Primis

"Richtofen: I am no fool. What I do... I do only to secure a better tomorrow.
Dempsey: Yeah? Well, let's see if we live to see it."

— Exchange between Richtofen and Dempsey during the intro to The Giant

Primis were a mythical group of four soldiers and the primary characters of the Aether Story featured in the Zombies mode of Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Initially coming together on the battlefields of World, War I France, Primis would set out on a quest across the multiverse to save it from the Apothicons, while also securing better futures for themselves, Samantha Maxis, and Ludvig Maxis. Led by Edward Richtofen and working together with Doctor Monty, Primis would defeat the Shadowman and save all of existence.

Following this, Primis were sent to 1292, during the Great War between humanity and the Apothicons, becoming mythical figures who's legend would be passed down for generations.

Following the Breaking of the Cycle, Primis began a campaign to save the multiverse from a second Great War. Led this time by Nikolai Belinski, and allying themselves with Ultimis and Victis, Primis succeeded in banishing all realities into the Dark Aether, save for one last universe, but at the cost of their own lives.

Overview

Primis is the second incarnation of Edward Richtofen, Nikolai Belinski, "Tank" Dempsey, and Takeo Masaki players are introduced to. They appear for the first time in the Call of Duty: Black Ops II map Origins, where their history and overall role in the story was left intentionally vague. The four characters returned in Call of Duty: Black Ops III, first in the bonus map The Giant before starring as the main characters of all four DLC maps. Primis returned in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 as the main characters of Blood of the Dead. They then appeared in Classified's easter egg cutscene, as playable characters alongside Ultimis in Alpha Omega, and finally in Tag Der Toten's cutscenes, as well as on radio comms during gameplay in order to communicate with Victis.

Primis were designed to be significantly more grounded versions of the Ultimis characters. While they all still play into stereotypes in one way or another, the character are played much more subtly and are often considered the crew with signficantly more depth. This can be most easily seen with Richtofen, who is a heroic figure as part of Primis but is a Nazi Scientist with seflish and evil intentions as part of Ultimis.

Primis is a major part of The Cycle, and most events in the series happen due to their impact in some way. They simultaneously exist both during the Great War and during the events of Origins through Revelations, and remain major players in the universe even after the Cylce breaks.

History

Early Days

""I'm trying to remember... The staffs of the ancients were lost, but father made copies! You can find them! You can get me out! You can open the gateway to Agartha!"

— Samantha Maxis convincing Primis to help her

In 1914, while working for Group 935, Richtofen was visited by an older version of himself who handed him two blood vials and explained that he would need this blood and, when the time came, they would protect him. This older version of Richtofen then left through a rift.

In 1916, Group 935 discovered the journal of Sir Pablo Marinus. Using information gathered from the journal, Group 935 began work at a dig site in northern France, where they discovered a series of underground tombs. They struggled to gain access to the tomb's main chamber until the entrance unexpectedly opened when soldiers listened to a recording of "La Source Noire". The camp's exposure to Element 115 began soon after.

In 1917, Group 935 experimented with Element 115, dubbed Divinium by Maxis, and successfully created "localized energy fields which appeared to function as portals.". Maxis noted that objects could pass through them and speculated the rifts may have opened gateways across space and time. After witnessing the corruption of her father by the Dark Aether in the House, Samantha reached out to the Dimension 63 Maxis through the rifts Group 935 had opened. She begged for his help and revealed she was his daughter.

Group 935 continued experimenting with Element 115 and the rifts. One day an "ancient box" arrived through one of the portals. The box had the power to manifest weapons from different eras. Maxis feared Element 115 was disrupting the space-time continuum. Following the installation of Element 115 powered generators, reports surfaced of "ancient figures emerging" from the dig site corresponding with the mysterious deaths of several Group 935 soldiers. Using Element 115, Group 935 later constructed four Giant Robots including three named Freya, Odin and Thor. Richtofen noted that despite Group 935's progress at the dig site, he was troubled by Maxis' growing obsession with Sir Pablo Marinus' diary.

Meanwhile, "Tank" Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, Takeo Masaki were dispatched by their respective governments to gather intel and investigate on Group 935's weapon technology and capabilities.

By 1918, Maxis had become obsessed with Samantha, who spoke to him constantly. He believed her to be the "key to everything" and eventually swore to no longer serve Group 935's mission.

Formation

On June 4th, 1918, Element 115 awakened the undead knights from The Great War who quickly consumed the camp. Maxis was rendered catatonic by the element but Richtofen was able to remove his brain before he turned. Dempsey, Nikolai, and Takeo united with Primis Richtofen on the battlefield, put Maxis' brain in a drone and helped free Samantha from her imprisonment in Agartha. Maxis' brain followed her to Agartha.

When Maxis' brain arrived in the House in Agartha, Doctor Monty decided to step in and, despite the absence of his soul, recreated a physical manifestation of Maxis' Dimension 63 form. Monty then erased the original timeline's Dark Aether corrupted Maxis from existence. After cleansing the remaining corruption from Samantha, Monty united her with the Dimension 63 incarnation of her father and Fluffy. At this point, Monty revealed to Maxis his plan: to resolve the paradox wrought by a multiverse and create a new reality - one free of the Apothicons. But it would only work if they enlisted the aid of souls who had lived through and survived the fracturing. Samantha sent Primis to the Ultimis dimension in 1943 where they formulated a plan to stop Ultimis Richtofen and prevent the events that were about to unfold.

Securing a Better Tomorrow

Richtofen visited Morg City and obtained the Summoning Key, dooming Dimension 63 to destruction by the Apothicons.

In the Ultimis Dimension, Dempsey, Takeo, and Nikolai were teleported in by Samantha and arrived at the Der Riese facility moments after Ultimis Richtofen teleported Maxis and Samantha away. They ordered Ultimis Richtofen to awaken the test subjects, Ultimis Dempsey, Nikolai, and Takeo, who had been kept in stasis prior to the outbreak at Der Riese in the original timeline. At this point, the teleporter activated and Primis Richtofen, now in possession of the Summoning Key, emerged and killed Ultimis Richtofen, triggering fractures across space and time.

Now inside the Deceptio Fracture, Primis lit up a beacon within the facility enabling Maxis to know where and when they were.

Using a Giant Robot at Der Riese, Primis pursued a Group 935 truck, carrying a cryostasis pod containing Ultimis Dempsey. The robot, however, was shot down by the soldiers, forcing Primis to continue on foot. They reached a gondola station, which took them up to Eagle's Nest. However, they were too late to stop Ultimis Dempsey from being launched on a rocket toward Griffin Station. As they carried on with their mission, Primis Richtofen posed as his Ultimis self to fool Doctor Groph, though the latter gradually became suspicious of Richtofen's abnormal behavior. Eventually, Primis redirected the rocket containing Ultimis Dempsey's pod to hit the castle courtyard. In retaliation, Groph activated a failsafe, preventing them from tampering with the pod. Primis used the Vril Device from the cryopod to conjure up the spirit of a Keeper. The Keeper then teleported the MPD from Griffin Station to the castle but became corrupted by the Dark Aether in the process, forcing Primis to defeat it. Primis then used the Summoning Key to activate the MPD and launched dozens of V2 rockets toward the Moon, destroying it along with all Group 935 members within Griffin Station. As they approached Ultimis Dempsey's pod, Richtofen revealed his plan to eliminate their Ultimis counterparts and preserve their souls inside the Summoning Key. Dempsey, though initially resentful of the idea, agreed to the plan, and took it upon himself to disable the pod's life support system, ending the life of Ultimis Dempsey. As he died, Primis Richtofen used the Summoning Key to capture and preserve his soul. With the death of Ultimis Dempsey, their goal at Griffin Castle was completed.

Primis then teleported to the Proditione Fracture, where they were taken hostage on board a Japanese ship in the Pacific Ocean. While a Japanese officer was interrogating them about the Summoning Key, a massive wave struck the ship sending everyone off their balance. A brief fight then ensued and the officer dropped the artifact. Primis then jumped overboard as the ship exploded and swam to a nearby island where they found a Division 9 facility. Primis discovered deep inside the facility a giant Thrasher, locked within a cell, which was revealed to be Ultimis Takeo who was being experimented on. Ultimis Takeo revealed to Primis Takeo that it was the Emperor himself who had ordered Division 9 to torture and experiment on him. Primis Takeo offered his Ultimis self a chance to right the wrongs of the universe, which he accepted. Ultimis Takeo committed seppuku, with Primis Takeo acting as his kaishakunin. With his death, Primis Richtofen was able to secure the soul of Ultimis Takeo inside the Summoning Key.

Primis then teleported to Primis Richtofen's laboratory beneath Alcatraz where they met with an earlier version of Primis Richtofen before he acquired the Summoning Key. The earlier Primis Richtofen gave them the blood samples of Victis and Primis stepped through a portal to their next destination.

Primis accidentally teleported over the city of Stalingrad in the Agonia Fracture. During the freefall, they grabbed onto the corpse of Peter McCain, who had gone through a portal, and activated his parachute to land safely. They discovered an ongoing battle between dragons and Russian Giant Robots with Ultimis Nikolai as the sole survivor fighting zombies inside a Manticore mech. Upon noticing Primis, Ultimis Nikolai attempted to kill them, but was thrown into a building by a dragon before he could succeed. He later questioned who they were and if they could help him. Eventually, Primis reached S.O.P.H.I.A., an A.I. made from the brain of Maxis' assistant Sophia who had been attacked by a zombie during their stay at the Kino Facility. She asked them to perform several tasks before a master password could be typed in, prompting Primis to complete the Ascension Protocol. As they continued to follow S.O.P.H.I.A.'s instructions, they found Gersh, who recognized them, yet knew they were not the same versions who freed him. Primis tricked Gersh into entering the systems of S.O.P.H.I.A. to extract information from him leading to his destruction. With the Ascension Protocol completed, S.O.P.H.I.A. flew away through space and time in hopes of finding Maxis. During their mission at Stalingrad, Monty contacted Primis stating he had "seen their misdeeds" and asked them to fix the universe as they were partially responsible for its fracture. Primis then reached Ultimis Nikolai who made a temporary truce with them to kill the dragon. However, upon the dragon's death, Primis asked Ultimis Nikolai to surrender. Ultimis Nikolai refused and a brief fight broke out between them. Ultimately, Primis defeated Ultimis Nikolai who was then approached by his Primis self. As he approached, Ultimis Nikolai asked if he would "kill him now". Primis Nikolai apologized stating he wished there was another way and remarked he was suffering the same pain. He explained that Ultimis Nikolai turned to alcohol to hide agonizing memories of his wife's death during an air raid. In a fit of rage, Ultimis Nikolai fired upon his Primis self. However, the shot hit Primis Nikolai on his armored plate, causing no damage. In retaliation, Primis Nikolai responded by killing his Ultimis self, allowing Richtofen to secure his soul.

With all the souls collected, Primis Richtofen sent them to the House in Agartha where Monty turned them into children. When the souls arrived in the House, Maxis told Samantha and Eddie to put their toys away before coming down to the basement.

At some point, Maxis became overwhelmed by the voice of the Shadowman begging for his help from within the Summoning Key. When Maxis took the artifact, he released the Shadowman and became trapped inside the Summoning Key himself. Once outside the House, the Shadowman opened a gateway for the Apothicons, fracturing and corrupting Agartha and revealing the Apothicon sun. Primis fought the Apothicons and the Shadowman. During the battle, S.O.P.H.I.A. arrived in Agartha. Using the Summoning Key and the Kronorium, Primis defeated the Shadowman with the help of S.O.P.H.I.A. Maxis, still inside the Summoning Key, and S.O.P.H.I.A. then plunged inside the Apothicon sun destroying the Apothicons and purging Element 115 from the final universe.

After the battle, Monty realized Primis drank the blood from their blood vials, blood coming from realities already closed off. This prevented Primis from fading out of existence and resulted in a paradox. As Monty was looking for a way to get rid of Primis, Primis Richtofen suggested he send them somewhere none of their other selves had ever been to. As a result, Primis was sent back to 1294 where they saved Pablo Marinus during the Great War between humanity and the Apothicons, ultimately creating a loop in time.

The Great War

On January 15th, 1292, the Great War between humanity (including the Wolf King) and the Apothicons began across dimensions. During the war, Sir Pablo Marinus was saved from the clutches of a Margwa by four heroes known as Primis. On December 31st, 1299, after more than seven years of war, Primis (with the Keepers and the rest of humanity) defeated the Apothicons, bringing the Great War to an end. Before they seemingly disappeared from history, Primis instructed the Wolf King to begin building his castle that would later be known as Der Eisendrache.

A statuee of all 4 members, commemorating Primis bravery, was built in the chamber between the French Dig Site.

The Cycle

The above cycle of events would continue over and over again, never changing until Albert "Weasel" Arlington broke the cycle by managing to survive the events of Mob of the Dead and kill the other 3 surviors.

Breaking the Cycle

When Pablo Marinus arrived in Northern France in 1294, having been transported from the pocket dimension in Siberia, he fought alongside the Wolf King. He was saved from a Margwa by Primis Richtofen, after the Primis crew had been sent to the Great War by Monty.

At this point, Primis Richtofen realized that Monty was lying about securing a better tomorrow. He realized that going to the Great War wouldn't break the cycle, as it was the end of their loop. Primis Richtofen finally understood that Monty wasn't inherently evil, he was trying to survive by saving the multiverse the only way he knew how. By fulfilling the prophecy of the cycle, Primis Richtofen and Doctor Monty had forged an endless loop.

With the help of Pablo Marinus, Primis Richtofen started a plan to break the cycle. As Pablo Marinus was defending him from the zombies, Primis Richtofen powered up a teleportation device to travel to the Alcatraz Pocket Dimension. Before he left, Pablo gave him the elemental gem from the Staff of Fire. Primis Richtofen would then be known as Post-Great War Richtofen.

Upon arriving from the Proditione Fracture, another iteration of Primis arrived in the Alcatraz Pocket Dimension, farther from their destination than they intended, and made their way to a laboratory on the west side of the island. In the laboratory, they found the earlier version of Primis Richtofen, before his journey to Morg City, reading the Kronorium as he waited for them to arrive.

The lone Richtofen stated they were late before giving them the blood vials. He then strongly advised Primis Richtofen read the Kronorium again before he left via his own portal. Upon reading it, Primis Richtofen realized the pages had changed.

Primis traveled through the cell blocks while fending off zombies to escape through another rift. However, this was prevented by the Warden who destroyed the rift before Primis could leave. Primis Richtofen then realized they were now trapped inside the Alcatraz Pocket Dimension as the Shadowman had intended.

While exploring Alcatraz, Primis Richtofen began hearing Samuel J. Stuhlinger inside his head and realized the lighthouse must have triggered a chain reaction in the Aether. Primis also discovered the Warden's inner sanctum where they found the Warden's body attached to an electric chair. As they were retrieving the Kronorium, Arlington, now in the form of a seagull, stole the book. After recovering it, Primis placed it on the Warden's body. Using the Kronorium, Primis helped several spirits trapped inside the dimension before placing the Summoning Key inside the Warden's body to be used as conduit to his soul. This resulted in the partial destruction of the lighthouse which fired a red beam of light towards the sky and prompted the Warden to attack Primis stating they now belonged to him before knocking them out and locking each of them in a cell.

The Warden explained to Primis that they would be trapped in the Pocket Dimension forever, suffering, with their blood extracted by his machine as it was the key to keep the gateway opened and also freed the Shadowman and the Apothicons.

However, after the Warden left, Arlington arrived and helped Primis escape their cells. As they ran back to the lab, they were stopped by the Warden who turned into a giant version of himself. He was, however, restrained by the spirits of Salvatore DeLuca, Billy Handsome and Finn O'Leary who launched him into the sky. Inside the lab, another cryopod was revealed and Primis started its thawing sequence. Primis then confronted the Warden in front of the Dark Mechanism next to the Model Industries to prevent him from acquiring the last piece of the Mechanism. During the fight, Primis Richtofen decided to step inside the Dark Mechanism and gave his blood. In the meantime, the cryopod opened revealing Post-Great War Richtofen wearing chainmail and holding the elemental gem. He joined the fight and used the gem to kill the Warden and the zombies, freeing their spirits from the pocket dimension.

Post-Great War Richtofen revealed to Primis Nikolai that the future had changed and handed him the Kronorium advising him to read it. He explained to Primis Nikolai that he must keep his soul in order to defeat Monty to which Primis Nikolai replied "Who??". Several portals appeared and Post-Great War Richtofen moved to the Dark Mechanism where he revealed to Primis Richtofen that the cycle was now broken and that their insurance policies - the blood vials - were no longer needed. He grabbed the Summoning Key and joined Primis, who had smashed their blood vials, before stepping through the portals leaving Primis Richtofen to die as the pocket dimension was collapsing.

End of the Line

After leaving Alcatraz, Primis Nikolai, now assuming the role of leader, Dempsey, Takeo, and Post-Great War Richtofen teleported into Hangar 4 at Groom Lake in 1963 where they met and freed their captured Ultimis selves (including the post-merge of the catatonic and Undead Richtofen). Primis Nikolai revealed to them that there would be a war to be fought, the Great War, before teleporting away from the Hangar.

Primis and Ultimis then arrived at Camp Edward, Nevada on October 13th, 2025. They reactivated the facility and its A.I, Rushmore. The Elemental Shard to proceed was locked inside the American Pyramid Device and Rushmore tested them before granting them access to it. During their exploration, they found Peter McCain trapped inside an android.. With the help of Rushmore, who deemed Peter "someone very important to humanity's future", Primis and Ultimis transferred him to an Elemental Orb, which then flew away from Camp Edward. When they opened the Pyramid, they released Cornelius Pernell who had been transformed by the shard into the monstrous entity Avogadro. With the release of Avogadro, a nuke was detonated but was ineffective. They managed to contain Avogadro inside the APD long enough for Rushmore to transfer it to the Hanford Site. After they retrieved the shard, Maxis contacted them saying it was "too late". Maxis then teleported Samantha and Eddie away from the House before being devoured by Monty. When Samantha arrived at Camp Edward, she unleashed her fury causing tremendous damage to Camp Edward before stating to Eddie that they would fight the Great War, kill Monty and burn the House to the ground.

After their journey to Camp Edward, Primis and Ultimis, accompanied with Samantha and Eddie, settled down in a forest. They proceeded to celebrate their future victory around a campfire, drinking and eating. Primis Nikolai explained to them that the Great War, the Apothicons, the Keepers, the Dark Aether, the Shadowman and Monty are just legend and tales from the Kronorium. He revealed both the Shadowman and Monty became corrupted by the Dark Aether, one from his own ambition and the other trying desperately to save his friend. He revealed the greatest war was the war they were fighting against themselves. As they keep celebrating, Primis Nikolai told them to think about what they desired, where they would like to go. Unbeknownst to them, the members of Primis and Ultimis had their drinks poisoned by Primis Nikolai. All of them, save for Primis Nikolai, Ultimis Richtofen, Samantha, and Eddie die to help resolve the paradox. With Primis Richtofen's death, Ultimis Richtofen reverted to Undead Richtofen.

Undead Richtofen then contacted Victis who exited their cryogenic pods and stepped through a portal before the Alcatraz Pocket Dimension collapsed. Victis arrived in the abandoned Group 935's Siberian facility of a different pocket dimension and was instructed by Undead Richtofen to build an Agartha device. In the facility, they encountered Pablo Marinus who had survived the operation performed by Ultimis Richtofen in 1945 and had been living inside the facility as a hermit for 20 years.

Pablo Marinus told Victis he could build the Agarthan Device for them. Victis recovered the Vril Vessel inside the facility as well as the blood of an Apothicon inside the stranded Ascension Group ship. They also retrieved the Elemental Shard sent by Primis Nikolai and gave them to Pablo Marinus. When the Agarthan Device was completed, the presence of the Apothicon Blood caused the species of Apothicons and Keepers to reunite as one, resolving the duality that existed between the species. As Victis activated the Agarthan Device, it started to evolve, affecting all the Element 115 in the area. Primis Nikolai tasked Victis to stay close to the Device and to protect it until it reached its final state. Once charged, Victis returned the Agarthan Device to Pablo Marinus who used it to create a portal in order to go to The Great War and help Primis Richtofen in breaking the cycle. Victis then retrieved the device and sent it to Primis Nikolai.

Using the Agarthan Device, Primis Nikolai destroyed the Summoning Key to open The Way Through before killing Undead Richtofen. With the destruction of the Summoning Key, reality collapsed, and the entirety of creation started to fade away including Victis, the zombies, the Apothicons, Element 115 and Monty himself. Everything that spewed forth from the Aether was banished to where they belonged, the Dark Aether.

Primis Nikolai then asked Samantha to kill him. With the death of Primis and Ultimis, the paradox was resolved. As the multiverse faded away, Samantha and Eddie walked towards the light and into the new universe - and a better tomorrow.

"When we are gone so too is everything that spewed forth from the Aether. Element 115, the Apothicons, even Monty himself. All of it will be banished to where it belongs. The Dark Aether."

— Nikolai Belinski, following Victis victory in Tag Der Toten

Members

Notable Weapons and Equipment associated with Primis

• The Elemental Staffs - Four powerful Wonder Weapons wielded by Primis during the Great War, and then re-constructed by them during the events of Origins.
• The Path of Sorrows - Takeo's signature weapon, and another powerful Wonder Weapon.
• Maxis Drone - A Quadrotor drone designed by Richtofen, it is controlled by the brain of Ludvig Maxis after Richtofen removed it from his body in order to save his life. Maxis, as the drone, assists Primis in opening Agartha for Samantha Maxis.
• Summoning Key - An ancient relic that Richtofen uses to capture the souls of Ultimis in order to bring them to Doctor Monty.
• Kronorium - A book containing all knowledge of time, that specifically outlines the cycle and what actions the characters need to take to complete it. It initially belongs to Richtofen, but chooses Nikolai as it's new bearer following the cycle being broken.

Etymology

Primis is a Latin adverb meaning "first of all," "firstly," or "most importantly". This fits with their role in the Aether storyline as they are successfully established as the main characters of the universe while not being introduced until the 17th map in the franchise.

Appearances

• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
  • Origins (First Appearance)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops III
  • Shadows of Evil (Cutscene, only Richtofen)
  • The Giant
  • Der Eisendrache
  • Zetsubou No Shima
  • Gorod Krovi
  • Revelations
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
  • Blood of the Dead
  • Classified (Cutscene)
  • Alpha Omega
  • Tag der Toten (Non-Playable)

Gallery

Videos