SPARTAN Project

General CVG character
name= SPARTAN Project


caption=Armor-clad SPARTANs, from "Halo 3"
series="Halo" series

The SPARTAN Project is a fictional government project in the "Halo" series which produces supersoldiers. The protagonist of the video games "", "Halo 2", and "Halo 3" —the Master Chief— is a Spartan, and he and his compatriots also appear in the Halo novels and comics. The Spartan’s name comes from the elite warriors of ancient Sparta; these future counterparts were designed to be the ultimate tool to use against the United Nations Space Command’s enemies. Possessing superior strength, quick reflexes, battle training and powerful armor, the Spartans inspire equal parts awe and terror in friend and foe alike. With humanity facing extermination by the alien Covenant, the Spartans are seemingly humanity's last hope.

While Master Chief is the only Spartan seen in the video games, the supersoldiers have a much larger role in the expanded universe. Bungie and partners have produced several series of action figures and other promotional materials featuring the Spartans, whose armor (worn by the Master Chief) is the most visible symbol of the franchise. Some hobbyists have even constructed their own armor and helmets, with one inventor being inspired to create his own combat-ready battle armor.

Design

The design of Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, the first Spartan seen in the "Halo" games was done by an internal group working for Bungie that consisted of Robt McLees and Marcus Lehto, with the development of conceptual art done by Shi Kai Wang.cite book |last= Trautmann|first=Eric|title=The Art of Halo|year= 2004|publisher= Del Ray Publishing|location=New York |isbn=0-345-47586-0 |pages=20] One of the illustrations drawn by Wang was subsequently selected to be the basis of the character's design. The design that was initially accepted illustrated silver-colored armor. This design was altered following its transclusion into a three dimensional model, when those working in the project decided the character looked excessively slender to the point of looking "almost effeminate". Following this conclusion the character's frame was given more mass and the armor's design underwent several changes. Among these changes were the inclusion of an antenna, later removed during development, and a green exterior. [cite web |url=http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?story=prexboxhistory040904 |title=One Million Years B.X. |author=Bungie|date=2006-02-10 |publisher=Bungie.net|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20060210224125/http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?story=prexboxhistory040904 |archivedate=2006-02-10 ]

PARTAN-IIs

The SPARTAN-II project is the successor to the SPARTAN-I project, known as Project ORION. The Program is headed by Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, who sought to create a strike team which could keep the UNSC from falling into civil strife. Halsey and her associates scoured human colonies for suitable test subjects. The children who were chosen to be Spartans were "conscripted," a process that involved locating children of a select gene-pool, kidnapping the child in question and replacing him or her with a flash clone. These clones were unstable (due to the process used to clone them not being perfected) and quickly died of what appeared to be natural causes. Meanwhile, the young children were officially conscripted by the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence and taken to the planet Reach. There, the Spartans learned teamwork, academics, and combat tactics.

At the age of fourteen the SPARTAN-II candidates underwent a series of dramatic augmentations. These included "carbide ceramic ossification" which fused titanium to their skeleton, making their bones almost unbreakable, in addition to enhancements that boosted the Spartans' vision, reaction time, and strength. These modifications were risky, and thirty of the seventy-five candidates died from the process; a dozen more were disabled to the point they could not participate in combat. The remaining children became the elite force in the UNSC, putting down insurgent activity and maintaining calm throughout the colonies.

While the SPARTAN-IIs are intended to remain secret as the UNSC's surgical strike team, events become complicated with the decimation of the colony Harvest by a theocratic coalition of alien races known as the Covenant. Declaring humanity's destruction "the will of the gods", the Covenant utilize their technological advantage over humanity to great effect; colonies are overwhelmed and "glassed", bombarded with plasma until everything is melted and utterly destroyed. In an effort to raise morale, the existence of the SPARTAN Program is disclosed to the general public. The Spartans become heroes and veritable legends; in order to maintain public confidence that the war is going well, Spartans are never listed as killed, only as MIA or Wounded in Action (WIA). [Nylund, Eric. "", pg 253.]

By the time the events of the Halo Games Trilogy takes place, most of these Spartans were listed as Missing in Action; only a handful remained on active duty, and John-117 (the Master Chief) is the only Spartan seen in the Trilogy. Fellow soldiers Linda-058, Kelly-087, and Fred-104 are trapped inside a slipspace shield world during '. [Nylund, Eric. ', pg 379] Kurt-051 is killed after staying behind to stop the Covenant from following his comrades into the Sphere. [Nylund, Eric. "", pg 372.]

Li-008 is killed covering those repairing the "Ascendant Justice" in slipspace during ', as is Anton-044. [Nylund, Eric. ', pg 164.] Later on, Grace-093 is killed by Brutes on board the Covenant ship "Unyielding Hierophant" in an effort to destroy the station. [Nylund, Eric. ', pg 314.] William-043 is killed in Onyx by a Hunter. Other Spartans mentioned (and now MIA) include Joshua-029, Vinh-030, Sam-034, Isaac-039, Malcolm-059, and three unidentified SPARTAN II's designated "Gray Team", [Nylund, Eric. ', pg 240.] Nylund, Eric. ', pg 221.] who at the time of ' were in fields of battle too distant to be recalled and have not contacted the UNSC since. [Nylund, Eric. "", pg 222.] The Spartan Nicole-458 appears in the game Dead or Alive 4 as a collaboration between the games developers and Bungie. John-117, seemingly the last Spartan during "Halo 3", is also considered dead by the end of the game (although he actually is trapped in space along with Cortana.)

PARTAN-IIIs

Despite their enormous successes, the SPARTAN-IIs were seen as too expensive to maintain. In "", Colonel James Ackerson convinces the UNSC to establish a new SPARTAN program, this one focusing on cheaper, more "disposable" supersoldiers. These new soldiers are instructed by the SPARTAN-IIs' trainer, Franklin Mendez, as well as the former Spartan Kurt-051. Despite the SPARTAN-IIIs meeting with field success, these missions are marked with grievous casualties; the first two companies of SPARTAN-IIIs received almost 100% casualties. Unlike the SPARTAN-IIs, the SPARTAN-IIIs are composed of volunteering vengeful orphans from fallen colonies like Harvest, Jericho VII, and Biko. While additional SPARTAN-IIIs are to be trained, the program's base of operations on the planet Onyx falls under attack by activated Forerunner Sentinels after Delta Halo and all other remaining installations are put in standby status during the end of "Halo 2"; the entire planet transformed and was revealed to be constructed out of sentinels.

Armor

Spartans utilize numerous weapons and equipment, but their most distinctive feature is their armor. In "", the SPARTAN-IIs were originally equipped with fairly standard armor, but were later equipped with the Mark IV MJOLNIR armor system. By the end of the novel, the Spartans are clad in the MJOLNIR Mark V armor, which has a personal shield greater than Covenant's own technology. In addition, the Mark V allows the Spartans to house an artificial intelligence; the Master Chief was paired with the AI Cortana. The visor of a Spartan provides a real time HUD (head-up display, allowing the Spartans to keep track of their ammo and shield integrity.) In "Halo 2", the Master Chief's armor was replaced with the Mark VI. This version contains a supply of "biofoam", which automatically seals wounds the soldier receives. Spartans are the only humans who have the lightning fast reaction times and biological augmentations required to wear MJOLNIR armor. Additionally, the suit moves at the speed of the wearer's thoughts; in testing early versions of the armor, ordinary soldiers unintentionally shattered their bones with the slightest movement. However, the Spartans, having undergone a series of physical and mental augmentations, are able to utilize this feature to its fullest without consequence. SPARTAN-IIIs wear SPI armor, which offers less protection than the MJOLNIR system but allows the wearer to blend in with his or her surroundings.

In "Halo: Combat Evolved", "Halo 2", and "Halo 3" multiplayer games, players can modify their Spartan's armor color and emblems. "Halo 3" also introduced new variants of the MJOLNIR armor which are used by Spartans in various combat situations. Players can mix and match portions of different armor sets to create a custom Spartan. Armor permutations are unlocked by completing achievements in "Halo 3" campaign or multiplayer modes. The "Recon" permutation is not unlockable, being the official Bungie armor, and is bestowed by Bungie upon players on a case-by-case basis.

Cultural impact

Merchandise and replicas

Bungie has allowed several action figure series of the Master Chief and generic Spartans to be produced. Those for "Halo 2" were created by Joyride Studios; for "Halo 3", the task was given to McFarlane toys. Spartans were also included as collectible figures in the Halo ActionClix board game that served as promotional before the release of "Halo 3". [cite web| url=http://www.gametrailers.com/player/17525.html| title=Halo ActionClix NYC Comic-Con 07 Interview| publisher=GameTrailers| date=2007-03-06| accessdate=2007-11-15|author=GTtv]

Inspired by the "Halo" video game series, Troy Hurtubise, known for his anti-bear suits, developed a real counterpart to the MJOLNIR battle armor,cite web| url=http://dvice.com/archives/2007/01/reallife_halo_suit_is_develope.php| title=Real-life Halo suit is developed| publisher=Sci Fi Channel| date=2007-01-15|author=Frucci, Adam| accessdate=2007-10-18] named the Trojan. The suit is functional and its capabilities were inspired by those present in the video games versions of the armor. The armor's features include a system that purifies air powered by solar panels located in the helmet, equipment for weapon transportation, a recording system, emergency illumination and a transponder that can be consumed if the wearer is in serious jeopardy. The armor offers protection against attacks with knives, blunt objects and small explosions and is bulletproof. Hurtubise expressed that he is able to improve this design for use in the military for a price of 2,000 dollars per piece. Non-functional replicas of the MJOLNIR armor have also been created by hobbyists; [cite web|author=Wu, Louis|date=2005-06-13|url=http://halo.bungie.org/misc/cb_mcsuit.html|title=Chris Bryan: Master Chief Wearable Suit|publisher=Halo.Bungie.Org|accessdate=2008-03-06] a Spike TV pre-"Halo 3" special profiled some of these dedicated fans. [cite web|author=Grumbo, Adam|date=2007-08-21|url=http://www.mjolnirarmor.com/news/MjolnirArmoronSpikeTV.shtml|title=MjolnirArmor on Spike TV|publisher=MjolnirArmor.com|accessdate=2008-02-01]

Critical reaction

The Spartans and in particular their armor have received a positive reaction from critics, and has made multiple top armor lists. The MJOLNIR Mark V armor was ranked third of Casualty Gamer's "Top 10 Bodysuits", the author saying "It’s one of the most recognizable symbols from any game, and is literally the image of the franchise’s legendary hero, Master Chief." [cite web|url=http://casualtygamer.com/2008/08/the-top-10-armoredbodysuits/|title=The Top 10 Armor/Bodysuits|publisher=Casualty Gamer|date=2008-08-06] The "Recon" armor of "Halo 3"'s multiplayer was also rated tenth of Machinima.com's "Top 10 Video Game Armor", [cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaMzEM2lw3Q|title=Starship Troopers 3 presents "Top 10 Video Game Armor"|publisher=machinima.com|accessdate=2008-08-08|date=2008-07-29] as well as Maxim's. [http://www.maxim.com/Entertainment/12MJOLNIRMarkVI/slideshow/40655/4131.aspx]

Notes

References

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cite book |last= Nylund|first= Eric|title=|year= 2001|publisher= Ballantine Books|location=New York |isbn=0-345-45132-5 |pages=

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cite book |last= Trautmann|first=Eric|title=The Art of Halo|year= 2004|publisher= Del Ray Publishing|location=New York |isbn=0-345-47586-0

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cite book |last= Nylund|first= Eric|title=|year= 2003|publisher= Ballantine Books|location=New York |isbn=0-345-46781-7

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cite book |last= Dietz|first= William|title=|year=2003 |publisher= Ballantine Books|location=New York |isbn=0-345-45921-0

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cite book |last= Nylund|first= Eric|title=|year= 2006|publisher= Tom Doherty Associates|location=New York |isbn=0-7653-1568-8

External links

* [http://halostory.bungie.org/spartanroster.html SPARTAN-II Roster] (pre-"")