10 Video Game Characters Who Died (But Came Back To Life In The Sequel Anyway)

These days Sergeant Johnson is an integral part of the Halo series, but originally it seems the developers had a far less important role for him.

In Halo Combat Evolved, the sergeant is just a random NPC and, like any other marine, he can be gunned down by enemies along the campaign. If not this, there's a gag ending if the player beat the game on Legendary which sees Johnson embracing a Covenant Elite as they're both blown to hell.

However, it seems after the series became more popular and its plot could use some revision, the developers thought Johnson could become a far more relevant character, and they simply brought him back to life for Halo 2 and 3.

His death was technically retconned, although the game does acknowledge his fate in Combat Evolved, as in the intro of Halo 2, one of the marines asks Johnson about how he managed to make it out of the ring alive. The story implies that in reality, Johnson was only badly wounded during the assault, and he and a few other soldiers managed to hijack a Covenant ship to escape to safety.

Whether or not this is a satisfactory rewrite, you still have to admit that bringing Sergeant Johnson back into the series was the right move.

It’s really hard to imagine the series without him.