanova, who was located on a remote island with large security forces protecting her. Soap and Ghost then infiltrated the island to interrogate Milena and find out about Makarov's next move. Ghost provided overwatch while Soap worked his way around the security guards, eventually eliminating the HVT with the FOB Key, allowing Laswell to access the terminal which contained information about Romanova's bank accounts and the various dealings that happened on them.

Eventually, Soap and Ghost reached the door to Romanova's office, with the help from Laswell, they walked into Romanova's office and began to interrogate her, through the usage of financial interrogation, Romanova broke and told them the information that they wanted. Soap then thanked Romanova for the "good chat", as him and Ghost left the office, with Romanova cursing them as they left.

Intercepting the HVT transport in Siberia[]

The intel gathered from Romanova's interrogation led to Task Force 141 knowing of a recently established Konni outpost in St. Petersburg, prompting them to assault it. Following the assault, Task Force 141 captured Andrei Nolan - Makarov's right-hand man, from him, they learned that Makarov was transporting someone to an abandoned prison complex in Siberia, prompting them to intercept that convoy before it could reach its destination. Soap, Price, and Gaz positioned themselves underwater, while Farah alongside with the rest of Task Force 141 provided overwatch. When the convoy reached the ambush position, Task Force 141 executed their plan and began to work their way to the HVT. Eventually, Soap, Price, and Gaz secured the HVT and brought him to the surface, where they found out that the person who Makarov was transporting was none other than General Shepherd, which made Price furious, Gaz then reminded him that they are in an exposed location and suggest that they moved to a more covered one.

Shepherd then told Task Force 141 that he has good intel regarding Makarov and that they'd get it once they get him out of here. Price reluctantly agreed to that, the Task Force then fought through reinforcing Konni forces. Eventually, they reached the extraction zone and boarded the helicopter. Then, Task Force 141 brought General Shepherd to a remote location in Siberia, where they told him to owe up and told Congress all the truth, which Shepherd reluctantly agreed to. The Task Force then took him aboard the helicopter and left Siberia.

Preventing disaster at the Gora Dam[]

Following his return, Shepherd revealed that Makarov wanted to blow up the Gora Dam, in order to flood Verdansk and kill its inhabitants, and to blame it on Farah and the West. Soap and Ghost were deployed there to disarm the bombs and prevent a catastrophe from happening. Through careful maneuvering, Soap and Ghost managed to disarm all the bomb sites in the vicinity and exfiled, preventing a disaster from happening.

Operation Trojan Horse & Death[]

Laswell received information from the MI6 that Makarov and Konni were in London, she also found out that they are meeting up with a hacker. Soap and Gaz were deployed on the ground, where they blended in to track the hacker, while Ghost provided help from the CCTVs. Soap overheard the conversation and learned the location of the buyer. Task Force 141 and SFO then gathered at an abandoned tunnel in Amsley Street, then the team breached and began to clear the tunnel, they managed to kill the buyer and acquired the flash drive.

Despite their effort, the virus was uploaded to the train system, granting Konni the ability to control the train, and Task Force 141 also learned that Makarov planned to destroy Channel Tunnel. Task Force 141 alongside with SFO's approached the Channel Tunnel. They then split up, with Gaz, Ghost, SFO Leader and half of his men taking one side and Price, Soap alongside the rest of the SFOs taking the other. The tunnel is run through with trains as Konni take over the network. After intense shootouts with Konni. Price and Soap found a bomb being guarded by Konni contractors. Whilst Soap worked on disarming the bomb, more Konni contractors attacked them, Price alongside with the SFO provided cover for Soap. Then, Price requested that Gaz and Ghost reinforce them.

After providing the manufacturing logo and serial number to Soap, Price was just about to defuse the bomb when Makarov and his men ambushed them. Ordering his men to stay back and leave his enemies to him, Makarov shot both Soap and Price in the shoulder. As Soap seems to be knocked out, Makarov pinned Price down and prepared to execute him with a taunt to take with him to hell: "Never bury your enemies". Soap was able to get up and stabbed Makarov in the shoulder, but Makarov twisted his arm and shot him through in the head. Soap fell to the ground, dead, as Price screams in anguish. Gaz and Ghost then arrived with reinforcements and returned fire, forcing Makarov to flee. With Soap K.I.A and Ghost over his body, Gaz and Price managed to disarm the bomb as they look over their fallen teammate.

Following his death and subsequent cremation, Soap's ashes were scattered in Scotland by Ghost, while Price and Gaz stood in silent to pay their respect for him.

Personalization[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare[]

Skins[]

Name Rarity Image How to obtain
Highlands Legendary Soap Highlands Skin MW Soap Operator Bundle
Over The Edge Legendary Soap OverTheEdge Skin MW Operator Mission
Skye Legendary Soap Skye Skin MW Operator Mission

Quips[]

Name Rarity How to obtain
Pushed Your Luck Base Unlocked by default

Finishing Moves[]

Name Rarity How to obtain
Point Taken Epic Soap Operator Bundle
Universal Finishing Moves

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II[]

Skins[]

Note: Skins also available in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III

Name Image How to obtain
Capture or Kill Soap Capture or Kill Skin MWII Battle Pass Season Three Sector C8
Capture or Kill BlackCell Soap Capture or Kill BlackCell Skin MWII Battle Pass Season Three Sector C8 (BlackCell Exclusive)
Classic Soap Soap Classic Soap Skin MWII The Throwback Audio Pack Bundle
Covert Soap Soap Covert Soap Skin MWII Soap: Going Dark Bundle
Soap Masked Soap Soap Masked Skin MWII Soap Operator Pack (Purchase Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III)
Soap Unmasked Soap Soap Unmasked Skin MWII Soap Operator Pack (Purchase Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III)
TF 141 Red Team Soap Soap TF 141 Red Team Soap Skin MWII Red Team 141 Pack (Modern Warfare II Vault Edition Bonus)
The Hawk Soap The Hawk Skin MWII Unavailable
Reward for Task Force 141's victory in the Faction Showdown event.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III[]

Skins[]

Name Image How to obtain
Hector Battle Pass Season Two Sector B3
Hector BlackCell Soap Hector BlackCell Skin MWIII Battle Pass Season Two Sector B3 (BlackCell Exclusive)

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile[]

Skins[]

Name Image Rarity How to obtain
Heatwave Log in Warzone Mobile 7 days between March 21st and April 3rd, 2024

Gallery[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III[]

Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile[]

Trivia[]

General[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II[]

  • In Soap's models during Kill or Capture, Dark Water and Countdown, he wears a knee brace on his left leg.
  • Following a Season Six update on October 17th, 2023, the "Covert Soap" skin is depicted as Soap's default skin, while the Vault Edition skin is renamed to "TF 141 Red Team Soap".
    • The Red Team skin is still named "Soap" in Modern Warfare III.
  • The "Soap Masked" and "Soap Unmasked" skins were given new icons following the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III[]

  • Soap can speak Russian, as he said: "Show your hands" in Russian to Makarov in Flashpoint.
  • The "Hector BlackCell" skin's description, "Well, I wasn't in that tunnel", is a reference to a similar line said by Phillip Graves when he explained how he survived his apparent death. The line is a humorous jab at how Graves' survival was received by the community, as well as the controversy of Soap's actual death.

References[]

  1. Soap joined at 18 and was in training in at least 2014.
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