http://www.halowars.com/forums/thread/503140.aspx
http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/John_Forge
http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/John-117
And for all you NON halo fans out there, John 117 is Master Chief(they should've wrote that). So now that THAT'S cleared up, let's begin shall we? So first up is the time in between. One of the most obvious things that people don't realize is that it would be LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE for John Forge to be Master Chief. For those of you that HAVN'T played halo wars, don't read until you see the big,"SPOILER ALERT OVER" sign at the end of the paragraph
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I assume that the non-halo wars players/finishers have passed us by now. Anyway, in the halo wars video game, at the end, John forge, the protagonist, dies. And, if I recall, you can't bring people back from the dead. As you can tell, Master chief is NOT dead in the Halo franchise.
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Well that was quick, now wasn't it? Continuing, from the sources I've found, while some people agree that Master Chief is NOT John Forge, some would think that John Forge is Master Chief's FATHER. That, again, would be IMPOSSIBLE. While John Forge was born in 2502, master chief was born in 2511, so that means if John Forge WAS his father, he would have to have been 9 years old. And, as you know, is EXTREMELY unlikely.
Look at the picture on the top. That's is a representation of Master Chief at the age of five. The bottom is John forge. I have noticed the similarities of the two, they look almost identical! Which has actually sparked a theory of mine. That the two are actually brothers. Do you see it? It makes sense doesn't it. This is probably the reason that most people think they're the same, since they look very much alike. Though this may be untrue, since they look like twins, but would have had to be born at the same time, which if you were paying attention, is not true. They could just have the same facial features, and their Mom named them both John. But who knows? They are probably related in some way, whether it be cousins or brothers. Personally, i think my theory is the most likely. What do you think?