Russell Adler

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"If he's active, something big is gonna happen. Something that could shift the balance of the Cold War."

— Adler about Perseus

Special Officer Russell Adler is the deuteragonist of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. He is a CIA agent charged with stopping the mysterious Soviet agent codenamed Perseus. Adler is described as "America's monster" with a "dark charisma".

Adler is also playable as an operator in Call of Duty: Warzone upon the purchase of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

Biography

Born on February 12th, 1937. Russell Adler enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1955 and qualified for U.S. Army Special Forces in 1957. He was recruited into Special Activities Division in 1959.

Russell Adler later joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1966 and was assigned to the MACV-SOG in 1967 to investigate Soviet activity in Vietnam.

After Vietnam, Adler disappeared from and only sporadically appears in the CIA's records but continued to be affiliated with a number of clandestine operations. His deep knowledge of covert tactics, fluency in Russian and German, and mastery of espionage make him one of the few key operatives that the CIA can consistently rely upon. One such operation was the raid of Rebirth Island, in which he was responsible for capturing and interrogating Vikhor Kuzmin, a Soviet operative in charge of overseeing Nova 6's production on the island. Despite his interrogations, Adler was unable to force Kuzmin to disclose any critical information; in retaliation for what Lev Kravchenko did to fellow CIA operative Grigori Weaver back at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Adler stabbed Kuzmin's left eye with a knife.

On January 13, 1981, during a mission with Frank Woods and Alex Mason in Turkey, Adler discovered that the Soviet agent Perseus became active and four days later Jason Hudson tasked Adler to build a team to track down and eliminate Perseus. During his mission, he came across an injured operative of Perseus, who he subsequently captured and brainwashed into falsely believing they were a CIA agent who served with Adler in Vietnam, alongside nicknaming the operative "Bell".

Despite breaking through the conditioning, Bell still managed to assist Adler and his allies in stopping Perseus' plot to detonate nukes across Europe. Adler would take Bell to a cliffside, telling them they were a hero for making sacrifices to stop Perseus. Adler would then tell Bell that he had to make one last sacrifice, and that it wasn't personal before both of them drew their pistols on each other. The fate of Bell remains unknown, but Adler managed to survive the encounter and return to the CIA.

Adler would soon find himself confronting Kuzmin again, where would be baited by the Perseus operative into coming to the Mall at the Pines after a raid on a CIA base in West Berlin. Alongside a strike team, Adler arrives at the mall, only to be ambushed by Kuzmin and his soldiers. "Stitch" would give the order to kill all of the NATO operatives - save for Adler. A firefight ensued, which ended with Adler being captured by Stitch and transported onto a helicopter.

By April 19th, 1984, Adler was reported by Kapano "Naga" Vang to be headed to Verdansk.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

Adler is unlocked as a playable operator for Multiplayer and Zombies modes by completing the challenge.

Personalization

Skins

Name	Image	Rarity	How to obtain
Mountain Drab		Base	In Multiplayer, get 10 kills with Scorestreaks or Killstreaks
Renegade		Rare	Battle Pass Season Two Tier 20
Beirut		Rare	Operator Mission
Bright Star		Rare	Operator Mission
Iron Delta		Rare	Operator Mission
Lighthouse		Rare	Operator Mission
Traveler		Rare	Battle Pass Season One Tier 1
Globetrotter		Rare	Operator Mission
Summit		Rare	Operator Mission
Base Jumper		Epic	Battle Pass Season One Tier 90
Stalker		Epic	Operator Mission
Glitz		Epic	Operator Mission
Confidential		Epic	Bundle Black Ops Cold War Starter Pack
Detective		Epic	Bundle Double Agent
Gauntlet		Epic	Bundle Field General
Ranger		Epic	Bundle Scout Team
Razor Wire		Epic	Bundle Platoon Sergeant
Red		Epic	Bundle Shamrocked
Miami		Epic	Bundle Miami Nights
Wetlander		Epic	Bundle River Slasher
Ambassador		Legendary	Game Fuel’s Exclusive Content (US only)
Gunslinger		Legendary	Bundle Most Wanted

Call of Duty: Warzone

Adler is mentioned in several intel pieces in Call of Duty: Warzone. The intels relate to his investigation into Perseus, who had ties with Imran Zakhaev. He is also playable as an Operator with the purchase of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

Call of Duty: Mobile

Adler could be unlocked for Call of Duty: Mobile as a playable character by playing the Multiplayer Open Beta of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Later, Adler come back in Season 13 Wint3r War Battle Pass with the uniform Mountain Drab. Adler is also a supporting character in the comics.

Gallery

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

Mountain Drab skin

Adler's bio from Treyarch's website.

Adler's bio in Black Ops Cold War.

Adler Operator Card in Black Ops Cold War.

Adler and Farah Karim in Call of Duty: Warzone.

Adler's bio in Warzone

Adler's profile from CIA terminal

Adler discovers a Perseus operative who would become "Bell".

Adler without his sunglasses, seen in the opening cutscene of The Final Countdown.

Adler pulls a 1911 on Bell as they do the same.

Adler stabs Vikhor "Stitch" Kuzmin in the eye, stating "This is for Weaver".

Adler appearance in the Season One cinematic.

Adler is surprised at the sight of Nova 6.

Perseus operatives capture Adler.

Adler is brought to a helicopter.

Message of the Day teaser on Adler's kidnapping by Stitch.

Call of Duty: Mobile

An elderly Adler featured in the Comics.

Adler and Captain Price.

Adler, Ghost and Price.

Adler with a Central Intelligence Agency strike team including Stansfield.

Adler and Stansfield.

Adler watches in shock as his ally Stansfield is taken down by the Soviets.

Adler in-game.

Young Adler.

Trivia

• Adler's blood type is AB-.
• If asked by "Bell" about the origin of his facial scars, Adler will come up with one of three lies:
  • He may cryptically answer that he was once in with the wrong crowd when he was younger, and will vaguely mention that an unnamed girl "wasn't worth it".
  • Another story told by Adler is that he was chasing a target when he tried to make a jump off the roof of a building. The jump was successful, but the landing "not so much." He then gives "Bell" advice to always know where the utility poles are.
  • He also may state that he was attacked by a tiger during a mission in 1973.
• When discussing the archival of Soviet intel recovered in Vietnam, Adler tells Bell about his ex-wife. It is not clear whether he is joking or not.