Marcus Stacker

"You heard the man, boys! It's time for some hazard pay!"

- Gunnery Sergeant Stacker during the Battle of Mombasa.

Gunnery Sergeant Stacker is a UNSC Marine Shock Trooper who fought during the Human-Covenant War.

Fall of Reach
"Kilo 26, this is Kilo 40; Covenant corvette's raining hell on us. Final protective fire one, danger close, my command, over."

- Sergeant Stacker

Stacker served during the Fall of Reach in 2552, under the call sign "Kilo 40". He participated during the Siege of New Alexandria, communicating with Kilo 26 and Kilo Dispatch, and along with several other units, assisted in the evacuation of civilians from Traxus Tower. Stacker was in charge of managing the elevators and ordered Kilo 26 to fire on a Covenant corvette overhead. Stacker's part in the later portion of the battle is unknown, but was on board the by August 30th.

Battle of Installation 04
Stacker was one of the many Marines who crash-landed on Installation 04 following the boarding of the Pillar of Autumn. His lifeboat made a hard landing in a valley near a beam emitter on the ring world. He was one of five survivors of the crash. He came under attack by Covenant forces, but was rescued by John-117 and evacuated by Echo 419.

Stacker was in command of Fire Team Zulu, which was shot down in a snowy valley while on patrol. Stacker assisted John-117 in his push to the control room of the Installation, but remained behind for extraction midway through the attack.

Battle of Earth
"Cook the bastard..."

- Stacker instructs Butkis to drain the shields of a Sangheili who held Lance Corporal Jones hostage with an Energy Sword.

During the Battle of Earth, Gunnery Sergeant Stacker served in the 7th Battalion of the 105th Shock Division. He was dispatched from the with a squad of ODSTs to relieve UNSC Marine infantrymen stationed in the city. His Pelican was shot down by a Scarab over Old Mombasa and crashed landed on an open beach near Hotel Zanzibar, killing the pilots and one marine. The surviving ODSTs were immediately engaged by a Covenant patrol led by a Special Operations Sangheili. During the brief assault, the Sangheili held one of his troopers hostage momentarily before Stacker shot the Sangheili in the head.

Stacker and his Marines then joined John-117 and Cortana in chasing the Scarab walker. He drove a Gauss Warthog, offering the SPARTAN-II the Gauss cannon. He assisted the SPARTAN-II by transporting him to the Marine command post, under the bombardment of Wraiths. Stacker relieved Staff Sergeant Banks of his authority over the command post, while Banks assisted the SPARTAN-II in destroying the Scarab walker. Sergeant Stacker's efforts allowed UNSC forces to be supplemented, re-supplied, and eventually evacuated.

Stacker was evacuated to In Amber Clad along with the rest of the 105th. Despite this, he was also present in New Mombasa after Regret's assault carrier had withdrawn from the city, fighting alongside the members of Edward Buck's ODST squad.

Battle of Installation 05
Stacker was one of the shock troopers leading the attack on Installation 05. Stacker, John-117, and several other Marines managed to batter their way past Covenant defenses and secured the perimeter of the Prophet of Regret's holdout before pulling back to support Commander Keyes and Sergeant Major Johnson in an attempt to get the ring's Activation Index.

Unfortunately, Stacker's men were killed by the Flood and the arriving Jiralhanae forces. Stacker, along with Johnson, Banks, and Miranda Keyes, were captured by Jiralhanae forces and sent to High Charity. Stacker and Banks were presumably evacuated by The Arbiter and his allies after the neutralization of Installation 05.

Back to Earth


"My convoy's been hit, I repeat, my convoy's been hit, I've got wounded... We're on Tsavo Highway, about... east of Voi. Someone, anyone, please respond!"

- Stacker, sending a distress call to UNSC forces

Late in the Battle of Earth in Kenya, Stacker, along with Sergeant Major Johnson, led a Marine force that recovered John-117 after his atmospheric landing. Gunnery Sergeant Stacker took command of First Squad, which acted as scouts for Johnson. Stacker and First Squad followed John-117 and Thel 'Vadam through the jungle and linked up with Bravo team's only survivor, Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds. After rescuing Sergeant Johnson and the remains of Second Squad, Stacker was evacuated to Crow's Nest.

After the Covenant assault of Crow's Nest, Stacker led a convoy presumably consisted of injured Marines or support forces. The convoy was intercepted by Covenant forces with Brute Choppers tearing most of the survivors. Having received the transmission, John-117 assisted Stacker in eliminating the Covenant forces. Stacker later accompanied John-117 to Voi.

Stacker and Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds managed to rally several squads of Marines, and made an assault on Traxus Factory Complex 09 in South Voi. There, they eliminated Loyalist armored forces and anti-air batteries, paving the way for Lord Hood's Home Fleet to engage the Prophet of Truth above the Portal.

Battle of Installation 00
"Hey, how does 90 millimeters of tungsten strike you?"

- Stacker, leading an armored raid on The Ark

During the Battle of Installation 00, Sergeant Major Johnson organized a makeshift UNSC armored unit from the for an assault on the Ark's Cartographer. Stacker commanded the platoon of Scorpions against a battalion-sized Covenant armored force outside of the complex and managed to eliminate a Scarab with John-117's help. Later in the battle, he became part of an assault to destroy Covenant infantry and armored forces on the outskirts and beachhead of the Citadel, which the Prophet of Truth was located in.

Stacker escaped back to Earth aboard the Shadow of Intent along with Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds and the rest of the Forward Unto Dawn's surviving crew. He was last seen attending the memorial for the UNSC fallen and was in charge of a 21-gun salute.

Background and personality
Stacker is a tough, strong, energetic Marine, and although he can be quite reckless in certain situations, he is a very competent leader who has seen his fair share of war. Having survived many battles including all discovered Halo installations, Stacker has fought alongside John-117 on many occasions, often providing assistance in vital situations. Whether it be offering the SPARTAN-II a vehicle, weapon, or compliment, Stacker harbors great respect for the SPARTAN. Having survived the Battle of Installation 00, and the end of the Human-Covenant War, he is one of the few surviving members of the UNSC that can say they fought beside the Master Chief.

Canon status
Similar to the character of Chips Dubbo, while Stacker 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. The circumstances of his survival from Alpha Halo and return to Earth are also shrouded in mystery, since neither he or Dubbo were aboard Polaski's Pelican or the John-117's Longsword which were the only known crafts to escape Halo. In Halo: The Flood, Stacker is substituted by Sergeant Waller and Sergeant Parker in his Halo: Combat Evolved appearances.

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, such as Waller and Parker in the case of Halo: Combat Evolved.

Trivia

 * He is named after the person who voices him, and who also voiced Jacob Keyes in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo: Reach. Stacker has also voiced a number of other characters, including an NMPD officer in Halo 3: ODST and one of the Sabre pilots in the level Long Night of Solace in Halo: Reach.
 * In Halo: Combat Evolved, Stacker's in-game texture bitmap, "Marcus", is modeled after the game's Art Director Marcus Lehto. He retains a similar appearance throughout the first three games.
 * He is characterized by his strong Southern American accent, making him easier to spot out of all the other marines the player fights with.
 * In Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 3, he has a scar under one of his eyes; he does not have it in Halo: Reach. It is possible that he received it during the events in Reach.
 * On the level Cairo Station, Stacker is seen wearing his service uniform with a major emblem instead of a Gunnery Sergeant emblem, like any other Marine (e.g. Avery J. Johnson and Banks) wearing his/her service uniform.
 * Occasionally in Halo 2, mainly on the level Regret, a glitch occurs in which Stacker will appear, but will have Banks' voice and vice versa.
 * Stacker's voice is usable in Halo: Reach 's Firefight mode. Stacker has the least expensive Firefight voice, costing only 5,000 credits.
 * In the campaign level New Alexandria, if played on co-op, he will appear as the gunner on the second Falcon.

List of appearances

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