Jason Hudson

"The numbers, Mason! What do they mean?"

- Hudson interrogating Mason, his famous quote.

Special Agent Jason Hudson is a CIA agent who is the tritagonist and playable character in Call of Duty: Black Ops, and supporting character in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Though mentioned in Black Ops III, he returns in Black Ops 4, being a playable skin in Blackout.

He was voiced by Ed Harris in Black Ops, and Michael Keaton in Black Ops II, who also played Batman.

Early Life
Jason Hudson was born on March 26, 1932 in Washington, D.C. to unnamed parents. He served in the United States Army, joining the 101st Airborne Division during the Korean War. He was honorably discharged in 1955, and attended Georgetown University, double majoring in psychology and political science.

Hudson was recruited and recommended into the Central Intelligence Agency by his academic adviser, Marshall Bryant. During his time there, he showed himself to be a master tactician and mission coordinator, brining his intelligence onto the field. He gained the trust of many in Langley, with one associate stating that Hudson "has a way with words", and "when he speaks, you can't help but listen."

Hudson gained the trust of Langley for his ability to command a room and deal with crisis with calm and excellence. Despite not seeing the front lines due to his work, he showed himself to be a capable soldier, and will get the job done with finesse.

Black Ops
"Damn it! Why can't you remember!?"

- Hudson to Mason in "Revelations".

In 1963, Captain Alex Mason escaped from Vorkuta, and Hudson became his new handler within the CIA. On November 10, 1963, Hudson and Mason flew to the Pentagon, where they were greeted by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Hudson couldn't meet with President John F. Kennedy, as he didn't have clearance, and left with McNamara.

By 1968, Hudson joined the Studies and Observations Group, being a black op member alongside Mason, and his best friend, Frank Woods. Hudson was sent there due to the Soviet presence in the area, and participated in defending Khe Sanh from the North Vietnamese Army. Hudson attempted to talk about Russian presence and a defector to Woods and Joseph Bowman, but the two ignored him through the mission. Hudson presumably returned back to Langley, and met and befriend Grigori Weaver, a Russian ally that was saved by Mason's team during their attempt to assassinate Nikita Dragovich.

Hudson and Weaver later went to Kowloon, Hong Kong to capture and extract Dr. Daniel Clarke, an engineer who stabilized Nova 6 with Friedrich Steiner. Amidst torturing and interrogating Clarke, the group were ambushed by Spetsnaz, and were forced to fight their way to extraction. Though close to escaping Hong Kong, a Spetsnaz sniper killed Clarke before Hudson could get info on the numbers and the key to it.

Despite his death, Clarke did reveal that Steiner was hiding in a Russian doomsday bunker on Mount Yamantau. Hudson and Weaver joined part of a CIA group named Kilo One, and were successful at getting to the facility. Steiner, however, wasn't there, but informs them of Dragovich's plans, and revealed that he was on Rebirth Island, and will exchange info for safety. Hudson, Weaver and the team escaped from the mountain, escaping from a avalanche.

Hudson led Alpha Squad to Rebirth Island to extract Steiner before Dragovich could have killed for loose ends. Though the team attacked the armed forces, they were force to walk through Nova gas, and fight Spetsnaz the entire way. Hudson and Weaver made it to the facility, learning that Mason was fighting his way to Steiner to kill him. Despite making it to Steiner's location, they failed to stop Mason from killing the doctor. Hudson was forced to incapacitate Mason, and revealed to Weaver that Viktor Reznov was never with him, and he wasn't the defector from Laos. The two agreed to interrogate Mason for the number sequence, and took him to interrogation room.

During the interrogation, Hudson realized that Dragovich brainwashed Mason in Vorkuta, wanting him to assassinate Kennedy, and be one of the many Soviet sleeper agents. The agents played the numbers broadcast for hours to break Mason's programming, but to no avail. Out of options since they are at DEFCON Two, Hudson set Mason free, but was knocked unconscious by the latter. He eventually caught up to Alex, punching him, and holding him at gunpoint to tell him the truth. Hudson revealed that Dragovich programed him to assassinate Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Robert McNamara, but Reznov re-programmed him to kill Dragovich, Lev Kravchenko, and Steiner for revenge. After subduing Mason, Hudson played the numbers for the last time, and the former revealed that he knew where the numbers station was, being on the Rusulka in Cuba.

Hudson, Mason, and Weaver infiltrated the Rusulka with Yankee Team to stop the numbers broadcast. The group succeeded in stopping the broadcast, with Mason killing Dragovich and the two escaping from the underwater base. Though Weaver declares victory, Mason is left unsure as the U.S. Navy destroyed the Rusulka and the underwater base is destroyed.

Operation Charybdis
The CIA became suspicious of Mason, due to him not fully recovering from the brainwashing, and Hudson and Weaver being associates of him. The trio became targets by the CIA in 1978, with them escaping from South Africa, and hiding from the government. The government decided to do joint task force with MI6 to eliminate them, with Ryan Jackson leading the operation. It's assumed that the mission was a failure or was dissolved, as Hudson and Mason were still alive by the 1980s, with Weaver's whereabouts unknown.

Declassified
Hudson continued his CIA duty alongside Mason and Woods, who had escaped from Da Nang prison in 1972. He provided communication and support for Mason from 1975 to 1979, and would lead a CIA team to assassinate Menendez Cartel leader Jose Luiz Menendez. The mission was a success, but Jose's son, Raul, escaped, and would later lead the cartel himself.

Pre-Black Ops II
Around an unknown time, Hudson would meet and marry a woman named Jenny, and have two children with her. In addition, Hudson's friendship with Mason have become strained, presumably due to his profession with the CIA, and possibly due to him still working with them despite Operation Charybdis. Despite the strain, Hudson mentions in Black Ops II that he and his wife watched Alex's son, David previously. He also states that "she loves having him", and "that he will be fine".

Black Ops II
"F**k! Okay...Me! Do it... DO IT!!!"

- Hudson's final words before his death.

In 1986, Hudson learned that Woods had been captured in Angola, and recruited a retired Mason alongside Oliver North to rescue him. Mason reluctantly accepted, with Hudson telling him that David could be watched by Jenny. The duo met with Jonas Savimbi, the leader of the UNITA, and fought in the Angolan Civil War against the MPLA. Hudson flew a helicopter while Mason fought on the battlefield, eventually repelling the MPLA with air support. After Savimbi gave them information on Woods' location, Hudson flew them to a barge on a river. Defeating several soldiers and gun boats, the duo rescued a tortured Woods, and nearly survived an attack by a enemy helicopter.

The trio succeeded in escaping from Angola, with Mason having an interaction with Raul Menendez, and were rescued by Savimbi. The Menendez Cartel continued to flourish, with the CIA being sent to Afghanistan to get intelligence from the Mujahedeen resistance. Hudson stayed in the cave with Mullah Rahman, while Mason, Woods, and Tian Zhao fought off the Soviets. In the end, Mason and Woods discovered Lev Kravchenko was leading the charge, and captured him for information. If Mason succeeds in stopping the numbers from killing Kravchenko, the latter will state that Menendez has people in the CIA. Hudson immediately responded that he was lying, and Woods executed Kravchenko on the spot. The Mujahedeen revealed that they were working with Menendez, and left Hudson, Mason, Woods, and Zhao in the desert to die. The group were saved by a stranger, but Mason believed that it was Reznov who rescued them, something Woods would tell David in 2025.

Having received intel from Kravchenko, the CIA set a capture order on Menendez, learning that he was hiding in Nicaragua. They cut a deal with Manuel Noriega, the dictator of Panama to eliminate the Menendez Cartel. During the operation, Hudson realized that Noriega betrayed them, setting Raul free, who went on a rampage to rescue his sister, Joesfina. Amidst the operation, Hudson became to worry of Woods' behavior, who wanted revenge for torturing him and his men back in Angola. After clearing some enemies, Hudson sent Mason and Woods down to the basement to get valuable info, but he ordered Alex to keep an eye on Frank. A few moments afterward, Hudson saw Menendez in the compound, holding him against a wall to stop him. Woods threw a grenade into Josefina's room, causing Menendez to run into the woods before it exploded. Surviving the explosion, Hudson told Woods and Mason that the mission never happened while the PDF walked off with Menendez's "body".

When the U.S. government learned that Menendez survived with the help of Noriega, they decided to carry out an invasion in Panama. Hudson didn't participate in the fight, only giving communication to Mason and Woods. During the invasion, Menendez captured David and forced Hudson to relay false information to his friends, saying that Noriega would be exchanged for Nexus Target. After escorting Noriega to the checkpoint, Mason and Woods parted ways as Woods was assigned to assassinate Nexus Target on the building. Hudson revealed to Woods that Nexus Target was Raul Menendez, and ordered him to kill him with a headshot. In reality, it was Mason who was target, and the player can either kill or incapacitate him. Woods would attempt to kill Noriega after the reveal, but his kneecaps were shot off by Menendez.

Woods and Mason (or Mason's corpse) was taken to Hudson and David, with Menendez telling the former that killed his friend by his "own hand". He then informed the two that one of them must die: Woods, Hudson, or David, or they would all die if they didn't make a decision. Though hesitant due to having children, Hudson sacrificed himself so that Woods and David could live. Menendez shot both of Hudson's kneecaps, slit his throat with the pendant, and kicked his corpse over. Menendez then proceeded to inform Woods that Mason and Hudson's death would the first "absolute loss" of his life, and left the scene.

Legacy
Hudson's actions would be his redemption, as Woods would be the surrogate father of David, and the child would join the U.S. Navy. In 2025, Hudson's death was canonically avenged by David, who killed Menendez in Haiti, or was non-canonically captured.

Eventually, Coalescence Corporation leader Sebastian Krueger did research on Hudson and the MK operations. In 2045, Hudson alongside Mason, Woods, Reznov, and Menendez were reborn by Alex's granddaughter, Savannah.

Quotes
"You killed him, Mason. You did, no one else, just you."

- Hudson in the game's main menu.

"Why did you do it, Mason? Why?"

- Hudson in the main menu.

"Or you can give us what we want, and we guarantee your safety."

- Hudson to Dr. Clarke.

"Dragovich brainwashed you, but Reznov had plans of his own. He was never in Vietnam. The real defector with the Nova Six dossier died during the attack on MAC-V. He was never in the rat tunnels. He was never at Rebirth Island. Viktor Reznov's been dead for five years. He died at Vorkuta during the escape! All the years you thought he was with you. That was just in your mind!"

- Hudson revealing everything to Mason.

Trivia

 * Hudson was number five on Game Informer's list of Top 10 video game Heroes of 2010.
 * Hudson's character model has some resemblance to famous actor Bruce Willis.
 * His character model is also drawn from Gordon in Call of Duty: World at War.
 * Additionally, Sandman somewhat resemblances him from Modern Warfare 3.
 * According to his profile, he was preferred to as "Rock" by his squadmates, referencing the 1996 The Rock in which Ed Harris starred in.
 * He is also nicknamed "Ice Cube" by Mason, which is a reference to Joseph Bowman's actor.
 * Woods has a strong hatred for Hudson, presumably due to him being part of the CIA, torturing Mason, and for the events of Panama.
 * There is a theory that Hudson wasn't the mole in the CIA, with the possibilities being Oliver L. North or another sleeper agent.
 * This is further proved in 2025, telling David that he should "have smoked in Nam".