Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp

Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp is the first story arc in Halo: Fall of Reach, an ongoing series of a comic-book adaptation of the first Halo novel, The Fall of Reach. This series is published by Marvel Comics in conjunction with 343 Industries, and is written by Brian Reed with art by Felix Ruiz. Consisting of four issues, Boot Camp chronicles the childhood of future SPARTAN-II commander John-117 as he is kidnapped and thrown into the elite supersoldier program early on in the 26th century. The story arc culminates in the Spartans' first real mission, an operation to capture the rebel Colonel Robert Watts at Eridanus Secundus.

The first issue in the Boot Camp series was released on September 15, 2010, a day after Halo: Reach, with the second issue being released on October 20. A hardcover collection is set to be released on March 30, 2011.

Boot Camp will be succeeded by two additional story arcs which cover the rest of the novel's story; Covenant and Invasion.

Official statement

"This September, Marvel and 343 Industries are proud to announce Halo: Fall of Reach “Boot Camp #1,” the graphic fiction event answering the question on the minds of gamers around the world—what’s the secret on the planet of Reach that led to the creation of the Master Chief? Fan-favorite writer Brian Reed and artist Felix Ruiz team-up to adapt the New York Times best-selling novel, Halo: Fall of Reach, and bring the world of Halo to life like you’ve never seen it before!"

— Marvel and 343 Industries

Plot synopsis

The series follows the plot of the novel, though some events have been omitted. In turn, a new subplot which further explores the Eridanus rebels and their leader, Colonel Robert Watts, has been added.

Issue #1

The first issue opens with the battle over Eridanus II during Operation: TREBUCHET in 2513 and the rebels' escape from the planet. The story then jumps four years forward, as the shuttle Han arrives in the Eridanus system with Dr. Catherine Halsey and Lt. Jacob Keyes onboard. In Elysium City on Eridanus II, they observe the boy who will later become John-117. A month later, the Spartan conscripts, having each been kidnapped and brought to Reach, are rounded up as Halsey tells them of their conscription to the SPARTAN-II project. Later, Halsey is seen drinking in her apartment, when she receives a message from Vice Admiral Ysionris Jeromi, regarding the risks involved in the planned SPARTAN-II augmentation procedures.

Issue #2

The second issue focuses on the training of the SPARTAN-IIs. John and the other recruits are woken up and are put through various exercises by CPO Franklin Mendez. Afterward, they are taught of the Battle of Thermopylae by Déjà in the Reach Naval Academy. A UNSC transport vessel is then shown exiting slipspace and soon being boarded by rebels near Eridanus II. The narrative then returns to the Spartan trainees, who are dropped into the Military Wilderness Training Preserve on Reach and are given a mission to find a way to the extraction point, each on their own. The Spartans team up, and with John on the lead, seize a dropship and use it to return to the base. After the incident, John is promoted squad leader by Chief Mendez.

Issue #3

Issue #3 begins with the funeral ceremony for those who died in the SPARTAN-II augmentations, aboard the UNSC carrier Atlas. Several months later, Halsey and Mendez arrive at one of Reach's abandoned titanium mines where the Spartans are training against UNSC personnel wearing Mark I Prototype Exoskeletons. Soon after, the Spartans are assigned to their first real mission: to capture Colonel Robert Watts, who is hiding somewhere in the Eridanus asteroid belt. After being briefed onboard the UNSC Pioneer, the Spartans sneak aboard the freighter Laden and manage to get inside the rebel-controlled asteroid habitat, Eridanus Secundus. The issue ends as the Spartans assault Watts' private residence inside the base.

Issue #4

The fourth issue opens with Blue Team capturing Colonel Watts and stuffing him into a sealed storage crate. The Spartans then rappel down the building and escape via a tram as more insurrectionists arrive. The team arrives at the station's docking bay, where they split up, with Samuel-034 planting explosives on the main door and Linda-058 covering the rest of the team as Kelly, John and Fred get Watts onboard a Pelican. Once everyone is aboard, Sam blows the doors open and the Spartans escape Eridanus Secundus just as the entire hangar bay is depressurized.

Several weeks later, the Spartans gather inside the secure briefing room of Reach's UNSC military complex. Vice Admiral Stanforth arrives to brief them on a new threat; a remote farming world known as Harvest has been reduced to ash by an alien hegemony that calls itself the Covenant. The issue ends with a message by the Prophet of Regret, proclaiming humanity's destruction.

Appearances

Characters Amtower (First appearance) Catherine Halsey Déjà‎ Franklin Mendez Jacob Keyes John-117 Kelly-087 Linda-058 McNally (First appearance) Prophet of Regret Robert Watts Samuel-034 Unidentified captain (UNSC Dartmouth) (First appearance) Welke (First appearance) Ysionris Jeromi Locations Epsilon Eridani System Reach Csodaszarvas Turul Highland Mountains Military Wilderness Training Preserve Longhorn Valley Big Horn River ONI Medical Facility Reach Military Complex Reach Naval Academy Eridanus System Eridanus II Elysium City Elysium City Primary Education Facility Number 119 Eridanus Secundus Lambda Serpentis System Greece Sparta (Mentioned only) Events Assault on Eridanus Secundus Battle of Thermopylae Operation: TREBUCHET SPARTAN-II augmentation procedures Organizations Insurrectionists Eridanus rebels United Nations Space Command UNSC Navy Naval Special Warfare Command SPARTAN-II Program Office of Naval Intelligence

Vehicles Albatross D77-TC Pelican Gateway Halcyon-class cruiser Diplomatic shuttle Han Parabola-class freighter Laden M12 Force Application Vehicle M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle Marathon-class cruiser Orbital Defense Platform Pod Tractor unit UNSC carrier UNSC Atlas UNSC Dartmouth (First appearance) UNSC destroyer UNSC Pioneer UNSC frigate Iliad UNSC Journeyman (Mentioned only) UNSC shield generator ship Weapons Combat knife Heavy Machine Gun-38 Humbler stun device MA2B Assault Rifle M45 Tactical Shotgun M90 Close Assault Weapon System Sniper Rifle System 99C-S2 Anti-Matériel Technology Artificial intelligence Avatar Black body suit Data pad Holography Holotank MagLev train MJOLNIR Mark I prototype exoskeleton MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV Vacuum suit Other Quarter Titanium (Mentioned only) UNSC Navy uniforms

Trivia

• The shadow of John-117 in a MJOLNIR Mark VI armor seen on Issue 1's cover seems to be roughly based off of a screenshot of Halo 3 released by Bungie.
• In Issue 4, Linda-058's bodysuit is incorrectly labeled with the tag 059.
• In the comic, the population of Harvest is said to be three million, despite Halo: Contact Harvest listing the said population as a mere 300,000. This discrepancy was likely carried over into the comic from the original novel.
• In the series, John-117's face is fully shown only as a child. In scenes which depict him as an adolescent, his face is mostly obscured, most often by shadows or view angles. In the funeral ceremony after the SPARTAN-II augmentations in Issue #3, most of his face is covered by bandages.
• In the second issue, the captain of the Template:UNSCship retrieves several shotguns from a cryo chamber. In the first two panels, the shotguns appear to be M45s, though they resemble M90s in subsequent panels.

Sources

Preceded by None

Halo: Fall of Reach comic series Boot Camp

Succeeded by Covenant