| “ | We are droppin' into Hell troopers! Try to grow a pair!
— Buck (ODST)
|
” |
Captain Malcolm Reynolds was the headstrong and snarky leader of the crew of the Serenity. He served with the Browncoats during the Unification War as a Sergeant, and participated in the infamous Battle of Serenity Valley. Reynolds was a pretty big jerk to everyone, including his crew, but if anyone or anything attempted to harm them or be a jerk like him, he wouldn't tolerate it, a trait that would often lead him into violent situations. His unresolved sexual tension between himself and the Companion on his vessel, Inara, is a major part of his character development. Captain Mal....
Hey. Wait a minute...
Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck was the headstrong and snarky leader of the 11th and later, the 7th ODST. He served with the UNSC during the Human-Covenant War as an ODST Drop Trooper, and participated in the infamous Battle of Reach. Buck was a pretty big jerk to everyone, including his crew, but if anyone or anything attempted to harm them or be a jerk like him, he wouldn't tolerate it, a trait that would often lead him into violent situations. His unresolved sexual tension between himself and the ONI Officer on his team, Veronica Dare, is a major part of his character development.
History[]
Halo: Reach[]
| “ | So. Here's us. On the raggedy edge.
— Buck
|
” |
Buck on Reach.
During the Fall of Reach, Sergeant Buck was serving with the 11th ODST and was attempting to evacuate civilians in the ruins of New Alexandria during the Covenant siege of the city. Buck was piloting a Falcon during the aeriel battle above the rooftops and was attempting to enter a building when he and his squad came under heavy fire. He radioed for support, and at the last second was aided by SPARTAN Noble Six. Noble Six used his own Falcon to clear out the hostiles, and helped escort Buck to a tower so he could complete a classified objective. Buck escaped the destruction of New Alexandria and eventually, the planet Reach itself- falling back to Earth and joining the 7th ODST.
Halo 3: ODST[]
| “ | Don't make me do something manly and impulsive!
— Buck
|
” |
Buck fights through the New Mombasa streets.
After he escaped Reach, Buck and his new squadmates; Dutch, Romeo, Mickey and the Rookie, served on the UNSC Say My Name and was prepped during the Battle of Earth to join a larger ODST unit and land onboard the Prophet of Regret's Slipspace Cruiser. As the squads pods descended towards the Cruiser, the ONI Officer Veronica Dare had the pods coordinates changed to land into the city of New Mombasa below. When Regret's flagship caused a slipspace rupture to leave, it triggered and EMP blast that knocked Buck and his squad's drop-pods out, sending them plummeting and separated into the city itself.
Buck's pod smashed into a building and landed upsided down in the streets. After forcing the pod open, he made radio contact with Dare, who's own pod was sealed. After he discovered the Covenant were headed towards her position, he raced off to rescue her. He fought his way through small squads of Brutes and Grunts, and regrouped with a small squad of Marines briefly, before he eventually came upon a whole squad of Elites killed by Brutes. He tried to question Dare about the oddity, but she told him it was classified. He continued fighting through heavy Covenant forces, including a pair of Hunters, and found her crashed drop-pod in Tayari Plaza. After killing off all the Covenant in the area, he found the pod was empty, and an Engineer was gripping her damaged helmet in it's tentacles. Horrified, Buck stumbled backwards as the creature loomed over him, but before anything could happen, the team sniper Romeo shot the alien through the head. The Engineer exploded, and Dare's helmet was sent through the wall of a tower across the plaza- which the Rookie would later find on his search for his lost team.
Buck attacks a Brute Chieftain with his knife to protect his squad.
Buck and Romeo decided to abandon Dare's original objective, and refocused on getting his squad back together and out of New Mombasa in one piece. He and the sniper made their way to the New Mombasa Police Department Headquarters, and made radio contact with Mickey and Dutch, who had reunited and were with the police. The two offered to pick up Buck and Romeo in their Pelican, but when they arrived, a Banshee caused critical damage to the vessel and it went down. Buck escorted Romeo throughout the winding towers to reach the crash site and reunited with Mickey and Dutch, bunkering down and using heavy weapons to bring down hundreds of Banshees and Phantoms, before a Brute Chieftain charged them. The Chieftain's hammer pierced Romeo's armor and nearly killed him before Buck leapt on to it's back, and used his Bowie Knife to tear apart it's throat and kill it. The crushed Sniper Rifle that Romeo dropped during the attack fell into the streets below and was also found by the Rookie as he chased his squad.
The Gunnery Sergeant continued to lead his men through the city, eventually reaching Kikowani Station, where he and his men hijacked one of the Covenant's Phantom dropships and he personally escorted the team in a hijacked Banshee. The squad were forced to battle through building after building packed with heavy troops, as well as heavy air resistance and Engineers. After bringing down a Scarab, Buck came to a revelation, and knew what happened to Dare, ordering the vehicle to turn around. He ran through the Superintendent Data Center by himself and reunited with Dare and the Rookie, as well as an Engineer named Vergil, who was apparently incredibly important to the war. He helped escort Vergil across the streets in a Warthog, and later, a Scorpion, while Dare protected him in a civilian Olifant. He suffered a brief panic attack when he watched the Covenant fleet overhead begin to glass the city, but regained his composure with Dare's help, and pushed on to the entrance of the Uplift Reserve, where he ordered the rest of his squad to pick them up.
He held off alongside Dare and the Rookie inside the building against wave after wave of Covenant resistance, killing many Brutes, Grunts and Drones in the process. Eventually, Mickey and the squad arrived in their hijacked Phantom, and the team managed to force Vergil inside and board, just as the Covenant began to glass the city- Sergeant Buck had escaped certain death once again.
Halo 5: Guardians[]
Notes[]
Nathan Fillion poses with a prop Halo Sniper Rifle.
Gunnery Sergeant Buck is modeled to look like his voiceactor, Nathan Fillion, who also created the Radar Jammer in Halo 3. Many of Buck's lines, personality, character interactions, and a good majority of the game are inspired by the TV show Firefly, and it's movie sequel, Serenity, which Nathan Fillion starred in as Captain Malcolm Reynolds. One of Buck's more popular lines, "BAM! Said the lady." is a reference to a line Fillion is attempting to popularize, and was also seen in his show Castle. Buck not only has a brief role in the plot of Halo Reach, he is also a playable character in the game's Firefight mode- his voice can be purchased for 15,000 credits. He had an "action figure" made by McFarlane Toys in mid-2010, but like every other figure in their Halo line, Buck is literally out of scale with every. Other. Toyline. Ever. Made. EVER.
In Halo 3: ODST, Buck has unique customized armor that can be used in Firefight mode if the player completes his first flashback mission in campaign, Tayari Plaza, and also includes a removable helmet. When he appears in Reach, he looks just like any other ODST, and his Firefight mode is voice only, so he looks exactly like Noble Six. Through a glitch, it is possible to get Buck to join you in Reach for the New Alexandria mission, though the process is imperfect. Buck can not be killed in a fight in Reach, making him a valuable ally for Noble Six on Legendary.
Appearances[]
- Halo 3: ODST
- Halo Reach
- Halo 5: Guardians