'Halo' Will Show Master Chief's Face (And Fans Are Angry)

The makers of the highly anticipated Halo TV series have announced that the Master Chief won't be keeping his helmet on for the duration of the show, a move that has already disappointed the surprisingly high number of hardcore Mandalorians among its fanbase. Fans love the Master Chief because he lives the life they aspire to, that of a huge stoic badass who's loved by a hot e-girlfriend regardless of his looks.

For one, It's hard not to feel sympathy for their position. Nobody wants another Judge Dredd ('95) type situation where you pay to see a character famous for never removing his helmet, then end up treated to having to look at Stallone's mug for the entire thing. Fans would much rather deal with the Dredd film of 2012 where the beloved fascist keeps his helmet on the entire time, and it totally rocks.

There are, however, two things fans should totally take into consideration before starting to go crazy about this. One: the first Dredd film sucked because of the helmet thing, sure, but it also sucked because of everything else about it. And two: Master Chief's face hasn't been a secret for a very long time now. And no, I'm not talking about the ending of the first game where a hacker found a way to unlock the camera and reveal that underneath the helmet of the Master Chief lies yet another helmet.

I'm talking about how you can totally see what the Master Chief looks like in the comics, in CGI movie adaptations…

I assure you this isn't a Sims expansion

... as well as in the actual games. If you're a Halo fan, one of those fanatical to the point of beating Halo 4 in legendary difficulty, you probably won't be too mad at this news because, despite all of its faults, that game does a good job of humanizing the character and of showing Chief's face.

Getting to play as a hero devoid of personality is cool because we get to project ourselves onto his shell, but following a near-emotionless and completely faceless dude throughout 10 episodes might become a chore. Allowing actor Pablo Schreiber to show off his range and looks certainly won't be the downfall of this show.