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The DragonLance series is tied as my favorite set of books.
Drizz't is the other set.
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You lost me, Druid. You mentioned this why?
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He thinks you're Tracy Hickman? 
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No one would make that mistake. Tracy Hickman can actually write.
Craft your inventions in AE!!
Play "Crafter's Cafe" - Arc #487283. A 1 mission, NON-COMBAT AE arc with workable invention tables!
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The DragonLance series is tied as my favorite set of books.
Drizz't is the other set.
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You lost me, Druid. You mentioned this why?
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He thinks you're Tracy Hickman?
[/ QUOTE ]
No one would make that mistake. Tracy Hickman can actually write.
[/ QUOTE ]
Wow... that was pointlessly harsh...
I was glad to see the fact that Manticore rather brutally killed Protean addressed properly - it would have been odd to grace it over.
Manticore as a Bad Guy - well, my main villain would be happy that he won't have to run all the way over to Paragon now just to keep trying to kill Manticore. But for this to affect the game would be a bit difficult, since this arc will conclude before I7 and I7 has been confirmed to not contain the required switching content. I just figure its dramatic license.
BUT I COULD BE WRONG.
Pillars of Virtue - Hope, Justice, Discretion, Courage, Help
Now seeking new volunteers!
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The DragonLance series is tied as my favorite set of books.
Drizz't is the other set.
[/ QUOTE ]
You lost me, Druid. You mentioned this why?
[/ QUOTE ]
He thinks you're Tracy Hickman?
[/ QUOTE ]
No one would make that mistake. Tracy Hickman can actually write.
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Geez, you'd think my longtime companion would treat me with a little more compassion...
Troy Hickman - So proud to have contributed to and played in this wonderful CoH universe
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The DragonLance series is tied as my favorite set of books.
Drizz't is the other set.
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You lost me, Druid. You mentioned this why?
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He thinks you're Tracy Hickman?
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So, where is Michael Weis?
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So, where is Michael Weis?
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Who's Michael Weis?
Anyhow, TROY HICKMAN CAN TOO WRITE! 
Maybe not as well as this guy...
... but hey: there's only one Uniquedragon.
Arc Salvo: Okay hold one sec guys, we can't just rush in blindly vs these Nemesis, they've got these ranged aoe's tha-
Teammate1(charging in): Shut up, Arc Salvo, you lame*$% Viewtiful Joe wannabe! What do you know?!
Teammate2(also charging): yeah, ST#& arc salvo u PWR RANGR U!
Arc Salvo: *sigh*
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So, where is Michael Weis?
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Who's Michael Weis?
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Missing obvious jokes. Missing obvious jokes. Hey hey all you crazy blokes, who are missing obvious jokes!
Sing with me now!
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I imagine having an original (good) idea in a comic after 100 years of such must be tough.
You know the saying....there is nothing new under the sun.
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Having an original idea in ANYTHING is tough, but also not really all that important. The trick is in what you do with the idea, those elements of yourself and your style that you bring to it that, hopefully, folks will dig. That's why you have nine million people with "fantastic ideas" who think they can come up with the next big blockbuster, but only a handful of them will ever see fruition. Ideas are cheap; characterization, well-developed characters, sharp dialogue, and story pacing are not.
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Couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks, Troy!
I have no problem with "formula" plots. It's what the writer/director does with the plot that's important.
I'm a big fan of the theory that this is a step in manticore creating wyvern.
Making him go rogue would be... kind of limp. He's not big on authority, but there's a HUGE difference between not liking authority and being evil. And frankly, it's incredibly lame and tired to confuse the two... and so far, the CoH comic hasn't been incredibly lame and tired, so I'd say they're not doing that.
No.. my money is on manticore killing protean. Because.. you know... he was asking for it. Then when statesman got all uppity about it he just saw that as a good opportunity to do the whole wyvern thing, basically establish a superhero group who does what they have to do without trying to be all goody-goody about it. Manticore has probably seen statesman drop the ball many a time by not doing what is needed because he sticks to some pretty unrealistic and outdated ideals.
I figure he may even have elicited the help of those former sidekicks just because he knew he could trust them not to spill the beans to statesman when this is all over. He'll hand over the group, get some brownie points and pertinent information, the information needed to set up a permanent settlement and base of operations in the rogue isles, and then rescue his friends, get out of there, and wyvern will be set up.
Besides, since we already know wyvern is founded and trained by manticore, it would be pretty damned limp to have manticore not a hero. Who would train the wyvern? Wyvern wouldn't exactly fight AGAINST manticore at that point... they'd probably just break up due to lack of leadership and dissention in the ranks as to whether or not to join manticore or stay a good guy.
Zeus - god of timelines
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Y'know, the one where the impulsive, doesn't-follow-the-rules member of the superhero team is publicly kicked out by the straight-arrow leader. The fallen hero ends up associating with a villain organization and even joining it in an apparent attempt at betrayal. Then, at some climactic moment, his true allegiance is revealed and we find that the whole scenario was a ruse to have the hero infitrate the villain's operation to to thwart the evildoer's plan.
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I was actually guessing that this is it.
Then again, I could just be thinking about the Waid run, issue 2. Not identical, but has the same feel of "Manticore's gone bad!"
Of course, I've been wrong before.
Current main:
Schrodinger's Gun, Dual Pistols/Mental Blaster, Virtue
Avatar: Becky Miyamoto from Pani Poni Dash. Roulette roulette~
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Y'know, the one where the impulsive, doesn't-follow-the-rules member of the superhero team is publicly kicked out by the straight-arrow leader. The fallen hero ends up associating with a villain organization and even joining it in an apparent attempt at betrayal. Then, at some climactic moment, his true allegiance is revealed and we find that the whole scenario was a ruse to have the hero infitrate the villain's operation to to thwart the evildoer's plan.
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Never felt that this was the case, as Manticore actually does seem to be a "Follow the Rules" kind of guy, most of the time. He only breaks the rules only when his deep personal convictions get in the way.
In stereotypical plots, it's always some loner hothead or something who's skulking about pouting all the time or something, and when he quits the team or gets kicked out, you can see it coming a mile away and it feels contrived.
But Manticore's a nice guy who got along well with his comrades, and his "Betrayal" actually was kind of shocking and out of character for me.
I figured that fighting crime with the sidekicks illegally and then perhaps the stereotypical plot of: he does something so great while disobeying orders and fighting with the sidekicks that the leader takes him back albeit with a real suspension, which Manticore happily accepts for the sake of obeying the laws.
But that didn't happen.
Anyhow like I said earlier, anyone else feel like the Top Cow series is turning into "City of Manticore"? And that Manticore is steadily and steadily getting more "Batman-y" in feel?
And when is Manticore going to grab Cometshooter as his sidekick anyway? That boy's a natural!
Hooray for Cometshooter!
Arc Salvo: Okay hold one sec guys, we can't just rush in blindly vs these Nemesis, they've got these ranged aoe's tha-
Teammate1(charging in): Shut up, Arc Salvo, you lame*$% Viewtiful Joe wannabe! What do you know?!
Teammate2(also charging): yeah, ST#& arc salvo u PWR RANGR U!
Arc Salvo: *sigh*
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Never felt that this was the case, as Manticore actually does seem to be a "Follow the Rules" kind of guy, most of the time. He only breaks the rules only when his deep personal convictions get in the way.
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Oddly, I never got that impression. From his info (which is, admittedly, ambiguous), I thought that he was the loner who does things His Way. The comics portrayals certainly don't help.
Current main:
Schrodinger's Gun, Dual Pistols/Mental Blaster, Virtue
Avatar: Becky Miyamoto from Pani Poni Dash. Roulette roulette~
I feel that, on top of the in-game reasons for Manticore not going permanently rogue, it would be far too out of character for him to jump sides entirely. However, Manticore has come off to me as the type of hero who will take the most utilitarian course of action, even if it requires lethal force. Wyvern is an example of that. So is shooting his own ally for the sake of saving the city from Lord Recluse. Killing Protean was deemed, by Manticore at least, the only way to save the life of Back Street Brawler. The fact that he murdered his parents in front of him likely made that decision easier to reach.
So I imagine he's got a loftier goal he's aiming for that he felt required an action this extreme that a hero like Statesman would not pursue. It doesn't make Statesman wrong - consider that the latter has seen decades of conflict and is looking at possibly centuries more. Statesman truly believes that becoming lethal enforcers makes heros no better than vigilants and has seen the results of vigilants and pure violence since before Manticore was born. Manticore at times pursues the vigilante path, as exemplified by the existence of Wyvern.
Should be interesting to see where this goes. Here's hoping the resolution holds up.
Pillars of Virtue - Hope, Justice, Discretion, Courage, Help
Now seeking new volunteers!
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Hi folks - on the Malaise issue:
The comics timeline puts that story well after the in-game events of the Calvin Scott Task Force. Malaise is certainly not a pure villain lets say hes a complicated individual. After those events, Ms. Liberty found him and offered him a place in the Vindicators, for they are all about second chances. Yes, Malaise has done questionable things, but the Vindicators believe he can be one of the good guys.
cheers,
Arctic Sun
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...Complex? The man has MPD! He's practically a superteam by himself!
If it weren't for the fact that at least one of his personalities is unrelentinglly evil.
Its not a question whether he can be good- his stint as Sister Psyche's sidekick shows that he does have at least one good personality- the question is, how do the Vindicators know who they're working with at any given moment?
Do they regard his occasional attempts to kill them as cute pranks? How about organizing criminal organizations? What he does off-duty is his business?
Seriouslly, it doesn't make a bit of sense unless he's under Psyche's guidance again. That, or the Vindicators are amazinglly gulible/gluttons for punishment
Tygara - 50 Claws/Regen/Power Scrapper, Virtue- Member of Kitties on the Prowl.
Shadeburn - Dark/Rad Defender, Virtue- Member of Catch 'Em Crew
Nature Boy' - Elec/Ice Blaster, Virtue - Member of Young Phalanx
I blame Mind Control, or Manticore is just an idiot. Of course, I think Manticore is an idiot anyways so I'm biased.
Issue 23: All your base are belong to us?
I really liked Issue 10. I'm really curious to see how it will turn out.
By the way, if anyone wants to know more about the Vindicators, some of the members' bios are featured in the Quickplay pack for the CoH RPG. When I read it, I finally understood what happened to Malaise back after the Calvin Scott TF.
City of Heroes RPG Quickplay Pack - its free!
I decided to play my Hero after a long time and was kicking around Bricktown and noticed something humorous.
Manticore is about 5'6" tall.
Swan is about 7' tall.
That puts his eyes right at her bustline. 
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I blame Mind Control, or Manticore is just an idiot. Of course, I think Manticore is an idiot anyways so I'm biased.
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I'LL [censored] KILL YOU!
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Never felt that this was the case, as Manticore actually does seem to be a "Follow the Rules" kind of guy, most of the time. He only breaks the rules only when his deep personal convictions get in the way.
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Oddly, I never got that impression. From his info (which is, admittedly, ambiguous), I thought that he was the loner who does things His Way. The comics portrayals certainly don't help.
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I dunno, maybe it was Hickman's arc that made me think of him this way. He seemed like a nice, law-abiding guy in Issues 4-6.
HICKMAAAN, where is he, dammit? *shields his eyes and looks around*
edit: Anyhow, personally my opinion as to why he does those wildcard things he does is not because he's a bada** loner who has to do them just for the sake of being a bada** loner stereotype (most badly written cardboard cutout types like these do it just for those reasons as a plot convenience), but he does them because he's a very wily, subtle guy who has a very good insight into psychology, and has plan so complicated, that rely on such veiled levels of trickery, that he can't tell anyone what he's really planning, or they'll ruin his plan somehow just in the knowing of it.
More like the brilliant mastermind who's so brilliant everyone thinks he's crazy if he tells them his ideas, so he just doesn't bother rather than the loner guy with an attitude.
Even in the first arc by Waid, in the end of Issue 3 it seems like he's a nice guy that gets along with Statesman. Specially in the last few pages.
Arc Salvo: Okay hold one sec guys, we can't just rush in blindly vs these Nemesis, they've got these ranged aoe's tha-
Teammate1(charging in): Shut up, Arc Salvo, you lame*$% Viewtiful Joe wannabe! What do you know?!
Teammate2(also charging): yeah, ST#& arc salvo u PWR RANGR U!
Arc Salvo: *sigh*
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Never felt that this was the case, as Manticore actually does seem to be a "Follow the Rules" kind of guy, most of the time. He only breaks the rules only when his deep personal convictions get in the way.
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Oddly, I never got that impression. From his info (which is, admittedly, ambiguous), I thought that he was the loner who does things His Way. The comics portrayals certainly don't help.
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I dunno, maybe it was Hickman's arc that made me think of him this way. He seemed like a nice, law-abiding guy in Issues 4-6.
HICKMAAAN, where is he, dammit? *shields his eyes and looks around*
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Manticore is a man who thinks justice should be handled differently for different people.
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...Firm believers in the notion that the ends justify the means...
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...the dark arm of Manticores crusade for justice...
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While firmly on the side of good, Manticores own past has given him a different perspective on the nature of evil. After watching Protean murder his parents in cold blood, Manticore became convinced that there are times when evil must be confronted in a way they can understand, with cold, calculating force.
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This is why I'm known as Manticore's #1 Fan.
The reason Manticore sticks out amongst the Freedom Phalanx, or at least, amongst folks like Statesman and Sister Psyche, isn't necessarily because he fits right into the Loner Badass stereotype peghole.
It's because he's the one sane individual on a ship of fools and weirdos, captained by El Loco Weirdo Grande himself.
Storm Summoning is great because it makes you better than everyone else in the game. - Camma
Knockback is mitigation. It won't be removed just because meleers ***** and moan. - Chaos Creator
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Never felt that this was the case, as Manticore actually does seem to be a "Follow the Rules" kind of guy, most of the time. He only breaks the rules only when his deep personal convictions get in the way.
[/ QUOTE ]
Oddly, I never got that impression. From his info (which is, admittedly, ambiguous), I thought that he was the loner who does things His Way. The comics portrayals certainly don't help.
[/ QUOTE ]
I dunno, maybe it was Hickman's arc that made me think of him this way. He seemed like a nice, law-abiding guy in Issues 4-6.
HICKMAAAN, where is he, dammit? *shields his eyes and looks around*
edit: Anyhow, personally my opinion as to why he does those wildcard things he does is not because he's a bada** loner who has to do them just for the sake of being a bada** loner stereotype (most badly written cardboard cutout types like these do it just for those reasons as a plot convenience), but he does them because he's a very wily, subtle guy who has a very good insight into psychology, and has plan so complicated, that rely on such veiled levels of trickery, that he can't tell anyone what he's really planning, or they'll ruin his plan somehow just in the knowing of it.
More like the brilliant mastermind who's so brilliant everyone thinks he's crazy if he tells them his ideas, so he just doesn't bother rather than the loner guy with an attitude.
Even in the first arc by Waid, in the end of Issue 3 it seems like he's a nice guy that gets along with Statesman. Specially in the last few pages.
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All right, all right, I'm here.
Look, there are several things to take into consideration here. First of all, there's simply the difference between writers. I tend to be pretty "gosh wow" about superheroes in general. It doesn't mean I can't do dark (eventually, I'll do something along those lines, and people will want to have me committed), but my natural tone is much more "four colored." Now guys like Waid and Jurgens, while still, in my opinion, fairly upbeat in their superhero work, are still probably a shade darker than I am. Then we have David Wohl, who is probably even a shade darker than that overall (as his long stint on Witchblade shows us). It remains to be seen how dark his arc on CoH will be when it's complete, though.
Next, there's the idea that Manticore acts differently in different situations, just like the rest of us. I mean, think about it. If you talked to people who have dealt with me on these boards, most would probably tell you I'm a pretty nice guy, accessible, always eager to "help a brother out." HOWEVER, if you talked to some of the folks I've dealt with on threads involving intellectual property rights, politics, etc., they might well say I'm the biggest horse's [censored] they know.
Now, only Sean Fish probably knows who Manticore is for sure, but here's my take on him. A lot of people have tried to compare him to Batman, or to the post-1960s Green Arrow. I didn't try to write him as being anything like either. For me, he's probably more like the Kurt Busiek rendition of Hawkeye, as far as archers go. Beyond that, I think Manticore is a pretty normal, earthy kind of guy who just happens to be fabulously wealthy, as well. I think he does what he does because he genuinely does want to help the world, not out of any vengeance or bitterness. He does have an impetuous side, though, and it arises out of a sense of frustration when he can't just make everything right all at once. He's a brilliant guy, a great strategist, but it's sometimes a battle for him to keep his emotions from getting the better of his intellect.
Anyway, that's my take. But what the hell do I know?
Troy Hickman - So proud to have contributed to and played in this wonderful CoH universe
Thanks for the quick reply, Troy!
I agree that only Sean Michael Fish knows for sure. I think Manticore's a complicated person, not easily pigeonholed into a "Batman" or "Archer" kind of role. He's like an amalgam of bits and pieces of several heros in such a way that he's his own person.
Kind of why we like him I guess, he doesn't fit stereotypes as easily as Positron (Man-bot in Freedom Force, anyone?) or Statesman (Super Captain America Man!) or others, although this is all a matter of opinion.
Arc Salvo: Okay hold one sec guys, we can't just rush in blindly vs these Nemesis, they've got these ranged aoe's tha-
Teammate1(charging in): Shut up, Arc Salvo, you lame*$% Viewtiful Joe wannabe! What do you know?!
Teammate2(also charging): yeah, ST#& arc salvo u PWR RANGR U!
Arc Salvo: *sigh*
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I blame Mind Control, or Manticore is just an idiot. Of course, I think Manticore is an idiot anyways so I'm biased.
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I'LL [censored] KILL YOU!
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=P
Issue 23: All your base are belong to us?
I loved this one! The Vindicators were awesome, lots of personality packed into that little scene! And Clamor was duh bomb! Very cool "Zombie roundup" with the freaks, it was a very fun read!
And as for repetitive plot, you can take any story ever written and bring it down to a cliche, it's how it's delivered that makes it good or not.