Chips Dubbo

"Chips Dubbo"

- Avery J. Johnson

Private First Class Chips Dubbo is a UNSC Marine. He has fought through several battles and returned alive from two discovered Halo installations, and has fought alongside John-117 numerous times. He is characterized by his distinctive Australian accent, unmistakable smart remarks and laid-back attitude.

Battle of Installation 04
Following the Fall of Reach in 2552, Chips Dubbo was stationed on the. Dubbo, possibly separated from his squad, met John-117 on the Pillar of Autumn as Covenant forces poured into the ship. Noticing the Spartan was unarmed, he escorted the Chief to the bridge. He survived the destruction of the Autumn, along with most of the other Marines, via an escape pod. Dubbo met the Master Chief on Halo again when his squad was under attack by Covenant forces. The Chief defended his squad until the Pelican Echo 419 came to evacuate the Marines. He later took part in a rescue mission on the Truth and Reconciliation. Although he was with the original strike team, who were all killed, he can be heard in the Covenant dropship, complimenting Captain Keyes' killing of two Covenant Hunters. Later he accompanied Captain Jacob Keyes when he took two squads to locate the "weapons cache" that the captured Sangheili 'Qualomee had told them about. The cache was found to be the Flood containment facility and Dubbo and his team, along with the remnants of Corporal Lovik's Second Squad, escaped the facility. They then rendezvoused with the Master Chief and were extracted by Echo 419. It is unknown how Dubbo escaped from Installation 04 when it was destroyed by John-117, though it is possible that he escaped along with Sergeant Stacker.

Battle of Mombasa
During the Battle of Earth, Dubbo was deployed to Mombasa along with other Marines from the and participated in the Battle of Mombasa. After their Pelican crashed into Old Mombasa, Dubbo and several other Marines fought their way through the streets alongside John-117, eventually making it to the industrial zone of New Mombasa. Later, he managed to board the UNSC In Amber Clad in time to escape the Slipspace explosion caused by the Prophet of Regret's assault carrier Solemn Penance.

Dubbo was also present in New Mombasa after the explosion, pinned down by Brute fire, where he met up with Edward Buck to clear the area.

Battle of Installation 05
Arriving at Installation 05 onboard the UNSC In Amber Clad, Dubbo was dropped onto Installation 05 as part of the 7th ODST Battalion. He accompanied the Master Chief, Gunnery Sergeant Stacker and several other Marines as the Spartan made his way through Covenant-held ruins on his way to the Prophet of Regret's temple. He later fought alongside John-117 at various points during the engagement, including the Battle of High Charity. Despite the Covenant city's doomed fate, Dubbo once again escaped and returned to Earth.

Battle of Earth
Dubbo later partook in the late stages of the Battle of Earth. Stationed in the UNSC base Crow's Nest, Dubbo was at one point put on duty as the base's COM operator. After losing contact with the Pelican Echo 051, Dubbo informed Kilo 023 pilot Hocus to head to Mount Kilimanjaro for emergency evacuation, saving John-117, Avery Johnson, Thel 'Vadam and other surviving Marines. Dubbo then took part in the Battle of Voi, assisting the Chief to clear hostile forces from the Crow's Nest base's hangar, and was evacuated from the hangar after the fight. When the UNSC forces arrived at Voi, Dubbo then assisted the Chief in taking down Covenant anti-air defenses around the Forerunner artifact. After the Flood crash-landed in Voi, Dubbo helped with cleansing the area, before pulling back to the.

Battle of Installation 00
As part of the crew in the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, Dubbo traveled through the Portal to The Ark and participated in the Battle of Installation 00. After crash-landing in a desert, Dubbo met up with John-117 and together with other Marines cleared a landing zone for the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn. He then assisted John-117 in pushing to Installation 00's Cartographer by offering the Spartan a Gauss Warthog and helping take down a Scarab. During the Battle of the Citadel, Dubbo also assisted the Chief's push to one of the barrier towers. After High Charity arrived and crashed on the Ark and John-117 planned to activate Installation 04B, Dubbo evacuated the Ark with the rest of the surviving Marines and Sangheili aboard the Shadow of Intent. During the Voi Memorial on March 3, 2553, Dubbo took part in the Three Volley Salute for those fallen during the war.

Canon status
Similar to the character of Sergeant Stacker, while Dubbo does make an appearance throughout the trilogy, his canonical status remains in limbo; as he is never mentioned in any of the novels nor does any canonical source explain his fate.

There are also some inconsistencies regarding his appearances, the most prominent being the fact his character can be killed during gameplay, yet he will mysteriously show up again without any explanation. In addition, Dubbo is also seen in various parts of Halo 3: ODST, despite the fact his Halo 2 incarnation was on his way to Installation 05 at the time. The circumstances of his survival from Alpha Halo and return to Earth are also shrouded in mystery, since neither he or Stacker were aboard Polaski's Pelican or the Master Chief's Longsword which were the only known craft to escape Halo.

The most likely explanation for his status is the same used for Avery Johnson before his official inclusion into canonical sources; that he is a character not meant to be taken seriously. It is also possible there is a canonical incarnation of his character, even if most of his appearances are meant to represent other Marines in a fictional sense. Additionally, his inclusion, by name, in a quartet of achievements in the The Master Chief Collection, further lends credence to his canonicity.

Trivia

 * Dubbo is voiced by the Australian voice actor Andrew McKaige.
 * There are amusing voice out-takes for the voice actor of Dubbo, including a spoof of Crocodile Hunter called "Flood Hunter".
 * His name is only mentioned in the Halo: Combat Evolved credits and in the My Buddy Chips achievement description.
 * He is one of the most well known and recognized Marines due to his accent and smart-alec remarks.
 * "Dubbo" is the name of a city in New South Wales, Australia. "Chips Dubbo" is also a fast food company in New South Wales. Whether this is a coincidence or an intentional reference is unknown.
 * He is both one of the first and last marines seen in the trilogy, present both at the start of Pillar of Autumn, and during the 21-Gun Salute at the end of Halo 3.
 * Dubbo is always the marine who escorts the Master Chief to the bridge on the level Pillar of Autumn. However, while the scripted dialogue is always Dubbo, whenever this particular Marine is shot, sometimes he will grunt or curse with Mendoza or Bisenti's voice.
 * In the Halo: Combat Evolved data files, dialogue for Chips is in a folder named "aussie", a slang term for "Australian".
 * Dubbo's mother may have been killed by the Covenant, as when he throws a grenade he yells "This one's for my mother!".
 * It is possible to have more than one of Dubbo in combat, but this happens more often in Halo 2 when reinforcements are dropped off.
 * In Halo 2, a glitch can occur in some levels where a Marine ally's voice and accent will change to Chips Dubbo's partway through the level. This glitch is most likely to occur due to Dubbo having scripted dialogue, but Dubbo himself not being present or having been killed. This occurs most often on Delta Halo, where Dubbo has a substantial amount of pre-scripted dialogue. As a result of this, some marines in Halo 2 may have Dubbo's voice but not his character model.
 * A Halo: The Master Chief Collection Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary achievement, My Buddy Chips, requires the player to fight alongside Dubbo and listen to his "words of wisdom". A second achievement in the collection's Halo 2 Anniversary, THE Chips Dubbo?, requires the player to "fight alongside the legendary Chips Dubbo and listen to his words". A third achievement in the collection from Halo 3, entitled Can't Keep Him Down, once again tasks the player with fighting alongside and listening to Dubbo—who is referred to as "The Man. The Legend. Chips Dubbo". A Halo 3: ODST achievement, Two Places, Same Time, references the discrepancy in the canon of Chips simultaneously fighting in both New Mombassa and Installation-05. The description notes, "I've got my eye on you, marine." Finally, the achievement You're No Chips, from the Halo 4 part of the collection, refers to Dubbo's lack of appearance in the game.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Combat Evolved
 * Halo 2
 * Halo 3
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
 * Halo 2 Anniversary