Halo: Escalation

Halo: Escalation
Attribution information
Author(s):	Christopher Schlerf, Brian Reed & Duffy Boudreau (writers); ; Sergio Ariño, Ricardo Sanchez Arreola & Douglas Franchin (pencillers); ; Juan Castro & Rob Lean (inkers); ; Michael Atiyeh (colorist); ; Anthony Palumbo, Kenneth Scott, Nicolas Bouvier, Daniel Chavez & Jean-Sébastien Rossbach (cover artists);
Publication information
Publisher:	Dark Horse Comics
Publication date:	Issue #1: December 11, 2013; Issue #2: January 8, 2014; Issue #3: February 26, 2014; Issue #4: March 26, 2014; Issue #5: April 23, 2014; Issue #6: May 28, 2014; Issue #7: June 25, 2014; Issue #8: July 23, 2014; Issue #9: August 27, 2014; Issue #10: September 24, 2014; Issue #11: October 22, 2014; Issue #12: November 26, 2014; Issue #13: December 24, 2014; Issue #14: January 28, 2015; Issue #15: February 25, 2015; Issue #16: March 25, 2015; Issue #17: April 22, 2015; Issue #18: May 27, 2015; Volume #1: October 8, 2014; Volume #2: April 21, 2015;

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Halo: Escalation is an ongoing comic book series produced by Dark Horse Comics.^[1] It focuses on "how the events of Halo 4 have helped define the destiny not only of the Chief but of the galaxy as a whole".^[2] The series is told in multiple arcs set between Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians. The majority of issues focus on the crew of the flagship Template:UNSCship shortly after the events of Spartan Ops, particularly during their encounters with remnants of the Covenant and the resurgent Insurrection. However, the third story arc ("The Next 72 Hours") instead acts as an epilogue to Halo 4 and takes place six months before the greater part of the series.

Halo: Escalation was originally marketed as a limited-run series consisting of 12 issues;^[3] however, several more issues have since been announced. A paperback edition of Halo: Escalation - Volume 1 (collecting Issues #1-6) was released on October 8, 2014.^[4] Halo: Escalation - Volume 2 (collecting Issues #7-12) is due out on April 21, 2015. ^[5]

Plot synopsis

Issues 1 to 3 focus on UNSC Infinity's mission to provide security for the Sangheili-Jiralhanae peace delegation on Ealen IV and their struggle for survival after Covenant forces under the command of Vata 'Gajat attack the conference. In Issues 4 to 6, the Infinity crew track down the spy in the UNSC's ranks who leaked the location of the negotiations to the Covenant and face down the New Colonial Alliance and Captain Daniel Clayton, the true mastermind behind the attack. Issue 7 focuses on Spartan Gabriel Thorne's trip to the reopened New Phoenix to receive closure for his grandmother's death in the Didact's attack on the city. Issues 8, 9 and 10 form a story arc called "The Next 72 Hours" which details Spartan John-117's fate immediately after the events of Halo 4. Issues 11 and 12 comprise a story arc called "Exposure" in which Spartans Ray and Thorne are deployed on a mission to uncover the secrets of a mysterious biological weapon. The next four issues form another story arc, "Spartan Ops: The Janus Key",^[6] that returns to the principal plot threads of Spartan Ops, continuing the ongoing conflict between Infinity and Jul 'Mdama's forces and their struggle for control of the Janus Key.^[7] Issues 17 and 18 comprise a story arc called "The Glass Horizon", which tells the mysterious origin of a SPARTAN-IV.^[8]

Issues

Issue 1

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Issue 2

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Issue 3

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Issue 4

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Issue 5

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Issue 6

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Issue 7

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Issue 8 - "The Next 72 Hours, Part 1"

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Issue 9 - "The Next 72 Hours, Part 2"

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Issue 10 - "The Next 72 Hours, Part 3"

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Issue 11 - "Exposure, Part 1"

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Issue 12 - "Exposure, Part 2"

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Issue 13

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Issue 14

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Issue 15

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Issue 16

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Issue 17 - "The Glass Horizon, Part 1"

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Issue 18 - "The Glass Horizon, Part 2"

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Appearances

Characters

Major Characters

Minor Characters

049 Abject Testament (Mentioned only)
859 Static Carillon (First appearance)
Andrew Del Rio (Mentioned only)
Anthony Madsen
Ayres (grandfather) (First appearance)
Ayres (grandmother) (First appearance)
Bradley (First appearance)
Carlo Hoya
Cortana
Dellert (First appearance)
Dunn (First appearance)
Fred-104
Gomez (First appearance)
Henry Glassman
Hogan (First appearance)
Hong (First appearance)
Horatio Temkin (First mentioned)
Jacob Keyes
James
James Cutter
Jared Miller
Jespersen (First appearance)
Joel Thomas
Jones (First appearance)
Kelly-087
Kig-Yar Pirate Queen (First appearance)
'Lordan (First appearance)
Librarian
Linda-058
Lydus (First appearance)
Margaret-053
Mary Cutter (Mentioned only)
Mattius Drake (Mentioned only)
Newman (First appearance)
Nicolas Strauss
Otto-031
Paul DeMarco
Petra Janecek
Roland
Roma-143
Ruth Charet (First appearance)
Ryder
Sali 'Nyon (First appearance)
Serin Osman
Tedra Grant
TJ Murphy
Tek (First appearance)
Thel 'Vadam
To (First appearance)
Unidentified Sangheili Storm (First appearance)
Vata 'Gajat (First appearance)
Victor-101
Vladimir Scruggs
Zef 'Trahl (First appearance)

Species

Weapons

Equipment and Technology

Activation index
Active camouflage
- Type-3 active camouflage
Artificial intelligence
- Avatar
- Promethean Crawler
- Promethean Knight
- Promethean Watcher
- Monitor
Binoculars
Combat simulation deck
Composer
Covenant communication node
Covenant spy probe
Cryonics
- Cryo chamber
Data pad
Deployable lookout tower
Durance
- Didact's Gift
Forerunner personal armor
- Combat skin
Gravity lift
Hardlight
- Z-90 hardlight shield
Helmet recorder
Holography
- Holo-still
- Holotank
Installation control room core
Janus Key
Jiralhanae power armor
- Captain Major variant
- Chieftain variant
- Minor variant
Kig-Yar combat harness
- Minor variant
- Sniper variant
- Storm variant
Kig-Yar point defense gauntlet
Kig-Yar targeting headgear
MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor
- MJOLNIR [GEN1]
  - Black
  - Mark VI (Modified variant)
  - Linda-058's custom variant
  - Centurion variant
- MJOLNIR [GEN2]
  - Commando variant
  - EVA variant
  - FOTUS variant (Forearms only)^[9]
  - HAZOP variant
  - Infiltrator variant
  - Operator variant
  - Pathfinder variant
  - Recon variant
  - Recruit variant
  - Scout variant
  - Soldier variant
  - War Master variant
Methane tank
Pinch fusion reactor
Plasma battery
Retinal scanner
Requiem slipspace artifacts (Mentioned only)
Sangheili combat harness
- Arbiter body armor
- Ascetic variant
- Assault variant
- Commander variant
- Minor variant
- Ranger variant
- Storm variant
- Warrior variant
- Zealot variant
Skirmisher combat harness
- Champion variant
Shock device (First appearance)
Slipspace portal
Spy drone (First appearance)
Unggoy combat harness
- Heavy variant
- Imperial variant
- Major variant
- Minor variant
- Storm variant
UNSC Army Battle Dress Uniform
UNSC Navy uniforms
- UNSC Navy Service Uniform
UNSC tactical eyepiece

Production notes

Though the series primarily uses Halo 4's designs for the Covenant species and their equipment, the Halo 3 and Halo: Reach incarnations of certain elements appear occasionally throughout the series. Most notably, Lydus resembles the Brutes seen in Halo: Reach, yet his bodyguards are clearly drawn in their Halo 3 likeness. Curiously, despite his recognizable classic appearance, Escalation depicts the Arbiter much like the Sangheili in Halo 4 with regard to his skin tone and mouth structure. Vata Gajat's combat harness is based on a piece of concept art for Halo 4, exploring the possibility that hard light technology could be incorporated into Sangheili armor.^[10]
Throughout the first three issues Banshees are depicted in their unpiloted stance even though they are flying. Similarly, in Issue 1 they are shown firing thin beams at DS-004, rather than the bolts that they canonically fire. This is similar to the Halo: Combat Evolved box art and very well may be a deliberate homage.