Web Animation / The Spartan Legacy

The Spartan Legacy is a series of Machinima films by Chronicler177. The series is set in an alternate post-Halo 3 universe, new generations of Spartans must rise and pass the torch. From the second invasion of Earth to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, see legendary heroes rise, fall, and prove to the world that they have what it takes to be a Spartan. The installments are in the following order:

• SPARTANs: Generation - Fifteen years before the Reach Trilogy, new heroes must be created to halt the evil that threatens Earth once again. Witness the generation of Saul, Katherine, and the beginning of the Spartan Legacy.
• SPARTANs: Omega Halo - With the future of Earth on the brink of disaster, the last remaining Spartans battle the zealous Shipmaster in a fight that will lead them all to a long-forgotten weapon waiting to be activated..
• The Reach Trilogy
  • Reach: Border War - The Border War begins on Reach as the Elites suddenly strike at humanity once again.
  • Reach: Revolution - Field Marshall Uhze 'Nostrom is a participant in the 2568 Invasion of Little Rock. But unlike most of his kind, he will start a chain of events that will send the Fleetmaster's army into a civil war...
  • Reach: The Last War - The final installment of the Reach Trilogy. Katherine returns as part of Phoenix Team to put a stop to the Fleetmaster once and for all.
• Tales of the Reach Trilogy
  • Last of the Squad - The First Tale. "Last of the Squad" finally reveals the fate of Private Bryce, last survivor of the 142 Drop Jet Troopers as he and Nick head back to Little Rock to find Commander Davis.
  • Brothers in Arms - The Second Tale. "Brothers in Arms" details the first hours of the Third War as Royal Team, an elite squad of ODSTs, as they struggle to save a group of civilians and get them off the planet.
  • Ghost Ship- The Third Tale. "Ghost Ship" brings terror to the Third War when a team of Marines is tasked with investigating the ruins of the UNSC Intrepid, and discovers something they never expected.
  • Domino Effect - The Fourth Tale. "Dominio Effect" unites two civilians, two Sangheili brothers, and a lone sniper as their paths converge on each other and shape the course of the future.
  • Shattered Honor - The Fifth and final tale. "Shattered Honor" tells the entirety of the Third War from the point of view of one Sangheili ex-Separatist, and is laced with his own experiences and relationships, as well as hints of what the future may bring.
• Lifebringer - Several years after the events of the Reach Trilogy, Lifebringer follows Spartan B-257 Zach and the A.I. Humble Guardian as they discover a mysterious planet and a deadly new threat to the UNSC.
• Judgement - Two years after the Battle of Cradle, the Radical Reformation is gaining strength and power in the outer reaches of colonized space. While searching for the missing Homeward Bound, a UNSC Marine team is captured and bears witness to the true face of the Reformation...
• Final Farewell - In this prologue to the upcoming Brotherhood War, Sergeant Scott says goodbye to two old friends.
• Brotherhood War - After years of absence, Spartan Zach B-257 and his allies return to Earth to the find the UNSC on the brink of a civil war against the Radical Reformation.
  • Zulu Flight - A side story taking place shortly after the events of Brotherhood War. Seven days after the Lifebringer's takeover of Earth, UNSC pilot Zulu 4-Niner struggles to survive in the Washington wilderness. In order to stay alive, he'll have to find allies in the unlikliest of people.
  • Brotherhood War: Aftermath - An expanded epilogue to Brotherhood War. The winter of 2590 sees soldiers, rebels, and civilians alike dealing with the consequences of the Brotherhood War, and wondering what future could possibly lie ahead of them.
• Hyborean - Nearly a year after Brotherhood War, a ragtag group of resistance fighters lead the fateful push against Earth's new dictator and her armies.

The series playlist can be found here.

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General tropes

• Passing the Torch: A recurring element throughout the series. Supporting characters who are inspired by the actions of The Hero end up becoming one themselves in future installments. This is invoked by Harper in the Omega Halo epilogue, where Saul's actions saved Katherine's life, and she will go on to save others' lives, and the chain continues from there.
• Story Arc: Several installments tell a long-running narrative between them, and can be separated into three distinct sagas.
  • The Second War Saga (Generation and Omega Halo) chronicles the beginnings of the new Spartans and their initial conflict with a Covenant splinter group led by a fanatical Shipmaster.
  • The Reach Saga (The Reach Trilogy and Tales anthology) has the most installments, detailing the Third War on Reach that is sparked by a power-hungry Fleetmaster, and features Katherine from the previous saga as the central focus.
  • The Lifebringer Saga (Lifebringer, Judgement, Final Farewell, and Brotherhood War) covers the story of Zach from The Last War as he faces the Forerunner threat of the Hyboreans, as well as the political movement known as the Radical Reformation.

Tropes applicable to SPARTANs: Generation

• Ascended Extra: The rest of the Spartan-IVs, besides Saul and Katherine, whom existed for only a few minutes during the original SPARTANS before being unceremoniously offed, get a lot more screentime and characterization here.
• Big Bad: Commander 'Thalashee, who is ultimately The Dragon to Shipmaster 'Kodomee.
• Big Good: Commander Harper is the SPARTANs commanding officer and mentor figure. After his death, Commander Grey assumes the role.
• Bittersweet Ending: 'Thalashee is killed but Commander Harper is dead and most of the SPARTANs, save Saul and Katherine, perish in the Covenant's retaliation. In addition, 'Thalashee is revealed to merely be The Dragon to a much more powerful master. Saul and Katherine's survival at least gives humanity a chance to win the war.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The SPARTANs all share the same primary color of green, but have different highlight colors to help tell them apart.
  • Saul: Brown.
  • Jake: Blue.
  • Cameron: Orange.
  • Katherine: Red.
  • Christian: Yellow.
  • Gabe: Green.
• Greater-Scope Villain: 'Thalashee's superior, Shipmaster 'Kodomee, whom he refers to in the climax. He doesn't directly influence the story until the very end, where he orders the retaliatory attack that kills Christian, Jake, and Cameron. 'Kodomee becomes the Big Bad for Omega Halo.
• The Remake: It's both a prequel and remake of the prologue of SPARTANs, to better flesh out the entire squad and provide the backstory behind the team's formation and rise to become the new generation of SPARTANs.
• Sequel Hook: Though 'Thalashee is defeated, the war still isn't over. The end credits confirm this, stating that Saul and Katherine's adventure will continue in Omega Halo.

Tropes applicable to SPARTANs: Omega Halo

• Ascended Extra: Several minor characters from Generation are given a much bigger role in this installment, such as Commander Grey and Sergeant Scott.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Shipmaster 'Kodomee and the Flood. 'Kodomee is the one driving most of the plot and his intentions to activate Halo make him the main antagonist for most of the movie. After 'Kodomee's death, the Flood assume the role for remainder of the film.
• Big Good: Commander Grey, carrying over from the previous installment, is the SPARTANs superior officer and new mentor figure.
• Bittersweet Ending: Oh, boy is it ever. The Shipmaster is killed, the Halo is destroyed, and the Flood along with it. However, Saul and several marines are killed, leaving Katherine as the Sole Survivor of her squad.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Shipmaster 'Kodomee is revealed to be 'Thalashee's master and the one who ordered the attack that claimed the lives of Saul and Katherine's squadmates.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Though he died doing so, Saul's actions saved Katherine's life and he is reunited with his squadmates in the afterlife, who reassure him that their deaths weren't his fault, lifting a massive weight of guilt from his shoulders.
• Enemy Mine: Subverted. Commander Grey tries to invoke this with the Shipmaster when the Flood are unleashed but he merely turns them down in favor of activating Halo.
• Heroic Sacrifice: When trying to escape the Flood, Saul is badly wounded and decides to stay behind to hold them off while Katherine escapes.
• The Remake: Omega Halo is a remake of the original SPARTANs.
• Redshirt Army: Just about every ODST who isn't Sergeant Scott dies.
• Sequel Escalation: It raises the stakes to galactic scale when the Shipmaster reaches Halo and intends to activate it. Then the Flood show up...
• Sole Survivor: By the end, Katherine is the last remaining SPARTAN of her squad.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: 1167 Humble Guardian, like the Shipmaster, wishes to fire Halo, but for different reasons. He wishes to stop the spread of the Flood, which unfortunately means wiping out all life in the galaxy to starve them.
• Zerg Rush: The Flood's only real strategy is to rush down their enemies... and they, of course, have the numbers to boot.

Tropes applicable to Lifebringer

• Antagonist Title: The Lifebringer, the last Forerunner, is the main antagonist of the installment.
• Boom, Headshot!: The unfortunate fate that befalls Captain Riopel.
• Enemy Civil War: The Reformists and the Hyboreans fight each other just as often as the UNSC. The Hyboreans come out on top of the Reformists due to their higher numbers and superior weaponry.
• Mecha-Mooks: The Hyboreans, mechanical warriors who were improved models of the Halo canon's Prometheans. They even come in different variations.
  • The Shock Troopers are the most common foot soldiers, with some models equipped with healing capabilities.
  • The Enforcers are sniper units that hold down positions with beam rifles capable of administering a One-Hit Kill.
  • The Eradicators, as the name implies, wield Incinerator Cannons that can reduce most targets to cinders.
  • The Poltergeists are Lightning Bruisers who travel in packs and rely on speed to confuse and overwhelm the enemy.
  • The Vindicators are Elite Mooks with highly advanced assassin protocols that travel in small fireteams.
• Mêlée à Trois: The UNSC, the Reformists, and the Hyboreans are all fighting each other across Cradle.
• Redshirt Army: All of the Marines except Sergeant Denver end up killed by the Reformists or the Hyboreans.
• Sequel Hook: Though the Lifebringer is defeated, the Reformists Zach fought were merely a single cell with the implication that there are more out there.
• Villain Decay: The Reformists end up suffering from this when the Hyboreans show up, with every battle between them being a losing one for the Reformists until they're eventually wiped out by the time the climax starts.

Tropes applicable to Brotherhood War

• Big Bad: Nyla Isaka, the leader of the Radical Reformation, steps into the role after Zach first encountered her troops in the previous installment. She ends up being a Big Bad Wannabe; the Reformation gets completely stomped by the UNSC in the eponymous war and Isaka gets captured a mere six months into the conflict. She turns out to be a pawn of the true Big Bad, the Lifebringer.
• Downer Ending: The UNSC is destroyed from within by their own Spartans, thanks to the machinations of the Lifebringer and the heroes are forced to flee as she takes control of Earth.
• The Purge: The Spartan-Vs carry this on the UNSC government and High Command amidst the battle with the Reformists and the Hyboreans. The UNSC ends up destroyed in a matter of minutes.
• The Reveal: Three major twists in quick succession.
  • The Reformation had struck a deal with the Lifebringer, freeing her from her imprisonment in exchange for her Hyboreans to help them win the war with the UNSC.
  • The Lifebringer was living among humanity as Menaias for an entire decade and had a hand in creating the new Spartan-V Program.
  • The Spartan-Vs' own augmentations respond to a neural frequency sent out by the Lifebringer, turning them into her obedient slaves that turn on the UNSC; high ranking officials and politicians are assassinated in minutes, chopping off the head of the UNSC in one stroke. What's more, the Lifebringer betrays Isaka and the Radical Reformation, keeping the former imprisoned, leaving Earth the Lifebringer's to conquer.
• Rewatch Bonus: Every scene with Menaias takes on an entirely new context with the knowledge of his true identity in mind.
• Time Skip: After the Battle of Seattle, the film skips ahead six months to the closing weeks of the war. Justified, as the most important story elements of the war are how it begins and how it ends.
• Wham Line:
  • "Wait, did he say this portal was interplanetary?", which is immediately followed by "We found her trapped in the portal on Cradle. In exchange for her freedom, she offered us her army."

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