Here at Podcast Unlimited, we take our jobs seriously! So this week, we have a serious beat-down match! We take the king leader of Marvel’s superheroes, the one and only Captain America, and we have him face off with Microsoft’s toughest character in video gaming, The Master Chief! If you could put these two hard working soldiers fighting for their country (or planet) out of their element, and into an extremly tough setting, who would you think would would be standing at the end? Rifle and shield included! Armor and costume on! We get requests for our “Versus” feature, and by far this is the one that the fans have been cheering for. So is the last man standing? We will let you decide! Here is the history and build up each of our heroes.
John-117 (Master Chief)
MCPON John-117, or “Master Chief”, is a character and the protagonist of the Halo fictional universe created by Bungie. Master Chief is a playable character in the series of science fiction first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4, and Halo 5: Guardians. Outside video games, the character appears in books and graphic novels—Halo: The Fall of Reach, Halo: The Flood, Halo: First Strike, and Halo: Uprising—and has cameos in other Halo media, including Halo: Reach, Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, The Halo Graphic Novel, Halo Legends and Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.
The Master Chief is a towering and faceless biochemically and cybernetically-enhanced supersoldier, raised and trained from an early age to be a weapon; he is almost never seen without his green-colored armor and helmet. He is commonly referred to by his naval rank, rather than his given birth-name or serial-designation. The character is voiced by Steve Downes, a Chicago disc jockey, in the video games in which he appears. Downes based his personification of the Chief on an nitial character sketch which called for a Clint Eastwood-type character of few words.
Born in about 2510, John lived with his mother and father in Elysium City, on the colony world of Eridanus II. He attended the Elysium City Primary Education Facility Number 119. As a child, John had brown hair, freckles, and a small gap between his front teeth. In a memory, John recalled that his mother “kind and smelled of soap.” The would-be UNSC Marine Lieutenant Parisa was a childhood friend of John’s. John once saved her from drowning at Lake Gusev, after which John promised to marry her and keep her safe. A photo of the two was also taken by Parisa’s father soon after, and would be kept as a memory by Parisa long after she thought John had passed away.
At the age of six, he was identified by Dr. Catherine Halsey as one of 150 preliminary candidates for the SPARTAN-II Program. John was an ideal physical and mental candidate, standing a head taller than the majority of his schoolmates, having greater physical proportions, possessing greater strength, exhibiting superior reflexes, and having an aggressive drive for success. When Dr. Halsey and Lieutenant Jacob Keyes visited Eridanus II in 2517 to study him, they were impressed with his intellect and luck. In a final test of his viability as a candidate, he was asked to determine which side an old coin would land on. He watched the coin as it flew in the air and caught it before it could land; correctly stating which side was face-up, on the side of the eagle. Later that same year, John and 74 other six-year-old children were “conscripted”: they were covertly kidnapped from their homes and replaced with flash clones, all of which would later die of natural causes to cover up the kidnappings. John, along with the other candidates, was taken to the planet of Reach. Dr. Halsey informed them of the SPARTAN-II Program and how they would be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies. The next morning John discovered his service tag, stitched into his training uniform, and his new name: John-117.
John began a new life, training with other Spartans under Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez. For eight years he learned history, military strategy, weapons, and was given physical fitness training. Early on, he bonded with Kelly and Sam, who would become two of the few close friends he would ever have.
During his training, John quickly proved himself to be considered one of the program’s top candidates. Both Dr. Halsey and Chief Mendez identified him as one of four emerging leaders within the Spartan-II group, along with Kurt-051, Jerome-092, and Frederic-104. Dr. Halsey expressed her belief the most strongly in John as having the skills and natural ability to lead the entire Spartan-II group, although Mendez disagreed, instead believing Kurt would fulfill that role.
When the Spartans were eight years old, they were sent on a training mission in which they were dropped over a forest located deep in one of Reach’s snow-filled mountain ranges and expected to get safely to their extraction Pelican dropship. The children also had instructions to leave the last child arriving behind, or the punishment would be painful, but John-117 knew that he could not do that. After telling the Spartans where to meet, the Spartans looked to him as their leader, a role he was initially surprised to be given, but eventually accepted. When the group came upon the Pelican, it was guarded by armed men. Those men were actually UNSC Marines, but were not in uniform, thus leading the Spartans to mistake for a hostile threat. John showed early acumen in critical thinking and tactics, not wishing to take for granted that guards would be friendly toward them. He came up with a plan to take the men down, capture the dropship, and ensure the safe extraction of every team member, as he made sure he was the last person aboard. To do this he ended up hijacking the dropship with the help of Déjà, and beat down the men with stones, causing severe injuries among the Marines. Chief Mendez was not visibly pleased, as John had attacked his Marines and no one had been left behind. But both Mendez and Halsey recognized John’s initiative, and promoted him to squad leader. After this, despite other Spartans rising in rank and at least a couple rising to lead their own teams, he remained the de facto leader of the Spartans as a whole.
John’s leadership skills were correctly observed, as the result from their mission clearly solidified his role as the overall leader of the Spartan-IIs. He also became the established leader of the Spartan-II’s Blue Team.
At the age of fourteen, John underwent the dangerous SPARTAN-II augmentation procedures. These procedures caused 30 of the Spartan trainees to die, and 12 to become physically disabled. John was one of 33 Spartans who made it through the process unscathed, while the rest who could still operate were sent for jobs in the Office of Naval Intelligence. At only fourteen years old, it is said that John had a body of an eighteen-year old Olympic athlete; the augmentation process gave the Spartans faster reflexes, greater strength, enhanced eyesight, and made their bones nearly unbreakable. Following their augmentation procedures, John and the other Spartans were transferred to the Atlas in order to recover in a microgravity environment. During his first visit to the Atlas’ gym, John was confronted by four ODSTs, whose sergeant then ordered the five of them into the boxing ring. In the ensuing fight, John killed two of the ODSTs, and left the others severely injured, an incident which quickly blossomed into major resentment for the whole SPARTAN program throughout the Marine Corps. According to Major Antonio Silva, this incident was orchestrated by the Office of Naval Intelligence in order to test the Spartans’ augmentations.
In 2544, John, along with Fred-104, Kelly-087, Solomon-069 and Arthur-079, was part of a mission to rescue Dr. Catherine Halsey from a Covenant fleet. The team utilized OF92/EVA “Booster Frame” fighters, which were designed for ship boarding actions, and infiltrated a Covenant Assault Carrier. Aboard the Assault Carrier, John encountered Major Domo Thel ‘Lodamee, who challenged John to an Energy Sword duel. Thel was forced out of the duel when his Fleetmaster separated the lower section of the Assault Carrier to kill the Spartan, pulling him back into the upper section. Both combatants were left unscathed. The Spartans completed the mission and rescued Dr. Halsey, but Arthur and Solomon were killed. John was saddened by his teammates’ deaths and vowed to be stronger and never let such a loss happen again.
John served in over 200 missions against the Covenant, including the Harvest Campaign, the Battle of Jericho VII, where he and a handful of Spartans single-handedly killed over a thousand Grunts, and the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, in which John and his Blue Team detonated a HAVOK Nuclear Warhead to clear Covenant forces from the city of Côte d’Azur. This was one of only a few UNSC victories against the Covenant. By summer of 2552, he had received every medal awarded by the UNSC except the Prisoner of War Medallion, the reason being that Covenant forces do not take prisoners, and John would not allow himself or any other SPARTAN-II to be captured by the enemy.
Initially, the very existence of the SPARTAN project and thus John’s existence, was categorised as classified information. Many within the United Nations Space Command (UNSC), who were aware of this information, were strongly opinionated against the project, as the SPARTAN unit’s proven versatility elevated them into direct competition with role-dedicated, established units. Since John emerged as the most exemplary Spartan from among the unit, he became the natural target of their sentiments. Antonio Silva, an officer from one such unit (ODSTs), exemplifies this attitude, and considers the Master Chief the freak product of an experiment that should never be repeated. Although the Chief resents Silva’s dishonor to his fallen comrades’ memory, he is also loyal to the chain of command, and remains quiet. Following the partial declassification of the SPARTAN project, John’s heroic achievements caused the overall sentiment to lean in his favor. Despite these explorations of the character’s personality, O’Connor said in an interview that revealing the face of the Chief is not as important as revealing the events going on around the character.
The Master Chief has a close relationship with the artificial intelligence construct Cortana, whom he meets just prior to the fall of the human colony Reach before the events of Combat Evolved. Cortana was created as a game design requirement to guide the character as Master Chief throughout the game world, but she became an important aspect of revealing the Chief’s humanity. “Over time, Cortana became a fully realized character—a friend and companion to the Chief, not to mention the only person to poke revealing holes in his tough-guy exterior,” Staten recalled. The game designers also crafted the player experience of the first game to focus on abandonment and loneliness in many levels, as it reinforced the plot point that many of the Chief’s friends were killed before the game began.
Steve Rogers (Captain America)
Captain America is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (cover dated March 1941) from Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics. Captain America was designed as a patriotic supersoldier who often fought the Axis powers of World War II and was Timely Comics’ most popular character during the wartime period. The popularity of superheroes waned following the war and the Captain America comic book was discontinued in 1950, with a short-lived revival in 1953. Since Marvel Comics revived the character in 1964, Captain America has remained in publication.
Captain America wears a costume that bears an American flag motif, and is armed with a nearly indestructible shield that he throws at foes. The character is usually depicted as the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a frail young man enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum to aid the United States government’s imminent efforts in World War II. Near the end of the war, he was trapped in ice and survived in suspended animation until he was revived in the present day. Although Captain America often struggles to maintain his ideals as a man out of his time with its modern realities, he remains a highly respected figure in his community which includes becoming the long-time leader of the Avengers.
Captain America was the first Marvel Comics character to have appeared in media outside comics with the release of the 1944 movie serial, Captain America. Since then, the character has been featured in other films and television series, more recently in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) portrayed by Chris Evans in Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, and the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War (2018/2019).
Captain America Comics #1 — cover-dated March 1941 and on sale December 20, 1940, a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor, but a full year into World War II — showed the protagonist punching Nazi leader Adolf Hitler; it sold nearly one million copies. While most readers responded favorably to the comic, some took objection. Simon noted, “When the first issue came out we got a lot of … threatening letters and hate mail. Some people really opposed what Cap stood for.” The threats, which included menacing groups of people loitering out on the street outside of the offices, proved so serious that police protection was posted with New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia personally contacting Simon and Kirby to give his support.
Though preceded as a “patriotically themed superhero” by MLJ’s The Shield, Captain America immediately became the most prominent and enduring of that wave of superheroes introduced in American comic books prior to and during World War II, as evidenced by the unusual move at the time of premiering the character in his own title instead of an anthology title first. This popularity drew the attention and a complaint from MLJ that the character’s triangular shield too closely resembled the chest symbol of their Shield character. In response, Goodman had Simon and Kirby create a distinctive round shield for issue 2, which went on to become an iconic element of the character. With his sidekick Bucky, Captain America faced Nazis, Japanese, and other threats to wartime America and the Allies. Stanley Lieber, now better known as Stan Lee, contributed to the character in issue #3 in the filler text story “Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge”, which introduced the character’s use of his shield as a returning throwing weapon.Captain America soon became Timely’s most popular character and even had a fan-club called the “Sentinels of Liberty”
Years later, the superhero team the Avengers discovers Steve Rogers’ body in the North Atlantic. After he revives, they piece together that Rogers has been preserved in a block of ice since 1945, surviving because of his enhancements from Project: Rebirth. The block began to melt after the Sub-Mariner, enraged that an Inuit tribe is worshipping the frozen figure, throws it into the ocean. Rogers accepts membership in the Avengers, and his experience in individual combat service and his time with the Invaders makes him a valuable asset. He quickly assumes leadership and has typically returned to that position throughout the team’s history.
Captain America is plagued by guilt for having been unable to prevent Bucky’s death. Although he takes the young Rick Jones (who closely resembles Bucky) under his tutelage, he refuses for some time to allow Jones to take up the Bucky identity, not wishing to be responsible for another youth’s death. Insisting that his hero move on from that loss, Jones convinces Rogers to let him don the Bucky costume, but this partnership lasts only a short time; a disguised Red Skull, impersonating Rogers with the help of the Cosmic Cube, drives Jones away.
Rogers reunites with his old war comrade Nick Fury, who is similarly well-preserved due to the “Infinity Formula”. As a result, Rogers regularly undertakes missions for the security agency S.H.I.E.L.D., for which Fury is public director. Through Fury, Rogers befriends Sharon Carter, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, with whom he eventually begins a romantic relationship.|
Rogers later meets and trains Sam Wilson, who becomes the superhero the Falcon, the first African-American superhero in mainstream comic books. The characters established an enduring friendship and adventuring partnership, sharing the series title for some time as Captain America and the Falcon. The two later encounter the revived but still insane 1950s Captain America. Although Rogers and the Falcon defeat the faux Rogers and Jack Monroe, Rogers becomes deeply disturbed that he could have suffered his counterpart’s fate. During this period, Rogers temporarily gains super strength.
The series dealt with the Marvel Universe’s version of the Watergate scandal, making Rogers so uncertain about his role that he abandons his Captain America identity in favor of one called Nomad,[89] emphasizing the word’s meaning as “man without a country”. During this time, several men unsuccessfully assume the Captain America identity. Rogers eventually re-assumes it after coming to consider that the identity could be a symbol of American ideals and not its government; it’s a personal conviction epitomized when he later confronted a corrupt Army officer attempting to manipulate him by appealing to his loyalty, “I’m loyal to nothing, General … except the [American] Dream.” Jack Monroe, cured of his mental instability, later takes up the Nomad alias. Sharon Carter is believed to have been killed while under the mind control of Dr. Faustus.
Captain America has no superhuman powers, but through the Super-Soldier Serum and “Vita-Ray” treatment, he is transformed and his strength, endurance, agility, speed, reflexes, durability, and healing are at the zenith of natural human potential. Rogers’ body regularly replenishes the super-soldier serum; it does not wear off.
The formula enhances all of his metabolic functions and prevents the build-up of fatigue poisons in his muscles, giving him endurance far in excess of an ordinary human being. This accounts for many of his extraordinary feats, including bench pressing 1200 pounds (545 kg) and running a mile (1.6 km) in 73 seconds (49 mph/78 kph). Furthermore, his enhancements are the reason why he was able to survive being frozen in suspended animation for decades. He is highly resistant to hypnosis or gases that could limit his focus. The secrets of creating a super-soldier were lost with the death of its creator, Dr. Abraham Erskine. In the ensuing decades there have been numerous attempts to recreate Erskine’s treatment, only to have them end in failure. Even worse, the attempts have instead often created psychopathic supervillains of which Captain America’s 1950s imitator and Nuke are the most notorious examples.
Rogers’ battle experience and training make him an expert tactician and an excellent field commander, with his teammates frequently deferring to his orders in battle. Thor has stated that Rogers is one of the very few humans he will take orders from and follow “through the gates of Hades”.Rogers’ reflexes and senses are extraordinarily keen. He has blended judo, western boxing, kickboxing, and gymnastics into his own unique fighting style and is a master of multiple martial arts. Years of practice with his near-indestructible shield make him able to aim and throw it with almost unerring accuracy. His skill with his shield is such that he can attack multiple targets in succession with a single throw or even cause a boomerang-like return from a throw to attack an enemy from behind. In canon, he is regarded by other skilled fighters as one of the best hand-to-hand combatants in the Marvel Universe, limited only by his human physique. Although the super-soldier serum is an important part of his strength, Rogers has shown himself still sufficiently capable against stronger opponents, even when the serum has been deactivated reverting him to his pre-Captain America physique.
Rogers has vast U.S. military knowledge and is often shown to be familiar with ongoing, classified Defense Department operations. He is an expert in combat strategy, survival, acrobatics, military strategy, piloting, and demolitions. Despite his high profile as one of the world’s most popular and recognizable superheroes, Rogers has a broad understanding of the espionage community, largely through his ongoing relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. He is a talented artist, and has worked on the Captain America comic book published in the Marvel universe. Other career fields include commercial arts, teaching high school history, and law enforcement.Although he lacks superhuman strength, Captain America is one of the few mortal beings who has been deemed worthy enough to wield Thor’s hammer Mjolnir.
Captain America has used multiple shields throughout his history, the most prevalent of which is a nigh-indestructible disc-shaped shield made from an experimental alloy of steel and the fictional vibranium. The shield was cast by American metallurgist Dr. Myron MacLain, who was contracted by the U.S. government, from orders of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to create an impenetrable substance to use for tanks during World War II. This alloy was created by accident and never duplicated, although efforts to reverse-engineer it resulted in the discovery of adamantium.
Captain America often uses his shield as an offensive throwing weapon. The first instance of Captain America’s trademark ricocheting shield-toss occurs in Stan Lee’s first comics writing, the two-page text story “Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge” in Captain America Comics #3 (May 1941). The legacy of the shield among other comics characters includes the time-traveling mutant superhero Cable telling Captain America that his shield still exists in one of the possible futures; Cable carries it into battle and brandishes it as a symbol.
When without his trademark shield, Captain America sometimes uses other shields made from less durable metals such as steel, or even a photonic energy shield designed to mimic a vibranium matrix. Rogers, having relinquished his regular shield to Barnes, carried a variant of the energy shield which can be used with either arm, and used to either block attacks or as an improvised offensive weapon able to cut through metal with relative ease. Much like his Vibranium shield, the energy shield can be thrown, including ricocheting off multiple surfaces and returning to his hand.
Captain America’s uniform is made of a fire-retardant material, and he wears a lightweight, bulletproof duralumin scale armor beneath his uniform for added protection. Originally, Rogers’ mask was a separate piece of material, but an early engagement had it dislodged, thus almost exposing his identity. To prevent a recurrence of the situation, Rogers modified the mask with connecting material to his uniform, an added benefit of which was extending his armor to cover his previously exposed neck. As a member of the Avengers, Rogers has an Avengers priority card, which serves as a communications device.
Captain America has used a custom specialized motorcycle, modified by the S.H.I.E.L.D. weapons laboratory, as well as a custom-built battle van, constructed by the Wakanda Design Group with the ability to change its color for disguise purposes (red, white and blue), and fitted to store and conceal the custom motorcycle in its rear section with a frame that allows Rogers to launch from the vehicle riding it.
I don’t know about you, but that was a lot of information! But I, like many of our fans, like information! With all that said, who is standing at the end of this match? Would it be Captain America, or Master Chief? Enter your vote in the poll below. Also let us know what your thoughts of the match would be in the Comments section. You say that you want more? Well just download Episode # 88 at podcastunlimited.com over in the archive section and listen to the episode to hear us talk about it in greater detail. I for one have a lot to say on this match up. You have an idea, or a request for us for a “Versus” or Top Ten List? Email us at mailbag@podcastunlimited.com
Till Next time!
“I can do this all day” -Captain America
The engineer!