Thanks, Vangey! Rock!
There are no words for what this community, and the friends I have made here mean to me. Please know that I care for all of you, yes, even you. If you Twitter, I'm MrThan. If you're Unleashed, I'm dumps. I'll try and get registered on the Titan Forums as well. Peace, and thanks for the best nine years anyone could ever ask for.
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This is the first issue in over a year that actually made me glad I'm OCD-completist enough to keep buying the comic.
SPOILERS ARE AHEAD BY THE WAY
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Hints for Issue 10 storyline:
-The Dark Watcher (from the first CoH novel), two sisters called Borea and Levantera, british woman called Lady Elizabeth Grey, a martial artist with a spirit helper called Serpent Drummer, and some unseen guy called Gaussian are The Vanguard
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I assume you mean this one:
Lady Grey 1
Lady Grey 2
Though she's called Victoria, strange.
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Yeah, all of the department heads in Vanguard are from the CCG. Dark Watcher got his start before then in the Web of Arachnos novel.
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One thing I've always wanted to know is, who were the other three members of the Elite Five and are they going to appear in connection with the Vanguard story?
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And now the PDF version is three issues behind. Whee.
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Just one.
ftp://ftp.coh.com/comics/topcow
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In that case, the page is three issues behind.
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True, but I have a feeling a whole bunch of web page updates/ changes/ improvements are on the way.
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Oh, nifty. Was wondering if Vanguard would ever show up. Their posters have been plastered all over Paragon since the beginning. <_<
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Yes, but as a *villain* group? That's what I don't get. The Vanguard were the last standing group of heroes during the Rikti war, why the heck are they coming in as villains?
And did anyone else notice that it seems that the Vanguard are the only 'villain' group that have females as part of the standard group? I don't count the Arachnos ladies, since they don't wear the normal outfit.
My guess?
They want Earth for humans, right? Well, odds are they aren't big fans of Peacebringers and Warshades then, along with any of the huge amount of non-human heroes out there!
Vanguard showing up in issue10 shouldnt be a spoiler these days if anyone has been around long enough, I think they spoil stuff themselves on purpose. Look at the Info terminals ingame, the "Vanguard_Sword" and "Vanguard_Shield" info has been there since issue 9, if anyone recalls past issues, always 1 issue before they release a new group they are listed in the info terminals, paragon police, "freedom phalanx nemesis" so we all knew we would be able to fight them when villains came out too....
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My guess?
They want Earth for humans, right? Well, odds are they aren't big fans of Peacebringers and Warshades then, along with any of the huge amount of non-human heroes out there!
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Exactly. They're so damn righteous and "pure" that, like some people's interpretations of Longbow, they've gone all the way across the line to intolerant jackbooted fascists.
(See also: the Malta Group, making the world safe for Western democracy (hm, no, scratch that) capitalism and non-metas. Of course, to make it truly safe they have to control it...)
Anyway, yeah. Looks like another "heroic" paramilitary group that Knows What's Best For You. And if you disagree, you're obviously a terrorist, er, alien... an alien terrorist! Yeah! Those filthy aliens, coming here to destroy our cities, take our women, steal our jobs, and corrupt our precious bodily fluids...
My characters at Virtueverse
Faces of the City
Unless, seeing as they accidentally replaced mobs in missions, they're heroic anyways. Or, for instance, they're entirely heroic--in which case as they would be butting heads with standard villains in the game. I'm excited. 
There are no words for what this community, and the friends I have made here mean to me. Please know that I care for all of you, yes, even you. If you Twitter, I'm MrThan. If you're Unleashed, I'm dumps. I'll try and get registered on the Titan Forums as well. Peace, and thanks for the best nine years anyone could ever ask for.
They took our JOOBS!
Maybe it's a chin-pouch. You know, like hamsters.
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Exactly. They're so damn righteous and "pure" that, like some people's interpretations of Longbow, they've gone all the way across the line to intolerant jackbooted fascists.
(See also: the Malta Group, making the world safe for Western democracy (hm, no, scratch that) capitalism and non-metas. Of course, to make it truly safe they have to control it...)
Anyway, yeah. Looks like another "heroic" paramilitary group that Knows What's Best For You. And if you disagree, you're obviously a terrorist, er, alien... an alien terrorist! Yeah! Those filthy aliens, coming here to destroy our cities, take our women, steal our jobs, and corrupt our precious bodily fluids...
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Personally, I think its going to come down to what their purpose is. The Vanguard's purpose according to what we've read is to seek out Rikti tech and then keep it out of the hands of individuals who would do bad things with it. That means EVERYBODY trying to get their hands on it..Heroes included.
I see villians doing the most fighting against them, but I also can see heroes coming to odds with them because they're either aliens themselves, non-humans, and/or "We specialize in fighting the Rikti, just stay out of our way rookie". Maybe missions where you run into them raiding a base and you end up having to fight both because their orders are to "Leave no survivors". Yeah, its another "We know best" group, but it doesnt have to take on the constantly sinister and "Wow the heroes are jerks" level that the rest of the game puts off from time to time.
Has anyone else really wanted to do a storyline inspired by those "EARTH FOR HUMANS" billboards Vanguard put up around the place? I've vaguely started one for a low level scrapper, but for me they just seem like the perfect start for a "Intolerance is bad, m'kay?" story.
I actually did have an alt for a while who was that much of an extremist...he hated and I mean hated all non-humans.
I think I might remake him. Simply because he was a puritan zealot.
Now! This is it! Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!
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Exactly. They're so damn righteous and "pure" that, like some people's interpretations of Longbow, they've gone all the way across the line to intolerant jackbooted fascists.
(See also: the Malta Group, making the world safe for Western democracy (hm, no, scratch that) capitalism and non-metas. Of course, to make it truly safe they have to control it...)
Anyway, yeah. Looks like another "heroic" paramilitary group that Knows What's Best For You. And if you disagree, you're obviously a terrorist, er, alien... an alien terrorist! Yeah! Those filthy aliens, coming here to destroy our cities, take our women, steal our jobs, and corrupt our precious bodily fluids...
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Personally, I think its going to come down to what their purpose is. The Vanguard's purpose according to what we've read is to seek out Rikti tech and then keep it out of the hands of individuals who would do bad things with it. That means EVERYBODY trying to get their hands on it..Heroes included.
I see villians doing the most fighting against them, but I also can see heroes coming to odds with them because they're either aliens themselves, non-humans, and/or "We specialize in fighting the Rikti, just stay out of our way rookie". Maybe missions where you run into them raiding a base and you end up having to fight both because their orders are to "Leave no survivors". Yeah, its another "We know best" group, but it doesnt have to take on the constantly sinister and "Wow the heroes are jerks" level that the rest of the game puts off from time to time.
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Sounds like one hell or a reason for heroes and villains to ally together....
Now! This is it! Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!
Well
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The Vanguard made an appearance in i9 beta on accident as can be found on ParagonWiki....
They definitely were not the good guys since they showed up in a police band.
WEll, thats kindof neet. I don't read the comic (its terrrible), but from what I read here, it does make me look forward to issue 10 a bit. After-all, they've been talking aobut doing something interesting with the Crash Site ever since it was revealed that Faultline was getting a face-lift. If they've already designed Vanguard villain-mobs, then that would seem to confirm that.
Oh, and perosnally, I think we ahv eoru fill of paranoid, well-armed, "heroes are dangerous nuissances", "we believe we're serving the greater good but actually we're just [censored]" storyline from the Matla Group. And they do it very -well- too, if you're into that. still, since it looks like teh might introduce vanguard as a simialr group, I'm at least interested to find out the details. Might be fun. And I do agree that slogans like "They are still among us", "Earth for humans!", and, my very fascist favorite: "report all suspeicious activity to us!" didn't really seem all that heroic when I first saw them on the walls around Atlas Park.
Oh, and no, Vanguard's purpose is nto to control Ritki technology. At leat not that I;m aware. In fact, as far as I know, in the United States (and therefor, Paragon), Seraph, and possibly other government regulated groups answering to the FBSA are responsible for researching it. And it is, in fact, responsible for many of the "magical technology" (to coin a phrase) that exist in Paragon City, such as, most notably, the medical teleporters and reclimators. They're purpose is to kepe tabs on teh Ritki Threat, and coordinate efforts against the Ritki throughout the world. Obviously, since they are credited with helpign win the RItki War due to their logistical and strategic efforts, they WERE good guys at one point, and (pure speculation) one imaignes that the story of how they fell from this lofty path ot secretly doing whatever-it-is they may possibly turn out to be doing that would put them at odds with heroes and the PPD, will be something that gets revealed in whatever content ultimatly springs up around this (not to beat a dead horse, but rather in the same way that you gradually learn who and waht the mysterious Malta group si all about by working wiht Indigo).
I don't believe anyone's heard anything from the Vanguard since their billboards (and the chest symbol with NPC groups... Hm...), it's possible they've gone corrupt since then.
I think it's quite possible, considering the cryptic message concerning dark watcher, and the group is listed as enemies, and the 6 new boss types are lsited as Arch-Villains as well. The Vanguard could of totally gone whacko.
Flash of inspiration!
Scirroco, Ice Mistral, the original Dark Watcher, and I think Foreshadow were all trained by the monks in the Order of the Four Winds.
Both Scirroco and Foreshadow reincarnate back and forth from Hero to Villain.
Ice Mistral started off as a heroine, but wound up becoming a villainess.
And now Dark Watcher leads a group of Human Supremicists...
Hmmm. Methinks there's something fishy about the Order of the Four Winds.
But then, it's all speculation.
"It's hard for you to be yourself, if you don't know who you really are."
Hrmm... could the Vanguard be what the new 5th evolve into?
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They took our JOOBS!
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Tuk ar jubss!
Deh-tuk-ar-Dawbs!
Dekker Derr!
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Flash of inspiration!
Scirroco, Ice Mistral, the original Dark Watcher, and I think Foreshadow were all trained by the monks in the Order of the Four Winds.
Both Scirroco and Foreshadow reincarnate back and forth from Hero to Villain.
Ice Mistral started off as a heroine, but wound up becoming a villainess.
And now Dark Watcher leads a group of Human Supremicists...
Hmmm. Methinks there's something fishy about the Order of the Four Winds.
But then, it's all speculation.
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In the first novel, I am pretty sure that the Dark Watcher was just a young man who discovered he had a power. I think his AT would be Mutant.
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I think it's quite possible, considering the cryptic message concerning dark watcher, and the group is listed as enemies, and the 6 new boss types are lsited as Arch-Villains as well. The Vanguard could of totally gone whacko.
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I think the Vanguard could be written as being kind of like Iron Man & friends in Civil War. They want everyone to register with FBSA and they want control over the Earth's non-Human population. In game lore, isn't the Vanguard an arm of the United Nations?
I doubt the Devs would do it, but writing in the Vanguard like that would be a great way to introduce a "secret identity" toggle. Heroes who have their secret identity toggle set to "On" are considered to be enemies by the Vanguard and heroes that have the secret identity toggle set to "Off" would be considered allies. I was always disappointed that one of my favorite elements of superhero comics, the secret identity, was not included in CoH.
So far we have been hinted that I10 might contain: - a new zone (to the Moon baby), a new enemy and the first considerable advancement of the game story since CoV came out. Now all we need is a new AT or new powersets and this could be one of the best Issues ever.
Ascendant the boyscout! Awesome!
...even Positron is a fanboi :P