Wade Jackson

Lieutenant Wade Jackson is one of the four main protagonists of the 2021 video game Call of Duty: Vanguard, a playable character in Call of Duty: Warzone, and a featured character in the Vanguard comics.
He is a thrill-seeking naval pilot who was recognized for participating in the Battle of Midway, and was recruited into Task Force Vanguard for being an ace pilot. Despite his cocky and egotistical nature, Jackson is capable of handling himself in any situation while also welcoming his teammates since they are competent. Jackson would help Vanguard find files on the Nazi project "Phoenix", and stopping General Hermann Freisinger.
He was voiced by Derek Phillips.
==Biography==
===Background===
Wade Jackson was born July 13th, 1912 in New York to unnamed parents, and grew up in Brooklyn as a first generation American in his family. He was known for being charismatic and thrill seeking, discovering his love for thrills when he joined an afterschool repair club when he was sixteen. Wade developed a knack for driving vehicles, as he was only one in his group of friends that was able to drive at highe speeds on the Interboro Parkway. 
After graduating from high school, Wade decided to join the United Sates Navy where he was accepted into their aviation program. Though he received basic training with weaponry and lethal and tactual equipment, Jackson found his love for flying once he earned his pilot wings. When the Second World War began, Wade was assigned as a dive bomber in the Pacific theater and was partnered with Mateo Hernandez.
===Battle of Midway===
Jackson and Mateo participated in the Battle of Midway, with Wade flying while Mateo acted as his gunner. The two fought against the Imperial Japanese Navy by protecting their squadron from enemy zeroes, allowing them to reach the Imperial Japanese's aircraft carriers. Despite taking down the first carrier, Jackson and Mateo had to battle more zeroes when the Imperial Japanese Navy sent more forces as a retaliation strike. Seeing an opportunity to destroy the second aircraft carrier, Wade successfully dive bombed and barely managed to not crash. The success of the battle proved fruitful for the United States, as it caused a devastating blow to the Japanese navy and acted as a turning point in the war.
===Bougainville Campaign===
A year after the Battle of Midway, Wade and Mateo battled against Japanese zeroes around Bougainville, but they were shot down and crashed onto the island. Wade was injured during the crash, forcing Mateo to hide his body under large piles of leaves to prevent enemy patrol from finding him. Jackson regained conscious and decided to look for Hernandez, who decided to scout ahead so they find a way off the island. Wade evaded Japanese soldiers in the jungle while also trying to signal for help, but he was captured by the Japanese upon finding Mateo. Taken to their enemy camp, Wade and Mateo were rescued by the 93rd Infantry Division, who revealed that they assigned to assist the 23rd Infantry Division in reclaiming Bougainville.
Seeing that they have no other choice, Wade and Mateo joined the 93rd Infantry in fighting against the Japanese, where they witnessed several members be killed. The group reached the Japanese airfield, where 93rd leader James "Booker" Washington revealed that his plan is to have Wade and Mateo fly a dive bomber and assist them in the skies. After clearing the runway, Wade and Mateo assisted the 93rd in reclaiming the island, and Jackson saluted the squad before flying off. The incident in Bougainville changed him, as he experienced of what the war was like on the ground, and to win you have to work as a team.
Wade was later recruited into Task Force Vanguard, a special operations group formed by Captain Carver Butcher to find files that spoke of a secret Nazi project "Phoenix". Partnered with Arthur Kingsley, Polina Petrova, Lucas Riggs and Novak, Jackson was mostly disliked by his teammates due to his arrogant nature. Despite this, Kingsley respected Jackson since had read his files, knowing that there was more to Wade than his cocky demeanor.
===Call of Duty: Vanguard===
In Hamburg, Germany, Wade and the team hijacked a train that was going to a submarine base that contained the files, and Jackson showed his hotshot nature by destroying a train by hopping on top of it. Though the group managed to obtain the files in the submarine, the team were captured excluding from Jackson, who managed to evade the Nazi soldiers. The team (excluding Kingsley) accused Wade of abandoning them, and lied to the Nazis that he had been killed on the train ride to Hamburg. Despite being accused by his teammates, Wade was actually planning on saving his teammates, but after failing to obtain a getaway plane, returned and found that they were imprisoned in the Gestapo headquarters. Out of options, Jackson decided to meet with the Red Army, who were marching onto Berlin, and borrow a bomb from them. After placing the bomb, Wade turned himself in, and was taken to the Gestapo headquarters.
Taken to the Gestapo, Wade was interrogated by Jannick Richter, a Nazi officer who was tasked by Hermann Freisinger to obtain any information on what the team knew. Richter informed Jackson that his teammates lied about his status, and questioned the lieutenant on what he wanted one of their planes. After being interrogated, Jackson was taken to his teammates, and witnessed Richter murder Webb in retaliation for the others lying. Once Webb's corpse was placed on the bed, Wade revealed that he placed a bomb so they could escape, and Kingsley was able to encourage Polina and Lucas to work with Wade by telling of the events in Bougainville. Arthur would devise a plane to have Lucas pretend to cooperate with Richter so they escape, and Riggs managed to capture Jannick after Wade's bomb went off. 
After Kingsley dealt with Richter, Lucas informed the others that Project Phoenix was actually a coup formed by Freisinger to become the new Führer and build the Fourth Reich. Wade and others then agree to work together to stop Freisinger from leaving Hamburg, with Jackson stating that it's not every day you get a chance to kill a Führer. The team succeeded in stopping Freisinger from escaping, and Jackson went to prepare the plane as Arthur, Polina and Lucas dealt with the general. Leaving Hamburg, Wade was tasked by Arthur to fly them to the location of Operation Aggregat to stop a secret V-2 rocket project.
==Quotes==
==Gallery==
Vanguard-Phoenix.jpg|Wade with the team on the train headed for Hamburg.
==Trivia==
*The character is based on Ensign Vernon L. Michael, who received the Navy Cross for his bravery during the Battle of Midway.
*Wade's actor, Derek Phillips, also voiced another character in the Call of Duty series, voicing the Raptor One pilot in the zombies mode of Black Ops Cold War.
*He is a fan of the baseball team, the Brooklyn Dodgers (now known as the Los Angeles Dodgers) as he tells Mateo in "Numa Numa Trail".
== Navigation ==
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Category:Egomaniacs
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Category:Freedom Fighters
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Category:Counter-Terrorists
Category:Control Freaks
Category:One-Man Army
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Category:Dreaded