History Film / Halo4ForwardUntoDawn

''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn'' is a live action [[{{Prequel}} prequel]] to ''VideoGame/Halo4'', canon to the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' universe, that tells the origin of Commander Thomas Lasky, the executive officer of the very ship (the UNSC ''Infinity'') that rediscovers Master Chief John-117 during the events of ''Halo 4''. Taking place thirty-one years prior to ''Halo 4'' in the year 2526, Lasky is a freshman cadet in Hastati Squad at the Corbulo Academy of Military Science on the colony planet of Circinius IV. He is struggling to live up to the reputations of his mother and brother, while having no particular love for the way the United Nations Space Command is handling the Insurrection. Most of his fellow cadets look down upon him due to his sympathetic views to the Insurrection, although he finds friendship with fellow cadet Chyler Silva.

''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn'' is a live action [[{{Prequel}} prequel]] to ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', canon to the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' universe, that tells the origin of Commander Thomas Lasky, the executive officer of the very ship, the UNSC ''Infinity'', that rediscovers Master Chief John-117 during the events of ''Halo 4''. Taking place thirty-one years prior to ''Halo 4'' in the year 2526, Lasky is a freshman cadet in Hastati Squad at the Corbulo Academy of Military Science on Circinius IV. He is struggling to live up to the reputations of his mother and brother, while having no particular love for the way the United Nations Space Command is handling the Insurrection. Most of his fellow cadets look down upon him due to his sympathetic views to the Insurrection, although he finds friendship with fellow cadet Chyler Silva.

* InfantImmortality: [[spoiler:Averted in Part 3 when the space elevator's tether is destroyed by the Covenant. Said tether was transporting cadets (which are for the most part ''teenagers'') up into space to evacuate. It's then made worse when the tether collapses onto the building that the rest of the cadets were waiting in, undoubtedly killing more. Then there's four scenes in Part 4, once where a cadet is graphically impaled on an Elite's energy sword, when J.J. and Vickers are killed by the same Elite, and when the remnants of Hastati follow the Chief outside there are dozens of bodies laying around, many of them in cadet uniforms.]]
** [[spoiler: Worse, almost a full minute after the tether is destroyed, screaming cadets begin raining from the sky. The Corvette's shot hadn't killed them: it just knocked them out of the elevator, perhaps miles up.]]

** [[spoiler: In the same episode, played ''much'' more morbidly when people start falling from the destroyed space tether. Worse in that it takes about a minute between the elevator getting hit and them actually hitting the ground; they were falling for quite a while.]]

* TheCameo: [[spoiler: Kelly-087 and Frederic-104 show up at the ''very'' end. Fred doesn't get any lines.]]

* [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Hero]]: Unarmed and trapped by a murderous invisible Elite (a ''Zealot'', at that), it seems Lasky and his friends can do little but hide and wait for death. [[spoiler:Then Master Chief assassinates the laughing alien with his combat knife.]] Cue the applause of every ''Halo'' fan ever.
** The trope is made literal - [[spoiler: The Chief is ''huge.'' He is literally a BIG damn hero]].

*** When Sully's HolographicTerminal suddenly shuts down as he is showing to Lasky a video he hacked into, Sully panics and thinks that [[StateSec ONI managed to trace it back to him, causing him to run off to ask Dimah to speak with her mother on his behalf. [[spoiler:However, the computer likely shut down due to the Covenant attacking the planet.]]

** A few in Part 3. First, Sully has one when his HolographicTerminal shuts down, thinking his [[TheCracker snooping]] was found out about by [[TheSpook ONI]]. Hastati as a whole gets a moment of this when [=ODSTs=] start dropping onto academy grounds. [[spoiler:Promptly trumped by a bigger OhCrap when three Covenant Corvettes appear overhead and cut the tether with plasma fire, killing Dimah.]]

* PropRecycling: Props are reused from past live-action Halo projects, they make a lot of use with the one full-sized, driveable Warthog. See [[Trivia/Halo4ForwardUntoDawn the trivia page]] for more details.

* ContinuitySnarl: Some weapons, vehicles, and equipment from the FPS games show up here 26+ years before they were supposed to be in service. The {{Watsonian}} explanation is that we're seeing the prototype versions. The Doylist explanation is that the production re-used costumes and props from previous live-action promos (namely ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'''s "Landfall" , ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'''s "The Life", and ''VideoGame/HaloReach'''s "Deliver Hope"), as well as digital assets from ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}''.

* {{Badass}}: Master Chief Petty Officer John-117.

When the Covenant attack Corbulo Academy, Lasky's life is forever changed, as he is thrust into a new war that no one at Corbulo is equipped to deal with, with Hastati struggling to merely survive against their unknown enemy. However, Lasky will also witness the Master Chief's heroics during this battle, which may just help him to find his own resolve against this new foe...

When the Covenant attack Corbulo Academy, Lasky is thrust into a new war and must work with his fellow cadets and military instructors to survive against their unknown enemy. However, it is his meeting with the Master Chief during the battle that changes his life forever.

''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn'' is a live action [[{{Prequel}} prequel]] to ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', canon to the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' universe, that tells the origin of Commander Thomas Lasky, the executive officer of the UNSC ''Infinity'' which discovers Master Chief John-117 on the remains of the UNSC ''Forward Unto Dawn''. Taking place thirty one years prior to ''Halo 4'' in the year 2526, Lasky is a freshman cadet in Hastati Squad at the Corbulo Academy of Military Science on Circinius IV. He is struggling to live up to the reputations of his mother and brother, while having no particular love for the way the United Nations Space Command is handling the Insurrection. Most of his fellow cadets look down upon him due to his sympathetic views to the Insurrection, although he finds friendship with fellow cadet Chyler Silva.

When the Covenant attack Corbulo Academy, Lasky is thrust into a new war and works with his fellow cadets and military instructors to survive against their unknown enemy, and meets the Master Chief during the battle, an event that changes his life forever.

The series was released on Website/YouTube in five separate parts starting on October 5th, 2012. Six short promotional pieces that expanded on the background of the characters and universe were released in the weeks leading up to the premier. An extended cut was included with the Limited Edition of ''Halo 4'', which was later released on DVD and Blu-ray.

->"''Axios![[note]]I am worthy.[[/note]]''"

'''''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn''''' is a live action [[{{Prequel}} prequel]] to ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', canon to the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' universe, that tells the origin of Commander Thomas Lasky, the executive officer of the UNSC ''Infinity'' which discovers Master Chief John-117 on the remains of the UNSC ''Forward Unto Dawn''. Taking place thirty one years prior to ''Halo 4'' in the year 2526, Lasky is a freshman cadet in Hastati Squad at the Corbulo Academy of Military Science on Circinius IV. He is struggling to live up to the reputations of his mother and brother, while having no particular love for the way the United Nations Space Command is handling the Insurrection. Most of his fellow cadets look down upon him due to his sympathetic views to the Insurrection, although he finds friendship with fellow cadet Chyler Silva.

* TheUnmasking: [[spoiler: In the Pelican DropShip at the end, Kelly and Fred remove their helmets, revealing youthful faces, [[CoveredWithScars covered in small scars]]. They are about the same age as the cadets, though their scars demonstrate the amount of action they have seen.]]

** There's also [[spoiler:[[SuperSoldier Kelly-087]], though we only see her after the fighting has stopped.]]

* AliensAreBastards: The Covenant. ''Big time.'' [[spoiler:In particular, the Zealot that was stalking Hastati squad throughout Episode 4 was pretty clearly enjoying himself, given the laughter. Also the fact that the Zealot uses a cloaking device while hunting some ''unarmed'' cadets. There's absolutely no reason for this, except to terrorize its helpless victims.]]
* AnyoneCanDie: Lasky and the Spartans are the only people we know survived. Anyone else is fair game. [[spoiler: By the end, only 3 members of Hastati squad survive]].

* ArmCannon: Wielded by [[spoiler: Hunters, as usual.]]

* BadAss: Master Chief Petty Officer John-117.
* BadassNormal: the cadets alternate between this and {{Action Survivor}}s.

* [[spoiler:[[BlackDudeDiesFirst Black Chick Dies First]]: {{Averted}}. April is one of the few survivors, and Dimah was the first to get killed in any case.]]

** Doubles as FridgeBrilliance since sharp-eyed viewers will notice that Lasky is going through videos he's already seen before. His brother was KIA sometime before the series takes place. All the more reason for him to go ballistic at Vickers' remark.
* [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Hero]]: Unarmed and trapped by a murderous stealth Elite (a ''Zealot''), it seems Lasky and his friends can do little but hide and wait for death. [[spoiler:Then Master Chief assassinates the laughing alien with his combat knife.]] Cue the applause of every Halo fan ever.
** The trope is made literal- [[spoiler: The Chief is ''huge.'' He is literally a BIG damn hero.]]

* BroadStrokes: See ContinuitySnarl. The timeline of when the public knew of the Covenant attacks along with the first appearances of various types of equipment has always been treated fairly fluidly in the franchise anyways.

** [[spoiler:And apparently, he still has it even 30+ years later. It's a testament to his CharacterDevelopment that he has become strong enough to endure it time and time again]].
*** [[spoiler:Well, he DID switch from ground pounder to Navy (ship's XO as of Halo 4), which would make the allergy easier to contend with; less strenuous physical activity to worry about.]]
* ChekhovsClassroom: In Episode 2, the teacher is explaining the Battle of Cannae. She recounts how Hannibal defeated the numerically-superior Roman Legions by leading them into a trap and surrounding them with cavalry, which they couldn't reorganize fast enough to counter, resulting in a swift defeat. [[spoiler: Lasky uses similar tactics in a training exercise, setting a trap and successfully ambushing the enemy, then capitalizing on the ensuring chaos. In the last episode, when the only weapon they have left is a grenade, he uses himself as a decoy to lure the Hunter to where the Chief can use it.]]
* ChildSoldiers: Applicable to some degree to the Corbulo Cadets thrust into a war for their survival. ''Definitely'' applies to Master Chief. [[spoiler:He's only ''fifteen'' years old in 2526. This is of course, promptly lampshaded in the last episode.]]

** [[spoiler: Also the [=SPARTAN's=] response to being asked their age: "It's classified."]]

** The first video opens up on Cortana's DistressSignal, which she sent at the end of ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}''.

** While the Mark VI armor appears to be worn 26 years too early, its distinct shoulder pads show that it's actually the Mark IV variant depicted in ''[[Anime/HaloLegends The Package]]'', which have blunter should pads than the Mark VI.
** In Part 3, Sully finally finishes touching up his classified ONI video; [[spoiler:it shows a helmet aka first-person view of a SPARTAN mission gone haywire. None of the cadets have any idea what they are, as the supersoldiers would not go public till much later.]]
* ContinuitySnarl: Some weapons, equipment and SPARTAN armor from the ''Halo 3'' era show up here, 26 years early. The {{Doylist}} explanation is that the production re-used costuming assets from the "Deliver Hope" trailer made for ''VideoGame/HaloReach''.
** The Watsonian explanation is that they're prototypes of later armor permutations.

** ''Halo 4''-era armor designs are used for the Covenant, because, well, the series ''is'' basically advertising for ''Halo 4''. In-universe, 343 has justified it by noting that the ''Halo 4'' Covenant are using a lot of equipment that are actually older models than the ones in the chronologically earlier Bungie games, since newer gear has become somewhat scarce after the Great Schism, particularly for splinter groups like ''4'''s Covies.

* CoolHelmet: Several iconic ones from the Halo franchise: Spartan and ODST helmets, as well as UNSC marine headgear.
* CreatorCameo: Frank O'Conner (aka Frankie), the Franchise Development Director for the ''Halo'' series, makes an appearance in episode 2 [[spoiler:as a janitor at the Military Academy.]]
* CryonicsFailure: A minor example: being flash unfrozen is part of the cadets training, and Lasky suffers some pretty bad cryo burns on his hands and back. This is actually an in-universe danger of entering cryosleep while clothed. [[spoiler:Lasky's particular example is [[CareerEndingInjury due to a serious allergy]] to cytoprethaline, a drug used in cryosleep]].
* CurseCutShort: In Episode 3, [[spoiler:as the ODST's rain down around the Academy, Vickers utters the line "What the..." before trailing off. His mouth, however, quite clearly forms the next word.]]

* DeflectorShields: Averted. The Spartan's are canonically supposed to be wearing [=MJOLNIR=] Mk.IV armor as of the series, which doesn't possess shields. This is demonstrated in the lack of golden shield-crackle when taking damage, but interestingly, even the unshielded armor seems to be capable of shattering Needler rounds on impact.

** Part 1 on Lasky on the UNSC ''Infinity'', listening to Cortana's beacon from the ''[[TitleDrop Forward Unto Dawn]]'', which had been playing since the end of ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}''.
** Lasky also sends one early in Part 4.

* DrivesLikeCrazy: The tendency of Halo Marines toward this is lampshaded in Part 5.

* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: For Lasky's older brother, anyway, who was an [[ItsRainingMen Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]], the elite members of the [[SpaceMarine UNSC Marine Corps]] and second only to [[SuperSoldier Spartans]]. There is no such implication for the people at the academy.
* EnemyMine: In Part 3, the classified combat footage Sullivan cracks is shown to be Spartans, ODST's, and Innies all fighting together against something (clearly the Covenant). Silva later wonders what could possibly make the UNSC fight alongside the Insurrectionists.
* EverybodysDeadDave: As of Part 4: [[spoiler:Lasky, Chyler, April and Sullivan are the only surviving humans on the ''entire'' planet other than the Spartans. Silva bites it by the end]].

** In Episode 1, Sullivan is seen watching classified combat footage ONI is trying to cover up, General Black is seen nervously scanning the sky while ordering his troops around, and, toward the end while everyone sleeps, a computer screen glitches, showing strange triangular figures for an instant, while outside an object is seen falling from the sky.

** At points, the coms systems can be overheard saying that there is a curfew in place, and that the communications are down due to damage- both of which are elements of the "Winter Contingency," in Halo Reach, which is only activated if the Covenant show up.

* FreakOut: ''Everyone'' in Hastati Squad starts freaking out when [[spoiler: the Covenant show up.]] Very justified, given that they're in the middle of an [[spoiler:AlienInvasion]] no had told them about.

*** Double whammy: that same cadet pauses that same frame to catch the distinct visual of a sword-wielding Elite in said armored soldier's visor. This time nobody in-verse has any idea what they're looking at, and most, if not all, of the viewers do.

* GoryDiscretionShot: At the Beginning of Part 4, we see [[spoiler:the Colonel]] get hit by [[MadeOfExplodium Needler shards]], she then falls out of view. As soon as she does, there's an explosion from where she fell. Chances are the results would not have been pretty if it happened onscreen.

** [[spoiler: SenselessSacrifice]] : [[spoiler: Which was rendered moot by the hiding Cadets noisily crying out his name. Also, since the Master Chief showed up seconds later, it's possible Vickers would still be alive if he had just kept quiet]].

** [[spoiler: Worse, almost a full minute later, screaming cadets begin raining from the sky. The Corvette's shot hadn't killed them: it just knocked them out of the elevator, perhaps miles up.]]
* [[InstantDeathBullet Instant Death Needle]]: Played straight with [[spoiler:Vickers]]. Subverted with [[spoiler:Mehaffy]]. The needle itself may not have been instantly fatal, it exploding sure as hell was.

** As stated above, Cadmon Lasky was an ODST. [[spoiler:In Part 3, it starts raining men onscreen when the Covenant attack begins as [=ODSTs=] evacuate the orbital facilities/deploy to fight the Covenant on the ground. They do not succeed.]]

* LightningBruiser: The Spartans. Master Chief is shown to be inhumanly strong, stealthy and ''fast'' in combat: [[spoiler:he's able to tear open a secure weapons locker with ease, kill an invisible Sangheili commando without being detected, and disappear in the blink of an eye. He also managed to run back a good twenty feet to protect Sully from taking another needler. He's also shown to take repeated hits from Covenant weapons without injury.]]
** Justified since the Mark-IV armor is shown in the EU to be pretty resilient even without shields.
* LowerDeckEpisode: The focus of the story is always on Lasky and the other cadets,, which once the fighting starts they only catch glimpses of the heroics Master Chief gets involved in.
* LudicrousGibs: [[spoiler:The death of the second Hunter in Part 5.]]
** Justified since that grenade went off VERY close to the Fuel Rod Gun.
*** More justified because it went off ''inside the Hunter''.

* MilitaryBrat: Many of the cadets, including Lasky, Silva, and Dimah.

* OffhandBackhand: [[spoiler:The second Hunter manages to knock the Master Chief away, the first time the Chief tried to sneak up on it, with one of these - staying true to the formidable in-game melee strength demonstrated by the species.]]

** [[spoiler: J.J.]] has enough time for an extended moment of this before being impaled on another Elite's energy sword.
** Even the Chief gets one when he sees the [[spoiler:first hunter]]. Cue all of the surviving cadets getting one as well when they see it TOWERING over him. Then they find out [[spoiler:that there's a SECOND one, and the Chief used up all his ammo to deal with the first one]].
** And then it turns out that in ''Forward Unto Dawn'', this is an equal-opportunity trope. Specifically, [[spoiler:the last grunt from that second Hunter after [[InsertGrenadeHere Chief stuffs a grenade into its gut]] sounds an awful lot like Covenant for "OhCrap."]]

* POVCam: In Part 3, [[spoiler:the footage the cadets watch is revealed to be John-117's helmet cam, during an EnemyMine situation where the Insurrection and UNSC team up against the Covenant.]]

* SanitySlippage: [[spoiler:In the intro to Part 3, Cortana rapidly vacillates between displaying her usual concern for the Chief and resenting him, literally arguing with herself over him as both a kind and a merciless voice. Her ongoing rampancy will be a plot point in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}''.]]

* SpaceNavy: The United Nations Space Command.
* StealthHiBye: Master Chief, [[spoiler:in the middle of a shootout with a unit of Jackal snipers. A simple way of demonstrating his superhuman speed despite his armor's weight.]]

* TragicKeepsake: In the final episode, Lasky is shown to have kept [[spoiler:Silva's tags after her death.]]

* [[TakingTheBullet Taking the Needle]]: [[spoiler: Towards the end of Episode 4, Sully's hit in the leg by a Needle Rifle round. We see a Jackal sniper fire another round, and the Chief manages to move in front of Sully before the round strikes; being a SuperSoldier, he doesn't sustain an injury from this.]]

* WeWait: In the final combat exercise in Part 2, Lasky has his squad wait (for quite a bit, as they're seen idly picking at plants and checking their weapons). [[spoiler: Turns out it's all part of the plan]].

** [[spoiler:However, they still win the exercise, but almost lose Lasky when he finds the reason for passing out is almost career-ending.]]

** One of the marching chants the cadets use is the [[http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/UNSC_Marine_Cadence same one]] from ''ContactHarvest''.

* TheUnmasking: [[spoiler: In the Pelican DropShip at the end, Kelly and Fred remove their helmets, revealing youthful faces, [[CoveredWithScars covered in small scars]]. They are not much different in age than the cadets, though their scars demonstrate the amount of action they have seen.]]

** ''Halo 4''-era armor designs are used for the Covenant, probably because, well, the series ''is'' basically advertising for ''Halo 4''.
*** The Covenant in Halo 4 have also been described as using older models of weapons, vehicles, and armor, since newer models have become somewhat scarce.

*** In another nod to ''Contact: Harvest'', the cadets apparently use the same flesh-numbing [=TTRs=] (Tactical Training Rounds) as the Harvest trainees.

*** In another nod to ''Contact: Harvest'', the cadets apparently use the same flesh-numbing TTRs (Tactical Training Rounds) as the Harvest trainees.