TheCall of Dutyfranchise is one of the most recognizable and culturally significant video game IPs of all time, possessing a consistently popular presence within the AAA gaming industry for almost two decades. With the franchise long having prided itself on its annual releases and addictive multiplayer formula, it is no wonder that there is so much content associated with the FPS giant.
A perhaps predictable byproduct of the longevity ofCall of Dutyconcerns the many in-jokes and memes that have sprouted over the years in relation to the single player and online modes of the franchise’s many installments. While many of theseCoDrelated memes may be considered quite niche, there are many that are recognizable to huge swathes of people even outside the franchise’s fan base.
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Press F To Pay Respects
By far, one of the most culturally significant memes to come out of theCall of Dutyfranchise came with 2014’sAdvanced Warfare. Being a title that is now looked back upon quite fondly, so much so that a potentialsequel toAdvanced Warfareis being rumored, the game is best remembered by a seemingly innocuous scene that exploded in popularity to become a stalwart element of internet culture.
The moment in question refers to an interactive cutscene in whichAdvanced Warfare’sprotagonist is attending a military funeral of a close friend, with the player character being instructed topress the F key on PC versions of the game to “pay respects”. Initially, the scene gained notoriety for the perceived oddness and comedy of such a personal act of mourning being relegated to the push of a button, with the scene and its accompanying button prompt becoming a meme that would explode in popularity.
Although perhaps being rooted in irony, people quickly began simply posting the letter F in message boards and in comment sections in response to lighthearted yet unfortunate news or happenings, so much so that the simple letter has taken on an entirely new meaning in the internet lexicon. It is clear that “press F to pay respects” isone of the most significant memes to come fromCall of Duty, so much so that in many cases it is no longer even associated with its origin, and has taken on its own genuine usage in online spaces.
The Ghost Stare
One of the most recent but most popular memes to come from theCoDfranchise stemmed from thecampaign of 2022’sModern Warfare 2. A meme that found popularity in its simple versatility, the “Ghost stare” concerns an image or short video clip of popular franchise character Ghost staring down Soap MacTavish as the two ride in a car.
The humor of the meme primarily comes from the lack of discernable expression on Ghost’s face, with only his eyes being shown through his iconic skull mask. The Ghost stare was perfect for the common genre of memes known as reaction images, in which many users would use the meme with captions denoting relatable and often deflating situations, with thealmost judgmental gaze of Ghostresonating with huge swathes of the game’s fan base and beyond.
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Ramirez! Do Everything!
The “Ramirez!” meme is one of the oldest truly viral memes to come out of theCoDfranchise, and was intensely popular as a meme template shortly afterthe release of 2009’sModern Warfare 2. The meme itself satirically plays off of the super-soldier protagonist trope of theCoDfranchise andMW2, in which the player character often completes unthinkable feats of combat prowess and bravery to very little thanks or acknowledgment.
This meme refers to James Ramirez, the protagonist of the USA campaign sections ofModern Warfare 2, and how his superior, Sergeant Foley, is constantly shouting his name and ordering him to single-handedly take control of every combat event. Playing off of this, fans began creating satirical memes translating the demands placed on Ramirez to everyday life, with captions like “Ramirez! Tell me a bedtime story!” typifying the spirit of this particular meme.
Woods Is An Onion
A popular meme also came fromCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, which released in 2020. This particular title, like the revivedModern Warfareseries, saw the return of many classic franchise characters such as Mason, Hudson, and Frank Woods.
Many campaign sections ofCold Warintimately involved these characters, withone particular mission seeing Mason and Woodsundergo a covert operation within a remote research facility. When Mason sarcastically refers to Woods as the expert in stealth, Woods replies “I’m a goddamn onion, Mason,” much to the confusion of many fans. For example, the original voice actor for Woods, who did not feature inCold War, famously reacted to this particular dialogue by laughing and noting how out of character the line is for Woods.
This line of dialogue in particular became quite notorious for these reasons, with fans often debating among each other as to what the meaning of the line actually was. In predictable internet fashion, a consensus among many fans was to simply take the line literally, with photo-shopped images and fan art quickly being produced showing the beloved Woods physically as an onion. TheCall of Dutyfranchise has a fairly unparalleled level of cultural outreach, and so it is no wonder that so many popular and memorable memes have come out of the IP over the years. From Mason being asked about what the Numbers mean to jokes aboutCall of Duty: Ghosts' fish AI,Call of Dutyhas a rich history of funny trends.
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