Sergeant Major Avery Johnson



Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson (voiced by David Scully) is an energetic soldier and Marine to the Corps. He plays a vital role in both Halo games, providing assistance to the Chief at very opportune times. He also has a strange fascination for Flip Music. Service number: 48789-2094-AJ

Early Career
Avery J Johnson has been fighting the Covenant since he was old enough to join the Marines. After joining, he was assigned to the troop regiments on Paris IV. When the Covenant attacked the planet in the Siege of Paris IV, Sergeant Johnson fought valiantly. He captured a crate of plasma grenades from the Covenant when his troops needed weapons and used them all against the Covenant to keep them at bay so his troops could evacuate. After they returned to Reach for reassignment, doctors discovered an unusual side effect of using so many plasma grenades: a type of radiation poisoning called Boren's Syndrome had affected Sergeant Johnson's neural electric pathways. He recieved a Purple Heart and a 1200 rad-dose the unfamiliar radiation. He refused treatment, and this ultimately helped him in the future.

With the rank of Staff Sergeant, he was assigned to one of the many stations over Reach. During The Battle of Reach, he led a search and destroy team that was picked up by the Master Chief who was on the Circumference mission aboard Reach Station Gamma. Thus, he was not actually assigned to the Pillar of Autumn yet he was an instrumental crew member during the events at Halo.

Halo
Johnson helped defend the Autumn from the boarding party, but like everyone else, was forced to abandon ship when Keyes issued the order. His escape pod successfully landed on the ring with little injuries to the passengers. However, as soon as they stepped onto the grass, they were viciously attacked by the Covenant. With his squad scattered all over the valley, he was glad to see the Chief come strolling up to assist.

Escape from the Flood
After intercepting a Covenant transmission detailing the transport of numerous weapons to somewhere in the swampy regions of the ring, Captain Keyes, Sergeant Johnson, and other Marines went to investigate. Shortly after they were dropped off, the crew came across a structure leading underground. As they ventured further into the facility they came across several Elite corpses, with scambled innards. Passing them off as friendly fire, they proceeded deeper into the facility until they entered a seemingly empty room. Annoyed with Private Manuel Mendoza's whining about "having a bad feeling", Johnson passed off the situation as sissy talk until Flood Infection Forms burst out of the nearby holding cells, attacking the squad. Nothing he had ever seen in his entire career as a Marine could prepare him for the enemy he found attacking his soldiers.

Quite possibly due to his Boren's Syndrome, the Flood failed to convert him into a Combat Form. The Flood could not force a match between it's neural pathways, and that of Sergeant Johnson's. Halsey later found, "traces of Flood DNA—very much dead and noninfec-tious, but some gene fragments are intact." Halsey believed this was proof of a failed attempt to possess him. However, the effects of the failed Flood infection and Sergeant Johnson's condition gave him minor regeneration abilities. Johnson is the only known case of an infection form failing to successfully assimilate a human host.

He was presumed dead after Master Chief found a helmet recorder entry from Private Wallace Jenkins.

Return to Earth
Johnson surprised the Chief when he was rescued along with Polaski, Locklear, and Haverson. At first, John didn't believe what he was seeing, thinking maybe it was a new Flood trick. However, Cortana convinced him with preliminary scans that Johnson was fine, and was then welcomed. Johnson proceeded to aid the Chief in capturing the Covenant flagship Ascendant Justice, providing covering fire and attacking the enemy by surprise.

They used the ship to return back to Reach and picked up the remaining Spartans. Johnson joined the Chief as he went down to the surface. One of those rescued was Dr. Halsey.

After her rescue, Halsey reviewed Johnson's condition with the Flood and gave the Chief two data crystals: one containing all data available and ways to counter a Flood infestation, the other included the source material of Jenkins's mission logs and Johnson's medical files. Johnson could have died from ONI's experimentations had the Master Chief given the second crystal. Thankfully, Master Chief's decison allowed Johnson to live and continue on active duty. He had learned the difference one man could make in the war, and was not going to sacrifice one of the best soldiers he had ever worked with.

Johnson continued to be of use when the Spartans attacked the Unyielding Hierophant in Operation: FIRST STRIKE.



Upon his return to Earth, Johnson was promoted to Sergeant Major and given The Colonial Cross by Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood for his efforts.

Shortly after the Earth invasion of the Covenant, Johnson aided the defense of the Cairo. He and Miranda Keyes were besieged by Covenant forces until Master Chief destroyed the opposition. Aboard the In Amber Clad, Johnson put together a squad of marines to lead a task force in the Outskirts of New Mombasa. Using a sniper rifle, Johnson fought alongside his old friend. When the Chief went on to find the marines from the downed Pelican, Johnson stayed back with the rescue Pelican units to provide cover, even a Scorpion tank. He was present for the rest of the battle while the Chief took down the Covenant Scarab. After its destruction, he 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, caught in the wake, was brought along for the ride.

Delta Halo
Coming out of slipspace, Johnson was shocked to learn that there was another Halo in existance. He stayed back with the Pelicans to help the Chief's infiltration of the ancient temples, dropping off more soldiers, a Warthog and a Scorpion. He joined Miranda in the search for the Index, leading them to the Library. However, moments after they acquire the key, they are assaulted by the Arbiter and captured by Tartarus. Both are taken to the Installation's Control Room. Moments before his execution, Johnson was saved by the Arbiter and his squad of Elites and Hunters, due to the newly erupted Covenant Civil War. Hijacking a nearby Scarab, he aided the Arbiter by destroying the heavily armored entry into the Control Room, allowing his new ally to head inside. Bringing with him a Covenant Beam Rifle, Johnson arrived moments before Tartarus inserted the Index, activating the Installation. During the battle that followed, he repeatedly fired at Tartarus from a distance, bringing down his protective shield and allowing the Arbiter to slay the Chieftain.

After Miranda reclaimed the Index and deactivated Halo, 343 Guilty Spark informed them that the six remaining rings were on standby mode and could now be activated by the Ark. Standing there with Miranda, the Arbiter, and the other survivors, they wondered what the future would hold.

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 and 343 Guilty Spark.

In Halo 2, Johnson is an NPC, immune from harm.

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.''

Johnson, a Spartan I
In the Halo Graphic Novel, on pg 122, reveals that he was involved in Project: ORION, the Spartan-I program. This would make him over 60 years old, possibly even 70. This would mean that either Spartans can live longer without aging, or people generally live longer in the future. Another possibility is that Johnson has accumulated a total of several years spent frozen in cryo-chambers during missions requiring long periods of time traveling through slipspace, thus keeping him physically younger than he actually is. Any or all of these conditions may be have contributed to Sgt. Johnson appearing older than he is.

Appearances

 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Halo: Combat Evolved/Halo: The Flood, Halo Graphic Novel
 * Pillar of Autumn
 * Halo
 * The Truth and Reconciliation
 * Assault on the Control Room
 * 343 Guilty Spark (Cutscene)
 * The Maw (Legendary ending)
 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo 2
 * The Armory
 * Cairo Station
 * Outskirts
 * Metropolis
 * Delta Halo
 * Quarantine Zone (Cutscene)
 * The Great Journey

Trivia
Also to be noted is that his pep talks on the levels Pillar of Autumn and Metropolis change with the difficulty - the harder the difficulty, the more colourful his speeches become. To see these speeches, check out the level transcripts in the above links.