10 Video Game Villains Hiding In Plain Sight
7. General Shepherd - Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
In what surely remains the most shocking and defeating plot twist in the entire Call of Duty franchise, Modern Warfare 2 dropped the late-game bombshell that mustachioed badass General Shepherd is actually the primary villain.
Despite being presented as nothing less than a great man hell-bent on prevent World War III between Russia and the U.S., it's eventually revealed that Shepherd has been secretly working to prolong the conflict, having organised the game's controversial airport massacre that first prompted Russia to declare war against America.
Shepherd wanted to take Makarov down less to avenge his fallen men from the first game than to cement himself as a national war hero, a psychotic goal to the extent that in one of the game's later levels, "Loose Ends," he shoots Roach and Ghost dead and sets their bodies on fire. Grim.
Players then take control of Soap for the rest of the game, and in one of the franchise's most satisfying moments to date, get to kill him by throwing a knife right in his eye.
Shepherd's betrayal was so traumatic for fans that it's been tough to fully trust even the most heroic ally ever since.