** Some Spoilers! **
Spartan 1s have always been an aspect of Halo fiction that causes alot of confusion between players and readers, mostly because of the fact that they are constantly “Accepted” or “Denied” by several members of the community. Now finally 343i has, in a Waypoint video a few months ago, and through a leaked action figure image discovered more recently. Deemed Spartan I’s Canon. But I have a bit of a problem with this.
The commonly named “Spartan Is” received their name from a non-canon Advertising website for Halo 2 called ‘I Love Bees’. Renditions of Spartan Is on this website were capable of having children called ‘Spartan I.Is’ and grew some odd physical deformities. But were never released as a special unit as Spartan IIs were, rather they were let go, and some were allowed to volunteer to continue military service. Rumors being one of these ‘Spartans’ was Sgt. Johnson.
A little while later, some actual Canon on an “Orion Project” rose, it was discovered that this was a Canon version of the ‘Spartan I Project’ brought up on the I Love Bees page, however the Orion Project was simply a test of a few chemicals to eventually be used in the augmentation of Spartan IIs. And at no time were Spartan Is, or Spartan I.Is ever used as a term. The test subjects were simply “Orion Candidates”, and no record children from these candidates was made. Sgt. Johnson was confirmed as an Orion Candidate.
Spartan I’s, and Orion were not mentioned again in detail until Halsey’s Journal, which referenced the Orion Project (but never making mention of an existing Spartan I). And what later killed the idea of the Spartan I for me was when upwards of a decade AFTER the Orion project, during development of the Spartan II project, Halsey CHOSE what to name her children. The name Spartan was never chosen for a UNSC project existing before Spartan IIs, she picked the name specifically for them, to relate them to the ancient Spartans of Sparta, Greece.
Now it is Canonically possible that at some point during, or after the Spartan II project, the name Spartan I became sort of a nickname for Orion Candidates, but it’s unlikely considering the very small handfull of people who even know the project existed, or how it related to the Spartan IIs.
So I’m forced to ask. SHOULD 343i actually make Canon out of the name Spartan I? I find it just makes too little sense, they were never a unit on the forefront, Spartan IIs are specifically meant to represent the second Spartans, first being those of Sparta, and no actual Canon before 343i produced the Spartan I video actually made real reference to them being called by this name.
It’s just something I’m not fond of. We already have Spartans of Sparta, and Spartan IIs, IIIs, and IVs. It just seems like removing a little bit of what was previously depth of story, and replacing it with “sounding cool”.