What Happened to Samantha in Call of Duty Zombies?
Samantha Maxis, the mysterious young girl casting her shadow over Treyarch‘s Zombies mode for over a decade, has one of the most winding and pivotal story arcs across the entirety of the Call of Duty franchise. As an iconic fixture woven through various timelines and dimensions, her character has shifted from innocent victim, to demonic villain, to unlikely hero over the course of many twists and turns.
When we first encounter Samantha in the intro cinematic for 2008‘s zombie-spawning trailblazer Nacht der Untoten, she comes across as a helpless child calling out for her father Dr. Maxis as the undead overrun the World War II-era airbase. We later discover in the Black Ops arc that her innocence was violently ripped away when Nazi scientist Edward Richtofen trapped her soul inside the M.P.D., using her to access the Aether and carry out his grand scheme.
From Victim to Villain
According to radios and cipher clues revealed over successive Treyarch Zombies maps, Richtofen‘s reckless experiments led to Samantha possessing undead abilities capable of controlling the zombie hordes against those who dared to oppose her. Now imbued with terrifying paranormal powers in addition to a twisted thirst for vengeance, she embraces her role as the key antagonist against Richtofen‘s group of soldiers known as Ultimis.
Samantha spends years trapped between various realms, her soul fractured, consumed by rage fueled from being betrayed by Group 935 members she once called family. Ultimately her scattershot attacks using the undead army failed to eliminate Ultimis or solve her displacement from the physical world.
Securing Her Escape
Following the events on the Moon in Black Ops, Samantha is left bodiless inside the crumbling physical form of a dying Richtofen until her father‘s master plan can reach completion years later. Maxis‘ endgame finally aligns in Black Ops II map Buried, when the displacement devices are activated in his favor, allowing him to extradite his daughter‘s soul at long last. Their fractured family enjoys a brief moment of reunion before vanishing entirely from their doomed original timeline.
Shifting Roles in a New War
When the multiverse fractures and splinters the crew across a maze of shifting realities, Samantha possesses a very different fate awaiting her in Dimension 63. Due to subtle manipulations in the spacetime continuum, she follows the footsteps of her father to become a top researcher for the covert zombie warfare program Broken Arrow.
Serving proudly alongside Maxis as his most trusted advisor, she uses her insider knowledge of Element 115‘s capabilities to push back the undead outbreaks summoned by Group 601. While still guarded after her past trauma, this version of Samantha fully embraces the role of warrior-scientist fighting for humanity‘s future.
All Grown Up as a Cold War Spy
Samantha‘s path takes an unexpected detour once again when she shows up decades older working for the West German Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) in the 1980s Cold War era of Black Ops Cold War. Somehow retaining memories of the multiverse she outlived, Samantha assists NATO allies and Requiem operatives to unravel the new undead threats gestating in the Eastern bloc.
How this Samantha evolved from a 20-something Broken Arrow consultant into a key player on global Cold War era stage remains unclear. Veteran zombie slayers can only speculate on what skills or intelligence she leveraged from her fractured past to ascend the ranks among international covert agencies. But her critical expertise on Omega Group‘s activities proves pivotal in turning the tide against the impending Dark Aether invasion.
Lingering Questions
How much knowledge or control does Samantha still wield over the Dark Aether forces?
Will learning Omega Group experimented on her as a child drive her down a darker path once again?
Does her soul still remain bonded to Eddie, the innocent Ordinary child she escaped with from the house of the damned?
What critical part might she play in the final battle against the Shadowman and Forsaken Ones?
Samantha has donned many roles over the years: scared child, vengeance-driven destroyer, defiant warrior, seasoned multiversal savant. Over a dozen years since her shocking introduction, she remains an indispensable character in the epic zombies saga. As the undead mystery prepares to unfold into frightening new dimensions, Samantha Maxis will undoubtedly continue surprising fans and foes alike in her final form.
