Every Halo Game Protagonist, Ranked

The Halo franchise, and the Xbox brand overall, will soon turn 25 years old in November 2026, marking a quarter of a century full of enthralling sci-fi games, memorable multiplayer experiences, and iconic characters that have led some of Xbox's greatest games.

While most gamers know of the legendary Spartan Master Chief John-117 or at least recognize his many Mjölnir helmets, he's actually not the only protagonist to be featured in a Halo game, with multiple other soldiers and even aliens headlining Halo titles and DLC campaigns.

With Halo turning 25 years old soon and Halo: Campaign Evolved having recently launched on PlayStation for the first time, here's a look back at and ranking of every Halo game protagonist based on their characterization, impact on the franchise, and roles in their respective games.

This list only includes the main playable protagonists of each Halo game and DLC campaign, not optional secondary playable characters like Usze 'Taham, Olympia Vale, or Linda-058.

20 Headhunter

Spartan Strike's Unidentified Spartan-IV

Halo: Spartan Strike Twin-Stick Shooter Released April 16, 2015 Developer(s) 343 Industries, Vanguard Entertainment Publisher(s) Microsoft Studios Franchise Halo Platform(s) iOS, PC Genre(s) Twin-Stick Shooter

Over the quarter-century, there have been many Halo spinoffs released, with one of the most overlooked being Halo: Spartan Strike, a twin-stick shooter mobile game originally designed for Microsoft's now discontinued line of Windows Phones.

Spartan Strike's story is easily the game's worst aspect. It follows an unnamed Spartan-IV Headhunter fighting through a simulation of the Battle of New Mombasa and later hunting down a Forerunner artifact called the Conduit on Gamma Halo, only for the Spartan to lose the artifact in the end.

The unnamed Headhunter has little to no agency or characterization in Spartan Strike. It just goes to show how forgotten this mobile game has been that they still haven't given this Spartan a proper name in the 11 years since Spartan Strike launched in 2015.

19 Victor Ramos

Fireteam Raven's Heavy Weapons Specialist

Developer

Play Mechanix

Platforms

Arcade

Release Date

2018

In 2018, Halo finally made its way to arcades with the cooperative rail shooter Halo: Fireteam Raven. While many of its cabinets feature four-player co-op, some only feature two-player co-op, resulting in Fireteam Raven's Orbital Drop Shock Troopers Victor Ramos and Ava Lang being the game's main characters.

Being an arcade rail shooter prioritizing constant action, none of Fireteam Raven's members are really given a moment to shine as individual characters or given lengthy dialogue sequences. However, their characters are detailed a bit in cutscenes and text-based summaries and mission briefings.

The youngest member of Fireteam Raven, Victor Ramos is the squad's heavy weapons specialist, donning a heavy set of green painted ODST/HVY armor, and is seen during the Battle of Installation 04, notably manning a Falcon's turret against Covenant forces before sacrificing himself alongside his team to give Master Chief time to destroy Alpha Halo.

18 Ava Lang

Fireteam Raven's Demolition Expert

In Halo: Fireteam Raven arcade cabinets that only feature two-player co-op, ODST Ava Lang is the game's second playable character and, as such, could be considered to be the game's secondary protagonist.

Like Ramos, Lang isn't given a chance to show off her individual character much, but what is presented of her is rather interesting. She's the first playable female ODST in the franchise, donning a set of purple painted ODST/DEMO armor during the Battle of Installation 04.

Fireteam Raven's resident demolition expert, Lang was instrumental in assisting her team with taking down a massive Covenant Scarab near the UNSC Pillar of Autumn's crash site, enabling the assault on Alpha Halo.

17 Edward Davis

A Forgettable But Noble Spartan-IV

Halo: Spartan Assault Twin-Stick Shooter Released July 18, 2018 Publisher(s) Microsoft Studios Franchise Halo Platform(s) PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One Developer 343 Industries, Vanguard Entertainment Genre(s) Twin-Stick Shooter

Spartan Strike wasn't the first twin-stick shooter spinoff in the Halo franchise, with that honor instead going to 2013's Halo: Spartan Assault. It starred both Halo 4's Spartan-IV Commander Sarah Palmer and fellow first generation Spartan-IV Edward Davis.

However, gamers don't actually play as these characters in Halo: Spartan Assault, with the game instead being a simulation of the Battle of Draetheus V being run by Spartan-IV recruits on the UNSC Infinity.

Since there's no dialogue in Spartan Assault, players can only understand Davis' character by his actions and, while he does nobly sacrifice himself to save UNSC forces and help prevent a rogue Covenant remnant from acquiring a powerful Forerunner weapon, he's rather forgettable. Especially since he wears common Recruit armor.

16 Sarah Palmer

A Frustrating Spartan Commander

Players were first introduced to Spartan-IV Sarah Palmer in Halo 4, where she instantly frustrated many fans by making fun of Master Chief and constantly threatening Doctor Halsey in Spartan Ops. Still, she got a starring role in Spartan Assault as the game's leading protagonist.

Here, most of the game's mission followed Palmer as she fought off Merg Vol's Covenant remnant by using her trusty dual-wielded magnums and paving a way for other UNSC forces to support attacks. Palmer notably assassinating Vol after Davis' sacrifice.

In a way, the lack of dialogue in Spartan Assault works for Palmer’s character, as it displays her as an effective, by the books Spartan instead of one who constantly makes fun of superiors. Unfortunately, her character is still held back by how 343 Industries misused her in other media, such as the Halo: Escalation comics.

15 Romeo

A Loyal If Obnoxious ODST

Halo 3 ODST First-Person Shooter Released September 22, 2009 Developer(s) Bungie Publisher(s) Microsoft Franchise Halo Platform(s) Xbox 360 Genre(s) First-Person Shooter

In 2009, Bungie released one of the best Halo games ever made. It is also the only game to not feature playable Spartans, instead only include Orbital Drop Shock Troopers as the protagonists: Halo 3: ODST.

Taking place during and after the Battle of New Mombasa, Halo 3: ODST has gamers play as various members of the ODST squad Alpha-Nine. They battle to regroup and evacuate from the city as it increasingly becomes overrun by Covenant forces, with the weakest character of the bunch being Kojo "Romeo" Agu.

Being only playable on the mission NMPD HQ, Romeo is certainly a skilled sniper, but he's arrogant, rude, and constantly whines throughout the campaign, making him the most annoying member of Alpha-Nine. Albeit one players can rely on when danger looms.

14 Mickey

A Comical But Traitorous ODST

Unlike Romeo, Michael "Mickey" Crespo is actually playable in two levels, Kizingo Boulevard and ONI Alpha Site. Both levels showcase the ODST's young naivety and prowess with explosives.

On Kizingo Boulevard, Mickey is shown to have difficulty picking up clues from his surroundings, yet is lethal in close-quarters combat. Meanwhile, ONI Alpha Site shows how deadly and effective Mickey can be with explosives, as he's able to blow up the bridge leading to the Alpha Site and the Site itself.

Mickey is even shown later to be a skilled pilot by hijacking a Covenant Phantom dropship, but his character is held back a lot by later developments in expanded media. He later betrays Alpha-Nine by aiding Insurrectionists after he, Buck, and Romeo became Spartan-IVs.

13 Alice-130

Red Team's Second in Command

Halo Wars 2 Real-Time Strategy Released February 21, 2017 Developer(s) 343 Industries, Creative Assembly Publisher(s) Microsoft Game Studios Franchise Halo Platform(s) Xbox One, PC Genre(s) Real-Time Strategy

Several Spartan-IIs are playable throughout Halo's many campaigns, but one female Spartan-II is required to be playable in her very own set of engaging missions: Red Team's very own second in command, Alice-130.

Alice-130 first appears in Halo Wars 1, but she doesn't evolve into a protagonist of her own until Halo Wars 2. After staying behind on the Ark to give Jerome-092 time to evacuate the critically wounded Douglas-042, she sets out on her own to thwart Banished operations and free UNSC prisoners by using devastating guerrilla tactics.

Alice's missions in Halo Wars 2, One Three Zero, From the Deep, and The Foundry, are easily some of the game's best, with One Three Zero functioning as a high-stakes firefight as she strives to hold off Banished forces for as long as she can with a limited number of marines and From the Deep seeing her defend a beach from amphibious Covenant Locusts.

12 The Rookie

A Silent Type Gone Too Soon

Master Chief was designed to be a somewhat immersive character that players can perceive themselves as while playing through the original trilogy, but Bungie wanted to expand upon this characterization with Halo 3: ODST's main protagonist: The Rookie, otherwise known as Jonathan Doherty.

A literal strong silent type, the Rookie doesn't speak a single word in ODST, with his character instead being portrayed by his mannerisms and actions. This is shown in his investigation of Alpha-Nine's whereabouts, showcasing his inquisitive skills while he's shown to be just as lethal as a Spartan by fending off groups of Covenant all on his own.

The Rookie could have become a more substantial character in future games or books, but his character development was cut short by Halo: New Blood, which saw the Rooke killed by Insurrectionists shortly after the end of the Human-Covenant War.

11 Dutch

Someone Who Always Has Your Back

Taylor Henry "Dutch" Miles is only playable in one mission in ODST, that being Uplift Reserve, but his appearance throughout ODST's campaign is highly memorable. He's repeatedly shown to be a caring, reliable powerhouse of an ODST who has some of the best lines in the game.

From the game's opening, Dutch is shown to respect the lives lost from Earth's orbital defense, prep the Rookie for his first orbital drop, and wish marines luck in fighting the Covenant. He then immediately joins the fight in New Mombasa's Uplift Reserve after stepping out of his pod.

Dutch goes on to help New Mombasa police in defending the ONI Alpha Site and later, is the only squad member to help the Rookie, Buck, and Dare into the Phantom, showcasing how Dutch would be a great leader but remains as the most reliable squad mate any soldier can ask for.