Halo is one of the most iconic first-person video games of all time. Players play as the iconic Master Chief, he is one of the most famous interpretations of super soldiers in all of fiction. With his physical abilities and tactical ingenuity, there are some that may wonder where he got his extraordinary abilities.

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Being a SPARTAN-II, he is actually part of a second-generation of a series of super-soldiers called the SPARTANS. However, its history goes far deeper than that. Imagine an army of Captain Americas but arguably even stronger than that. Here are the 10 things about the SPARTAN program you may not know about.

10 It Was Originally Called ORION

The very first SPARTAN program was originally not even called SPARTAN at all. Known as the ORION program, it was established by the Office of Naval Intelligence with the hopes of increasing the overall effectiveness of their army. Although it ended in failure, it eventually received a relaunch to deal with the insurgency.

Compared to the augmentations that later SPARTAN programs received, the ORION project didn't get nearly as much, but they made it work with what they had. There aren't that many anymore, but the most notable Orion subject throughout the Halo universe is Sergeant Major Avery Johnson.

9 The SPARTAN Program Has Plenty Of Child Soldiers

One of the darkest aspects of the SPARTAN program is how the majority of SPARTAN IIs and IIIs were actually children. The SPARTAN IIs, in particular, were kidnapped when they were much younger in order to essentially indoctrinate them into the perfect soldiers from a young age.

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This would mean that characters like the Master Chief were essentially designed purely for war and did numerous accomplishments throughout his careers when he was just a teenager. Making them some of the most experienced soldiers in fiction.

8 SPARTAN IIIs Are Primarily Fodder

Although the SPARTAN IIs were a major success, not only were they too expensive but they were also valued too highly to be considered expendable. As such, the creation of the SPARTAN III was born where characters get a similar process to the SPARTAN IIs except their augmentations were of lower quality.

What's more, they were a lot more of them compared to the SPARTAN IIs which meant they were also designed to be far more expendable.

7 The SPARTAN Program Wasn't Initially Designed For The Covenant

Before the Covenant came into the picture, the main threat that the ORION project and later the SPARTAN II project had to face were numerous insurrectionists that popped up throughout their colonies and planet Earth. They were designed to essentially take them out.

However, due to the constant threats that the insurrection did to the UNSC, this would mean that they would be grossly unprepared when they eventually fought the Covenant threat, especially considering how advanced they were compared to the UNSC.

6 The SPARTAN Enhancements Are Only Part Of It

As powerful as the enhancements are for the SPARTAN augmentations, it is really only part of the things that make Spartans like Master Chief so special. Since they were taught as children to be perfect soldiers, they had to understand all advanced military studies and train in order to become the best they can be, physically and mentally.

Finally, it is also important to note that they wear their advanced MJOLNIR armor which not only allows their augmentations to become even stronger but also makes them identifiable on the battlefield.

5 Spartans Are Always Listed As MIA, Even If They Are Killed

An interesting thing to note is that whenever Spartans die, the higher-ups refuse to consider them truly "dead." For example, whenever SPARTAN IIs are put in the casualty rates, they are often just put as MIA in order to keep the high morale of the UNSC.

This essentially allows the Spartans to maintain their legendary exploits and keep the UNSC going even if the odds are stacked against them by the Covenant. It would be a major blow, for example, if Master Chief was KIA considering he is the poster boy.

4 There Were Many Names Before SPARTAN Was Chosen

Prior to the decision of naming the program "SPARTAN," the other names that were considered included: Titans, Argonauts, Odysseus, Olympians, Zulu, Kronos, Promethean, Armor, Nemesis, Daedalus, Viking, Hercules, Hyperion, Praetorians, Landsknecht, Immortals, and the Minutemen.

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These were mostly references to different cultures' myths as a way of just showing how beyond the capabilities of the Spartans were, with the name being carefully chosen in order to reflect their warrior mentality.

3 There Are Three Reasons Why The Name SPARTAN Was Chosen

The first reason that the SPARTAN name was chosen was obviously because of the historical inspirations that came from being Spartans. Historically, Spartans were boys that were trained from a young age. This leads to the second reason for the name in which Dr. Halsey was inspired by the Battle of Thermopylae and how the original Greek Spartans were cherished throughout history.

However, the final reason is the fact that by training the characters from childhood to adulthood, they would be able to become the perfect soldiers. As Dr. Halsey claims in her notes, "the beginning of wisdom is ignorance."

2 SPARTAN IVs Are Frowned Upon By Dr. Halsey

The newest Spartans to be unveiled in the SPARTAN program, they were essentially designed to make well-made Spartans while returning to the principles of previous programs like the ORION project. This includes taking adult soldiers and augmenting them.

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They are also more technologically advanced which is a sharp departure to previous programs like SPARTAN-IIs, where they were far more genetically enhanced and were basically brought up as children. This made them vastly distinct to the other Spartans and garnered criticism from Dr. Halsey who actually claimed that they were inferior because of it.

1 SPARTAN-IIs Has The Highest Death Ratio Out Of All The SPARTAN Candidates

Because the SPARTAN IIs were the first indication of the SPARTAN augmentation process, they were also given some of the strongest forms of it. As a result, the survival rate for all of them is incredibly low with only 33 of the candidates out of the conscripted 75 were able to become true SPARTAN IIs.

This means that the SPARTAN IIs have the highest death rate out of all the Spartans. However,  the successes that came out of it were absolutely extraordinary, specifically the Master Chief who helped change the tide in the Covenant wars.

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