8 Surprising Video Game Villain Turns You Never Saw Coming

8. General Shepherd - Modern Warfare 2

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Shepherd
Activision

Considering how much they get shat on every single year, the Call of Duty franchise has always consistently excelled when it comes to delivering surprisingly engaging stories. The Modern Warfare sub series in particular weaved one epic plot over three games, delivering jaw-dropping scenes like the nuclear blast in the original or the death of Soap in the third game.

It's also boasted a fair share of great villains, including Modern Warfare 2's General Shepherd. Initially the leader of Task Force 141 and the man in charge of stopping the impending war between Russia and the US, he betrays his men at the story's midpoint in order to keep the conflict in full swing.

Brutally murdering both the player and his companion Ghost, Shepherd reveals his true motivations lie squarely in his own ego, wanting the war to rage so he can eventually be remembered as a hero when the dust has settled.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.