Verdict on Halo Feats: Are Hypersonic & Relativistic Reactions Valid?

[Papa Nier]

@Maddie and I have different opinions about whether Spartans, particularly Master Chief, have valid hypersonic or relativistic feats in the Halo universe. A few examples include dodging Covenant Beam Rifle projectiles that are Mach 10.6 or 10.7 and Forerunner Sentinel beams, which are supposedly at or near light speed.

Master Chief intercepts and blocks a Covenant Beam Rifle shot after it’s fired from roughly 30 meters away, which is fires at Mach 10.6 or 10.7:

The concrete beneath the Spartan had turned to dust and gravel as he launched forward. Barely half a second had passed and he was already ten meters away. Palmer slung her weapon and tore off after him; Sullivan fell in directly behind her, running for all he was worth.

Palmer was pumping her arms and trying to control her breath as she trailed behind the Spartan. She looked up from her boots and saw that his hands were no longer empty—his right hand now held a massive hard-chromed M6D, and a spare magazine was in his left. Eight thunderclaps rang out so fast that they bled together into a single long roar. At that same moment a terrible cacophony erupted behind them as her squadmates opened fire on the building—its facade disappearing behind a cloud of pulverized concrete and shattered glass. Two of the Jackals that had been covering their approach had already fallen—bright purple blood fountaining out of huge ragged holes that she could pick out even at this distance.

With one hand at thirty meters and a dead run, two shots apiece, each a hit to the head or neck, what the holy hell are my guys even aiming at back there—shit. The Corporal’s mind raced, but her legs had begun to slack off. She saw another Jackal appear at the roof’s edge and there was a flash of purple light.

And then her view was blocked by a wall of green armor; there was a loud crack and a flash of golden light. The Spartan had spun to face her; she saw her own reflection in his visor for a fraction of a second, then he dipped slightly before popping into the air, sailing backward three and a half meters above the ground—smoke trailing from the inside of his right arm. Four more rapid-fire thunderclaps roared in her ears; the magazine dropped out of the Spartan’s M6D, his left hand slamming the fresh magazine up into the well and flicking to catch the empty one as it fell, the huge pistol now latched onto his right thigh, the empty magazine stowed, and his knees tucked up to his chest as he continued through the air over the Warthog.
Source: Halo: Evolutions: Essential Tales of the Halo Universe

Spoiler: Type-50 Sniper Rifle System

Another Spartan dodges beam rifle shots twice including one from point blank.

Spoiler: Halo: Blood Line

The Sentinel Beam ammunition is described as a superheated negative charged ion particle beam.

Spoiler

Master Chief dodging laser weapons of the Forerunner Aggressor sentinels.

But the Chief knew how to deal with the mechanical killers, and proceeded to dodge their lasers as he destroyed one after another.
Source: Halo: The Flood

Here are members of Fireteam Osiris, Palmer, and Tanaka using Hardlight Shields to block Forerunner Sentinel beams. Afterwards, Palmer intercepts and uses herself as a human shield against Forerunner Sentinel beams and Tanaka fighting Sentinels in the air while evading their beams.

Spoiler

Black Three from Black Team dodging Forerunner Sentinel beams and Hunter's plasma stream blast while in midair.

Spoiler

Fireteam Majestic evading automatic turret fire.

Spoiler: Halo: Escalation

Ray and Thorne evade fire from numerous Covenants with their Carbine Rifles and immediately blitzes them.

Spoiler: Halo: Escalation

Covenant Carbine rifles fire hypersonic (so Mach 5+) slugs.

Spoiler: Halo: Shadow of Intent

Tem'Bhetek without warning deflects hypersonic projectiles from the Covenant Carbine that are not coming from his line of sight, and immediately identifies the shooter.

Uncannily quick, the Prelate raised his hardlight shield and deflected three shots from a Covenant carbine rifle. The bright green hypersonic slugs ricocheted with glassy pings, sparking radioactive fuel. A glance to his right and the Prelate identified the shooter: an Unggoy standing on the other side of the bay, at the top of a bow-side ramp. Two squads of Sangheili rangers were spilling down the ramp past the Unggoy.
Source: Halo: Fractures (Halo: Shadow of Intent)

Master Chief steering a ship around a Covenant ship's lasers and other projectiles.

Spoiler

Spartans dodging lasers from a Covenant ship.

Spoiler

Kelly dodging a Sentinel laser by sprinting, stopping, spinning, and jumping out of the way.

Spoiler

The argument is that these feats are outliers, while I argue they are consistent across different media.

I’d like to get the OBD’s verdict on the following.

Are these feats consistent with Halo’s lore?

Are they valid, or do they break the setting?

 

[Maddie]

I have church and work today, work tomorrow too. Outside of that I also have to study for a statistics exam Tuesday. Don't expect me to fully rebutt for a while, I apologize.

 

[Flowering Knight]

Haven't been many posts yet but I'm just gonna say ahead of time that my stance is entirely based on mob mentality, I will agree with whichever side everyone else agrees with regardless if it's for or against the downgrade. It's a matter that the OBD hivemind as a whole should put their input on, after all.
And hey the big RWBY downgrade I put forth in the past might be getting reversed so anything can happen

 

[Maddie]

Haven't been many posts yet but I'm just gonna say ahead of time that my stance is entirely based on mob mentality, I will agree with whichever side everyone else agrees with regardless if it's for or against the downgrade. It's a matter that the OBD hivemind as a whole should put their input on, after all.
And hey the big RWBY downgrade I put forth in the past might be getting reversed so anything can happen

This shouldn't be VSB, no mob rule allowed.

Also already have my response for the three introduced feats being formulated, but I think I just need to know one thing before I will write it down

@Papa Nier One comes from The Package, the last is Ghosts of Onyx, what is the middle one from? Halo Wars 2? Forward Unto Dawn? I don't remember such a cutecene from any game I played

Edit: It's from Fall of Reach. Wrote that one in my next doc fairly quickly, just had to look at the frame-by-frame for confirmation and my suspicions were correct. I'll come back with part of my rebuttals to these feats tonight.

 

[Papa Nier]

The reason I compare Halo to Mass Effect is that both universes aim for a grounded take on advanced technology. They share similarities in how they handle advanced military training, energy shields, and enhanced soldiers with superhuman capabilities. However, there seems to be a double standard when comparing the two franchises, particularly in terms of speed feats and reaction times.

In Mass Effect, three notable characters, James Vega, Paul Grayson, and Kai Leng are shown to dodge or evade mass accelerator rounds. James Vega’s feats come from the Mass Effect: Paragon Lost animation, while Paul Grayson and Kai Leng feature in Mass Effect novels. Despite the relatively small number of instances, these feats have been accepted by OBD, and Commander Shepard and his squad have been scaled to massively hypersonic speeds. Shepard is canonically superior to Vega and is eventually victorious over Kai Leng.

However, when it comes to Halo, there seems to be far more skepticism. Multiple characters including Master Chief, Kelly, Black Three, Palmer, and Tanaka have been shown dodging Forerunner lasers, Sentinel beams, and other similarly fast projectiles. Yet, the Halo community often doubts these feats, questioning whether Spartans can consistently operate at such high speeds. This hesitation persists despite Halo characters demonstrating reflexes on several occasions that suggest otherwise, with technology levels comparable to or surpassing Mass Effect’s in terms of advanced capabilities. If these feats only happened once and were never repeated, then it would make sense to consider them outliers, but they occur more than once and should be treated as part of the established canon.

I’ve always felt that Halo tends to get downplayed when it comes to high-end feats, particularly when Maddie talks about breaking the setting as a reason to dismiss them. But if these feats happen repeatedly, they aren’t outliers, they’re part of the established canon. It doesn’t matter if they challenge someone’s interpretation of the setting; what matters is that they’ve been shown to happen within the series.

It also feels inconsistent to argue that Mass Effect’s characters can achieve massively hypersonic feats while Halo characters are limited by “breaking the setting” concerns. Maddie’s argument that these feats “break the setting” is weak when you consider the extreme feats shown in both series. If Mass Effect characters like Shepard can use their biotics and weaponry without “breaking” their universe, then Halo characters like Spartans dodging near-light-speed beams or surviving extreme forces shouldn’t be seen as outliers either.

Ultimately, if we allow Mass Effect characters like Commander Shepard to reach massively hypersonic speeds and multi-city block to town level destructive feats, then restricting Spartans from similar feats seems like a double standard. Years ago, Halo discussions often limited Master Chief to building level feats and speeds ranging from subsonic to supersonic+, but as more research has been done on the Halo expanded universe, it’s clear that Spartans are capable of much more. Going back to that level of downplay seems unwarranted.

 

[Qinglong]

Bloodline Shadow of Intent and Escalation feats posted in OP seem pretty clear cut to me, unless there's some massive distance involved that's not being shown

 

[Maddie]

Bloodline Shadow of Intent and Escalation feats posted in OP seem pretty clear cut to me, unless there's some massive distance involved that's not being shown

The carbine is Mach 5, the Blood Line and Escalation feats would be a signifcant fraction of the speed of light if it wasn't shit aim/intercepting before the sentinel actually fired. That is a massive gap.

Anyways I am now writing the thing on the Booster Frame, then I'll get to the Kelly thing because that one seems easier than the other sentinel beam feats. I have more important things like an Exam and Orthodox Clubs today.

 

[Qinglong]

Oh, I read the scan wrong, I thought the bloodline one was a Carbine. Escalation is dodging automatic fire so that would be ~supersonic to hypersonic reactions or so

 

[Maddie]

Master Chief steering a ship around a Covenant ship's lasers and other projectiles.

Spoiler

Spartans dodging lasers from a Covenant ship.

Spoiler

Kelly dodging a Sentinel laser by sprinting, stopping, spinning, and jumping out of the way.

Spoiler

For now, I made a doc responding to these. Don't want to go through the hassle of uploading the pictures of the frames here so just read the doc:

On these three feats

Halo Legends: The Package Feat Refer to this frame by frame web tool to better see what is going on http://www.watchframebyframe.com/watch/yt/IZSoVCJMAJI For the first one, if you look closely frame-by-frame they're not really dodging the lasers before they hit and are moreso repositioning thei...

docs.google.com

 

[Papa Nier]

For now, I made a doc responding to these. Don't want to go through the hassle of uploading the pictures of the frames here so just read the doc:

On these three feats

Halo Legends: The Package Feat Refer to this frame by frame web tool to better see what is going on http://www.watchframebyframe.com/watch/yt/IZSoVCJMAJI For the first one, if you look closely frame-by-frame they're not really dodging the lasers before they hit and are moreso repositioning thei...

docs.google.com

I appreciate your breakdown of these particular feats, but I feel focusing so narrowly on these moments doesn’t capture the broader consistency of Spartan reflexes and reaction speeds. While some scenes could indeed be interpreted as repositioning or aim-dodging, the Halo expanded universe consistently portrays Spartans, especially characters like Kelly and Master Chief reacting to fast-moving projectiles and attacks well beyond human capabilities. It’s not about isolated incidents but a pattern of feats across games, novels, and other media.

Aim-dodging is plausible in certain cases, especially when dealing with slow-moving plasma or when taking cover, but Halo frequently shows Spartans reacting to things like high-speed projectiles and laser-based weapons after they are fired. For instance, in several novels, Master Chief and other Spartans are described as moving or reacting to things that are faster than conventional human reaction time, with plenty of examples of them evading projectiles mid-flight.

In The Fall of Reach, it’s true that Master Chief appears to react after the laser nearly hits him, but this can be explained by his own augmented reaction speed and his extensive combat training. As a SPARTAN-II, Chief’s reflexes are enhanced far beyond those of a normal human, allowing him to respond to threats almost instinctively.

The scene from Ghosts of Onyx shows Kelly using her incredible reflexes and speed to evade a dangerous beam. While she may not have been moving at her absolute top speed, the fact remains that Kelly like other Spartans has been portrayed across media as having combat reflexes that far exceed normal human limits. Even if this was aim-dodging, the sheer reaction time required to dodge under such circumstances is a testament to her enhanced reflexes.

I find it inconsistent that we’re allowing characters in Mass Effect to perform feats at massively hypersonic speeds or react to projectiles in ways that bend the rules of physics, yet Spartans in Halo face more skepticism when they perform similar feats. Both universes take liberties with advanced technology and enhanced soldiers, but it seems there’s a double standard when it comes to Halo. If Mass Effect characters like James Vega or Kai Leng can dodge projectiles and move at high speeds without breaking the setting, then Spartans should be able to do the same.

 

[Papa Nier]

@ChaosTheory123 @Stocking Anarchy @Atem @Masterblack06 @Adamant soul @Xhominid The Apex @Cryso Agori @Lazywaka @SupremeZaarin @Claudio Swiss @Blade @Darth Nihilus @Aurelian @CrossTheHorizon @NostalgiaFan


I want to get your thoughts on this verdict.

 

[Xhominid The Apex]

I think they are ultimately fine. We aren't trying to go for fully consistent feats here or many franchises would be stuck in Supersonic hell forever.

Sub Relativistic and City level Master Chief for me.

 

[Darth Nihilus]

Agreed with @Xhominid The Apex

 

[Blade]

Are these feats consistent with Halo’s lore?

for me, he is hypersonic+ on the average, with at least sub-rel reactions if u include his best feats, at least city+ block level in stats too

supersonic is way too low, and downplay

 

[Masterblack06]

Yeah I agree with everyone else.

Supersonic Chief seems like some shenanigans to even attempt to push for

 

[Maddie]

for me, he is hypersonic+ on the average, with at least sub-rel reactions if u include his best feats, at least city+ block level in stats too

supersonic is way too low, and downplay

Yeah I agree with everyone else.

Supersonic Chief seems like some shenanigans to even attempt to push for

How are you getting city level chief

He did not tank a nuke, the one in the moon he only took a bit of the thermal radiation and the nuke was weaker due to a thin atmosphere

and the Halo 4 one was blocked by headlight shields from the Mantles Approach + Chief is implied to have been teleported

The wraith feat he survived was because he was in a perpendicular tunnel away from where the blast hit so it was filtered a bit and only did enough damage to violently rupture the Marines, not actually vaporize them. That shows a high overpressure but not the same as a direct hit which other books have outright said he couldn't survive.

 

[Blade]

How are you getting city level chief

at least city+ block level in stats too

edit: trying to tone it down

for once, read actually what i said, u will see, no mention of city level mchief, smh

 

[Xhominid The Apex]

Pretty sure he meant for me there since I did say Chief was City level but I say that based on what Papa Nier stated and I can honestly buy it.. Because I said that though doesn't mean I'm the final word in it either.

 

[Papa Nier]

I agree with the hypersonic+ to sub-relativistic range for his reaction speeds based on his consistent showings against Forerunner tech.

I just want to clear up one thing, when I mention city level or small city level durability, I’m specifically referring to Hardlight Shield tech and similar shields, not Master Chief’s raw physical durability. This advanced shield tech, which includes Hardlight Shields, Drop Walls, Overshields, etc., plays a huge role in pushing Chief’s defensive capabilities to that level.

For example, Hardlight tech survived after the 30 megaton HAVOK Tactical Nuclear Weapon in Halo 4, even though Chief likely had some assistance from the Mantle’s Approach at the time. The fact that Cortana could harness that shield tech afterward speaks to its resilience against massive energy outputs.

On the other hand, Chief’s baseline physical durability without shields is still highly impressive, but it’s more within the city block level range. His Mark IV armor allowed him to survive a nearby detonation of a 1 MT nuke on the moon (with calc putting it at 12 kilotons), and even back then, he withstood Wraith mortars and plasma grenades.

So to sum up, Chief’s city/small city level durability is primarily due to his use of advanced shield tech. Physically, his durability is more in the city block range, but the combination of his energy shields, Hardlight Shield, and other tech push him into that higher durability tier.

Master Chief’s Mark VI GEN 3 Mjolnir armor via his current armor comes with significant regenerative capabilities. The armor can self-repair, and its automatic biofoam injectors help Chief heal from moderate injuries, like head trauma. His shields also recharge after taking heavy damage, giving him an edge in situations where most would be incapacitated. This combination of regenerating armor, recharging energy shields, and medical systems allows Chief to endure and recover rapidly.

Character Profile - Master Chief

Outskirts Battledome Wiki, the biggest source for cross-fiction battles on the web.

outskirtsbattledomewiki.com

 

[Maddie]

First I should say it isn't good to call for a verdict before I even managed to get my arguments really started. I am busy and while I am still passionate on this topic, it can't take priority over Orthodox Church club or a Statistics exam. I am more busy than I used to be and I also tend to write fairly long winded responses because I like covering all my bases. I am fine with you posting all your arguments earlier than me given that but at the very least only invite only people who know Halo before a general board-verdict on the franchise is made as I am just getting started.

I still haven't gotten to actually constructing a positive argument. However I just wanted to respond to this.

I appreciate your breakdown of these particular feats, but I feel focusing so narrowly on these moments doesn’t capture the broader consistency of Spartan reflexes and reaction speeds. While some scenes could indeed be interpreted as repositioning or aim-dodging, the Halo expanded universe consistently portrays Spartans, especially characters like Kelly and Master Chief reacting to fast-moving projectiles and attacks well beyond human capabilities. It’s not about isolated incidents but a pattern of feats across games, novels, and other media.

The issue is there is a massive gulf between “faster than human capabilities” and “Faster than what the best experimental and theoretical technology all of Halo humanity has to offer.” MAC cannons powered by massive power stations that have several hundred meter long barrels only go at 0.4c for example. Furthermore, there once again is a simply insurmountable, unjustifiable, and unexplainable gap between mach 5-10 weaponry spartans typically peak with, and mach 88,000+ speeds needed for laser feats, ones which again need to remind are shaky because we now have actual evidence that they can and will aim-dodge a laser. There has to be a real explanation beyond a mix of hysterical strength and enhanced reflexes, because all the metrics we give, all the logistics which actually fall in line with the supersonic to low hypersonic feats they proceed to do, fail to then fall in line with relativistic feats as I explain in a different thread. Spartans gain their fast reactions through 4 things: spartan augmentations, the Niobocene, the Neural Circuits, and the mini-fusion reactor. The spartan augmentations specifically give them a reaction speed of 20 milliseconds, the Niobocene multiplies that by 5, the Neural Circuits "bring them to the speed of thought," and the mini-fusion reactor would have to output an amount of energy comparable to Covenant Capital ships to feasibly power the suit enough to move at such high speeds (When fusion is the one thing made very clear the Covenant is light years ahead of the UNSC so there is no wiggle room here)

Aim-dodging is plausible in certain cases, especially when dealing with slow-moving plasma or when taking cover, but Halo frequently shows Spartans reacting to things like high-speed projectiles and laser-based weapons after they are fired. For instance, in several novels, Master Chief and other Spartans are described as moving or reacting to things that are faster than conventional human reaction time, with plenty of examples of them evading projectiles mid-flight.

The high speed projectiles you keep mentioning are carbine rounds and beam rifle rounds, which once again are a far cry from laser weapons and simply should not be mentioned here because they only help my case: that Spartans are above human reaction speeds and realistically ought to peak around low hypersonic speeds. And once again, being faster than conventional human reaction time does not equal being relativistic

In The Fall of Reach, it’s true that Master Chief appears to react after the laser nearly hits him, but this can be explained by his own augmented reaction speed and his extensive combat training. As a SPARTAN-II, Chief’s reflexes are enhanced far beyond those of a normal human, allowing him to respond to threats almost instinctively.

To reiterate. Chief reacted after the lasers. The second laser he didn't even have to react to because it charged and fire out after he was just past it. There is simply nothing to take from it that entails it is relativistic. Even if you can take away that Spartans have fast reflexes from it, you can't sequentially follow that to meaning they must be relativistic then. That is simply ignoring the context of the feat and trucking on with the assertions.

The scene from Ghosts of Onyx shows Kelly using her incredible reflexes and speed to evade a dangerous beam. While she may not have been moving at her absolute top speed, the fact remains that Kelly like other Spartans has been portrayed across media as having combat reflexes that far exceed normal human limits. Even if this was aim-dodging, the sheer reaction time required to dodge under such circumstances is a testament to her enhanced reflexes.

Even if this shows he has enhanced reflexes, it still isn’t a feat that can be used as evidence for relativistic reactions because she never was in a situation where she was actually interacting with the laser because she was already gone when it fired. Furthermore, if we take the actual time frame given, she had a second and Spartans react in low milliseconds according to in-verse statements rather consistently; so she had more than enough time to get out and it is still grounded in what Halo lore says. At best it requires supersonic speeds, but Kelly couldn’t have really gone any faster than hypersonic because she couldn’t outspeed the airblast which if calculated is only 2455 m/s.

I find it inconsistent that we’re allowing characters in Mass Effect to perform feats at massively hypersonic speeds or react to projectiles in ways that bend the rules of physics, yet Spartans in Halo face more skepticism when they perform similar feats. Both universes take liberties with advanced technology and enhanced soldiers, but it seems there’s a double standard when it comes to Halo. If Mass Effect characters like James Vega or Kai Leng can dodge projectiles and move at high speeds without breaking the setting, then Spartans should be able to do the same.

We treat every verse different given the context it's in. This happens for everything. DC and Marvel should be held to different metrics of standards too, and honestly all verses should be held with the upmost scrutiny and cross-examination based on the standards they established. Regardless this isn't a Mass Effect thread and I know too little on the topic to pretend to argue in its favor or not. Please do not discuss Mass Effect here when it really isn't relevant.

I still need to get to the core arguments, I repeat these aren't my final arguments regarding Spartan speed in general this is just focusing on these three feats for the moment to make future discourse less bogged down in random analysis. I just wanted to make it clear these do not add to the evidence in favor of relativistic Spartans because what happens simply doesn't cohere to that. Once again, they might show Spartans have fast reflexes and reactions, but that doesn't necessitate relativistic reactions and reflexes. If we go to the first two, the framerates and mentioned speed maybe suggest low millisecond to microsecond reactions, due to react in such small frame-times plus some cinematic time liberties. As for the Kelly feat, I agree she is fast, but she is given a comfortable enough timeframe of a second to go far enough without needing some extreme speed. I do believe these can't be used as contributions because they simply don't validate the main thesis because these still could be done with millisecond-microsecond reactions. I am still in the process of writing a proper constructive argument on the topic, but before that it is important for me to defensively remove lingering matters like feats being mentioned at the end of OP, that's why I went to those first. 12:00 here and can barely think or write more. Wrote this all in an hour and a half.

Spoiler: irrelevant to the main topic

I agree with the hypersonic+ to sub-relativistic range for his reaction speeds based on his consistent showings against Forerunner tech.

I just want to clear up one thing, when I mention city level or small city level durability, I’m specifically referring to Hardlight Shield tech and similar shields, not Master Chief’s raw physical durability. This advanced shield tech, which includes Hardlight Shields, Drop Walls, Overshields, etc., plays a huge role in pushing Chief’s defensive capabilities to that level.

For example, Hardlight tech survived after the 30 megaton HAVOK Tactical Nuclear Weapon in Halo 4, even though Chief likely had some assistance from the Mantle’s Approach at the time. The fact that Cortana could harness that shield tech afterward speaks to its resilience against massive energy outputs.

On the other hand, Chief’s baseline physical durability without shields is still highly impressive, but it’s more within the city block level range. His Mark IV armor allowed him to survive a nearby detonation of a 1 MT nuke on the moon (with calc putting it at 12 kilotons), and even back then, he withstood Wraith mortars and plasma grenades.

So to sum up, Chief’s city/small city level durability is primarily due to his use of advanced shield tech. Physically, his durability is more in the city block range, but the combination of his energy shields, Hardlight Shield, and other tech push him into that higher durability tier.

Master Chief’s Mark VI GEN 3 Mjolnir armor via his current armor comes with significant regenerative capabilities. The armor can self-repair, and its automatic biofoam injectors help Chief heal from moderate injuries, like head trauma. His shields also recharge after taking heavy damage, giving him an edge in situations where most would be incapacitated. This combination of regenerating armor, recharging energy shields, and medical systems allows Chief to endure and recover rapidly.

Character Profile - Master Chief

Outskirts Battledome Wiki, the biggest source for cross-fiction battles on the web.

outskirtsbattledomewiki.com

This should be focused on speed but:

They did take some energy from a nuclear bomb in Halo: Silent Storm. However it wasn’t a HAVOK nuke, it was a Fury-class tactical nuke which is only 1 megaton. Furthermore, due to the light atmosphere of the moon they were on the shockwave was basically non-existent and they would only be facing the threat of thermal radiation:

“John approved. Because Seoba had only a trace atmosphere, the shockwave of a Fury one-megaton thermonuclear device would barely be noticeable from a half kilometer away, and both Spartan Mjolnir and ODST space-assault armor was already shielded from EMP. So they would need to worry only about the heat blast, which could be avoided by simply hiding behind something . . .”

They were nowhere near the epicenter of the nuclear bomb because they were sprinting long before it detonated. At best, I can use the fact that they were facing the threat of thermal radiation. The thermal radiation at 1 megaton is 11.3 calories per square centimeter, I calculated the energy Chief tanked to be about 595 kilojoules. Also clearly the perception intended here is Chief can't survive a direct nuclear blast, but he can find a way to get out of the kill radius in time.

As for the wraith feat and plasma grenade feat, I calced both at triple digit megajoules. Well technically the Wraith feat I got way lower later on because upon rereading I realized they weren't in an open field and Chief was already fleeing into either an adjacent or perpindicular tunnel which likely blocked out some of the energy given the effects of the blast didn't do what it typically should. The marines were eviscerated, but not actually flash vaporized (Which is what would happen to a Spartan too, I forget which book but it states that spartans can survive short of a direct hit from a Wraith). However it happened, Chief likely tanked a way lower overpressure than the thermal energy if it was just an open field.

This should be in a different discussion please don't continue it here