Samantha as she deploys the Hellhounds. Fetch me their souls!
I'm not a bad person, Weaver. I am a good soul. I know what I have to do... I'm sorry. This is the only way.Samantha to Grigori Weaver, preparing to stop the Forsaken.
Samantha Maxis (b. 5/11/34) is a major character in the zombie arc of the Call of Duty series, appearing as the secondary antagonist-turned-protagonist in the Aether storyline, and a major character in the Dark Aether storyline. Samantha also became a playable operative in Call of Duty: Warzone and Cold War multiplayer as part of her operative bundle.
She is the daughter of Ludvig Maxis, whose last wish was to kill Group 935 and Dr. Richtofen for his treachery, causing Samantha to take control of the zombies to try to kill the Ultimis crew. Samantha would try to kill Richtofen and the Ultimis crew, but would often fail as they would travel to different locations. After switching bodies with Richtofen, she was freed when her father's plan came into fruition, and convinced the Primis crew to free her from Agartha.
Though she became an antagonist in the map "Classified" for Black Ops 4, she became a protagonist to help the Primis and Ultimis crew stop Dr. Monty. After stopping Monty, Samantha and Eddie traveled to a new universe where they could live normal lives. She returns in Cold War, where she tries to stop the Dark Aether from seeping into a new universe, and Omega Group from harnessing its power.
She is voiced by Julie Nathanson in most appearances, and by Grace Kaufman in Origins.
Biography
Background
Samantha Maxis was born on Guy Fawkes Night of 1934 to Dr. Ludvig Maxis and an unnamed woman, who died during child birth, and later became the stepdaughter to Sophia. She was neglected by her father due to his research, and was experimented on by his fellow colleague, Dr. Edward Ricthofen.
When Richtofen trapped her in the teleporter alongside her dog Fluffy, Samantha was taken to Griffin Station, and accidently came into contact with the Moon Pyramid Device (MPD). Samantha took control of the MPD and started leading the zombies, but Groph and Schuster took her to Ludvig to get her out. Ludvig then killed himself and told Samantha to kill all of Group 935 and Richtofen, which sent her over the edge.
Aether Storyline
In Call of Duty: World at War, Samantha acts as the "demonic announcer", controlling the zombies in an attempt to kill Richtofen and his test subjects, Tank Dempsey, Takeo Masaki, and Nikolai Belenski.
Samantha continues to attack the Ultimis crew in Call of Duty: Black Ops, but Richtofen created a plan to take over the MPD, and succeeded on the Moon. Richtofen and Samantha traded bodies; she and the test subjects activate Ludvig's backup plan and destroy Earth. As a result, Richtofen is left trapped in Samantha's body and is able to control the zombies on both the Moon and Earth.
Samantha is mentioned by Richtofen in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, as he often speaks to Stuhlinger, and has the zombies attack Sam and his Victis crew (Misty, Marlton, and Russman). Samantha is left in Richtofen's body after the events on the Moon, but is freed when Ludvig's plan comes in his favor on the map Buried. Samantha's soul was taken to Agartha with Samantha, where she sees the Dark Aether's affect on him, and she decides to contact an alternate version of her father in Dimension 63 to free her. When a zombie outbreak begins at the excavation site in France, Samantha manages to convince the Primis crew to free her.
In Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Samantha's soul traveled with Ludvig to The House to live in a perfect universe, alongside the child versions of the Ultimis crew. Samantha stays there with the four children, and personally befriends Eddie.
Samantha returns as a major character in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, having returned to her vengeful ways when her father is killed by Monty to prevent the cycle of the universe from being broken again. She appears as the "demonic announcer" in the map "Classified", but returns as a protagonist to help Primis and Ultimis stop Monty. When the Victis crew gathered the Agarthan device for Primis Nikolai, Samantha stood by as she saw the rest of Primis and Ultimis die from the poisoned alcohol they had just consumed. Primis Nikolai then tasked Samantha to kill him so the cycle could end, and Samantha and Eddie were able to walk out of the Dark Aether into a new universe.
Dark Aether
Samantha returns in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, having appeared to have grown up in the new universe that was free of Element 115. She became a member of the BND, and also knew CIA agent Grigori Weaver, who is tasked with stopping zombies that are attacking. Samantha appears to go rogue to stop the zombies and the Dark Aether from corrupting the new universe, and gives Weaver a tape of the zombies attacking a facility in Poland. She now works on trying to stop Omega Group from harnessing power from the Dark Aether, and becomes an ally of Requiem in their mission to stop the destruction of the new universe.
Upon entering the new universe, Samantha lost all of previous memories and grew up in an orphanage in West Germany before becoming a student at Heidelberg University. She graduated with a bachelor in mathematics and a minor in linguistics in 1973, and was recruited into the BND in 1974. Serving the agency, Samantha was present during the Iranian revolution, where she met Grigori Weaver, who rescued her when she was left behind after the Shah was overthrown.
Samantha and Weaver developed a strong friendship, and at one point attempted to save a boy, but failed in the process. Around the early 1980s, Samantha was warned by her BND colleague Dieter about the agency obtaining defectors, and received information about Endstation from her KGB contact Tatyana. She would received a VHS tape that showed the outbreak at Endstation, and decided to inform Weaver about the situation.
Informing Weaver of the tape at a phonebooth, Samantha informed him about the zombie outbreaks that were occurring, and also told him Omega Group was behind it. When Weaver offered her safety, Samantha refused, arguing that she should remain on the field before hanging up. Thanks to her assistance, Weaver was able to put together a team called Requiem to close the rift that was opened at the Endstation facility. Believing that the BND was compromised by Omega, Samantha went rogue and met with her contact Sergei Ravenov, who was a member of Omega Group, and believed she could turn him. Sergei had decided to stop Omega, and became one of her allies in trying to stop Omega and further outbreaks.
Traveling to outpost 25 in Vietnam, Samantha received information from Sergei on Omega's intentions: to harness the power of the Dark Aether to win the Cold War against the United States. During her infiltration of the outpost, Samantha was captured by Omega Group, and was interrogated by one their scientists, Dr. William Peck. When she refused to divulge information and resisted torture, Peck threw her into the Dark Aether. Samantha survived the new environment, and was rescued from the aether by Requiem, who was assigned to rescue her and close the rift there. Afterward, Samantha was put into quarantine by Requiem HQ, where she was questioned by Mackenzie Carver, Elizabeth Grey, and Oskar Strauss about her experience in the Dark Aether. Despite being stuck in quarantine, Samantha was given a communication line, and spoke with the Requiem strike team during their operations in the Ural Mountains.
Trivia
- Her blood type is AB-.
- She is similar to Alma Wade from the F.E.A.R. franchise.
See Also
- Samantha Maxis on the COD Wiki
