: ... Chyler Sylva survived the events of Halo: Forward Unto Dawn , served
: through the Human-Covenant War, and became the leader of the newly-formed
: Spartan Branch? What if Commander Sarah Palmer was instead Commander
: Chyler Sylva?

: I think that Chyler would have been better in Sarah Palmer's role because she
: had a modicum of backstory to justify her brash, gung-ho attitude.
: Palmer's a blank slate. Chyler was a supranationalist who detested the
: organizations that opposed the UNSC, an opinion that would have been
: calcified by the Covenant's relentless assault.

: Then there's the dichotomy between the lessons Lasky and Sylva would have
: learned from Corbulo Academy. Lasky saw the Chief as a hero, and learned
: that there are forces worth fighting (or whatever his character
: development was supposed to be about). Sylva, if she survived, might have
: seen the Spartans as soldiers who could stand up to the Covenant. And as
: she served during the War, troops under her command would have been
: slaughtered again and again because the Covenant have the weight of
: numbers and technology on their side, and there's not enough Spartans to
: shift the balance.

: So, thoughts? Would Sylva have been a better character than Palmer in Halo 4
: and the comic series?

The same thought has occurred to me before, as Palmer's dynamic with Lasky mirrors Silva's role in FUD a lot. From a character development perspective, I believe it would've been preferable to what we've got. FUD would've acted as backstory for Lasky and Silva the future the Infinity Spartan commander, however unlikely it might be that they'd end up serving on the same ship after so many years. Right now we have no background for Palmer or his relationship with Lasky other than what can be inferred from their interactions.

However, it also comes down to the way adult Silva would've been written as a character in relation to Palmer. For all her wide-eyed belief in the UNSC, Silva came across as far more decent and well-adjusted a person than Palmer has ever been presented as. If Reed had written her with all the evidently-unintended flaws Palmer's portrayal has had so far -- basically making her Palmer with a British accent -- the gripes people have with her character would still be there, and it would raise the question of what happened to this relatively nice person that turned her so toxic and arrogant.

As for a realistic continuation of her character from FUD, though? I think she would've made a much more competent and professional Spartan Commander. Silva also had potential as a character on her own and not just as a vehicle to drive Lasky's arc. Specifically seeing how she copes with the OCP the Covenant presents to her worldview and how her dynamic with Lasky would've worked out in the "modern" times. Relegating her into fridge stuffing was kind of a waste, justified as it may have been within the context of H4FUD itself and Lasky's character growth.