Summary
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2is gearing up for its fifth in-game season, bringing with it a wide selection of fresh content. Predictably, the season introduces a range of new playable operators, with the popular campaign character Graves now being available for online play.
It is likely that this resurgence of Graves' presence inCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2is an indicator of his involvement in the upcomingModern Warfare 3. While this could have some benefits for the narrative ofModern Warfare 3, the inclusion of Graves could also have a detrimental impact to the story of theMWremake series.
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Graves' Role in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Phillip Graves played a large role in the narrative ofModern Warfare 2, being the head of the private mercenary group Shadow Company. Graves and Shadow Company originally act as allies to the player-controlled Task Force 141, before a shocking revelation is made.
After developing a bond withTask Force 141, it is revealed that Graves and General Shepherd are actively participating in a cover-up over lost nuclear weapons. Graves then takes on an antagonistic role for the rest ofMW2’s narrative; a large portion of the campaign’s end-game sees the player assault a Shadow Company compound to find Graves.
This culminates in a showdown between Soap MacTavish and Graves, with Soap destroying a tank that Graves was operating. Graves is largely thought to have died in this encounter, although recent developments toMW2’s multiplayer suggest otherwise.Graves is now a playable operator inMW2’s multiplayer andWarzone 2, and this late resurgence of the character could indicate his continued presence within the franchise.
The Potential Problems with Graves in Modern Warfare 3
The timing of Graves' reappearance inModern Warfare 2likely indicates that he will play a role in thestory of the rumored upcomingModern Warfare 3. It would be a memorable shock if it is confirmed that Graves survived his fight with Soap, although the narrative ofMW3may suffer slightly from his inclusion.
Despite being uniquely spearheaded by Sledgehammer Games,MW3will still continue the established running narrative of the other two recent reboot titles. As the third release of the newModern Warfaretrilogy, an immense narrative pressure would be onMW3to bring its many involved factions and characters to a satisfying conclusion.
Of course, the haphazard General Shepherd is already expected to be a lingering antagonist withinModern Warfare 3, with rumors also indicating that the game will introduce a fresh take onthe iconicCoDvillain, Makarov. These are already two screen-grabbing figures that would require a lot of narrative attention inMW3, and the addition of Graves to the list of antagonists could be detrimental to the game.
It may be difficult forMW3to give Graves, Makarov, and Shepherd equal screen-time, leading to a potentially confusing or rushed finale that tries to juggle all these antagonists. While Graves was a memorable figure withinMW2, his story did have a fairly solid level of closure which may be best left alone. When considering how Makarov would have to be introduced and dealt with just in the space ofMW3’s story, a focus on Graves could pull away from one of the most iconic villains inModern WarfareandCall of Dutyas a whole.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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