Oh my word! What will all those redundant superheroes do now? Fight crime, vigilante style? Go over to the dark side? Have way more Up 'N Away burgers than is healthy? The mind boggles!
The following article appears in the September 2007 edition of "Capes" Magazine;
The Militia: Looking Back At Controversy
Text of the article;
Death of a Super Team
The Militia: Looking Back At Controversy
It was announced this month that the controversial super-group known as The Militia were being disbanded by their corporate sponsors. As expected, this was meet by cheers, as the groups recent history has been dominated by tales of murder, vigilantism, deception and lies. But what was the truth behind these flawed heroes? I delved into the archives in an attempt to piece together the whole picture, and to trace the path that led to the downfall of a super team.
It all started in the summer of 2006. A rich industrialist gazed from his penthouse window, seeing streets of chaos and mayhem. Fearing that this rising tide of crime would engulf the city, he drew together a team of young and inexperienced heroes; The Militia. After speaking to several former members of The Militia, it became clear to me that the seeds of the groups demise were sewn even in those righteous beginnings. The industrialist who founded the team hid himself from his own members behind the name The Minister, and used his vast resources and wealth to uncover the secret identities of these heroes he had selected, so that he could coerce them into joining his team. Not exactly the way the Freedom Phalanx were formed...
Despite their less than auspicious start, the newly formed Militia had many early successes. Throughout June and July 2006, The Militia brought both Ziggurat escapee Dr Vahizlok, and the rebuilt Clockwork King, to justice. The team also earn the respect of Synapse when they succeed in reducing to scrap the Clockwork Kings most deadly creation, the mechanical behemoth known as Babbage.
Unfortunately, in August 2006 it all started to go wrong for The Militia. Firstly, their team mate Dragonfly was revealed to the group as a murderer and fugitive from the law in her home country. The Militia choose to assist the young woman in clearing her name, but not before the team had began to receive their bad reputation, and further murders are allegedly committed by the heroes.
Throughout September 2006, the team fought to clear their names, in the process revealing they had been set-up by crime syndicate The New Mafia, who had kidnapped The Minister and learnt many of the teams secrets. Following a titanic battle between the two groups, the name of The Militia was finally cleared and The Minister was rescued. However, in the aftermath The Ministers identity was uncovered., and he was revealed to be Sir Michael Wayne, CEO of Wayne Securities and Michael Wayne Industries. This puts a strain of the relationship between Sir Michael Wayne and his team, and he chooses to create a distance between himself and The Militia.
With a greater autonomy, The Militia was able to improve its reputation, and forge ties with other super groups in the city. Fortunes continue to change for the team, as they are hailed as true heroes following the televised defeat of a giant supernatural beast in Galaxy City, during the Trick or Treat Halloween invasion of October 2006. The Militia was credited with preventing the destruction of several city blocks, and given a riotous reception by the local residents.
This euphoria and fame doesnt last for the team though, as associate team member Nightsparrow is killed in an explosion and in a separate incident Sabrina San, the woman known as Dragonfly, is hunted once again for murder. Follow these new allegations the entire team is investigated after they allegedly assisting in Dragonflys escape. The Militia is eventually clears its name by being complicit in her capture and arrest, although their reputation is tarnished yet again.
During the following months, The Militia finds itself in the media for reasons both good and bad. Their involvement in the Heroes for People campaign first sees derision and then approval. Working along side the Paragon City Protectors, they assist in derailing a bomb plot by noted anti-mutant terrorist group, Humanity First, although not without loss of life as one of the bombs explodes. Another member of The Militia, the seemingly resurrected Melanie Kraft, also known as the vigilante Nightsparrow, is tried for murder, but is herself killed in an explosion before the trials end. Considering the earlier explosion which was supposed to have led to her death, this is considered by many to be a further attempt by a Militia member to escape justice.
Incidents of this type continue throughout the rocky and tempestuous history of The Militia. From further murder allegations levelled at new member Silver Eagle, to the kidnapping of Militia members, it becomes clear that these heroes are lifes fall guys. It is hardly surprising that when Wayne Securities were looking to streamline their business following the tragic death of Sir Michael Wayne during the recent Rikti invasion, they looked to disband The Militia and reclaim the investment in their former CEOs pet project. A drain on their profits and a publicity right off, it seems to have been an inevitable choice.
But where does that leave the men and women of The Militia? Throughout their many troubles and tribulations, their accusations and strife, they have continued to be seen on the streets of Paragon City, fighting crime and protecting its citizens. While the team itself may be no more, let us hope that some of the individual heroes, still undefeated after all that their former group had to weather, will continue in the mission that originally united them. To serve and protect the citizens in our City of Heroes.
Article by George S. Sinclair.
Formerly @Crimson Archer, now @CA
The Militia - Protecting Paragon City through roleplaying since June 2006!
The following article appears in the morning edition of The Paragon Herald on Friday, 7th September 2007;
Militia Bought By Mystery Man
Text of the article;
Militia Bought By Mystery Man
In an unexpected move, the entire collection of equipment previously used by the recently disbanded group of heroes known as "The Militia", has been removed from public auction and purchased by a single, mystery buyer.
Following the death of Sir Michael Wayne, the reclusive of Wayne Securities, of which "The Militia" was a part, the company's Board of Directors had chosen to dispose of many of their subsidiary businesses in an effort to strengthen the core business and generate captial for a push in to new markets.
As part of this move, "The Militia", a group of heroes with a rocky history of murder and vigilantism, which was recently revealed in a leaked letter to have been owned and funded by Wayne Securities, was to have been disbanded and their amassed equipment sold to the highest bidder.
However, in a surprising u-turn, the Directors have anounced that the lot will now be sold to a private, unnamed individual. When approached for a quote, we were told that the Directors were unavailable for comment.
Formerly @Crimson Archer, now @CA
The Militia - Protecting Paragon City through roleplaying since June 2006!
The following article appears in the evening edition of The Paragon Herald on Friday, 15th September 2007;
Reactor Disaster Averted By Militia Heroes
Text of the article;
Reactor Disaster Averted By Militia Heroes
Story by George Sinclair
In the early hours of Thursday morning a brave band of five heroes averted what would have been a disaster for Paragon City when they stopped an attack on the Terra Volta nuclear reactor power plant by Sky Raider terrorists.
The team, made up of ex-members from disbanded super group The Militia, found out about the plan to drain the reactor of its core material from investigative reporter, Jane Hallaway.
When I started looking into some of the strange rumours I had been hearing about the Sky Raiders, I had no idea where it would lead, she said. Word on the street had been that they were closing in on some big goal, and I was hoping that some heroes would assist me in my investigation. I felt sure that there was something huge going on, and I was determined to find out what.
Thankfully, when my investigations into the Sky Raiders took an ugly turn, this bunch were around to help out.
After searching the offices of a fake company in Skyway City which the Sky Raiders had been using as a front for their nefarious scheming, it became clear to both Jane and these heroes that the terrorists planned to attack the Terra Volta reactor.
When Crimson Archer told me that they had found asbestos suits and radioactive containment equipment in that office, I can barely believe the evidence, but it was true that the Sky Raiders actually intended to attack the Terra Volta reactor! Jane said, when asked what had been found during the office raid. From the evidence which the heroes had discovered, it appeared that the Sky Raiders intend to drain the reactor core of its fuel, leaving the rest of Paragon City in the dark.
The Sky Raiders may have planned to sell that fuel on the black market, or, even worse, they may have been planning to build a dirty bomb! Either way, Paragon City can't make it without the reactor running. Ever since the First Rikti War, the reactor's been this city's primary source of power. Without it, we can say goodbye to light bulbs, heating, and refrigerated food. Jane told our reporter.
Speaking to Mr Jamie Jay Reynolds, also known as The Crimson Archer, as he left Cygnus Medical Centre in Galaxy City this morning, he spoke of the courageous actions of his team mates.
Despite overwhelming odds, we were able to beat back the troops that the Sky Raiders had sent to secure the core material. It wasnt an easy job, but Britanic, Wavekite, Luna and Billy all showed true grit and fought like the heroes they are to protect their fellow citizens in Paragon City.
Asked about his attendance at the medical centre, Jay shrugged and said; Not everyone on the mission had the ability to deal with radiation in the core room as well as some others. Both Wavekite and myself needed some additional treatment but following decontamination were expecting to make a full recovery.
Formerly @Crimson Archer, now @CA
The Militia - Protecting Paragon City through roleplaying since June 2006!
((Is it just me, or when you read "Militia Disassembled!!!" do you start looking for body parts?))
The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
(( That's dissmembered...
Now if it were the Fletched Alliance... I'd be looking for the explosives confiscation report. ))
@ShadowGhost & @Ghostie
The Grav Mistress, Mistress of Gravity
If you have nothing useful to say, you have two choices: Say something useless or stay quiet.
The following article appears in the evening edition of The Paragon Herald on Friday, 21st September 2007;
Remembering The Controversy - What Next For The Militia?
Text of the article;
Remembering The Controversy - What Next For The Militia?
Article by George S. Sinclair
Its rare that a group of super heroes falls apart as publicly as The Militia has recently been forced to do. Over the past year there have been times when it seemed obvious that the plug would be pulled on this controversial team by their sponsors after reading the endless accounts of anti-social behaviour either attributed to, or involving one or more of their members.
Except that now Wayne Securities have thoroughly washed their hands of The Militia, where does it leave the men and women who were once members? And has the news of the groups closure been met by cries of relief or disappointment by the citizens of Paragon City?
In order to gain some answers to these questions, I spoke to people in the famous inter-dimensional night club, Pocket D, where superheroes and their fans regularly gather after a hard day saving the city. [It] sounded to me like it was all a bit too sudden to be as nice and amicable as the stories said, one young man told me. I think they were just thrown out like yesterdays garbage.
The man I was speaking to was Joe Hill, a mechanic from Kings Row. He wasnt a hero, just a guy worried about his business and the crime on the streets. I asked him how he felt about The Militia no longer being on the city streets as a registered superhero group. Well, one less group out there trying to get the scum off the streets is bad, if you ask me. He went on to say, I dont care if they had another agenda, they did good work that I heard of.
After Joe had left, I spoke to Alice Springs, a young woman who goes by the name Bat-Hawk and is lead singer with local band, The Last Word. The Militia were a great team! she told me. Even I wanted to join up because I saw directly some of the good stuff they were doing. I know I'm not much of a hero, but they could take raw talent and turn it into something special, y'know?
After this encounter, I was fortunate enough to meet Luna Starbright, a young woman who treats the responsibility of being a superhero very seriously indeed, and who used to be a member of The Militia. I say used to be as Luna herself had a different view on that. When asked if she knew any of the heroes who had been a part of the group. Know all of them well, i'm IN The Miltia. she told me excitedly. Wayne industries can say what they like about their super group. We [the members] have always been what made that super group, and we have no intention of stopping purely because Wayne Industries doesn't think we're marketable!
I went on to ask her how the news from Wayne Securities about the closing of The Militia had affected her team mates. Lots of people were surprised, and a lot of people were angry. There were a few sad people, the Militia was the only place a few people had.
When asked what the members were doing now, Luna told me that some were still active, and working together. Well, the thing is, we're not exactly finished. We got together again, I mean, why should we stop helping Paragon with what was already a winning team? Not having Wayne's backing doesn't make any of us any less super. We'd like to still think of ourselves as a super group. Because we're all the same people, with all the same abilities, doing a few less of the bad things, and more of the good things.
I was then introduced to Wavekite and Silver-Steel, a winged woman and a muscular man made of silver, both of whom had also been members of The Militia. I put the same questions to them. The Militia is made up of some of the finest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Wavekite said, before Silver-Steel added his own comments.
Militia had good people.. was a good group. Some of the few people round this place I would call friends. Even family. I lost my home; my place in this city.
They sold our headquartes right under our feet, Wavekite added. our medical facilities, our labs. All gone. The group was together, and it was doing good things. The Militia saved the entire city from Clamor, and stopped that damn pumpkin giant thing. They fought for this city, bled for this city, and for each other.
They also died for this city
Silver-Steel added quietly, and at this Wavekite left, seemingly with a tear in her eye.
It became clearer after my evening speaking to those people who had either been touched by The Militia, or who could count themselves among their number, that despite all the bad press this group had received during its lifetime, there was still strong support and good feeling.
The Militia were an exciting group, and a blessing to the story hungry media, but to the people on the streets they were heroes and idols, protecting them when they needed it. But, perhaps as importantly, it became clear what they meant to each other. They were family. Being together was as important as fighting together, and that is a bond which I dont believe any disbanding can break.
((Special thanks to Joe Hill, Luna Starbright, Bat-Hawk, Wavekite, Silver-Steel, and others for putting up with George in Pocket D long enough for him to gather quotes and take some photos!))
Formerly @Crimson Archer, now @CA
The Militia - Protecting Paragon City through roleplaying since June 2006!
On the front page of todays Paragon City Post.
Close up of the letter.
((Paper by me, Letter done by Crimson Archer, ta mate.))