First Horseman

From the Call of Duty Wiki

[edit] Who is he?

The First Horseman is an unknown character in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The only visual reference of him is in a photo that shows all Four Horsemen, in it he is wearing a blue bullet-proof vest and seems to be talking directly to (or being talked to by) Imran Zakhaev.

[edit] Theories

There are several theories as to who he actually is. One of the most popular theories is that he is the person who armed the Nuclear Bomb in the Modern Warfare level Shock and Awe. If this was correct, then it is highly likely he died in the resulting blast, unless he detonated it remotely or got away before the timer expired (if it was a timed bomb). Either way he wasn't in visible range of the bomb when it exploded, as you are told that NEST teams are "on site and attempting to disarm."

Another popular theory is that he is Vladmir Makarov, the new antagonist from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, apparently one of Zakhaev's close associates, and that he is only crossed out on the military file photo because the SAS and the USMC assume him dead.

Other smaller theories are that he is the driver in the level The Coup, the terrorist at the end of Mile High Club, the person Zakhaev was meeting in One Shot, One Kill, a decoy for Al-Asad in the level Safehouse, or even President Al-Fulani, and that the other three horsemen wanted him dead.

[edit] Trivia

• The icon for the achievement "The First Horseman" shows a silhouette of a face with a question mark on it. This implies that the player never comes into contact with that character. Also, the achievement is unlocked after completing the level Shock and Awe. Another supporter is the fact that in the cutscene before The Sins of Our Fathers, the First Horseman is marked as dead. These factors both contribute to the theory that the First Horseman is the character who detonated the bomb.