Cortana is one of my favorite characters in the Halo video games. Not only do I enjoy her wry sense of humor but I love the subtleties of her relationship with the Chief. As much as I adore her, I am a bit on the fence about this Cortana print. Drawn and painted digitally by the Popular Erotic Pin-Up Artist REIQ, I’m just not sure it captures a side of Cortana that actually exists. I simply don’t see her striking this pose or being playful in this sexy of a way. How much does it matter if it is accurate or not when there are large boobs on display anyways?
Purchase here : reiqstore’s eBay Store
Buy it now price : GBP 10.00 (approximately US $19.88)
Apparently this artist specializes in subjects who “defy gravity with their immense breasts, impossible poses and gigantic weaponry.” I would guess her gigantic weaponry is her intelligence as I don’t see anything else pictured.
As a Halo fan, do you like this poster? And why or why not?
Posted by setters on February 5, 2008 at 1:27 am
If it weren’t for her massive boobs, I think I might like it as like you I think Cortana is one of the great female characters that exists but I find it really difficult to see past those monsters! And it just turns her into a sex object!
Bah, grumpy setters!!!
Posted by Azraeus on February 5, 2008 at 2:38 am
The boobs don’t really bother me. The face, however, looks ridiculously cartoony….don’t like that
Posted by Penguinish on February 5, 2008 at 5:24 am
Lol? didnt you make the same news post a few days ago, and delete it soon after? and then come back and post it agian?
(according to my rss reader when it picked it up, and archived it for me)
Posted on 12:56 1/31/2008 when the rss reader picked it up.
BUSTED. :p
Posted by Jonathan on February 5, 2008 at 5:39 am
I approve of this message. =D
Posted by ablestmage on February 5, 2008 at 6:55 am
The face is the worst part of the poster, it’s completely wrong. She’s been a sex object since H1, no doubt about it. But bigger jugs does not equal more attractive to my eye. And she’s a bit more dense in the thigh region here, not cool. Cortana is slim, sleek and efficient like a good program always is. Not bulging in places =P
Posted by Sandman on February 5, 2008 at 7:03 am
Cortana doesn’t need this kind of help to look hot. Though it is a nice poster.
Posted by Tortacular on February 5, 2008 at 7:57 am
I like the artwork style but it’s a wee bit over the top.
Posted by -S- on February 5, 2008 at 8:00 am
lol don’t question Angel’s methods Penguinish! I’ll come over there…
Aaaanyways…I love this particular picture. And its NOT just because Cortana is depicted with giant cans. It’s because of the pose and the allure she has here, which is why I love looking at the poster. It may sound a little perverse, but deep down I’m sure every guy who is a true fan of the series feels this to a certain extent…in a way, this is how we all ‘want’ Cortana to be, in part because of the relationship she has with the Chief; it’s incredibly subtle, yet it definitely exists (come on, you know you felt something during that “Don’t make a girl a promise…” line…you hate being away from your quirky, always-by-your-side AI girl).
I think the biggest part of Cortana’s allure is that she’s the ultimate definition of the ‘unobtainable’ object that guys love desire about. I never claim to speak for everyone 100% of the time, but guys love the ‘unobtainable’ girl image…the object of beauty you dream about having, but can never get; the hot baby-sitter, the teacher, the movie star, etc, etc etc. You can never have Cortana. Ever…she’s not human. Her sass, intelligence and undying loyalty are all qualities that can help you on the battlefield, and tease your imagintion, nothing more. I think that’s why seeing her this way, in the classic magazine cover model way is what gets to me…it brings out her sexy side that I’m sure a lot of people have thought about, if even for a minute. I love the poster, it instigates different thought about our AI girl, and a pretty deep yearning.
…and the giant dual wielding’s not too bad either.
Posted by Eric on February 5, 2008 at 8:05 am
I’m a boy, and as a result, I definitely want this poster. The girlfriend would probably kill me though.
Posted by Jonathan on February 5, 2008 at 8:52 am
Heheh.
-S-, my friend, you over analyzed this photo waaaaay too much.
Posted by bs angel on February 5, 2008 at 8:59 am
I did post it then pull it (quickly might I add) to sub a time sensitive news article instead. Although after receiving emails about that, I certainly won’t do that again! LOL …
Posted by SuperGirl Brig on February 5, 2008 at 9:02 am
-edited per request-
:)
Posted by Crazyeye0 on February 5, 2008 at 9:09 am
I saw this ages ago slammed on the front of Deviantart under the “Popular” category, took a look, and thaught nothing of it besides the artwork was good and her boobs were big. Besides that it’s just another picture of Cortana as a sex icon, nothing new at all.
Posted by -S- on February 5, 2008 at 9:11 am
hahahaha come onnnn Jonathan you know you agree, don’t lie to me ya little fibber :)
Posted by bs angel on February 5, 2008 at 10:43 am
Do we all really want Cortana to be like this? I would find that hugely distracting to the story line. In fact it would probably change everything immensely as the subtleties of their relationship is such a minute aspect of the story overall. I like her brain, I like her wit, and I like her dedication to the Chief without the overt romantic overtones. I don’t think I would like her like this overall. It just doesn’t seem to fit. Then again, it’s a female perspective who doesn’t see any added value of a larger bust line.
;)
Posted by -S- on February 5, 2008 at 11:49 am
Hahaha, I don’t over analyze things…I mean I only spent all of 2 hours this morning with some friends discussing how Lord Voldemort has many similarities to Michael Jackson.
…*cough*
LoL when I say it’s how we all “want” Cortana to be, that’s the Id side of my personality speaking. Of course I love the real Cortana better; without her defining personal traits, her character, her wit and calm charm, I wouldn’t even like her at all to begin with, no matter how big her cans were..But this is a fictitious side of Cortana that we will never ever see, and isn’t that the entire definition of a ‘fantasy’? :)
*for other definitions of “fantasy” see: bs angel christmas gift/master chief in crotch plate apparel*
http://hawtymcbloggy.com/2007/12/22/top-ten-things-i-want-for-the-holidays/
Posted by bs angel on February 5, 2008 at 11:59 am
-S- : 1
bs : 0
Jerk.
(When you said “want”, I thought you really meant “want”. I still think you’re a jerk though.)
;)
Posted by Jim 028 on February 5, 2008 at 12:27 pm
I have to confess to owning a print of this.
I saw it online a month or two back, and liked the image enough to order it. -S- sums it up best for me. :) However since then it has sat in the poster tube it was delivered in, I have no idea where to put it up, or if I even want it up anywhere.
Maybe if my partner finally gets on with putting up all her old anime posters in the spare room/study I can put it up in there and have it fit, but otherwise it doesn’t really fit anywhere in the flat, it just looks out of place.
On an unrelated note, how about this or that for the living room :D
Posted by the light show on February 5, 2008 at 1:40 pm
i forgot what to say, sorry angel… wait, what did i have for breakfast… did i have breakfast?!!! I”M CRAZY!!!! hey look, hot chick. how do i get her number?
Posted by bs angel on February 5, 2008 at 1:44 pm
LOL … The comments need more estrogen.
Nice links Jim. I love gaming related art. Do you have a gaming room you could put them up in? Eventually I want to have tons of gaming art in my family/gaming room, but for now it is decorated normal. Boring. :)
Posted by Peniamina on February 5, 2008 at 1:50 pm
I can’t decided whether I like this print or not, it is beautifully drawn and coloured, but i don’t like how i removes the unobtainable image cortana has, can’t remember who said it but she has larger thighs and added curves this making her look more human and thus more obtainable which undermines cortana’s allure, and the sexy pose seems to make her look dumber in my opinion.
Posted by Peniamina on February 5, 2008 at 1:54 pm
“it removes”* and “this makes her”* i should really read through my comments for mistakes before typing. And it’s not just the sexy pose that makes her look dumber it’s the way her face is drawn as well
Posted by Jim 028 on February 5, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Sadly no gaming room. We’re in a small two bedroom flat, and Fee has taken over the spare room for her PC rig. So I’m left with the living room so I sometimes have to share when Fee wants to watch American Idol.
Hopefully in a couple of years, when we can afford a bigger place, I will be able to set up a separate gaming room, until then I’ll hang one of those prints over the fireplace. :D
Posted by bs angel on February 5, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Yeah, some gaming stuff you can work in discreetly, other things not so much. I have my pink Spartan faceplate on the shelf above my tv in the living room, but it is framed in a black matted shadowbox so it blends in with the decor. Somewhat, LOL … We should do some gaming set up pics here soon. That would be fun.
And you should get your partner the American Idol game. :)
Posted by bene on February 5, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I really don’t dig this. I think the face ruins it, instead of the snarky, clever Cortana we all know, she just looks brain-dead.
Posted by Xor1an on February 5, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I considered buying this when I saw it back in November from h.b.o. I browsed around some of ReiQ’s other work (since I hadn’t heard of him previously), and the sexuality in this image seems under-stated for him.
When I look at it, I think “playful” as much as I do “sexy”. It reminds me of the relationship we saw hinted at between the Chief and Cortana in the bridge cut-scene way back in the beginning of Halo 1. (“Sleep well?” “No thanks to your driving.” “So you did miss me.”)
(Minor Halo 3 spoilers ahead…) While I wouldn’t say that we “we all want Cortana to be [sexy],” I think we do all want there to be something more between her and the Chief than simply a no-nonsense work relationship. You could say that the only reason the Chief went to retrieve her during the Halo 3 campaign was because he needed the activation index. But do you really believe that was the only reason? If that excuse hadn’t presented itself, would you have been satisfied with leaving Cortana stranded, alone, a prisoner? If she’s just a piece of software, just a technological tool for solving problems, it shouldn’t matter.
If you admit to seeing her as a person with intrinsic value rather than just a string of ones and zeroes, I think you have to accept that there’s a continuum of potential relationships that she could have with the Chief. Exactly where on that continuum the relationship lies is, like many things about the Halo story experience, subjective.
Posted by ResilientMonkey on February 5, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Wow, deep discussions! I have to agree with -S- and Xor1an though, it does smack of the Cortana that we know the Chief loves yet can never have. The Cortana that likes to play with him a little, the Cortana, that at the end of Halo 3, that we know cares deeply for the Chief… maybe even loves.
Posted by Xor1an on February 5, 2008 at 6:31 pm
(…and if my last response wasn’t enough for you …also minor book spoilers ahead…)
In “Halo: The Fall of Reach” it was explained that Cortana was not simply written by a programmer but was constructed at least in part by copying Dr. Catherine Halsey’s brain (IIRC with an advanced, non-invasive brain tomography scan). Though she is separate, she retains aspects of Dr. Halsey’s memories and personality. Given that Cortana is, at least in some ways, a copy of Dr. Halsey (a living, breathing, human woman), it seems reasonable that she would be capable of a range of real human emotions and relationships. Who’s to say she might not want to be sexy sometimes?
Posted by -S- on February 5, 2008 at 7:04 pm
I never thought the discussion of the “hot cortana poster” would get so deep lol
That’s a good call Xor1an, I’ve always known Cortana’s backstory but I never really thought that since she IS a “child” of a living, human brain then perhaps ResilientMonkey, she indeed may be capable of having a greater-than-average or full understanding of human emotions including love *batts eyelashes* and lust.
All subtleties from the game dialogue prove that yes, Cortana may be more than just witty with ‘girl natured’ programming – she could in fact be capable of love. Just as the real Dr. Halsey has love for the Chief and all the Spartans as a mother loves her children (which goes in sync with her more elderly age), maybe Cortana is the other side of the coin and has a different kind of love for the Chief (which would go in sync with her younger ‘age’ and image).
Posted by Doowutchyalike on February 5, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I agree with everything you have said BS!
Posted by bs angel on February 5, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Suck up. You’re still in the doghouse.
Just kidding. (not really)
Posted by That Girl on February 5, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I like it! ^_^
Posted by Shadow502t on February 6, 2008 at 8:26 am
I love it.. and would certainly buy it… if the wife would be ok with it. But, sadly, I do not think she would be.
I love his Joanna Dark piece as well. Great stuff.
Posted by Crazyeye0 on February 6, 2008 at 9:09 am
Damn it Xor, I was about to post that and you beat me to it >_<
(More minor book spoilers and Halo3 spoilers)
If we go deeper into the link between D.R Halsey and Cortana, you can find that a lot of the lines Cortana says when she randomly flashes on the screen in Halo3 are exactly what D.R Halsey says in The Fall Of Reach, so blatantly there’s a huge conection.
Also, D.R Halsey founded the Spartan Project in the 1st place.
(I’m such a nerd =P)
Posted by BSB belpers on February 6, 2008 at 1:09 pm
If I accidently say Cortana the next time I’m with my wife then I’m blaming bs angel!
And I’m sure my wife doesn’t need me having one more reason for Halo to occupy my thoughts.
Posted by Excardon on February 7, 2008 at 3:09 pm
In response to the face comment, I think it looks off because its a Anime style portrayal of Cortana. Converting characters that are heavily Americanized into a Japanese style does yield some odd but interesting results.
Posted by Quipsilon on February 15, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Well, as much as I dig this genius painting physically, I’m a huge fan of the Halo series. And I think the sexy pose just ruins her character( at least for this picture)……. In the game, Cortana isn’t just attractive for her looks, or her lack of close 100% of the time, shes also attractive because of her brain and wits. It is also the face that turns me off a little, if it looked like her face in the actual game then it would be close to flawless (for me). BTW, does anyone know of any news for the upcoming Halo movie?????
Posted by SidearmS on February 29, 2008 at 3:36 am
In the comic book cricles, we call this “Image Style”. Mark Silvestri called; Witchblade is NOT amused…
And yes, the face is way off. That chin, those eyes, and yes, the breasts are not exact.
The stance is meh, typical cheesecake pose.
But the face, the face is just wrong. It is like a Nip/Tuck remake.
XBox 360 – And if she is digital, why is she even bothering to cover the breasts?
Posted by me on March 16, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Yea…it kinda makes her look like an idiot. But still, u gotta admit…one of the guys who just walked past said id do her so….u never know… :()
Posted by Denniz Krause on June 3, 2008 at 5:21 am
That woman is my favorite character in halo 3 Cortana is Sexy!!!!!!
I Love CORTANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MASTER KILL 117 !!!
Posted by LiteraryAlchemist on June 10, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I don’t care for it at all. As mentioned earlier, the face is too cartoony – hell, I can’t imagine Cortana making such an expression at all. I particularly don’t care for the obscenely overt attempt to sexualize her body at all. The whole image detracts from how I’ve always perceived Cortana in game.
Cortana has always been about subtlty to me. Her scripting, voice characterization, directing, all of it. It’s all subtle. This image is about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the temples.
Posted by bleh on June 12, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Yeah, this picture has no redeeming qualities except the artwork. Sure she’s got bigger cans but she just doesn’t look good (her face is messed up, she’s not slim, ect).
I do love the techniques used around her legs where they break off, and the background is excellent; If the artist hadn’t messed with cortana’s appearance so much I might have liked this.
PS: So that’s one more guy saying this one sucks.
Posted by Aaron on September 10, 2008 at 9:20 am
-S- Your first post is very thourough and very correct, i loved Cortana ever since i first saw her on the first game (for more than a moment though), and i loved her even more when i read the books. She is the unobtainable girl, and men do like the unobtainable ones, including me.
You seem to be on the ball when it comes to halo as well, refrencing that her mind was originally out of Dr Halsey, who happens to be in her 40’s. (don’t know if she was in her 40’s when Cortana was made though, but you know what i mean).
Aaron out.
Posted by Loki on April 29, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Cortana is Cortana
She’s hot
She’s smart
She’s whitty
…shur the hips are to wide and the face is wrong (not commenting on her…questionable assets) but she’s still Cortana
Posted by 25AZZER on October 22, 2009 at 9:11 pm
I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!