Halo lore & general discussion thread (H5, Halo Nightfall,...)

[TrueBlueHero]

With a dedicated thread for the MCC I thought it would be nice to have a seperate thread so that certain information doesn't get lost in the shuffle. All H5 and lore discussions (including the upcoming Halo Nightfall) are welcome here! Watch out - keep away from this thread if you don't want to be spoilered!

To kick things off I've prepared something special for all people interested in the story-side of Halo 5. In an ongoing series I'm digging deep into the Halo lore in preparation for Halo 5.

~ Episode I ~
TRANSFORMATION
​

"I am ordering TO SURRENDER THAT AIT!!!" - "No, Sir." (Del Rio - Master Chief, Halo 4)
​

Del Rio: Commander Lasky, Pursuant to Article 55 of UNSC Regulation 12-145-72. I am ordering you to remove that AI's data chip and retire it for final dispensation.
Cortana: Don't Please please, I don't want to You don't want me to please
Del Rio: REMOVE THAT CHIP NOW, COMMANDER.
Cortana: Please I don't want to
Del Rio: Give. Me. That. Chip.
Master Chief: The Didact has to be stopped. If you won't do that I will.
Del Rio: I am ordering you TO SURRENDER THAT AI!!!
Master Chief: No, Sir.

What is one of Halo 4's (if not any Halo's) most powerful lines is very likely a prelude to things to come in Halo 5. To this point Master Chief has been depicted as the perfect soldier. Brave, fearless and obedient. In his efficiency he is almost machine-like - the actual human being hidden behind the visor.
This is even getting addressed by Cortana...

Cortana: I can give you over forty thousand reasons why I know that sun isn't real. I know it because the emitter's Rayleigh effect is disproportionate to its suggested size. I know it because the stellar cycle is more symmetrical than that of an actual star. But for all that. I'll never actually know if it looks real... If it feels real
[To Chief]
Before this is all over, promise me you'll figure out which one of us is the machine.

... and later on by Lasky...

Lasky: You say that soldiers and humanity are two different things. Soldiers aren't machines. We're just people. I'll let you have the deck to yourself.
Master Chief: She [Cortana] said that to me once. About being a machine.

So what we're actually seeing is an enormous tranformation. A transformation from a faceless machine-like soldier to an actual human being.
Master Chief rejecting a command is a wonderful symbol for that. He both stands up for what he cares for (Cortana) and what he believes is the right thing to do. With a near rampant AI that's potentially endagering the whole crew of the Infinity it's not a rational decision it's an emotional one.

Cortana being Chiefs psychological extension has always been a catalyst for his own development. She raises a fundamental question: Who am I? ... and ... What makes us human?
Cortana is not only a constant companion, a friend - she's Chiefs voice, a part of his very being as she's connected both physically (through Chiefs armor) and metaphorically as they share the same fate. They're both artificial in a way. Yet there's a wonderful bond between them.

"I've waited so long to do that." (Cortana, Halo 4)​

Chief has always been defined by his actions (more on that later) but with Cortana seemingly gone there's both a great personal loss and suddenly the nagging necessity to question everything, to finally reflect on himself.

The face behind the visor (Master Chief, Halo 4)

To be continued...​

 

[Frozpot]

Flame= This thread

Moth= Me

I think we are in for more than an emotional evolution for the Chief. With the Librarian unlocking his implanted genetic markers (referred to as "geas" in the Forerunner Trilogy), there may be some real physical evolution as well- as if the Chief wasn't super enough!

Halsey was also "manipulated" by the Librarian's geas as well- which puts the creation of the Spartans into perspective despite the need for a counter to the colonial insurgency.

I've always seen Cortana as the "physical" representation of the Chief's humanity. He used her as a crutch as well. One of my favorite things about how 343i handled the Chief's reactions in Halo 4 is seeing the juxtaposition in interactions between him and Cortana vs. say, him and Del Rio.

I love how when he's faced with dealing with the reality of her death, he cant even look at her. Almost like a child. He doesn't know how to deal with those emotions. Notice how his demeanor changes completely when the moment he has an action to take (Finding Halsey). It's really extremely well done, and I think a lot of people didn't even pick up on it.

On another note- those pics really make me excited to see how incredible it will look in MCC!!

 

[Squiggs]

I'm genuinely excited to see where the franchise is headed from this point on. We're going beyond the visor, guys. The novels and comics are not enough, we're going to see Chief like never before. Can you imagine a rogue John? I can't. The question is, if Sierra 1-1-7 really is unwavering, will his compadres and comadres follow suit? How many Spartans would turn against Earth's last hope for survival? How would Linda, Kelly, and Fred feel? Interesting things are coming.

 

[TrueBlueHero]

~ Episode 2 - The Next 72 Hours ~
The events following Halo 4... a summary of Halo Escalation​

What many of you may or may not know is that the ongoing Halo Escalation comic series gives away a surprising amount of information that seems to directly tie into Halo 5 and even answers some of the questions that arose in the H5 announcement trailers.
You can get the comics here - for a more detailed plot synopsis you can check Halopedia.
Just for your basic understanding: While issues 1-6 and 11-12 deal with Infinity's crew (Lasky, Palmer, Fireteam Majestic) after the events of Spartan Ops, issues 8-10 form a story arc called "The Next 72 Hours" which details Master Chief's fate immediately after the events of Halo 4.
For all of the Halo fans that didn't read into it here is what you need to know in terms of key plot points (spoilers obviously):

Brittle peace - fractured factions
The times of (somewhat) clean lines are over. While the human-Covenant war helped to keep old conflicts at bay there are now parties both in the UNSC and in the (former) Covenant that try their best to undermine any effort for peace both between and within the humans and aliens. Their motives vary from simple revenge to religious fanatism.

Peace is crumbling - old enmitiets are hard to overcome
​

In Halo Escalation a Sanheili - Jirhalhanae peace summit is being attacked by former Covenant forces with the help of a human spy in the UNSC's ranks.
With that in mind there are endless possibilities for both enemies and allies in Halo 5.

Wanted - Dr. Catherine Halsey
After seemingly joining forces with Jul 'Mdama (supreme leader of the revived Covenant and "Didact's Hand") in Spartan Ops to find the Librarian, UNSC wants Dr. Halsey dead. The bad blood is being reinforced in Halo Escalation as Admiral Serin Osman berates Lasky over the failed assassination of Dr. Halsey at an UNSC Security Council hearing (small reminder: Lasky ignored his orders and tried to rescue Halsey).​

Dr. Halsey, dangerous - but to whom?
​

What does that mean for Halo 5: While Halsey might be a declared enemy to some high ranking UNSC commanders there might still be a connivance with Lasky. While there are theories floating around that Halsey might become some kind of antagonist my gut tells me that Halsey is ready to atone for what she's done to her Spartans even if protecting them means risking her own life. That she gives one half of the Janus Key (provides location of every piece of Forerunner technology in the galaxy) to Spartan Thorne (and thus the UNSC) in Spartan Ops really makes it clear that she is not working for Jul 'Mdama but rather trying to achieve her own goals.

Not so new companions - Team Blue
In Halo Escalation Master Chief rejoins Team Blue, the Spartans Fred, Kelly and Linda he basically considered his family once. This is a moment in time fans have long waited for. Surprisingly this goes against former speculations that Chief might be depicted as a lone wolf in Halo 5. While there are plenty of opportunities for separation it's more or less a given that they will be featured in Halo 5 as 343 even considered including them in Halo 4 (a good summarization of evidence can be found in this video). This becomes even more obvious as 343 even hinted at this in the recent Halo 5 multiplayer trailer.

Team Blue - Halo 4 concept art book​

The condemned live longer - the return of the Didact
There's a good reason why Halo 4's (not so) final confrontation with the Didact seemed a little bit dull: He's not finished, he survived the fall into the slipspace rift. And he's up to no good.
He has crash-landed on Installation 03 where he not only kills Team Black (a special unit of four Spartan-IIs who stumbled upon him) but also manages to obtain both a damaged Halo ring and another Composer (the thing we destroyed in Halo 4 wasn't the sole one) with the help of a local monitor. With two tools of mass destruction and a lot of blazing hatred he's now even more of a threat to humanity.

The Didact - alive and angry
​

...yet Chief and his old-new crew Team Blue are already on his tail. After finding the cause of Black Team's disappearance they confront Didact. As the Didact is about to execute Kelly Chief sneaks behind him and stabs him in the eye with a combat knife. In return the Didact grabs John by the helmet, lifts him in the air and squeezes. While we don't know the further events yet (Halo Escalation 10 up on September 24) this perfectly explains the damage on the visor seen in the Halo 5 announcement trailer.

An eye for an eye - Didact an Chief battle it out
​

Cortana: Time to say goodbye?
Is Cortana really gone? That's one of the most important questions Halo fans have in their mind right now. There was speculation following the Halo 5 announcement trailer that Chief might seek a way to revive Cortana in some way or form (wearing her data chip around his neck) which is understandable given the lack of context and the emotional bonds we've built with the character so far.
While it's far too soon to say never (there's even the possibilty of a 'new' Cortana via Halsey) there are more and more hints that this might be more of a permanent state than many would hope.

Is she gone?
​

In Halo Escalation issue 8 Master Chief confirms that both Cortana and the Composer had been destroyed in front of the UNSC Security Council. He's fully aware that Cortana isn't lost or damaged - that she's gone.
But the strongest hint comes from 343. Asked about Cortana's death at the recent MCC PAX panel Frank O'Connor said it was intended to affect the universe permanently.
Your guess is as good as mine but I think what we saw in the Halo 5 trailer both showed Master Chief's grief and his iron will to avange the death of his closest friend.

 

[Edge BC]

Cool..gonna read this as soon as I'm off work.

 

[TrueBlueHero]

Ok guys, just found something very interesting...

I've just linked Didact's attack in Halo Escalation 9 to Chief's broken visor in the Halo 5 announcement trailer just to stumble upon this preview picture from Halo Escalation 10...

Well yeah... there's not only a crack in the visor as seen in the Halo 5 announcement trailer, there's a HOLE!
While I can imagine that this might have been fixed somehow... doesn't really explain why the damage is ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE of the helmet!

So whether there's no link of any sort OR there's once again an inconsistency in the Escalation comics... either way - you heard it here first

 

[Frozpot]

Ok guys, just found something very interesting...


So whether there's no link of any sort OR there's once again an inconsistency in the Escalation comics... either way - you heard it here first

Or....He got a new helmet.

 

[Siglind]

I've been reading the Escalation comics as well.

Looks like things aren't going good for Chief, poor guy always getting smacked around by the Didact

 

[Frozpot]

I've been reading the Escalation comics as well.

Looks like things aren't going good for Chief, poor guy always getting smacked around by the Didact

He needs to hurry up and start evolving!

 

[Siglind]

^ And he needs a combat skin.

Otherwise he's just going to keep getting his ass whooped every time he encounters the Didact

 

[Frozpot]

^ And he needs a combat skin.

Otherwise he's just going to keep getting his ass whooped every time he encounters the Didact

Yeah, but to do that, they need to develop John to the point where his green armor is no longer what makes him definable to people. I have a feeling this is the goal, actually.

 

[CFogle21]

There has to be a better way for them to get info like this out. I mean so much of the essential Halo lore is locked away in things other than the games themselves that it's almost impossible to follow the story if you don't know these things exist. John reuniting with blue team is HUGE! And you release something like that in a freaking comic?

 

[BDaddyK]

Are the comics considered canon?

 

[Kassen]

Halo 5 Spoiler Alert:

Spoiler

​

 

[Frozpot]

There has to be a better way for them to get info like this out. I mean so much of the essential Halo lore is locked away in things other than the games themselves that it's almost impossible to follow the story if you don't know these things exist. John reuniting with blue team is HUGE! And you release something like that in a freaking comic?

I agree. I even went out and bought the first 6 issues. The art is pretty weak, and each book only contains a tiny bit of the story. I hadn't bought a comic in over a decade, and I was pretty let down. I love the books though, and you get so much more content in each. Thankfully someone posted that vid that covers what happens between the Chief and the Didact.

I can't help but feel that would much more impactful in a novel. Certainly reuniting with Blue Team. They probably went the comic route because writing a novel takes a lot of time.

Are the comics considered canon?

I think so. I don't think 343 is allowing anything that isn't canon. Thank goodness.

 

[BDaddyK]

I agree. I even went out and bought the first 6 issues. The art is pretty weak, and each book only contains a tiny bit of the story. I hadn't bought a comic in over a decade, and I was pretty let down. I love the books though, and you get so much more content in each. Thankfully someone posted that vid that covers what happens between the Chief and the Didact.

I can't help but feel that would much more impactful in a novel. Certainly reuniting with Blue Team. They probably went the comic route because writing a novel takes a lot of time.




I think so. I don't think 343 is allowing anything that isn't canon. Thank goodness.

Good to know! I'd love a in game reunion of Blue Team!