Олексій Дзюба Історії 17 December 2024, 19:31

In his videos criticizing the deployment of the 47th Magura Motorized Rifle Brigade, Valery Marcus not only makes visual references to Captain John Price. It's as if he copied his image from the Call of Duty hero. Here's what

The image of Valery Markus, the former sergeant major of the 47th Motorized Rifle Brigade "Magur", in which he appeared in a series of videos explaining his disappearance from the media space in 2023, immediately evoked associations among Ukrainian gamers. A bearded soldier smoking a cigar is not so rare in the gaming industry, and Big Boss from Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid series and Captain John Price from Activision's Call of Duty Modern Warfare immediately come to mind.

Although both characters are known for destroying Russian soldiers, Price did so in Ukraine, among other places, so he perhaps resembles Valery Marcus the most, as noted by veteran Oleg Simoroz. We also lean towards the Captain John version, so we decided to not only compare the Price-Marcus visuals, but also find other points of contact between them.

The Way of John Price

Price is considered the most iconic character in the Call of Duty series, and some consider him one of the most iconic video game characters. His role in the series has been highly praised by critics, and he has been voted the greatest video game character of all time in reader polls.

Captain Price's character is based on the eponymous character from the original 2003 World War II Call of Duty. But he gained popularity and cult status in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, where he was reimagined and given such recognizable attributes as his signature tight-fitting beanie hat, tired look, and love of cigars.

According to the developers, they wanted to give the character a "fresh new look", make him a character with personality, and have his actions in the game "make him a hero". Although Captain Price already had a beard, the designers decided to make it unkempt to better suit his face and "give him a more somber look". His face is asymmetrical, and he has a raised hairline, as well as bald spots.

The path of Valery Marcus

Valeriy Markus is a 31-year-old Ukrainian military man, former chief sergeant of the 47th separate mechanized brigade "Magura", founder of the charitable foundation "Markus Foundation". Since the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine in 2014, he fought as part of the 25th separate airborne brigade, participated in battles in the Donetsk region, in particular for Kramatorsk, Vuglehirsk, Shakhtarsk, Dobropillya, Debaltseve. In 2016, he was hospitalized and discharged from the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine due to health reasons.

He returned to the army with the start of the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. He served in the 30th Separate Rifle Brigade. Later, he joined the formation of the 47th Separate Rifle Battalion within the same brigade, which later became a regiment, and then a separate brigade. He held the position of its chief sergeant until July 2023 (the period of Ukraine's counteroffensive in the south, which later turned out to be unsuccessful - ed.), when he submitted a report with a request to be transferred to the "lowest position at his own request."

How Valery Marcus's appearance has changed:

At the time of Marcus's departure, the 47th Brigade was one of the main forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the counteroffensive in southern Ukraine, trying to break through Russian defenses and minefields in the Zaporizhia region and suffering heavy losses.

This is the first video in the series, which visually best demonstrates Valery Markus' new look:

Price's appearance

According to the plot of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, John Price visited Ukraine in 1996, when he was still a lieutenant, and served as a sniper in the 22nd SAS Regiment (Special Air Service - the main unit of the British Army's Special Operations Forces).

Together with Captain McMillan, they were sent to Pripyat to carry out a covert operation to assassinate Russian arms dealer Imran Zakayev. This mission is considered one of the most famous and best in the entire Call of Duty series.

The assassination attempt failed, and Zakayev survived to become the leader of the ultranationalists who seized power in Russia. This led to a series of missions that saw John Price travel to Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation itself, fighting the Russians throughout the three installments of the original Modern Warfare.

Captain Price reappears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), a reboot of the MW series. In it, he once again confronts the Russians, in particular, Russian General Roman Barkov, who has occupied the fictional country of Urzikstan and is committing war crimes there.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is remembered for its location Verdansk, which is the capital of the fictional country of Kastovia. Players found many references there, indicating that the prototype of the city was Donetsk in Ukraine, with its Donbas Arena, airport and other recognizable places. It is this famous stadium that the updated Captain Price and his team visit in one of the missions.

Upon release, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) caused a negative reaction in the real Russian Federation, saying that it creates a negative image of the Russian military and attributes to them the crimes of other armed forces. As it turned out a few years later, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the image created by American developers turned out to be much softer than what the real Russian occupiers did.

Overall, John Price is about leadership, strategic thinking, professionalism, and dedication to his teammates. He always takes responsibility for his subordinates and teams. He is able to make difficult decisions even in critical situations. His authority is based on the respect and trust he has earned through his professionalism.

Despite his loyalty to military standards, Price is willing to bend the rules if it serves a higher purpose. This is often demonstrated in situations where the ends justify the means. He is a master of his craft - well versed in tactics, strategy, and weaponry.

Behind his stern exterior lies a deep concern for his comrades. He understands that the people he works with are more than soldiers; they are his family. Price does not give up in the face of difficulties. His stubbornness and steadfastness help him to succeed even in the most difficult circumstances.

Marcus's appearance

After the failed counterattack, Marcus did not appear in the media space for 1.5 years. On February 11, he published his first video on his YouTube channel, and later new ones appeared, a total of eight are planned.

The main theme of the video is criticism, primarily, of his former commanders in the 47th brigade — deputy brigade commander Ivan Shalamaga and ex-brigade commander Oleksandr Sak. The whole conflict, according to the video, boils down to the fact that the brigade's senior leadership and Marcus saw the development of the unit differently. Accordingly, the former sergeant major often acted at odds with his immediate line of command.

Marcus also criticizes those social media users who spread “betrayal” during the counteroffensive, both against him personally and against the brigade. Neither Sak nor Shalamaga have yet commented on such attacks against them. Although some of them, according to Valery , “are trying to quickly get their tails off.” Some of Marcus’s former colleagues responded with criticism. The video also uses comments from former “Magur” servicemen of various levels, who in one way or another confirm Marcus’ words. In general, society and the military have divided opinions about the soldier’s stories.

If we focus on comparing characters and actions (and we are comparing, albeit fictional, one soldier with another), Marcus resembles Price not only visually, but as if, to a certain extent, he was “written off” from the captain. Below we present excerpts from the great story of the Ukrainian soldier that confirm our assumption.

Photo — Valeriy Marcus and the fighters of "Magura"

According to Marcus, he and his team of like-minded people sought to create a fundamentally new unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine based on the 47th Brigade, which would later become an example of reform for the entire Ukrainian army. Therefore, since May 2022, they have been trying to form the battalion from motivated volunteers who have been interviewed by sergeants, including Marcus.

In addition, as the former sergeant-major notes, they managed to attract foreign instructors, and the fund he created allowed them to cover many material issues, in particular, to purchase pickup trucks and weather stations for snipers. Another part of the development of the unit was to be the cultural component, knowledge of history and appropriate heraldry. Marcus also talks about contacts with the then commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny, who suggested expanding the battalion to a regiment.

Perhaps the best parallel between Price and Marcus is seen in the video titled “Disappointment,” dedicated to the 2023 counteroffensive. In it, Valery does not absolve himself of responsibility for the deaths of his comrades. He recalls how a certain part of the future military specifically returned to Ukraine from abroad and joined “Magur” because of their trust in Valery. “I was terrified by the thought that I had killed them,” says Marcus. When he learned the details of the operation in the Zaporizhzhia direction, he told Sak that he had to ride in the first car that would start the battle. He refused.

Marcus did not listen to the commander and went to the 7th company, 2nd platoon, 1st detachment. This crew was supposed to be the first to enter the battle, the soldier says. The soldier assessed his chances of survival as minimal. “I did not plan to survive that night. I resigned myself to the fact that I would never see dawn again,” Valery said.

While they were driving, they completely replanned the actions during the landing with the guys. The way they were supposed to act according to the previous plan was not entirely realistic. "This is what happens when combat training is tied to a person who has never participated in assaults in his life. And instead of work, he is focused on how to harm those he doesn't like. Yes, Ivan Mikhailovich Shalamaga," Marcus asks in the video.

The crew entered the battle, which was going well. But the Ukrainian soldiers failed to reach the planned lines. At that moment, Marcus did not have the overall picture and could not prepare. He says that if the brigade commander had let him go normally and kept in touch with him, the crew would not have retreated (there was no reason for this). “This mistake could have been avoided. That night we lost our main advantage,” says the soldier. And he adds that all the soldiers showed themselves worthy, no one showed cowardice. Marcus says that he is proud to serve with them.

Photo — A shot from the Bradley, in which Marcus was riding

Valery adds that the criticism from Ukrainians of the brigade fighters “morally finished them off” against the backdrop of a difficult counteroffensive, when events were perceived as extremely acute. “No matter how bad the commander is, no matter how strong the enemy is, as long as a soldier has faith inside that his people support him, that what he does matters to everyone, anything is possible. You have taken away from our soldiers what motivated them the most, the support of their own people,” says Valery Marcus.

Oleksandr Kuzmenko, an employee of the dev.ua news department, participated in the preparation of the material.

UPD. Natalia Tatarchuk has become the new CTO at Activision. She will oversee the development of games for one of the most popular franchises in the world — Call of Duty

“You can’t imagine how much our personnel accounting software could qualitatively change the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” Former Sergeant Major of the 47th Motorized Rifle Brigade “Magura” Marcus published his first video in 15 years