Shadowman

The Shadowman is a character appearing in Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies in the maps Shadows of Evil and Revelations and is the main antagonist of the Black Ops III Zombies storyline. He is voiced by Robert Picardo. He also appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 as a playable Blackout character, and can be heard in Blood of the Dead through radios. He also appears in the intro cinematic of Alpha Omega, and is mentioned by Nikolai Belinski in Tag der Toten.
==Overview==
===Fall From Grace===
Much like his now-Apothicon brethren, the Shadowman was once a Keeper, who was corrupted by the energy of the Dark Aether. He was also once the best friend of Dr. Monty, who described him as "sweet, charming, and funny". When he was corrupted by the Dark Aether, his friend Monty attempted to save him, but failed and became corrupted in the process. As with all the Apothicons, he was banished from Agartha to the Dark Aether for an eternity following the war with the Keepers. But this did not stop the Shadowman, as he continued to manipulate the outside world from within his dark prison.
===The Voice of Corruption===
When Ultimis Edward Richtofen first touched the Moon Pyramid Device, he began to hear voices of the Apothicons in his head. These voices drove him mad, ordering him to reach Agartha. Chief among these voices was the Shadowman, who at one point considered the German scientist his "apprentice". Yet another one of his "apprentices" was the Warden of Alcatraz, who he manipulated into creating the Alcatraz Pocket Dimension - a pocket in spacetime that would trap the spirits of Alcatraz, with the goal of eventually trapping Primis Edward Richtofen in the realm, using his blood to open a gateway to Agartha.
The Shadowman would also reach out across the Multiverse, manipulating many different versions of a reporter. In Dimension 63, he tasked this reporter with finding the Summoning Key in yet another bid to free his kind. To do so, he took on a human disguise known as Tony "Hale" Rapt, and he enlisted the reporter to research Morg City. After digging around, the reporter traveled to various locations, such as the South Pacific and Russia, in order to find the Key. Finally, the reporter drove a truck back to Morg City to deliver the Key, which was sealed inside a crate with magical chains. The reporter was intercepted by Edward Richtofen, who was supposed to retrieve the Key for his own mission. The reporter, for unknown reasons, began to babble while waving around a letter, containing one single letter: "M". Richtofen was then attacked, but he killed the reporter by stabbing him in the chest. Richtofen left the truck at a corner around Easy Street. 
He would also send the Original Timeline version of this reporter to Ultimis Richtofen's Siberian lab to recover the Seal of Duality, who would be intercepted and killed by the soldiers stationed there.
===Shadows of Evil===
Knowing of the seal and Richtofen's interception, the Shadowman took the next step in his plan. He began to manipulate four individuals: Nero Blackstone, Jessica Rose, Jack Vincent, and Floyd Campbell. Under the name of Mr. Rapt, The Shadowman contacted allies of the Shadows of Evil crew, creating a pressure on the characters to commit heinous crimes for their own gains, each crime associated with a sin. As the four were plunged into a twisted version of Morg City, infested with zombies, the Shadowman offered them guidance from afar, telling them that only from him will they find redemption for their sins. By branding them with the Apothicon Mark of the Beast, he was able to use them to break the seal and retrieve the Key. After having guided them to perform various rituals to retrieve Gateworms, the Shadowman finally tricked them into opening the Apothicon Rift, allowing a giant Apothicon beast to overshadow the city, before revealing his true nature. The four then worked together to track him down and finally trap him in the Summoning Key on a ritual table with the help of the Keepers. However, before they could retrieve the Summoning Key, Richtofen came out from a portal and took it, while thanking them for their effort.
===Imprisonment and Return===
For a time, the Shadowman would remain imprisoned within the Summoning Key. While in there, he learned of the sins committed by Primis and planned to escape once they completed their mission with the Summoning Key. In particular, he witnessed Primis Richtofen killing an innocent version of himself in Dimension 2210 and bringing it to the house. From within the Key, the Shadowman whispers to Richtofen: "I'll be seeing you...".
Much later, after Richtofen and Primis managed to retrieve the souls of their other selves, he delivered the Summoning Key to Maxis with the souls within Doctor Monty's perfect world. The Shadowman, who had been residing in the Key, manipulated Maxis to release him, resulting in Maxis being trapped in the Key.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSSPr2FzNB8 Now having arrived in Dr. Monty's perfect world, he released the Apothicons into the realm, turning it into a fractured world, comprising of various dimensions and locations that Primis have visited as well as their other selves from the past. While they traversed the realm, the Shadowman would taunt the group, while also attempting to sway them against Dr. Monty, and warning them of their ultimate fate.
Soon after, Primis fight the Shadowman with the help of S.O.P.H.I.A and the Summoning Key as well as the Kronorium itself; eventually the four shoot the Shadowman in an Apothicon statue and use the Kronorium so S.O.P.H.I.A could destroy him. Ultimately, the Shadowman is killed by Primis, who go on to fight The Great War, completing the Cycle.
===Broken Cycle===
The Cycle repeats for an unknown number of times before it is eventually broken by Albert "Weasel" Arlington. While he is still trapped in the Summoning Key at Morg City, this allows for the Shadowman's plans for Alcatraz to come into effect - trapping Primis in the Alcatraz Pocket Dimension. However, his plans do not come to fruition as Primis ultimately escape thanks to the efforts of a post-Great War Richtofen. 
The Shadowman remained trapped in the Summoning Key as Nikolai Belinski used it in tandem with the Agarthan Device to create a new universe free from Element 115, and banish all else to the Dark Aether. The Summoning Key was shattered during this, destroying the Shadowman's soul within.
==Personality==
At first, according to Dr. Monty, the Shadowman was a charming and funny person before he was corrupted by the Dark Aether. The two were best friends prior to the War of Agartha. However, his experimentations with the dark realm seemingly changed his personality to take a darker turn. Despite this, some aspects of his old self remain, as seen in Revelations when he comments on Nikolai's humorhttps://youtu.be/lY9EwZUDFPY?si=utue_HVTzOAhYOu8&t=183. 
Acting as the Emissary for the Apothicons, the Shadowman keeps a cool and cunning persona. He is extremely manipulative, influencing and lying to humans across the Multiverse to do his bidding. He also seems to despise humanity as a whole, viewing them as mere pawns to his greater goals of returning to Agartha.
==Quotes==
==Trophies/Achievements==
*From the Shadows - (Bronze/25) - In Shadows of Evil, spot the Shadowman five times in one game.
==Gallery==
===Call of Duty: Black Ops III===
Shadow Man with Summoning Key BO3.jpg|Shadowman holding the Summoning Key.
Shadow Man Human BO3.png|Human form of the Shadowman in Shadows of Evil.
Shadow Man Apothicon BO3.png|Apothicon form of the Shadowman in Shadows of Evil.
ShadowMan Apothicon Revelations BO3.jpg|The Shadowman attacking Richtofen.
ShadowMan Apothicon RevelationsPrologue BO3.jpg|The Shadowman glares at Primis from outside the House.
Shadowman looks at Monty BO3.png|The Shadowman staring at Dr. Monty.
Shadowman summoning Apothicon Sun BO3.png|The Shadowman, preparing to summon the Apothicon Sun.
Shadowman Revelations Final Battle.jpg|The Shadowman wearing ceremonial robes in Revelations.
===Call of Duty: Zombies Vol. 1 comic===
Shadowman Issue6 Comics Zombies.PNG|The Shadowman as seen in the Call of Duty: Zombies Vol. 1 comic.
===Call of Duty: Black Ops 4===
Shadowman Blackout BO4.png|The Shadowman in Blackout.
Shadowman Blackout.png|The Shadowman, holding a Paladin HB50.
Shadowman Jumpscare BotD BO4.png|A jumpscare of the Shadowman in Blood of the Dead
Shadowman Skulking AlphaOmega Bo4.png|The Shadowman, as seen in the Alpha Omega intro.
ApothiconsAlphaOmegaIntro.png|The Shadowman leading an army of Apothicons.
==Videos==
Official Call of Duty® Black Ops 4 — Shadowman Blackout Character
==Trivia==
*The Shadowman's human alias, Tony "Hale" Rapt, is an anagram for , a prominent figure in the .
*During the boss-fight in Revelations, the symbol on the Shadowman's chest is the Apothicon word Ozzoth, which translates to "Apothicon". 
*According to the Revelation files in the game, the Shadowman was going to be a new Demonic Announcer. However, these files were removed from the final version of the map for unknown reasons.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_xkRjniIOk
*Monty and Shadowman's forms are identical, despite the former being a Keeper.
==References==
Category:Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies Characters
Category:Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies Enemies
Category:Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Zombies Characters
Category:Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout Characters
Category:Antagonists