ThatSeanGuy

I'm betting the 5th got pushed back because the Center...really hasn't done all that much. You see him once in an endgame villain arc. (I still haven't been able to find a screencap of the old man.) So if they were planning on replacing the Council with the 5th again, well, what was the point of the switchover in the first place? All buildup, no resolution.

Personally, the fact that the Center is basicly an evil Professor X is kind of cool. I'd lay my buck down on the idea of the 5th becoming the classic "Cobra/Armored fascists" group, and the Council becoming more focused on Mutation superiority, perfecting the human species, and so on. That way, you can have both groups without them both doing the same thing in similar pairs of long johns, and the Mutation origins get bad guys a little more ambitious than the Outcasts.

Hrm. I like this, I really like the whole "secret council" and having agents based out of Croatoa angle. It seems like the CoV files are a little smaller than the CoH files-is there a reason for that, or is it just a matter of writing style?

Also, kind of 'eh' about Ghost Mirror being a new focus because she's 'better' than Numania when it comes to the whole magician gig. Num seems to have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to characterization stick, and now the magic secret police are already looking at the new model?

I don't mind Mirror Spirit getting sold, but the Chain being worried because a powerful magician hero popped out of nowhere is just as reasonable, and doesn't imply that the two 'magician' sigs have a clear hierarchy of skill between them. Admittedly, I could be misreading or misunderstanding the intent there, and I'm not aware of the whole story-for all I know, the Chain doesn't watch Numania so closely because she's a part of that Inner Council.

Anyway, all in all, good article, very interesting group, though I still feel like poor Numania could really use something to do, or a story of something she did do somewhere in the game.

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Sure, she still takes a tiny amount of Dyne just to keep the withdraw symptoms away, but I don't want her to become a male-muscle-body when she gets stronger! ;_;


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That's a neat concept, first off. I like how people intigrate the game so smoothly into characters sometimes.

However, I think you're missing the easy answer here. A Hero goes through a lot of rough times, and presumably the sexlessness only happens when you are exposed to large levels of Dyne. Assuming your origin is Science, the gasses, explosions, experiments, and what not that continue to improve your powers could easily meld with the Dyne in weird and wonderful ways, allowing your Hero to keep her gender traits. A stray blast of chemicals at Cray, a worried Professor St. James-Smythe applying his medical knowhow to the drug's effects, anything like that could preserve your character while still keeping her true to her origin.

Heck, if all else fails, do what Dr. Chernobyl'd do. Blame Positron. Who knows what radiation does to Trolls!

First, the article itself: Very cool. I actualy like the idea of the King being younger. Some grad student who snapped, insisting that his creations worked because the science was solid when, really, it was just his willpower forcing them together-which is a really neat twist on "evil robot maker" in the first place.

Second, Blue Steel. I think folks are kind of overreacting to this. Not that its not something important-its the first real bit of characterization becides "Cop" that Blue Steel has gotten, and talk about a doozy. But, that's just it-Blue Steel is not a Statesman or a Synapse. He started as a cop, and continues to be only hero who works directly with the PD, instead of being part of a different organization. I think its very much in character for a police officer to fly into a rage when hearing of the death of fellow officers, and I don't think it takes away from the Silver Age leanings of the setting. There's always been a strong street crime side to City of Heroes, and Blue Steel is a firm part of that group.

Secondly, the article itself.

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When Blue Steel radioed back to the commissioner, he learned of the officer casualties … and a fury exploded within him. He launched himself into the bungalow. ... Blue Steel collapsed, exhausted and spent. He checked on the man, and felt the bile rise when he realized the man was dead. Disgusted with himself and the whole day’s tragedy, Blue Steel radioed in for the coroner and clean-up crew. With a heavy heart he left to help fight the fire.

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The prose makes it clear that Blue Steel was not in his right mind when he learned of the deaths, and that he was disgusted with himself for the loss of control. It could be why he's so quiet now, keeping the beat in King's Row and being another half-retired Regulator.

That's the important difference between a Wolverene and a Punisher, or even the previous comparison to Wonder Woman. Their acts were deliberate actions that they have justified to themselves. Wonder Woman in perticular refuses to feel regret or be told she was in the wrong for killing Max Lord. Blue Steel fell into a rage after hearing about the murder of police officers for copper wire, and afterward almost threw up after realizeing what he had done. The focus on the fact that Steel knew he had done something wrong, and the intensity of his regret for crossing a line is what, I think, keeps this from going into 90s gritty territory.

Also of interest, is that this sure explains why the Paladin emerges in King's Row, and why Babbage lurks in Boomtown. Think about how Blue Steel's gotta feel, every time he sees the Clockwork getting stronger and stronger, or the Paladin rampaging down Kirby Avenue. It puts a whole new light on why that trainer is in the zone he is in, which is something we haven't seen before-trainer zone locations have seemed almost randomly distributed. That's a darn nice touch on the author's part.