Editing Halo: Initiation

{{Status|RealWorld}}

{{Comics infobox

|writer=[[Brian Reed]]

|artist=*Marco Castiello (artist)<br>

*Michael Atiyeh (colorist)

*John Liberto, Terry Dodson, Rachael Dodson, Paul Richards & [[Kenneth Scott]] (cover artists)

*[[Halo: Initiation Issue 1|Issue 1]]: August 14, [[2013]]

*[[Halo: Initiation Issue 2|Issue 2]]: September 11, 2013<ref>[http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/23-762/Halo-Initiation-2 '''Dark Horse''' - ''Halo: Initiation #2'']</ref>

*[[Halo: Initiation Issue 3|Issue 3]]: October 9, 2013<ref>[http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/23-763/Halo-Initiation-3 '''Dark Horse''' - ''Halo: Initiation #3'']</ref>

|length=96 pages

}}

'''''Halo: Initiation''''' is a three-part comic book series published by [[Dark Horse Comics]]. It acts as the origin story for [[Sarah Palmer|Commander Sarah Palmer]] and is presented as a lead-in to ''[[Halo: Spartan Assault]]'', which also stars Palmer.<ref>[https://digital.darkhorse.com/profile/3407/ '''Dark Horse''': ''Halo: Initiation #1 Preview'']</ref> The series follows her career from her time as an [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]] to the leader of the [[SPARTAN-IV Program|SPARTAN-IVs]] aboard the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}.<ref>[http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2013/04/halo-initiation-comic/ '''Wired.com''': ''First Look: Dark Horse Debuts New Halo Comic Series'']</ref><ref>[http://blogs.halowaypoint.com/Headlines/post/2013/04/26/Dark-Horse-Announces-Halo-Initiation.aspx '''Halo Waypoint''', ''Dark Horse Announces Halo Initiation'']</ref>

A hardcover edition was released on January 21, 2014.<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Halo-Initiation-Graphic-Brian-Reed-ebook/dp/B00GSA7GUS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387321365&sr=1-1&keywords=halo+initiation%7C '''Amazon''' - ''Halo Initiation Graphic Brian Reed]</ref>

In [[2553#January|January 2553]], [[Commander]] [[Musa-096]], a former [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II]], has arranged an audience with several [[admiral]]s in [[HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6]]. Despite reprehending the morality of the SPARTAN-II Program, Musa stresses the importance of the Spartans in the [[Human-Covenant War|Covenant War]] and argues that they are still necessary, revealing that he has created [[SPARTAN-IV Program|a new generation]] of the supersoldiers. Three months earlier, in [[2552#October|October 2552]], a group of [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers|ODSTs]], including Sarah Palmer, are deployed on a planet under Covenant attack. On the surface, [[Admiral]] [[Kovalic]], protecting an important [[Artificial intelligence|AI]], is heading to an extraction point, but his [[M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle|Warthog]] is attacked by a [[Jiralhanae Chieftain]]. Palmer's [[M8900 drop pod]] lands nearby and she defends Kovalic from the Chieftain and other [[Covenant]] forces converging on their position. Even though she is wounded by a [[Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher|Needler]] shard, Palmer eventually kills the Chieftain and saves the admiral. Three months later, while still recovering in a [[Lockhart medical station|UNSC medical facility]], Palmer is visited by [[Jun-A266]], who invites her to join the SPARTAN-IV Program.

While the Spartan-IVs prepare to fend off the attackers, Jun explains Ilsa Zane's background: she is the only survivor of a secret, prototypical phase of the SPARTAN-IV program. Although her physical augmentations are superior to those of the mainline Spartan-IVs, they also made her mentally unstable, resulting in her defection. On the bridge, the Insurrectionists are attempting to gain full control of the ''Infinity''. As they detect the approaching Spartan-IVs, Zane activates S-deck's decompression system, ejecting several of the Spartans into space, with Thomas Lasky and Jun being saved by Palmer and Davis. Lasky contacts Captain Del Rio, while Palmer and Davis make their way for the ''Infinity'' bridge along the exterior hull of the ship. Zane sends a group of her henchmen to eliminate the rest of the Spartans, but Lasky manages to close a [[blast door]] between them. Meanwhile, Palmer and Davis storm the bridge, with Palmer facing off Zane in hand-to-hand combat while Davis takes on the rest of the insurgents. During the duel, Del Rio and the bridge crew enter the bridge and reactivate Aine, who opens the bridge's airlock. Palmer finally knocks Zane out, venting her into space. Later, an unconscious Zane is recovered by a [[UNSC prowler|prowler]] and wakes up to recognize an unknown individual. The narrative returns to Musa addressing the Admiralty. He states that the Spartans are to thank for exposing [[Admiral]] [[Mattius Drake]] and his rebel movement, the [[New Colonial Alliance]], as well as saving the ''Infinity'', and boldly declares the Spartans as an [[Spartan Operations|independent branch]].

{{Article quote|Halo - one of the largest video game franchises - comes to Dark Horse! Before she was a supersoldier defending humanity as part of the Spartan IV program, Sarah Palmer was an ODST carrying out the most dangerous missions behind enemy lines! Join her on her dramatic journey from the ranks of humanity’s toughest leathernecks to the highest echelon of elite warriors in the galaxy.

{{Article quote|The UNSC Infinity, the UNSC's newest and most sophisticated flagship, proves to be a tempting target for a group of insurgents. It's up to Sarah Palmer and a bunch of rookie Spartans to defend Infinity, but are they up to the task?}}

{{Article quote|The conclusion of this three-part series reveals the story of how Commander Sarah Palmer became a Spartan-IV and leads directly into the exciting new mobile game from 343 Industries, Halo: Spartan Assault. Sarah Palmer and her new comrade Spartans are thrust into action when a violent insurgent group attempts to seize the UNSC flagship Infinity. Is their Spartan cunning a match for the insurgents' brilliant guerrilla tactics?}}

{{Clear}}

*[[Mattius Drake]] {{Fm}}

*[[Wikipedia:Sparta|Sparta]]

***[[Spartan Operations|Spartan]]

*[[Wikipedia:Battle of Thermopylae|Battle of Thermopylae]]

*{{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}}

*{{Class|Ibis|freighter}}

*[[Egret Spaceliner]]

*[[SRS99-S5 AM sniper rifle]]

*[[Gravity hammer (fiction)|gravity hammer]]

|title-8=Equipment and Technology|

*[[Combat harness|Sangheili combat harness]]

*[[M8900 drop pod]]

*In Issue 2, Zane's first name is written I'''sl'''a, whereas in Issue 3 it is written I'''ls'''a.

*In the first issue, Musa-096 states, "''It's two thousand years since Thermopylae.''" However, the [[Wikipedia:Battle of Thermopylae|Battle of Thermopylae]] took place in 480 BCE, more than 3000 years prior to Musa speaking these words in January 2553.

File:HI Cover 3.jpg|Issue #3 cover art by [[Kenneth Scott]].

{{Ref/Sources}}

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[[Category:Canon|Initiation]]

[[Category:Comics|Initiation]]