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This topic has moved here: Poll [13 votes]: Possible correlation between Halo and Marathon?
  • Poll [13 votes]: Possible correlation between Halo and Marathon?
Subject: Possible correlation between Halo and Marathon?

Poll: Possible correlation between Halo and Marathon?  [closed]
I'd love to see that done! Marathon kicks ass.:  15%
(2 Votes)
I disagree.:  46%
(6 Votes)
Possibly.:  0%
(0 Votes)
I like turtles.:  15%
(2 Votes)
MARATHON!!!:  23%
(3 Votes)
Total Votes: 13

Ok, I know there's been a great deal of speculation as to whether or not Halo will eventually correlate into Marathon. Though the head of Bungie said they couldn't be in the same universe, there is still a great deal of clues to suggest otherwise, including the Vidmaster alluding to a serious connection yet to be revealed. The weapons are very similar. the enemies are very similar. Marathon and Halo center their respective heroes around AI, both of which go rampent. Not to mention the Marathon symbol appears on many things in the Halo games, the Pillar of Autumn is virtually the same ship as the UESC Marathon and is named a "Marathon Class Cruiser." The main character in Marathon is described as being a super soldier in green, vaccum enabled, shielded armor. Marathon focuses on the mystery of an Ancient alien race predating Man (Forerunners). Marathon's security officer is also brought out of cryogenic freezing at the beginning of his story. Perhaps their not in the same universe because Chief hasn't been pulled in yet, or found his way there. At this point I think the story could go anywhere. We're promised a whole new trilogy of Master Chief games. The storylines are less than 200 years apart and we know that's a blink for the Chief given his multiple refreezings. Why else would they let John drift through space unaccounted for? The one thing I know for sure is we should take anything Bungie says with a few grains of salt. Especially since the initial Bungie team (the creators of Marathon) is now fronting 343. Would you want them to be the same?

  • 12.14.2011 11:56 PM PDT
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5 people at 343 were with Bungie previously.

  • 12.15.2011 1:18 AM PDT

"That's about all that can be said for plots, which anyway are just one thing after another, a what and a what and a what.

Now try how and why."

From an older thread:

Until bungie explicitly states that Marathon and Halo are directly related, the only connection that exists is a large collection of easter eggs and references. Also, if any one tells you that the master chief is the security officer from marathon, they have been proven wrong by simple dates.

John was born in 2511, the marathon was launched in 2472 and arrived in 2773. This means that John would have had to have been born on the Marathon to even meet the Security officer.

John was 41 at the time of halo, even if Recon 54 had been born just as the marathon was departing he would have been 80 years old, which would ignore the fact that 2194 was the date of the creation of most battleroids, which means that if the SO were 24 at the time, the SO would be 382 years old at the time of halo.

To be clear: Recon 54, the security officer, is at the very least 317 years older than John.


Also, the Pillar of Autumn is nothing like the Marathon. Marathon is literally the Martian moon Deimos transformed into a giant ship.

Going off of what you've told me about the connections, I'm not sure how much of Marathon you've actually played.

Though, I will say that some of the thematic similarities go deeper than the symbols, though not in the way most people seem to think.

[Edited on 12.15.2011 1:42 AM PST]

  • 12.15.2011 1:38 AM PDT

Twelve Large ²

An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.

i feel this effort is lacking emotional support, though.

p.s. funny u should post this. i was just thinking about unicorns.. crazy

  • 12.15.2011 1:51 AM PDT

PEANUT-BUTTER SLAP!

A basic understanding of Marathon's story would tell you they're not connected. Senselessly doubting Bungie's denial on the matter doesn't help your case, either
Posted by: Spock Unicorn
the initial Bungie team (the creators of Marathon) is now fronting 343.
The people who went to 343 weren't even at Bungie long enough to work on Halo CE, let alone Marathon.

  • 12.15.2011 2:13 AM PDT

The share similar stories, similar characters, and similar canonical universes.

But they are not canonically related.

Even though these are just similarities, it does feel like the base storyline of the Marathon games could easily replace or be added to pieces of the Halo canon.

With a few tweaks, Marathon Durandal could easily be a continuation of the Chief's story following the events of Halo 3.

  • 12.15.2011 2:36 AM PDT

Posted by: Spock Unicorn
Marathon focuses on the mystery of an Ancient alien race predating Man (Forerunners).
The Jjaro aren't the focus of Marathon until Marathon Infinity.

Marathon's security officer is also brought out of cryogenic freezing at the beginning of his story. The SO did not begin Marathon 1 in any form of suspended animation. He did spend the time between Marathon 1 and 2 in a Pfhor stasis pod, but that technology may not be cryogenic.

The storylines are less than 200 years apart and we know that's a blink for the Chief given his multiple refreezings. While the dates are similar, the timelines are not the same. Irreconcilable technological contradictions disprove any direct connections between the two universes.

The one thing I know for sure is we should take anything Bungie says with a few grains of salt. Just because Halo's story is a meandering miasma of contradictions and retcons doesn't mean Marathon's is as well. Marathon's story may be complicated and confusing, but it does not contradict itself.

All fans of Marathon and Halo go through a stage where they try to fit the two universes together. However a detailed look into both universes reveals contradictions between the two that cannot be reconciled. This means that all similarities between Marathon and Halo, while numerous and easy to spot, are nothing more than easter eggs and references. The do not constitute a direct connection between the two stories.

  • 12.15.2011 4:17 AM PDT
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  • Exalted Legendary Member

As has been stated, they are not of any kind of shared universe. It's possible and maybe even likely that in the early development of the first Halo game there was intended to be connections. I think that's where a lot of the speculation comes from (aside from the usual easter eggs referencing their past games that Bungie likes to leave) Some of those initial plans to have the series related may have even made it into the final game of Halo CE, but any possibility of connecting the series together was quickly canned, and if anything DID actually make it into that first game that was intended to tie the two series together it has long since been repurposed and retconned into it's own meaning within the Halo universe.

[Edited on 12.15.2011 3:29 PM PST]

  • 12.15.2011 12:08 PM PDT

@accordingto343

Your one stop shop for all of 343's fabulous errors and ridiculous notions in the Halo lore.

Simple answer: No, they aren't connected.

  • 12.15.2011 1:37 PM PDT