Halo: Escalation

Halo: Escalation is a twelve-issue comic book series produced by Dark Horse Comics. 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". The series continues the story of the a month after the events of Spartan Ops, beginning with their assignment on escort duty for critical peace negotiations between the Sangheili and the Jiralhanae, through the "rediscovery" of the, the events that followed three days after the ending of Halo 4, and ending with Spartans Ray and Thorne's mission about a secret bioweapon.

A paperback edition of Halo: Escalation - Volume 1 (collecting Issues #1-6) is due for release on October 8, 2014.

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 relatives' death in the Didact's attack on the city. Issues 8 to 10 form a story arc called "The Next 72 Hours", which details Spartan John-117's fate immediately after the events of Halo 4. In Issues 11 and 12, in the last story arc called "Exposure", Spartans Ray and Thorne are deployed on a mission to uncover the secrets of a mysterious bioweapon.

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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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.
 * 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.