Ronald McDonald

Ronald McDonald

Portrayed by

Audacity Rich

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First seen

"Master Chief vs Hillary Clinton"

Last seen

"Master Chief Sucks at Everything (Part 1)"

Episode count

17

Name

Ronald McDonald

Profession

Founder and leader of the Ancients, founder of McDonalds, researcher on the SPARTAN project

Cause of death

Disintegrated by the King

("Master Chief Sucks at Plot Twists")

Ronald McDonald (died March 15, 2020) is a main character of the series. He is the leader of the Ancients, a group antagonistic to the King's Network. Ronald uses time travel to try and fight the King, with his ultimate goal being the usage of a Halo ring to access an alternate timeline to get the coordinates to UNSC Building 69, where he can take over the universe. After killing the King, Ronald blew up the Halo, only to learn the King, an AI, had survived. The King downloaded the program from Building 69 and demonstrated it by destroying Ronald.

History

Before the series

After fighting off the future time travelling version of Ronald, the King and Johnson encounter the past version of Ronald, who is more benevolent towards them and whom the King says can help them get back to the future. ("Master Chief Meets Guilty Spark") He agrees to help the King, who he apparently met while time travelling. ("Master Chief Sucks at Shopping") ("Master Chief Sucks at Rescue Missions") In the 1990s, Ronald was part of the research team that created Master Chief from the SPARTAN project. Ronald hid the coordinates to Building 69 in Master Chief's mind so he could access them after his own memories were wiped. He had a confrontation with the King, also known as Caesar Charlemagne, the SPARTAN project creator. ("Master Chief Sucks at Alternate Timelines") ("Master Chief: The Secret Origin of the King")

Alternate timeline (2007)

When Ronald activates the Halo, an alternate timeline is created. In this alternate timeline, Master Chief is an eloquent, sophisticated, and polite protagonist. The King is the only person who remembers the original timeline, and demands that Ronald reset the timelines, offering to make a deal. ("Master Chief Rocks at Ordering McDonalds") The King asks Ronald to tell him the coordinates he is going to get out alternate-Master Chief, and in exchange, the King will heal Ronald's wounds back in the original timeline. Ronald gets the coordinates to Building 69 from Master Chief and then resets the timelines. ("Master Chief Rocks at Ordering at Restaurants") ("Master Chief Sucks at Alternate Timelines")

Meet the Ancients (2009)

In Meet the Ancients, which occurs chronologically before most of season 2, Ronald recruits Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Reggie Fils-Aime before making the jump to the future. In the final scene, which takes place after season 2, Ronald finds himself sent to the distant past with the King. ("Meet the Ancients")

Season 2 (2009)

Ronald first appears in the shadows when he and the King have a threatening radio conversation where the King claims he will use the Ark to kill Ronald. ("Master Chief vs Hillary Clinton") However, Cortana sabotages the Ark's laser and Ronald is allowed to arrive safely with his fleet of allies known as the Ancients, who intend to conquer all time periods. The King appears on Ronald's ship right as the latter destroys the Ark, causing an unstable time jump that jeopardizes everyone present. ("Master Chief: The Second Finale")

Season 3

44 BC

After being sent back in time by the explosion of the Ark, Ronald holds the King at gunpoint when Avery Johnson leaves him, but Johnson returns and attacks Ronald before he can shoot. Ronald and Johnson have a brutal fight in which Ronald nearly kills him, but the King intervenes and shoots Ronald several times. However, Ronald survives and time travels to the year 2020. ("Master Chief Sucks at Ordering Burger King")

2020

The King's demise

He escapes and heads to the year 2020, where the Ancients are waiting for him with their nearly-finished Halo ring. Master Chief and the Arbiter encounter the Ancients, and a firefight breaks out between the two groups. ("Master Chief Sucks at Ordering Burger King") Onboard Installation 04, Ronald refuses to follow Bill Gates's advice and activates the ring before it reaches 100% charge after being confronted in another shootout by the heroes. ("Master Chief Sucks at Rescue Missions") However, because the ring was activated prior to 100% charge, the structure begins collapsing. Master Chief, the Arbiter, and Cortana disable the ring and the King shoots Ronald repeatedly and leaves him for dead, but unbeknownst to them, Ronald survives and activates the ring at full charge. ("Master Chief vs the Halo") An alternate timeline is subsequently created (see section alternate timeline above). ("Master Chief Rocks at Ordering McDonalds")

Per the conditions of their deal, Ronald gives the King the Building 69 coordinates in exchange for the King saving his life. After the King holds up his end of the bargain, Ronald calls security. They open fire on the King, fatally injuring him, but he fights back and kills everyone but Ronald, who shoots him in the head. Ronald then leaves and blows up the Halo. ("Master Chief: The Secret Origin of the King") However, at Building 69, Master Chief, the Arbiter, Cortana, and Ronald discover that the King did not die and is an AI who has now downloaded the program. The King explains how the series is scripted by a force in the "real world" and he intends to destroy that force and free everyone from their fictional prison, but the group refuses to help him, and the King demonstrates his power by disintegrating Ronald. ("Master Chief Sucks at Plot Twists")

Ronald is one of the many deceased characters who wishes Master Chief luck in his final battle against the King. He apologizes for all the trouble he caused. ("Master Chief Sucks at Everything")

Trivia

• Ronald was originally supposed to appear as a heroic character in season 2. The idea was reworked to have him as a villain and the King as an anti-hero working against him.
• Ronald and the King have the same voice actor. Ronald's voice is deepened with the program Audacity.
• Ronald has been repeatedly shot several times. He was shot three times in the back by the King, but was wearing a bulletproof vest. ("Master Chief Sucks at Ordering Burger King") Master Chief shot him in the leg and crippled him. ("Master Chief Sucks at Rescue Missions") Shortly afterward, the King shot Ronald four more times in the chest, badly wounding him. ("Master Chief vs the Halo")