- "Born into enormous wealth, the magician grew up surrounded by lackeys and sycophants… and a lifetime of constant praise and attention has only fueled his deeply misplaced arrogance."
- — Nero's bio
Nero Blackstone is a character appearing in Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies, as one of the four main characters of Shadows of Evil. He is voiced and motion-captured by Jeff Goldblum.
Biography[]
Nero was once a very successful magician in Morg City, but his popularity sunk quickly for unknown reasons, going as far as being crowned "Worst Magician of the Year" by the Magician's Weekly magazine. In addition, he is married to a demanding woman, who always finds a reason to complain about him. According to the Zombies Chronicles Timeline, the Shadowman had bribed Nero's accountant to make it appear as if Nero's wife had accumulated a large amount of debt. Unbeknownst to this, Nero killed his wife in a staged accident in order to claim the insurance money and pay off their debts.
On one night, Nero pays a visit to the Black Lace burlesque club, where he meets the boxer Floyd Campbell, Detective Jack Vincent, and the dancer Jessica Rose. During Jessica's performance, the four of them are mysteriously knocked out cold. Each of them later wake up in different areas of Morg, finding their left hand branded with the Mark of the Beast. They discover zombies roaming around the city, and attempt to escape, only to reunite in an alley later. A mysterious figure calling himself Shadow Man then asks the four characters to complete the rituals to atone for their sins. Nero collects his ritual item, which is his lawyer's pen, and later sacrifices him as part of the ritual. After finishing all the rituals, the Shadow Man reveals that they have opened a gateway to freeing the Apothicon on their dimension. Nero begins to remember all of the events being depicted in a book, located in his lair. After reading the book, they find out the true nature of the Apothicon, as well as the Keepers. The four then proceed to summon the Keepers under the Rift, where they work together to "kill" the Shadow Man (unknowingly to them, only his physical body was destroyed, while his soul is preserved within the Summoning Key). Using the power of the Keepers, they destroy the large Apothicon creature roaming the skies of Morg City, freeing their dimension from the Apothicon's wrath. As the Keepers return the key to them, Edward Richtofen quickly appears and takes it. He thanks Nero and the others for their efforts, then teleports away. The next day, the Apothicons then destroy their dimension, killing everyone who lived in Dimension 63, including Nero.
Personality[]
Born into a prosperous and wealthy family, Nero often feels a sense of entitlement yet also is nervous when talking to people or asking for help, and seems to be socially inept. This is supported by his consistent stuttering when talking to his allies and even to himself. Oddly, his lawyer appeared to sympathize with Nero and had no doubt that he wouldn’t willingly sign a massive loan. Nero even went as far as to consider his layer his only friend.
Nero is also very fearful of the zombies and especially Margwas around him despite having some knowledge of the supernatural. This knowledge comes from his book that he keeps in his room about how the Keepers protected the world from the Apothicons.
Despite murdering his wife in cold blood, as well for the life insurance payments, he seems to be the most regretful and merciful of the crew, although not above justifying his actions by stating that no matter what, he was never enough for his wife and that she would always complain to and about him.
While the group doesn’t trust each other, Nero in particular is disliked the most, being called “magic man” pejoratively by the other members of the crew. Jessica appears to be the only one to remotely tolerate Nero, agreeing with him to ally with the group to survive, yet she also distrusts him and believes he knows more than he lets on. Jack, being superstitious, returns the latter sentiment, and believes that Nero is a jinx as well as a cause for the situation around them and prefers to stay far away from him. Floyd, a loner, is indifferent to Nero, although he does feel slighted when Nero doesn’t think he has much for brains because of his brawn.
Quotes[]
- Main article: Shadows of Evil/Quotes#Nero Blackstone
Gallery[]
Nero's HUD icon in Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
Nero poster.
Another Nero poster from the Call of Duty snapchat account.
More Nero posters at San Diego Comic-Con 2015.
A magazine advertising Nero's fall from fame, seen in the Shadows of Evil intro.
Nero preparing to kill his wife.
Nero waking up after Jessica's performance and finding himself elsewhere in the city.
Nero in the player lobby screen.
Trivia[]
- Nero is similar to the real life 20th-century magician, Harry Blackstone Sr.
- He apparently likes Jessica, as he tries to introduce himself to her during a certain round. However, Jessica doesn't return this feeling.
- He tries to get along with Jack Vincent, however the latter hates Nero.
- Nero seems to be neutral towards Floyd and even admires his strength at one point, however the latter doesn't return said feeling as Floyd slightly dislikes Nero.
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