As well all know, a few weeks prior to release people began to wonder if Corporal Palmer (Halo Evolutions: Palace Hotel) and Commander Sarah Palmer (Halo 4, Spartan IV) are the same person.
Eventually, I think most people dismissed that there was no connection between the characters. Unless 343i has confirmed they are not one and the same, I figured I’d share some of my thoughts on the possibility of the theory since I have recently reread Palace Hotel:
EVIDENCE: Rank.
-Cpl. Palmer was already heading a squad back during the First Battle of Earth. A lot can change in four or so years. Especially if you consider that her squad not only died but partook in taking out one of the Scarabs, and we can presume she continued distinguished service, possibly fueled by her encounter with Master Chief in Mombasa.
EVIDENCE: Height.
-Sarah Palmer is, of course, tall. Especially with MJOLNIR armor. In Palace Hotel, Corporal Palmer is also described as tall.
DISPPROVER: Palmer is unimpressed by Chief’s height when meeting in Halo 4.
-Well, that is true. However, let’s put two and two together: It would have been years since Cpl. Palmer had last seen Chief, and that was amidst a hectic firefight situation where she was quite vulnerable. Add to that, she didn’t have her own kit of MJOLNIR armor as a marine. Seeing Chief again, all those years later (assuming it is the same Palmer) and this time wearing her own MJOLNIR armor, she might have foggy memory between the goliath she met in New Mombasa and this new, apparantly shorter Chief now that she is in her own MJOLNIR.
EVIDENCE: Attitude.
-Cpl. Palmer seems quite similar to Sarah Palmer as far as behaviour goes. For those of you who have read Palace Hotel, you might get my angle here- Cpl. Palmer isn’t in near as commanding a position as she is in Halo 4’s timeline- so of course she wouldn’t seem quite as confident overall. Still, that mouthiness is there.
EVIDENCE: A possible foreshadowing in Evolutions, concerning Sarah Palmer as a future Spartan?
-Here’s an interesting quote I picked out from the short story that just SCREAMED to me, “foreshadowing at Palmer being a Spartan IV!” now that we know about the S-IVs and who this Commander Palmer is. This quote is soon after three of Cpl. Palmer’s marines died from a wraith blast. read and reflect:
“Okay.” Palmer nodded. “So you gonna follow this pipe all the way out to the Mombasa Quays?”
“No. I’m going to make sure the rest of you make it out of here alive.”
“Gosh! That’s awfully nice of you,” Palmer mugged- then the smile faded. “Look, you may be a Spartan, but…”
<mark>“Exactly, Corporal. And if we had all been Spartans back there none of us would have died. Now let me do my job.”</mark>
This last quote seemed, to me, one of the most overlooked yet intriguing factors.
So, all that remains to be said is:
-Wishful thinking?
or
-Evidence that Cpl and Cmnd. Palmer are one and the same?
