Who is Alex in Call of Duty Modern Warfare?

Alex is one of four playable protagonists within the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare campaign and is the tier 100 prize in the Season Three Battle Pass on multiplayer and Warzone. A key character in the campaign, Alex operates withing a C.I.A Special Activities Division, which sees him embedded in Urzikstan to fight alongside Farah Karim in their Liberation Force.

But so much of his identity eludes us. So really, who is Alex? And is Alex still alive? Is Alex actually Ghost, or Roach? Here’s everything you need to know about the new and mysterious Call of Duty Modern Warfare character.

Who is Alex in Modern Warfare?

Alex is often responsible for being the exception to the law and political barriers, operating behind enemy lines and in inhospitable environments, such has been common with many characters in the past. Very rarely is Alex left as a courier, but rather a leader of small teams trained with heavy weapons such as Snipers and Assault rifles. He adapts Hadir’s Sniper Rifle throughout the campaign, better known as the HDR in multiplayer.

We first see Alex in the mission Verdansk Operation, where he leads a team to secure a shipment of Russian chlorine gas from Russian General Roman Barkov. After securing the gas, they were ambushed by an unknown force, who leave Alex wounded and the accompanying Marine’s dead whilst setting off with the cargo.

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Within the campaign, Alex is left frustrated at the limitations of the higher offices, and elects to stay in Urzikstan and fight in the liberation alongside Farah, with whom he has formed a close friendship with. After finding out that Hadir has stole the gas and set it off in defence to ‘The Wolf’s’ troops, Alex and Farah are rescued by Captain Price and Sergeant Garrick, who then team up again. After Price and Garrick hunt down Hadir, they reveal the location of Barkov’s gas factory in Russia and head as a unit to destroy it and end Barkov’s rule.

In the final mission, Alex and Farah are left in charge to plant and detonate explosives that would ultimately blow the factory to pieces and kill Barkov along the way. Once they are ambushed by a Juggernaut to whom Alex kills, the detonator is damaged beyond repair, leaving manual detonation as the only option. Alex volunteers to detonate this, realising that Farah has more importance to her regime than Alex does. A reluctant Farah agrees, and watches Alex run back through the furnace before moving on to chase Barkov. You see Farah kill Barkov on board his ex-fil helicopter, and the explosions triggered throughout the factory, leaving Alex presumably dead.

"I'm not getting out of here. Let's do this" - Alex's last words in the Modern Warfare campaign

Is Alex Alive?

Yes. Alex was presumed dead by fans, although we never saw his dead body, which in true Call of Duty style means that he is in fact, alive. Speculation of him being alive turned to fruition with the introduction of Season Three, where Alex featured on the trailers and has become able to use as an operator, confirming his status as Alive.

Is Alex Ghost?

In a cut scene after the credits, Captain Price and Chief Laswell discuss the establishment of Task Force 141, who have been fundamental to the Call of Duty Modern Warfare storylines. Included within this is Sergeant Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick, John ‘Soap MacTavish’ and mysterious ‘Simon Riley’. Riley comes with no information and no image. We know Simon Riley as ‘Ghost’ as one of the most beloved characters in other Modern Warfare campaigns and this led to speculation that Alex could be Ghost. Keeping Alex’s death under the radar from Laswell with a completely new identity, the theory that Alex is Ghost was very viable. But with the emergence of Modern Warfare’s multiplayer Season Three came the truth that Alex was alive and well, disproving this theory. In a cutscene for the Season Three trailer, you see Ghost stealthily working his way around Rust, and communicating with Captain Price as to whether he had back up that “better be good”. With a headshot to one enemy, Ghost takes down the second, to look up and see Alex alive and well, still sporting Hadir’s Rifle. With a prosthetic leg for his troubles in The Furnace, Alex communicates with Ghost which completely rules out any theory that one could be the other. Ghosts true identity hidden once more; knock yourselves out theorists, you’re in for the long haul.

Is Alex Roach?

Did you know Cockroaches can grow their legs back…?

Another beloved character within Modern Warfare is Gary ‘Roach’ Sanderson, who we see in Modern Warfare 2 as part of Task Force 141. Although he is ultimately killed by Shepherd in the most monstrous betrayal, Roach was integral to the MW2 campaign and won the hearts of many CoD fans.

After the disproving of Alex being Ghost, there were many hints dropped that Alex could be Roach. With Roach being a term for a cockroach, many theorists found that Cockroaches have similar abilities to Alex. The ability to regain legs being one, with a prosthetic robotic leg being used by Alex. A further similarity is that Cockroaches can survive nuclear blasts, correlates to Alex surviving the explosion of the Russian gas factory. There is also a cockroach gun charm that can be equipped in multiplayer. This is enough for speculation to arise that Alex could be Roach and that we will continue to see himself and Ghost work together, leading up to the catastrophe that is their deaths.

This, of course, is just speculation as there are no hard facts about Alex’s identity and role within future Call of Duty’s, however it certainly makes sense.

How to play as Alex in multiplayer.

Alex can be unlocked by purchasing the Season Three Battle Pass. With five variants of outfits, Alex sports a full headset gear until you reach tier 100. There you will be able to use an outfit that reveals his full face. You will unlock his base outfit with the purchase of the Battle Pass and can unlock all of his variants through higher tiers. This means he can be used in multiplayer, or in Warzone.

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Image via Activision