Call of Duty's Makarov Was a Villain That the Franchise Will Likely Never Top

This article contains major spoilers for the original and modern Call of Duty: Modern Warfare trilogies.Call of Duty fans online are debating why Vladimir Makarov is the franchise’s most deadly antagonist, and why it has a tough job on its hands if it ever wants to top the iconic villain in the future. Makarov has appeared in multiple Call of Duty titles over the years, and has become a fan favorite as a result.

Makarov first appeared as the antagonist of 2009’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and became a leading figure throughout the trilogy. It was later revealed to players that he had been pulling the strings behind the scenes of the narrative far more than they had been aware of, including ordering the nuclear detonation in the original Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Makarov also featured in the more recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and 3 reboots, although his iconic antagonist status largely stems from his original appearances.

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Makarov’s Kill Count Makes Him COD’s Deadliest Antagonist

A recent Reddit thread started by user KpatMckenzie_28 sparked an interesting discussion about Call of Duty antagonist Makarov. It raised the fact that Makarov directly or indirectly causes the death of numerous protagonists. In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, he orders the nuclear detonation that kills Sgt. Paul Jackson. Then, in Modern Warfare 2, he kills Pvt. Joseph Allen during the controversial No Russian mission. His kill count continues into Modern Warfare 3, where he is responsible for the deaths of playable characters Andrei Harkov, Soap MacTavish, and Yuri. That’s five dead protagonists in total.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

Fans agreed that this aspect of Makarov makes him very difficult to top in terms of Call of Duty villains. With the original Modern Warfare trilogy, Infinity Ward took the time to explore Makarov’s story across the latter two games, and found a way to retroactively include the character in the first, too. As pointed out in the thread, Makarov consistently defeats the player, which makes him feel “like an actual threat,” with one user claiming that he “did it so often I thought we were just meant to die when Makarov showed up.” Even when the player does defeat him, it comes “in an epic boss fight after an entire level spent trying to kill him, after two games worth of chasing him around.” Because of the sheer volume of times he kills the player, it would take a lot of planning for another Call of Duty villain to have the same kind of impact in the future.

It’s entirely possible that the latest version of Makarov still lives up to the original. He remains alive in the rebooted Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series, surviving the events of MW3. Nothing is confirmed at this point, but with the long-standing rumors that COD 2026 will be Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 set in Korea, fans would expect to see the character return in any new title. He still has a long way to go before he can live up to the legacy of the original Makarov, though.