<em>Black Ops 6 Zombies</em>' surprising final cutscene in Reckoning reveals what awaits players in <em>Black Ops 7</em>, and it turns out it's some similar faces. With the Ex-Requim crew in the Dark Aether, Richtofen welcomes them to the "party" alongside his allies Dempsey, Takeo, and Nikolai. What I considered to be an exciting return to form for the future of <em>Black Ops 7 Zombies </em>seems to have been met with immense backlash, but am I the only one who remembers the controversy surrounding <em>Black Ops 4</em>?<br><br>People notoriously hated how the Aether storyline concluded with <em>Black Ops 4</em>, which saw the entire Primis and Ultimis crew killed off to destroy the multiverse for one cohesive timeline. People clammered for a retcon, or a redo, anything that would bring these characters back, so why now have so many people decided that this was never the case?<br><br>The attempt at a cohesive storyline from <em>Black Ops Cold War</em>, to <em>Modern Warfare</em>, and back to B<em>lack Ops 6</em> has been a tad messy, and not in an interesting multiverse way like <em>Black Ops 3</em>. The Requim crew remains pretty stale, with their deaths already sealed, so why not bring back the literal souls of <em>Call of Duty Zombies</em> with the OG four making their return for a new storyline? Filled with lore, secrets to unfold, and adventures that take these characters on a journey, instead of just as vessels to tease the next map, these characters have always brought so much life to the series, and my interest is reinvigorated knowing there is a spotlight on them once more.<br><br>Whether it's nostalgia bait or not, the chemistry, characterization, and acting of Richtofen, Dempsey, Takeo, and Nikolai have always been one of the most beloved aspects of the <em>COD Zombies</em> franchise, and having them back signals (to me at least) that Treyarch is listening. The franchise really isn't the same without these characters at the center, and they should be free to adventure and dare to create exciting sci-fi/horror stories again without worrying about tying things back together with Warzone and the next <em>COD </em>campaign. All in all, I'm very excited to see these characters back, and I don't mind if the next iteration of <em>COD Zombies</em> is key jangling, because it's no secret that the franchise was in its best state with the earliest iterations of <em>Black Ops</em>.