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Dutch: Could use some Spartans about now.
Romeo: We're Helljumpers, man. The 105 have been kicking butt and taking names centuries before those armored freaks showed up.

Halo: Helljumper is a 2009 five-issue comic set in the Halo universe and published by Marvel Comics. It was written by Peter David, and stars the ODSTs "Romeo" and "Dutch", two of the main characters from Halo 3: ODST.

In mid-2552, a team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are deployed to the human colony Ariel, under attack by the Covenant. But the troopers find that rather than bodies everywhere, all the colonists seem to have disappeared, and the Covenant are digging for something beneath the surface. Romeo and Dutch get caught behind enemy lines, and the two troopers must investigate what's causing all the mysteries on Ariel.


Halo: Helljumper provides examples of:

  • Action Girl:
    • Gretchen, Dutch's girlfriend, until she stepped on a mine, lost a leg, and had to retire from combat.
    • Dutch and Romeo's team is led by Sgt. Frost, the tough no-nonsense lady who keeps them all on high alert.
  • Badass Normal: Unlike the Spartans, ODSTs are just ordinary humans (albeit with special ops training). And yet Dutch and Romeo rack up a bodycount that would make a Spartan blush.
    Romeo: Armored up on the outside, and pumped up with who-knows-what drugs or whatever on the inside... Guys like that don't develop real instincts. No need to. They're just tanks on legs.
  • Blood Knight: Gretchen, Dutch's girlfriend and former squadmate, is seen in a flashback Dual Wielding submachine guns while laughing. According to Romeo, this wasn't an uncommon action of hers, as she lived for the fights.
  • Batman Gambit: Dutch and Romeo pull out a whole bag of tricks to fool the Covenant into their traps. For instance, when having to storm a hallway full of Grunts and a Elite, Romeo tosses a Covenant needle grenade. The Grunts panic, not realizing the bomb isn't armed (Romeo hadn't figured how to yet), giving the troopers time to divide and conquer.
  • Continuity Nod: One of the ODSTs tells about an experience witnessed in the very first Halo book The Fall of Reach, when a mysterious boy named John was put in a boxing fight against four ODSTs and utterly curbstomped them.
  • invokedDude, Not Funny!: Romeo laughs out loud at the ODST's story about young John, thinking it hilarious that supposedly elite soldiers were killed by a twelve year-old boy. The soldier telling the story doesn't appreciate his dead friend being laughed at and a fistfight breaks out.
  • He Knows Too Much: After interrogating a captured Grunt, Romeo seemingly allows it to leave only to shoot it as soon as it turns its back. He justifies this by saying the Grunt would’ve told its officers about the ODSTs as soon as it reached safe territory, though Dutch still finds killing an unarmed and retreating enemy distasteful.
  • Heroic Suicide: At Romeo's request, The Knowing blows itself up to keep the Covenant from capturing it and obtaining its knowledge.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: The whole comic could be summed up as Halo: Bromance. Romeo considers Dutch to be the guy watching his back, always certain he can rely on him. So when he finds out Dutch has put in for a transfer so he can retire with Gretchen, Romeo is pissed.
  • Improbable Aiming Skills: Being a sniper, Romeo has undeniable talent with a pistol, frequently nailing headshot after headshot.
  • I Surrender, Suckers: Dutch and Romeo feign a surrender towards a guard team of Grunts by having Romeo hide behind a dead Grunt's body and position it so it looks like it's holding Dutch hostage. This gets the other Grunts in the area to drop their guard, giving Romeo a few extra seconds to leap out and shoot them all dead.
  • Not-So-Final Confession: As the two are about to get consumed by a reactor explosion, Dutch admits to Romeo that he was about to retire. He expected Romeo to be angry about it and so wouldn't have to face any consequences if he died... except they don't die and Dutch thus has to deal with his very upset teammate.
  • Of Corpse He's Alive: To make Dutch's fake surrender seem convincing, Romeo puppets a dead Grunt's body so he can hide behind it to get close enough to shoot the other Grunts.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Dutch insists on calling Romeo "Romes" unlike everyone else. The one time he calls him "Romeo" is when he fears his friend is dead.
  • "Shaggy Dog" Story: For the Covenant. With the Knowing destroyed and the colony otherwise insignificant, the invaders all leave the minute it's gone, not even bothering to glass the planet.


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