: You're right that a lot is conveyed in that opening scene. I like the subtle
: touches of Chief's hands shaking and touching the spot in his helmet where
: Cortana used to be, and that each Spartan checks in with him to make sure
: he's okay. It tells us a lot about his mental state and how the other
: Spartans relate to him.

: But it's still very bizarre that we're dropped into an alternate universe
: where other Spartan IIs exist. It's like watching your favorite sitcom
: when they awkwardly introduce a new character -- "Oh, I've always
: been here. I've just been out of frame." It feels like a huge retcon.

: If these characters are so important to Chief, so important to the UNSC and
: humanity, and were alive for the events of Halo CE - Halo 4, why has no
: one even whispered their names?

I think less of that has to do with the story and more with developing an atmosphere for Bungie's games. This is evident in the obvious split between the games and the expanded universe with novels and comics during Bungie's stewardship of the franchise. Anyone who read the books or skimmed through a graphic novel knew there were a dozen other SPARTAN-II's living and fighting alongside the Master Chief, concurrent to when he was purported to be the "last of his kind" in marketing. Mind you, not once, at least to my knowledge, did we get the sense that the Chief was the last Spartan throughout the games he starred in. We simply felt alone because the circumstances which we found ourselves in demanded it.

That's one hold over from the Bungie era that I'm glad has been eroded away over the past few years. Made gamers think they were special snowflakes when a rich universe would have made them so much happier. Ask them who'd they rather wage war alongside, a 100 Marines you stumbled upon or 4 Spartans, all your closest friends from when you were a kid. I don't think anyone reasonable would choose the former knowing you're going to get a much better narrative and sense of character development with the latter. Plus I'm sure most people who only know about the Halo games are at least vaguely aware that the Master Chief was far from being the last Spartans.