I’m sure everyone here knows how 343 is building up to Halo 4 with thing like the Forerunner Saga and Halo Glasslands but it seems that they were doing so with a number of other things and we never realized it, well at least, I never realized it. Frank O’Connor has mentioned before that they were tying things together and planting seeds for a while but I never realized the extent to which they may have been doing so.
Back in 2009 we saw the Helljumper comic series. Humanity had been excavating a Forerunner construct on the planet Ariel but had yet to gain access to the interior. Two ODSTs, Romeo and Dutch, managed to gain access during a Covenant attack on the planet. Within the facility they found what the Covenant were looking for, a Forerunner ancilla called “The Knowing”. The purpose of this AI was to collect information. The Covenant wanted to use it to find Halo but Romeo and Dutch destroyed it before they could get their hands on it.
The appearance of such Forerunner technology could have an important impact on the reclaimer trilogy. We know from the UNSC Infinity the the humans are experimenting with advanced technology found at sites like Ariel. There’s also the importance of The Knowing. How many other AIs like this are out there? How much have they learnt? Is it possible that they could be found before Halo 4? If humanity, the Elites or the remainder of the Covenant found a Knowing type AI it may be able to tell them where the remaining Halos are, where the Shield Worlds are and most importantly, it could tell them about the planet that the Master Chief is heading towards. These are all possibilities.
In Blood Lines we find out about the Line Installations. Forerunner defense systems capable of shooting ships out of slipspace. The installation in the comic (Line Installation 1-4) had a monitor and a number of sentinels. At the end of the story, Black Team managed to destroy the Monitor with the installation’s main gun, simultaneously bringing an entire Covenant fleet crashing down. Team Black then went out to fight the survivors so as to commandeer a functional Slipspace drive to get off the moon.
Black Team’s fate is unknown but there re several possibilities. Black Team could have successfully commandeered a ship and made it back home, they could be stranded or they could have been killed. If they did make it back to UNSC territory they would have given them not only a Covenant ship to study but also a treasure trove of Forerunner technology and weaponry to study. It’s possible that if they made it back, they could play some part in the upcoming trilogy.
Now lets look at the Fall of Reach comics. While based on the book and said to be released to tie to the game. There are still a few issues left to release and they’ll obviously lead up to CEA. The comics will give some insight to John’s past and personality for those who aren’t already familiar. Those aspects of the Chief are said to play an important part in the story of Halo 4.
Halo Legends has a few different things that may be of some importance. The Package gave us a glimpse at John’s relationships with his fellow Spartans and Halsey. The armor that John wears does bear a slight similarity to the armor from the Halo 4 trailer. Perhaps 343 were trying to get us used to the appearance, though that is admittedly pretty unlikely. The Duel gave us a look at some of the Covenant and Elite’s past. This could play an important role in Glasslands and the Sanghelli society. Now we get to what are likely the most important Legends videos; The Babysitter and Origins. The Babysitter’s story likely wont play a part in the Reclaimer trilogy but the presence of ancient ruins, likely built by the humans seems to have lead to the reveal of the ancient human civilization that fought the Forerunners and the Flood. A perfect example of 343 planting seeds for the future. Origins also helped set up Cryptum with the appearance of the Forerunners. It will likely play a large part in the Reclaimer trilogy, especially when it comes to Cortana’s state of mind (shown to be deteriorating in Origins) and the many different Flood forms that I believe could make an appearance.
Evolutions is extremely important to the future of Halo. Headhunters gives us the possibility of Spartan IIIs making some sort of appearance as well as the Spec Ops Elites featured in the story. It’s possible that the reason they animated this story was to give us a glimpse at the new type of Spec Ops Elites. Mona Lisa shows a ship that had taken Elites as prisoners and become overrun by the Flood. How many other ships had a similar purpose? The consequences for the UNSC taking such prisoners could be an important point in later books or games. The book also shows ONI’s interest in studying the Flood. Like Origins, it shows a number of flood forms that could appear in the Reclaimer trilogy. Palace Hotel shows some of the Chief’s past and personalit, both important for Halo 4. Human Weakness described Cortana’s state of mind while in the clutches of the Gravemind, it gave an insight of what the process of Rampancy may be like and will play a very important part in Cortana’s future. Similarly, the poem Connectivity was about the bond between John and Cortana and mentioned their continuing journey. Soma the Painter may resonate in the story of the Reclaimer Trilogy, as could From the Office of Dr. Iqbal, specifically in regards to the Flood and the human’s study of Forerunner technology. The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston Cole ends with a suggestion that humanity should find and persuade Cole to fight for humanity once again. If they are successful then he could make an appearance in future titles, if they are searching they might find something of interest in terms of Forerunner technology or even the Master Chief (thought that would be a highly unlikely result). The Return animation showed the discovery of a monitor on Kholo. It’s possible that it could give both the UNSC and the Shipmaster featured in the story important information that could help them find the planet shown in the Halo 4 trailer. It is important to note that the story takes place 6 years after the war and will likely have an impact on future stories. The appearance of Kig’Yar could also be of importance.
