Are Spartans Human in Halo?
Throughout the entire history of the Halo video game franchise and lore, the Spartan soldiers have always been at the center of the different events happening in the galaxy because these are elite soldiers that the UNSC put on the frontlines. And they are far superior compared to regular marines because they can handle extremely powerful alien races like the Covenant. That said, are Spartans even human in Halo?
Spartans are indeed human beings in all of the different forms of literature in the Halo universe. However, they are not regular human beings because they were subjected to experimentations as children so that they could be stronger, faster, and smarter than any other human being.
The thing about the Halo universe is that the UNSC needed to have their own secret weapons to deal with the powerful Covenant race. That means that soldiers such as the Spartans were essential for them to shift the tide of war to their side. As such, Spartans are more like killing machines than they are humans. Nevertheless, let’s talk more about what we know about the Spartans in Halo.
Are Spartans In Halo Human?
Those who are familiar with the Halo series would know that Master Chief and the other Spartan soldiers are the faces of the franchise because they are the ones who are always at the frontline fighting different alien species throughout the galaxy. Of course, everyone would know that these Spartan soldiers always wear heavy armor and are far stronger than any other soldier that the UNSC has to offer.
Considering that Spartans seem to be superior to humans in every way because they are stronger, faster, and smarter, one might think that they are actually robots or anything other than humans. So, are Spartans in Halo actually human?
It is easy to believe that Spartans are anything but humans because they hardly show their faces and because the strongest Spartan and the face of the Halo franchise, Master Chief John-117, never shows his face and is always in his suit of armor. But the fact of the matter is that Spartans are actually human beings and are simply genetically the same as any other human.
In fact, while we never see Master Chief showing his face in any of the Halo games that canonically belong to the same Halo universe (the Halo TV series is sort of non-canon), there have been numerous other Spartan soldiers who have removed their helmets to reveal their faces.
The ones who have removed their helmets have essentially confirmed that Spartans are indeed human and are not so different from any other regular human. This belies the belief of most people in the Halo universe that Spartans are not humans.
Probably the only reason why some of the people in the Halo universe don’t believe that Spartans are humans is the fact that they are far stronger and are superior to any other human in any way. Of course, there’s also the fact that most Spartan soldiers tend to be robotic and emotionless, such as Master Chief himself. This has led some people to think that Spartans are simply machines underneath the suit of armor that they wear.
Nevertheless, as we are going to discuss in a while, Spartans are indeed human but have gone past the point where they are not the same as any other regular human in terms of their physical and mental capabilities.
Why Are The Spartans More Powerful Than Normal Humans?
As mentioned, the Spartans in the Halo universe are superior to humans in almost every way imaginable because they are stronger, faster, and smarter. This has allowed the UNSC to have super soldiers that they can place on the frontlines in the war against different alien races, such as the Covenant. So, what makes the Spartans more superior compared to humans?
First off, the Spartans, specifically those who belong to the Spartan-II program, were selected based on the genetic traits and physical characteristics of the candidate. Only those who are deemed naturally stronger, faster, and smarter than the average human are chosen to take part in the Spartan-II program. That means that Spartans are already better than normal humans since birth.
Moreover, after being chosen, these Spartans are taken as children and are subjected to intense experimentations that enhance their already impressive physical traits and genetics to such a level that they exceed the normal limits of human capabilities.
Through Dr. Catherine Halsey’s leadership, the Spartan-II program allowed the UNSC to choose these children to be trained in the art of military warfare from a very young age so that they are going to grow up as killing machines that are used to being on the frontlines. On top of that, they were also going to be outfitted with advanced exoskeleton suits known as the Mjolnir assault armor.
While wearing assault armor was already common for soldiers at that point in time, the difference between the common assault armor and the Mjolnir armor is the fact that the latter is capable of augmenting the wearer’s physical capabilities. But the drawback is that the one wearing the suit also needs physical capabilities that should be augmented.
The fact that the Mjolnir armor requires an augmented human to wear it was what ultimately forced Halsey and her team to genetically modify human children using serums and other types of experiments that are deemed unethical so that they could produce super soldiers that are far stronger than any human being, with or without the Mjolnir assault armor.
As such, the Spartans were born, and Master Chief was among one of the children who were subjected to the Spartan-II program headed by Dr. Halsey. The fact that the Spartans are far stronger than regular humans and are also superior to the Covenant, who themselves are already far stronger than the human race, made them indispensable in the galactic wars that the UNSC engaged in.
In fact, because of how powerful the Spartans are, even the Covenant refer to them as demons. And that’s saying a lot because the Covenant themselves are already superior to humans in almost every single way.