List of pop culture references in the Halo series

This is a list of pop culture references in the Halo series.

Aliens

 * Jonesy is a cat lost on the Pillar of Autumn, named in homage to a cat in Aliens.
 * There are numerous similarities between the Flood and the Xenomorphs from the Alien series of films.
 * Many aspects of Elite armor, such as the "shoulder spikes" on Heretic armor and the shape of the head-dress on Councilor armor, and the shape of the legs are very similar to that of the Aliens'.
 * The Pelican is a render to the Cheyenne Dropship in Aliens.
 * The Facehuggers resemble Flood Infection Forms.
 * The Aliens and Flood both reproduce in a way that could be described as parasitic, though the Flood seem to modify existing biomass, (or create their own in the case of the Pure Form) while the Xenomorph "chest bursters" only develop inside the host up to a certain point, at which time they erupt from the victim's chest and presumably make up the rest of their mass by food consumption.
 * The Flood screeches in Halo 2 resemble the Xenomorph screeches at a higher pitch.
 * The Flood and Aliens have similar qualities such as climbing walls, jumping large distances, and are hive-minded yet learn as individuals.
 * Both inherit traits based on their hosts. A Xenomorph is different whether the face hugger attaches to a human, ox, or Yautja. Similarly, a Flood combat form is different depending on whether an infection film attaches to a human, Elite, or Brute.
 * The Marines' combat armor in Halo: Combat Evolved and Aliens share many similarities.
 * In the mission log of PFC Jenkins during the level 343 Guilty Spark, Sgt. Johnson yells at Private Mendoza to identify a noise the squad hears, foreshadowing the coming of the Flood. This is much the same as the scene in which Sgt. Apone yells at PFC Hudson before the encounter with the Alien. Similarly, Mendoza and Hudson both start out cocky and confident, but start to break down and panic.
 * Marines in both Halo and Aliens have mission log cameras installed in their helmets.
 * Hudson's panicked "game over, man!" speech is included in Halo: Combat Evolved. It and other variations can sometimes be heard in gameplay by Naval personnel and Marines. One variation is heard aboard the Truth and Reconciliation by a Marine before being hushed by Captain Keyes.
 * Bungie has admitted that Johnson was based from Apone.
 * During the level Crow's Nest in Halo 3, a sergeant advises the marines to attack the drones above the barracks using "short, controlled bursts." This is a possible reference to a line from the movie Aliens, although the phrase is used often relating to military firearms, and is not exclusively an Aliens line.
 * Halo: Combat Evolved includes similar dialog from the movie, such as "I got a bad feeling about this," and the response, "man you always have a bad feeling about something". These exact words can be heard in the Halo 2 level in which the Arbiter first encounters the Flood. Ironically, the lines were spoken by Grunts, aliens themselves. The line was also featured in Bungie's earlier game, Marathon.
 * In Halo 3, if Gunnery Sergeant Stacker is infected by the Flood, sometimes he mutters "kill me" or "shoot me", which is a line uttered at least 3 times in the Alien series by a infected host. Again, this may not necessarily be a deliberate reference.
 * The "Attention Marines: South Pacific Duty..." notice is said to be another reference to Aliens.
 * Some structures and vehicles in the game are very reminiscent of those seen in the Alien series. For example, the Pelican dropship bears a striking resemblance both in form and function to the craft used by the crew of the Sulaco to descent to the surface of LV-426.
 * Similarly, the “fins” that rise from the ground upon activation of the Portal on Earth very much resemble similar structures that can be seen surrounding the enormous atmospheric processing unit used for terraforming purposes on LV-426.
 * UNSC Frigates, such as the Forward Unto Dawn, the In Amber Clad, and especially the Aegis Fate, with their protrusions from the bow, greatly resemble the ship Sulaco, both in appearance and usage. Also, in Halo 3, when the Forward Unto Dawn arrives at the Ark, the process of launching Pelicans from the frigate's hold is practically identical to that of launching the single dropship from the hold of the Sulaco.
 * The headdress worn by Councilor Elites closely resemble the Alien Queen's head.
 * Both the Covenant and Aliens have a caste system. While the Covenant's is based on race and religion, the Alien's is based on their different life stages and species
 * During Flood levels in both Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, most notably 343 Guilty Spark and High Charity, when visibility is limited and close quarters fighting is common, the player is forced to keep an eye on the motion tracker, forcing homage to Aliens. This was pointed out in The Art of Halo.
 * The novelizations of Alien and Halo say that people go into cryo-stasis naked, though the films and game show them clothed.
 * Ripley begins and ends both Alien and Aliens in cryo-stasis, much like the Chief's overall story throughout the three games.
 * Both Ripley and Master Chief begin Alien and Halo in a large ship with other people and end up alone in a smaller shuttle.
 * In the sequels, Ripley and the Chief leave behind their fellow survivor from their first adventure, Jones on (presumably) Earth and Cortana on High Charity.
 * In the Halo 2 level Outskirts, there are several posters showing what appears to be the head of an Alien.

Battlestar Galactica

 * Marines can be heard saying 'Frak', the trademark expletive of the show.

Die Hard

 * John Forge, while on foot, will occasionally shout "yippee-ki-yay!", quoting the famous line in Die Hard.

Firefly/Serenity

 * Nathan Fillion (Malcom Reynolds), Adam Baldwin (Jaybe Cobb), and Alan Tudyk (Hoban 'Wash' Washburn) provided voice acting for Halo 3 and more prominently, Halo 3: ODST. All firefly references are done by these actors.


 * There are multiple references in Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST in the form of random Marine quotes: "Say 'hi' to Vera!" and "Gee, it'd be nice if we brought some grenades, wouldn't it?!" The former is a reference to Jayne Cobb's favourite weapon from the series, while the latter is a direct quote from Jayne. Both are said by marines voiced by Adam Baldwin, who played Jayne Cobb in both Firefly and Serenity.


 * Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds, a character in Halo 3, is voiced by Nathan Fillion. Fillion also played a character named Reynolds in Firefly and Serenity. Fillion returns in Halo 3: ODST as Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck, whose character greatly resembles that of Captain Reynolds both characteristically and visually, as Fillion's likeness was used to model Buck.


 * Three of the main characters in Halo 3: ODST are voiced by Firefly actors. Buck by Nathan Fillion, Dutch by Adam Baldwin and Mickey by Alan Tudyk. Their in-game dialogue contains multiple references to Firefly.


 * Mickey in Halo 3: ODST has previously served as a pilot, and serves as an unofficial pilot for the squad during the events of the game. Alan Tudyk's character in Firefly, Hoban "Wash" Washburn, is also a pilot.


 * In multiple accounts marines can be heard saying "Gorram" of Gorramit" to various things and at one point a marine, possibly one of the aforementioned actors can be heard saying "Shiny, the Chief is here." Some of this may only be able to be heard with the IWHBYD Skull activated.

RuneScape

 * The Penance Runners may be based off of the Flood Carrier Forms.

Green Day

 * "Sometimes I give myself the creeps," a lyric from a Green Day song, is in a Halo: Combat Evolved as an Easter egg.

Ice Station (Book)

 * The description of the Silhouette strongly resembles the Pelican.
 * In many ways the ICG is like ONI.
 * The book explains about a possible race of intelligent beings before humanity who left behind artifacts, such as the Silhouette and the white box in the Inca temple. This is the same for the Forerunners.

Predator

 * The four mandibles of the Sangheili are similar to those of the Predator.
 * The cloaking device of the Predator is similar to active camouflage.
 * The Energy Sword is the render of the Predator's wrist blade.

Prince of Persia

 * In the axon shipwrecked.ogg, Kamal Zaman says "People think time is a river that flows in one direction, but time is an ocean." This is a reference to "Some say time is like a river that flows swift and sure in one direction, but I have seen the face of time and I can tell you they are wrong. Time is an ocean in a storm." said by the Prince in Prince of Persia. Both characters are voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.

Queen (Band)

 * Rarely in Halo: Combat Evolved or while having the IWHBYD skull on in Halo 3, some Grunts will say "We are the champions," which is the name of a song by Queen. This only happens a few times in gameplay.

Star Wars

 * The Wraith resembles the Armored assault tank (AAT) from Star Wars Episode One.
 * The scene in Halo: Combat Evolved where the Halo is shown, and then the camera pans out to show the Pillar of Autumn looks a lot like the opening scene of each Star Wars Episode.
 * The Cutscene in Halo 3 at the beginning of The Ark greatly resembles the opening scene of Star Wars Episode III, especially when Avery Johnson flies the pelican down past the two Covenant ships while many fighters attack in the distance.
 * In the Star Wars comic "Rogue Squadron: Blood And Honor", a group of Imperial soldiers destroy a rebel base hidden in an asteroid. This is very similar to the SPARTANs' first mission.
 * At the Jedi council, if a Jedi is not present, they will be shown in a holographic image. The same is true for the Prophets, as most notably shown in The Heretic.
 * The Halo 2 Scarab has a similar design to the Star Wars vehicle AT-AT walker.
 * Sometimes, with the IWHBYD skull activated, a marine can be heard saying "They remind me of Wookiees from Star Wars." They say this after they kill a brute.
 * Truth's personality in Halo 3 maybe based upon Emperor Palpatine, who used a political shakeup to legalize an extermination of the Jedi Order (humanity/the Sangheili) and transformed the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire (Truth eventual became the autocrat of the Covenant Empire which he had schemed for years since he took office).

Terminator

 * The Halo 3 multiplayer level The Pit was referred to as "Cyberdyne" during its production. The name references Cyberdyne Systems of the Terminator series.

Treasure of the Sierra Madre

 * In Halo Wars, marines will occasionally shout "we don't need no stinking Spartans!", a reference to famous line "we don't need no stinking badges!".

Warhammer 40,000/Dawn of War/Winter Assault/Dark Crusades/Soulstorm

 * The SPARTANs are similar to the Space Marines.
 * The drop pods of the Imperium are similar to the HEVs of the ODSTs (most likely because both were inspired by Starship Troopers).
 * The close combat Dreadnoughts of the Imperium have the same bipedal shape of the Hunters, with the gun arm being the Assault Cannon and the Assault arm being the shield.
 * The Tyranids resemble the Flood in many ways. They also resemble the Stalkers.
 * The Imperial Guard has almost the exact same uniform as the Marines.
 * The Kroot Mercenaries of the Tau Empire greatly resemble the Jackals.

300

 * With the IWHBYD skull activated, marines will sometimes shout "THIS IS SPARTA," a reference to a line in the movie and a popular internet meme.

The Dukes of Hazard

 * With the IWHBYD skull on, Marines or Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck will yell out the horn from the General Lee when you do something insane in the Warthog.