You ever spend two hours on a Sunday afternoon trying to explain the "Aether" timeline to a friend, only to realize you sound like a conspiracy theorist with a wall full of red string? I've been there. Honestly, the black ops zombies characters are some of the most unnecessarily complicated yet deeply beloved figures in gaming history. They started as stereotypical jokes in 2008 and grew into tragic, multidimensional figures that literally broke the universe several times over.
Most people think of Zombies as just "round-based survival." But for the hardcore community, it’s about the people. It's about why a Russian drunk, a Japanese warrior, a loud-mouthed American, and a German psychopath are the only ones who can save existence.
The Chaos of Ultimis and Primis
Basically, there are two versions of the "main" four characters. It gets weird.
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The Ultimis crew is the one you probably remember from World at War and Black Ops 1. These guys are caricatures. Tank Dempsey yells about beans and "freakbags." Nikolai Belinski won't stop talking about his many wives and vodka. Takeo Masaki is obsessed with honor to a fault. And then there’s Edward Richtofen. This version of Richtofen is a straight-up lunatic. He’s the "Butcher," a sociopath who eventually betrays everyone to seize control of the zombie horde from the moon.
Then Black Ops 2 and 3 happened.
Enter Primis. These are younger, more "serious" versions of the same characters from a different dimension (Dimension 63). If Ultimis is a Saturday morning cartoon, Primis is a prestige HBO drama. Primis Richtofen spent years traveling through dimensions, reading a book called the Kronorium, and trying to find a way to stop the end of the world without killing himself and his friends. It didn't work out great for him.
The dynamic shift is what made people fall in love with them. Watching Primis Takeo have to confront his older, corrupted Ultimis self in Zetsubou No Shima was genuinely heavy. It wasn't just about shooting heads anymore. It was about regret.
Who are the Victis Crew?
While everyone was obsessing over the "main" four, Treyarch dropped the Victis crew in Black Ops 2.
- Samuel Stuhlinger: A guy who ate zombie flesh and now hears Richtofen's voice in his head. Kinda gross, kinda hilarious.
- Marlton Johnson: The nerd who hides in nuclear bunkers.
- Abigail "Misty" Briarton: The tough-as-nails powerhouse.
- Russman: A former Broken Arrow agent whose memory is basically Swiss cheese.
A lot of fans hated them at first. They felt "off" compared to the original crew. But by the time Tag Der Toten rolled around in Black Ops 4, people finally realized how tragic they were. They were just regular people being used as pawns by gods and interdimensional scientists. They didn't have special powers; they just had a bus and a lot of bad luck.
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The Dark Aether Reset
After the Aether story "ended" with everyone dying (sorta) to reset the multiverse, we moved into the Dark Aether era in Cold War.
This is where things got controversial. Instead of a set crew of four characters with unique banter, we got "Operators." You could play as anyone from the multiplayer roster. It felt hollow for a while. You’d have Grigori Weaver—a legend from the Black Ops 1 campaign—yelling instructions at you over a radio while your character said generic lines like "Target neutralized."
Thankfully, Black Ops 6 is trying to fix this.
They brought back a dedicated cast. You've got Maya Aguinaldo, a newcomer looking for her brother, alongside familiar faces like Elizabeth Grey and Mackenzie Carver. Even Stoney "Raptor One" Maddox is in the mix. It feels like the developers realized that zombies isn't just about the mechanics; it’s about having a "home" with specific characters who actually care about the plot.
The Mystery of "Eddie"
We have to talk about the child.
At the end of Black Ops 3, we see "Eddie" and Samantha as children in a safe house. This Eddie grew up to be The Director of Requiem in Cold War. This is the same Richtofen soul, but he grew up without the 115-induced madness. He’s cold, calculated, and protective.
Is he a villain? It’s complicated. He locked the Requiem team in a black site for five years. That’s not exactly "hero" behavior. But in the world of black ops zombies characters, everyone has blood on their hands.
Why We Still Care in 2026
It’s the E-E-A-T factor—Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. No, wait, that's SEO talk. For us, it’s the emotional investment.
The community has spent over a decade deciphering ciphers and hidden radios just to hear a 30-second clip of Nikolai crying about his lost homeland. We’ve watched these characters die, be reborn, and die again.
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The lore is a mess of paradoxes, but the characters are consistent. They represent different ways of dealing with the inevitable. Dempsey fights it. Takeo accepts it. Nikolai drinks through it. Richtofen tries to outsmart it.
Actionable Insights for Lore Hunters
If you're trying to get back into the story for Black Ops 6 or just want to understand the madness, here is what you actually need to do:
- Watch the "Timeline" Video: Treyarch released an official timeline image years ago. It’s huge. Find a high-res version and look at the "Fractures."
- Listen to the Radios: Don't just rush through the rounds. In maps like Liberty Falls or Terminus, the radios contain 90% of the character development.
- Ignore the "Non-Canon" stuff: Things like the Call of Duty Online characters or some of the weirder celebrity cameos (looking at you, Call of the Dead) are fun, but they don't impact the Primis/Dark Aether soul-searching.
- Follow the Voice Actors: Nolan North (Richtofen) and Steve Blum (Dempsey) often drop hints or participate in community events that clarify character motivations that aren't explicit in the game.
The story isn't over. It probably won't ever be. As long as there's a version of Richtofen breathing in some corner of the multiverse, the black ops zombies characters will keep us coming back for one more round.
To stay ahead of the next big lore drop, start by revisiting the Cold War intel files. They bridge the gap between the old gods and the new "Project Janus" mystery that's currently unfolding. Knowing the past is the only way to survive the future in this game.