The Call of Duty franchise is a force to be reckoned with year after year. Popularity has continued to surge thanks in large part to the addition of Call of Duty: Warzone, a free-to-play battle royale that is constantly evolving with new seasons and content to keep it feeling fresh. While Warzone typically ties into the themes of the game it is attached to, currently Black Ops Cold War, Activision has made sure to mix it up a little bit by adding skins from outside the Call of Duty universe, like Leatherface, as well as bringing back fan favorites like Captain John Price.
This ability to utilize and add content based around player's nostalgia is directly tied to the long-running success of the franchise. In fact, Call of Duty: Vanguard seems poised to continue that tradition, taking things one step futher beyond simply adding older characters back into the experience. Activision may be teasing the origins of a particular group of special ops soldiers: Task Force 141.
Vanguard Teaser Trailer
While Call of Duty: Vanguard has since been fully revealed, taking fans back to the waning months of World War 2, Activision began teasing the game all the way back in August. In one teaser trailer posted on social media for Call of Duty: Vanguard, fans noticed a very brief shot of an emblem laying on a tree near some barbed wire. That emblem appears to be the symbol of Task Force 141.
While this could just be a fun nod to Call of Duty's Task Force 141 and its lengthy history in the franchise, some fans have begun to speculate that this could actually be a story that tells the origin story of the legendary group. While Sledgehammer and Activision remain mum on any potential connection, it's highly unlikely that any of the modern members show up here, as it just wouldn't make sense from an age or story perspective. However, Vanguard may attempt to establish the origins of the Task Force and its importance throughout the franchise's fictional history.
Task Force 141
If the name Task Force 141 sounds familiar, it's because this group was heavily featured in the original Modern Warfare series of games that began in 2007. Also known as The One-Four-One, the special operations group is a multinational operation comprised of members from the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and more. Most prominent members include the aforementioned Captain John Price, Captain John "Soap" MacTavish, Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley, Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson, Joseph Allen, as well as Lieutenant General Shepherd.
Serving largely as the protagonists of the trilogy, the group spearheaded a number of covert operations against rogue factions, most notably against the Russian Ultranationalist known as Vladimir Makarov. As players witnessed, Makarov orchestrated a number of events, including a massacre at the Zakhaev International Airport during the events of Modern Warfare 2; made to look like an American soldier had organized the attack. Ultimately, Makarov's actions caused a full-scale invasion of the United States by Russian forces, setting the stage for a major betrayal.
Betrayed
The group's assumed commander, Lieutenant General Shepherd, began to develop a negative view of the world, losing 30,000 soliders to the nuclear attack seen by players in the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. While leading Task Force 141, Shepherd also created his own military force known as Shadow Company, members that were fiercely loyal to him and would follow his orders without question.
While Task Force 141 continued to pursue Makarov and discover evidence on his whereabouts, Shepherd attempted to take credit for Makarov's capture, cementing his status as a war hero and destroying any potential loose ends that could unravel his plan. To do this, Task Force 141 needed to be eliminated quickly, killing both Roach and Ghost, obtaining the evidence, and setting their bodies on fire. Price and Soap discovered Shepherd's plans and confronted the Lieutenant General, ultimately killing him. With the world not aware of Shepherd's true motives, Soap and Price were forced to go on the run.
Disavowed
Following the death of Shepherd, the remaining members of Task Force 141 were disavowed and on the run. Price and Soap linked up with Russian Loyalists in an effort to continue their primary objective of finding Makarov. Eventually, the duo were able to rescue Russian President Boris Vorshevsky and his daughter from a diamond mine in Siberia, effectively clearing their names. Eventually, the remaining members were able to track down the Russian Terrorist, killing him three months after the end of the war in the United Arab Amirates.
Modern Times
Task Force 141 made its return in 2019 with the completely rebooted Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Captain John Price was once again a primary character, forming the new Task Force 141 at the end of the main campaign. This modern take on the group includes handpicked members Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, Johnny "Soap" MacTavish, and Simon "Ghost" Riley, with Farah, Nikolai, and Alex "Echo 3-1" on support.
Currently, it's unknown what lies ahead for this squad outside of being playable in Call of Duty: Warzone, but recent speculation seems to point at Infinity Ward working on the rebooted version of Modern Warfare 2 to come out as soon as late 2022. It'll be interesting to see if Infinity Ward ultimately continues on a similar path as the original trilogy or continues to forge a new path forward.
Call of Duty: Warzone is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.