Thel Vadam (Arbiter) is back, but the community is raising questions

[ArBiTeR1400]

So Halo: Escalation is out, Thel Vadam is back, but it got me worried about his canonical appearance.

 

first thing I notice was his skin is lighter, where he is from on Shanghelios, all of his family/friends within the Vadam State most have dark skin like him (for example, like black people & white people, we are different colours due to long term environmental adaptions on earth, Shangheilis are the same)

 

Another more worrying is his armour, but most people & me so far believe it is his ceremonial armour of some kind, based on my theories right here; If you have read Halo: Glasslands, Thel Vadam said he decided to quit being Arbiter, but wants to be simply known as his other title, Kaidon (meaning leader of his state, much like a Senator/Première, a leader of a state in his country) meaning he gave away his Arbiter armour, left it in his closet for remembrance how he got his honour back during the finals days of the Human-Covenant War, or modified it & made it gold coloured to really show his status, & last the design of the armour itself, left arm being completely exposed, 3 gold strips hanging down between his legs (I mean its stupid going into battle like that, the design of it would interferer how he might fight).

 

From a logical point of view is (since a large amount of people don't use their heads, expecting 343i/bungie to explain things to them >.>), he decided to wear this armour because of the peace negotiations, wanting to wear something respectful & something to represent his status towards the Brutes (for example; would you wear marine/soldiers outfits instead of a nice press suit if your're an ambassador, representing your party, no)

 

Only thing I notice that they kept truly canon was his Doarmir cloak he always had since the start of the Human-Covenant War.

 

Image below about the details of his cloak, skin & armour details below:

 

Thel Vadam talking to Rtas Vadam, during the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, seen wearing his Doarmir cloak & most likely his ship-command armour.

http://www.halopedia.org/File:Supremecommander.jpg

 

Thel Vadam talking to the Hierarchs about his failure attempts that happen in Halo: Combat Evolved during the start of Halo 2, seen wearing his proper combat armour due having to show his status & respect towards the Hierarchs & to ashamed him in from of the Covenant public.

http://www.halopedia.org/File:CouncilsScorn01.jpg

 

Thel Vadam kneeling before the Prophets during Halo 2, notice his colour is dark.

http://www.halopedia.org/File:Arbiter_kneel.png

 

Thel Vadam in his Arbiter armour during the events of Halo 2 & Halo 3 

http://www.halopedia.org/File:H3_Arbiter_Thel_Vadam.png

 

Thel Vadam wearing his Ceremonial armour during peace talks with the Jiralhanae in Halo: Escalation, notice the very details of his armour, his Doarmir Cloak & his colour skin.

http://www.halopedia.org/File:Thel_2558.png

 

 

 

[Buns]

Wait are we really getting upset over his skin being lighter? That must be a joke. :/
Its not like theyre giving him two left arms or something this is a really minor issue that shouldn't be a big deal. 

[Ghost Recon]

Maybe they wanted him to be lighter.

[Buns]

Maybe they wanted him to be lighter.

Thats actually a terrible reason 

It would be breaking canon if his skin was lighter. So i understand why some people are upset but it could have been for coloring reasons that he had to be lighter in the comic. 

[Guthred Wita]

It's good too see Arbiter's return. Now if we could just have in the next Halo game.... *Wink* 343 *Wink*

[Kilo Actual]

Bnus, some people go crazy over that stuff. It just ruins it. It's kind of like how they changed Master Chiefs armour out of the blue... I don't think they ever gave a reason as to why they did that. :/

[Unease Peanut]

Yay Arby is going to come back  

But are people going crazy over a minor change in his appearance? Come on...

[ShockGazm]

People should be happy that he's returning and stop complaining about the Arbiter, it's silly. I'm glad that the Arbiter is back, and the fact he's changed a bit makes me happy, character change a little over time, deal with it.

[Howling Death Wolf]

I think the armor is to represent his class and honor (given that the his race puts honor above all else).

[RedStarRocket91]

I honestly don't understand the problem here. He was wearing standardised Sangheili armour while he was serving as an officer of the Covenant; he wore the armour of the Arbiter while he was serving as the Arbiter of the Covenant; and now he's wearing a new set of armour because he's no longer either of those things. Sure, it looks more ceremonial than protective, but then so did his armour during Halo 2 and Halo 3, and he was able to fight just fine in that.

 

As for his skin being so comparatively light... it could just be the particular art style of the author, or it could be to fit in with the redesign of the Sangheili. An alternative could just be the effects of ageing: by the time we get to the next Halo game at least six years will have passed since his last appearance, and just like humans and Jiralhanae the Sangheili may well lose pigmentation with age.