John Forge

“He’s the guy you want in the foxhole next to yours...but you’d never introduce him to your sister.”

— Common saying among Marines under Forge's command

Sergeant John Forge (Service Number 63492-94758-JF)^[1] was a veteran^[2] non-commissioned officer and an infantryman in the UNSC Marine Corps.^[3] Although he excelled in tactics and combat, his repeated acts of insubordination caused him to receive three demotions, with infractions such as fighting with an officer, (which resulted in 2.4 years in jail time), and striking a superior officer. He sported an ace of spades playing card attached to his left shoulder pauldron, and also carried a combat knife he named "Lucy."^[4][5]

Biography[]

Early career[]

Born on Earth in 2502,^[6] Forge's life revolved around the military. His family lineage had been a part of the military for generations, dating back to at least World War II. He signed up for boot camp at the minimal age of 16.

Forge was strong for his size and weight. He displayed desire and toughness in nearly everything he did and was incredibly competitive and driven to succeed. These qualities made him a lifetime member of the Corps. His training and discipline had left him with a "unique" personality and method of getting things done. Those under his command trusted him greatly, despite the fact that he failed his last psychological exam.^[6]

Forge was a born warrior, but had difficulty coping with life outside the military. His wife was a distant shadow in his mind. Forge has been decorated numerous times for valor and gallantry on the battlefield, but just as many counts for insubordination, conduct unbecoming, and striking a superior officer.^[7]

He spent 2.4 years in prison, an infraction that removed any chance of moving through Officer Candidate School or even progressing beyond the rank of sergeant.^[8] In 2531, Lieutenant Prosser assaulted a woman in a bar, in which Sergeant Forge stopped and confronted the Lieutenant. They engaged in a fist fight, with charges brought upon the Sergeant. Luckily for Forge, the woman who had been attacked proclaimed him as a hero and all charges were dropped, where he was later reassigned to the UNSC Spirit of Fire by Admiral Preston Cole personally.

Before being assigned to the Spirit of Fire, John married and had a child named Lucy Orion 'Rion' Forge. He was assigned to the Spirit of Fire when she was age 5.^[9]. He intervened when Rion's Aunt Jillian was sexually harassed and physically assaulted by a drunken lieutenant.^[10].

Securing the Prophecy[]

Main article: Harvest Campaign

In February 2531, the Spirit of Fire was sent to assist the crippled cruiser UNSC Prophecy in the Epsilon Indi System. Captain James Cutter ordered the Prophecy's navigation database and survivors to be recovered, sending Forge and multiple fireteams on board the vessel while the Spirit of Fire engaged several Covenant ships. Forge's Pelican was hit by a Phantom and crash landed upon the Prophecy's hull. Forge and Team Lima breached and entered the Prophecy. Inside, they were attacked by Kig-Yar rangers: during this engagement, Forge's ankle was broken. With the guidance of Serina, the Spirit of Fire's Smart artificial intelligence, he was able to find the a terminal to recover the ship's black box and wipe its navigation core, while the rest of Team Lima rescued the survivors. Serina warned Forge that the Prophecy's AI may "act peculiar" due to high radiation levels.^[11]

Upon scanning his retinae to gain access to the terminal, Forge was halted by the ship's AI, FitzGibbon, who explained he could not allow him to enter due to the latter's service record. Forge reminded the AI of the Cole Protocol, stating that he was aboard the vessel to ensure the protocol would not to be violated. FitzGibbon then allowed Forge into the terminal room and enabled radiation repair routines. Forge purged the navigation database and returned to the Pelicans as FitzGibbon activated the Prophecy's self-destruct sequence, which soon scuttled the ship. After the Marines and Forge escaped with the survivors, they were taken to the medical bay of the Spirit of Fire. When Forge asked how the survivors were doing, Serina told him that there were no survivors, that they had suffered too much radiation poisoning when aboard the Prophecy to survive: according to Serina, all the Spirit of Fire's crew could do was watch them die. Forge was angered by the AI's indifference towards the survivors and comforted them in their final moments, believing that even if they would soon be dead, they were still people and deserved better.^[11]

Harvest[]

Forge was sent to the surface of Harvest on his first mission under Captain Cutter to scout out Covenant activity in the northern polar region of the planet. He drove through Quadrant 4 to find a battalion of Sangheili a Hornet squadron had spotted earlier.^[4] Reporting the Covenant activity to his superiors, as to how the aliens had found a relic buried in the ice,^[3] he returned to an overrun Alpha Base, and helped organize UNSC forces along the way.^[12] Forge and his rag-tag assault force were able to retake Alpha Base. He then commanded the Marine forces responsible for the capture of a Forerunner structure from the Covenant before it could be demolished. Professor Anders was then sent to the planet's surface to investigate the relic, and Forge reluctantly escorted her inside.^[13] He was present when Anders activated the Forerunner star map, and protected her when they were ambushed by a team of Sangheili. The Spirit of Fire then evacuated most of its ground troops, including Forge, and set course for Arcadia, a UEG colony planet to which the star map had pointed.^[14]

Arcadia[]

Main article: First Battle of Arcadia

After arriving at Arcadia, Forge was one of the first UNSC troops to set foot in the besieged capital of Pirth City, where he aided the evacuation of civilians via three cargo vessels. When the civilian transports took off, Forge and his men abandoned the Covenant-infested city, and fell back to the outskirts.^[15] There, he took part in the destruction of a Covenant base, assisted by SPARTAN teams Red and Omega.^[16] He also participated in the battle to destroy a Covenant energy dome^[17] which was protecting an unfinished Scarab.^[18] While he and Anders were surveying the area, Ripa 'Moramee, the Arbiter, ambushed them. Forge was swiftly defeated and was about to be killed, until Anders stopped the Arbiter by agreeing to go with him without incident. After SPARTAN Red Team unsuccessfully tried to stop the Arbiter from escaping, they immediately retreated back to the Spirit of Fire. He was aboard the ship when it made a Slipspace jump in pursuit of 'Moramee's retreating vessel.^[19]

Shield World[]

Main article: Battle of Shield 0459

After Jerome-092 recommended destroying 'Moramee's ship and killing Anders rather than let classified information fall into Covenant hands, Forge confronted the SPARTAN. The altercation resulted in a broken chair, a seal malfunction on a bulkhead and a stern interruption from Serina. From then on, Forge and Jerome always ate together in the mess hall.^[20]

Upon arriving at a mysterious planet, Forge was sent down to the planet's surface, and was subsequently one of the first human beings to encounter the Flood since the ancient humans.^[21] It was soon discovered that the "planet" was not a planet at all, but a Forerunner Shield World. Immediately following this revelation, he was put in charge of the evacuation of the Spirit's ground troops and the scouring of Flood from the ship's hull.^[22] Through a strange stroke of luck, he came upon the recently escaped Ellen Anders in the Shield World's interior, and escorted her back to the Spirit of Fire.^[23] He was then put in charge of the strike team that would deliver the Spirit 's Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine to the Apex, to destroy the Shield World and its armada of Forerunner ships.^[24] Atop the Apex, he once again faced 'Moramee in battle, while the SPARTANs of Red Team eliminated the Arbiter's honor guards. Although Forge was nearly killed, he overcame his foe at the last minute by tricking the Arbiter to look him in the eye, and then stabbing him in the neck with his prized combat knife, "Lucy." He then proceeded to pick up the Arbiter's energy sword, and drove it through 'Moramee's stomach, killing him. As Alice-130 rolled the Arbiter's corpse off the platform, Jerome-092 examined the Translight Engine, realizing that it had been damaged.^[25]

When it became clear that the damaged Translight Engine would have to be detonated manually, Forge realized that the SPARTANs would play a far greater role in the war than he ever could, and volunteered to take the FTL drive into the Shield World's sun. He gave the Spirit's crew the time they needed to escape the hollow planet and then detonated the drive, sacrificing his own life, but dealing the Covenant a massive blow in the process.^[25]

Legacy[]

John's only daughter, Rion Forge, became obsessed with finding her father and, already as an adult woman, became a professional scavenger, with her own crew and ship, the Ace of Spades. She spent many years searching the for the Spirit of Fire, but only in 2557 did she find the first clue, on the remnants of the UNSC Roman Blue.^[26] She and her crew followed the lead, retracing the Spirit's trip to the remnants of the destroyed shield world. The crew later encountered the robotic form of 343 Guilty Spark, who agreed to help Rion in her search, in exchange for their help in finding his ''mother'', the Librarian. Spark, after finding her Mother's lead, confessed to Rion than John Forge had died in the Shield World, and sent her a farewell message which John Forge left for her before dying. When Rion caught wind of the news, became more determined than ever on her journey in finding and rescuing the Spirit of Fire.^[27]

Personality and characteristics[]

“"For the record, I would've kicked your ass the first time if the lady hadn't stopped me!"”

— Forge to Rippa 'Moramee, upon the latter's death

Forge was a natural combatant and extremely competent field commander on the battlefield. Despite being overwhelmed at Alpha Base on Harvest, he and his forces somehow rallied themselves to conquer the Covenant units occupying the structure. He also kept his cool even when ambushed by a unit of Stealth Sangheilei inside the Relic structure on the same planet. He again demonstrated such a quality when he evacuated the civilians on Arcadia.

He was also very resourceful, for he taunted the Arbiter and challenged his foe to 'look him in the eye' before killing him, which gave him a prime chance to drive his combat knife into his enemy's neck.

Furthermore, he was extremely selfless, telling the Spartans to 'return to the ship' because the future demanded their kind, but was willing to surrender his own life to stop the Covenant.

Forge possessed a tumultuous relationship with Professor Ellen Anders due to his annoyance over the fact that he has to babysit her all the time. Despite this, Forge did care about Anders, urging Captain Cutter to go after her immediately for rescue and becoming angry when Jerome-092 suggested killing her due to the security threat that she posed in the hands of the Covenant. In return, while Anders enjoyed riling Forge up, she cared for him in return, sacrificing herself to Ripa 'Moramee to save him and being noticeably saddened by his death.

In-game information[]

Sergeant Forge serves as a Leader in Halo Wars and Halo Wars 2. His special abilities include:

Halo Wars[]

Abilities[]

• "Leader Power": Carpet Bomb - A bombing run with a long range that deals devastating damage to ground units.
• "Unique Unit": Cyclops - A powerful exoskeleton that can punch enemy ground units, throw wreckage, and repair buildings.

Upgrades[]

• "Super Upgrade": Grizzly — A superior version of the Scorpion tank which has dual cannons and an additional mounted machine gun.
• "Economy Bonus": All Supply Pads on Forge's bases start as Heavy Supply Pads.

Halo Wars 2[]

Skirmish[]

• Unique Units: Forge's Warthog (Hero Unit) and M850 Grizzly (M808S Scorpion replacement)
• Tier 1 Leader Powers
  • Rolling Economy I: Reduces costs and build times for Supply Pads, Generators, and their upgrades.
  • Rolling Economy II: Improves all Rolling Economy bonuses.
  • Heavy Metal I: Targets own units. Affected units gain a defensive boost. Slows targeted units while active.
    • Supply Cost: 200
    • Power Cost: 50
    • Cooldown: 3 minutes
  • Heavy Metal II: Increases Heavy Metal’s target size, defense boost, and duration.
    • Supply Cost: 400
    • Power Cost: 100
    • Cooldown: 3 minutes
  • Heavy Metal III: Increases Heavy Metal’s target size, defense boost, and duration.
    • Supply Cost: 600
    • Power Cost: 150
    • Cooldown: 3 minutes
• Tier 2 Leader Powers
  • Lotus Mine I: Drops a line of cloaked mines. Once armed, mines explode on contact. Does not damage air units.
    • Supply Cost: 25
    • Power Cost: 100
    • Cooldown: 1 minute and 45 seconds
  • Pelican Transport: Transports own units anywhere in range.
    • Power Cost: 100
    • Cooldown: 1 minute and 40 seconds
• Tier 3 Leader Powers
  • Scatter Bomb I: Drops a scattered salvo of bombs.
    • Supply Cost: 350
    • Power Cost: 275
    • Cooldown: 2 minutes and 45 seconds
  • Scatter Bomb II: Increases damage and number of bombs fired by Scatter Bomb
    • Supply Cost: 450
    • Power Cost: 450
    • Cooldown: 2 minutes and 45 seconds
  • Restoration Drones I: Units and buildings within area are healed.
    • Supply Cost: 200
    • Power Cost: 50
    • Cooldown: 2 minutes and 40 seconds
  • Restoration Drones II: Increases power of Restoration drones
    • Supply Cost: 350
    • Power Cost: 125
    • Cooldown: 2 minutes and 40 seconds
  • Restoration Drones III: Increases power of Restoration drones
    • Supply Cost: 400
    • Power Cost: 150
    • Cooldown: 2 minutes and 40 seconds
• Tier 4 Leader Powers
  • Vehicle Drop I: Deploys a veteran M400 Kodiak from a G77S Pelican.
    • Population Cost: 6
    • Supply Cost: 625
    • Cooldown: 3 minutes
  • Vehicle Drop II: Adds a veteran Warthog to Vehicle Drop.
    • Population Cost: 10
    • Supply Cost: 925
    • Cooldown: 3 minutes
  • Accelerated Assembly I: Reduces costs and build times for vehicle production.
  • Accelerated Assembly II: Further reduces costs and build times for vehicle production.
• Tier 5 Leader Powers
  • Combat Salvage: Causes next eight non-infantry units to respawn at home base after being destroyed for 45 seconds.
    • Supply Cost: 1,500
    • Power Cost: 1,000
    • Cooldown: 5 minutes and 30 seconds
  • Grizzly Battalion: G77S Pelican drops off three veteran Grizzlies.
    • Population Cost: 33
    • Supply Cost: 2,000
    • Power Cost: 400
    • Cooldown: 5 minutes and 30 seconds

Forge's Warthog[]

• Info: Spawn Forge's Warthog
• Tier: 1
• Supplies: 350
• Power: 275
• "Forge's Warthog upgrade": Anvil Round
  • Info: Fires an EMP round, Slows enemy vehicles
  • Tier: 1
  • Cost: Power 325
• "Defensive Aura"
  • Info: Improved Nanobots, Increase nearby allies speed
  • Tier: 2
  • Cost: Supplies 0, Power 550
• "Gauss Overcharge"
  • Info: Upgraded Anvil Round ability
  • Tier: 3
  • Cost: Supplies 0, Power 650

Gameplay[]

Halo Wars[]

Unit[]

Infantry[]

Forge is a infantry unit who carries a shotgun with him who only appears in the Campaign, his special attacks makes him rapidly shoot any units dealing rapid damage.

Vehicle[]

Forge boards a Gausshog at the gunner position.

Halo Wars 2[]

Unit[]

Skirmish[]

Forge still maintains his vehicle gameplay from 'Halo Wars' but has a EMP special ability instead of ram & passive gives any units a slight speed increase if they're close to him.

Blitz[]

Forge Warthog[]

Image	Energy Cost	Rarity	Leader Restriction
	220	Legendary	Sergeant Forge

Trivia[]

• He has nine Legendary symbols on his right breast plate. This could be a tally of enemy kills of some sort. It may also be a count of battles he has fought in or won.
• John Forge has had five promotions, but also three demotions, including one for striking a superior officer, despite the fact that this would have made him a Lance Corporal.
  • Although it's possible he completed a program such as ROTC, which would let him enter the military at a higher rank.
• Despite the fact that he is only a Sergeant, he is given tasks and responsibilities that would normally be given to much higher ranking NCO's such as a Gunnery Sergeant or even up to a Sergeant Major.
• John Forge, as of February 2531, is the only known non-SPARTAN ever noted to have used a Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword, a Sangheili weapon. Additionally, he is the only known human to have ever killed an Arbiter.
• He was voiced by Nolan North, who was known for voicing one of the AI Marines in Halo 3 and Romeo in Halo 3: ODST,^[28] as well as Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series of video games and Desmond Miles in the Assassin's Creed series of video games.
• While on foot, he will occasionally shout "Yipee-kai-yay," in reference to the film Die Hard.
• Even though in some cutscenes he is seen using an assault rifle, he always uses a shotgun in combat. This can be seen in the cutscene before Beachhead.
• In the cutscene Monsters, the back of Forge's head is clearly seen, yet his neural interface is not visible. This is considered a simple oversight on part of Blur Studios, the company that animated the scene. This oversight has carried over to his action figure from McFarlane Toys.
• Forge rides into battle on an upgraded Gauss Warthog with greater defense and attack power. If his Warthog is destroyed and he is revived, he attacks with an M90 shotgun with a special attack that causes him to slam-fire his shotgun until empty.
• John Forge seemed to have a good friendship with Jerome-092, though some of this friendship was caused by a malfunction on the UNSC Spirit of Fire, made by the ship's AI, Serina.
• There is a peculiar discrepancy with the Halo Wars Timeline and the Cutscene "She Is Not My Girlfriend" in which it appears that it was SPARTAN Red Team leader Jerome-092 who reported to the bridge, meaning it was Jerome who had recommended destroying the fleeing Covenant vessel with Professor Anders aboard. While in the Timeline, it is stated that Sergeant Forge got into an altercation with SPARTAN Douglas-042, following Douglas' recommendation to destroy Anders' ship. It remains unclear which SPARTAN was meant to have reported to the bridge, and subsequently which SPARTAN it was that Forge had gotten into a brief "conflict" with, though it can safely be assumed that it was in fact Jerome. This is not least due to the fact that Jerome is Red Team's leader, making more sense for him to have reported to the bridge instead of Douglas.

Gallery[]

Front of John Forge's Leader Card.

Back of John Forge's Leader Card.

Professor Ellen Anders and Sergeant Forge in the Relic on Harvest.

Forge and Anders at the ruin site on Arcadia.

Forge aiming his handgun at the Arbiter, who is taking Ellen Anders hostage.

Sergeant Forge firing his M6C sidearm.

Captain Cutter, Sergeant Forge, and SPARTAN-092 discuss how to proceed after Professor Anders' abduction.

Forge after killing the Arbiter.

Forge in the grip of The Arbiter.

Forge as he appears in game.

A full body render of Sgt. John Forge.

McFarlane Toys figure of Sgt. Forge.

Forge inside the Forerunner relic on Harvest.

Appearances[]

• Halo Wars (First appearance)
• Halo Wars: Genesis
• Spirit of Bloody Fire. Cutter. Bloody hell.
• Attacks

Sources[]