- “Amsel Caligari is the second-in-command of General Tom McPhllian. Prior to McPhillian's demise within the Mines of Despair, he tasked Caligari with seeking out the powerful Gauntlet of Ataraxia, and use it to resurrect McPhillian if he was to perish, promising Caligari with a large sum of money for compensation if he succeeded. Caligari ultimately blackmailed the four heroes into doing his dirty work in obtaining the three power cores for the gauntlet by holding President John Barstow hostage.”
- ―Notebook Information
Colonel Amsel Caligari is the main antagonist of the Zombies mode of Call of Duty: Eclipse Warfare II: Opposition Rising alongside McPhillian. He was a high ranking member of the Coil Arms Division, being McPhillian's second-in-command. Caligari specialized in researching artifacts of significance for the organization, particularly ones that could help them control the undead that they could create with the materials they salvaged from the crash site on what remained of Harmony. Caligari is also the creator of the Stabilizer Vaccine, a special vaccine that was used to help the Cricket fight off the after effects of the Hybrillium infused within it.
Caligari makes a voice appearance in the audio logs of the remastered version of Project Omega within the Zombiology Collection of Call of Duty: Eclipse Warfare III, explaining the Coil Arms Division's development of their weapons and research projects. He continues this appearance in the remastered version of Dissolution of Harmony, where he discovers that McPhillian has vanished during the second audio log.
History[]
Before the Siege of Remnant[]
At some point during the Human-Alien Conflict, Caligari joined the Coil Arms Division. He would rise to the rank of Colonel, eventually becoming McPhillian's right-hand man. In 2254, with the war beginning to end and most of their men either missing or eliminated, McPhillian feared that he would be found and swiftly eliminated. He orders Caligari with locating the legendary Gauntlet of Ataraxia, a powerful weapon that could fully resurrect someone or something once all three of its power cores were reinstalled into the weapon. It also held the power to control those resurrected and under the effects of the gauntlet's power. McPhillian told Caligari than if he achieved this goal and was able to resurrect McPhillian when the time came and present him the fully powered gauntlet, he would award his right-hand man a large sum of money.
Eventually, on April 11th, 2254, McPhillian was summoned to the Mines of Despair on Fidea VI by the four heroes, who are able to kill him by causing the mines to collapse. Three days later, the heroes assisted the 7th Special Operations Division in seizing Salkire Fortress on Remnant, which ultimately would bring the war practically to its end.
The Recovery Job[]
Not too long after the siege of Salkire Fortress at Remnant, Caligari began to set his grand scheme into motion. Before he could set his plans in motion, he first travels to the now collapsed Mines of Despair with some of his men, where they fight several zombies that survived the collapse. Eventually, they are able to recover both McPhillian and Brian's bodies and brought them to their new secret FOB on New Pomerania while another team goes to what remains of Harmony to recover several specimens from the remains of their crashed space station. While leaving the mines, Caligari was surprised to find the main gauntlet part of the Gauntlet of Ataraxia amongst the debris, taking it with him.
Ambushed[]
Several months later in September, with his plan now in the works, Caligari's first priorty to his grand scheme is to acquire the three power cores that power to the gauntlet. To do this, he planned to have the remaning members of the Galactic Council of Alliances that took down the Coil Arms Division's main operations during the Human-Alien Conflict to find and secure the power cores for him by blackmailing them. During this time, he was able to tap into the gauntlet's power, where he was able to unlock the "control" function on the weapon, despite the cores not being present. With this, he sent a large attack force of Zombies under the control of the gauntlet to attack President John Barstow's escort convoy that was escorting him to a safehouse on Luna. There, he personally captures "Athena", Captain Alain Bourden, Jack McMack, scientist Ben Crawford and President John Barstow, bringing them to the Coil Arms Division safehouse located at Planet XIV. There, he explains that he will kill the president if the other four do not recover the three power cores for the Gauntlet of Ataraxia before the end of the week. He also tells them that if they even attempt to inform the rest of the Galactic Council of Alliances of their plans, he will execute the president.
Lost in Time - The Last Hope[]
Caligari then reveals to the heroes the locations of each of the cores, saying that the areas that hold them are more than likely still overrun by zombies from the original outbreaks. With this intel, the heroes depart to secure the three cores. They first travel to an old temple located on the world of Vordania, where, after a series of trials and fighting, are able to obtain the core. They proceed to return to Earth, where they infiltrate an abandoned oil rig that was built directly on top of an underwater tomb. Within the tomb, they manage to recover the second core. The group then travels to the world of New Tainos, where they infiltrate an ElassiT' military complex, which houses the third and final core within a vault. During their adventure, Caligari kept tabs on them, frequently tapping into their communications to remind them of their mission.
The Final Hour[]
With all three power cores, the team is ordered by Caligari to do him a favor; they are to help clear out the abandoned Coil Arms Division FOB on New Pomerania, which was overrun by zombies that they were trying to create. He also informs them that it was also where the exchange is to happen. Arriving at the planet, they fight through the base until they find Caligari with the president. After doing the exchange, Caligari fully completes the Gauntlet of Ataraxia, where he demonstates its power by zapping a table containing a corpse that is covered by a blanket. The figure then sits up, revealing to be none other than their deceased friend Brian. Caligari then uses the gauntlet to brainwash Brian into "Blackjack", ordering him to deal with the heroes as he retreats. As Brian arose from the table with glowing purple eyes and a modified battle axe, he puts on a metal mask with eyeholes and charges the heroes, who try to reason with him, but to no avail, forcing them into battle. However, the heroes are able to defeat the brainwashed Brian, but sadly kill him in the process, but not before telling them that Caligari is planning to use the gauntlet to resurrect McPhillian before dying of his wounds.
Day of Reckoning[]
On September 29th, the heroes finally locate Caligari, who has retreated to the Coil Arms Division safehouse back on Planet XIV, where the body of McPhillian was located. The team assaults the facility, battling through zombies that were created by Caligari with the use of the gauntlet. Working their way through the facility, they manage to confront Caligari on the roof of the facility during a massive thunder and lightning storm. There, he uses the gauntlet to finally resurrect McPhillian, much to the four's horror. Caligari then gives the gauntlet to his resurrected leader, saying he has fufilled his duties and requests for the promise of money for his role in his resurrection. However, McPhillian reveals he has no intentions of paying Caligari the money, saying that he has outlived his usefulness to him before striking him dead with the gauntlet.
The Greatest Threat of All[]
Caligari appears in "The Greatest Threat of All" as one of the supporting antagonists assisting Ataraxia in the creation of the Infinity Gauntlet. He was resurrected by the ancient evil with the use of the Time Blade along with several other villains shortly before the weapon's destruction into the Time Stone. Despite his previous interaction with McPhillian, Ataraxia convinced them to get along in order to complete their ultimate goal in collecting the Infinity Stones.
Amsel would be tasked with Paul Thompson to travel to Rome in order to recover the Mind Stone. To ensure the job was completed, Amsel requested that Ataraxia used the Time Stone to resurrect the Cricket. Upon securing the Mind Stone at the Colosseum, Amsel used it to take control of the Cricket, ultimately eliminating its hostility towards its creators. When Chris and Ben Crawford arrived to protect the stone, they were locked within the arena area of the Colosseum. There, Amsel used the Mind Stone to telepathically open the gate containing the Cricket behind it, ordering the beast to destroy the two heroes. However, the two were able to use the Cricket to destroy the exit, allowing them to escape. Undeterred, Amsel ordered the Cricket after them while he and Paul escaped. However, the Cricket would fail to complete its mission before it was ultimately killed by an oncoming freight train.
Trivia[]
- Amsel is the creator of the Stabilizer Vaccine, as revealed in the remastered version of Project Omega.
- Amsel appears in Call of Duty: Awakening of the Hive as an Epic skin, added as part of the Eclipse Military Armoury update.
- Humorously, both of the weapons used to kill Amsel were all-powerful gauntlets.