Avery Johnson

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"Roger that. In position and ready to kick Covenant ass."

— Avery J. Johnson, Halo: First Strike

Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson (voiced by David Scully) is an energetic soldier in the United Nations Space Command Marine Corps. He plays a vital role in both Halo games, providing assistance to the Chief at very opportune times. He also has a strange fascination for Flip Music. SERVICE NUMBER: 48789-2094-AJ

Biography

Early Career

File:Johnson.jpg

Johnson grew up fighting the Covenant since the day he joined the UNSC Marine Corp.

Avery J. Johnson has been fighting the Covenant since he was old enough to join the Marines. He enlisted and joined the UNSC, where he was assigned to the troop regiments on Paris IV. When the Covenant attacked the planet, Sergeant Johnson fought valiantly: during the battle, he captured a crate of plasma grenades when his troops needed weapons and used them all against the enemy troops to keep them at bay so his fellow soldiers could evacuate.

After they returned to Reach for debriefing and reassignment, doctors discovered an unusual medial abnormality: the radiation from the plasma grenades formed mutations in Johnson’s DNA. He was diagnosed with Boren’s Syndrome, a condition affecting the neural electric pathways. Johnson refused treatment and opted for immediate reassignment. He received a Purple Heart for his actions.

With the rank of Staff Sergeant, he was assigned to Reach Station Gamma, a military station above the planet. While stationed there, a massive Covenant armada arrived, beginning Battle of Reach. During the battle, Johnson led a search and destroy team aboard the station, where they were picked up by Master Chief John-117. He escaped onto the ‘’Pillar of Autumn’’, which fled the battle into slipspace.

Halo

Coming out of slipspace, the Pillar of Autumn came across a mysterious ring. The Covenant took advantage of the ship’s low fuel and armament and jumped on top of the crew with a boarding party. On board, Johnson helped defend the Autumn from the invading Unggoy and Sangheili troops, but like everyone else was forced to abandon ship when Captain Jacob Keyes issued the order.

Johnson was responsible for the deaths of many Covenant troops on Halo.

"Good to see you, Chief. Welcome to the party."

— Sergeant Johnson

Johnson’s escape pod successfully landed on the ring with little injuries to the passengers. However, as soon as they stepped onto the grass, they were viciously attacked by the Covenant strike teams. With his squad scattered all over the valley, he was glad to see the Chief come strolling up to assist. Johnson aided the Chief in patrolling the surrounding area and rescuing his men, all of whom were under attack.

Johnson later accompanied Fire Team Charlie on their mission to rescue Keyes from the Covenant starship, ‘’Truth and Reconciliation’’. Fighting their way through the enemy vessel, they found the lost captain and returned him to Alpha Base.

Escape from the Flood

In order to escape the Flood, Johnson was forced to confront the death of his squad and the nightmarish Combat Forms.

The crew intercepted a Covenant transmission detailing the transport of numerous weapons to somewhere in the swampy regions of the ring. This, as well as a Sangheili’s testimony of a large weapons cache located in a swamp, prompted Captain Keyes to investigate. Johnson accompanied the captain for this mission and brought some of the finest soldiers from his crew.

Shortly after they were dropped off, the crew came across a structure leading underground. As they ventured further into the facility they came across several Elite corpses, with scrambled innards. Passing them off as friendly fire, they proceeded deeper into the facility until they entered a seemingly empty room. Annoyed with Private Mendoza’s whining, Johnson passed off the situation as sissy talk until little, balloon-like creatures burst out of the nearby holding cells and attacked the squad. Nothing he had ever seen in his entire career as a Marine could prepare him for the enemy he found attacking his soldiers. He was one of the victims of an assimilation attempt into a Combat Form, but the mutations caused by his Boren’s Syndrome stopped the process. Alive and well, Johnson was forced to attack and kill his own troops, who were mutating before his eyes into mindless monsters bent on killing him. With his tenacity and his will to live, Johnson fought his way out of the nightmare.

He was presumed dead after Master Chief found a helmet recorder entry from Private Wallace Jenkins, showing the gory details of the solder’s fates.

Return to Earth

"Hell, Chief, it’ll take more than that pack of walking alien horror-show freaks to take out Sergeant A. J. Johnson. "

— Avery J. Johnson

Johnson met up with Lieutenant Elias Haverson, Corporal Locklear, and Sheila Polaski, and the group escaped the ring in a Pelican, moments before it collapsed in a series of fiery explosions. Polaski piloted the dropship away from the ring, meeting up with a C709 ‘‘Longsword’’-class Starfighter carrying the Master Chief and the AI, Cortana. Having seen Jenkins’s video himself, John was quickly alarmed by Johnson’s appearance, and it took Cortana to convince him that the sergeant hadn’t turned into a Flood mutant. With that, the Chief relaxed and welcomed Johnson aboard.

Ascendant Justice

"Those Covenant sissies are going to have to tango with me before they set one foot in this room."

— Avery J. Johnson

Without a viable way to return to the nearest safe outpost, it was decided that the new crew would take over the nearest Covenant ship in the vicinity: ‘‘Ascendant Justice’’. Polaski piloted the Pelican towards the ship. After they boarded, Johnson and the others made their way through the ship towards the bridge. He was vital in a final showdown between the Chief and a Sangheili, where he brought down the alien’s shields in order for the Chief to win.

Johnson guarded the bridge along with Locklear and Haverson as the Chief took Polaski and a Covenant Huragok to go do some repairs to the ship. After they came back, John revealed his secret mission to capture a Covenant flagship. Wanting to return to reach, Johnson backed up the Chief’s position.

Reach, Eridanus Secundus, and a Life Decision

"You still want to go, I got your back Chief."

— Avery J. Johnson

They arrived at Reach, which was nearly completely destroyed. Using a Covenant dropship, they traveled to the surface of the dead planet; Johnson was becoming nervous. After they landed, they found the surviving Spartans and Dr. Catherine Halsey.

Johnson accompanied the new and growing crew as the ship moved through slipspace. Unbeknownst to him, Dr. Halsey and the Master Chief were reviewing his medical files. They matched Johnson’s survival with the flood to his Boren’s Syndrome: Flood DNA was present in Johnson’s blood, but were dormant and noninfectious. Halsey also confirmed that Johnson had gained some curious regenerative abilities as a side affect from the attempted assimilation back on Halo. Halsey had prepared two separate documents for ONI Section Three to review:

• All relevant data on Halsey’s analysis and the possible technology to counter an initial Flood infestation.
• Jenkins’s and Johnson’s mission logs as well as Johnson’s medical files.

Halsey placed the decision of which data crystal to give to ONI to the Chief. If he gave them the second crystal, ONI would have probably dissected Johnson in order to figure out how he resisted the Flood, killing the sergeant. She left the decision to him.

Operation: FIRST STRIKE

Johnson continued to be of use when the Spartans attacked the Unyielding Hierophant in Operation: FIRST STRIKE.

The First Battle of Earth

Johnson is presented with The Colonial Cross along with the Chief.

"So, Johnson, when you gonna tell me how you made it back home in one piece?"

— "Sergeant Gunns"

The crew returned to Earth safely, and they were given time to rest and were debriefed on their experiences. Aboard the Cairo, Johnson was promoted to Sergeant Major and given the Colonial Cross by Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood for his actions on Halo. During the ceremony, the Covenant armada arrived at Earth, beginning the epic First Battle of Earth.

Johnson aided the defense of the Cairo along with the Chief. As the Spartan led the human forced deeper into the station, Johnson and Commander Miranda Keyes boarded the UNSC frigate In Amber Clad; there they organized their squad of marines. After they had captured the Chief, the ship departed towards Earth to lead a task force in the outskirts of New Mombassa.

File:PelicanPilots1.jpg

Johnson commands the pilots to move into the battle zone.

"Dear Humanity... we regret being alien bastards. We regret coming to Earth. And we most definitely regret that the Corps just blew up our raggedy-ass fleet!"

— Avery J. Johnson

As they arrived on the surface, Cortana intercepted data that pointed towards the one of the Covenant’s spiritual leaders. Johnson led the Pelicans into battle, but they were shot down by a Covenant Scarab before they got close to the ship that carried the High Prophet of Regret. Using a sniper rifle, Johnson fought alongside his new squad and his old friend in the residential district of the city, providing cover fire and serving as a lookout. As the Chief went on to find marines from another downed Pelican, Johnson stayed back and joined the rescue units to provide cover. Viewing the Scarab as a threat to the mission, he returned to ‘’In Amber Clad’’ to bring a Scorpion tank for the Chief to use as a frontline assault against the Covenant invasion force. Together, they attacked the giant walker; Johnson provided supplemental troops to back up the Chief in his attack.

After its destruction, Johnson picked up the Chief and brought him back into In Amber Clad, just as the massive Covenant ship took off into slipspace. In Amber Clad, caught in the wake of the physical abnormality, was brought along for the ride.

Delta Halo

"Dear Sarge, kickin' ass in outer space, wish you were here."

— Marine

"I heard that, jackass!"

— Avery J. Johnson

Coming out of slipspace, Johnson was shocked to learn that there was another Halo in existence. Determined to find and capture the Prophet of Regret, Commander Keyes ordered the Chief and the Sergeant to land on the ring and secure and landing zone. Johnson took two Pelicans and followed the Chief onto the surface, providing artillery and troops to fight the Covenant stationed in the ring’s ancient temples.

During the mission, Cortana translated a message from Regret being broadcast on the Covenant network: Regret planned to activate Halo. Pulling information gathered from the previous ring visited, Keyes found the location of Delta Halo’s library housing the Index. She ordered Johnson to extract his troops and return to In Amber Clad for reassignment.

Search for the Index

"You know, your father never asked me for help either!"

— Avery J. Johnson

The situation mirrored his previous experiences back on Alpha Halo: he and a group of his best privates joined Keyes on a search for a weapon. They traveled to the Library and entered. As they neared the center of the massive structure, the small pack was attacked by a large amount of Flood. They held their own weight and fought the creatures off, finally locating the Index. Johnson helped Miranda grab the key, but before they headed out, they were attacked by a Sangheili dressed in peculiar armor: the Arbiter. Johnson was quickly incapacitated. Unbeknownst at the time, Johnson and Miranda Keyes were taken into custody by Tartarus, Chieftain of the Brutes.

The Fight to Deactivate Halo

"Listen. You don't like me, and I sure as hell don't like you. But if we don't do something, Mr. Mohawk's gonna activate this ring, and we're all gonna die."

— Avery J. Johnson

The two were held in the Covenant city of High Charity. The High Prophet of Truth told Tartarus to activate the ring to initiate the Great Journey, and ordered the Jiralhanae to split Johnson, Keyes, and the captured Oracle into three different Phantom dropships. Each was taken down to the surface, where they were split up. Johnson joined many of his fellow soldiers for an execution. Moments before their deaths, the Arbiter and his squad burst out of the nearby structure and attacked the Jiralhanae, distracting them long enough for Johnson to board the nearby Scarab walker.

Johnson commandeering a Scarab before the Arbiter.

After the executioners were killed, Johnson confronted the Arbiter in his new Scarab. They both agreed that Tartarus needed to be stopped. Johnson suggested that the Arbiter commandeer a Banshee to provide air support. With that, they joined forces and traveled through the canyon towards the Control Room. Knowing the brute strength of the Scarab’s main weapon, Johnson fired at the heavily armored door, shattering it with ease. Arming himself with a Beam Rifle, Johnson followed the Arbiter inside.

He arrived during a standoff between the Arbiter’s forces and Tartarus’s forces. He aimed at the Jiralhanae’s head, keeping him from inserting the Index. Tartarus threw 343 Guilty Spark at Johnson, knocking him over. Quickly, he inserted the Index into the control panel, starting the firing process. The Arbiter and his squad challenged Tartarus, and Johnson provided backup, using his beam rifle to bring down the Chieftain’s shields. With his shields down, the Arbiter was able to kill the Jiralhanae, therefore allowing Miranda to grab the Index and stop Halo from firing.

With the remainder of the Sangheili squad keeping the area secure, 343 Guilty Spark explained to Johnson and Keyes that the other Installations were ready to fire on demand. When asked where they could be fired, the Monitor told them that they could be fired from the Ark. Johnson, Keyes and the Monitor stood there and waited for what the future would bring.

Behind the Scenes

Trivia

• In the Great Journey level, when you fight Tartarus if you face Johnson, he will refer to you as the Master Chief. He will also use terms as if he were on Earth such as "Bring it Tourist"
• He is (as of returning to Earth in Halo 2) the same rank as John-117.

The Invincible Johnson

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Johnson and an Elite halt their battle when they notice the Pillar of Autumn about to explode in the non-canon extended ending of ‘'Halo: Combat Evolved.

In Halo: Combat Evolved, Johnson is expendable, just like every other marine, but will always return in the next level. Sometimes there are two Sergeant Johnson characters aiding the Chief. This paradox can be seen in the levels Pillar of Autumn, Halo and 343 Guilty Spark. However, many players speculate that there are other Marine Sergeants with the Johnson model, such as in Silent Cartographer (Level) and Assault on the Control Room (Level), where Johnson is already occupied in aiding Captain Keys in his search for the Covenant weapons cache.

In Halo 2, Johnson is an NPC, immune from harm. There is only one way to kill him. First, bring the banshee inside the control room in the level The Great Journey. While he is firing at Tartarus, if you run into him with your banshee, he will do a combat roll and fall off the ledge. He appears shortly behinds you magically and resumes firing.

Bungie's Explanation

According to Bungie's Legendary Halo PC/MAC walkthrough on their website:

Wait! Don't walk away! There's a short scene you haven't seen when you've beaten the game on previous levels. You'll see a tug of war happening between an Elite and Sergeant Johnson.

"But wait." You say, "I saw Sgt. Johnson die twice now already. What's up with that?"

Well, think of Sgt. Johnson as being like Kenny from South Park. No matter how many times he dies he'll always come back. Why? Well, it's complicated. Suffice it to say that even nuclear explosions can't keep a good man down.

Johnson, a Spartan-I?

Main article: Halo Graphic Novel Pg122

In the Halo Graphic Novel, on pg 122, reveals that he was involved in Project: ORION, the Spartan-I program. This would make him over 60 years old, possibly even 70. This would mean that either Spartans can live longer without aging, or people generally live longer in the future. Another possibility is that Johnson has accumulated a total of several years spent frozen in cryo-chambers during missions requiring long periods of time traveling through slipspace, thus keeping him physically younger than he actually is. Any or all of these conditions may be having contributed to Sgt. Johnson appearing younger than he is.

Quotes

• "All you greenhorns who wanted to see Covenant up close? This is going to be your lucky day!" To the marines on the Pillar of Autumn (Level)
• "Please...don't shake the light bulb!" To Tartarus in The Great Journey (Level)
• "Come on, Arbiter, kick that guy's ass!" To the Arbiter during combat with Tartarus The Great Journey (Level)
• "This is it, baby. Hold me." To a miscellaneous Elite, in the Legendary Halo 1 ending.
• "(coughs) Say what?!" When he learns about another halo in Halo 2
• "Listen, you don't like me, and I sure as hell don't like you. But if we don't do something, Mr. Mohawk's gonna activate this ring, and we're all gonna die." To the Arbiter, while piloting a Scarab.
• "Oh I know what the ladies like..." To Cortana when she thanks him for bringing her and the Master Chief a Tank...and while cocking a machine gun.
• "Looks like your freaky little mouth just bit off more than it could chew" to a Grunt on the Outskirts Level
• "Well, there's only one thing left to say...(loudly, brashly vocalizes the "That's all, folks!" tune from Looney Toons)" When the player is killed if he attacks the bridge crew of the Pillar of Autumn

‘‘Pillar of Autumn’’ Speeches

"Keep your eyes downrange, fingers on the triggers, and we all come home in one piece. Am I right, Marines?"

— Easy

"Once again, it is our job to finish what the flyboys started. We are leaving this ship, platoon, and engaging the Covenant on solid ground. When we meet the enemy, we will rip their skulls from their spines and toss them away, laughing! Am I right, Marines?"

— Normal

"Men, here is where we show those split-chinned squid-headed sons of bitches that they could not have picked a worse enemy than the human race. We are going to blow the hell out of those dumb bugs until we don't have anything left to shoot them with. Then we will strangle them with their own living guts! Am I right, Marines?"

— Heroic

"Men, we have led these dumb bugs out to the middle of no-where to keep them from gettin' their filthy claws on Earth. Instead, we stumbled on something they're so hot for, they're scrambling over each other to get it. Well, I don't care if its God's own anti-son-of-a-bitch machine or a giant hula hoop, we're not going to let them have it! What we will let them have is a belly full of lead and a pool of their own blood to drown in! Am I right, Marines?"

— Legendary

Metropolis Speeches

"You had your chance to be afraid before you joined my beloved Corps! But, to guide you back to the true path, I brought this motivational device! Our big green style cannot be defeated!"

— Easy

"The Chief is gonna jump in this tank, roll across the bridge, and blow up any inhuman son-of-a-bitch dumb enough to get between him and the Prophet of Regret! Pull yourself together, because you're going with him."

— Normal

"When I joined the Corps, we didn't have any fancy-schmanzy tanks. We had sticks! Two sticks, and a rock for the whole platoon- and we had to share the rock! Buck up, boy, you are one very lucky marine!"

— Heroic

"Usually the good Lord works in mysterious ways. But not today! This here is 66 tons of straight-up, H.E-spewing dee-vine intervention! If God is love, then you can call me Cupid!"

— Legendary

Appearances

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Johnson, taking aim.

• Halo: The Fall of Reach
• Halo: Combat Evolved/Halo: The Flood
  • Pillar of Autumn
  • Halo
  • Truth and Reconciliation
  • 343 Guilty Spark/Halo Graphic Novel: Breaking Quarantine
  • The Maw (Legendary ending)
• Halo: First Strike
• Halo 2
  • The Armory
  • Cairo Station
  • Outskirts
  • Metropolis
  • Delta Halo
  • Quarantine Zone (Cutscene)
  • The Great Journey
• Halo 3