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John 117

by Ben from Fredericksburg

Though you may not know it, Master Chief Petty Officer of the UNSC Navy, John 117, aka, SPARTAN 117, or Master Chief, is a true hero. He is one of the most recognized heroes from any video game series to date, according to Techtimes.com. He is the full embodiment of courage, willpower, strength, and relatability. From his first appearance in 2001 in Halo: Combat Evolved, and in numerous books and comics, he has gained a serious following for his heroic actions.

Master Chief  (Wallpapercave.com (Wallpapercave.com))
Master Chief (Wallpapercave.com (Wallpapercave.com))

The Master Chief is very determined to do his tasks, no matter what the cost. From a very young age he was taught military strategy, and one of his most notable moments was his first day, his team failed the first challenge and he was told "You have to work as a team." and "Your mission is to make sure everybody in your team makes it," and for the rest of his life, he did just that. When he was told to do something by the general, he did it with no remorse. His willpower and modesty really makes him an idol.  "He displays an odd sort of attitude for a creation of the military: he does not glorify his violent actions, but merely does what he has to do. He does not hate his enemy; he kills them because he knows it is his duty to kill them; to win. "It wasn't [the Chief's] job to make things suffer - he was just here to win battles. Whatever it took" (Nylund 6).

Master Chief Receiving MJOLNIR Armor (Youtube.com (343 Industries))
Master Chief Receiving MJOLNIR Armor (Youtube.com (343 Industries))

Any good hero has very prevalent strengths, whether that be mentally, morally, or physically. Master Chief has just that. He was taught military strategy from the age of six when he was kidnapped from his family, along with 174 others. The children were pushed to the limits, with surviving, fighting, and schooling until the age of fourteen, where John and all the other SPARTAN-II recruits underwent grueling physical augmentation. Here, only 33 of the 75 who survived the original training survived the second round unscathed, physically disabling 12 others. From this augmentation, the candidates gained fast reflexes and reactions, nearly unbreakable bones, enhanced genetic structure, muscle growing hormones, and enhanced strength. Those who underwent this process were six times stronger than any human, and four times faster. Master Chief possess all of the qualities that a hero has from undergoing all the bio-enhancements on his body, intense schooling, the strong grasp of military tactics, and being taught right from wrong with punishments.


Master Chief With Cracked Helmet  (Reddit.com (Deleted User))
Master Chief With Cracked Helmet (Reddit.com (Deleted User))

All heroes need to be relatable for the reader/onlooker, because if they weren't, they wouldn't be seen as human. Being human is one of the most important and basic aspects of relatability, because all humans have similar experiences with one another, such as sadness, happiness, or other basic human emotions or traits. From John's traumatic childhood being kidnapped from his family at the age of six and placed in an experimental military program, to seeing him develop around a series of friends, and then seeing most of them die, you can really see the human emotion of sadness in this virtual hero. While you can sense his sadness in this situation, he inspires you to overcome your own sadness with his own determination. In Halo 4, at the very end of the game, you can see John being put in a machine to take his armor off, and we get a close up of John's eyes. From this shot, you can see the coldness in his eyes, and just how war torn and old his face is. You can relate to him because even though he is a super-soldier, he still has human aspects (such as aging) that are relatable for every person.

John 117, Master Chief Petty Officer of the United Nations Space Command, has a very tragic, well-developed storyline associated with him. From the first Halo title, to the most recent, Master Chief was there for all of it, being a hero in the eyes of all Halo fans and gamers. From his mental strength from intense schooling, moral strength from his responsibility in the Military and his duty to his team, and physical strengths from augmentation, to his very human life, emotions, and problems, everyone can't get enough of Master Chief.

Page created on 1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Bibliography

Albert, Brian . "Master Chief- IGN." [Online] Available http://m.ign.com/articles/2015/10/05/9-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-master-chief. Albert.

Nylund, Eric. "Master Chief is my Hero ." [Online] Available https://ohsnapson.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/master-chief-is-my-hero/. Nylund.

Hill, Daniel . "Halo 5: Guardians and the Death of Master Chief." [Online] Available http://www.denofgeek.us/games/halo-5-guardians/236684/halo-5-guardians-and-the-death-of-master-chief. Hill.

Stender, Mike. "Halo Story Page > Characters> The Master Chief." [Online] Available http://halostory.bungie.org/masterchief.html. Stender.

Schneider, Steven . "Halo: The Complete guide To Master Chief''s Story." [Online] Available http://www.techtimes.com/articles/49029/20150428/everything-need-know-halo-guide-master-chiefs-story. Schneider.