4 Things Even Halo Fans Didn’t Know About Master Chief

Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, better known as simply Master Chief, has been the star of the Halo series since the first game. He’s appeared in nearly every Halo game, including popping up as a small Easter egg in Halo: Reach. On top of all his video game appearances, the character stars in the 2022 television series, where he’s played by Pablo Schreiber, and features in most of the Halo novels and comic books. In short, Master Chief is one of the most iconic characters in video game history, and his popularity helped spawn a giant franchise for Xbox. Despite all the coverage Master Chief has received over the years, there are still a few factoids most players don’t know, especially when you factor in the Eric Nylund novels.

Here are four facts about Master Chief that most Halo players still don’t know.

1) His Astonishing Backstory

Most of Master Chief’s backstory comes from the Eric Nylund novel The Fall of Reach. There, we learn that Chief was taken from his home planet by Dr. Catherine Halsey and Lieutenant Jacob Keyes and entered into the Spartan program. Even before being picked up, Chief was an athletic specimen, standing a head taller than any of the other children. Then, the scientists started to use Spartan augmentations on him.

Between the augmentations he went through and his Mjolnir armor, Master Chief becomes one of the deadliest warriors in the universe. He stands 6’7″ outside of his armor, and can run up to 60 miles an hour when he puts on his gear. Of course, he rarely comes out of the armor, which means he’s incredibly pale underneath it.

And while he and his fellow trainees are going through the augmentations needed to wear the Mjolnir armor, more than half of them die. Chief is one of just 33 Spartans to make it through the surgical enhancements, making him one of the lucky few to survive and become the galaxy’s greatest soldier.

2) He’s a Canonical Team Killer

This one also comes from The Fall of Reach. After receiving his augmentations, Chief went to the gym to test out his new strength. As you’d expect, he was able to move weights that would’ve previously been impossible. Unfortunately, he forgets the first rule of the weight room and doesn’t re-rack his weights after finishing.

This enrages an ODST soldier, who gathers his friends to pick a fight. However, a superior officer orders them to settle the dispute in the boxing ring. The group attacks Chief with fists and weapons, but he quickly turns the tide with his augmented body.

Chief turned the ODST soldiers into paste, shattering their bones and bursting open their organs with pinpoint strikes. And because he’s been trained to be a perfect soldier, he thinks almost nothing of the incident. After all, he had protected himself even if it meant taking out fellow soldiers.

3) He Once Slapped a Missile Out of the Air

Here’s one more The Fall of Reach factoid for you. After acquiring his augmentations and armor, Chief is eventually told he needs to upgrade his gear. This new version of Mjolnir includes an AI named Cortana. Before he can take it into combat against the Covenant, his commanding officers want to test it in a live first exercise.

Along with his new AI companion, Chief makes relatively quick work of the test, taking down a squad of ODST soldiers, anti-tank mines, and 30mm chaingun turrets. The final stage of the exercise is an agility course called the Pillars of Loki, but there’s an added challenge.

Cortana notes an inbound SkyHawk jet coming over the horizon as Chief attempts to finish the course. He can’t find cover, and he can’t outrun the jet’s missiles. Instead, he has Cortana calculate what it would take to deflect the missile with a slap. She does just that, and Master Chief sends the missile off-target with a perfect whack, giving him just enough time to ring the bell and finish the course.

4) He Has a Secret Nemesis in the First Game

When the Covenant boarded the Pillar of Autumn at the beginning of Halo: Combat Evolved, Master Chief shoots and seemingly kills an elite named Zuka ‘Zamamee. However, we learn in the novel Halo: The Flood that this elite actually survives the encounter, though his pride is deeply wounded.

‘Zamamee is rescued by a grunt unit led by Yayap, who carries him off the ship to get medical attention. ‘Zamamee then takes Yayap as his new assistant, much to the grunt’s chagrin. The duo spends most of the first game setting traps for Chief, as ‘Zamamee wants to get his revenge.

After setting several unsuccessful traps, ‘Zamamee finally tracks down Chief and ambushes him on an elevator. He almost pulls it off, but Chief retreats and has Cortana disable the elevator, sending it hurtling to the ground. Master Chief then tosses two grenades down the shaft, ending ‘Zamamee’s threat for good.

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