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This topic has moved here: Subject: Marathon and Halo could be set in the same universe
  • Subject: Marathon and Halo could be set in the same universe
Subject: Marathon and Halo could be set in the same universe

(*spoilers for Cryptum*)

We find out in the cryptum novel that humanity had a spacefaring empire in the Forerunners day, before they were defeated in a war and 'devolved' back to planet Earth. But we're also told that Earth is where they seemingly first evolved. So basically in the first instance, humanity could have created the Marathon colony ship and sent it to colonize Tau Ceti, where they met the Phor Empire, who they eventually defeated in battle with the help of the S'pht'Kr -- all long before they ever met the Forerunners, which as we know was long before the events of the Halo games.

So that is a possibility although you might say it's irrelevant, as no events from that time could have had an effect on the Halo story. Well that's true except for Durandal - Durandal whose goal was to be immortal, and escape the end of the universe. According to the endscreen of Marathon Infinity, he just about managed that. So therefore he would have been around for the events of Halo, though who knows where or doing what. They say Durandal was simply a reanimation/reincarnation of Traxus IV, the original AI that went rampant before being destroyed by his human masters on Mars (but not before he'd infected 'several other AI constructs'). By the same logic, Mendicant Bias and Cortana could have been 'infected' by Durandal's meta-stable rampancy. This would suggest that meta-stable rampancy is a true fluke, a one off, like the evolution of life in a universe of inanimate matter may have been.

There's also the possibility that the Jjaro == the Precursors.

  • 02.10.2011 7:13 PM PDT
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Bungie has stated before that Marathon and Halo do not take place in the same universe. This is all that really needs to be said.

Also though Halo and Marathon don't take place during the same dates they still occur between the same years, 2000-3000.

[Edited on 02.10.2011 8:11 PM PST]

  • 02.10.2011 8:11 PM PDT

"Concise and devoid of elegance...what I have come to expect from human communication"-Endless Summer

Explain the M variant. It was issued before Mk IV, and looks like the Cyborg from Marathon. I always thought it was a modified ORION armor

  • 02.10.2011 10:18 PM PDT

one of the bungie guys did say in an interview that he 'wouldn't rule out all possibility of there being a connection between Halo and Marathon'. it's just that Halo doesn't fit into the same timeline as Marathon, ie. the humans who launched Marathon cannot be the same that colonized Reach etc. ... which you might have thought just after Halo CE when there still wasn't much information available

obviously it's a bit strange that two separate human empires would be using similar calanders, but that would be trivial to explain away. if Bungie wanted to say that all the events of Marathon took place in the Forerunner era, they could, without contradicting anything really

  • 02.11.2011 7:00 PM PDT
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Posted by: Traxus 04
one of the bungie guys did say in an interview that he 'wouldn't rule out all possibility of there being a connection between Halo and Marathon'. it's just that Halo doesn't fit into the same timeline as Marathon, ie. the humans who launched Marathon cannot be the same that colonized Reach etc. ... which you might have thought just after Halo CE when there still wasn't much information available

obviously it's a bit strange that two separate human empires would be using similar calanders, but that would be trivial to explain away. if Bungie wanted to say that all the events of Marathon took place in the Forerunner era, they could, without contradicting anything really

Of course there are many connections to Halo. Many elements from Marathon's story and gameplay were put into Halo, such as the Rocket Launcher, the AIs, and even some of the story. Terminals were used in Marathon to communicate with the AI, which is what you use in Halo 3 to learn more about the back story.

These are the type of connections they are referring to. Bungie has stated they are not part of the same universe.

  • 02.11.2011 7:36 PM PDT

that's obviously not the type of connection he was referring to. when that question was asked, people already knew about the SPNKR rockets and Mjolnir armour and borrowed logos etc.; he wouldn't refer to those things as 'the possibility of a connection'

Possibility of a connection between Marathon and Halo universes means that events in one could affect the other

even if they didn't opt for this original human empire option, they could still use the possibility of the marathon universe ending, durandal surviving, and then the halo universe being born subsequently (ie. according to the infinite big bangs theory). btw do you actually have a quote for bungie saying they're not the same universe in any way? people keep saying that but they never actually provide the quote

  • 02.11.2011 8:41 PM PDT
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Even if those weren't the connections he was referring to Marathon's ending takes place at the ending of the Universe, nothing no one can stop or survive (except for the Security Officer who manages to escape reality) so therefore Halo can't take place after.

Unfortunately I don't have the source as it was stated around 9 years ago. Alex Seropian, one of the guys who worked on Marathon and also worked on Halo CE, said in an interview around 2002 that Marathon and Halo do not take place in the same Universe. This was shortly after he left Bungie.

  • 02.11.2011 10:45 PM PDT