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Villain Overview

We should thank Our Benefactors for giving us respite from this overpowering force. They have thrown a switch and exorcised our demons in a single stroke. They have given us the strength we never could have summoned to overcome this compulsion. They have given us purpose. They have turned our eyes toward the stars.
~ Wallace Breen

The Combine, abbreviated as CMB, officially named the Universal Union and referred to by the Citadel as Our Benefactors, are the main antagonists of the Half Life series, first making their debut in Half-Life 2.

They are an extremely vast inter-dimensional alien empire ruled by bio-mechanical emotionless, cultureless, logical beings who enslave, assimilate and exploit all other sentient life for their own purposes, mostly for amoral scientific advancement. They were drawn to Earth after detecting the Xen invasion from Half-Life, and then managed to conquer the planet within a mere seven hours thanks to their superior technology and overwhelming military might.

The Combine rely on technology which allows them to transform other creatures into their mindless or otherwise brainwashed servants and modify their bodies to turn them into something different entirely. They are also notable for their method of using the technology of other races against them, often redesigning things such as weapons or vehicles for greater efficiency. 

Most of the Combine enemies Gordon Freeman fights on Earth are masked transhuman/post-human soldiers. These humans surgically modified with combine technology and mind-wiped with memory replacement devices, are overall much deadlier and more resilient than the average human, and they are all highly trained and well-coordinated soldiers. The sentient creatures that allegedly control the Combine Empire are the "Advisors", which resemble giant featureless slugs/worms but have powerful telekinetic abilities which notably allows them to move effortlessly via levitation and a deadly tongue that can drill out and extract information from a person's brains. Another notable Combine unit is the "Strider", an extremely dangerous and heavily armored tripod creature equipped with a powerful pulse cannon, warp cannon (which can completely disintegrate just about anything) and invulnerable to most weapons aside from heavy-hitting ordnance such as dark energy pellets, rockets and special Magnusson Device explosives.

Overview[]

The Combine empire is said to span multiple parallel universes and dimensions, is inhabited by an unknown number of sentient species both allied and enslaved, and is possibly governed by a race of artificially evolved Advisors of the Combine Overworld, but these beings could simply be "advisors" to a higher entity within the combine hierarchy (if they even have one). The Combine empire expands by invading worlds and exploiting their dominant species as it sees fit. By manipulating these species through methods including bio-engineering and implantation, the Combine creates races of physically superior super-soldiers uniquely adapted for the particular environments of the conquered worlds. This process results in a highly mobile, aggressive, and adaptive military force which is able to respond to any threat and eliminate any opposition posed by a planet's inhabitants. While the reasons behind the Combine's imperialism and expansionism remain unknown throughout the series, their ambitious ultimate goal is clear: To conquer and enslave the entire Multiverse.

When pronouncing the word "Combine", vocal stress is placed on the first syllable. The name is pronounced COM-bine, as in combine harvester, as opposed to the verb form com-BINE, as in "to join together or unite."[1] Dr. Breen refers to the Combine Soldiers as The Transhuman Arm of the Combine Overwatch (However, all human Overwatch units excluding Civil Protection fall under this designation as well) in Nova Prospekt, verifying that "Combine" is an accepted name of the empire, even by the empire itself.[2]

Being captured by the Combine can have unspeakably horrific consequences - even worse than death. One of the most notable examples of this is the creation of Stalkers, which is when a human being is captured by the Combine and undergo an unseen yet grotesque process involving removing all the humans' organs and emaciating them. Stalkers are also heavily brainwashed into being mindless servants of the Combine. Any shred of humanity, as well as any previous memories, are completely erased.

Units[]

Metro Police/Civil Protection[]

Metrocop preview

Brainwashed or corrupt humans that serve the Combine Overwatch as police officers either for better living conditions or for higher status over others, they are armed with 9mm pistols, mp7 smgs, and stun batons and are also capable of deploying Manhacks. It is shown that these humans either don't care or have been brainwashed by the combine into not caring, about their fellow humans as they are often seen attacking innocent civilians for no reason other than out of suspicion. They wear black and white uniforms with green pants, black boots, and a white gas mask helmet with black lenses.

Manhack[]

A small combine drone with an attached buzz-saw, often used to flush out targets or pursue targets into out of reach areas.

City Scanner[]

A combine surveillance drone, used to scout for patrols and watch over the civilians, capable of depolying a blinding light akin to a flashbang. Similar to Manhacks they can be picked up using the Gravity Gun and will sometimes crash land when they take enough damage, after they are destroyed Gordon can sometimes salvage their battery for his HEV suit.

Combine Camera[]

Ceiling mounted cameras usually stationed at checkpoints and bases to survey the area and alert nearby forces of any unauthorized personel in the area, they are capable of being destroyed in which they will explode and retreat into the ceiling.

APC[]

The Combine's Armored Personel Carriers (APCs) are used to transport their forces via the ground and are armed with a mounted pulse machine gun and rocket launcher. Although these are used as ground transport, some can be seen being transported by Dropships.

Hunter Chopper[]

The Combine's Helicopters, referred to as Hunter Choppers by The Resistance, are often used for pursuing highly wanted targets over long distances or for full force attacks. Hunter Choppers have, by far, the most reinforced armor of any of the Combine's vehicles, being able to survive barrages of explosives before being shot down. Hunter Choppers are equipped with pulse machine guns and are also capable of dropping large spherical grenades, being able to drop dozens at a time in a form of carpet bombing.

Rollermine[]

Rollermine preview

Small combine drones resembling an electrified metal ball that roll towards their targets and deliver painful electrical shocks. While impervious to most forms of damage they can be destroyed by explosives or contact with water. In Episode One, Alyx Vance can reprogram them to "switch sides", in which their lights change colors from blue to yellow, become hostile to The Combine but neutral to Alyx and Gordon. However, when reprogrammed, they become unstable and explode soon after - turning red before they do so.

Hopper Mine[]

A land mine that anchors itself into the ground until an unsuspecting enemy walks by where they then proceed to unanchor and jump into the air, exploding when they hit the ground, however by picking one up with the Gravity Gun Gordon is able to reprogram them to only detonate when enemies walk by.

Turrets[]

The Combine use a variety of automated turrets, their main turret is stationed on the ground and held up by tripod legs, however when knocked over they malfunction and shoot wildly before shutting off, if one of these turrets takes too much damage it will self destruct however this is really only seen with the two reprogramed turrets in the Victory Mine rebel outpost. The ceiling turret is mounted to the ceiling and will descent and open fire on any hostiles that come to close, ceiling turrets are almost indestructible but can run out of ammo. Floor turrets come up from tiles in the floor and will scan for hostiles in which it will open fire if one is detected. Floor turrets come with one fatal flaw, which is when they come up to either scan or attack, a grenade can be thrown into the open space. In the forest outside of City 17 during the events of Episode 2, the Combine make use of a massive Autogun to cut off the nearby rebel's supply chain with White Forest.

Combine Soldier[]

The primary soldiers of the Combine Overwatch, they wear primarily gray body armor with blue lenses on their helmets, their sleeves are black and white striped and they have black armor pads on their arms and legs with the combine symbol on their arms, Sniper soldiers look identical to normal soldiers with the only difference being they are equipped with high powered sniper rifles, capable of killing targets in quick succession and from a distance, Snipers will usually shoot from broken open windows with the blue laser sight from their rifles showing where they are aiming, the only way these soldiers can be killed is by explosives.

Shotgun specialists wear armor that is primarily orange with brown armor pads and dark orange lenses on their helmets and instead of having the normal combine symbol on their arms, they bear the Overwatch elite skull symbol on their arms , soldiers at Nova Prospekt wear armor that is primarily dark blue with light blue armor pads and green lenses on their helmets the also have "NOVA PROSPEKT" emblazoned on their backs and arms while the Nova Prospekt shotgun specialists look identical to the normal Nova Prospekt soldier with the exception that they have red lenses on their helmets instead of green.

Combine soldiers are armed with a variety of ballistic firearms possibly salvaged from the conquered militaries on Earth, and some have been modified with combine technology for increased effectiveness. This includes: MP7 smgs, Ar2 pulse rifles, grenades, and even sniper rifles, while the shotgun specialists, hence their name are armed with spas 12 shotguns. Unlike Civil Protection officers, Combine Soldiers are not actually human, rather they are synthetic humanoids. They're extremely loyal and well-coordinated.

Combine Elite[]

The Elite soldiers, or Overwatch Elites, are the strongest soldiers the Combine overwatch has to offer, the elites wear primarily white armor with jet black boots, white armor pads, though they have a red armor pad on their right arm, a helmet with a single red lense, and also bear the Overwatch elite skull symbol on various parts of their armor. Elite soldiers are armed almost exclusively with ar2 pulse rifles, however they can be seen using MP7 smgs on rare occasion, their main difference from a normal combine soldier, aside from additional health, is that they are able to use the weapons secondary mode of fire which allows them to launch spherical balls composed of dark energy, and have been seen to use it multiple times to decimate (or more specifically vaporize) large groups of enemies.

Dropship[]

Flying Synths that transport Combine forces via the air, Dropships are near indestructible, however in most cases their cargo can be destroyed, they are shown to be able to carry troop containers, even being able to utilize the mounted pulse machine gun on it, APCs, and even Striders.

Gunship[]

The Combine's primary aerial assault unit, the Gunship is a flying synth that attacks with a pulse machine gun, as well as a devastating ion laser from its underbelly that can destroy entire buildings. While not as armored as the Hunter Choppers since it can only withstand 3 or so rockets before being destroyed, Gunships are smarter as if they spot a rocket, unless they are already attacking another target, they will actively try to shoot down the rocket requiring Gordon to maneuver the rocket around their defenses.

Shield Scanner[]

Combine synth drones that patrol deep within Combine territory or as recon for Combine soldier teams, Shield Scanners are still able to use the blinding flash just like the City Scanner, however they also have a deployable claw which is capable of picking up and dropping Combine Hopper Mines.

Stalkers[]

Humans that have been tortured by the Combine through being starved and having their limbs amputated for resisting or if they were "just in the wrong place at the wrong time". Stalkers are largely emaciated, and have had their limbs amputated and replaced with metal stilts, while their eyes have been replaced with a visor that they use to shoot lasers. Stalkers only focus on tasks they've been given, they are also completely feral from the torture they have sustained, never speaking, and only emitting animalistic growls and screams when enraged.

Hunters[]

Combine synths that act as both recon and medium assault units, Hunters have similar appearance to striders, but are smaller in appearance and have dark teal and white bodies with two large blue eyes. On the underside of it's body, it bears two small blade-like appendages that, according to Vortigaunts, are capable of shattering bone and quickly tearing through flesh and muscles. Hunters attack by shooting explosive flechettes or by charging at their targets, they will also attack at close range by swinging their legs downwards at their foes, Hunters are also incredibly quick and resilient, being able to survive being under massive fire and quickly being able to tackle enemies to the ground before delivering the killing blow.

Striders[]

Combine Synths that act as heavy assault units and is, by far, the most destructive unit the combine has at its disposal. Striders attack with pulse machine guns which are also capable of releasing a devastating warp blast, However if a target is close enough, and is out of range of its gun it can use its massive legs to impale enemies and objects and throw them around. With their long legs, Striders can also travel over most terrains with ease, and seem to move faster when they lower themselves to the ground, Striders are also massively resilient, being able to withstand multiple rockets, however energy balls shot by the supercharged Gravity Gun are capable of destroying a strider quickly.

The Strider's enhanced durability is so strong to the point where when a Dropship carrying one crash lands outside of White Forest, the Strider survives, albeit temporarily unconscious and incredibly dazed when it wakes up before having its brain torn out by DOG when it attempts to attack Gordon and Alyx. Resistance Scientist Arne Magnusson was also able to great a device known as the Magnusson Device, sometimes just called a Magnusson for short and sometimes referred to as a Strider Buster, an explosive device that when thrown, sticks to the hull of a Strider and, when shot causes the Strider to instantly self-destruct.

Advisors[]

The overlords of the Combine, Advisors are the true masterminds behind the Combine's domination of Earth and continue to pull the strings from the shadows. Advisors have large, round, light brown bodies with a white face with some sort of breathing apparatus where a mouth should be and two light blue eyes on the left side of its face, around its face is a black circle with gold symbols around it and on its back are two light blue circle shaped mechanical parts of some kind, they also have two mechanical like arms attached to their backs. Advisors are capable of flight and can use telekinesis, they are also capable of grabbing things with their mechanical arms and also seem to be able to induce hallucinations into their victims, Advisors also possess a long, tongue like appendage that they are shown using on victims to stab them through the neck, killing them instantly.

Trivia[]

  • In the original Half-Life, the Nihilanth made reference to a much more powerful force that had once enslaved and wiped out most of his kind, which forced him and the other aliens to seek refuge in the Xen dimension. When Half-Life 2 was released, this powerful force was retroactively revealed to be the Combine.
  • During Chell's fight with GLaDOS in the original Portal, the latter mentions an unseen dangerous force that she is keeping out of Aperture, which is almost assuredly the Combine given the timeframe of the game.

Externals Links[]

Navigation[]

           Halflifenavbox/Portalnavbox Villains

The Combine
Combine Advisors | Wallace Breen | Overwatch Elite | Overwatch Commandos | Combine Overwatch | Civil Protection | Synths | Stalkers | Scientist

Aperture Science
Cave Johnson | GLaDOS | Wheatley | Turrets

Xenians
Nihilanth | Tentacles | Headcrabs | Antlions

United States Government
Hazardous Environment Combat Unit | Black Operatives

Race X
Gene Worm | Pit Worm

Employers
G-Man

Others
Jeff | Zombies

References[]

  1. https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=combine&oldid=60199155 Wiktionary Entry of the word "combine" (lowercase "C"). Retrieved as of 06:09, 1 September 2020.
  2. https://combineoverwiki.net/index.php?title=Combine&oldid=444936 Overwiki Entry, official wiki. Retrieved as of 22:30, 24 September 2020. Licensed by Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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