Banks

Staff Sergeant Marcus Banks originally appears in the E3 preview of Halo 2. In both the preview and Halo 2, Sergeant Banks is in command of "A" Company after their original commander (an unnamed Lieutenant) was killed when they dropped in (in the E3 preview, his unit is identified as "the 405th out of Diego Garcia").

In the E3 preview, Sergeant Banks is at a forward position that is under Covenant attack and is rescued by the Master Chief. He appears to be wounded and calls for an air strike on a nearby Covenant plasma artillery cannon, while the Master Chief protects him. He then gives the Master Chief his SMG in order to demonstrate the new dual-wielding feature. In Halo 2, Sergeant Banks (who is now black instead of white like in the trailer and is voiced by Orlando Jones), is found on the roof a building being held by the Marines of "A" Company. This time, he calls on the Master Chief to help him take out the Scarab that has been on a rampage in New Mombasa. In the E3 preview and in Halo 2, Sergeant Banks famously says, "When I asked for reinforcements, I didn't think they'd send a Spartan". In the Battle of Delta Halo, Sgt Banks helped Commander Miranda Keyes, SgtMaj Johnson, Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker and The Arbiter take back the Scarab.

Also the COMM pack on his back shows a yellow shield with a black stripe, and horse in the top right corner (probably a reference to the U.S. 2nd Brigade, 1st Air Cavalry Division).

Trivia
Marcus Banks is the name of a basketball player who in 2006 played for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA.