Whether he's called Master Chief, John, or simply Sir, the man in the Spartan armor throughout the Halo saga works best as one of few words. In 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved, he has just 23 lines across ten levels, but that number creeps upward as the series goes on. Once Bungie left to make Destiny, 343 Industries attempted to shift the character away from his role as a player insert, which included giving him more dialogue, more complicated motivations, and even showing part of Master Chief's face. While Halo hasn't seen his full mug as of yet, players can see some of what Master Chief looks like behind the helmet under very specific circumstances.
Back in the original Halo: Combat Evolved, Bungie knew Master Chief's face was something fans would want to see, and it teased those fans at the end of the game. As Chief and Cortana escape the ring they helped destroy, the camera pans away from the cockpit just as Chief removes his helmet for the first time. Players don't see anything, and he's fully suited up by the time of his awards ceremony on Earth in the sequel. Sgt. Johnson even ribs the main hero about it, asking him why he didn't wear something nice. Of course, John's decision was a wise one, as the Covenant immediately invade Earth to begin the events of Halo 2.
Those willing to go beyond the games will find plenty of descriptions and images of John before he was conscripted into the Spartan program. Growing up on the colony world of Eridanus II, John had brown hair and freckles as a child. He was also a head taller than his classmates when he was six, which made him stand out to Dr. Catherine Halsey when she selected youths to be abducted and trained as soldiers. The Spartan augmentation process candidates go through drastically changes their physical appearance, so many of these descriptors from John's early days likely don't fit with the man who took on the Covenant in the Halo series.
Is Master Chief's Face Visible In The Halo Games?
Players who do wish to see behind the helmet need to play through Halo 4 on Legendary difficulty. As is tradition with the series, beating the game on the highest difficulty leads to a bonus cutscene that hints at what could occur in future games. Halo 4's original ending depicts Master Chief returning to the UNSC ranks after several games' worth of galaxy-hopping. He straps into a machine that removes his armor piece by piece, and the camera once again cuts away as the machine removes his helmet. The Legendary variant of the scene is the same except for the very end, which shows a close-up of Master Chief's eyes and upper nose. His eyes are sunken and colorless, and he bears a deep scar on the right side of his face.
Other than that brief glimpse at the end of Halo 4, the games have not depicted Master Chief outside of his armor. It would require a very dramatic moment to upend five games of tradition - perhaps even Master Chief's exit from the franchise. However, fans have already shown they're not willing to accept a mainline Halo experience without Master Chief at the helm, with both The Arbiter and Spartan Locke standing as proof that the series can only have one protagonist. Will Halo Infinite find a scenario that lets 343 Industries give fans the full reveal, or will that stray too far from the game's return to tradition? It's best to wait in cryosleep for those answers, as they likely won't come until 343 releases its open-world Halo game this fall.