: Interesting direction. I think the odd part of this dichotomy is from what we
: know, the Mark I just doesn't seem bulky enough for the description, and
: slimming down and then bulking up again for the Mark III feels... off, in
: the same way the clear progression of Mk IV-VI was broken by canonizing
: the Halo Legends Mk IV.

Yeah, Garrett and I just had a similar conversation about this. One of the reasons I chose this as a subject is because I have a hard time seeing the evolution from the Mk. I in the comics to the Mk. III[b], for the same reasons you described, and wanted to see how others rationalized the progression visually. I think Garrett's done a great job here.

In my head, I think about it as: the Mk. I was originally intended to be what the Mk. IV was, and they realize the only way to make it effective was to work more towards the mech direction, to account for the lack of tech they had at the time. It wasn't until Halsey came along with her big brain and was able to reimagine what Mk. I was originally trying to achieve that they started slimming it down again..