Halo: Top 10 Spartans - TheGamer

There are few modern FPS franchises that have more iconic characters than Halo's Spartan super-soldiers. First appearing in the form of John 117, the Master Chief himself, in Halo: Combat Evolved, these power armor-clad warriors have appeared in almost every Halo property since the franchise's inception. Pick a Halo game, any Halo game, and chances are you will be placed in the shoes of one of these superhuman defenders of humanity.

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Despite there not being many Spartans alive in-universe (according to supplementary material, 75 Spartan-IIs exist, but only half of them were deemed fit for active duty), there is still a fair amount of Spartans present as major characters in the games, as well as in the various tie-in novels, animations, comic books, and TV shows that make up the Halo franchise. But despite their status as being the best of the best, there are some who just happen to stand out more.

Updated April 18, 2023 By Ben Jessey: When it comes to Spartans in Halo, Master Chief is clearly the most famous. He is, after all, the protagonist for most of the games. Yet, that doesn't mean he's the only space marine in the franchise.

Not only are there more in the games, but there are also plenty in the novels, comics, and other pieces of Halo media. We considered them all when creating this list of the best Halo Spartans. And in this update, we've added more to the collection.

13 Kelly-087

Kelly is most known for being one of the members of Master Chief's Blue Team during Halo 5. She has also been a part of plenty of Halo content that's outside of the games. It's during these stories that her talents have really been put on display.

Like any Spartan, she's generally a brilliant combatant, but what puts her above many of her peers is her quickness. She is one of the fastest humans in the Halo universe. Not only does this pertain to her general sprint speed but also her reflexes. This is, of course, very useful on the battlefield.

12 Carter-A259

Carter is most famous for his stint as Noble Team leader in Halo Reach. Throughout the game, his team and all of humanity are under serious threat from the Covenant. In the process, Carter proves himself to be a strong leader.

Admittedly, it doesn't go well for his team. But no matter how bad it gets for his crew, he maintains his composure and manages to keep his squad on task. Without him, their mission to deliver Cortana probably wouldn't have been a success.

11 Frederic-104

Most of Frederic's appearances in the series have come outside of the games. However, he did feature in Halo 5: Guardians. From the video game alone, it's hard to decipher the guy's abilities. But other Halo materials prove that he is an exceptional soldier.

He was a part of the Spartan-II program with the Master Chief. The two actually have a lot of similarities when it comes to their abilities. Both are well-rounded combatants with strong leadership qualities. Even the Chief himself said that the reason Fred didn't win the contests the Spartan-IIs had as kids was because he didn't want the attention. So, clearly, the Chief thinks highly of the soldier.

10 Linda-058

The Sniper Rifle is one of the most enjoyable weapons to use in the Halo series. And in canon, pretty much nobody wields it as well as Linda. Another member of the Spartan-II program, Linda excels in long-range combat because she has inhuman sniping abilities.

Much of it comes from her incredible vision - she doesn't need a spotter - but also, she has an incredible mentality. The woman never panics or gets distracted. Unfortunately, you don't get to see much of her skills in the games, as she only appears in Halo 5: Guardians. Thankfully, though, she's in a healthy amount of the other material.

9 Samuel-034

The story of Samuel is a sad one as he was the first Spartan-II to die during a battle with the Covenant, and he was only 14 when it happened. Therefore, he didn't quite live long enough to fulfill his potential, but he still made an impact at such a young age.

Part of the impact came from the fact he was over seven feet tall and stronger than all of his teammates. He wasn't just a meathead, though. The guy had incredible hearing and vision. Plus, he was an expert at explosives. So, if he had lived longer, the guy would've probably played a large role in the war with the Covenant.

8 Edward Malcolm Buck

First introduced in the well-received campaign of Halo 3: ODST as a member of the titular military branch, Edward Malcolm Buck is one of the more popular recurring characters in the Halo series. Voiced by and modeled after actor Nathan Fillion, Buck would appear in several Halo games after his debut, with the chance that he would appear during a specific mission in Halo: Reach, as well as an optional commentator for the game's Firefight mode.

During his debut in ODST, he leads a group of soldiers into the city of New Mombasa on a secret mission, where he quickly lived up to his famous reputation; "If he were any better, he'd be a Spartan". This description would prove to be some pretty major foreshadowing; by the time of his next major appearance in Halo 5: Guardians he had since become a Spartan-IV and had joined Fireteam Osiris, where he acted as a voice of reason during their hunt for Master Chief.

7 Spartan-1337

In the early 2010s, 343 Industries - the company that became the custodian of the Halo IP when series creator Bungie split from Microsoft - produced a series of short animated films set in the Halo universe. Similar to efforts such as the Animatrix or the more recent Star Wars Visions, the series was animated by various Japanese animation studios and took a looser approach to canon than later entries in the franchise (such as the live-action Halo: Nightfall mini-series). The final episode of the series, "Odd One Out", is exactly that; an odd, lighthearted episode sandwiched in between the otherwise quite serious drama of the other shorts, and stars probably the strangest Spartan in the whole Halo franchise.

Spartan-1337 is probably the clumsiest Spartan-II to come out of the program, and also possesses the worst luck; in fact, he kickstarts the plot of "Odd One Out" by falling out of a transport onto a random, seemingly deserted planet, with events only escalating from there. Despite the adversity that Spartan-1337 faces, from dinosaurs and rogue AI to Covenant superweapons and teenagers who have stepped straight out of Dragon Ball, he never gives up or backs down. This trait is an admirable one to have and, combined with 1337's boisterousness, he is a unique presence on the battlefield. Not bad for a character from a non-canon spoof parody of Shonen anime and Halo!

6 Kat-B320

Debuting in Halo: Reach alongside the other members of Noble Team, Catherine, or Kat for short, was the team's second in command, as well as their chief technical expert. Fiercely loyal to her team, she initially struggles to open up to the then-new Noble Six at the beginning of Halo: Reach, before becoming one of their closest allies. She participates in several key missions during the fall of Reach, before dying at the hands of a sniper as The Covenant destroyed the city of New Alexandria.

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Kat holds the dubious honor of being the first on-screen depiction of a female Spartan in a mainline Halo game. With her bionic arm, wrist computer, and cool armor, she also had arguably the coolest design out of all the members of Noble Team. Combined with her growth throughout the story, you have one of the more interesting characters in a Halo game. Just don't mention her bad driving; it might be a sore point.

5 Jameson Locke

The second main playable character from Halo 5: Guardians, Jameson Locke is the leader of Fireteam Osiris, as well as one of the youngest playable characters in a Halo game. A former freelance assassin turned ONI operative, by the events of Halo 5: Guardians Locke has become a Spartan-IV and is leading his team on a mission to track down a disappeared Master Chief and Blue Team. Known for his skill and professionalism in the field, Locke would eventually ally with Chief and Blue Team to face the bigger threat of Cortana in a mission to save the galaxy.

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As the second primary protagonist of Halo 5: Guardians, Locke offers players an alternative view of the hunt for Master Chief. While John-117 might be the hero of the Halo franchise, Locke still offered players an interesting and distinct alternative in that game.

4 Jorge-052

Also known as Noble Five, Jorge was the sole Spartan-II on Noble Team, as well as their heavy weapon specialist. Born on Reach, he was present at the beginning of the Fall of Reach, undertaking several operations as part of Noble Team. Jorge was notable for his kind-hearted personality and was often the one who communicated with either civilians or non-Spartan military personnel.

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But his kind-hearted personality would ultimately be his downfall. During the Fall of Reach Jorge and Noble Six are able to make it to a Covenant supercarrier in orbit around the planet. Once there, Jorge detonates a slipspace bomb, sacrificing himself to destroy what he thought was the source of the invasion. A noble sacrifice for a distinctly noble individual.