The Master Chief is the hero of the Halo TV series, but many viewers will be unfamiliar with his backstory. In 2001, the Halo: Combat Evolved Xbox console introduced gamers to the Master Chief, an elite Spartan soldier locked in war with an invading alien Covenant. The Master Chief's story continues in sequels and has inspired an ever-expanding universe of tie-in comics, graphic novels, books and animations. These have explored his backstory, revealing how he was inducted into Dr. Halsey's Spartan program and even how he became a Master Chief.
Showrunner Steven Kane overstated when he said Halo's writers and producers didn't look at the game; they clearly did, because the opening combat scenes are like a Halo battle brought to life, as they should be. What he appeared to be stating, however, was that the creative team had looked beyond the game. They'd taken the time to familiarize themselves with the wider world that's been built through various tie-ins, and in so doing they've created a much more cohesive universe for the Master Chief to operate in.
This does, however, mean many viewers will be surprised by Pablo Schreiber's portrayal of the Master Chief, and, indeed, with aspects of his history explored in just the first episode. Fortunately, Paramount+'s TV series actually reproduces this story in a remarkably faithful manner; there's not much difference between the TV show's so-called "Silver Timeline" and the one seen in the original canon. Here's all viewers need to know about the Master Chief's backstory.
John-117 Origins & Kidnapping
The story of the Master Chief begins on the troubled Outer Colony world of Eridanus II. The population of Eridanus II increasingly resented Earth's rule, and a pro-independence regime became increasingly radicalized, culminating in the Watts Uprising in 2513. A UNSC force was sent in to quell the uprising, and remained present, dealing with constant terrorist attacks and a growing pirate presence. The child who would become the Master Chief, known only as John, was therefore brought up on a UNSC-occupied world where the fear of terrorism was an everyday part of life. When he was six years old, he was visited by Dr. Catherine Halsey, founder of the Spartan program. She'd covertly used a vaccination program to obtain genetic samples from children across the galaxy, looking for genetic markers she believed would make them good Spartans. She was particularly impressed with John, who she noted possessed a remarkable attribute beyond her other Spartans: he was incredibly lucky. Halsey believed the Spartans would be the UNSC's greatest defense against the Insurrectionist threat, and that a little luck would be as important to their survival as a lot of skill.
Many of Dr. Halsey's recruits were orphans. John was not, however, and so Dr. Halsey created an illegal flash clone to replace him - a clone whose aging had been artificially accelerated, whose memories would match with the boy's, but who was unstable because of the rapid aging and would die within a year. John's family believed him dead, but he would gain a new family with the Spartans.
Spartan-II Program Explained: How John Became Master Chief
Officially designated "John-117," the boy who would become Halo's iconic Master Chief underwent an intense training regime - one focused as much on developing his tactical skills and reasoning powers as it was on his physical attributes. The 75 Spartans became a closely-knit family, uniting around their shared experiences, and they were routinely placed against the UNSC's best Marines in tests - ones they usually passed. John-117 proved to be one of their best leaders and tacticians, in part because of his luck. But the Spartans' greatest test would come when they reached adolescence, when Dr. Halsey had every one of the Spartans undergo illegal genetic engineering and cybernetic experiments to transform them into supersoldiers. Only around 30 Spartans survived unscathed, while another 12 were rendered too injured to still be soldiers but still possessed skills the UNSC deemed useful. John's first field mission post-augmentation was to the Eridanus system, where he launched a one-man raid to arrest the Insurrectionist Robert Watts himself.
The Spartans had been created to take on Insurrectionists, but they soon became the UNSC's greatest defense against an alien Covenant focused on rendering the human race extinct. Fortunately, Dr. Halsey had prepared one more stage to her Spartan project: the powerful Mjolnir exo-armor, sophisticated technology the Spartans could only wield because of the augmentation processes they had survived. John led the Spartans through many victories against the Covenant, but at a cost, as he lost members of his Spartan family under Covenant fire, including his best friend Sam. By the age of 17, he had officially been decorated as a Master Chief - albeit only so UNSC Marines and Drop-Troopers would obey his orders.
Master Chief In The Halo TV Show: Everything We Know
The Halo TV series' Master Chief appears to have a very similar origin story. The Master Chief touches a mysterious Forerunner artifact in Halo episode 1 that triggers a series of visions. Intriguingly, Dr. Halsey believes these visions are actually memories of his life before he was a Spartan, suggesting she went one step further in the Silver Timeline and actually erased her Spartans' memories of their lives before they were taken in by the UNSC. Clearly, this is a theme that will continue to be explored as the series progresses, because it's unclear whether Dr. Halsey is correct and these are indeed John-117's repressed memories, or why a Forerunner artifact would trigger them.
The Halo TV series is set in the year 2552, the final year of the Human-Covenant War. Assuming the timelines are the same, the Master Chief is now in his early 40s, and all he's known throughout his life is war. The number of Spartans in the field will have reduced dramatically over the years due to losses in engagements with the Covenant, but the Master Chief would by now be their most decorated and celebrated champion.
Master Chief's Future: Fall Of Reach & Destroying The Halo Rings
The Master Chief is, of course, the star of the Halo franchise. While the Silver Timeline's story won't necessarily be the same as the one told in the main franchise, the origin of the Master Chief is so similar that it feels as though the show will ultimately be a fairly straight adaptation. If that is indeed the case, the Master Chief will play a key role in discovering ancient Forerunner artifacts that help the UNSC discover the coordinates of one of the Halo Rings - ancient weapons designed to sterilize the galaxy of life to starve a parasitic infection known as the Flood. Unfortunately, the UNSC operation will be disrupted when the Covenant discovers Reach, the center of UNSC military operations. The Master Chief will be on one of the few vessels to escape the Fall of Reach, and he will be taken to the Halo Ring, which he'll choose to destroy rather than allow to fall into the hands of the Covenant.
It's likely Halo season 1 will tell the first part of this story with the discovery of Forerunner artifacts and the Fall of Reach. If that is indeed the case, then the end of Halo season 1 will see the Master Chief discover the Halo Ring itself, setting up a second season that feels more like the main event. The tale of the Master Chief has only begun, and Halo is sure to make it wild ride.
Halo releases new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.