Why is Graves still alive in MW3?

Commander Philip Graves is well and truly alive in Modern Warfare 3. I can already hear you exclaiming that he died in MW2, so let me clarify everything for you right now.

Who can forget the epic tank fight against Graves in MW2? After the ultimate betrayal goes down, Task Force 141 thinks they get the perfect retribution by killing the traitorous commander. However, he didn’t stay “dead” for long it seems.

Graves is alive and kicking in MW3 throughout various missions and cut scenes, but how is this possible?

How is Graves still alive in Modern Warfare 3?

Graves was never in the tank during the boss fight in Modern Warfare 2, so when you blew it up, Graves was safe and sound elsewhere, explaining his role in MW3.

If you didn’t keep up to date with Modern Warfare 2‘s online lore during its seasons and cinematics, you’ll have missed the part where Graves reappeared during the intro to Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 season five.

During the opening cinematic, Alex claims Graves “died in a tank in South America, to which Graves simply responds, “Oh, I wasn’t in that tank.”

So there you go, that’s how the nefarious Graves survived the encounter. A lot of events unfold throughout the MW3 campaign as it happens, there’s death and despair along the way, and also a lot of controversy.