I remember when Call of Duty Mobile finally landed on phones after what felt like an eternity of watching the PC and console crowd have all the fun. It was like hearing a song you’d only ever caught in static finally come through on a clear station. The game itself was exciting, but for me—and a lot of other fans—the real pull was the roster. Activision didn’t just throw in blank avatars. They brought six iconic Call of Duty characters into the mobile version, and seeing them on a small screen felt strangely personal. As of 2026, CODM’s lineup has ballooned with seasonal skins, mythic operators, and crossover faces. But those original six still sit in my loadout like a set of old keys that somehow still open every door.

Let me walk you through who they are and why they matter.

Thomas Merrick

Thomas Merrick is the kind of soldier who feels like a human anchor. He first appeared in Call of Duty: Ghosts as a supporting character, but in the final battle of the Federation war he led soldiers like a storm that had been gathering quietly offshore. Merrick is a former US Navy SEAL, and in mobile he carries that same quiet “I’ve seen too much but I’ll still finish the mission” energy. He isn’t flashy, but that’s exactly why I pick him when I want to feel like the squad is in steady hands.

Alex Mason

Alex Mason is basically the thread that ties the Black Ops timeline together. He first showed up as the main character in Call of Duty: Black Ops, then returned as a deuteragonist in Black Ops II. In the game’s lore he’s a retired Marine Force Recon Captain and CIA operative, which means his specialty in stealth and infiltration is less about noise and more about being a ghost before your eyes even register him. Playing as Mason in mobile feels like wearing a memory—you know all the history behind his eyes, even if the touchscreen can’t fully explain it.

David Mason

David Mason, often called “Section,” is Alex Mason’s son and the protagonist of Black Ops II. If Alex is the old fire, David is the controlled burn. He’s a SEAL Team Six member and a war strategist, which means he doesn’t just shoot his way through a problem; he thinks three moves ahead. In CODM, he gives off the vibe of someone who studied his father’s chaos and turned it into discipline.

Simon Riley (Ghost)

Simon Riley, better known as Ghost, is one of those figures whose mask does more talking than most characters’ dialogue. He appeared across Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 2: Ghost, Call of Duty: Online, Find Makarov: Operation Kingfish, and Call of Duty: Heroes as a British Special Forces operator. His expertise is sniping, and honestly, using him feels like holding a scalpel made of silence. The skull mask isn’t just a look—it’s a fingerprint, instantly readable and impossible to confuse with anyone else.

John Mactavish (Soap)

John “Soap” Mactavish is one of the main characters of the Modern Warfare series, and his path runs through sniping and demolition like a live wire through wet ground. He played a key role in Modern Warfare 3 as a field commander, which means he was no longer just the young soldier making noise—he was the one directing the thunder. In CODM, Soap feels like the moment in a match when chaos suddenly has a plan.

John Price

Captain John Price, aka Bravo Six, is the last man standing in the Modern Warfare series’ long, brutal arc. He’s the sniper expert from the British Special Forces and, to me, the gravitational center of the whole thing. If the other characters are orbiting planets, Price is the sun—stern, deliberate, and somehow still burning after all these years. Every time I select him, I feel like I’m borrowing a piece of mil-sim history.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the original six:

Character	Alias/Title	First Major Appearance	Specialty/Note
Thomas Merrick	Former US Navy SEAL	Call of Duty: Ghosts	Led soldiers in the Federation war’s final battle
Alex Mason	CIA operative	Call of Duty: Black Ops	Stealth and infiltration
David Mason	“Section”	Call of Duty: Black Ops II	SEAL Team Six, war strategist
Simon Riley	“Ghost”	Modern Warfare 2	Sniping
John Mactavish	“Soap”	Modern Warfare series	Sniping and demolition
John Price	“Bravo Six”	Modern Warfare series	Sniping, field leadership

Looking back from 2026, these six feel less like starting options and more like a museum that still lets you touch the exhibits. CODM has added countless operators since launch—some shiny, some terrifying, some wearing outfits that look like they were designed by a slot machine. But when I want the game to feel grounded, I still return to Merrick, Mason, Price, Ghost, and the rest. They’re the compass points in a game that now has a million directions to run.

What makes them so popular isn’t just the kit or the voice lines. It’s that each one arrives with a suitcase full of memory. You don’t just pick a soldier; you pick a chapter. And in a mobile shooter where matches are fast and often blur together, that kind of identity is like a fixed star on a foggy night—rare, reliable, and able to guide you home when the loadout screen gets too crowded.