What the return of Edward Richtofen could mean for Zombies in Call of Duty Black Ops 6

There’s plenty of buzz surrounding Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 as it creeps closer to its release, and understandably so. Fans of the Zombies mode had it especially good recently with the release of a trailer showcasing an intro cinematic and snippets of gameplay for one of the game’s launch maps, Terminus.

That trailer made it immediately apparent who the real big bad of the ongoing Dark Aether storyline is, and for longtime Zombies players, it’s both a surprise and not much of a surprise at all who’s pulling the strings. After being teased previously in Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War, Dr. Edward “Eddie” Richtofen (Nolan North) stands revealed as the arc’s bad guy, and he has a pretty massive target on his back.

As seen in the Terminus trailer, his name is scribbled on Grigori Weaver’s (Gene Farber) prison cell wall, indicating that he has some serious revenge coming his way. William Peck (Zeke Alton) also expresses interest in killing Richtofen for stealing his life’s work.

We’ll have to wait and see if he appears in the flesh, but how is the maniacal German scientist back in the Zombies spotlight? Ahead of the release of Black Ops 6, let’s take a trip down memory lane to discuss what became of Richtofen by the end of Black Ops 4.

Richtofen’s role in the Dark Aether storyline

To understand Richtofen’s place in the Dark Aether saga, we have to go back to the end of the Aether story in Black Ops 4. To sum up the past decade or so, everything in the multiverse is enveloped by the Dark Aether, a twisted, corrupted version of the real world. Our main Zombies crew in their Primis and Ultimis forms are killed, and the cycle they’d been trapped in for so long is destroyed. All that remains of this multiverse in the new one born out of it are Samantha Maxis (Julie Nathanson) and a young Eddie from another dimension. They walk hand in hand to the new world, though they don’t live peaceful lives by any means as they become adults.

While Samantha grows up to become a military operative and joins the front lines against the Dark Aether’s invading forces, Eddie’s story takes a more surprising turn. The specifics of his childhood remain unknown, but as an adult, he serves as the Director of the Requiem, which is a unit of the Central Intelligence Agency that monitors Dark Aether activity. Though she doesn’t know it, as revealed in Black Ops: Cold War, Richtofen is her boss and later her interrogator as he tries to unlock her powers after she’s exposed to the Dark Aether. He also oversees the arrests of her companions, hence why they’re in prison before the events of Terminus.

What is Richtofen’s latest scheme?

This brings us to Black Ops 6, where Requiem has been disbanded, and Richtofen seems to have given up his position at the CIA. For now, all we can do is least speculate as to what he’s been up to and how Eddie went from an innocent child to a ruthless government figure with no regard for the lives of others.

At the heart of whatever he’s concocting is his fascination with the Dark Aether. Could it be that he simply wants to harness its power for himself, much like how the previous Richtofen took an interest in the power of the Aether? Or, is he more so a pawn in a larger game? Richtofen was previously influenced by the Apothicons and the Shadowman (Robert Picardo) to do their bidding, so maybe they or another malevolent entity is swaying Eddie for an unknown end.

Then again, since he has memories of the previous multiverse, unlike Samantha, maybe he wants to resurrect it and those within it, believing her Dark Aether abilities could be the key to making that happen. He might want to show her what they lost so she contributes to his grand plan to restore the banished multiverse.

Are more Zombies legacy characters on the way?

With Richtofen making a comeback, some wonder if other legacy Zombies characters could emerge in Black Ops 6 and beyond. Seeing as Richtofen’s fellow Zombies icons Tank Dempsey (Steve Blum), Nikolai Belinski (Fred Tatasciore), and Takeo Masaki (Tom Kane) are all dead, they’re not likely to come back. On the other hand, there is one tenured Zombies crew that could theoretically pop up during the Dark Aether saga.

The Victis crew, known colloquially as the TranZit crew since that was their debut map, was introduced in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Abigail “Misty” Briarton (Stephanie Lemelin), Samuel Stuhlinger (David Boat), Russman (Keith Szarabajka), and Marlton Johnson (Scott Menville) make it all the way to Black Ops 4, helping bring an end to the multiverse and kickstart the new world seen in Black Ops: Cold War and Black Ops 6.

They don’t necessarily die at the end of Tag der Toten, simply being sent off to the Dark Aether. While it’s entirely likely they were killed or went insane while there, there’s a slim chance they’re still alive, waiting for a chance to help out once again.

If they or others don’t come back, though, at least longtime fans can spend some time with Richtofen, the twisted lynchpin of the entire Zombies game mode, yet again.