Summary
In the gaming hall of fame, there are few characters quite as deserving of a spot asHalo’s Master Chief. While he may not have been around quite as long as Mario, Donkey Kong, Sonic, or Pac-Man, the Master Chief is arguably just as memorable, becoming an instant icon upon his debut in 2001. Xbox’s flagship hero,the Master Chiefis one of the few gaming characters immediately identifiable from just their silhouette, with an armored design that’s still just as eye-catching all these years later.
A full suit of bulky Mjolnir armor that boasts a strikingly bold green color scheme, the Master Chief’s look is peak super soldier visual design. And much like Judge Dredd and other armored protagonists that came before and after him, the Master Chief never removes his helmet, at least not on-screen. TheHalogame series has never properly revealed the Master Chief’s face, but even 22 years after his debut, that doesn’t really seem to have harmed the character at all, and after the dismal reception of theHaloTV show, that seems even more true than ever before.
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The Halo Show’s Reception Proves That the Master Chief Doesn’t Need to Take Off the Helmet
Paramount’sHaloshow had no shortage of divisive and controversial moments, but one of its biggest came right at the very start of the season, during just its first episode. At the end ofHalo’s first episode, the Master Chief removes his helmet, revealing actor Pablo Schreiber’s face in full. This is just the first of many moments in which the Chief takes off his helmet during the show, and while Pablo Schreiber does a pretty great job of portraying the character, it didn’t stop this from being one of the most controversial decisions the show made. In breaking a two-decade-long franchise tradition, it felt as though Paramount didn’t really trust the source material, and that ended up being pretty much true, with the rest of the show taking some big liberties with long-standing bits ofHalolore.
For over 20 years, the Master Chief had never shown his face properly intheHalogame series, and for 20 years, that hasn’t made him any less of an iconic character. Though faceless protagonists often run the risk of seeming dull or nondescript, that’s never really been the case for the Master Chief, with Steve Downes putting in an excellent performance in every entry he’s appeared in. With just the slightest change in intonation, Downes can convey exactly how the Chief is feeling at that moment, with even the slightest of breaks in his cool demeanor implying a great deal.
Halo Infiniteactually has some of the best examples of this. While it certainly wasn’t perfect, with a lot of vital content clearly left on the cutting room floor,Halo Infinite’s campaigndid give fans a slightly more emotionally complex Master Chief than is usually seen, all while keeping his helmet firmly on. Again, just through Downes' performance alone,Halo Infinitemanages to convey that the Chief is clearly remorseful that he was caught off guard and defeated by Atriox, which in turn led to most of his allies being killed or scattered across Zeta Halo. A lot of Chief’s more emotive moments come when he’s talking to Weapon, or the pilot Esparza, and though he’s still cool and stoic, it’s clear he’s a character that’s been through a lot and that it’s starting to take a big toll on him.
So while it’s much easier to just show the Master Chief getting upset or angry by revealing his facial expressions, it’s really not necessary. EveryHalogame so far has managed to give a good sense of the Master Chief’s character and motivations through his voice alone, and iftheHaloshowproves anything, it’s that the game series doesn’t need to show the Chief’s face to get that across.
