Characters / Halo: UNSC Marines and ODST

WARNING: UNMARKED SPOILERS BELOW. CONTINUE?

ENCRYPTION CODE: [CLASSIFIED]

CLASSIFICATION: TVTROPES
SUBJECT: UNSC MARINE CORPS
ATTACHMENT: ORBITAL DROP SHOCK TROOPERS

Index

• Main Index
• UNSC (Miscellaneous Personnel)
  • Artificial Intelligences
  • SPARTAN-I Program
  • SPARTAN-II Program
    • The Master Chief
  • SPARTAN-III Program
  • SPARTAN-IV Program
  • Navy
  • Marines and ODSTs
  • ONI
• The Covenant
  • Sangheili/Elites
• The Banished
• Forerunners
• UEG Civilians
• Other Factions

Marines

In General

UNSC Marine Corps

The most commonly seen human soldiers in the series, the Marines are the UNSC's primary expeditionary force, working in conjunction with the Navy to rapidly deploy from planet to planet.

---

• Badass Army: On the ground, they're more than capable of holding their own against the superior numbers and technology of the Covenant. Though this is less apparent in the actual FPS games, even there they can sometimes take down the Covenant's finest by themselves, especially starting with Halo 2; you can take it even further if you switch out their starting weapons for something more powerful. The novels and additional material support this, with some even saying that the UNSC Army and Marines are perfectly capable of holding off Covenant forces by themselves—only problem is, whenever the Covenant begin losing a land war, they simply glass the planet and move on, rendering any terrestrial victories All for Nothing.
• Bottomless Magazines: They'll still have to reload, but Marines don't seem to run out of ammo for any weapon they equip, so lending one a sniper rifle or a rocket launcher to support you may not be a bad idea, if you feel like you can trust them with one.
• Deadpan Snarker: Marine NPCs tend to have a sarcastic quip for every occasion. This is especially true when you activate the IWHBYD skull.
• Drives Like Crazy: In every game. Seriously, they are supposed to be a professional force of trained soldiers and yet they drive as if they're both blind and drunk. Lampshaded in Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn when cadet Lasky attempts to drive a Warthog:

  Lasky: It's harder than it looks!

• Explosive Stupidity: In the FPS games, they tend to have a bad habit of killing themselves or their allies with explosives.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Incompetence with explosive weaponry aside, their aim is otherwise pretty good. This was particularly the case in Halo: Combat Evolved, where they were capable of one-shoting Ghost drivers with a sniper rifle even from a speeding Warthog, forcing subsequent games to tone down their aim.
• Redshirt Army: Tend to be disposable fodder in the FPS games, particularly on higher difficulties, unless you switch out their guns or put them on a vehicle-mounted weapon.
• Tank Goodness: They love their Scorpion tanks, and will board one at every given opportunity. Even if the player takes control of the Scorpion first, they'll gladly hop onto the fenders for a free ride and a little extra fire support (though this usually results in them getting killed as soon as anything more powerful than a firecracker explodes near them).
  Marine: (After Chief destroys a Ghost with a Scorpion) Tank beats Ghost! (Chief then does the same to a Hunter) Tank beats Hunter! (Chief finishes up by taking down a Phantom and its compliment) Tank beats everything! Oh man, I could do this all day!
• Trash Talk: Especially in the original trilogy, where they'll fire off entire volleys of weapons-grade taunts.
• We Will Wear Armour In The Future: It's noted to be fairly resistant to ballistic weaponry, though less so against Covenant directed-energy weapons.

SgtMaj. Avery Johnson

Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson (48789-20114-AJ)

Homeworld: Earth (Greater Chicago Industrial Zone, United Republic of North America)
Birthdate: November 23, 2474
Debuted in: Halo: The Fall of Reach
Voiced by: David Scully^note With the exception of Halo Wars 2, due to Scully being involved in a voice actor strike at the time.

"Once again, it is our job to finish what the flyboys started. We are leaving this ship, platoon, and engaging the Covenant on solid ground. When we meet the enemy, we will rip their skulls from their spines, and toss 'em away, laughin'! Am I right, Marines?"

Appearing in the first game as one of a number of computer-controlled Marines who can fight alongside the Master Chief, Johnson was the game's Ensemble Dark Horse. In later games he was critical to the plot, gaining Gameplay Ally Immortality and serving as The Lancer and Number Two to both the Arbiter and John.

---

• Ascended Extra: This random Played for Laughs NPC ends up becoming one of the first trilogy's main supporting characters.
• A Little Something We Call "Rock and Roll": He loves "Flip" music, much to his soldiers grief.
• Badass Boast: A walking inventory of these, with the below just being the tip of the iceberg:
  "Men, we led those dumb bugs out to the middle of nowhere to keep 'em from gettin' their filthy claws on Earth. But, we stumbled onto somethin' they're so hot for, that they're scramblin' over each other to get it. Well, I don't care if it's God's own anti-son-of-a-bitch machine, or a giant hula hoop, we're not gonna let 'em have it! What we will let 'em have is a belly full of lead, and a pool of their own blood to drown in! Am I right, Marines?"
  "Hell, Chief, it'll take more than that pack of walking alien horror-show freaks to take out Sergeant A.J. Johnson."
  "Dear Humanity... We regret being alien bastards. We regret coming to Earth. And we most definitely regret that the Corps just blew up our raggedy-ass fleet!"
• Badass Normal: By all appearances and just about all information given in the games, he is simply an ordinary UNSC Marine with an impressive knack for one-liners who is able to just about keep up with the Master Chief and Arbiter. This is however ultimately subverted, as side material reveals that he is not in fact an ordinary Marine, but rather a SPARTAN-I.
• Berserk Button: Cowardice. In Halo 2, he stops a UNSC marine from chickening out and running away at the sight of a Scarab. By the tone of his voice, you can tell he's not impressed.
• Black Dude Dies First: Inverted. He's the last character to die in the original trilogy, despite having been present from the very first battle of the Human-Covenant War.
• Characterization Marches On: If one goes back to playing Halo: Combat Evolved after finishing Halo 2 and Halo 3, his role in the first game seems peculiarly different than you'd expect from how he's framed in the later games. In Halo 2 and 3 he is one of Master Chief's closest friends, a highly respected war hero who gets handpicked by Commander Keyes to be assigned on the most important missions where the fate of humanity is at stake, and cannot be killed in game by normal means as he isn't scripted to die until the end of Halo 3. Whereas in the first game he doesn't seem to have anything other than a strictly professional relationship with Master Chief (to the point that the two never had any back and fourth conversation), he can be killed in game, and dies in the non canon legendary ending, and isn't even referred to by name at any point in the game other than in the credits. Whilst Captain Keyes does assign him for important missions in the first game, it seems to be more because of him being one of the more experienced Marines that survived the Pillar of Autumns destruction, rather than because of him being one of the greatest and most experienced Marines of all time as implied in the later games. Those who became familiar with Johnson through the later games before playing Combat Evolved may be pretty surprised by how barely acknowledged he is, though his overall attitude and chemistry with other Marines is very consistent with how he acts in future appearances.
• Cigar Chomper: Often seen with a Sweet Williams cigar in his mouth.
• Cold Sniper: Though he's become a Friendly Sniper by the time of the games, he was rather grim and humorless back when he was still primarily fighting the Insurrection.
• Cool Old Guy: He's 78 years old by the time of the games but can keep up with the Master Chief with no problem.
• Deadpan Snarker: Has an oft-sarcastic sense of humor.
  Dubbo: "Dear Sarge, kicking ass in outer space. Wish you were here."
  Johnson: [over radio] I heard that! Jackass!
• Defiant to the End:
  • Even when he was beaten up by the Brutes, he refused to light the Halos. He instead shoved insults right at the Prophet of Truth's face. This doubles as a Thanatos Gambit; if he can provoke the Brutes into killing him, then they can't use him to light the Halos. Unfortunately Truth is considerably brighter than your average Brute and sees right through this plan.
  • Even after Guilty Spark has fatally wounded him, he still finds the strength to shoot him with a Spartan Laser, then hands it off to the Chief so he can finish the Monitor off. As he lays dying, he simply tells Chief to never let Cortana go and asks to be sent out "with a bang".
• Determinator: He wouldn't have survived for so long on the frontlines if he wasn't this.
• Disability Superpower: Subverted; it was originally believed he was immune to Flood infection as Flood DNA was present in his blood after the events on Installation 04, but dormant and non-infectious. It was posited than the infection forms were unable to take hold due to his Boren's Syndrome, a disease that supposedly frayed his nerve endings. However, it is later revealed that Boren's is a fake disease created to cover up his ORION augmentations, and that said augmentations simply made it easier for him fight off the infection forms before they could fully take hold.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: In Halo: Contact Harvest, taking the view that he needs to unite the trainees against him so they have a common bond. He later lightens up a bit and bonds with them.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Falls into this while on leave after a botched counterinsurgency op and finding his beloved aunt dead. He snaps out of it after being reassigned to train the Harvest militia.
• Enemy Mine: Even before any official alliance has been hashed out, he teams up with the Arbiter and the other Elites to stop Tartarus from firing the Halos.
• Expy: Clearly based off of Sergeant Apone from Aliens. Which is awesome.
• Friendly Sniper: A grimly cheerful guy who favors precision weaponry, namely battle rifles and sniper rifles; even his heavy weapon of choice is a Spartan Laser, a ridiculously powerful and pinpoint accurate BFG.
• Heroic BSoD: Miranda's death seems to put him into one. He no longer fights the Brutes, or mocks Truth. He doesn't resist Truth using him to light the Halos, and after the Flood has beaten the Covenant he doesn't deactivate the Ark. He just cradles Miranda's body, and the Master Chief has do it instead.
• In Memoriam: In-Universe, after this death, the UNSC military academy was named the Avery J. Johnson Academy of Military Science.
• Last Breath Bullet: Uses his Spartan Laser to weaken Guilty Spark after the Monitor turns on them.
• The Lancer: Tends to be the boisterous counterpart to the Chief's deadpan stoicism.
• Large Ham: Absolutely oozes rough energy in almost all of his dialogue.
• Last Request: Just before he dies, he asks the Chief to "send me out with a bang", implicitly telling him to finish what they started and destroy Halo. Naturally, Chief obliges.
• Metalhead: Plays some metal (referred to in-universe as "flip music") on the Pelican on the way to the Flood containment site in the first game, and vigorously defends it against the criticisms of the other Marines on board.
• My Greatest Failure: Regards his years fighting the Insurrection as a shameful period of his life, with the breaking point being a hostage situation on Tribute that resulted in the deaths of multiple civilians and Marines. Learning his aunt had passed away afterwards was just the icing on the cake needed to send him on a drunken Heroic BSoD.
• My Greatest Second Chance: The Human-Covenant War ends up giving Johnson the opportunity to reforge himself into the honorable man his aunt had always wanted him to be.
• No Body Left Behind: The Master Chief doesn't have time to grab his corpse before leaving Installation 04B's control room and it can be seen visibly falling into the pit as he runs away. His body is thus presumably destroyed with the ring.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Johnson was at ground zero of the Flood outbreak on Installation 04, part of the first group of humans to encounter the parasites, and his last canonical appearance in Combat Evolved is in Jenkins' recording of their squad getting overwhelmed by infection forms. It then turns out that he not only escaped the compound, but was among only a handful of humans to escape the ring itself before its destruction, and it all happened offscreen.
• Older Than They Look: Is about 78 years old during the events of the original trilogy.
• Old Soldier: Has been continually fighting for at least 50 years, with his service history including the entirety of the Human-Covenant War (where he played a key frontline role in both the first and last battles).
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In Halo 2, Johnson is just as boisterous and comically hammy as he was in Combat Evolved, and maintains this attitude through most of the game. Come Halo 3, and he's noticeably more subdued and no-nonsense after the games introduction. The fact that Earth has been laid under siege and ravaged by the Covenant, the Halo array is closer than ever to being activated on the Ark, and the Flood are on their way to finish everyone off probably has something to do with his lack of humor over the situation.
• Parental Abandonment: His birth parents left him when he was six.
• Plucky Comic Relief: In Halo 2, he's a hilariously boisterous and badass soldier who's dropping about as many quotable lines and comebacks as he is dropping aliens, alleviating the otherwise grim storyline with his presence.
• Product Placement: Funnily enough, he can drop one in the introduction to Halo 3 in what's normally supposed to be a cool one-liner for the recently revived Chief, only heard if the game is on Legendary and IWBYD is activated.
  Arbiter: We must go, the Brutes have our scent...
  Johnson: Then they must love the smell of Bvlgari. Yeah I'm doing a little Product Placement! I gotta get paid too!
• Rank Up: Gets promoted from Staff Sergeant to Sergeant Major after the events of Combat Evolved.
• Rousing Speech: Gives one in both of the first two games. Which one he gives depends on the difficulty the game's played on.
• Running Gag: In the first three main games, changing the difficulty setting of the campaign will have Johnson give increasingly more passionate, comical and badass speeches/quips for every difficulty option.
• Sergeant Rock: A definite hardass, but also a well-respected NCO who's always in the thick of the fighting himself.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Though his swagger is back by the time of the games, Halo: Contact Harvest reveals that before the Covenant War, his battles against the Insurrection had taken a toll on his psyche. The events of Harvest convince him that he can do right again, not just by training the militia into the soldiers needed to fight the Covenant, but by being the honorable man his aunt always wanted him to be.
• Smoking Is Cool: Sweet Williams cigars.
• Super-Soldier: As eventually revealed in side material, he is an augmented ex-ORION operative, aka a Spartan-I.
• Trash Talk: A veritable font of it during battle:
  "I woulda been yo' daddy, but the dog beat me over the fence!"
• Veteran Instructor: In Halo: Contact Harvest, where he's assigned to train Harvest's Colonial Militia.
  • In Halo: Silent Storm he's brought on to provide supplemental training for the Spartan-IIs. In fact, his unconventional tactics proved routinely frustrating to the young Spartans participating even though that John-117, Fred-104, and Kurt-051^note three of the top four leaders in the entire Spartan-II Program were present.

Sgt. John Forge

Sergeant John Forge (63292-94758-JF)

Homeworld: Earth
Birthdate: February 25, 2501
Debuted in: Halo Wars
Voiced by: Nolan North

One of the protagonists of Halo Wars, John Forge is a born warrior and lifelong soldier with a long list of commendations, with insubordination charges to match. Despite his penchant for troublemaking, Forge was personally selected by Admiral Preston Cole and Captain James Cutter to command the Marine contingent on the UNSC Spirit of Fire. The soldiers under his command trust him completely - even if he did fail his last psych exam.

---

• Ace Of Spades: Has an Ace of Spades playing card strapped to his left pauldron as a memento of his daughter. It symbolizes him being the best Marine aboard the Spirit of Fire, and foreshadows his Heroic Sacrifice.
• Action Genre Hero Guy: Has the signature haircut and is voiced by Nolan North.
• Almighty Janitor: Despite being merely a sergeant, Forge is effectively in command of all the Marines aboard the Spirit of Fire, even the officers.
• Badass Family: Service in the military is a centuries-long tradition in his family, dating back to World War II, so this trope must be one of the reasons why he was able to waste the Arbiter's sorry alien ass.
• Badass Normal: Takes on an Arbiter and wins.
  • The supplementary material also implies he got into a fistfight with Douglas-042 (or Jerome-092), and held his own.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Anders.
• Bond One-Liner: After killing the Arbiter.
  "And for the record, I'd have kicked your ass the first time if the lady hadn't stopped me!"
• Dark and Troubled Past: He spent almost two and a half years in prison, which effectively makes it impossible for him to rise any higher in rank. He also has a long history of insubordination and is extremely distant from his wife, though he remains on good terms with his daughter.
• Defeat Means Friendship: After his fight with Douglas (or Jerome), the two were always seen eating lunch together.
• Guile Hero: Forge is no match for Ripa 'Moramee in a physical fight and has to use his wits to put him down.
• Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: The only UNSC ground pounder not to wear one in Halo Wars.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He stays behind to detonate the slipspace drivecore and destroy the Forerunner Shield World.
• I Call It "Vera": Refers to his combat knife as "Lucy", presumably named after his daughter.
• Military Maverick: Because of his multiple counts of insubordination, the UNSC refuses to promote him to full officer, and the only reason why he hasn't already been dishonorably discharged for said insubordination is because he's still an excellent leader.
• More Expendable Than You: The reason why he offers to detonate the slipspace drive in place of Jerome, telling Jerome that the UNSC is gonna need every last Spartan they have to win the war.
• Papa Wolf: He was once arrested for assaulting a superior officer. However, all charges were dropped when investigators discovered that he was simply protecting his daughter and her aunt from said officer.
• Parents as People: Though he and his daughter adore each other, being a Marine doesn't allow for much family time.
• Reduced Resource Cost:
  • In Halo Wars, all Supply Pads on his bases start as Heavy Supply Pads.
  • In Halo Wars 2, his Rolling Economy I Rolling Economy II Leader Powers reduces costs and build times for Supply Pads, Generators, and their upgrades.
• Sergeant Rock: He may drive his superiors crazy, but as his subordinates say:
  "He’s the guy you want in the foxhole next to yours... but you’d never introduce him to your sister."
• Shotguns Are Just Better: When on foot, Forge is using a shotgun as his weapon, and has an ability that allows him to unload it quickly upon an enemy.

MSgt. Marcus Stacker

Master Sergeant Marcus P. Stacker (41009-31545-MS)

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo: Combat Evolved
Voiced by: Pete Stacker

"Bravo, flank and cover! I want everybody supportin' the Chief; he'll take it down!"

A recurring Marine character who appeared in every (FPS) Halo game between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 4. Stacker's canon status is questionable, as he is always credited as the same character, but can die at multiple points in each game and still return later.

---

• Ascended Extra: He plays an increased role in Halo 3, being the Marine leading the 3-volley salute at the end of the game, and his brief appearance in Halo 4 nonetheless includes his full name appearing on Chief's HUD.
• Back from the Dead: Several times, possibly even in the same level!
• Badass Normal: He survived Reach, Halo (two of them!), Earth, and the Ark, although how he survived the first Halo is yet to be explained. And somehow he was on both Installation 05 and New Mombasa at the same time. And now he's survived the events on Requiem! He also stands out among normal Marines by also doubling as an ODST.
• The Cameo: His only appearance in Reach is being heard over the radio in the level "Exodus". Similarly, his appearance in Halo 4 is over the radio on the level "Requiem".
• A Day in the Limelight: He and his squad were the focus of the short film "Another Day At The Beach", made from a cutscene that was cut out of Halo 2.
• Ink-Suit Actor: He's designed to resemble the Creative Art Director of Bungie, Marcus Lehto.
• Mauve Shirt: He gets a decent amount of characterization due to being present in just about every major battle in the series and even plays a story role in "The Storm" in Halo 3, but unlike Johnson, he can be killed as easily as any other NPC.
• Meaningful Name: His name references both his designer Marcus Lehto and his voice actor Pete Stacker.
• Mission Control: In Reach, he's helping to coordinate the defense/evacuation of New Alexandria, while in Halo 4, he's commanding a convoy of armored vehicles.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: He is reminiscent of R. Lee Ermey.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: How he managed to escape the first Halo has never been revealed, but the only thing we do know is that he did so by himself.
• Promoted to Playable: He becomes playable as a voice option in Reach's Firefight mode.
• Rank Up: He was a Gunnery Sergeant in the original trilogy, but is a Master Sergeant in Halo 4.
• Recurring Extra: Had appeared in some form in every single Halo FPS until Halo 5: Guardians.
• Sergeant Rock: He's no Johnson, but he's a stalwart noncom nonetheless.

PFC. Chips Dubbo

Private First Class Chips Dubbo

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo: Combat Evolved
Voiced by: Andrew McKaige

"Whoa...it's like a postcard! Dear Sarge: kicking ass in outer space, wish you were here."

Like Stacker, Dubbo is a recurring Marine who appears in Halo 1, 2, and 3, and shares the same questionable canon status. He is extremely recognizable due to his Australian accent.

---

• Ascended Extra: Like Stacker, he is one of the marines in the three-volley salute at the end of Halo 3. Additionally, he's one of the central characters in episode 4 of Halo Infinite: Memory Agent, which confirms him to fully exist within the "canonical" Halo universe (after not appearing in a single piece of Halo media for over a decade, at that).
• Awesome Aussie: A soldier with a strong Australian accent who managed to come out the Human-Covenant War alive.
• Back from the Dead: Like Stacker, he can die multiple times in-game and come back for more.
• Badass Normal: Survived two Halos and the Ark.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: Like the other NPC Marines, he can be quite the chatterbox in combat.
  • There's even achievements in the Master Chief Collection from just listening to him in the three games.
• Deadpan Snarker: Has a quip for almost every occasion.
• Development Gag: The "Flood Hunter" nickname he has given himself by the time of Memory Agent is a nod to a set of Hilarious Outtakes from Combat Evolved; one of those outtakes involved Chips doing a Crocodile Hunter parody as "Flood Hunter".invoked
• Land Down Under: He must have been right at home on the Halos and The Ark.
• Mauve Shirt: Like Stacker, Chips has consistent appearances, a decent amount of characterization, and is present for most of the major conflicts in the games, but he can be killed like any other NPC.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Like Stacker, Chips managed to escape Installation 04 alive through an unknown method.
• Reality Is Unrealistic: Australians initially accused his accent of sounding more like an American faking an Australian accent, but the voice actor really is Australian.
• Recurring Extra: In the original trilogy.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Zig-zagged. On one hand, he's taken to calling himself "The Flood Hunter" post-Halo 3, and initially assumes that his interviewer in Memory Agent is asking about him rather than the Chief. On the other hand, anyone who survived the entire original trilogy intact is deserving of at least a bit of ego.
• Smarter Than You Look: Despite a tendency to talk himself up like a stereotypical jarhead, Chips rather impressively came up with an accurate interpretation of ONI’s involvement in the Master Chief’s life simply by fighting alongside him. Mind you, he comes as close as realistically possible to talking openly about a state secret that could get him abducted or killed for knowing.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Andrew McKaige also voices several generic marines using the Chips Dubbo voice in Halo 3: ODST, even though canonically Chips Dubbo should be on the In Amber Clad in-transit to Delta Halo. This is given a big lampshade in The Master Chief Collection with an achievement named "Two Places, Same Time", unlocked for listening to one of the Andrew McKaige marine voice lines in ODST.
• You Killed My Father: Possibly; when throwing a grenade, Chips sometimes says "This one's for my mother!"

SSgt. Banks

Staff Sergeant Banks

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo 2
Voiced by: Orlando Jones

"When I asked for reinforcements, I didn't think they'd send a Spartan."

A marine in command of A Company, he joins up with John-117 to destroy a Scarab during the Battle of Mombasa, and joins the crew of the UNSC In Amber Clad in pursuing the Prophet of Regret to Installation 05. He later returned to Earth and participated in the assault on Installation 00.

---

• The Cameo: Appears in one level of Halo 3, but his presence is so insignificant compared to other Marines such as Johnson, Stacker, or Dubbo, the player is unlikely to notice.
• You Are in Command Now: All his superiors are killed in the Battle of Mombasa, leaving him in command of A Company.

PFC. Wallace Jenkins

Private First Class Wallace A. Jenkins

Homeworld: Harvest (Gladsheim)
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo: The Fall of Reach
Voiced by: Chris Wicklund

The son of farmers on Harvest, Jenkins joined the Colonial Militia being trained by Sgt. Johnson in order to one day join the Marines. He instead became one of the first humans to encounter and fight the Covenant, and spent the next 27 years fighting alongside Johnson. After the Pillar of Autumn crashed on Halo, Jenkins was one of the Marines that accompanied CAPT. Keyes on a mission to locate a weapons cache, becoming one of the first humans to be infected by the Flood.

---

• Ascended Extra: His original appearances were limited to a brief showing in The Fall of Reach and a single cutscene in Halo: Combat Evolved, but The Flood and Contact Harvest greatly fleshed out his ordeals and backstory.
• And I Must Scream: After being infected by the Flood, he remains fully conscious unlike most victims. He can feel everything that happens to him, yet has almost no control over his body except for brief moments. To make things worse for him, he's then captured alive by UNSC personnel, who plan to bring him back to Earth for study. When McKay finally gives him a Mercy Kill by destroying the ship he's on, Jenkins gratefully mouths "Thank you" to her.
• Badass Normal: Surviving 27 years against the Covies is no small feat.
• Doomed Hometown: Harvest was the first world to fall to the Covenant, and he lost his entire family during the attack.
• Farm Boy: Eldest of three from a farming family.
• Friendly Sniper: A friendly guy who's a natural shot.
• Heroic BSoD: Falls into a deep depression after the Covenant destroy his hometown.
• Heroic Willpower: He can briefly overpower the Flood form that took him over, but something always intervenes to prevent him from taking his own life. However, he is able to successfully warn his captors about the Flood lurking beneath Alpha Base, allowing the humans to seal off the shaft before the Flood can make it through.
• Like a Duck Takes to Water: With Forsell's help, it takes him less than a day to develop Sharpshooter-level performance at the practice range, despite having never used a gun before.
• Older Than They Look: Due to spending a considerable amount of time in Cyrosleep while traveling, like many UNSC personnel.
• Overranked Soldier: Inverted, oddly enough. Despite having fought in the war for 27 years, he's only a Private First Class.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After his Heroic BSoD, he goes into Tranquil Fury revenge mode against the Covenant, only snapping out of it after his friend Forsell gets badly injured protecting him.
• Small Town Boredom: Dreading a lifetime of boredom on the family farm, he joined the militia because he saw it as a stepping stone to a life of adventure as a Marine. He gets his wish, but not in the way he wanted.
• Tragic Monster: After being infected, he wants nothing more than to die.

Lt. T.J. Murphy

Lieutenant T.J. Murphy

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Spartan Ops

A marine stationed on the UNSC Infinity as part of Icebreaker Squad. After being captured by the Covenant, he is rescued by Fireteam Crimson during their escape from captivity, becoming their pilot for the second half of Spartan Ops.

---

• Ace Pilot: With a Phantom.
• Ascended Extra: Goes from a Mauve Shirt to a major supporting character in Rubicon Protocol.
• A Death in the Limelight: His promotion to supporting character comes at the expense of his life.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Jumps in front of a pulse carbine burst to stop the destruction of a beacon emitting Zeta Halo's co-ordinates.
• Mauve Shirt: The only Marine in Spartan Ops to not be a Red Shirt.
• Recruitment by Rescue: He joins the team as a pilot after being saved by them on an operation.
• The Smart Guy: Hacks his way into a Phantom.
• Sixth Ranger: To Crimson's support staff.

LtCol. Morgan Kinsano

Lieutenant Colonel Morgan Kinsano

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo Wars 2

"Hope none of them make it out alive."

Morgan Kinsano used to be an Insurrectionist leader in the Outer Colonies until the Human-Covenant War broke out. With many of her family and allies dead, she decided to join the UNSC, realizing that she wouldn't have an Insurrection to come back to if the Covenant killed everyone. By 2531, she became leader of the Hellbringers aboard the Spirit of Fire, later helping to fight against the Banished at the battle for the Ark in 2559.

---

• Ace Custom: Her Cyclops exoskeleton is a custom model equipped with twin flamers and recharging energy shields.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Despite her politics, she's grown to respect Captain Cutter and genuinely considers the rest of Spirit of Fire's crew to be her comrades.
• Hazy-Feel Turn: Joined the UNSC out of necessity, but is implied to have retained some of her old political opinions.
• Kill It with Fire: Like her Hellbringer subordinates, Kinsano specializes in flame-based attacks.
• Military Maverick: Has a reputation for being unorthodox by UNSC standards.
• Mini-Mecha: Pilots a Cyclops.
• Rebel Leader: Was formerly this before the Covenant arrived.
• Tattooed Crook: A former Innie with noticeable Facial Markings.

Lucas Browning

Lucas Browning (42410-02214-LB)

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo Infinite
Voiced by: Jason Charles Miller

A Combat Medic who was captured by the Banished during the Zeta Halo conflict and used by them as a Reclaimer, a human proxy allowing their captors to interact with Forerunner technology.

---

• Apocalyptic Log: The "The Prisoner" Audio Logs serve as this, documenting his capture and descent into madness.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: Whatever the Harbinger did to him, even Chak 'Lok was taken aback by the consequences.
• Combat Medic: His role prior to his capture.
• Madness Mantra: In the end, he's reduced to repeating his service number indefinitely.

Sgt. Hauser

Sergeant Hauser

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Homecoming
Voiced by: John Swasey

"Alright men! Let's welcome our Chief Petty Officer with some backup!"

A Marine NCO who fought alongside Daisy-023 sometime during the Human-Covenant War.

---

• Black Dude Dies First: Averted, he's the only marine that survives from his team, and is one of the last characters in Homecoming to die.
• Catchphrase: "Just ain't my day".
• Mauve Shirt: Gets a little more screentime and characterization than the other (non-Ralph) marines in Homecoming.

Ralph

Ralph (formerly Ralph-103)

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: c. 2511
Debuted in: Homecoming
Voiced by: Leraldo Anzaldua

A former Spartan-II trainee, Ralph was part of a small group who tried to escape the program after their augmentations. After being recaptured, he was soon discharged and sent back to civilian life, enlisting in the Marine Corps once he was old enough to.

---

• The Bully: The adjunct section of the Halo: The Fall of Reach reprints mention that while he had slight bullying tendencies during rehabilitation, he had fully grown out of it by the time he joined the Marines.
• De-power: Had several of his augmentations removed after his discharge, but he still retained enough to be noticeably above baseline human.
• Happily Adopted: According to Mike’s letter in The Fall of Reach reprints' adjunct section.
• Heroic BSoD: After Ralph discovers his clone, the former briefly snaps and ends up killing the latter, though he's clearly ashamed of himself for doing so after he comes back to his senses.
• Killed Off for Real: Despite Daisy's attempt to cover Ralph's Pelican's escape. It takes several direct hits from Covenant fuel rod guns and explodes, killing Ralph and the other Marines.
• Military Brat: Implied to have been raised by a military family after his discharge, which would help explain why he joined the Marines.
• Mission Control: Is implied to be helping to coordinate Marine operations during the events of Homecoming.
• Phlebotinum Rebel: The reason he ran away was to go back to his homeworld; he actually managed to make it all the way to his old house before being recaptured.
• Platonic Life-Partners: Seems to have very close with Daisy-023 during training. Indeed, despite not having seen her for several years when they finally reunite, Ralph still cares about her enough to attempt to save her after she's shot, which ends up getting him and his men killed in the process.
• Retcon: His service number was originally "303", with 343i promising an explanation for why he had one greater than 150 (the initial number of candidates for the SPARTAN-II program), but they eventually gave up and just retconned it to "103".
• Senseless Sacrifice: Refuses to evac without Daisy, attempting to have his men cover her. Unfortunately, this causes them to quickly be surrounded and overwhelmed by Covenant forces who blow up his Pelican and him (as well as his Marines) along with it, with Daisy bleeding out and dying soon after.
• Super-Soldier: While his more austeric augmentations were removed, they couldn't remove them all nor undo the effects they had on his body. As such his physical capabilities, while below that of a full Spartian-II, is still above a normal human.

Sgt. Ghost

Sergeant "Ghost"

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Prototype
Voiced by: David Matranga

A Marine in the UNSC Corps of Engineers who lost his entire platoon sometime in the past. Later, he's deployed on Algolis with the Hades Corps to destroy prototype weapons and all related data before the Covenant can get to them.

---

• Badass Normal: He's really just another Marine, no enhancements or augmentations to speak of, but with his combat prowess and the combat exosuit he commandeered on Algolis, he is able to cut a swath through Covenant forces to clear the way for evac shuttles and ultimately racks up a kill count that would make Master Chief or Noble-6 proud.
• Beneath the Mask: Behind his stoic exterior, he truly does care about his people.
• Consummate Professional: Has a reputation for being completely mission-oriented; even after he disobeys orders in order to save his marines, he justifies it to his superior by stating that he's actually fulfilling all his mission parameters by doing so.
• Cool Shades: The visor on his helmet as he's piloting the prototype suit gives off this impression.
• Demolitions Expert: Tends to be assigned to demolitions duty.
• Due to the Dead: After Ghost sacrifices himself to save the evacuation as well as destroy the prototype, the commanding officer retracts his request for a court martial and furthermore officially lists Ghost as Missing In Action. Combined with the MJOLNIR-like appearance of the prototype, Ghost is essentially honored as a Spartan in death.
• Face Death with Dignity: Seconds before his death, Ghost flashes a satisfied grin as he gives the command to self-destruct the prototype suit he's piloting, knowing his men have safely made it off-planet, and that he's regained some semblance of his humanity.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Stays behind on Algolis to make sure everyone else can escape.
• Known Only by Their Nickname: Even Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian refers to him solely as "Ghost".
• Meaningful Name: Was given the name Ghost due to his supposed lack of emotion.
• Not So Stoic: The only time we see openly intense emotion from Ghost is in a flashback from the night his platoon was wiped out, where after the last of his marines dies in his arms, he can be seen screaming with grief.
• Powered Armor: The suit he commandeers is the Mark I Prototype Armor Defense System, to be precise.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Despite his orders to destroy the prototype suit, he instead pilots it into battle to ensure that the rest of Hades Corps can escape. After all, he's planning on self-destructing it anyways after everyone's clear.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: His stoic nature is implied to be his attempt to cope with all the death he's witnessed.
• Skyward Scream: He screams in agony as the last soldier of his platoon dies in his arms despite his attempts to save her life.
• Sole Survivor: Of his old platoon.
• The Stoic: Is outwardly emotionless to the point where his men see him as inhuman and lacking in empathy. Thus, the reason why he's called "Ghost".
  Dying Marine: "Feelings pass right through you, don't they? So cold and unforgiving in every choice you made in battle. Pure soldier."
• Survivor's Guilt: His guilt at losing his previous platoon turns out to be his main motivation for making sure that his current platoon can make it out alive, even if it costs his own life.
• Taking You with Me: When he's finally overwhelmed, he self-destructs his suit and takes a bunch of Covenant with him in the resulting nuclear explosion.
• You Shall Not Pass!: He commanders the prototype suit he's supposed to destroy in order to buy time for his men and any remaining civilians to evacuate.

SSgt. Marvin Mobuto

Staff Sergeant Marvin Mobuto

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo: The Flood

"I didn't know you, Sarge, but I sure as hell wish I had. You must have been one hardass son of a bitch."

— John-117, upon finding his body

A member of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn's Marine contingent during the events of the first game. Not much is known about him, barring the fact that he was probably at the Fall of Reach, and was later abducted by 343 Guilty Spark to try and acquire the Index. He died battling the Flood in the attempt, but still managed to get pretty far. However, by the time he'd finally been killed, his body was thrashed and mangled to the point where even the Flood couldn't make use of his body.

---

• Badass Normal: Considering the fact that he's a normal human that went far with just standard-issue armor and gear, he deserves to be counted as one.
• Determinator: It took many waves of Flood to wear him down before he finally succumbed. This inspired the Master Chief to press on.
• Made of Iron: You'd have to be if you lasted as long as he did against the Flood.
• Posthumous Character: He's already dead when his body shows up in Halo: The Flood.

Capt. Ponder

Captain Ponder

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo: Contact Harvest

"Someday we will win, no matter what it takes."

A former Lieutenant Colonel who was demoted following an incident with an Insurrectionist in Eridanus II. Later, he is put in charge of training Harvest's Colonial Militia.

---

• Artificial Limbs: Lost an arm after diving on an Insurrectionist grenade, and dislikes wearing the prosthetic limb.
• The Captain: Dedicated to his mission and the troops to the very end.
• Cigar Chomper: Has a fondness for Sweet Williams.
• Defiant to the End: Facing his impending death at Tartarus's hands, Ponder decides to tell his killer that "Someday we will win, no matter what it takes."
• Determinator: Even getting mortally wounded by Maccabeus's hammer can't stop him from leading in the front against the Covenant invaders, despite losing his prosthetic and having half his ribs and multiple organs utterly destroyed.
• A Father to His Men: Quickly realizes that Johnson could really use a break from stressing about the Insurrection, and gives him a friendly order to "Have a drink, dance with a girl." Even his last thoughts are of all the people he's ever led.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Slowly dying from his previous injuries anyways, he decides to use himself as bait to lure the Rapid Conversion into a trap.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: How Tartarus kills him. Those bayonets on the Spiker Rifles are not for show.
• My Greatest Failure: During the early years of the Insurrection, he commanded a unit sent to capture a high-ranking Innie officer. While searching the town, he visited the Innie's father-in-law and daughter, and asked for their help in bringing him in. The father-in-law responded by pulling out a grenade, resulting in one of Ponder's snipers shooting him and accidently causing the grenade to go off, killing the family, several of Ponder's men, and setting off a bloodbath in the town that Ponder was blamed for, resulting in his demotion from Lieutenant Colonel. Ponder blames himself for all these events, feeling that the father-in-law had only been bluffing, and that he should have had better discipline among his men.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: Subverted; while he initially wished he could go back to the frontlines after his demotion, he later decides that he was lucky to have gotten out of the fighting before he'd have the chance to make another mistake that got even more people killed.
• Veteran Instructor: On Harvest.

SSgt. Nolan Byrne

Staff Sergeant Nolan Byrne (48780-19114-NB)

Homeworld: Earth (Ireland)
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo: Contact Harvest

A Marine who blames Johnson for the death of his squad to an Insurrectionist suicide bomber on Tribute during Operation: TREBUCHET. He is later reassigned to train the Colonial Militia on Harvest.

---

• Badass Normal: Tough enough to hold his own (and then some) against Johnson in a fight. However, it's implied that (like Johnson) he is actually an ex-ORION operative, aka a Spartan-I.
• The Big Guy: Is noted as being at least twenty kilos heavier than Johnson.
• Covered in Scars: The botched operation on Tribute did a number on his face.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: Very much relishes his opportunity to put the fear of God into the Harvest recruits.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Begins to repair his comradery with Johnson during their first skirmish against the Covenant.
• Fighting Irish: A rough, ornery man with a noticeable Irish accent.
• Lightning Bruiser: Johnson notes that he moves "with amazing speed" for someone so big.
• Killed Offscreen: According to this post, he was killed in the last year of the war, presumably on Earth.
• Old Soldier: Is implied to be about the same age as Johnson, and was still fighting in the frontlines during the last year of the war.
• Rank Up: Became a Sergeant Major by the time of his death.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: He's got quite the mouth on him.
• Veteran Instructor: On Harvest.
• We Used to Be Friends: Worked with Johnson for many years before the botched operation that soured their camaraderie.

Sgt. Zhao Heng Lopez

Sergeant Zhao Heng Lopez (11283-99001-ZL)

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: The Mona Lisa

Lopez is a squad commander stationed aboard the UNSC Prowler Red Horse, which is sent by ONI to investigate the remains of Installation 04 and the prison ship Mona Lisa.

---

• Action Girl: Probably the most kickass female marine in the series.
• A Mother to Her Men: Albeit a harsh one. She does like to promise them ice cream after missions though.
• Berserk Button: Do not drop her into a situation without telling her all the facts. You will get punched in the face. Twice.
• Bolivian Army Ending: The Mona Lisa ends with her about to face off against an Elite for the last escape pod on the ship, with Flood rapidly approaching and a nuke about to go off. Word of God confirms she died, however.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: She holds Mahmoud in her arms as he bleeds out after ONI Major John Smith cuts his throat.
• The Men First: Her number one priority is keeping the soldiers under her command safe. She is infuriated that they were sent aboard the Mona Lisa without complete intel and then deemed to be acceptable losses to prevent the Flood from escaping.
• No One Gets Left Behind: Refuses to leave any soldier under command who may still live behind.
• Sergeant Rock: And her men love her for being one.

Pvt. James MacCraw

Private James MacCraw

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: The Mona Lisa

MacCraw is a newly transferred Marine to Sgt. Lopez's squad aboard the UNSC Red Horse. He is heavily disliked by the rest of the squad.

---

• The Klutz: He stumbles twice aboard the Mona Lisa, badly cutting himself both times.
• Motor Mouth: His squadmates hate his constant talking.
• New Meat: He's the new guy on Lopez's squad, and they do not like him for it.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When the other survivors get into a standoff, he abandons them and gets off the ship in one of the two remaining escape pods.
• Sole Survivor: Likely the only one of Lopez's squad to escape the Mona Lisa.
• Took a Level in Badass: Several levels in fact, eventually earning Lopez's respect.

Clarence

Clarence

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: The Mona Lisa

Another Marine stationed aboard the UNSC Red Horse, he is a very quiet and serious soldier.

---

• The Big Guy: One of Lopez's best Marines and easily the most intimidating of them.
• Character Death: Benti tackles him into a group of Flood forms.
• The Mole: An ONI Section 3 operative sent to ensure that no Covenant, prisoners, or infected humans escape the Mona Lisa. Considering that he was with Lopez's squad long before the mission to the Mona Lisa, it is likely ONI has numerous agents in the marines who could be activated at anytime to cover up their projects.
• Nothing Personal: He tells this to Benti and Lopez while trying to kill Benti after she is infected.
• Odd Friendship: With Benti. It's one-sided on Benti's part.
• The Quiet One: He does most of his talking with facial expressions throughout the short story, but does speak some at the end.
• The Reliable One: He may not speak much, but Lopez considers him good backup when facing the unknown. He's definitely a good fighter, but also definitely not a "good guy".
• The Spook: Again, he's ONI.
• The Stoic: He has a completely unreadable face and shows almost no emotion, which creeps out most of his squadmates.
  • Not So Stoic: He finally loses his cool near the end of The Mona Lisa when Benti tackles him into the Flood.

Lt. Parisa

Lieutenant Parisa

Homeworld: Eridanus II
Birthdate: Around 2511
Debuted in: Palace Hotel
Voiced by: Zehra Fazal

A marine John-117 met during the Battle of Mombasa. Post-war, she volunteered as an ONI Agent after becoming inflicted with a unique memory condition.

---

• Actually, I Am Him: Averted. John wanted to tell Paraisa that her childhood friend who she thought died many years ago is actually him but doing so is a sercurity breach to ONI.
• Childhood Marriage Promise: Two weeks before John was kidnapped and enlisted into the SPARTAN-II program, Parisa, he promised that he will marry Parisa in the future.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: As of Memory Agent, she suffers from an impairment to her short-term memory which causes her to forget everything she learned within roughly seven hour intervals, but in-turn gave her Photographic Memory for everything she does learn in the meantime. The nature of this condition has made her an ideal ONI Agent for relaying confidential information, while also raising the question of how she got her unique condition in the first place.
• Lost Lenore: She thought John had died during her childhood but it was actually a clone of him.
• Precious Photo: She still keeps a photo of John when they were children.
• Tragic Keepsake: She kept a Precious Photo of her long dead childhood friend, not realizing that he is still alive and is standing next to her.

Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST)

In General

ODSTs

Major Silva: "Most of the crew - not to mention your fellow jarheads - will be leaving the ship in lifeboats. They'll ride to the surface in air conditioned comfort, sipping wine, and nibbling on appetizers. Not you, however. Oh no, you're going to leave the Pillar of Autumn in a different method. Tell me boys and girls... how will you leave?"
Shock Troopers: "We go feet first, sir!"

An all-volunteer special operations capable unit of the UNSC Marine Corps, the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers were the former candidates for the most badass humans to ever live. More commonly referred to as "ODSTs", they often deploy to the battlefield via drop-pod. From orbit. In order to become an ODST, a soldier must first prove themself in another special operations unit before being transferred over and stripped of rank, going through an intense training regimen.

---

• Always Second Best: After the Spartan programs came into being, the ODSTs are now known as the second most hardcore soldiers in the UNSC (but don't mention that "second most" part to their face). They still get plenty of chances to be awesome, though.
• Badass Creed:
  • The 105th Shock Troops Division has a particularly notable one: "Jump feet first into hell."
  • "Helljumper, helljumper, where you been? Feet first into hell then back again! When I die please bury me deep! Fix my MA5 down by my feet!"
  • "We cheat Death from his rightful victory / No one can defeat us / We are glad to plunge feet first into hell in the knowledge that we will rise." Bonus points for being in Welsh
• Badass Normal: Can take on almost the same odds as the Spartans, without Cybernetics and Power Armor.
• Crazy Is Cool: In-universe, they are all considered to be this, in large part because every ODST is someone who willingly volunteered to be dropped from orbit on a regular basis; as one saying goes, "It takes a special kind of crazy to be a Helljumper."
• Drop Pod: "Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle" as they are more formally known, and they are responsible for the "Orbital Drop" part of their service name. They allow the ODSTs to function similarly to para-drop commandos, only from much higher up.
• Elites Are More Glamorous: If you're an important character in any given Halo work, chances are you'll specifically be an ODST. Indeed, ODSTs are the only non-Spartan humans to even be playable in the (FPS) games.
• Fantastic Racism: Unlike the other USNC branches where they are fine with working together with their Sangheili allies. Few of the ODSTs (particularly those assigned to ONI's Kilo-Five Unit), owing to their hardcore nature, absolutely despise cooperating with the Sangheili, to the point that they would rather see them dead than become humanity's allies.
• In-Series Nickname: As noted above, ODSTs (particularly those of the 105th) are also known as "Helljumpers".
• Interservice Rivalry: With the SPARTAN-IIs, which was sparked when a teenage John-117 got into a fight with several ODSTs at a gym. The altercation was planned to test both the Spartans' augmentations and loyalty (since John refused to fight back until ordered to), but resulted in two ODSTs killed and tension between the two services since. Nevertheless, the two groups are fully capable of working together, and a number of ODSTs do still have at least some genuine respect for the Spartans.
• It's Raining Men: From orbit.
• Jump Jet Pack: The "Bullfrogs" are ODSTs who specialize in using these.
• Latex Space Suit: ODST armor enables them to operate for short periods in a fully atmospheric evacuated environment, such as they might be called upon to do during a Boarding Party. The undersuit of their armor is the life-supporting layer (the "latex" part) while the protective plates that sit over that are more modular and can be swapped for mission and role-specific variants. That said, what version of this trope comes into effect depends on the game; ODST armor in Halo 3◊ and ODST◊ more closely resembles MJOLNIR (fingerless gloves aside), the ones in Reach◊ seem to have standard fatigues peaking out under their heavy armor, and the ODSTs in Halo 2◊ (and its Anniversary◊ remake), if anything, have even less armor than their standard Marine counterparts.
• Unknown Rival: The Spartan-ODST rivalry is really more of an ODST thing than a Spartan thing.
• We Will Wear Armor in the Future: Far superior to those worn by Marine regulars, ODST armor is generally depicted to cover much more of the body than the standard kit (Halo 2 aside). Its good enough to be comparable (and even compatible) with Spartan MJOLNIR armor.

Alpha-Nine

LCpl. Jonathan Doherty

Lance Corporal Jonathan "The Rookie" Doherty (11282-31220-JD)

Homeworld: Luna (Crisium City, Naniwa)
Birthdate: February 9, 2525
Debuted in: Halo 3: ODST

The faceless, voiceless protagonist of Halo 3: ODST. Although he is an experienced ODST, he is referred to as "The Rookie" by Alpha-Nine since he just transferred in after his previous unit was almost completely wiped out at the battle of New Jerusalem.

---

• All There in the Manual: The 2022 edition of the Halo Encyclopedia revealed that his real name is Jonathan Doherty.
• Back for the Dead: Is killed by Insurrectionists on Draco III in Halo: New Blood, about two years after the events of ODST.
• Badass in Distress: Is taken hostage just before his aforementioned death.
• Badass Normal: Possibly even more so than the other members of his squad, considering that he's pretty much fighting alone for most of his sections. Arguably the biggest example in the franchise given the sheer number of Covenant he slaughters. Not even squads of power-armored Brute Jumpers and Stalkers (who can respectively fly and turn invisible on top of being able to bench press a truck) so much as slow him down.
• Band of Brothers: Eventually becomes fully accepted by the rest of Alpha-Nine.
• Doomed Hometown: Ends up losing most, if not all, of his family and friends when the Covenant attacked Luna on their way to Earth.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Everyone calls him "Rookie". Even the narration.
• The Faceless: Even more so than the Chief.
• First-Person Peripheral Narrator: This guy is the primary player character; however, for the flashback missions, you take control of his different squadmates, and the real stars of the story are Gunnery Sgt. Buck and Veronica Dare until the part where the flashbacks segue into the present.
• Hardboiled Detective: His role in ODST deliberately invokes this, with his Film Noir-inspired levels revolving around searching for clues about what happened to the rest of his squad. You can take this even further if you decide to try to collect all the audio logs.
• Heroic Mime: Though he does make sounds of pain and some small vocalizations. There are several theories explaining why he's mute, mainly being PTSD^note Specifically Post-Traumatic Vocal Disarticulation, an injury to the neck/throat, or brain damage from being knocked out for half a day after his drop. He does speak during his appearances in Dirt and Halo: New Blood, though.
• Lonely Funeral: Due to dying far from home (with most of the people he knew being dead anyways), the only attendees at his service are his fellow squadmates.
• Meaningful Name: As The Rookie is meant to be a blank slate for the player to project themselves onto, he didn’t even have a proper name until the 2022 edition of the Halo Encyclopedia, the last two digits on his serial number, which for every other UNSC soldier has always been their first and last initial, were assumed to stand for John Doe. His real name? Jonathan Doherty.
• Non-Indicative Name: While he is the newest member to join the squad, the Rookie's been in plenty of missions before and no one gets into the ODSTs without a lot of experience. Buck even lampshades in New Blood that they probably would have found a more fitting nickname for the Rookie had another person joined the squad after him.
• One-Man Army: Not as much as Master Chief, but still.
• Punny Name: As a Featureless Protagonist, he initially wasn’t identified past his initials being “JD”, which many assumed simply stood for “John Doe”, a placeholder used in the US for an individual whose name is either unknown or withheld for legal reasons. His name was finally revealed almost thirteen years after his initial debut to be “Jonathan Doherty”.
• Rookie Red Ranger: Probably the biggest badass in Alpha-Nine other than Buck, despite being the newest member.
• Sacrificial Lion: Is basically this in New Blood, with his death leaving its mark on the rest of Alpha-Nine, Mickey and Buck in particular.
• Sleepyhead: Does this whenever he's not kicking ass. Which might be caused by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is actually Truth in Television for some cases, in a condition called Hypersomnia.^note Its the opposite of insomnia. People with hypersomnia sleep too much.
• Supporting Protagonist: His story comprises the Myth Arc of the game but he doesn't do much to help the mission until the end, being knocked out and all. It's more the story of the other members of Alpha-Nine, especially Buck and Dare.
• The Voiceless: Save for grunts, groans, and a whistle. He does speak in the short story Dirt and in New Blood.

GSgt. Edward Buck

Gunnery Sergeant Edward Malcolm Buck (92458-37017-EB)

Homeworld: Draco III (New Albany, Lombard)
Birthdate: August 22, 2510
Debuted in: Halo 3: ODST
Voiced by: Nathan Fillion

The commander of the ODST squad Alpha-Nine in Halo 3: ODST. He signed up the day he turned eighteen, and eventually began a relationship with ONI agent Veronica Dare. She broke up with him after he proposed, but when Earth is attacked, he is shocked when she appropriates his squad for a mission in New Mombasa. Come Halo 5: Guardians, he's a SPARTAN-IV serving in Jameson Locke's Fireteam Osiris.

---

• Ace Pilot:
  • During the mission to New Mombassa, Buck commandeers a Banshee to provide cover for a Phantom his team has hijacked. During this he takes on Covenant aircraft, anti-air fire, and ground forces (including taking out a Scarab).
  • During the Halo Reach mission "New Alexandria", it's possible for the player to hear a request for assistance from Buck. If the mission is to rescue his team from a Covenant Phantom, then he will be piloting a Falcon himself.
• Badass Normal: This is a man who, in a series where Puny Earthlings is in full effect, killed a Brute Chieftain by stabbing it in the throat. To quote his profile:
  Truly, if he was any better he’d be a Spartan.
• Band of Brothers: With the various incarnations of Alpha-Nine he's led. In fact, his refusal to leave the squad was why he initially turned down the offer to become a Spartan-IV, only accepting once the rest of Alpha-Nine was offered membership as well.
• The Cameo: He has a chance to appear during the Halo: Reach level "New Alexandria".
• Deadpan Snarker: Particularly in Halo 5.
• Doomed Homeworld: Lost all of his family and most of his friends when Draco III was invaded by the Covenant, prompting him to make an immediate transfer to the ODSTs.
• Empowered Badass Normal: Seems he did get better, as by the events of Halo 5, he has become a Spartan-IV.
• Expy: Of Malcolm Reynolds, as indicated by his middle name. Not that that's a bad thing.
• Foil: His birthday is smack-bang in the middle of the SPARTAN II recruitment ages; he's essentially what John and the rest of the SPARTA Ns could have been if they weren't recruited and had normal civilian lives.
• Foreshadowing: The above quote about him mentions that if he was any better than his job, that he'd be a SPARTAN. When 5 came out, he became one while wearing armor reminiscent of his ODST Armor.
• I Call It "Vera": His personal M6H2 Magnum, "Whispered Truth", which is usable in Halo 5. It fires three-round bursts that can kill a fully shielded Spartan in only two headshots, and gives a speed boost when equipped.
• I Take Offense to That Last One: "Did she just call me old?"
• Ink-Suit Actor: Very deliberately done with Nathan Fillion, even back in his original ODST appearance.
• The Lancer: Has something of this dynamic with Locke.
• Last-Name Basis: Everyone calls him Buck, even his former girlfriend.
• The Leader: Of the various incarnations of Alpha-Nine, though Dare hijacks his squad in ODST. His file from the Limited Edition of Halo 5 also notes that he temporarily served as Spartan Commander of the UNSC Merriweather Lewis at one point.
• Limited Advancement Opportunities: Despite his leadership abilities, he's deliberately sabotaged multiple chances of promotion to remain a simple squad leader. According to supplemental material, his assignment to Osiris represents his superiors' latest attempt to groom him for a promotion.
• Military Brat: His mother once served in the Marine Corps.
• No One Gets Left Behind: A basic philosophy of his; it's part of the reason why Sarah Palmer, among others, managed to survive the Human-Covenant War.
• Official Couple: With Dare after the events of ODST. However, the nature of both their jobs means that they have no plans to get married and have kids anytime soon. That is until the end of Halo: Bad Blood, in which Dare, well dares Buck to marry her. The couple says their vows in a Spartan bar on the UNSC Infinity, with Roland as their minister.
• Old Soldier: Only a couple of years from turning fifty by the time of Halo 5, but still seeing active combat as a Spartan-IV.
• Only Sane Man: He's seemingly the only member of Fireteam Osiris that knows how risky/hard it will be to track down the Master Chief, while Locke dismisses the legendary Spartan-II as 'just another target'.
• Player Character: Two of ODST's levels are played from his viewpoint, and he's also playable in Halo 5: Guardians's co-op mode.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: His Waypoint profile states that his desire to avenge Draco III would have likely gotten him killed had he not gotten involved with Dare.
• Sergeant Rock: He may be a little cranky at times (Romeo in particular on the receiving end of most of it), but his main concern is ultimately getting his fellow soldiers (and Dare) out alive. According to Fillion himself, Buck usually has a more cavalier and easy-going battlefield demeanor than what we see in ODST, but Dare's unexpected presence in a mission significantly shortens his fuse, reducing his patience and souring his disposition. We see his normal attitude in Halo 5: Guardians.
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: With Dare.
• Sole Survivor: The only member of Alpha-Nine's pre-ODST lineups to survive the Human-Covenant War.
• Still Wearing the Old Colors: As a Spartan-IV, Buck has a full suit of MJOLNIR, but it's designed to resemble ODST armor.
• Super-Soldier: Becomes a Spartan-IV by the time of Halo 5. This includes the anatomical and physiological enhancements, as well as powered armor.
• Supporting Leader: Played with in ODST; the Rookie is technically the protagonist, but Buck actually has the most involvement in the main plot.
• We Used to Be Friends: Becomes murderously angry when Mickey betrays the squad, though he ultimately can't quite bring himself to actually kill him.
• Working-Class Hero: Born to a family of dockworkers and fishermen.
• Working with the Ex: With Dare in ODST, though the "ex" part goes away by the end.
• Worthy Opponent: Has a grudging respect for the Elites, even the ones still fighting humanity after the end of the war.

Cpl. Taylor Miles

Corporal Taylor Henry "Dutch" Miles (21175-12121-TM)

Homeworld: Mars (Losantiville, Seven Hills)
Birthdate: June 3, 2519
Debuted in: Halo: Helljumper
Voiced by: Adam Baldwin (Halo 3: ODST), Rob Mungle (The Babysitter)

A former truckdriver on Mars who studied religion and philosophy at university before being drafted. He befriended Romeo and married a fellow ODST named Gretchen, eventually ending up with Romeo in Alpha-Nine.

---

• Adaptation Dye-Job: Brunette in the games, blonde in "The Babysitter". He could have literally been dyeing his hair in the latter, though.
• As the Good Book Says......
  Dutch: ...payback's a bitch.
  Mickey: I don't think it actually says that, Dutch.
  Dutch: I'm paraphrasin', ya heathen!
• Badass Normal: Would you expect any less from a playable character?
• Band of Brothers: With the rest of Alpha-Nine until his retirement, and he still does his best to keep up with them afterwards.
• Bash Brothers: With Romeo.
• Battle Couple: With his with Gretchen, at least until she lost a leg to an Innie mine. Then again after she gets a robotic replacement and becomes a SPARTAN-IV alongside her.
• BFG: Usually carries a Spartan Laser. Funnily enough, he's the last living member of Alpha-Nine to become a SPARTAN-IV.
• The Big Guy: The heavy weapons and close quarters combat specialist of Buck's squad. He has enough strength to even snap an Elite's neck in Halo: Helljumper.
• Boisterous Bruiser: His battlefield taunts could give Johnson's a run for their money.
• Cultured Warrior: Thanks to his time in university.
• Empowered Badass Normal: Becomes a Spartan-IV after returning to service.
• Happily Married: To Gretchen Ketola, a fellow ODST who lost a leg in combat.
• Happy Marriage Charade: Despite appearing blissful externally, neither he nor Gretchen truly readjusted to civilian life which had a great strain in their relationship; it probably would have ended in divorce had they not both signed up for the SPARTAN-IV program at Jun's insistence.
• I Call It "Vera": He calls his Spartan Laser...Vera.
• Number Two: The second oldest of Buck's squad, and seemingly the one Buck trusts the most.
• Odd Couple: Romeo is a jackass, Dutch is probably one of the nicer ODSTs around. Yet they're the best of friends.
• Out of Focus: Despite getting the joint-highest number of playable missions in the original game, the post-war literature on Alpha-9 focuses mainly on Buck's relationships with Dare and Mickey, with Romeo getting promoted to The Lancer; Dutch, on the other hand, retires in New Blood and even after his return in Bad Blood remains in a more supporting role.
• Player Character: You play as him in two levels in Halo 3: ODST.
• Religious Bruiser: Studied religion and philosophy in his college days.
• Space Trucker: Mentioned in the background information. He drove them on Mars to put himself through college.
• 10-Minute Retirement: Decides to return to civilian life after the Rookie's death. However, he ends up signing back up with the UNSC after having too much trouble adapting to civilian life.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Romeo, and God, funnily enough.
• We Used to Be Friends: Romeo has apparently not quite forgiven him for retiring first, to the point where the two don't even chat much anymore; Dutch now has to rely on Buck to find out how "Romes" has been doing.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He didn't sound fond of flying at the beginning of his level. He ends up having to drive a vehicle off a cliff to escape.

LCpl. Kojo Agu

Lance Corporal Kojo "Romeo" Agu (14606-85099-KA)

Homeworld: Madrigal (Castra arcology, Castra)
Birthdate: June 12, 2524
Debuted in: Halo: Helljumper
Voiced by: Nolan North

A former Merchant Marine, Romeo was forced to join the ODSTs after sleeping with the wife of a colony Governor. He quickly proved himself an expert, if abrasive, sniper. He became friends with Dutch, and the two eventually joined Alpha-Nine together.

---

• Badass Normal: Naturally, as expected of a playable character.
• Band of Brothers: He's a massive jerk, but even he doesn't like it when outsiders mess with Alpha-Nine.
• Bash Brothers: With Dutch.
• The Casanova: Claims to be one. It's where his nickname comes from. His tendencies get even worse after he becomes a Spartan, to the point where Musa himself has to tell him to tone it down.
• Cold Sniper: Some of the cause of his jerkass traits.
• Deadpan Snarker: He simply can't help but quip, whether in a firefight, in front of an officer, being held prisoner, or even at the Rookie's funeral.
• Doomed Hometown: When he was four, his homeworld of Madrigal was glassed by the Covenant.
• Empowered Badass Normal: Eventually becomes a Spartan-IV after the war.
• Friendly Sniper: He's quite talkative, at least. Too bad he's usually being an ass.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: A Brute Chieftain stabs him with the bladed-end on the backside of his gravity hammer during the events of Halo 3: ODST. Luckily, Romeo survives, though he can't fight for the rest of the game due to a pierced lung.
• Ironic Fear: He's hinted to be afraid of heights.
• Jerkass: He's a rampaging one, rarely showing the nicer side of his personality in favor of rude jokes and snark.
• The Lancer: To Buck.
• Meaningful Name: His nickname, as mentioned above.
• Military Maverick: Racked-up multiple code of conduct violations in his previous unit.
• Odd Couple: Dutch is probably one of the nicer ODSTs, while Romeo can be a complete jerk, to say the least. Yet they're the best of friends.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Does this very, very rarely, with Dutch on the receiving end of most of it.
  • Insists that Buck and Dare help him rescue the rest of the human delegation on Balaho and breaks down into Manly Tears after they fail.
• Player Character: One Halo 3: ODST level is played from his viewpoint.
• Shoot the Dog: The member of Alpha-Nine most likely to advocate this, even when said "dog" is a fellow squad member. As evidenced by his candidate interview taking place before Halo 3: ODST, he's already done it several times before by way of assassination missions against insurgents.
• Team Prima Donna: Not even Buck is safe from his jerkassery.
• Ultimate Job Security: His attitude would have gotten him kicked out of the military if it weren't for that fact that it's late in the war and his sniping skills are too valuable to ignore.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Dutch.
• We Used to Be Friends: Takes Dutch's retirement very personally, to the point where he barely even speaks to him anymore.
  • He's even madder with regards to Mickey's betrayal, though he still ultimately refuses to leave him at the sole mercy of ONI.

PFC. Michael Crespo

Private First Class Michael "Mickey" Crespo (51033-15973-MC)

Homeworld: Luna (Crisium City, Naniwa)
Birthdate: October 20, 2530
Debuted in: Halo 3: ODST
Voiced by: Alan Tudyk

The demolitions expert and pilot for Alpha-Nine, Mickey is the lowest ranked and youngest member of the squad. His parents were Insurrectionists who died attempting to bomb a government building, causing him to grow up in foster care. He was forced into mandatory UNSC military service for foster children, but stayed on when his time was up due to it being the only life he had ever known.

---

• Ace Pilot: A former Pelican crew chief, with enough skill to even fly a stolen Phantom.
• The Baby of the Bunch: As the youngest he's also most naive member of the squad.
• Badass Normal: Naturally, as expected of a playable character.
• Band of Brothers: With Alpha-Nine, until the Rookie's death and his own doubts lead him to turn against the UNSC. And even then, he'd much prefer his old squadmates to stay alive.
• Cynicism Catalyst: The Rookie's death is what leads him to eventually turn against the UNSC.
• Demolitions Expert: He loves doing what he does.
• Empowered Badass Normal: Eventually becomes a Spartan-IV after the war.
• Enemy Mine: Still isn't a fan of the UEG, but he sure as hell prefers them to Cortana.
• Face–Heel Turn: Becomes disillusioned with the UNSC after the Rookie's death, and ends up joining the United Rebel Front.
• Fallen Hero: Who would have thought that Mickey, of all people, would end up betraying his squad?
• Gosh Dang It to Heck!: "Son of a gun!"
• I Am Not My Father: Does not like being reminded of his Insurrectionist parents, whom he barely remembers anyways. Even after becoming an Innie himself, he still hates being compared to them.
• Hazy-Feel Turn: By the end of New Blood, he still retains his sympathies for the NCA, but has reforged a level of trust with the rest of the squad.
• Magnetic Hero: Buck notes that he's generally a very good public speaker and negotiator, and with some derision remarks he'd make a good politician.
• The Mole: Eventually becomes one for the United Rebel Front.
• Parental Abandonment: Both of his parents died while wiring a bomb to a government building when Mickey was young, so he never really knew them or inherited their hatred of the UNSC.
• Player Character: You play as him in one level in Halo 3: ODST.
• Rookie Red Ranger: He's been on the squad longer than the Rookie, but is a lower rank and has less battle experience. According to Buck, he had never even once seen a glassing before the invasion of Earth.
• The Smart Guy: Despite being good enough at flying to become a Pelican crew chief, he subsequently transferred into the ODSTs and was retrained.
  Buck: Smart enough to be a pilot, trained to blow things up.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Genuinely believes he's doing the right thing by switching sides.

Other ODST’s

O'Brien

O'Brien

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: The Babysitter
Voiced by: Blake Shepard

An ODST assigned as the backup sniper to Spartan Cal-141 during a mission to assassinate a Prophet on Heian.

---

• Anime Hair: That's one frizzy mop.
• Character Development: Starts out a typical ODST with contempt for Spartans, but after Cal sacrifices herself to save his life, and he sees her humanity under the helmet, he changes his ways in the end, even throwing an apple at the head of a loudmouthed marine who mocks Cal after the mission.
• Fiery Redhead: Very temperamental, even with his teammates.
• Expy: Physically resembles Spike Spiegal, particularly with that hairstyle.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: Resents having to act as backup to Cal, and has a rather hard time dealing with the fact that the Spartan is the better soldier, as made clear by his clear embarrassment whenever Cal has to rescue him.
• Jerkass Realization: After Cal takes a fatal blow for him and dies from her injuries, O'Brien realizes what a total ass he's been to her. After the mission, his cocky demeanor is all but gone.
• Pride: Considers himself the best shot "this side of Eridanus", and he does have enough skill to back up that claim, landing an impressive headshot on a Prophet from over two miles away.
• Thousand-Yard Stare: In the end after completing the mission, pondering Cal, her death and his regrets for how he acted.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Only gets more angry at Cal every time the Spartan saves his life, to the point where Dutch even tells him (after the second save) that he really should be thanking the Spartan. He moves past this with Character Development, regretting the way he was to her.

Maj. Antonio Silva

Major Antonio Silva (73809-39884-AS)

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo: The Flood

The commander of the ODST unit aboard the UNSC Pillar of Autumn. He hates Spartans after an incident in their training involving the Master Chief left four of his men dead.

---

• A Father to His Men: Played with. It's clear he cares for his troops, but it doesn't stop him from taking extremely risky gambles with their lives. And though his men do respect him, his second-in-command McKay is the one who they'd truly follow into hell.
• Badass Boast:
  Silva: Most of the crew - not to mention your fellow jarheads - will be leaving the ship in lifeboats. They'll ride to the surface in air conditioned comfort, sipping wine, and nibbling on appetizers. Not you, however. Oh no, you're going to leave the Pillar of Autumn in a different method. Tell me boys and girls... how will you leave?"\\ ODSTs: We go feet first, sir!
• Character Death: Is killed when his second-in-command McKay destroys the Covenant ship he's on in order to prevent him from taking Flood samples back to Earth.
• Freudian Excuse: The two ODSTs killed by John during the altercation in the gym were under his command, thus giving rise to his hatred of the Spartans.
• Glory Hound: Not for himself (mostly), but for his branch of the military. He is so determined to make sure the ODSTs are the forefront of the UNSC, he was willing to bring back samples of Flood infected Marines to Earth for study in a captured Covenant battlecrusier, despite the protests of his second-in-command and his AI. Just to drive this home, he begins writing his victory speech before the ship is even fully secured.
• Jerkass: Has a hard time not being a dick towards the Spartans.
• Kick the Dog: Gives a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to John-117 about him in particular, and the Spartan-IIs in general. Please note that this was after almost all the Spartans died on Reach.
• Majorly Awesome: Despite his flaws, he's a very capable combat commander who consistently gets the better of his Covenant opponents.
• Social Darwinist: Believes the death of the other Spartans was natural selection at work.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Does not particularly enjoy having to work with the Master Chief, though he does admit that the Spartan is "one helluva soldier".
• Too Dumb to Live: See: His ideas about the Flood. Despite being made aware of how much trouble the Covenant are having just keeping them contained, and the fact the "gods" they worshiped made a superweapon to wipe out all life in the galaxy to stop them, he thinks that he and his ODSTs can easily handle them. If McKay hadn't made the choice to destroy The Truth and Reconcilation first, it's all but certain the Flood stowaways on the ship would have slaughtered and infected them all.
• Underestimating Badassery: He believes that the Spartans were failures and deserved to die on Reach (he changes his tune after seeing the Chief in action), that the Covenant could be easily defeated with a larger and better trained army- led by him of course (this just after the Covenant had just shown their true, unprecedented power by curb-stomping Reach) and the Flood are a minor threat at most against the advice of pretty much everyone else ( which gets him and everyone under his command killed when his second-in-command has to make the hard choice to sacrifice all of them to stop the Flood from escaping Halo and protect Earth from almost certain infection).

1stLt. Melissa McKay

First Lieutenant Melissa McKay

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo: The Flood

The second-in-command of the ODST unit aboard the UNSC Pillar of Autumn.

---

• Action Girl: Can more than handle herself in a firefight.
• Alliterative Name: Melissa McKay.
• Conflicting Loyalty: When her direct superior Major Antonio Silva decides to take a Flood-infected Covenant ship back to Earth, she has to decide between her duty to the Corps and her duty to humanity. She ultimately chooses the latter.
• Despair Event Horizon: Comes close to this thanks to the Flood, to the point where she even sheds a few silent tears in the aftermath of her first battle against them, but manages to keep herself together. Nonetheless, it's clear to Silva that she's almost at her limits.
• Foil: To Silva. While the Major hates the Spartans and is a bit of a Glory Hound, McKay respects them and is only interested in fulfilling her duty and getting her men out alive.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In order to prevent Major Silva from taking live samples of the Flood back to Earth, she destroys the captured Covenant battlecruiser that she and most of the other surviving humans were planning to escape Halo with, killing herself, Silva, and most of the remaining UNSC personnel on Halo in the process.
• Only Sane Man: Unlike her bull-headed superior, she understands that Chief's the superior soldier. She also realizes that bringing a wildly infectious plague species back to Earth for study is, to put it mildly, a really bad idea.
• A Mother to Her Men: She succeeds much better at fulfilling this trope than Silva does; the Major himself notes that she's the kind of leader whom men will willingly follow even into a pit filled with life-devouring monstrosities.
• Nerves of Steel: Is noted as being "cool as ice" under fire; she's able to remain levelheaded even during her first encounter with the Flood.
• Number Two: To Silva.

Cpl. Locklear

Corporal Locklear

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo: First Strike

A member of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn's ODST unit, and one of the few people to survive Alpha Halo's destruction.

---

• Badass Normal: As to be expected from an ODST who managed to survive the events of Halo: Combat Evolved; he holds his own admirably fighting alongside the Master Chief and Johnson.
• Break the Badass: The events of Combat Evolved and Halo: First Strike take their toll on him, to the point where he plans to get drunk on ethanol at the first moment he can afford to.
• Fire-Forged Friends: "Friends" might be putting it a bit strongly, but he and Chief eventually develop a certain degree of mutual respect, despite the former's initial disdain for Spartans.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Subverted. While he destroys the Forerunner crystal in order to prevent it from causing more trouble, he wasn't planning on dying in the process himself.
• Rugged Scar: Has one lining his jaw.
• Ship Tease: With Shiela Polaski, whom he clearly has a crush on. Her death utterly devastates him.
• Sole Survivor: Of the Autumn's ODST company.

Maj. Faison

Major Faison

Homeworld: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo: The Cole Protocol

Initially a second lieutenant of the ODST unit aboard the UNSC Midsummer Night in 2535, Faison assumed command of the unit after his CO was killed in an Insurrectionist ambush, and is quickly promoted to Major afterwards. He becomes fast friends with then-LT. Jacob Keyes, the second-in-command of the ship.

---

• Deadpan Snarker: Can be quite sarcastic when his temper is fraying.
  Keyes: I'm ordering you to stop the sweep, get a response from every single marine under your command. I want to know who set the beacon off.
  Faison: Yessir. Don't suppose you want me to interview any of the dead, sir? Could be somewhat difficult.
• Fire-Forged Friends: He's initially passive-aggressive towards Keyes (to be fair, their first interaction was in the middle of an Innie ambush), but quickly becomes much friendlier after the lieutenant gets him and most of his ODSTs out alive from said ambush.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Dies while preventing the Covenant from following Delgado.
• I Call It "Vera": He has a knife called "Bug-Hunter".
• I Will Only Slow You Down: After being fatally wounded in the leg, he stays behind to give Delgado a chance to escape, and tells him not to send any help back.
• Rank Up: Though oddly enough, The Cole Protocol never actually shows him being promoted; he's just referred to as Major later in the story.
• You Are in Command Now: Has to take immediate command of the Midsummer Night's ODSTs after First Lieutenant Canfield is killed.

Cpl. Vasily Beloi

Corporal Vasily "Vaz" Beloi

Homeworld: Earth (Russia)
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Halo: Glasslands

A Russian ODST with a strong sense of wrong and right, Vaz and his best friend Mal were assigned to ONI unit Kilo-Five after the war against the Covenant.

---

• Black-and-White Morality: Tends to see moral conflicts as this. In fact, although he acknowledges that gray areas exist, Vaz absolutely refuses to consider them.
  Gray areas were interesting, but Vaz couldn't live his life in them. There was one side, and there was the other, and he knew which one was his.
  • Eventually though, Vaz's worldview does become a little grayer thanks to the Venezia mission.
  • Black-and-White Insanity: At one point, Vaz literally obsesses over killing Halsey as he feels that's the only way that there would be justice, bordering on Knight Templar.
• Deadpan Snarker: Possibly picked up from being around Mal all the time.
• Declaration of Protection: Swears to Naomi's father that he'll look after her.
• Disappeared Dad: When he was four, his father went missing after the Covenant attacked the colony where he was working.
• Fantastic Racism: Absolutely detests the Elites for their part in the war; at one point, he sees a Sangheili child as being less than an animal, despite the fact said child was a member of a clan that has been protecting Phillips when he was teleported to their farmland.
  • He feels worse about not shooting Halsey than leaving said clan (consisting of women and children) behind to die.
• Mother Russia Makes You Strong: Takes pride in his Russian heritage.
• Nice Guy: To non-Covenant, anyways (though he's also fine with Kilo-Five's two Huragok).
• Odd Friendship: Develops something of one with Naomi.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Mal enjoy tormenting each other.

SSgt. Malcolm Geffen

Staff Sergeant Malcolm J. "Mal" Geffen

Homeworld: Earth (Wolverhampton, England)
Birthdate: c. 2520
Debuted in: Halo: Glasslands

A stoic British ODST, Mal and his best friend Vaz was assigned to ONI unit Kilo-Five after the war against the Covenant ended.

---

• The Cynic: Considerably less idealistic than the rest of Kilo-Five outside of Serin.
• Deadpan Snarker: Has a quip for every occasion.
• Disappeared Dad: Never knew who his father was.
• Hypocrite: He expresses disgust at the idea that the participants in the Spartan-II program likely felt they were Just Following Orders despite the fact that he himself is Just Following Orders to undermine a viable peace treaty between humanity and the Sangheili.
• Ironic Fear: A slight claustrophobe, which he himself notes is a bit silly considering that his job involves dropping from orbit in a "glorified coffin".
• Punch-Clock Villain: How he views working for ONI.
• The Stoic: It takes a lot to visibly fazes him; when the origins of the Spartan-IIs are revealed, the facts of which extremely disturb every other character, Mal is able to mostly keep up the stoic front, though he does let a little anger show when it's revealed they were kidnapped kids.
• The Tease: Noted to be something of a flirt, to the point where Vaz was surprised he didn't do the same to Naomi when they first met.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Vaz enjoy tormenting each other.

Sgt. Lian Devereaux

Sergeant Lian "Dev" Devereaux

Homeworld: Earth (United Republic of North America)
Birthdate: c. 2522
Debuted in: Halo: Glasslands

A Canadian ODST pilot, Lian was assigned as ONI unit Kilo-Five's dropship pilot after the war against the Covenant ended.

---

• Ace Pilot: Particularly excels at tough extractions.
• Big Damn Hero: Rescues Vaz when him and Mal are captured by Venezian militia.
• Extreme Omnivore: Grew up eating bizarre food combinations; as a result, she shows no squeamishness around strange foods.
• Fantastic Racism: Believes all of Sanghelios deserves to be glassed.
• Foreign-Language Tirade: Sometimes can be found cursing in Cantonese.
• I Call It "Vera": Named her Pelican "Tart-Cart", and is very attached to it.
• Ship Tease: With Evan Phillips, which is lampshaded by the rest of Kilo-Five. They end up going to a concert together at the end of Mortal Dictata.
• Wrench Wench: She handles all the maintenance for the team in addition to her piloting duties.

Gage Yevgenny

Gage Yevgenny

Homeworld: Harvest
Birthdate: January 3, 2506
Debuted in: Dirt

The son of a farmer on Harvest, Gage joined the Colonial Military in order to get off the planet and away from his boring life. He became friends with Felicia Sanderson and Eric Santiago, but after Eric was put into a coma by an Innie bomb, he convinced Felicia to join the ODSTs with him instead of going back to Harvest. After Harvest was glassed by the Covenant, he and Felicia had a falling out, with Gage going on to fight through nearly the entire Covenant War, which almost completely destroyed his ability to feel any emotions. After being reunited with Felicia and Eric in 2547, the three of them plotted with other CMA veterans to steal a vault of gold on New Jerusalem when the Covenant attacked it, but ran into complications during the operation.

---

• Badass Normal: No small feat to make it to the last year of the Human-Covenant war if you were fighting in it from the very beginning.
• Doomed Hometown: Harvest.
• Empty Shell: For most of the Human-Covenant War, until he is reunited with Felicia and Eric.
• Heroic Sacrifice: After calling in more Pelicans to rescue a group of schoolchildren and their teacher, he takes the Pelican filled with the gold, a Covenant artifact, and a nuke in order to lure both the rogue ODSTs and nearby Covenant forces into a trap where he destroys them both, buying time for the evacuation.
• Old Soldier: Nearly survived the entire Covenant War.
• What You Are in the Dark: When a group of civilians and children are found in the bank vaults Gage demands that they forget the gold and rescue them instead. Only Felicia sides with him.

Col. Felicia Sanderson

Colonel Felicia Sanderson

Homeworld: Harvest
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Dirt

A member of the Colonial Military, Felicia became friends with Gage Yevgenny and Eric Santiago. She was convinced by Gage to join the ODSTs after Eric was put into a coma by a Innie bombing. She had a falling out with him following the glassing of Harvest by the Covenant, and they lost contact until 2547. After reuniting with Gage and Eric (who had come out of his coma), they plotted with other CMA veterans to steal a vault of gold on New Jerusalem as the Covenant attacked it in 2552.

---

• Action Girl: Comes with being an ODST.
• Badass Normal: Serves from the very beginning of the Human-Covenant war all the way to the last year.
• Butch Lesbian: A very minor example.
• Character Death: Killed by her fellow CMA veterans.
• Colonel Badass: Naturally, being an ODST.
• Covered with Scars: After fighting through the Covenant War.
• Doomed Hometown: Harvest.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: She bleeds to death in Gage's arms.
• Old Soldier: Again, she fought through nearly the entirety of the Covenant War.
• What You Are in the Dark: In the end, she sides with Gage and tries to save the children instead of taking the gold, but takes a shot to the throat.

Sgt. Michael Baird

Sergeant Michael Baird

Homeworld: Earth (Edinburgh, Scotland)
Birthdate: Unknown
Debuted in: Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian
Voiced by: "Leonard Meyer"

An ODST aboard the UNSC Heart of Midlothian. He was in anesthesia after the Covenant overwhelmed the ship, and as such they believed he was already dead. After waking up, he then sets out to destroy the ship in order to prevent the Covenant from stealing the ship's AI, Mo Ye.

---

• Brave Scot: Frank O'Connor has said that he was based off of some family friends with military backgrounds from his own childhood in Scotland. It's most apparent in the motion comic adaptation of Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian.
• Cure for Cancer: The reason he's unconscious during the Covenant attack was he was undergoing surgery for cancer aboard the ship; by the time the story takes place cancer is rather easily treated (and Baird himself had never heard of it before).
• Determinator: Even when he's on the brink of death, nothing will stop him from taking it to the Covenant.
• Dumb Muscle: Initially comes off as this due to his lack of scientific knowledge, but is far more cunning when it comes to combat-related matters.
• Heroic Suicide: See below.
• I Surrender, Suckers: Tricks the Covenant into reactivating Mo Ye by claiming he'd give them Earth if they let him live. Then he antagonizes an Elite into killing him, which removes the only thing preventing Mo Ye from detonating the ship.
• Last Day to Live: After getting wounded, Mo Ye tells him that even with the drug cocktail, he only has an hour left.
• Off with His Head!: How he dies at the hands of the Covenant. Unfortunately for them, this is exactly what he wanted them to do.
• Old Soldier: Was already an experienced veteran when first contact with the Covenant happened.
• Psycho Serum: Mo Ye administers a cocktail of drugs to him, including a very dangerous strength enhancer, after he's injured by Covenant.
• Sole Survivor: Is the only human left alive on the ship after he wakes up.
• Thanatos Gambit: Mo Ye can't detonate the ship because he's on it, so he tricks an Elite into killing him so he won't be on it anymore. Cue the boom.

1stLt. Cadmon Lasky

First Lieutenant Cadmon "Volcano" Lasky

Homeworld: Mars (Tricode Village, Mare Erythraeum)
Birthdate: September 30, 2507
Debuted in: Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
Portrayed by: Max Carver

The older brother of Thomas Lasky, Cadmon was regarded as one of the best soldiers to pass through the Corbulo Academy of Military Science. He was killed fighting Insurrectionists on Andesia in 2526.

---

• The Ace: Regarded as such by pretty much everyone. Even General Black knows of and has a favorable opinion of him.
• Always Someone Better: To Thomas, who was constantly compared unfavorably to him at Corbulo.
• Cool Big Bro: All of his video logs show him being such to Thomas.
• Cynicism Catalyst: His death is implied to be one of the reasons why Thomas doesn't think too highly of the UNSC's attempts to quell the Insurrection.
• Embarrassing Nickname: His squad started calling him "Volcano" after he drank some contaminated water on Arcadia and ruined a few pairs of pants.
• Posthumous Character: Is already dead by the start of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.

---