Sergei Ravenov

Captain Sergei Ravenov (Russian: Сергей Равенов) is a character featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies modes. Introduced in the map Firebase Z, Ravenov is a Spetsnaz operative who aligned himself with Requiem against Omega Group. Decades later, he would return to support Operation Deadbolt to provide his knowledge of the Dark Aether.
==Biography==
===Early Life and Spetsnaz ===
Born in 1951, Captain Sergei Ravenov is a strong, smart, disciplined, vicious person, and ruthless killer, according to an Omega Group report on him. Ravenov was a counter-terrorism operator in Spetsgruppa Alpha, and served in the Caribbean, Central America, Angola, and Afghanistan.
He would come to be transferred to Omega Group to help with military operations. One such operation would have him travel to Laos on January 18th, 1984 to assist the Shan People's Army, an insurgent group in , who had recently sent a distress call after SPA leader Zhang Wei was captured by rival Shan State irregulars, with a dimensional breach occurring soon after. By the time Omega arrived at Laos, however, the insurgents were mostly dead and the breach was still active. After beginning containment and eradication protocols, Ravenov and his men managed to secure the site in half an hour. As his men collected samples of brain fluid as requested by Colonel Lev Kravchenko, Ravenov would personally perform a sweep around the area to determine the sequence of events leading to the breach. The breach closed two hours after Ravenov's arrival. 
Zhang Wei was still alive, but Kravchenko soon ordered Ravenov and his men to perform an experiment on behalf of Aleksandra Valentina. They were to inject the collected brain fluid and inject it directly into Wei's cranium. After failing to reason with Kravchenko, Ravenov personally injected the fluid, causing Wei to die while screaming in agony, then reviving as a zombie. Valentina's experiment yielded no results, and Kravchenko ordered Ravenov to omit these events in his official report. Two days later, Ravenov wrote the report, but also wrote in his journal about the experience, stating how disgusted he was with the experience and commenting on how his actions in Omega have led him to begin feeding information to Requiem.
===Requiem Informant and Operation Lost Property===
Ravenov would eventually contact rogue-BND agent Samantha Maxis, where they would meet in Romania. During their meeting, Ravenov gave her crucial information regarding Omega Group's plans - to control bridges between the Dark Aether and their world, collecting and utilizing Aetherium as an energy source to win the Cold War. She would then plan to meet Ravenov again in Vietnam to infiltrate Omega Outpost 25 in Vietnam and expose their plans to Requiem. Unfortunately, Samantha's plans would be discovered by Omega Group, leading her to be captured by Dr. William Peck, who would throw her into the Dark Aether after a failed interrogation.
After realizing what happened, Ravenov contacted Grigori Weaver and told him about Maxis' capture, leading to Operation Lost Property being formed by the Requiem senior staff. On June 15th, an outbreak occurred at Outpost 25 through the dimensional breach that transformed most personnel present into zombies or other various creatures. Ravenov was present in the initial outbreak within the Khe Sanh village, having a chunk bitten from his arm during the outbreak. Ravenov would assist a Requiem strike-team undertaking Operation Lost Property in rescuing Maxis from the Dark Aether, as well as helping in defeating the massive Orda that appeared at the village. After a brief reunion with Samantha, Ravenov informed her that he would not be able to come with her and Requiem, stating that an operation was underway in the Ural Mountains that he wished to attend to, saying he had to "stay in the field".
===Ural Mountains and Operatsiya Inversiya===
On November 16th, with the help of Ravenov, who had acquired a listening device designed by Valentina based on the Beacon mechanism used by Requiem's team to navigate through the Ural Outbreak Zone, and the help of Elizabeth Grey and her comms protocols, Maxis established a covert and secure communication line with Requiem's Strike Team, going behind Weaver's back. The Strike Team, under Maxis' guidance, was to head to Ruka's missile silo and meet up with Ravenov, assisting in the thwarting of Operatsiya Inversiya. When a Strike Team arrived at the location, Ravenov managed to secure the control room of the silo. They discovered that the warheads were still pointed to the US East Coast. When Ravenov asked Maxis for a target, she stated that no one should have access to the warheads, and they should be dumped into the Pacific Ocean. To launch the missiles, Ravenov needed the help of the Strike Team to retrieve the warheads launch keys as he prepared them. After initiating the launch sequence however, they found out that massive Aetherium crystals were obstructing the warhead hatches and a giant Tempest called Legion guarding them. With only nine minutes before launch, the Strike Team successfully defeated Legion and destroyed the crystals allowing the hatches to open. As the warheads launched, Raptor One, who was sent by Maxis, arrived and the team left the area while Ravenov stayed in the Ural Mountains. Immediately after this, the KGB would learn of Ravenov's betrayal and strip him of his rank as captain, designating him as a traitor to the Soviet Union and an enemy of the state that is to be taken into custody.
After the rogue operation, Ravenov called Weaver on Maxis' line to inform him of a group of Omega scientists who wished to defect to Requiem. Weaver and Ravenov would formulate a plan to rescue the defecting scientists, Operation Excision: having Requiem's Strike Team head to the scientists and exfil once they meet up with the defectors. This would be undertaken on December 14th, 1984 when Weaver ordered the Requiem Strike Team to head to the State Sanatorium U-23 where they would rescue the defectors. However, it would come to be that the entire thing was a trap, and that Dr. Hugo Jager had killed the defectors personally. As the Strike Team was being exfiltrated by Raptor One, their helicopter would be shot down, leading to the Requiem personnel being captured by Kravchenko. Some time after Operation Excision, Ravenov would be blacklisted by the CIA. At some point, he would learn of Maxis' containment at the BLOCK 8 facility.
===Operation First Domino ===
In early May, Ravenov contacted revealed that he had information regarding Operatsiya Izbavitel and its location in the Zakarpatska Oblast. He had sent a courier to a Requiem dead drop in Madrid with documents hoping that with Requiem's Director knowing of the communication, Maxis would be released in exchange. On June 4th, 1985, Ravenov would assist with Requiem's undertaking of Operation First Domino. He would speak to Requiem throughout the events at the Zakarpatska Oblast, commenting on Requiem's victories. After the Forsaken was defeated and captured by the Strike Team, Ravenov would give them and Raptor One a salute before exfiltrating, as he stayed behind. A week after, a personnel file was written on Ravenov, detailing his whereabouts as "unknown". 
===French Syndicate===
In the years that followed Operation First Domino, Ravenov would essentially be a ghost in the shell, with the new Russian government having no record of him existing. 
By 1991, Ravenov was employed by the French Syndicate, a criminal organization led by Francois "Franco" Moreau who was operating in Avalon. The Syndicate was then hired by Edward Richtofen to discover the location of the Sentinel Artifact believed to be located in Avalon. As part of this mission, Ravenov was tasked with abducting demonologist Gabriel Krafft for interrogation.
===Meeting with old friends===
At some point, Ravenov was once again reunited with the Requiem leads, and together they plotted to rescue Maxis from the Dark Aether. However, this attempt also resulted in failure. Ravenov's DNA was also acquired, without his consent, and combined with Maxis' DNA to conceive a child via surrogacy, with Grey acting as the surrogate mother. The child, named Ava, was raised by Grey and the Requiem leads for three years, until 1996 when they realized they were slowly dying and no longer capable of taking care of her. It was decided that Ava would be handed off to a couple, the Jansen's, while Ravenov would observe Ava from afar, to make sure she would not be drawn into the same conflict as her parents were. Unbeknownst to Ravenov, Ava would eventually discover Grey's identity, and would seek to pursue and exceed Grey in her own expertise.
===Operation Deadbolt===
In 2021, Ravenov was contacted by CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell about an undead outbreak at Zaravan, Urzikstan, caused by Victor Zakhaev and his hired mercenaries, Terminus Outcomes. Due to his expertise with similar zombie incursions in the past, Ravenov was recruited to Operation Deadbolt, acting in the capacity of Specialist. Despite this, his profile was heavily redacted, with most of his backgrounds remaining unknown to the rest of the team. This drew suspicion from several members of Deadbolt, including Special Security Officer Selma Greene and Sergeant Johnny "Soap" MacTavish. Regardless, Ravenov maintained a professional working relationship with the team, with his mind fully focused on the mission.
Roughly three weeks after the outbreak happened, Ravenov, Soap, and Laswell flew into the exclusion zone in Zaravan, while briefing the mission to a group of Operators who have been assigned as their strike team. As Specialist, Ravenov helped to guide the strike team in the field, issuing instructions on how to interact with most of the supernatural phenomena. Ravenov also oversaw the strike team carrying out missions, assisting other Deadbolt members in researching the incident and obtaining resources.
====Rescuing Jansen====
After establishing their foothold in Zaravan, Deadbolt found encrypted messages from Doctor Ava Jansen, who requested to be extracted from Zaravan in exchange for intel on Zakhaev and Terminus' operations. The strike team successfully extracted Jansen amidst a zombie attack on a Terminus base. She would later be interrogated by Soap, Ravenov, and Greene. Jansen pleaded to help Deadbolt build an Aetherium neutralizer, in order to thwart Zakhaev's plan, which Greene reluctantly agreed to. Jansen became a new Deadbolt member, unaware of Ravenov's knowledge about her past or his association with Requiem.
====Finalizing the Aetherium Neutralizer====
Eventually, the strike team finished gathering data and components to build the Aetherium neutralizer for Jansen, which was brought out to the field for a test run. The test was successful, though Jansen noted in a meeting afterward that the neutralizer needed additional upgrades to work on refined Aetherium that Zakhaev possessed. She proposed acquiring research data from Oskar Strauss, which triggered a reaction from Ravenov. However, he dismissed the feeling quickly, and did not disclose his knowledge of Strauss and Requiem to the others. Ravenov later monitored the strike team as they conducted a raid on a Terminus fortress operated by their commander "Legacy" Baranov, who was in possession of Strauss's research data.
Later, having upgraded the neutralizer, Greene authorized the strike team to deploy at Zakhaev's Aetherium refining plant, alongside Ravenov and Jansen. While protecting the Neutralizer from Terminus forces, its activities attract the attention of an Aether Worm, Orcus. The strike team managed to kill Orcus, allowing Jansen a window to power up the neutralizer and destabilize all Aetherium within the area. This, however, opened a Dark Aether rift, which Jansen was briefly exposed to. Ravenov immediately went to check on Jansen, whose eyes glowed a faint purple after the exposure. In the aftermath, Zakhaev fled the scene, while reports of energy spikes began to appear within the high threat zone of Zaravan.
====Dark Aether Rifts====
Shortly after Zakhaev's defeat, the strike team was deployed to investigate an anomaly near the High Threat Zone, which turned out to be a rift into the Dark Aether. Ravenov monitored the strike team, who returned afterward reporting an encounter with an entity inside the rift; the same entity which also briefly interacted with Jansen at the refining plant. He later informed Jansen of this revelation, unaware that she had been suffering hallucinations and hearing the Entity's voice.
At some point, Ravenov and Deadbolt member Hugo Barrera instructed the strike team to gather data on the Aether Storm, in an effort to learn how to stunt it. To this end, the strike team acquired several flash drives from Terminus data stations, then put them in refractors while under an active storm. This attracted another Aether Worm, Greylorm, which the strike team was able to defeat.
Some time later, a second Dark Aether Rift appeared in Zaravan, prompting the strike team to investigate once more. This time, Terminus forces and their commander, Jack Fletcher, were seen entering the rift. Ravenov quickly followed in pursuit, and was joined by the strike team shortly after. The Deadbolt operatives formed a truce with Fletcher and his troops to escape the Dark Aether, though Fletcher betrayed them at the last minute by turning his own men into zombies to thwart Deadbolt, though they managed to survive. Later, while Ravenov was tending to his own wounds, Jansen confronted him on his affiliation with Requiem. Though he confirmed his association with Requiem, Ravenov refused to divulge further on their research in the past, promising Jansen to give her the full story once the Zaravan outbreak is dealt with. As she stormed out in frustration, Ravenov remarked to himself that Jansen's parents would be proud of her.
Eventually, Jansen was reported missing, and later found entering a third rift in Zaravan. Ravenov and the strike team once again ventured into the dimension, where they witnessed the Entity possessing Jansen and unleashing zombies on them. The strike team and Ravenov managed to repel the Entity and recover Jansen. Later, Ravenov scolded Jansen for recklessly pursuing Grey's research, but relented and decided to show her a recording of Grey from 1996, in which she confirmed the identities of Jansen's biological parents, as well as Grey's role as her surrogate mother. Jansen lashed out at Ravenov for hiding the truth from her, then stormed off once more.
==Appearances==
FirebaseZ Promo BOCW.jpg|Firebase Z
Outbreak SelectionScreen BOCW.png|Outbreak
MauerDerToten Selection Screen BOCW.png|Mauer der Toten
Forsaken Selection Screen BOCW.png|Forsaken
OperationDeadbolt LoadingScreen MWIII.png|Operation Deadbolt
CitadelleDesMorts LobbyScreen BO6.jpg|Citadelle des Morts
==Gallery==
===Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War===
SergeiRavenov OmegaReport FirebaseZ Teaser BOCW.png|Omega Group report on Ravenov
SergeiRavenov HUD Zombies BOCW.png|HUD icon for Ravenov during Firebase Z.
SergeiRavenov HUD Outbreak Zombies BOCW.png|HUD icon for Ravenov during Outbreak, for Ravenov Implications.
Captain Ravenov Entrapment Icon BOCW.png|HUD icon for Ravenov during Entrapment.
Ravenov ID Badge BOCW.png|Ravenov's ID.
Ravenov behind screens BOCW.png
Welcome to Vietnam FirebaseZ BOCW.png
Ravenov pissed off BOCW.png
Ravenov FirebaseZ ending BOCW.png|Ravenov says goodbye to Samantha.
RavenovBurnNotice Intel OmegaGroup Outbreak BOCW.png|KGB order designating Ravenov as an enemy of the state. 
Ravenov Thanks The Strike Team BOCW.png|Ravenov thanking the Strike Team at the end of Forsaken. Note that operators present are not canon, and are subject to player selection.
Ravenov salutes Raptor One Forsaken BOCW.png|Ravenov salutes Raptor One.
===Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III===
Zombies Teaser5 MWIII.jpg|Ravenov's Omega Group ID Card.
Zombies Teaser6 MWIII.jpg|Ravenov's file.
Sergei Ravenov Zombies IntroCinematic MWIII.jpg
Oskar Strauss TopView Zombies Cinematic MWIII.png|Ravenov and Jansen looking over Strauss's work.
Sergei Ravenov Zombies HUD MWIII.png|HUD icon for Ravenov.
Zombies Season Two Promo5 MWIII.jpg|Ravenov in the Dark Aether.
Ravenov SeasonThreeReloaded Trailer MWIII.png
Jansen DeadboltStrikeTeam MWIII.png|Ravenoc and the Deadbolt Strike Team go after Jansen.
Jansen Ravenov SeasonFiveReloaded Trailer MWIII.png|Ravenov and Jansen.
Zombies Season Five Promo MWIII.jpg
===Call of Duty: Black Ops 6===
Ravenov Smoking BO6.png
Ravenov Maxis Photograph BO6.png|Ravenov burning his photograph with a cigarette.
Ravenov AimingHandgun BO6.png
Ravenov Reunites BO6.png|Ravenov reunites with Requiem.
Ravenov Meets Maya BO6.png|Ravenov meets Maya Aguinaldo.
Weaver Stops Ravenov BO6.png|Ravenov is stopped by Weaver.
SergeiRavenov HUD CitadelleDesMorts Zombies BO6.png|HUD icon for Ravenov during Citadelle des Morts.
==Trivia==
===Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War===
*On February 9th, 2022, Black Ops Cold War received an update and Ravenov accidentally appeared as an Operator through offline lobbies, where he showed up as a bot.https://www.reddit.com/r/blackopscoldwar/comments/soo4e2/i_am_so_confused_this_operator_was_in_my_bots/
**After the April 25th, 2022 update, Ravenov stopped showing up as a bot in offline lobbies. Files pertaining to Ravenov were removed from the game following the June 6th, 2022 update.
===Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III===
*In an audio log, Ravenov states to Selma Greene his date of birth, April 20th, 1951. Greene responded "That makes you what, seventy-three?". However, Operation Deadbolt took place in 2021, which would mean Ravenov was either 69 or 70 years old at the time of this conversation.
==References==
Category:Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies Characters
Category:Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Zombies Characters
Category:Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies Characters