MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V[B]

SPARTAN-B312 wearing the Mark V[B] helmet without additional upgrades or attachments.

The MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V[B] is a variant of the Mark V MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor.

Background

Along with the Mark V[M] and Mark VI[A] variants, the Mark V[B] is designed and manufactured by private organizations hired by the UNSC rather than developed by the UNSC specifically, due to numerous problems with funding. The Mark V[B]'s prototype entered service in 2526 along with the standard Mark IV armor set.^[1] In 2551 the final Mark V variant would be given exclusively to members of SPECWAR Group Three, where the Mark V[B] served as the default helmet for Spartans. The Mark V[B] helmet has a built in night vision device.

Notable users of the Mark V[B] helmet include Frederic-104, Thom-293, and SPARTAN-B312.^[2]

Characteristics

The helmet is the only component of the Mark V[B] that has been named and identified in the armory. The rest of the default suit of armor is the first generation of the Mark V with the second and final generation of the Mark V seen in Halo: Combat Evolved.^[3]

Helmet

Price: N/A, Default option
The Mark V[B] helmet is similar to the standard Mark V MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor, with a few key differences. The helmet has a sleeker design, resembling both the standard Mark V helmet and the ODST helmet, and seems to be somewhat of a combination of the two. Whilst the rear of the helmet is similar to the Mark V, the front strongly resembles the ODST helmet's triangular jaw guard and rounded top, with a flatter visor shape.

This helmet is the starting helmet for all players, and is purchased and equipped by default. Currently, there are two upgrades available for the Mark V[B] helmet; the UA (up-armored) upgrade for 750 cR (This is a combination of both of the Beta upgrades); and the UA/HUL, for 1500 cR, which adds an External Hardened Uplink to the right side of the helmet, redesigned from the Beta.

Trivia

In the Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta, there were two upgrades available for the Mark V[B] helmet. An External Command Network Module or "CNM", standard issue to Special Force unit commanders (1000 cR), and an External Hardened Uplink or "HUL", required for sensitive operations (5000 cR).^[4]
While both the Mark V[B] and FJ/PARA shoulder pauldrons were present in the Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta, the Mark V[B] shoulders were changed to the FJ/PARA variant in the final game. Currently, the Mark V[B] has no shoulder pauldron permutations.^[5]^[6]
The CNM and HUL attachments as seen in the Beta were merged into a single attachment, the UA upgrade, for the final game. The HUL is now an additional camera/sensor-like attachment on the side of the helmet, rather than being located on the top.
In the Beta, both the helmet's attachments were implied to be intelligence gathering/communications devices; however, in the final game, it appears that the first of these upgrades is just extra armor added to the helmet for increased protection.
The UA attachment from the beta strongly resembles the classic MJOLNIR sun visor, seen on both the Mark V and Mark VI helmets.
In the marketing campaign for Halo: Reach, an exclusive armor piece would be given to players who pre-ordered the game. During this time the armor piece was known as the "UA/Multi-Threat Mark V[B]." Any relation of this armor piece to the Mark V [B] is absent in the game.
In Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, Fred-104's helmet closely resembles the Mark V[B], despite the show being set in 2526 when MJOLNIR Mark IV was the only generation available to Spartan-II's. Presumably, the Mark V[B]'s external design was carried over from this presumed Mark IV variant; similarly, the original Mark IV helmet was later modified for the Mark V, while a variant helmet served as the basis of the Mark VI. The external design of any MJOLNIR component is irrelevant to its internal design. Or perhaps, the appearance in Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is simply a prototype of the Mark V[B], similar to how Carter-A259's Commando armor in Birth of a Spartan is based on the Mark V prototype .

Gallery

Front and side views of the Mark V[B] helmet.
Noble Six sprinting, equipped with the FJ/PARA knees.
Vanity-Spartan-B312.png

A detailed full-body portrait of Noble Six in Halo: Reach.
A comparison of the male and female Noble Six, respectively.
Default Noble 6.png

A Spartan wearing the Mark V[B].
A Spartan with the Mark V[B] helmet.
MJOLNIR Mk. V B.png

MJOLNIR Mk. V[B] with the up-armored upgrade attached.
Up-armored Mark V[B] worn by Thom-293.
The base Mark V[B], and its two upgrades.
Reach concept-MkV(B).jpg

Concept art of the Mark V[B] helmet.
The Mark V[B] shoulder plate as seen in Halo: Reach Beta Armory. Note that the pauldron is a part of the FJ/PARA variant in the final game.
The Mark V[B] prototype appearance in Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.