Bungie Universe
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  • Subject: Guide to Canon in the Halo Universe
Subject: Guide to Canon in the Halo Universe

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This is version 1.03 and is also available in several formats including: PDF, Docx (Microsoft Word), and HTML. Thanks to Qbix89 for allowing me to hijack his post as the guide is much larger than it was originally. Please do not reproduce this document without my permission.

Contents

Introduction and Notes
Halo Canon General
List of canonical material in ascending order
Halo novels are canon
Cortana Letters are not canon
ILOVEBEES is not canon (disputed)
Halo Wars is canon
Spartan 458 - Nicole (from Dead or Alive 4) is not canon
IRIS and other Halo 3 PR and Marketing
Halo Legends is Canon
Halo: Reach and problems associated with it
Conclusion, thanks and acknowledgements
Links

Introduction and Notes

This is a pretty definitive post that specifies exactly what is considered canon in the Halo universe. It has been put together using quotes and posts from various Bungie and Microsoft employees, as well as some external people such as Eric Nylund. Sources have been listed where appropriate and possible.

The sources listed in this document include the following people:

- Joseph Staten: Bungie's Director of Cinematics and Lead Writer
- Peter Parsons: Executive Producer of Halo 2, current Studio Manager
- Frank (Frankie) O'Connor: Former Content Manager/Bungie.net Team.
- Eric Nylund: Author of Halo novels, including Fall of Reach, First Strike and Ghosts of Onyx.
- Chad Armstrong (a.k.a.Shishka): Ex-contract worker and former Playlist Designer.

Halo was originally developed by Bungie Studios and is owned solely by the Microsoft Corporation. Ensemble Studios developed Halo Wars while a number of authors have written novels. Graphic novels have been created by Marvel Comics and a DVD of anime shorts has also been produced. The Halo universe is now overseen by 343 Industries, an in-house studio set up by Microsoft to control and manage all things Halo. Frank O'Connor has a key role at 343 Industries.

Version: 1.03: Updated structure and content to take into account Halo: Reach and other recently released materials.
Updates may be made to this document in the future. Please visit the Bungie.net thread above to get the latest version.

Halo Canon General Information

"Halo 'canon' can quite easily be viewed in a similar way as the kind of canon system in place with Star Wars. A certain hierarchy of priority. In other words, different levels of canon where the higher levels will override the lower ones whenever there is a contradiction.
Everything that Bungie has ever approved is canonical. But even then, certain things trump others. In order of canonical influence:

- The games rank first
- Published materials (books, comics, soundtrack liner notes etc.) rank second
- Marketing and PR materials third

And there's one codicil: the more recent items trump the older ones. So, for example, if some aspect of Halo 3's fiction contradicted Halo 2's, Halo 3's would be the gold standard.

Bungie doesn't like to retcon (i.e., deliberately change previously established facts), but sometimes it's necessary. Take for example the issue of the number of human worlds. The truth about the "800+" number? That was made up by a non-Bungie employee and never approved by us before the Halo: CE promotional website went live.

As for some of the other issues raised, chiefly Jenkins' age and UNSC foot-dragging on fielding the BR55? I will only say that some marines have spent a very long time in cryo-sleep and that putting an entirely new weapon into service during a war -- especially a war that spans multiple star systems -- is no small order.

That being said, I'm constantly impressed by how close attention you all pay to the details. Don't ever stop keeping us honest! And we'll do our best to keep you reliably entertained :-)

- Joseph"


Halo.Bungie.Org | Joseph Staten's Post (http://forums.bungie.org/halo/archive28.pl?read=847640)

The important information to take from this post by Joseph Staten is the order of canonical material. This goes in order:

1. The games
2. Published materials (books, comics, soundtrack liner notes etc.)
3. Marketing and PR materials

Also of note is that the more recent the item the more canonical it is. So Halo: Reach would be considered above Halo 3. So if something in Halo: Reach contradicts something that is said in Halo 3 then the Halo: Reach information comes out on top and is considered canon.

List of canonical material in ascending order

This is a list of all published material from the Halo universe, ordered in terms of the influence each items has on the canon. The list is in ascending order so the higher the item the more influence it has over the Halo canon. If two items have competing or contradictory information regarding something in the Halo universe then a general rule of thumb would be to take as canon the information from the item that is highest in the list.

1. Halo Reach
2. Halo 3: ODST
3. Halo 3
4. Halo 2
5. Halo: CE
6. Halo Wars
7. Halo Legends
8. Halo: Evolutions
9. Halo: The Cole Protocol
10. Halo: Contact Harvest
11. Halo: Uprising
12. Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
13. Halo Graphic Novel
14. Halo: First Strike
15. Halo: The Flood
16. Halo: The Fall of Reach
17. Birth of a Spartan (Marketing)
18. ONI Candidate Assessment Program V5.02A (Marketing)
19. Superintendent Viral Campaign
20. Iris (Marketing)
21. I Love Bees

Please be aware that this list may be incomplete and its accuracy will be contended by some members of the Halo community. I have created this list using the information available to me from various sources and as such it is not a definitive list. However for simplicity you can use it as a general rule of thumb if you come across contradictions or inconsistencies between two published works. Halo Wars has been listed as 6, although it was released after the Halo trilogy of games. This was simply because it was created largely outside of Bungie's control. Some may dispute that it should be higher or lower than it is listed.

Halo Novels are Canon

GameSpy: When you were writing the game's script, did you want to tie the whole universe together, including stuff that was in the two books?

Joe Staten: The books are full of wonderful, complex elements that would be hugely problematic if we included them in Halo 2 in any meaningful way (e.g. the existence of other Spartans). That being said, I did my best to be take the books into account as I wrote, and there are definitely common themes and characters. The opposite is true as well; Eric Nylund and I spoke often as he gathered his thoughts for the third Halo novel, "First Strike."

Gamespy | Interview with Joseph Staten (http://uk.xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/halo-2/562962p2.html)

How Stuff Works: Was the "Halo" story fully realized and segmented into different games, or did you take the story as far as "Halo 1" and when it came time for a sequel, build the story from the ground up?

Pete Parsons: The "Halo" universe has an overarching story that is well thought out and was well thought out before "Halo 2." We have roughly 600 years worth of "Halo" fiction, and we know what happens inside of that universe at any given time. The ["Halo 2"] story itself only existed as notes and was really fleshed out. We know ultimately, at least in the "Halo" universe, where humanity came from, where it's going to, at what point in time it comes in contact with The Covenant [the villains in "Halo"] and what happens well beyond that. "Halo 2" picks up literally right after "Halo 1." But there is still plenty of story in and around that. And you can see some of that in the three novels we have.

How Stuff Works: The novelization of a video game is, well ... novel. Where does Eric Nyland <sic> get the background for his books?

Pete Parsons: We work closely with him on all the stories. So what we do is we have these story arcs of the "Halo" universe, and Eric goes in and says, "Well that's a really good piece to take and here is in a microcosm what I think that story will look like."

How Stuff Works: Are you guys very conscious to make sure that everything fits together -- that the books and games don't contradict one another -- so that everyone can look to any source and say, "This is very consistent, fully realized world"?

Pete Parsons: Yes, but not in the marketing kind of way. We do it because we want the "Halo" universe to be manifold. You can certainly probably pull out some inconsistencies, but as a general rule we really try to keep it manifold. Because we think that ultimately we are doing this for ourselves. And after that, we're doing it for our fans, and we want them to really believe in this place that is the Halo universe. I think the reason Halo has captured so many imaginations is because we care a lot about what's going on in that universe and how believable that universe is. We have this high level myth that we understand very well.

How Stuff Works | Interview with Pete Parsons (http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/halo1.htm)

[Continued on next post...]

[Edited on 06.25.2011 8:35 AM PDT]

  • 06.08.2009 4:51 PM PDT

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EGM: You mention Reach; have you read all of the Halo books?

Pete Parsons: Yeah, obviously the Halo fiction. The overarching Halo universe is crafted here, and then guys like...particularly [Halo book author Eric Nylund] has the job of really fleshing out the bones of that particular story arc.

EGM: So somewhere there's a Halo bible that has the basic storyline, including what goes on after Halo 2?

Pete Parsons: Yes, from the present day to the future.

Electronic Gaming Monthly | Interview with Pete Parsons

HBO: As the Halo storyline has evolved, have you made changes to Halo: The Fall of Reach, or have you kept it going in the direction you started?

Eric Nylund: By the time writing began, the storyline of the Halo game was more or less finalized. An outline for the novel was approved by Bungie before I began writing-only very minor changes were made to the novel.

HBO: Have there been changes to the GAME (that you know of) due to the book, or due to research instigated by its writing?

Eric Nylund: Not that I'm aware of, no. I relied on the Story Bible quite extensively. The whole idea behind a Story Bible is that if you create a document that accurately describes the universe in which a game takes place, you can use it as a guide for writing a novel (for example) without needing to constantly check the developing novel against a developing game.

Halo.Bungie.Org | Interview with Eric Nylund (http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/nylund.interview.html)

GameSpy: Also in regards to the "Halo universe," who has ultimate control over where and how the storylines intersect?
Joe Staten: Bungie. Specifically, myself, Jones, Parsons and our community team. And we're very careful about the opportunities we pursue.

Gamespy | Interview with Joseph Staten (http://uk.xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/halo-2/562962p2.html)

Halo Story Page: Would the books make the cut?

Joseph Staten: The books are, for better or worse, part of the canon. In the future we may choose to revise or flat-out ignore some of the less appealing ideas (Johnson's biological immunity to the Flood, for example), but folks should treat them as defining elements of the Halo universe.

Halo Story Page | Interview with Joseph Staten (http://halostory.bungie.org/staten102204.html)

The Cortana Letters are not canon

Shishka: Something I must point out, now that this thread has grown...

The Cortana letters are not canon. They're a relic of a time when the first Halo wasn't even a first person shooter, yet. I suggest you do not read too deeply into them to find secrets about the games- there's nothing there to find.

Bungie.net | Post by Shishka on the forums

HSP:The dialogue from the Halo 3 trailer bears obvious similarity to the Cortana Letters from the early Halo days. Given that they have been discouraged as canon over the years, are they now to be afforded greater consideration? Additionally, the Letters themselves were strongly reminiscent of the messages from Durandal, the rampant AI from Marathon. What are your thoughts on "rampancy," AIs in the Halo universe, and Cortana specifically?

Joseph Staten: Canon is tricky (see my controversial statement about "I Love Bees" - believe it or not, we're actually working to answer the "is it, or isn't it?" question right now!). The Halo story has as many loose threads as influences. And we do our best to sew the former into canon as we find them - are reminded of their potential. The Cortana Letters are an excellent example of this phenomenon. For all sorts of reasons, they lingered in canonical purgatory for years. But when we needed some compelling dialog to remind folks what's at stake in Halo3: Bam! Newfound utility! Alas, I'd have to say that, as of now, the only canonized parts of the letters are the fragments we pulled for use in the announcement trailer.

Halo Story Page | Interview with Joseph Staten (http://halostory.bungie.org/staten083106.html)

I Love Bees is not canon

HaloStoryPage: If you were to define what is and isn't Halo story canon, would the I Love Bees stuff make the cut?

Joseph Staten: The Bees would not make the cut.

Those guys basically did their own thing with very little Bungie input (save for massaging and approving the initial plot-treatment). While we helped define the boundaries of their fiction, we let them do what they thought best. And I think the game turned out great.

Halo Story Page | Interview with Joseph Staten (http://halostory.bungie.org/staten102204.html)

Halo Wars is canon

GP: Do Bungie consider the story of Halo Wars to be a part of their official canon?

Jason: Yes, Halo Wars is canon. Frank O'Connor is the Halo "canon overseer" and we have his official signoff!

GP: Did Bungie reject any of Ensembles ideas?

Jason: The Bungie guys were great partners during the development of Halo Wars, and we all take the Halo canon very seriously. Ensemble consulted Bungie throughout the development of Halo Wars, and those guys were instrumental in helping us make sure the game was a genuine Halo experience. From the game standpoint this is 100% an Ensemble creative project, however it's fair to say that Ensemble had great feedback from Bungie, but Bungie didn't provide creative oversight for the project.

Gamerplanet | Interview with Ensemble Studios (http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/features/132939.20090304.Halo-War s-Q-A-session/)

There is quite a bit of concern regarding how we're going to fit the Flood into our game and keep it in canon which surprised me, but I promised them all that the Halo 1 canon is intact and that they would have to wait and see how we integrate the Flood.
HaloWars.com | News Post from Ensemble Studios (http://www.halowars.com/news/articles/archive/2008/10/14/Hell o-from-TGS.aspx)

Halo Wars is considered canon in the Halo universe. All plot elements and similar features of the game are for all intensive purposes are seen as "fact". However some features of Halo Wars are not considered canon and were included to allow for balanced gameplay or for other reasons. This includes some characteristics of the armour worn by the Spartans in the game.

Spartan 458 - Nicole (from Dead or Alive 4) is not canon

Here's a list of things Nicole, Spartan 458 is NOT .

* She's not a character who's ever been described in other Halo fiction.
* She's not a character from our next project.
* She's not one of the Spartans from Fall of Reach.
* She's not a character from the Halo movie.
* She's not returning my calls. I blame time bubbles.
In short, she's a fictional means to an end that we gave careful thought, but with a jaunty tip of our hat and a wry wink in the general direction of levity.

Bungie.net | News post made by Bungie Studios (http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?cid=7349)

In short Nicole was created simply to conveniently allow a Spartan II to appear in the 21st century. She is not a part of the Halo universe, but actually the Dead or Alive universe.

Iris and other marketing and PR materials

Avateur: Considering what you stated about the two-part episode covering the Forerunner's first encounter with the Flood all the way through Halo 3, will the Alternate Reality Games ilovebees and Iris be taken into consideration at all?

Frankie: Absolutely.

Comic-Con Panel | Video available at Halo.Bungie.Org (http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=934649 )

This to me shows that Frankie, and 343 Studios by association, are willing to use information from both ILB and Iris. I'm unwilling to outright commit to saying that any PR or marketing material is canon but back to the rule. Unless it contradicts something from the games or novels (or any other canon for that matter) then take you can read into it anything you want. Just take it with a grain of salt.

You have to remember that although Bungie approve and probably direct to a certain degree, those materials are the work of other studios who often come up with their own material after being given a basic outline. So Bungie may have provided documents that outlined what they thought should be included but I imagine the studio would then have had free reign to a certain extent to be creative. Bungie/343 Studios might decide to use that material in the future or may choose to discard it.

Halo Legends is Canon

Mid7night: Where in the gradient of Halo "cannon" will this fall? In the realm of the current-released books, or more like "published fan-fiction" ?

Frankie: It's canon, like books. Except for Toei. But there IS interpretation - armor styling etc. It's art, after al.

Halo Story Page | Interview with Frank O'Connor (http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/frankie_legends_qa.html)

[Continued on next post...]

[Edited on 01.23.2011 3:44 AM PST]

  • 06.08.2009 4:56 PM PDT
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And the Shadow fell upon the Land, and the World was riven stone from stone. The oceans fled, and the mountains were swallowed up, and the nations were scattered to the eight corners of the World. The moon was blood, and the sun was as ashes. The seas boiled, and the living envied the dead. All was shattered, and all but memory lost, and one memory above all others, of him who brought the Shadow and the Breaking of the World. And him they named Dragon.

Halo: Reach and problems associated with it

Halo: Reach was released on the 14th of September 2010. It brought with it a lot of new content and story elements, some of which contradict with previous stories and published works. Although the general rule would be to simply take Halo: Reach's story as the most canonical, in this case I have decided to list some of the major contradictions and the problems they have caused as Halo: Reach's setting is a time and place that has had a great deal of storytelling from various sources in the Halo Universe. Some of these contradictions and errors are still being disputed and discussed within the Halo community and as such may not be completely up to date.

1. Halo: Reach states that the planet Reach was invaded on July 24th. However all other material has always stated that reach was invaded on August 30th, and that it fell in one day. Ghosts of Onyx, First Strike, and the Fall of Reach (as well as some other media) all list the date as August 30th

2. There are no Orbital MAC''s shown within Halo: Reach yet all other sources have stated that Reach has a number of Orbital MAC's to protect the planet from invading fleets. The Fall of Reach and First Strike both state that the MAC's were present on the August 30th when Reach fell, yet they were not present during Halo: Reach especially in the mission Long Night of Solace.

3. The Pillar of Autumn should not be on the planet's surface during the time that Halo: Reach is set. For more information on the implications of this please see this thread at Bungie.net: http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=49053700

4. According to the Cole Protocol if any planet or ship detects Covenant forces or is in any danger of being attacked by Covenant forces then they should immediately purge all NAV data and information from computers in order to protect the location of Earth and the other inner colonies. How is it that Covenant forces are known to be on Reach on July 23rd yet a month later during the events of The Fall of Reach NAV data with the location of Earth is still stored on computers. If the Cole Protocol was carried out then that data would have been destroyed and Blue Team would not have been sent to the station in order to destroy the data.

There are other problems and contradictions that have arisen since the release of Halo: Reach. For a full discussion and debate of this topic please visit this Bungie.net thread: http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=49053700

Conclusion, thanks and acknowledgements

In conclusion then the canon can be summarised as follows:

- The games rank first
- Published materials (books, comics, soundtrack liner notes etc.) rank second
- Marketing and PR materials third

I hope that this will help those on the forums who want to discuss plot elements and theories and that it can be useful to them. The original version of this document provided the outline for the current form. This form has been heavily modified and formatted from the original, and now includes links to the source material as well as extra content. As I was unable to find my previous thread (it was posted two years ago) I decided to simply re-post this in the new Bungie Universe forum, as it has had much added to it since then.

Acknowledgements and thanks must go to The Watchers (http://www.bungie.net/fanclub/watchers/Group/GroupHome.aspx) and specifically to opogjijijp for much of the source material which was painstakingly collected. Various members from Bungie.net, especially regulars of the Bungie Universe forum, contributed in various means. My thanks to all those people.

Halo is © Microsoft Corporation 2010.

Links

Comprehensive List and Details of the Halo Novels and Comics - Max2107
Complete Halo Timeline - Halo.Bungie.Org
Unexplainable errors in the Halo canon Bungie.net
Halo Reach did not destroy the canon Bungie.net

Links

Comprehensive List and Details of the Halo Novels and Comics - Max2107
Complete Halo Timeline - Halo.Bungie.Org

Halo: The Fall of Reach (Publisher's Page | Wikipedia Page)
Halo: The Flood (Publisher's Page | Wikipedia Page)
Halo: First Strike (Publisher's Page | Wikipedia Page)
Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (Publisher's Page | Wikipedia Page)
Halo: Contact Harvest (Publisher's Page | Wikipedia Page)
Halo: The Cole Protocol (Publisher's Page | Wikipedia Page)
The Cortana Letters (The Cortana Letters | Wikipedia Page)
ILOVEBEES.com (I Love Bees | Wikipedia Page)
Halo Wars (Official Page | Wikipedia Page | Xbox Page)
Dead or Alive 4 (Official Page | Wikipedia Page | Xbox Page)

Sweet job!
*thread saved*

[Edited on 01.25.2011 11:41 AM PST]

  • 06.08.2009 5:01 PM PDT

What about Halo Wars? Does the fact that it was created by a party other than bungie throw it with the likes of the novels and comics, or is the fact that it's a game keep with the trilogy? Or is it possibly somewhere in between?

  • 06.08.2009 5:11 PM PDT

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Posted by: Minion321
What about Halo Wars? Does the fact that it was created by a party other than bungie throw it with the likes of the novels and comics, or is the fact that it's a game keep with the trilogy? Or is it possibly somewhere in between?


As far as I can make out Halo Wars is for the most part considered canon. Some elements are not however as they were in the game mainly for gameplay. But mostly the game can be considered canon as far as I can tell. However in regards to its priority it would probably on terms with published works such as books or be in between those and the original trilogy.

I'll make sure to update this thread with definite answers and hopefully some quotes in the near future.

[Edited on 06.08.2009 5:19 PM PDT]

  • 06.08.2009 5:19 PM PDT
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Shishka: Something I must point out, now that this thread has grown...

The Cortana letters are not canon. They're a relic of a time when the first Halo wasn't even a first person shooter, yet. I suggest you do not read too deeply into them to find secrets about the games- there's nothing there to find.[/quote]
Source: Bungie.net (Once again I have been unable to locate the original post)



I'm fairly sure that was in a thread I made about the Cortana letters here a few yeasr ago. I may have a link to it somewhere. I'll see if I can dig it up if you want it.

Also, Shishka told me in 2005 that These Ship to Ship Transmissions from way back are canon. It's a PM, so you'll have to take my word for it though. Don't know if you want to list it, but thought I might mention it.

  • 06.08.2009 5:24 PM PDT

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Thanks, I'll definitely appreciate the link if you can get hold of it. Also I'm happy to make further additions at any point. So if you, or anybody for that matter, has any more information on what is and is not considered canon then feel free to let me know in here or via PM.

  • 06.08.2009 5:28 PM PDT


Everything that Bungie has ever approved is canonical.


So this means that Nicole 458 is canon?

  • 06.08.2009 6:03 PM PDT

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EDIT: I've changed the original thread to accommodate the answer to the question. Nicole is not canon.

She has her own backstory (created for the game) and was approved by Bungie so I would argue that she can be considered canon. Although I don't belive that she is a high level of canon (check priority of canon in the original thread) and of course coils be contradicted by a Bungie Halo game.

However it could be argued that she is not part of the Halo universe, but rather the Dead or Alive universe and therefore shouldn't be considered canon at all. I think that some clarification on the matter would be wonderful, I'll check to see if this has been explained before.

[Edited on 07.02.2009 2:59 AM PDT]

  • 06.09.2009 2:00 AM PDT

Self-proclaimed genius.
Roam the streets with a sign, "will love for false hope."

Halo Wars is approved by Bungie and everything stated in the game is canonical. According to a guy from Robot Entertainment. However, the game is presented in a way that suits gameplay, obviously. There is an incredible amount of information that directly ties into the novels and counteracts them as well. I would assume that it is on the level of the other source material such as the novels also. It's a game, but it's not Bungie's game and can be thrown below anything Bungie releases directly.

Nicole 458 is not canon. Any information regarding her, the Dead or Alive universe, etc are not official canon by Bungie. It was stated so in the updates Bungie had preceding DoA4's release. She is just something taken from absolutely no canonical sources within the Halo universe or the Dead or Alive universe. She's just there to be awesome.

Also, just because you were talking about ILoveBees not being canon. The entire pretense behind Nicole ending up in the DoA universe is. Apocalypso. Which is certainly not considered canon (along with the time effects it caused) unless stated somewhere outside of ILoveBees, right?

[Edited on 06.19.2009 12:13 PM PDT]

  • 06.19.2009 12:12 PM PDT

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Posted by: TheJadedTarget
Halo Wars is approved by Bungie and everything stated in the game is canonical. According to a guy from Robot Entertainment. However, the game is presented in a way that suits gameplay, obviously. There is an incredible amount of information that directly ties into the novels and counteracts them as well. I would assume that it is on the level of the other source material such as the novels also. It's a game, but it's not Bungie's game and can be thrown below anything Bungie releases directly.

Nicole 458 is not canon. Any information regarding her, the Dead or Alive universe, etc are not official canon by Bungie. It was stated so in the updates Bungie had preceding DoA4's release. She is just something taken from absolutely no canonical sources within the Halo universe or the Dead or Alive universe. She's just there to be awesome.

Also, just because you were talking about ILoveBees not being canon. The entire pretense behind Nicole ending up in the DoA universe is. Apocalypso. Which is certainly not considered canon (along with the time effects it caused) unless stated somewhere outside of ILoveBees, right?


Thanks for the input. I will look back at some of the updates from around that time and try to find some quotes to clarify the issue regarding Nicole. You're right about gameplay elements of Halo Wars too.

  • 06.19.2009 12:28 PM PDT

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” -Matthew 19:26

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Good Job

  • 06.19.2009 1:21 PM PDT
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Thanks for the thread! I'm rather disappointed that ILOVEBEES isn't canon; It's just so fascinating!!! Also, my brother won't even take Joe Staten's word for it that the Cortana letters are not canon. When I told him that Joe said they weren't, he chuckled and said "Oh, right, right." So what, is my bro saying that Bungie is lying? He said something like "I mean, like Bungie would admit to it being canon when that would give away all their secrets." LOLWUT. I think he was serious.

[Edited on 06.19.2009 6:01 PM PDT]

  • 06.19.2009 6:00 PM PDT

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The Halo REACH Script (post thoughts in thread)

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Look... I'm on bungiepedia!

Great thread. This should be a sticky. Will come in handy in the REACH forum with all the "lol but bungie say books r not real like the games r so there are no spartens on reach u play as the chief and cloens of him my uncle works 4 bungie he says so ok thanks for listening to my theroy.[/i]

  • 06.19.2009 6:28 PM PDT

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Posted by: OreoRocks777
Thanks for the thread! I'm rather disappointed that ILOVEBEES isn't canon; It's just so fascinating!!! Also, my brother won't even take Joe Staten's word for it that the Cortana letters are not canon. When I told him that Joe said they weren't, he chuckled and said "Oh, right, right." So what, is my bro saying that Bungie is lying? He said something like "I mean, like Bungie would admit to it being canon when that would give away all their secrets." LOLWUT. I think he was serious.


The Cortana Letters were released way before Halo: Combat Evolved was ever released. They were sent to http://marathon.bungie.org/ by cortana@bungie.com during the development of Halo (before it was even shown as Macworld 1999) and thus only represent very early versions of the game. Much changes during development and most of what the Cortana Letters say are defunct. The only real part of them that has any validity is the parts taken from the first letter for use in the Halo 3 E3 trailer. They were used because they were appropriate to give a sense of the scale and scope of the problems facing humanity in Halo 3.

The Cortana Letters can be seen more as a marketing ploy or as an ARG. Although not canon they served their purpose incredibly well, stirring up controversy and discussion ever since they were released.

Posted by: MLG Cheehwawa
Will come in handy in the REACH forum with all the "lol but bungie say books r not real like the games r so there are no spartens on reach u play as the chief and cloens of him my uncle works 4 bungie he says so ok thanks for listening to my theroy.


That was my aim, hopefully it will assist people in their discussion of new Halo plots and experiences, when they know what to draw from and what to ignore. I first posted this guide a few years ago when many on Bungie.net were arguing over whether the novels could be considered canon. With the release of several new games, as well as upcoming releases I thought it would be appropriate to re-post the thread. However this version is heavily modified from the original and vastly improved. It contains much more material and links to all source material. Glad you have found it useful anyway =)


Also, a quick update. I've added two sections for Halo Wars and for Nicole from Dead or Alive 4 as well as a contents.

  • 06.20.2009 3:55 AM PDT

-blam!- GTFO OF MY SIGNATURE

Wow. You should get paid.

  • 06.20.2009 8:02 AM PDT

Maybe I will never be
All the things that I wanna be
But now is not the time to cry
Now's the time to find out why
I think you're the same as me
We see things they'll never see
You and I are gonna live forever

Someone was doing a lot of research.
*Saved!*

  • 06.20.2009 10:55 AM PDT
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I have a couple questions about Covenant weapons.

What would be the destructive power of a plasma torpedo? What kind of power would it have? Megatons? Gigatons?

  • 06.20.2009 4:37 PM PDT

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Posted by: Blake Packbornne
I have a couple questions about Covenant weapons.

What would be the destructive power of a plasma torpedo? What kind of power would it have? Megatons? Gigatons?


Wrong thread I think mate, this thread is discussing the canonical status of the various differents outlets of the Halo universe. This thread is not dealing with actual gameplay issues, but is discussing the different media that portrays Halo plot and story. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

[Edited on 09.19.2010 4:16 AM PDT]

  • 06.20.2009 6:05 PM PDT

Do you know the way to San Jose?

What about the IRIS ARG? Would it not be considered canon because ILB and the Cortana Letters weren't, or am I mistaken and there isn't anything canon related in it?

Also, what about when the books are vague about something related to the games? The Arbiter is a prime example. Is Thel 'Vadam from The Cole Protocol the Arbiter? It's inferred, but never stated. But Tobias S. Buckell confirmed in an interview that he is. I know he's not Bungie, but the Bungie Blog linked to an Ascendant Justice article concerning Thel, which basically says he is the Arbiter, and it seems that even urk might correct them on that, or at least ask someone tied to the canon. I believe Thel is the Arbiter. The only reason I bring it up is that a lot of people don't think he is (look at the discussion page on the Arbiter's Wikipedia article). Your thoughts?

  • 06.21.2009 8:56 PM PDT

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"Sometimes life gives you lemons, and then you have to say 'f**k the lemons' and bail."

If you're reading this, you need to stop stalking me. If you can't stop stalking me, you might as well go here.

I really wish that Bungie would eventually come out with a long, detailed book that would tie all the loose ends and even act as retcon for some of the inconsistencies; then again, I could only see die-hard Halo fans buying it.

  • 06.21.2009 9:39 PM PDT

sorry im still sticken with nylund on the johnson survival thing

  • 06.21.2009 11:16 PM PDT

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Posted by: Def Guru 7777
What about the IRIS ARG? Would it not be considered canon because ILB and the Cortana Letters weren't, or am I mistaken and there isn't anything canon related in it?


My initial thoughts on Iris is that it is primarily a marketing and PR campaign. It was aimed at building hype for Halo 3's release. Therefore it would rank lowest in terms of canon and if there is a conflict between Iris and a book or game then it would be retconned.

Also, what about when the books are vague about something related to the games? The Arbiter is a prime example. Is Thel 'Vadam from The Cole Protocol the Arbiter? It's inferred, but never stated. But Tobias S. Buckell confirmed in an interview that he is. I know he's not Bungie, but the Bungie Blog linked to an Ascendant Justice article concerning Thel, which basically says he is the Arbiter, and it seems that even urk might correct them on that, or at least ask someone tied to the canon. I believe Thel is the Arbiter. The only reason I bring it up is that a lot of people don't think he is (look at the discussion page on the Arbiter's Wikipedia article). Your thoughts?

In regards to this it's kind of hard to say. On the one hand the book does not state explicitly that he is the Arbiter, but if Tobias has confirmed in an interview that he is then, at least for now, I would take it that he is the Arbiter. Until some other media comes out that tells us he isn't, then I would assume that he is,

But if for example a game was released focusing on the events of the book and it stated that he was not the arbiter, then any mention of him being the Arbiter in the book or by the Author would be effectively retconned.

Excuse my vaguness in regards to the Cole Protocol as well, I haven't read it yet. It's sitting on my book shelf and I haven't had time to read it yet as I have been reading other books all year.

Posted by: IX SPARTAN 458
sorry im still sticken with nylund on the johnson survival thing


Wrong thread I think pal. You're looking for the thread regarding Johnson's Survival. If not the that was kind of off-topic =)

However I would like to point out that according to the hierarchy of the canon, new published works tend to outrank previous works. So the Breaking Quarantine story from the graphic novel which shows him escaping because he is a badass and not immune to the flood would probably retcon what has been said in previous Halo novels.

Posted by: Reptilian Rob
This needs to be pinned, now.


Thanks, nice to know the article is being helpful and that you appreciate it =)

Posted by: Primo84
I really wish that Bungie would eventually come out with a long, detailed book that would tie all the loose ends and even act as retcon for some of the inconsistencies; then again, I could only see die-hard Halo fans buying it.


Although this would be useful it is unlikely that it will ever happen. Firstly the Halo series doesn't look like it is going anywhere anytime soon. So publishing any kind of work like you suggested would be pointless because new content could be released all the time in the form of further books, games or even films. Well pointless it too strong a word but it would be incomplete.

Secondly it would certainly restrict and maybe even stop lots of people who enjoy writing theories based on the loose ends that have never been tied and those unanswered questions.

Thirdly Bungie or indeed Microsoft might not release such a book because they might feel that they have to stick to it and therefore it could restrict them in terms of what they could write or do in future work. If this book is supposed to tie up loose ends they can't really deviate from it. This would be problematic.

Fourthly, I doubt hardly anyone would buy such a book. Like you said, only die-hard fans.

Quick Note

If anyone has any information regarding the Halo Graphic Novel and Halo: Uprising in regards to canon please let me know in the thread or via PM. For now I am counting them with the Halo novels and I suspect they rank the same but if anyone has information to the contrary please share.

[Edited on 06.22.2009 1:50 AM PDT]

  • 06.22.2009 1:47 AM PDT

is Adjutant Reflex a canon?

  • 06.23.2009 2:19 PM PDT