Captain John Price is a fictional character in the Call of Duty series. He is the main protagonist of the Modern Warfare sub-series being one of two characters to be featured in all of the games in the sub-series, the other being Nikolai. Price first ranked as a lieutenant, and served as a sniper under the orders of Captain MacMillan, participating in a mission to assassinate Ultranationalist Leader Imran Zakhaev in Pripyat, Ukraine in 1996. He was then promoted to a Captain and took charge of a Special Air Service squad, codenamed "Bravo Team", which included Captain John "Soap" MacTavish, before being held prisoner in a Russian gulag after . After being rescued by Task Force 141 from the gulag, he was then assigned to Task Force 141 but was considered a war criminal after he and Captain MacTavish killed General Shepherd. He then participated in a joint operation with Delta Force's Team Metal, rescuing Alena Vorshevsky, and her father, the Russian President, after they had been kidnapped by Makarov and his forces, before tracking down and killing Makarov in a hotel.
Character design
The first iteration of Captain Price was in Call of Duty. Initially a captain of D Company, 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry charged with seizing Pegasus Bridge prior to the Invasion of Normandy, Price is later seconded to 3 Troop, Special Air Service along with the player character, Sergeant Jack Evans. He would appear again in Call of Duty 2, this time as a captain in the 7th Armoured Division, fighting in the North African campaign and then later in the Battle for Caen. The character design borrowed heavily from Michael Graham Cox's portrayal of Captain Jimmy Cleminson in the ensemble war movie A Bridge Too Far. Cleminson, while only in his early twenties, indeed sported a large moustache; during the Battle of Arnhem Cleminson found himself trapped in an attic with the commander of the 1st Airborne Division, Major-General Roy Urquhart, who chided Cleminson for his "damned silly" moustache. The character's third appearance was as a Captain in the SAS in ', followed by further appearances in ' and '. Still bearing a large moustache, this modern take on Captain Price drew further inspiration from British SAS soldier John McAleese, who was involved in the Iranian Embassy siege and also co-hosted the television series ' in 2003. McAleese was also well known for his large moustache. Price's callsign, Bravo Six, is a direct reference to the 1986 war film Platoon, in which Captain Harris' callsign is exactly the same as Price's. Over the course of the franchise, Captain John Price has been portrayed by Michael Gough, Billy Murray and Barry Sloane. In an interview with Sami Onur, a character designer for Infinity Ward, the explanation was provided that John Price is the grandson of the Price who appeared in early Call of Duty games, though this has not yet been confirmed by Infinity Ward staff. In the early developments of , Price was scheduled to be the player's commander, not "Soap" MacTavish, as he was supposed to be the playable character instead of Roach. This is further explained in the artbook for Modern Warfare 2.
Personality
Price is known to be ruthless towards his enemies. This can be seen when he tells Captain MacMillan that he was going to "kill them all" after MacMillan asked him what he was going to do with all of the equipment that he had acquired. However, he is also a man who can be funny at some times, often cracking jokes during missions. Price is also a very caring man. Although he seemed to be very hostile to Soap when they first met, they eventually became the best of friends, and Price was devastated over his death. Price is also very serious and thoughtful. On what was to be a "death mission", Captain Price gave a short speech to Soap about how knowing how and when he will die is not a curse, rather a blessing, and how "this land" will remember what they did on this mission.
Appearances
Original ''Modern Warfare'' timeline
In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Captain Price serves as the commanding officer of primary protagonist John "Soap" MacTavish. He is also the player character for two flashback missions set in Pripyat in 1996, these being "All Ghillied Up" and "One Shot One Kill". The missions explore an assassination attempt on main antagonist Imran Zakhaev. At the conclusion of the game, he is severely wounded in a tanker truck explosion, but passes an M1911 pistol to Soap so he can kill Zakhaev. Price survives this incident, and is encountered again in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. He is discovered imprisoned by terrorist Vladimir Makarov after, and joins Task Force 141 in an attempt to stop a war between the United States and Russia. However, Task Force 141 is betrayed by their commanding officer, General Shepherd, who orchestrated the war in order to raise American patriotism and become a war hero. Price and Soap embark on a suicide mission to kill Shepherd and avenge their comrades; they succeed in doing so, although Task Force 141 is disavowed and they are labelled terrorists. In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Price and Soap ally with Yuri, an ex-Spetsnaz operative, and Team Metal, a Delta Force fireteam, to kill Makarov and clear their names. During an assassination attempt in Prague, Makarov reveals he has a history with Yuri and kills Soap. Price learns that Yuri was formerly an associate of Makarov, but betrayed him during a terrorist attack on a civilian airport. The two work with Team Metal to rescue the Russian president and his daughter from Makarov, ending the war and clearing their names; Team Metal is killed in the battle. Several months later, Price and Yuri launch an assault on a hotel owned by Makarov and finally kill him at the cost of Yuri's life.
New ''Modern Warfare'' timeline
In, Captain Price returns to the campaign, which takes place in a new timeline. He is currently portrayed by actor Barry Sloane. Price is contacted by CIA agent Kate Laswell about the Russian nerve gas crisis. Given its threat status, he agreed to finish this operation. When London was attacked by Al-Qatala Price leads his Bravo team to contain the situation. Then, after a raid on a Al-Qatala terror cell in townhouse, intelligence shown the leader' name: Omar "The Wolf" Sulaiman. After the crisis ends and Barkov disowned by Russia for his action, Price meet up with Laswell to discuss the formation of Task Force 141, with few names up for consideration: his subordinate, Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, John "Soap" MacTavish, and Simon "Ghost" Riley.
Other appearances
An Xbox 360 avatar based upon Captain Price is available for purchase. Machinima posted a video in YouTube entitled "Captain Price Plays Halo 3", part of their Call of Duty and Halo crossover series, with other Call of Duty characters portrayed playing Halo. Captain Price also appears in the mobile game ' as the first hero to be unlocked and has a statue skin that can be unlocked for 250 Celerium. There is also a Captain Price outfit for the Stryker Rig in '. Captain Price is also a playable Blackout character in ' if the digital or physical edition of ' is pre-ordered.
Reception
The character was well received by video game publications and fans alike. This praise included Captain Price being ranked as eight on Game Informer list of "30 Characters Who Defined a Decade" and voted as 17th top video game characterof all time in Guinness World Records 2011 Gamers' Edition. He was also one of the 64 characters chosen for GameSpot "All-Time Greatest Sidekick" poll, while voted as the eighth-top character of the 2000s decade by Game Informer readers, and Complex in 2013 ranked Price as the 26th greatest soldier in video games. In 2008, The Age ranked Price as the eighth-greatest Xbox character of all time, calling him "the most familiar of the Call of Duty supporting cast and a damn fine army man indeed" and saying "What a guy; what a 'tache." A GamesRadar article demanded "a whole game" exclusively starring Price because "Call of Duty 4 best dialogue comes from Captain Price" as well as its "best missions are the ones in which you play as Captain Price." GamesRadar staff further placed him at number 41 in a list of the 50 best game characters of the generation, commenting, "Arguably no other character in the history of games goes harder than Captain John Price.... Truly, the man is a badass." He was also ranked as the 48th "most memorable, influential, and badass" protagonist in video games history.
