The tough-as-nails Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer made her introduction to the Halo franchise at large in the game Halo: Spartan Assault and proceeded to make her first appearance in the game's mainline series with Halo 4.
The commander played a supporting role throughout her two mainline appearances, with the game's core narrative revolving around the iconic Master Chief (and of course, there was Spartan Locke claiming his polarizing share of the spotlight in Halo 5: Guardians). That being said, there's a ton of interesting lore invested in her character that's sure to pique the interest of any Halo fan.
10 Early Life
Sarah Palmer was born on April 13, 2527 on the moon, or as they call it in the Halo universe, Luna. Despite literally living on the moon, which is incredibly close to Earth when compared to virtually all of the planets humanity had colonized, Palmer's parents had no love for the UNSC. In fact, they straight-up hated the UNSC. Palmer wouldn't get the opportunity to inherit her parents' views as they died shortly after she was born, and she was later adopted by a man who was much more sympathetic to the UNSC.
9 Joining The UNSC
The more sympathetic views of the UNSC that her adoptive father had lead to Sarah joining the UNSC Marine Corps sometime in the 2540s. After serving as a marine, her skill and tenacity led to her being quickly drafted into the role of an Orbital Shock Drop Trooper (ODST), in which she served 12 tours on 8 different worlds. Palmer's accolades and exploits earned her the rank of Lance-Corporal and she was highly respected for her achievements and skill on the battlefield by those around her, so much so that it drew the attention of someone that fans of Halo: Reach would be overjoyed to hear from.
8 Meeting Jun
After a recovery mission for a UNSC Admiral and an AI that involved a Brute Chieftan getting crushed by a Warthog and somehow managing to walk away, only to be killed by Palmer (who was still an ODST suffering from a Needler round to the chest, if you didn't think she was tough already) Palmer was sent to the Lockhart medical station to recover.
While in recovery she encountered none other than Jun, the only surviving member of Noble Team from Halo Reach. Jun was now one of the founders of the SPARTAN-IV program and asked Sarah Palmer to become one of the program's members.
7 She'd Never Seen Actual Paper Before Becoming A Spartan
Palmer, who was now promoted to Corporal, jumped at the opportunity. Palmer's indoctrination to the program was long and intensive with a surprisingly large amount of paperwork to make sure that consent was provided for every procedure that she was about to go through. Interestingly, this was the first time that Palmer had ever seen a real physical sheet of paper outside of a museum. After receiving the augmentations to make her a Spartan-IV Palmer was put through intense training that involved several obstacle courses and races to see who the strongest trainee was.
6 She Took Down A Renegade Spartan
After officially becoming a Spartan, Palmer was stationed on the UNSC Infinity and was receiving a tour - a poorly timed tour as it turned out since it was interrupted by an Insurrectionist raid. The Insurrectionists kidnapped the crew's captain and disconnected the ship's AI, all under the direction of one Ilsa Zane. Zane was among the first SPARTAN-IV candidates, and though she was discharged from the program, she retained the augmentations, making her a lethal adversary. Palmer bested her in hand-to-hand combat during the events of Halo: Initiation comic book series.
5 Her Rank Is Inconsistent In The Lore
There seems to be some confusion on what her rank actually is when she is first introduced in Halo 4. Her biography on the official Halo 4 website states that she was a lieutenant during her time as a marine, but various materials such as comic books, The Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide, and in-game biographies state that she was at various levels of corporal for most of her time as a marine and an ODST, and never reached lieutenant before becoming a Spartan. Palmer is also listed as a Spartan Commander currently, but some sources say that the title is in name only and has no meaning.
4 Voice Actress
Sarah Palmer is voiced by veteran video game voice actress Jennifer Hale. Chances are that she's voiced one of your favorite video game characters, as she has an impressively extensive resume in the industry.
Hale is also the voice of a similar, spacefaring female badass -- the female version of Commander Shepard. Interestingly enough, Palmer's likeness and motion capture performance are actually credited to one Vedette Lim. Hale Also provides the voice for Gabriella Dvørak in the HUNT the TRUTH promotional campaign for Halo 5: Guardians.
3 She Dislikes War Game Simulations
Though Palmer frequently participates in War Games simulations alongside her fellow Spartans during training, she has expressed less-than-subtle disdain for them in the past. This is made abundantly clear in the first issue of Halo: Escalation, when she mutters "God I hate that thing..." in reference to the War Games room as she's leaving the simulation to respond to a call from Lasky.
2 Never Physically Appears In Halo 4's Gameplay Segments
It might sound ridiculous before you sit down to think about it since Palmer literally makes her debut to the series in Halo 4. And while she does indeed play a big role in its story, she never makes a physical appearance in any of the actual gameplay segments, only in cutscenes. Anytime that she talks in-game it is done through a commlink that only shows her portrait.
1 An Elite Has A Crush On Her
Yes, you read that correctly, and there's no reading between the lines to be done here. During the events of Halo 5: Guardians, Palmer and Dr. Hasley stayed with the Swords of Shangelios on the Elites' homeworld while the main events of the game involving Locke and Chief played out. During Palmer's stay, an elite named Vel 'Trokiak grew infatuated with her and even wrote a romantic poem about her. It can actually be listened to during the ninth mission, entitled "Alliance," if the player discovers the audio log. Apparently, a stray grunt happened to overhear the lovestruck Elite reciting the poem -- he wasn't too happy about it.