List of inconsistencies in the Halo series: Difference between revisions

{{Title|List of inconsistencies in the ''Halo'' series}}

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It is often difficult to decide which resource is "superior" to another, so conflicts are mostly listed in a chronological order. Likewise, it can rarely be conclusively determined whether a conflict is the result of an oversight on part of the author or editor(s) or an intentional [[Wikipedia:Retroactive continuity|retcon]], unless this is specifically confirmed by the developers of the ''Halo'' franchise; such cases are noted accordingly. For more information, see [[Halopedia:Canon Policy|here]]. There have been a number of cases in which an apparent inconsistency arises within an individual piece of media, only to receive a canonical workaround in another source; an example of this is the shared designation "Type-47 Scarab" for the two different Scarab models appearing in ''Halo 2'' and ''Halo 3'', something that was eventually clarified as "a UNSC administration quirk".<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/vehicles/scarab '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Scarab'']</ref> For inconsistencies that have since been resolved by other ''Halo'' media, see [[List of rectified inconsistencies in the Halo series]].

*John-117 internally notes that he had "overheard" Dr. Halsey mention Chief Mendez departed to train a new group of Spartans.<ref name="tfor2502010"/> Earlier in the novel, Halsey explicitly tells John and the other Spartan-IIs of Mendez's future role.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 121'' (2010)</ref>

*In ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', the description of the ''Pillar of Autumn'' is considerably different from its ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' incarnation. The bridge is described as having a command chair and a curved viewport; in ''Halo: Combat Evolved'', this chair is absent and the window consists of several flat sections. The novel also describes the bridge as being extremely cramped, with only a meter of space between the command chair and the other stations,<ref name="for277">'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 277''</ref> while in the game, the bridge is clearly more spacious. According to the novel, there is also an elevator leading directly from the engine room to the bridge.<ref name="for277"/> In the game, the engineering and the bridge are on the same level, and there are no doors which may belong to an elevator adjoining the bridge. In addition, the engine room is described as being "hexagonal", while in the game,<ref name="for274">'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 274''</ref> it consists of two vaguely rectangular chambers with the engine core in the middle. In the ''Combat Evolved'' level ''The Maw'', it is stated that the ''Pillar of Autumn'' has four fusion reactors, each of which is destroyed by the player; in ''The Fall of Reach'', the ship is also said to have a single main reactor nestled within two smaller reactor rings.<ref name="for274"/> The ship is also described as having rotating centrifuges to generate [[artificial gravity]];<ref name="for274"/> no rotating sections are present in the game, unless they are located within the hull.

*There are several differences between ''Halo: The Flood'' and the ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' level ''[[The Maw]]'' in the encounter at the final service elevator on the ''Pillar of Autumn''. In ''Halo: The Flood'', [[Zuka 'Zamamee]] confronts John-117 by using a [[Type-29 Anti-Infantry Stationary Gun|Shade turret]], accompanied by several Grunts. Cortana takes control of the elevator and causes it to descend, allowing John-117 to drop in a pair of grenades and take out the Covenant.<ref>'''Halo: The Flood''', ''page 334-335''</ref> In the game, Cortana does not move the elevator and there are two Special Operations Elites and no Shade turret aboard.

*Throughout ''Halo: Contact Harvest'', the [[Eridanus system|Eridanus]] and [[Epsilon Eridani system|Epsilon Eridani]] star systems are referenced as being one system: "Epsilon Eridanus". It is implied that both [[Reach]] and [[Eridanus II]] are situated in this system.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 111''</ref> With two exceptions, (a chapter heading in the first printing of ''Halo: The Fall of Reach''<ref name="for81"/> and the "Reclaimer" entry in the [[Bestiarum]]), the two systems are regarded as separate in all other fiction; in ''Halo: First Strike'', for instance, the main characters travel from Epsilon Eridani to Eridanus, a journey that would take days were it not for the [[Forerunner crystal]] from beneath [[CASTLE Base]].<ref name="fornumbers"/><ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 242, 261''</ref>

*According to ''Halo: The Flood'', Jacob Keyes killed his first human with a pistol which is specifically stated to have a barrel;<ref>'''Halo: The Flood''', ''page 198''</ref> however, ''Halo: The Cole Protocol'' states he used a modified [[plasma rifle]], a weapon which lacks any form of barrel.<ref>'''Halo: The Cole Protocol''', ''page 129''</ref>

*The ''CCS''-class battlecruiser is said to have first been encountered at the Battle of Psi Serpentis in 2543. This contradicts ''Halo Wars: Genesis'', which shows Cole's fleet engaging such vessels in [[2526]]; ''Halo Wars'', in which two ''CCS''-class ships are encountered and identified as such at Arcadia in 2531; [[Data pads|data pad 10]], which states that the [[The Assembly|Assembly]]'s findings about glassing were derived from observing the ''CCS'' class in 2526; and ''Halo: The Essential Visual Guide'' and the ''Halo Encyclopedia'', which state that vessels of the class were encountered frequently throughout the war.

*During the level "[[Long Night of Solace (level)|Long Night of Solace]]", [[Urban Holland|Colonel Holland]] once refers to the [[SDV-class heavy corvette|Covenant corvette]] ''[[Ardent Prayer]]'' as a cruiser.<ref>'''Halo: Reach''', campaign level ''[[Long Night of Solace (level)|Long Night of Solace]]'' (''"Find a way inside, and permanently disable the cruiser's communications."'')</ref>

*At the conclusion of ''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx'', Onyx dissolves into trillions of [[Onyx Sentinel|Sentinels]] that vaporize any vessels nearby and remain to guard the slipspace rift to the [[Trevelyan|shield world]] formerly in the core of the planet.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 378''</ref> These Sentinels are wholly absent in ''Glasslands'', in which UNSC vessels are capable of traversing the former site of [[Onyx]], now said to contain a debris field, without any sign of threat.<ref name="glass47">'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''pages 47-48''</ref> While the Onyx Sentinels are mentioned in passing when referencing the events of ''Ghosts of Onyx'',<ref name="glass285"/> their disappearance is neither noted nor explained.

*[[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Kurt Ambrose]] is referred to as "Lieutenant" Ambrose.<ref name="glass47"/>

*[[Lucy-B091]] lashes out in a fit of rage and strikes Dr. Halsey in the face with strength enough to "send a shock wave right up her arm"<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 316-317''</ref> and leave her hand "throbbing"; based on the description of the incident, Lucy clearly exhibits no self-control in the assault. Halsey quickly recovers and does not suffer more apparent injury than a slightly bleeding nose.<ref name="gl327">'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 327-328''</ref> Based on prior evidence of the Spartan-IIIs' physical strength, combined with the [[SPI armor]]'s hardened gauntlet plating (as seen [[:File:SpartanIII.jpg|here]] and [[:File:Semi-Powered Infiltration.png|here]], the knuckles and fingers are reinforced with metallic armor), such a blow would have inevitably resulted in Halsey's death. Spartan-IIIs have been stated to possess the strength of "three normal soldiers",<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 99''</ref> and while Lucy is twenty at the time, Spartan-IIIs have been described as being capable of matching Sangheili and other Covenant in close quarters at only twelve years of age, effortlessly snapping the aliens' necks and limbs,<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 22''</ref> demonstrating strength that would certainly be lethal against a frail, aging human. Although ''Glasslands'' offers Lucy's small size as a justification for the meager force of her punch,<ref name="gl327"/> ''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx'' gives no indication that her physical prowess is in any way anomalous among the Spartan-IIIs as she is able to keep up with the decidedly superhuman feats of the rest of [[Team Foxtrot|her fireteam]] and the rest of Beta Company during [[Operation: TORPEDO]] and subsequent operations. Not only this but even a small Spartan-III, ''in armor'' no less, who delivered a blow with enough force to feel a shockwave to their shoulder would inflict devastating damage on their target.

*''Glasslands'' maintains that Dr. Halsey attempted to hide the SPARTAN-II flash clone replacement operation from the upper echelons of ONI; Admiral Parangosky claims that she did not learn about the clones until years afterward.<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 431''</ref> When referenced in previous fiction the flash cloning operation is never singled out as something separate or particularly secretive in comparison to all other aspects of the program; on the contrary, ONI is unanimously identified as the chiefly responsible party as opposed to Halsey alone. In ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', John-117's classified file, accessed by Cortana, refers to the replacement operation as an "ONI black op".<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 270''</ref> In ''Halo: First Strike'', Halsey refers to the ''"old flash clone techniques that ONI had used to replace the originals"''.<ref name="fs129">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 129''</ref> In her journal, Halsey refers to the clones like any other part of the program, failing to mention any attempt to conceal it.<ref>'''Dr. Halsey's personal journal''', ''September 8, 2511''</ref> Furthermore, ''Halo: First Strike'' notes that Colonel James Ackerson had the clones monitored as they grew up and even had the bodies retrieved after they died, which calls into question Parangosky's statements of not learning about the cloning operation until years later.<ref name="fs129"/> It is also suspect that Halsey would see it necessary to conceal this particular aspect of the program from ONI, given their oft-demonstrated neglect for moral concerns, particularly where the secrecy of their operations is concerned. Had there been an attempt to withhold information, it would have been futile from the beginning; the dozens of ONI scientists and field agents that carried out the operation would have relayed the information to ONI's leadership in the unlikely event that the ONI surveillance of the program failed to do so.

*The Spartan Ops cutscenes depict weapon strengths at levels exaggerated from gameplay. For instance, Thorne in ''[[Scattered]]'' is able to kill two [[Sangheili Storm]] with a [[Type-55 storm rifle|storm rifle]] with a single shot each, and [[Sarah Palmer]] in ''[[Invasion (Spartan Ops)|Invasion]]'' kills [[Promethean Knight]]s with a single shot from a [[M6H magnum|magnum]]. [[Energy shielding|Energy shields]] are also never depicted on Spartans, Elites, or Knights, with weapons damaging them as though they had no shields.

*During the prologue set in the Human-Covenant war era, Spartan-IIs are depicted wearing post-war era MJOLNIR armor rather than war-era MJOLNIR armor. The Halo 4: Essential Visual Guide allegedly claims that it's an older variant that acts as a precursor to Mark VI Gen 2, however former Creative Director, [[Josh Holmes]], concurrently stated [https://twitter.com/JoshingtonState/status/474224115608731650 "We didn't have time to build S-II armor just for intro so we used the S-IV armor in its place. Canonically incorrect I know. :("] and [https://twitter.com/JoshingtonState/status/475323428430696449 "the story is canon, the specific armor representing that story is not. Does that make sense?"], creating a [[Halopedia:Canon Policy|major contradiction]].

**This has since been clarified as merely an artistic interpretation due to behind-the-scenes developmental reasons; the ''Halo 3'' design for the ''Dawn'' is still considered the canonical design by 343 Industries.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/blog-posts/canon-fodder-have-s-moa ''Halo Waypoint'': Canon Fodder - Have S'moa]</ref>

* Slipspace is described as an entirely featureless, pitch-black void in written media, a direct result of its inherently "nonvisible" nature.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 15'' (2001 edition)</ref><ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 288''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 85''</ref><ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page 385''</ref> In the level [[Midnight]], though, slipspace resembles a bluish expanse with white streaks of stars being flown past. Likewise in the opening cutscene of [[S1/Departure|Departure]] slipspace appears as a kaleidoscope of colors. This may be from both ships using Forerunner slipspace engines, which have been observed [[Forerunner crystal|to create differing environments]].<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 211-212'' (2003 edition)</ref>

*While Cortana was officially stated to be dead following ''[[Halo 4]]'' by both the game itself and developers,{{Ref/Game|Id=Dead1|[[Halo 4]], campaign level [[Epilogue]]|Quote=After the destruction of New Phoenix, and the death of Cortana, Master Chief must carry on.}}<ref name="Dead2">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqD2MkOwDcU Halo Xbox E3 2014 Media Briefing: Halo] ''"At the end of Halo 4, Master Chief was mourning the loss of his closest companion."''</ref><ref name="Dead3">[https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/06/12/the-halo-5-guardians-cover-story.aspx The Halo 5: Guardians Cover Story] ''"I call that the ghost of Cortana, her fate is obviously very clear at the end of Halo 4. The story is really about, 'What effect did Cortana's sacrifice have on the Chief?' So it’s not about the dreamlike figure that you see."''</ref> these statements turned out to be deliberate fabrications and disinformation upon her survival in ''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', where developers later stated the ending of ''5'' was planned before the ending of ''4''.<ref name="Ending">[[The Sprint: Ship It]] ''"I think we knew how Halo 5 ended before we knew how Halo 4 ended. I remember discussing the end of this game real early on."''</ref>

*It is established that [[Path Kethona]] is the Forerunners' name for the [[Wikipedia:Large Magellanic Cloud|Large Magellanic Cloud]],<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 35''</ref> which is correctly stated to be 160,000 light-years from the Milky Way.<ref name="s60"/> Later, when ''[[Audacity]]'' completes its second jump toward Path Kethona, the middle distance from the [[Orion complex]] is stated to be 87 million light-years, or 60 million light-years from the galactic border.<ref name="s60">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 60-61''</ref>  

*According to a video clip of the early days of Spartan-II indoctrination shown to [[Naomi-010]] by [[Black-Box]], Dr. Halsey lied to Naomi that [[Staffan Sentzke|her father]] had approved of her conscription and was not expecting her to return home.<ref>'''Halo: Mortal Dictata''', ''page 385''</ref> In ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'', Halsey specifically states, contrary to [[Déjà]]'s recommendations, that they will not attempt to lie to the children about their parents to motivate them out of risk that the Spartans may go rogue if they ever learned the truth.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 29'' (2001) (''"The truth has risks," Déjà cautioned. "So do lies," Dr. Halsey replied. "Any story fabricated to motivate the children—claiming their parents were taken and killed by pirates, or by a plague that devastated their planet—if they learned the truth later, they would turn against us."'')</ref> Halsey's notes in her [[Dr. Halsey's personal journal|her journal]] correlate with the version given in ''The Fall of Reach'', noting that ''"They deserve as much truth as we can stomach to tell them."''<ref>'''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''', ''September 23, 2517''</ref><br>ONI recordings described in ''Mortal Dictata'' also show the SPARTAN-II children exhibiting more extreme reactions to their abduction than Dr. Halsey's observations in her journal let on.<ref name="md384">'''Halo: Mortal Dictata''', ''pages 384-385''</ref> However, descriptions in ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'' are more in line with the journal's suggestion of the children being mostly calm and compliant, as it is established that their ability to cope with the intense psychological strain involved with the program was one of the criteria for their selection.<ref name="tfor46">'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 46-47'' (2010)</ref> The comic adaptation ''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp]]'' corroborates this in an added scene in which Halsey and Déjà observe that none of the children are crying during their first days in the program.<br>''Mortal Dictata'' also claims that the Spartan children were based deep underground in [[CASTLE Base]] in the first three days of the program, even though ''Halo: The Fall of Reach'' describes them being relocated to a barracks on the planet surface in the [[Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex]] immediately after their induction (though they did train at CASTLE later on in their training).<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 181'' (2003)</ref> As stated in ''The Fall of Reach'', the first days' extreme physical training and education sessions were arranged specifically to prevent the children from having time to think about their predicament,<ref name="tfor46"/> yet the nature of the sessions described in ''Mortal Dictata'' allows the latter scenario to occur. The three days in CASTLE base could also not have occurred prior to Halsey's introduction to the program, as the children had only recently been awakened from cryo-sleep at the time and were only informed of their new purpose during Halsey's induction session. The military-oriented focus, intense pace and ruthlessness of the initial training are also nowhere to be seen in ''Mortal Dictata''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s descriptions, which suggest a comparatively leisurely acclimation period.<ref name="md384"/>

*Black-Box references Dr. Halsey's termination of [[Araqiel]] as a cold-blooded murder; he makes a similar suggestion in ''The Thursday War''.<ref name="Halo page 355"/><ref name="md363">'''Halo: Mortal Dictata''', ''page 363''</ref> In spite of his personal dislike of Halsey, Black-Box (a high-level ONI AI) should be able to acknowledge that purging AI constructs was a relatively common practice throughout the war as part of the [[Cole Protocol]],<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 208'' (2003)</ref> yet he regards the incident as a unique act of cruelty without precedent.<ref name="md363"/> It is strange that BB is aware of the incident in the first place, as [[CASTLE Base]] had been evacuated of personnel at the time<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 121'' (2003 edition)</ref> and any means of off-planet communication had been cut by the Covenant long before. BB also blatantly disregards the context of the incident as detailed in ''[[Halo: First Strike]]'': not only was Halsey acting in self-defense, with Araqiel threatening to kill her,<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 127-128'' (2003 edition)</ref> but her actions were also in accordance with ONI's [[Operation: WHITE GLOVE]], which entailed the destruction of any remaining AI in the facility to prevent their capture by the Covenant (although Halsey had not yet formally implemented the protocol at the time). WHITE GLOVE also forced Halsey to destroy [[Kalmiya]], one of her personal AIs,<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 135'' (2003 edition)</ref> something Black-Box never mentions when referencing the incident.

*In an attempt to silence Veta Lopis, Intrepid Eye seizes control of Fred-104's Mjolnir armor and attempts to kill her.<ref>'''Halo: Last Light''', ''chapter 27''</ref> However, in ''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', Dr. Halsey assures John-117 that an AI (in this case Cortana) cannot control Mjolnir, explaining that while Cortana could increase his reaction time by translating the impulses in his motor cortex directly into motion, she couldn't make him send those impulses.<ref name="Halo page 252"/>

*[[Jun-A266]] is referred to as having been a member of [[SPARTAN-III Beta Company|Beta Company]] alongside Tom and Lucy before being pulled out for another operation.<ref>'''Halo: Fractures''', ''"[[Lessons Learned]]"'', ''page 4''</ref> However, all prior sources depict Jun as being a member of [[SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|Alpha Company]].<ref name="universe">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/jun-a266 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Jun-A266'']</ref><ref>'''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 104''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''page 115'' (2011)</ref><ref>[http://halo.bungie.net/projects/reach/article.aspx?ucc=personnel&cid=24522 '''Bungie.net''': ''Jun-A266 Personnel Profile'']</ref> Strangely, ''Lessons Learned'' actually mentions Jun's full Spartan tag, in which the "A" indicates Alpha Company, in the sentence immediately before he is mistakenly identified as being from Beta Company.

*Captain [[Darren Leone]] knows that [[Kevin-A282]] is a member of SPARTAN-III Alpha Company. By virtue of Kevin's service with Alpha Company, Leone is shown to be aware that Kevin "... had seen some of the worst of the war with the Covenant, on colonies like Kholo and Meridian, even Sigma Octanus IV not long ago."<ref name="HFBS">'''Halo: Fractures''', ''''Breaking Strain'''' ''pages 65-66''</ref> Given the top-secret nature of the SPARTAN-III program (which was never declassified during the war) it is exceedingly unlikely that Leone (who prior to the events of the story was merely the helmsman on a [[UNSC Dark Was the Night|cargo tender]]) would be aware of the Spartan-IIIs as a distinct formation from the publicly avowed Spartan-IIs at all, let alone that he would be aware of their internal organization and operational history. Furthermore, Leone's reflection on Kevin's past service implies the whole of Alpha Company (rather than just Kevin and his team) had fought in the aforementioned battles. In fact, the vast majority of Alpha Company had been killed during [[Operation: PROMETHEUS]] in [[2537]], two years before the [[Battle of Kholo]] and well over a decade before the conflicts at [[Battle of Meridian|Meridian]] and Sigma Octanus IV. Kevin is a "cat 2" deployed outside his original company; though several "cat 2s" from Alpha Company remained active after Operation: PROMETHEUS, referencing the company as if it had, as a whole, survived as late as the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]] in July 2552 is highly erroneous. Leone's point-of-view narration also notes Alpha Company as "one of the longest-serving SPARTAN-III units."<ref name="HFBS"/> Only two comparable units, Beta and [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|Gamma Companies]], were ever founded, so such a comparison holds little weight.

*It is stated that the Forerunners did not return to [[Maethrillian|the Capital]] between the [[Fate of Maethrillian]] and their expedition to restore the [[Domain]] over a century after the Halos had been fired.<ref name="frac83"/> However, ''[[Halo: Silentium]]'' states that the Forerunners rescued survivors from deep within the Capital after Mendicant Bias' attack,<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 18''</ref> and that the Capital system was overwhelmed by the Flood only later in the war, at which point the Council was moved to the [[greater Ark]].<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', Strings 25 and 28</ref>

*In the short story, ''Rossbach's world'', [[Serin Osman]] remembers that her [[Teddy|abductor]] was a male ONI agent.<ref>'''[[Halo: Fractures]]'', ''Page 344''</ref> However, in ''Halo: Mortal Dictata'', it is stated that the agent was a female.

**The disparity in the Marines' armor may be due [[Isabel]] modernizing the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}}<nowiki>'</nowiki>s production facilities and design templates.{{fact}} It is possible that some Marines assigned to the ship (those seen in cutscenes) continued to wear the older model. The real world reason is likely due to the two separate teams (Blur and Creative Assembly) starting their versions of Marines at different times.  

**Although the Spartans' suits were canonically upgraded,<ref name="Art"/> which may explain Jerome's suit's ability to support Isabel later in the game, she is nonetheless shown to function normally during the escape from the Henry Lamb Research Outpost, which occurs before Jerome's armor could have been outfitted with the necessary superconducting layer.<ref name="The Signal"/>

*According to complementary fiction released in the ''[[Halo Wars: Official Strategy Guide]]'', the Covenant had discovered [[Shield World 0459]] prior to the events of ''Halo Wars''.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars: Official Strategy Guide]]''', ''pages 50-51''</ref> The ''Halo Waypoint'' video series ''"The Halo Wars Story Retold"'' instead claims that the Covenant discovered the shield world from data gathered at the [[Arcadia Forerunner ruins|Forerunner ruins on Arcadia]]. The version given in the game guide (ostensibly written by the game's writers as background fiction to flesh out the characters) is seemingly supported by the in-game story: the first scene showing the Covenant on the shield world does not give any indication that the shield world is a recent discovery, only serving as the backdrop for the Prophet of Regret and the Arbiter's conversation about the events on Harvest and Arcadia.<ref>'''Halo Wars''', campaign level ''[[Scarab (level)|Scarab]]'' (opening cinematic, ''"Walk in the Park"'')</ref>

*All pertinent media released since 2009 state that 25 of the 28 active Spartan-IIs still assigned to NAVSPECWEAP (from an initial unit of 33)<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 60''</ref> were summoned to Reach for [[Operation: RED FLAG]].<ref group="note">These media include the ''Halo Wars'' timeline, the revised versions of ''The Fall of Reach'' and ''First Strike'', (including Fred-104's psychological evaluation in the Adjunct), the {{Plain|[http://youtu.be/jh7Q3fjIIwc ''Defiant to the End'' trailer]}}, the [[Data Drop]], the ''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'' [[Library (feature)|Library]], and ''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Covenant]]''.</ref><ref group="note">This count does not include the four-member Black Team, whose survival was kept secret from their peers, as they operated under the Office of Naval Intelligence rather than Naval Special Weapons. During the early stages of the invasion of the Epsilon Eridani system, Black Team participated in the [[Battle of Verge]] and possibly the concurrent [[Battle of Tribute]].</ref> The three absent Spartans were [[Gray Team]], who had been out of contact since [[2551]].

:Two Spartans (including [[Oscar-129]]) committed suicide after escaping the program in mid-[[2525]].<ref name="HC">'''Halo Legends''', ''[[Homecoming]]''</ref> [[Samuel-034]] became the first Spartan to be killed in action in November 2525. At some point in the early years of the war, [[Jerome-092]], [[Douglas-042]], and [[Alice-130]] (all of whom had "washed out" by failing to adapt to their augmentations) were retrained, re-augmented, and placed into active service,<ref name="Alice PL">''Halo Wars 2'' - [[Phoenix Logs#Alice-130|Phoenix Logs, Alice 130]]</ref> bringing the total number of active Spartan-IIs back to 33. [[Daisy-023]]<ref name="HC"/> and an [[unidentified Spartan-II]] were killed in early [[2531]]. Jerome, Douglas, and Alice went missing in action in February 2531; they were stranded outside UEG space aboard {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}}, which was declared lost with all hands in [[2534]].<ref name="hwtimeline"/> In November 2531, [[Kurt-051]] was abducted by the Office of Naval Intelligence to lead the [[SPARTAN-III program]]. [[Randall-037]] went MIA on [[Vodin]] in [[2532]] and secretly returned to civilian life, though Dr. Halsey considered him truly missing.

:[[Cal-141]] was killed on [[Heian]] in the early [[2540]]s.<ref>See [[Raid on Heian#Note|here]].</ref> Three Spartans were killed in action between [[2542]] and [[2552#August|August 29, 2552]]:<ref name="TFoR casualties"/> [[Sheila-065]] died on [[Miridem]] in [[2544]], while [[Solomon-069]] and [[Arthur-079]] were killed during [[Operation: WARM BLANKET]] shortly thereafter.<ref>''[[The Package (animated short)|The Package]]''</ref> Another Spartan was too heavily wounded to continue active duty in this time frame.<ref name="TFoR casualties">'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 240''</ref> [[Jorge-052]] fought during the Fall of Reach, though he served with [[Special Warfare Command|Army SPECWAR's]] [[NOBLE Team]] rather than being recalled for Operation: RED FLAG; however, it is possible that Jorge being the wounded Spartan was a cover story for his reassignment to NOBLE Team. By this count, no more than 20 Spartan-IIs could have been present for Operation: RED FLAG, with the possibility that Jorge and the wounded Spartan are synonymous bringing the number to 21.

**In [[Dr. Halsey's personal journal|her journal]], [[Dr. Catherine Halsey]] expressed her hope that [[Kirk-018]] and [[René-081]], two of the twelve crippled "washouts", could be rehabilitated and returned to active duty; she further noted that experimental rehabilitation protocols were in development for 80% of the washouts and that AIs predicted a total survival rate as high as 50%.<ref>'''Dr. Halsey's personal journal''', June 27, 2525''</ref> Jerome-092, Douglas-042, and Alice-130 were eventually rehabilitated and placed on active duty by February 2531.<ref name="Alice PL"/> [[Soren-066]] escaped the program in 2526, having unwittingly joined the [[Insurrectionist]] cause; Halsey refused to bring him back into the fold against his will and he presumably died afterward. [[Ralph-103]] was discharged due to psychological problems and his augmentations were curtailed; he later joined the Marine Corps and was killed in 2531. The wheelchair-bound [[Fhajad-084]] became an ONI data analyst. [[Maria-062]] retired sometime before October 2552, though she was still capable of using Mjolnir powered armor.<ref>'''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]''', ''[[Armor Testing]]''</ref> [[Cassandra-075]] was still undergoing skin grafts as of October 2552. [[Musa-096]] also became wheelchair-bound and was responsible for developing the [[SPARTAN-IV program]] by January 2553. In addition to Jerome, Douglas, and Alice, this leaves three washouts who were potentially rehabilitated and returned to active duty, which could increase the number of Spartans at Reach to as many as 24.

***Although the other Spartan candidates were told that [[Serin-019]] had died, in reality she survived in spite of rejecting most of the augmentations. She was withdrawn from the program before the washouts' closed-casket funeral and was later reassigned to the Office of Naval Intelligence as CINCONI [[Margaret Parangosky]]'s personal attache.<ref name="Halo page 82"/> It is possible that other Spartans (such as the aforementioned Black Team) were likewise falsely reported as dead.

*The extent of the capabilities of [[Forerunner]] [[slipspace portal]]s has been depicted inconsistently across different sources, with several newer works introducing portals capable of transporting individuals across interstellar distances without the use of a starship. In ''[[Halo: The Thursday War]]'', the first source to depict this type of portal, [[Evan Phillips]] states that it is common for Forerunner portals to displace individuals to different planets.<ref name="ttw181"/> Later in the novel, a teleporter on [[Trevelyan]] propels Jul 'Mdama over a distance of many lightyears, all the way to the [[Sangheili]] colony of [[Hesduros]]. Individual translocation across interstellar distances (or the broader implications of such technology) is never acknowledged in any prior source.<ref group="note">Portals allowing the transit of unshielded individuals across interstellar distances would logically render starships obsolete, at least in more trafficked routes where portals would be most likely established. Yet individual portal transit is never mentioned in ''[[The Forerunner Saga]]'', which deals extensively with the Forerunners and their technologies, and Forerunners must still use ships to traverse their portal network.</ref> Given that the [[teleportation grid]]s on the [[Halo Array|Halo rings]], for example, are exclusively local systems (the teleportation grid on Installation 04 does not extend even to the nearby [[Threshold]]),<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''', ''[[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal 7]]''</ref> logic would dictate that individual teleportation does not operate on an interstellar scale and that a starship is required to access the larger-scale [[slipspace portal]]s due to the dangers of long-term unshielded exposure to slipspace. In ''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', comparatively short-range translocation across [[Onyx]] causes severe nausea and disorientation to the characters;<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 316''</ref> such effects are nowhere to be seen with later depictions of portal-based translocation. In ''Ghosts of Onyx'', it is also noted that slipspace travel to another star system would have taken some amount of time rather than being instantaneous, a fact that enables Dr. Halsey to deduce the survivors from Onyx never traveled across an interstellar distance when they entered the [[Trevelyan|shield world]] in the core of the planet.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 381''</ref>

*In ''The Package'' and ''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn'', Kelly-087 speaks with a General American accent. In ''Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series'' and ''Halo 5: Guardians'', she speaks with a British accent. According to 343 Industries, the latter should be considered the definitive portrayal of the character, with the prior ones regarded as artistic license.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/blog-posts/canon-fodder-know-for-an-answer '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Canon Fodder - Know for an Answer'']</ref>

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