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"Aside from the fact that I'm still alive, none of this surprises me. Technology got stronger, but we got weaker. We built computers, robots, whole unmanned armies. But no one ever asks, what happens, when the enemy steals the keys? When the things they built to keep us safe are turned against us, that's when they'll figure it out. They'll always need men like us, those who are willing to do what others can not."
— Woods in the Call of Duty: Black Ops II reveal trailer.

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Aftermath

"Mr. Mason-- Woods is alive and remains the sole remaining American guest at the Hanoi Hilton. Thought you should know."
— "X" to Mason about Woods' whereabouts

In the message of a mysterious informant codenamed "X", Woods is reported as being a prisoner in Hanoi Hilton, and whilst it is known that he survived, it is unclear as to whether or not this is the truth; it is possible that this is a trap to lure Mason, Hudson, and Weaver there, in order to kill them.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Although having aged significantly to the age of 95, it is confirmed in the reveal trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops II that Woods survived the previous events and has retired to the United States in an unknown place called "The Vault".

Survival Theories

Since Woods' appearence in the Black Ops II trailer, and the addition of the "X" message in Black Ops, many theories have sparked as to how Sgt. Frank Woods' survived the blast of 5 live grenades strapped to Kravchenko's back. The main theory is that Mason did infact imagine the blast, as he imagined many other things throughout the Black Ops campaign. However, it still leaves many doors open as to how still Woods survived and ended up in a NVA POW camp.

Got any of your own theories? Post them!

Originally posted by another user

A group of magical pixies caught him and flew him to safety.

Originally posted by another user

PhD Flopper.

Originally posted by another user

Maybe kravecnko body absorb the grenades and woods was captured by nva and taken to hanoi camp and then liberated by someone?

Things You Didn't Know About Woods!

- Though Woods is a Sergeant, in the mission "Payback" at the start of the mission in the chopper, the player can see briefly that it says "Pvt. Woods".
- If the player types "cat notex2.txt" on the computer on the menu screen, a message from X appears saying that Woods is alive and being held in the Hanoi Hilton, the prison mentioned in the intel of "Payback". The message was sent on July 4, 1978.
- Woods has Marine Corps Sergeant stripes tattooed on his left arm.
- In "Operation 40" Woods is seen with no tattoos; by "Executive Order" he has gotten a few of them, one of which reading "115," a reference to Element 115. However, in "S.O.G." and the levels after, other than "Payback", the "115" tattoo is changed to read "SOG TOUGH."
- Mason, Woods, Bowman, Shepherd and PFC. Allen are the only characters that are part of multiple factions in the Call of Duty series.
- Woods also has a tattoo on his right arm saying "Semper Fidelis", Latin for "Always Faithful", which is the motto of the USMC.
- Players who buy the Hardened or Prestige edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops receive a Woods avatar outfit.
The outfit can also be purchased on Xbox and PS3, on the marketplace and in the Alter Ego store, respectively.
- Woods and Kravchenko are both born on March 20.
- On the computer on the menu screen, the player can log into Woods's profile with the username "fwoods" and the password "PHILLY".
- In the multiplayer map Nuketown, Woods' name is on one of the mailboxes; the other says "Mason".
- Woods seems to be completely driven by revenge in "Payback".
- Woods was voted "The Best Video Game Character of the Year" at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards. Two modified scenes were shot for the occasion.
- If the player shoots Woods, he will sometimes mention: "You do that again, I will kill you!" as a warning of friendly fire, although Woods will never actually retaliate.
- Despite unlockable intel saying Woods' eyes are brown, in the mission "S.O.G.", one can see Woods eyes are blue. Woods' eyes are also blue in the Black Ops II reveal trailer.
- According to an early casting call and texture file names, Woods was initially named "Barnes".
- Woods has a condemnation for the new technological advances described in the Black Ops II reveal trailer, something which was hinted in both his biography and in part of his message to Alex Mason on the CIA Data System.
- Woods is 95 years old as of 2025. This makes Woods, so far, the oldest living character in the Call of Duty series.

I think that he may have used Kravchenko's bods as a shield?

Also, I am 94% sure he will die in Black Ops 2, because like all the other cods, a character that everyone loved died.

You don't say? he is like 95 years old of course he is going to die,maybe at the end of the game

He is a l33t 1337 Hacker and had God mode on.

I think it is most likely he used Kravchenko's body as a shield, and the explosion most likely was an hallucination by Mason, and then ofcourse he was injured by the smaller blast, and eventually taken to the hanoi hilton to be kept hostage by the NVA.

The only logical explanation.

i like your idea of mason imagining it but mason ONLY imaged seeing Reznov, nothing else was imagined just Reznov during the game, so yeah

how do you know?