During last year’s Halo: Nightfall five-part digital series, fans were introduced to Jameson Locke, a capable soldier and ONI Acquisitions Specialist sent to investigate Covenant activity on the planet Sedra. For Halo 5: Guardians, Locke has been promoted to Spartan and tasked with hunting down the fallen hero, Master Chief. Fortunately, Locke isn’t alone; he has handpicked a team of specialists at the top of their field. If anyone stands a chance against Master Chief and the rest of Blue Team (read about them here), it’s this new team of Spartans. Meet Fireteam Osiris.
The UNSC Spartan programs have a morally clouded history. The Spartan-IIs were kidnapped at the age of six and forced to train to become hardened warriors. The Spartan-II program left many trainees dead, injured, and emotionally damaged in its wake. However, the Spartan-IIs were necessary in winning the war against the Covenant.
In contrast, the Spartan-IVs seem like a wholly noble effort. The men and women in the Spartan-IV program have chosen a life of military service. They’re driven and often the best of the best in their respective fields. “If these were real guys, they would all be quarterbacks,” says franchise development director Frank O’Connor. “But they are ultimately people. So they’re not robotic, single-minded monsters like Tom Brady. They’re more noble, handsome, beautiful Russell Wilson-types in my estimation. And you can quote me on that.”
343 Industries compares the Spartan-IVs to Nissan Skyline GT-Rs: every aspect of their armor is computer controlled, and every tool they have is state of the art. While the Spartan-IVs have some biological augmentations, they are simple, lower-level augmentations that were not nearly as invasive as those the Spartan-IIs received. Out of the suits, most Spartan-IVs wouldn’t stand a chance against a Spartan-II, but thanks to their top-of-the-line gear, Spartan-IVs are theoretically as good as Spartan-IIs.
Next up we breakdown the characteristics of each member of Team Osiris: Locke, Tanaka, Vale, and Buck.