Halo: Combat Evolved - An in-depth review of each Sangheili/Elite body model from the Halo games
These guys are the original freaks, in the most loving sense of that phrase.
With Halo: Campaign Evolved not far away, I'd say it's a better time than ever to take a look back to where it all started with the Elite design of Combat Evolved.
This initial entry should be the only time you see armor in this series. The CE Elite has a low-poly model, and a lot of it is armor attached to the mesh surface; there's nothing for me to strip away and look under, and frankly, I don't mind discussing it in this specific instance.
(Since my model's armor is not currently configured to be colored, this photograph by fellow blog haloreferences will serve to represent the true glory of the in-game model. Thanks, haloreferences!)
Over the years as I've read around in the community, I've seen a lot of vocal acclaim for these Elites, and they deserve it: when you get down to it, there's truly nothing else quite like them in the series, for nothing has matched their style exactly since. I think they owe their timeless appeal to a combination of factors, but especially to the charisma of their animations and the smooth, clean aesthetic of their armor.
They have some of the least detailed and most organically shaped armor in the entire series, which lends so much to their design it cannot be understated. For this reason, I feel that their style is difficult to bring up to par in modern graphics, at least without a conscious effort to preserve their smooth, glossy shapes. For me, even the high-fidelity work of Abimael Salazar falls short in portraying the original nature of their armor.
But to expound any more would be breaking the 'not reviewing armor rule' I set in the introduction, so let's move on to the main goal of this series: anatomy assessment, or what little of it we can do here.
Because the CE Elite's anatomy is almost identical to the Halo 2 Elite, which we'll be covering next in detail, the most unique things we're going to look at here are going to be the techsuit and face.
This Elite has a very colorful techsuit. At least when imported into Blender, this can very plainly be seen. Almost the entire body is covered in a bright, teal blue undersuit with a hexagonal pattern. This is except for the boots, which have vertical striations and a grippy texture on the sole, and the gloves are textureless.
Note these yellowish spots interrupting the teal layer. You have to wonder just what they're supposed to represent, if not mere ornamentation.
Here's the torso. It features a line on the sternum, which I interpret as the undeniable origin of the sternal ridge on the Blur sangheili design. We'll see this again in more detail on the Halo 2 Elite.
I'd also like to note the pattern shown here, in the concavity of the ribcage. I'm not sure what it is (a symbol on the undersuit, or muscular detail?), but it's interesting.
Quick pictures of the hands before we move on:
We're getting closer to the face, which is my favorite part on this Elite, so hang in there.
Once we get up to the back of the neck, we can find more of those yellow spots from earlier. They're almost like textured patterns on the suit, or maybe cutouts.
There's one more on the throat. Also, please enjoy the angle on the mouth from here in anticipation of the full face. It's got a very interesting shape from the bottom (almost like a mushroom or keyhole).
I actually found that the Halo 2 models reveal just what these cutouts are, so if you're curious to find out, do stick around for it! It's not what I initially presumed it to be, and I found it a fun if insignificant detail.
I saved my absolute favorite for last, so let's finally look at the face!
I fucking love this guy. I didn't really start loving him until I started paying attention to this specific part, but it's a huge standout among all other Elites in the entire series for one specific reason: this very first Elite had mandibles entirely unlike any that came after it.
I'll show you why:
In every design that succeeded this guy, the upper mandibles sit directly below a dedicated upper jaw containing teeth. In the CE Elite? The upper mandibles function as an upper lip. They close around the upper gums and are attached by a membranous or muscular webbing. In these jaws, the teeth on the upper mandibles point downward, while the teeth on the lower mandibles point inward. This setup pans out so the mandible-teeth aren't stabbing those gums.
When closed, the front and sides meet neatly with no gaps, except for the bottom. When combined with mandible armor, this lends them what some people call a 'face mask/guard' when describing them.
I personally find that it gives them a real shrewd and cunning look about them.
(goddamn cutie.)
Note the scoop-shaped end of the lower mandible. It almost forms a pincer when viewed from below (only marginally extended by the exterior mandible armor, I checked).
Overall, I adore these mandibles. In the modern day, it's pretty hard to equate this design with a sangheili (who are now known for their four mobile mandibles sitting below the upper jaw/maxilla), but I enjoy it a lot. The reveal of the gums and concealed inner teeth makes their jaw-splaying threat far more visually impactful; they're kind of the only 'horror' inspired version of Elites you get, beside Flood forms, which I don't count. They are sufficiently alien in a way that brings me immense joy. I'd love to see more art of this specific design in the modern day, but I don't expect to. Mayhaps my spotlight on them could help change that.
As far as practicality goes, all Elite designs have open-bottomed mouths. But the pincer-like shape of these lower mandibles seems passable to me for holding items immobile in the jaws. Combined with the way the mandibles close, the premaxillary teeth (the very front of the jaws, also seen on all Elites) might actually be effective here. The way I see it, the jaws seem like they could function to spear and macerate food directly at the tips of the mandibles, with those premaxillary teeth directly serving as a surface to squeeze and stab against. Like pins and a pincushion! Fucking awesome! I'm totally gonna borrow those biomechanics for personal use one day.
Also worth noting: the entrance into the throat is actually distended forward on this model, rather than recessed further back like it became in the Elites to come. Modelling limitation or conscious design choice, I wouldn't know. But as it appears, it does facilitate consumption far better than the effort other sangheili would have to go through, flexing their mandibles all the way back to push food into their esophagus (assuming, of course, sangheili mandibles are even playing a proper role in food processing anymore; the easier option would frankly be to use their hands).
As an additional note on jaw-splaying, I'm simply in love with how vividly pigmented their mouth tissue is in CE. By Earth biology standards, it makes absolutely zero sense for a creature with purple blood, but it's beautiful and adds to the threat display fantastically. The vivid color makes it feel like a very biologically grounded behavior to me, like it's an inherent part of their intraspecific communication which Chief is just subjected to.
I could imagine jaw-splaying having a variety of meanings based on context, from fear to aggression, or even serving as any other kind of voluntary signalling (like a human wave! fuck, don't get me starting on hypothesizing sangheili body language).
And now I want to see someone draw an elite with highly blood-pigmented mouth tissue, but in purple.
With the novelty of the unique mandibles largely out of the way, let's touch on the head, or what little of it we can admire here.
Based on what can be gleaned, they have a very wedge-shaped head, which I'd argue is more shark-like than anything else. This is with the exception of the mandibles, which are easily the most insectoid in the series.
The eyes are black and proportionally the largest in the series. What skin is visible here has rather insectoid features, appearing segmented into plates. You may or may not know this, but I'd safely say that the CE Elite's closest relative in terms of integument is undeniably the Halo Infinite Elite (which is unfortunately very, very far off in this series).
The Halo Infinite Elite shares this design in a reduced capacity, bearing segmented grooves upon the surface of its' head. At present, it's also my favorite sangheili head design ever, of all time, and I really would love to know for certain whether the Infinite Elite's head ridges are lifted from CE or not.
I could go on, but I'll be saving the deeper breadth of my anatomical scrutiny for the Halo 2 Elite; those models have much more to show.
So, I bring this post to a conclusion: the sangheili of Combat Evolved, from before sangheili were even much of a thing, are really an outlier among their bretheren. They have a disparate visual style and even disparate anatomy to all that have succeeded them. I find this very interesting, for them having been the foundation of all Elites known today. Most Covenant races found in CE share a similar story, but I'm especially glad to highlight the first Elite for their alien elegance and novelty compared to what's come since.
I really enjoyed writing this, and if you're reading, I hope you did too!
In the next entry, on the Halo 2 Elite, we will:
Look at some significant developments to the base of CE's established anatomy
Appreciate sangheili scale patterns and design influence that seems seldom ever seen in modern Halo fanart
Settle the question: toes or hooves? The answer may shock you.
