Daniel Black

This article is about the UNSC general. For other uses of the word "black", see Black (disambiguation).

Template:Character Infobox

"Send me your sons, your daughters. And I will transform their bodies, I will discipline their minds, and I will rid their hearts of fear. Make no mistake. This is a call to arms. The enemy is out there waiting, in the shadows of those stars, to slaughter our future. So I ask you: What will your legacy be? Send me the next generation of soldiers and I will give you the next generation of heroes."

— General Black

General Daniel Black was a flag officer of the UNSC Marine Corps. Black served as the superintendent of Corbulo Academy of Military Science during the later years of the Insurrection and during the Covenant's invasion of the Outer Colonies in 2526.

Biography

Early career

Prior to taking a position at Corbulo Academy, Black had served as a committed and dedicated Marine officer, earning his stripes through his involvement in Operation: TREBUCHET. Strongly patriotic and pro-UEG, he earned numerous decorations in his career and by 2526 he had achieved the rank of General.

Corbulo

Upon noticing the amount of Outer Colony youth joining Insurrectionist factions, he decided that an extremely regimented pro-UEG education would be the key to winning the Insurrection. As such, sometime prior to 2526, Black was appointed superintendent of the Corbulo Academy of Military Science.

Black regularly made rounds of the campus, personally overseeing the performance of the class of 2529. He frequently monitored Hastati Squad, particularly Cadets Chyler Silva and Thomas Lasky. Silva's parents had been killed in action against Insurrectionists, and the general respected their sacrifice and their daughter performed admirably in his eyes. Lasky's mother was a well-renowned colonel, while his brother, Cadmon, had been one of the finest cadets in the academy's history. In contrast to Silva, Black often berated Thomas for failing to live up to his family members' reputations.

Battle of Circinius IV

As of 2526, ONI Section Two kept the Covenant's existence a closely guarded secret. Despite most of the academy's personnel being unaware of the burgeoning Human-Covenant War, Black was informed and posted Marine garrisons at key areas around the facility. He also authorized limited communications blackouts under the guise of routine maintenance procedures.

During the Covenant attack on Circinius IV, Black ordered the evacuation of Corbulo's cadets. However, the destruction of the Academy's space elevator killed many of the cadets and staff, hindering the evacuation operation. Shortly afterwards, Black, along with most of Circinius IV's population, was killed in the Covenant ground assault. His corpse was later found in the driver seat of his Warthog by the four surviving CAMS cadets as well as John-117, who used his Warthog to escape the Academy.

Personality and traits

Black had a very gruff, no-nonsense personality and little tolerance for second-rate performance. Though he respected those who conducted themselves well in exercises and in actual service, he did not refrain from belittling those whom he felt did not give their all. He has a habit of smoking cigars, probably Sweet Williams.

Black adamantly believed in Earth's dominance over humanity's colonies, maintaining that the UNSC was solely responsible for humanity's survival and well-being. He strongly condemned the insurrectionists, who in his view endangered countless human lives as well as what he saw as mankind's safe and harmonious coexistence under the auspices of the Unified Earth Government. He was very vocal with these views, making his stance known not only among the cadets in the lectures and speeches he frequently held, but also in the school's advertisements.

Production notes

General Black is portrayed by Canadian actor Mike Dopud, who voiced the protagonist in iD Software's Doom. By appearing in Forward Unto Dawn, he has acted in both the most influential early first-person shooter and in one of the mainstay franchises of the modern FPS genre.

Gallery

• 

  General Black's special variant of the CAMS insignia (right), modified to include a dagger pointing down.

• 

  Closeup of General Black.

• 

  Profile view of General Black.

• 

  General Black reprimanding members of Hastati Squad during a training exercise.

• 

  General Black's personal Warthog.

• 

  General Black in his personal Warthog.

• 

  Black inspecting Hastati Squad.

• 

  Black giving a speech to Hastati Squad.

List of appearances

• Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (First appearance)
• Halo 2: Anniversary (Poster only)