Avery Johnson

"What's the matter, big shot? Can't start your own party?"

- Johnson, before the assassination of Truth.

Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson (Service Number 48789-20114-AJ ) was an energetic commander in the UNSC Marine Corps. He played a vital role in all three Halo games, providing assistance to the Chief at very opportune times. He also had a strange fascination for Flip Music.

Early Career
Avery J. Johnson was born in the industrial section of Chicago, Illinois near the Great Lakes of the former United States of America. His family broke up when he was at the age of six and he was raised by his aunt whose holy beliefs resonated within the Staff Sergeant and often made him question his own decision to kill other human beings, even long after her death. His name was associated with dozens of secret Ops, including the ORION Project, otherwise known as the SPARTAN-I Program, which he volunteered for at the age of 14 in 2491. After a brutal mission in Operation: TREBUCHET that killed all of his, and most of Staff Sergeant Byrne's, team he was reassigned to form a Colonial Militia on Harvest, in response to mysterious attacks on human freighters near the planet. While stationed at Harvest, Johnson was one of the first human beings to encounter the Covenant, the Kig-yar, destroying the ship Minor Transgression in the process. He aided Staff Sergeant Byrne and ONI operative Jilan al-Cygni in repelling the Brute ship Rapid Conversion long enough to allow most of the planet's population to escape in the Tiara, seven different Space elevators stationed on the planet. He, along with the surviving members of his militia, escaped the planet and prepared themselves for the new threat to humanity.

Paris IV/Boren's Syndrome
A query by Cortana into Johnson's medical history revealed he had a condition known as Boren's Syndrome that enabled him to resist Flood infection. This disease was gained while he was stationed at Paris IV. When the Covenant attacked Paris IV, Sergeant Johnson fought valiantly: during the battle, he captured a crate of plasma grenades when his troops needed it and used them all against the enemy troops to keep them at bay so his fellow soldiers could evacuate. He received a commendation for bravery...and a twelve-hundred-rad cumulative dose of radiation as an unanticipated "bonus" from the plasma grenades. It was later revealed that during Johnson's escape from Halo he managed to single handedly fight off the Flood and had come into contact with them. The Boren's Syndrome made him effectivley immune to the flood because the radiation changed his molecular/DNA structure. This meant that the flood infection form could not force a match between its molecular/DNA structure and his, rendering it unable to control him.

After being promoted to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant, he was assigned to Reach Station Gamma, a military station above the planet Reach. While stationed there, a massive Covenant armada arrived, beginning the Battle of Reach. During the battle, Johnson led a search and destroy team aboard the station, where they were picked up by John-117. He escaped onto the Pillar of Autumn, which fled the battle into Slipspace.

Halo
"Men, we led those dumb bugs out to the middle of nowhere to keep 'em from gettin' their filthy claws on Earth. But, we stumbled onto somethin' they're so hot for, that they're scramblin' over each other to get it. Now I don't care if it God's own anti-son-of-a-bitch machine or a giant hula-hoop; We're not going to let them have it! What we will let them have is a belly full of lead and a pool of their own blood to drown in!"

- Sergeant Johnson ('Pillar of Autumn' level on Legendary)

Coming out of Slipspace, the Pillar of Autumn came across a mysterious ring. The Covenant, too scared to damage the ring world, began boarding actions to "cleanly" neutralize the Autumn. On board, Johnson helped defend the Autumn from the invading Covenant troops, but like everyone else was forced to abandon ship when Captain Jacob Keyes issued the order. "It's a mess, Sir. We're scattered all over this valley. We called for evac, but until you showed up, I thought we were cooked."

- Sergeant Johnson, after having his fire team saved by the Master Chief

Johnson’s escape pod and his squad successfully landed on the ring with few injuries to the passengers. However, as soon as they geared up, they were viciously attacked by the Covenant strike teams. With his platoon scattered all over the valley, he was glad to see SPARTAN-117 coming up to assist. .

Johnson and Fire Team Charlie were evacuated by Echo 419, and remained at Alpha Base for some time.

Escape from the Flood
The crew intercepted a Covenant transmission detailing the transport of numerous weapons to somewhere in the swampy regions of the ring. This, as well as a captured Elite's testimony of a large weapons cache located in a swamp, prompted Captain Keyes to investigate. Johnson and his squad accompanied the captain for this mission.

Shortly after they were dropped off, the squads came across a structure leading underground. As they ventured further into the facility they came across several Elite corpses, with scrambled innards. Passing them off as friendly fire, they proceeded deeper into the facility until they entered a seemingly empty room. Annoyed with Private Mendoza’s whining, Johnson passed off the situation as sissy talk until little balloon-like creatures barged out of the nearby holding cells and attacked the squad. Nothing he had ever seen in his entire career. As each marine fell, he was one of the victims of an assimilation attempt into a Combat Form, but the mutations caused by his Boren's Syndrome stopped the process. This encounter also seems to have left him with some curious regenerative abilities. Alive and well, Johnson was forced to attack and kill his own Marines, who were mutating before his eyes into mindless monsters bent on killing him. Johnson fought his way out of the nightmare through sheer tenacity and firepower. He was presumed dead after SPARTAN-117 found a helmet recorder entry from Private Wallace Jenkins, showing the gory details of the Marines' fates, but may have been extracted from the swamp with Private Bisenti and the rest of Corporal. Loviks surviving maines by Echo 419.

Return to Earth
"Hell, Chief, it’ll take more than that pack of walking alien horror-show freaks to take out Sergeant A. J. Johnson."

- Avery J. Johnson

Johnson met up with Lieutenant Elias Haverson, Corporal Locklear, and Sheila Polaski, after escaping the destruction of the ring in a Pelican, moments before it collapsed in a series of fiery explosions.

Polaski piloted the dropship away from the ring, meeting up with a C709 ‘‘Longsword’’-class Starfighter carrying SPARTAN-117 and the AI, Cortana. Having seen Jenkins’s video himself, John was alarmed by Johnson’s appearance, and promptly pulled Johnson's own M6D Pistol and pointed it to his head. It took Cortana to convince him that the sergeant hadn’t turned into a Flood mutant. With that, SPARTAN 117 relaxed and welcomed Johnson aboard.

Ascendant Justice
"Those Covenant sissies are going to have to tango with me before they set one foot in this room."

- Avery J. Johnson

Without a viable way to return to the nearest safe outpost, it was decided that the new crew would take over the nearest Covenant ship in the vicinity: the Covenant flagship ‘‘Ascendant Justice’’. The Master Chief assumed, command although Lieutenant Haverson was the ranking officer, Johnson backed him up by helping him assert control over Locklear and Haverson. Polaski piloted the Longsword towards the ship. After they boarded, Johnson and the others made their way through the ship towards the bridge. Where he witnessed a vital showdown between SPARTAN-117 and a Sangheili, where he brought down the alien’s shields in order for Spartan-117 to win.

Johnson guarded the bridge along with Locklear, Haverson and Polaski as SPARTAN-117 took a Covenant Engineer to go do some repairs to the ship. After they came back, John revealed his secret mission to capture a Covenant prophet. Wanting to return to Reach, Johnson again backed up the Chief’s position. Also when the Chief still wanted to go after the Prophets with his new ship and mismatched crew Johnson backed him up saying if the Chief went he'd go too, but the Chief noticed his exhaustion and realized that the mission was unrealistic at the time and turned over command to Lieutenant Haverson.

Reach
"You still want to go, I got your back Chief."

- Avery J. Johnson

They arrived at Reach, which was nearly completely destroyed. Using a Covenant drop ship, they traveled to the surface of the dead planet; Johnson was becoming nervous. After they landed, they found the surviving Spartans and Dr. Catherine Halsey.

Johnson accompanied the new and growing crew as the ship moved through Slipspace. Unknown to him, Dr. Halsey and the Master Chief were reviewing his medical files. They matched Johnson’s survival with the Flood to his Boren’s Syndrome: Flood DNA was present in Johnson’s blood, but was dormant and noninfectious. Halsey also confirmed that Johnson had gained some unique regenerative abilities as a side affect from the attempted assimilation back on Halo. Halsey had prepared two separate documents for ONI Section Three to review: Halsey placed the decision of which data crystal to give to ONI in the Chief's hands. If he gave them the second crystal, ONI would have probably dissected Johnson in order to figure out how he resisted the Flood, killing the Sergeant. The Chief later decided to save Johnson's life by discarding the second crystal.
 * All relevant data on Halsey’s analysis and the possible technology to counter an initial Flood infestation.
 * The file above, as well as Jenkins’s and Johnson’s mission logs as well as Johnson’s medical files.

Operation: FIRST STRIKE
"I'm not sure what that thing is. Don't look like any 'uneven elephant' to me—more like two squid kissing."

- Avery J. Johnson

It was the Sergeant's idea to attack the Covenant ship Unyielding Hierophant, giving the Spartans ground to fight on in order to delay the Armageddon which was to arrive if the enemy ever reached Earth. Johnson continued to be of assistance when the Spartans launched Operation: FIRST STRIKE, staying behind with Cortana in the damaged UNSC Gettysburg while they charged head-on into the Covenant ship. After the operation, John-117 saved Johnson's life by destroying the data crystal which contained the information that threatened his life. SPARTAN-117 had realized that even though the extra information could have possibly helped save humanity from the flood, it was just that, a possibility. SPARTAN-117 realized that he must do everything he could to save everyone and knew he couldn't possibly let ONI kill Johnson, so he destroyed the completed data crystal. The remaining crew flew back to Earth, where the battle was only about to begin.

The First Battle of Earth
""So, Johnson, when you gonna tell me how you made it back home in one piece?"

- "unnamed Master Gunnery Sergeant"

""Sorry Guns, its classified!"

- Avery J. Johnson

""My ass! Well, you can forget about those adjustments to your A2 scope!""

- unnamed Master Gunnery Sergeant

The crew returned to Earth safely, and they were given time to rest and were debriefed on their experiences. Aboard the Cairo, Johnson was promoted to Sergeant Major and given the Colonial Cross by Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood for his actions on Halo. During the ceremony, the Covenant armada arrived at Earth, beginning the epic First Battle of Earth.

Johnson aided the defense of the Cairo along with the Chief. As the Spartan led the human forces deeper into the station, Johnson and Commander Miranda Keyes boarded the UNSC frigate In Amber Clad; there, they organized their squad of Marines. After they picked up the Chief, the ship departed towards Earth to lead a task force in the outskirts of New Mombasa.

"The message just repeats. 'Regret, Regret, Regret.'"

- Cortana

"Catchy. Any idea what it means?"

- Commander Keyes

"Dear Humanity... we regret being alien bastards. We regret coming to Earth. And we most definitely regret the Corps just blew up our raggedy-ass fleet!"

- Avery J. Johnson

"Ooh-Rah!"

- Marine Pilots

As they arrived on the surface, Cortana intercepted data that pointed towards one of the Covenant’s spiritual leaders. Johnson led the Pelicans into battle, but they were shot down by a Covenant Scarab before they got close to the ship that carried the High Prophet of Regret. Using a sniper rifle, Johnson fought alongside his new squad and his old friend in the residential district of the city, providing cover fire and serving as a lookout. As the Chief went on to find Marines from another downed Pelican, Johnson stayed back and joined the rescue units to provide cover. Viewing the Scarab as a threat to the mission, he returned to In Amber Clad to bring a Scorpion tank for the Chief to use as a front line assault against the Covenant invasion force. Together, they attacked the giant walker; Johnson provided supplemental troops to back up SPARTAN-117 in his attack.

After its destruction, Johnson picked up the Chief and brought him back into In Amber Clad, just as the massive Covenant ship took off into Slipspace. In Amber Clad followed it to Installation 05

Delta Halo
"Woah... It's like a postcard... Dear Sarge, kickin' ass in outer space, wish you were here."

- Marine ODST

"I heard that...jackass!"

- Avery J. Johnson

Coming out of Slipspace, Johnson was shocked to learn that there was another Halo in existence. Determined to find and capture the Prophet of Regret, Commander Keyes ordered SPARTAN-117 and the Sergeant to land on the ring and secure a landing zone. Johnson took two flights of Pelicans and followed SPARTAN-117 and a small detachment of Helljumpers onto the surface, providing artillery and troops to fight the Covenant stationed in the ring’s ancient temples.

During the mission, Cortana translated a message from Regret being broadcast on the Covenant network: Regret planned to activate Halo. Pulling information gathered from the previous ring visited, Keyes found the location of Delta Halo’s library housing the Index. She ordered Johnson to extract his troops and return to In Amber Clad for reassignment.

Search for the Index
"You know, your father never asked me for help either!"

- Avery J. Johnson to Commander Keyes The situation mirrored his previous experiences back on Alpha Halo: he and a group of his best Marines joined Keyes on a search for the Index. They traveled to the Library and entered. As they neared the center of the massive structure, the small pack was attacked by a large amount of Flood. They dug in and fought the creatures off, finally locating the Index. Johnson helped Miranda grab the key, but before they headed out, they were attacked by a Sangheili dressed in peculiar armor: the Arbiter. Johnson was quickly incapacitated. Johnson and Miranda Keyes were taken into custody by Tartarus, Alpha  Jiralhanae.

The Fight to Deactivate Halo
"Listen. You don't like me, and I sure as hell don't like you. But if we don't do something, Mr. Mohawk's gonna activate this ring, and we're all gonna die."

- Avery J. Johnson

The two were held in the Covenant city of High Charity. The High Prophet of Truth told Tartarus to activate the ring to initiate the Great Journey. Tartarus ordered the Jiralhanae to split Johnson, Keyes, and the captured Oracle into two different Phantoms. Each was taken down to the surface, where they were split up. Johnson joined Sergeant Banks and Sergeant Stacker for an execution. Moments before their deaths, the Arbiter and his squad burst out of the nearby structure and attacked the Jiralhanae, distracting them long enough for Johnson and his marines to board the nearby Scarab walker.

After the executioners were killed, Johnson confronted the Arbiter in his new Scarab. They both agreed that Tartarus needed to be stopped. Johnson suggested that the Arbiter commander a Banshee to provide air support. With that, they joined forces and travelled through the canyon towards the Control Room. Knowing the brute strength of the Scarab’s main weapon, Johnson fired at the heavily armored door, shattering it with ease. Arming himself with a Beam Rifle, Johnson followed the Arbiter inside.

"Come on Arbiter! Kick that guy's ass!"

- Avery J. Johnson

He arrived during a standoff between the Arbiter’s forces and Tartarus’ forces. He aimed at the Jiralhanae’s head, keeping him from forcing Keyes to insert the Index. Tartarus threw 343 Guilty Spark at Johnson, knocking him over. Quickly, he inserted the Index into the control panel, starting the firing process. The Arbiter and his squad challenged Tartarus, and Johnson provided backup, using his beam rifle to bring down the Chieftain’s shields. With his shields down, the Arbiter was able to kill the Jiralhanae, therefore allowing Miranda to grab the Index and stop Halo from firing. With the remainder of the Sangheili squad keeping the area secure, 343 Guilty Spark explained to Johnson and Keyes that the other Installations were ready to fire by remote activation. When asked where they could be fired, the Monitor told them that they could be fired from the Ark.

Rejoining the Chief
"Crazy fool. Why do you always jump? One of these days, you're gonna land on somethin' as stubborn as you are! And I don't do bits and pieces..."

- Avery J. Johnson

When the Master Chief crash-landed on Earth, he was met by Johnson, the Arbiter, and a squad of Marines. After a few minutes of hiking through the jungle, he and his squad split off from the Master Chief and the Arbiter after encountering enemy Phantoms, reasoning that they would be safer split up. Johnson and his team proceeded to continue through the woods, and arrived at the evac site several moments before the Chief. However, enemy Banshees soon discovered the awaiting Pelicans, and he was shot down, crash landing about a kilometer away. He and the surviving Marines were forced to flee pursuing Brutes as the Master Chief leaped to the rescue. At some point Johnson and his men were captured. The Sergeant and his men were beat up and imprisoned by a clan of Brutes and their Grunt allies. After being freed by the Master Chief, he grabbed a weapon and helped fend off incoming Covenant until Hocus, a Pelican pilot, could come to the rescue. Johnson was evacced along with the Master Chief, the Arbiter and the surviving Marines of the Chief's and his squad.

Defending the Base
"Go on, Chief. The Arbiter and I will guard the ops center."

- Avery J. Johnson

Johnson, the Chief and the Arbiter were brought to a UNSC base codenamed "Crows Nest", deep underground in the African jungle. There, they linked up with Commander Miranda Keyes, who briefed them on the situation. He and the Arbiter stayed behind to defend the ops center from Covenant attacks, while the Chief went off to secure the perimeter. After a lengthy battle, he was forced to fall back as Brutes overran the control room. He rendezvoused with Keyes and the Arbiter in a Pelican, and guided the Master Chief through the base to an elevator which would take him to the Pelicans. Unfortunately, the base exploded before the Chief could reach Johnson, and the Sergeant was forced to take off without him.

Battle of Voi
"The Brutes have a tight perimeter, Chief. These Warthogs should help you punch through."

- Avery J. Johnson

Sergeant Johnson and Commander Keyes fled the underground UNSC base before it exploded, and eventually managed to make contact with the Master Chief. He warned him that the Covenant had uncovered the Ark, and that the Chief had to get to it. Johnson provided air support for the Master Chief and the Marine survivors, dropping off Warthogs so the Chief and Marines could break through the Brutes' blockades. At one point, he dropped off a Mongoose ATV to assist the Master Chief in destroying a Covenant scarab. Johnson remained in a Pelican drop ship for most if not all of the Battle of Voi, dispersing armor and troops throughout the city as necessary to help push the Covenant back. The Arbiter rode shotgun with him for a good portion of the battle, being dropped off to aid the Master Chief when necessary. When the pelican made a crash-landing in Voi, Johnson probably docked on the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn along with Commander Keyes. He was present when the Master Chief retrieved Cortana and played back her message, and was one of the Marines that were sent into the Ark.

The Ark
"Shall I help you choose a vehicle, Reclaimer? This one seems in very good condition, about the standard. Primitive armor not withstanding."

- 343 Guilty Spark

"A tank's a tank, light bulb."

- Johnson

Johnson descended to the Ark with a couple of Pelicans with the Master Chief, and helped him secure a landing zone and stop the construction of an AA battery. He later brought in some tanks from the frigate, helping throughout the mission, until the location of Truth was discovered from the Map Room.

He then went on to command the second squad in taking down the third tower which was projecting the shield barrier protecting Truth in the Ark citadel. There, he and his squad were overrun and captured by overwhelming Brute forces. The fates of his Marines are not known, but they were most likely killed.

The Prophet of Truth attempted to use him to activate the Ark, but he only taunted the Brutes and took their abuse. Miranda attempted to rescue him by crashing a Pelican through a large observatory window, but was surrounded. Realizing what the Prophet of Truth wished to use them for, Miranda and Johnson agreed that she should kill them both so they could not be used. This was interrupted by the Prophet of Truth, who shot Miranda in the back with a Spiker, killing her instantly. At about this time the Master Chief, the Arbiter, and the Flood came in, overwhelmed Truth's forces, stopped the Rings from being fired, and rescued Johnson.

After this was accomplished, the Flood once again turned on the humans, and attempted to kill them. Johnson managed to escape on Miranda's Pelican, but the Arbiter and Chief could not get to it, and had to escape the hard way.

After escaping, the Master Chief went on his mission to save Cortana, and succeeded. Johnson was honored to be reunited with Cortana. He then took the Forward Unto Dawn to the Control Room.

Halo
"Don't let her go, Chief... don't ever... let her go."

- Johnson, handing Cortana over to the Chief

"Send me out... with a bang..."

- Johnson's last words

Johnson helped the Master Chief fight through waves of flood to get to the control room of the newly rebuilt Installation 04, giving cover fire for the Chief and Arbiter with a Spartan Laser. Johnson tried to activate the ring despite Guilty Spark's suggestion that they wait for it to be finished, which could take several days. Driven rampant by his own intuition that the ring "Belonged to him", Guilty Spark fired his powerful sentinel beam at Johnson, and Johnson sustained a mortal injury.

While the Master Chief fought the rogue construct, Johnson used his Laser to damage Spark, and told the Master Chief to "Kick his ass" while he handed The Chief his weapon. After Spark was destroyed, he gave the Master Chief the chip containing Cortana, and told him to "never let her go". Despite the Chief's promise that they would not leave him behind, Johnson knew that he wasn't going to make it, so told the Chief to 'send him out with a bang'. Following his wishes, the Master Chief left his body in the control room as the premature ring activated and tore itself apart. It then activated, annihilating all sentient life within its range, making the Sergeant Major's death undoubted.

The Invincible Johnson


In Halo: Combat Evolved, Johnson is expendable, just like every other Marine, but will always return in the next level. Sometimes there are two Sergeant Johnson characters aiding the Chief. This paradox can be seen in the levels Pillar of Autumn, Halo, 343 Guilty Spark and Assault on the Control Room. However, many players speculate that there are other Marine Sergeants with the Johnson model, such as in Silent Cartographer (Level) and Assault on the Control Room, where Johnson is already occupied in aiding Captain Keyes in his search for the Covenant weapons cache.

In Halo 2, Johnson is an NPC, immune from harm. There are only two known ways to kill him. First, bring the banshee inside the control room in the level The Great Journey. While he is firing at Tartarus, if you run into him with your banshee, he will do a combat roll and fall off the ledge. He respawns shortly after he falls and resumes firing.

There is also another way to kill him in the level, at Cairo Station, when you are aiding Miranda Keyes, slowly melee Johnson to your next level area, which is on the outside surface of Cairo Station, there is a ledge where he could fall off, beat him off the ledge and he will fall to his death. Though, there is no animation showing this.

Also, in Halo: Combat Evolved, if you attack crew members in the Pillar of Autumns' Bridge, a squad of invincible marines will attack you, led by Sergeant Johnson.

This oddity of the sergeant never dying has been recognized by his voice actor. In the Bungie outtakes, which can be seen on Youtube, the voice actor says "I'm not dying again! I'll only die once, d'you hear me? Hard enough coming back the first time!"

The last sequence of Halo 3 has the player fleeing the exploding spare Halo ring in a Warthog specifically identified as Johnson's. The Warthog, like the Sergeant, appears to be invincible (not including falling a great distance).

Bungie has confirmed that there will be no invulnerable players in Halo 3. However, if Johnson is "killed," he will get back up and then become invincible, to say nothing of The Monitor. However, when he falls down, you lose about the same amount of points you get from killing a Brute Chieftain even though he doesn't actually die.

Bungie's Explanation
According to Bungie's Legendary Halo PC/MAC walkthrough on their website:

''Wait! Don't walk away! There's a short scene you haven't seen when you've beaten the game on previous levels. You'll see a tug of war happening between an Elite and Sergeant Johnson.''

''"But wait." You say, "I saw Sgt. Johnson die twice now already. What's up with that?"''

''Well, think of Sgt. Johnson as being like Kenny from South Park. No matter how many times he dies he'll always come back. Why? Well, it's complicated. Suffice it to say that even nuclear explosions can't keep a good man down.''

Another explanation for Johnson's immunity in Halo 2 is that after the Flood attempted to infect him, he gained regenerative health abilities. As a result of having Boren's Syndrome, Johnson could not be converted into a combat form by the Flood.

Appearances

 * Halo: Combat Evolved
 * Halo 2
 * Halo 3
 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Halo: The Flood
 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo: Contact Harvest

Behind The Scenes

 * The character of Sergeant Johnson first appeared in a short video shown to kick off the Halo Launch Party held in Chicago on 2001 November 10.
 * His voice is portrayed by David Scully in the games, who also voices a number of Elites as well.
 * Sergeant Johnson would appear to be partially based on the character "Gunnery Sergeant Al Apone" from the film Aliens, with whom Johnson shares many character and physical traits, as well as some dialogue.

Trivia

 * Although Johnson is usually labeled as a sniper, he is only seen using a sniper rifle on the levels Assault on the Control Room (Halo 1) and Outskirts (Halo 2), and a Beam Rifle in The Great Journey, the Graphic Novel and the first chapter of Contact Harvest. In all of his other appearances, he is either wielding an MA5B Assault Rifle, a BR55 Battle Rifle, a Spartan Laser, or a Pistol.
 * In Halo 3,if you intentionally kill Johnson more than once, he will get back up and kill you in one shot, regardless of what weapon he has.
 * In Halo: Combat Evolved he may scream exactly the same way as when an Elite is killed. This is due to the fact that the Elite speech is Johnson's speech played backwards and a bit lower.
 * It may be presumed that Johnson could be or was married according to a quote during gameplay on the level Cairo Station where it is said by Johnson himself that the Covenant were worse than his mother-in-law. Although he probably said this just to be funny.
 * In Halo: Contact Harvest Johnson was involved in a romantic relationship with his Commanding officer, Jilan al-Cygni.
 * Johnson is the only marine to wield a Spartan Laser. Although he is the only marine in the game to automatically have a Spartan Laser, specifically the mission Halo, you can still give a Spartan Laser to normal marines in missions where the weapon is available.
 * If you swap your weapon for the Spartan Laser after he shoots Spark, but before the Kick his ass line, he still says the line and drops the weapon you just gave him.
 * Rarely, after you take his Laser in Halo he will fire a few shots off with the weapon you give him.
 * If you kill Johnson (with a plasma grenade, melee him just right... etc.) almost immediately before you go into the room where you kill Guilty Spark, on Halo 3, He will not only still be alive when you get into the room but after watching him die in the cinematic and then leaving, he will be right where you "killed" him. With the same weapon and fighting off the flood. He can be taken over by the parasites, killed, survive but he wont follow you out of the building. By doing this you can take the Spartan Laser he wields which has unlimited ammo. Only if you kill him. But this does not always work sometimes the laser says 3 or 5 etc. in the ammunition even though this is not possible because each shot takes up 20 of these points. However you can get unlimited from Johnson by killing him before you enter the room to activate the ring but, unfortunately, your weapons are re-set after killing Guilty Spark. But having unlimited Spartan laser is a bonus while fighting Spark.
 * If you do the above glitch and let Johnson die by getting infected by Infection forms with the IWHBYD skull on, sometimes you can hear him scream "I did this for Hocus!" before becoming a combat form. It is possible to say that he has or had a relationship with the Pelican pilot.
 * Johnson and the Arbiter are the only NPC's in Halo 3 that can't have their weapons switched with while alive. However, there is an instance on the level Halo where the player can briefly switch weapons with him before he dies.
 * Johnson last word's before he died were, "Send me out... with a bang...". This could be a reference to the prologue of Contact Harvest where he failed to save a family that was being held hostage by a suicide bomber or before you destroy the first Halo, one of the subtitles is "Light fuse, run away" right before you go to destroy the engines.
 * If you look closely at the hornet pilots in The Covenant, you can see that they have slightly brown skin and black stubble. They are really just Johnson with a green ODST helmet on.
 * In Halo: First Strike, Johnson is shown to enjoy flip music.
 * A lot of Elite dialogue is actually Johnson's voice played backwards and possibly slower.
 * In Halo: Contact Harvest, Johnson's callsign is Crawler.