Wade Jackson

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* Campaign
* Multiplayer

*Hang on back there!*
—Wade Jackson
Lieutenant **Wade Jackson** is one of the main characters of *Call of Duty: Vanguard*.

## Biography

A product of New York, pilot Wade Jackson is more at home in the sky than he is on the ground… And he is adamant on doing all his own stunts, even if the mission does not call for it.

Growing up in Brooklyn as a first-generation American, Jackson is a rebel who often finds himself first to a fight, especially if it’s about respect for his family. Bright, yet not engaged with traditional schooling, Jackson discovered his love for speed at the age of 16 through an afterschool repair club. He and his friends often took the vehicles at the shop for joyrides on the newly opened Interboro Parkway, where he would be the only daredevil able to tame the road’s dangerous curves at high speeds.

His newfound rigor for adrenaline paid off after high school, when he was accepted into the Navy’s enlisted aviation cadet program and earned his pilot’s wings in a dive bomber. Since then, he has become a true force in the Pacific.

Charismatic and enthusiastic, Wade enjoys a challenge and relishes the prospect of showing off his natural talents in the spotlight to prove he’s the best. He is egotistical and considers himself special, believing he can fix every problem through bold action.

As the daring hotshot of the group, Wade would rather be a lone wolf, but welcomes competent team members if they don’t get in his way of all his stunts and tricks.

## Story

### Battle of Midway

He was the pilot of his fighter bomber S-17, with Mateo Hernandez serving as his tail gunner. At Midway, they were tasked with defending the American fleet against Japanese airplanes. They defended the squadron from many Zeroes and took down an aircraft carrier. A retaliation strike by the Japanese Zeroes resulted in a shortage of dive bombers. Nevertheless, Wade and Mateo volunteered to do another run and successfully sunk the 2nd aircraft carrier, declaring victory.

### Numa Numa Trail

A few months after Midway, the duo chased and destroyed more Zeroes, only to run afoul of the Japanese defenses in Bougainville. They were shot down, but survived the crash. With their plane destroyed, Mateo patched up an injured Wade before going to scout ahead. When Mateo did not return, Wade went to look for him as a Japanese patrol investigated the crash. Making his way through the jungle, he evaded Japanese troops, killing isolated ones, while searching for his partner and attempting to signal for help. He successfully found him, but was captured by the Japanese forces that were patrolling and scouting the area.

In the Japanese camp, the officer in charge ordered his subordinate to ask Wade if he spoke their language. Before Wade could answer, he and Mateo were rescued by men of the 93rd Infantry Division, an all-African-American unit under the command of James "Booker" Washington. Having no choice but to help, the pilots fought alongside the squad. Coming to a bridge, Booker ordered Marvin Pelfrey to draw out the sniper on the other side while the rest of the group made a run for cover. Wade himself eliminated the Japanese sniper, and continued towards a ridge, losing Lenny to another ambush along the way. Arriving at a barbed wire emplacement, he crawled alongside Howard, the group's flamethrower operator, and helped him get unstuck from the wire, only for Howard to be shot and incapacitated by enemy fire. He took the flamethrower voluntarily from Booker, burning the pillbox and any Japanese soldier he came across. They then arrived at their objective: Several Japanese gun emplacements overlooking the airfield.

The group neutralized the emplacements and regrouped with the tanks. Discovering an Aichi D3A dive bomber in the hangar, Wade protected the squad with a machine gun while they pushed the plane to the runway. He gave the gun back to the squad and flew away. He then flew to a place the 93rd were also attacking. The soldiers of the 93rd ducked down when they saw Wade's plane, assuming it was Japanese air reinforcements. Wade then bombed a position the Japanese were holed up in, where the soldiers courageously charged towards after realizing it was an Allied plane. Wade, as he saw the 93rd, saluted in respect as Booker did the same, and left the area.

### Operation Watchtower and Joining Task Force Vanguard

While relaxing at the British Solomon Islands in 1944, Wade and Mateo are having an argument over the former's recklessness while he complains of the ruined paint job on their plane. During this, they look up to the sky and see a plane over their location. The both of them then realize that the plane is about to crash and then run for cover. From behind a bush, they witness a British man exit the plane unscathed, calling out for Wade. Both he and Mateo then point their guns at him, demanding to know who he was. He introduces himself as Carver Butcher, stating that he needs "the best pilot in this goddamn war" to help him win it. Wade is flustered by the offer, but upon realizing that he would not be world-famous for his actions, he immediately denies the offer. When Butcher starts to have second thoughts about recruiting Wade, seeing as there were "other pilots," he tries to frantically regain Butcher's trust before Mateo steps in and convinces him of Wade's capabilities himself. They then leave the island on his plane, where Wade is irritated by Butcher calling out the plane's ruined paint.

### Berlin

Under the command of Arthur Kingsley, Task Force Vanguard invaded a train going into Hamburg looking for files pertaining to Project Phoenix. Jackson is suspicious of Kingsley at this point, fueled by Lucas Riggs, but Kingsley explains that what information they had was too little and that they were there to find out more on "Phoenix". When the raid goes south, Wade is the only member of the task force to escape capture. After he learns about his team's capture, Wade realized that any attempt to break the team out by himself would be futile, so he borrowed a bomb from Soviet forces and loaded it onto his plane before allowing himself to be captured. He is interrogated and tortured by Jannick Richter, who eventually throws him back into the cell with his teammates. Unfortunately, his capture results in Richard Webb being executed, as Kingsley had lied about Jackson being dead. Jackson reveals the bomb in his place to the others, however Polina Petrova and Riggs are distrustful of him, as he had supposedly left them behind. It takes Kingsley to convince the others that Wade is useful, and they eventually come up with a plan to escape, which succeeds. He mocks Richter and stuns him before watching Kingsley slowly stab the officer for killing his best friend. Riggs tells the team of Phoenix leader Hermann Freisinger's plan to leave the country and take the Reich underground, and the team rush to Tempelhof Airport and manage to capture him. He left to man the German plane on the runway, while the trio burned Freisinger to death. Later, Kingsley ordered Jackson to fly in pursuit of a secret V2 rocket facility codenamed "Aggregat."

## In-Game

### Unlock

**Multiplayer:** Get 100 headshots.
**Zombies:** Get 250 kills with Field Upgrades.

## Portrayal

### Facial Capture

Derek Phillips

*A man's whole life is nothing but one moment after another. For Wade Jackson, each moment is a chance to win the fight. To beat the odds. To save the day. Never ask Wade what he's gonna do next... 'cause he's already doing it.*
—Carver Butcher
Lieutenant **Wade Jackson** is an operator from Task Force Hellhounds. He was released at launch on November 5, 2021.

## Biography

*Raised in Brooklyn, Wade was a bright kid but bored by schoolwork. As a teen, he grew interested in machines and eventually drag racing, which satisfied his ever-growing need for speed. His time spent behind the wheel paid off when he was accepted to the Navy's aviation cadet program. He eventually earned his wings and found his purpose in a dive bomber cockpit.*
## Trivia

* Wade Jackson is based on Vernon L. Micheel.
* Wade's hobbies include drag racing and mechanics.
* Wade's favorite baseball team is the Brooklyn Dodgers.
* Wade's hair is strangely colored blonde in the prequel comics, despite being black in-game.
* The skull design on the back of Wade's "Antihero" skin is similar to the skull design featured in *Call of Duty: Ghosts*, notably for Logan Walker.
* Wade will mention having an ex-girlfriend when picking up shotguns in Zombies.

## References

1. ↑ The Battle of Midway
2. ↑ Numa Numa Trail
3. ↑ Vanguard Comic Issue #4: And Burn
4. ↑ Phoenix
5. ↑ https://www.engadget.com/call-of-duty-vanguard-november-5-174533819.html
6. ↑ "What? You know I'm a Dodgers fan-"
7. ↑ "Ooh! These kick harder than my ex."