On March 7th, 2511, 486 years from now, on the faraway UNSC colony later known as Eridanus II, a man named John will be born, but for most Halo fans, this man will be simply known as Master Chief. For millions of players worldwide, Master Chief is the face, or rather helmet, of the Halo franchise, being the central character for the mainline Halo games. Since his early real world beginning as Halo’s supposed last living Spartan-II in 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved, Master Chief has gone on to be a highly influential and important figure both in the Halo Universe and for the Xbox brand. With Master Chief turning -486 years old this year, here’s an in-depth look at John-117’s life, legacy, and impact on the Halo universe.
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The Early Life and Military Career of John-117
In Master Chief’s first outing in Halo: Combat Evolved, little is mentioned of his past beyond the claim that he is the last in the line of supersoldiers. If players wanted to learn more about Master Chief’s past in 2001, they would have to read Eric Nylund’s novel Halo: The Fall of Reach, which follows John-117’s life from childhood till the Pillar of Autumn‘s arrival to Alpha Halo. Up until the age of six, John was a relatively normal kid living with his parents on Eridanus II, though he was noted as being taller and stronger than most of his peers. It wasn’t until Dr. Catherine Halsey and Jacob Keyes met him in 2517 that his life was forever changed as he was tested and forcibly conscripted into the Spartan-II program.
The UNSC was facing an ever-growing Insurrection in the late 25th and early 26th centuries, causing Halsey to develop the Spartan-II program to create supersoldiers who could quell the threat. John and 74 other six-year-old children were selected to be these supersoldiers, as children were more malleable to train both biologically and psychologically. For most of their childhood and teenage years, the Spartans were brutally trained on Reach to become elite soldiers, with John being promoted to Squad Leader thanks to his strength, tactical intelligence, and selflessness toward his fellow cadets. By 2525, John was one of 33 Spartans who survived their cybernetic and genetic augmentation without error and later successfully completed his first mission, Operation: TALON, with Blue Team against Insurrectionists.
John-117’s Experience in the Covenant War
Later that same year, John and his fellow Spartans faced their greatest test yet when they were deployed to confront the newly encountered multi-alien species religious hegemony known as the Covenant at Chi Ceti IV. Here, the Spartans were equipped with their first set of Mjölnir power armor to successfully board and destroy a Covenant ship. However, Samuel-034 died in the battle, causing John immense grief at the death of one of his closest childhood friends. From here, John and his fellow Spartan-II were deployed in countless battles against the Covenant for 28 years, such as the Operations SILENT STORM, which earned John the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer, PHALANX, SWITCHBACK, OCEAN BREAKER, and RED FLAG.
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Master Chief’s Role in the Final Moments of the Covenant War
In late 2552, humanity was on the brink of near-extinction, with hundreds of worlds and billions of people wiped out by the Covenant. In an attempt to end the conflict, Master Chief and Spartan-IIs were given Mjölnir Mark V armor and John was paired with the smart AI Cortana, who was based on Halsey’s brain. Together, John, Cortana, and most remaining Spartan-IIs would join Captain Jacob Keyes in Operation: RED FLAG to travel deep into Covenant space and capture a Prophet to force a peace. However, the Covenant attacked Reach before the Operation could go underway, causing most Spartan-IIs to be left for dead on Reach’s surface and Chief, Cortana, and Keyes escaping to Alpha Halo aboard the UNSC Pillar of Autumn.
From there, Master Chief would aid UNSC forces in exploring Halo and battling the Covenant until Keyes inadvertently unleashed ancient parasitic, zombie-like lifeforms known as the Flood. With the initial help of Installation 04’s monitor 343 Guilty Spark, Chief and Cortana managed to discover Halo’s true purpose as a weapon to destroy all life to starve the Flood to death. To prevent Halo’s firing, Chief and Cortana blew up the Autumn and caused the ring to break apart. This led Covenant Fleetmaster Thel ‘Vadamee to be branded a heretic and punished for his crimes in the failure to safeguard Halo. In Halo 2, Master Chief aided in the defense of Earth from the Covenant Prophet of Regret’s fleet before traveling to Delta Halo with Lieutenant Commander Miranda Keyes.
The End of the Covenant War and Master Chief’s Role Postwar
On Installation 05, Chief managed to assassinate the Prophet of Regret, which inadvertently sparked a civil war within the Covenant called the Great Schism. Here, Chief briefly reconciled with ‘Vadam, now known as the Arbiter, before fighting through High Charity to hunt down the Prophet of Truth. While Chief failed to reach Truth, he managed to return to Earth where he and the Arbiter fought off Covenant and Flood forces before traveling to the Ark and killing Truth, ending the war. Arbiter managed to return to Earth, but Chief and Cortana were left adrift in space for four years until encountering the Forerunner Shield World Requiem and the last Forerunner called the Didact. The two managed to stop the Didact from wiping out humanity, but at the cost of Cortana’s life.
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Master Chief’s Impact on the Halo Universe and Beyond
Without the actions of John-117, humanity and the galaxy at large might have been destroyed by the crusade of the Covenant, the machinations of Truth, the conquest of the Flood, or the vengeance of the Didact. Master Chief’s military career inspired millions of soldiers to continue fighting in the Covenant War despite the ever-dwindling odds. He and his fellow Spartan-IIs even inspired ONI to develop the Spartan-IIIs and the UNSC to develop the Spartan-IVs, saving countless more lives in the process. Master Chief’s presence gives soldiers a sense of hope and determination thanks to his past victories and willingness to make sure everyone survives a battle.
While many in the galaxy see him as a hero, John-117 is always humble and will often remind those that his victories were not done alone and were aided by endless others, such as Arbiter, Cortana, Captain Thomas Lasky, Sergeant Avery Johnson, and the Keyes family. His companionship with Arbiter is especially notable since it would help foster a better acceptance of humanity in Arbiter’s eyes and help lead to an alliance between the UNSC and his Swords of Sanghelios. Cortana’s friendship opened up Chief’s more emotional, personal side that had been locked away since his early childhood, allowing John to be more vulnerable and able to better relate to others, such as Fernando Esparza and War Chief Escharum in Halo Infinite.
Master Chief as Xbox’s Mascot
Halo: Combat Evolved was the original Xbox’s launch title, forever cementing Halo and Master Chief with the console line’s legacy. Much of the original Xbox’s success is tied to the popularity of Halo 1 and 2’s campaign and multiplayer. This trend continued with Halo 3, 4, 5, and Infinite on the Xbox 360, One, and Series X, with the latter console even featuring small designs of the Spartan-II in its internal hardware. Today, Master Chief is as synonymous with the Xbox just as Sonic is with Sega and Mario is with Nintendo, but he’s gone on to appear in dozens of books, games, toys and television shows. Easily recognizable by his green armor and orange visor, John-117 is truly one of the 21st century’s most popular cultural icons.
While Master Chief is most famously portrayed by legendary voice actor Steve Downes, five other actors have played the Spartan-II in expanded media, including David Wald, Daniel Cudmore, Alex Puccinelli, Bruce Thomas, and Pablo Schreiber.
When all hope is lost and humanity’s fate hangs in the balance, the Master Chief is ready to confront the most ruthless foe he’s ever faced. Step inside the armor of humanity’s greatest hero to experience an epic open-world adventure and explore the massive scale of the Halo ring.
With Network Campaign Co-Op and Mission Replay, you can relive your favorite moments, rediscover collectibles and explore the wonders of Zeta Halo on your own or with up to three other fireteam members.
Experience Halo’s celebrated multiplayer reimagined and free-to-play! With over 70 maps in matchmaking, billions of customization configurations, and countless community Forge creations to experience, Halo Infinite is the franchise’s most expansive multiplayer offering to date.
Enjoy an unprecedented variety of gameplay experiences, ranging from fast-paced intense ranked modes to whimsical mayhem in Custom Games, or even co-operative coordination in the wave-based survival mode Firefight: King of the Hill. Assemble your Fireteam and conquer every mode – Halo offers endless opportunities for teamwork, strategy, and unforgettable victories.
- Released
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December 8, 2021
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Blood, Mild Language, Violence
- Publisher(s)
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Xbox Game Studios