HA! I told you so!

I want him out of the FP because he's a dirty normie with no actual powers! Next you'll be saying that Batman should be in the Justice League or Hawkeye in the Avengers.

Just for the record, Matt still insists that BaB is NOT a member of the Phalanx.

A compilation of the Twitter conversations:

@Positron_CoH Matt Miller
I was reading Paragon Wiki... where in CoH do we give the impression that Back Alley Brawler is a member of Freedom Phalanx? (he's not)

@NightErrant Austin L.
@Positron_CoH. I think it's because there's overlap with the Surviving Eight and the Freedom Phalanx in many people's minds.

@NightErrant Austin L.
@Positron_CoH, In addition, during ther Lord Recluse Strike Force, you fight him during the "Defeat Future Freedom Phalanx" mission.

@NightErrant Austin L.
@Positron_CoH, And during the final mission which is -also- titled "Defeat Statesman and the Freedom Phalanx".

@Positron_CoH Matt Miller
@NightErrant Yeah, but there's a Longbow Eagle with them too, and he doesn't get mixed in with that bunch.

@Positron_CoH Matt Miller
I am thinking we need to change the objective title to "Defeat Statesman and the Freedom Phalanx, and Back Alley Brawler, too".

@Positron_CoH Matt Miller
We use Paragon Wiki to remember what we have told the players already. Story bible contains a TON of info, much of it contradicts itself.

@Positron_CoH Matt Miller
Surviving the Rikti War does not grant automatic inclusion into a Supergroup. He's friends with all of them, but really, retired.

@Samuraiko Michelle Travis
SCORE ONE FOR THE #COH LORE GEEK! ((Note: Michelle is referring to the notation in the Architect database that BaB belongs to the Phalanx))

@Positron_CoH Matt Miller
@Samuraiko AE does not a canon make.

@Samuraiko Michelle Travis
And @Kheldarn verifies once and for all that BAB is a member of the FP. It's in the game. Indisputable. Thank you, Khel! ((Note: Here Michelle is referring to the screenshot posted in the forum that shows the newly-madeover BaB in Atlas Park with "Freedom Phalanx" as his affiliation in his "About this contact" description.))

@Positron_CoH Matt Miller
@Samuraiko Still not true. Because we don't have a enemy group for "Retired Heroes", he had to be stuck somewhere.

And that's the end of the discussion on Twitter, though Matt DID answer one other "lore" question, heh:

Positron_CoH Matt Miller
Three. @Positron_CoH much debate has been made over exactly how many hours Anti-Matter spends crying before falling asleep.

tldr; The lead designer of the game insists that BaB's apparent affiliation with the Phalanx is a matter of bookeeping within the game's database and assumption by players, not actual fact.

I don't presume to judge any more what the "facts" truly are. Be your own judge.

Based on what we've all come up with, it looks to me that at some point early on, the players and the writers confused the Surviving Eight with the Freedom Phalanx, and it stuck. Positron appears to have confused it as well in Issue 2 when designing the Freedom Phalanx Reserve accolade. That being said, I had this impression that the members of the surviving eight that weren't already in the Phalanx, were invited to it. I'm not the only one, and it makes me wonder if there was some reference to it back near release that none of us can find.

Anyway, I don't think Numina is supposed to be in the FP either. Her original bio as created by the character who won the contest says nothing about it, just about the Midnight Squad, and that she remains an honorary member of Vanguard:

he's an unofficial member

BAM! done.

BAB's in game description, from the Beta.

Back Alley Brawler

Freedom Phalanx

The Brawler was the son of a gang enforcer. He joined the Paragon City police force to try and make a difference. When he realized that was not getting the job done he adopted the name and costume of a hero. He fought in the streets and alleys, of the city, all through the late 70's and the 80's. He briefly went into retirement after that, but came back out to help with the Rikti war. One of the most veteran heroes in Paragon City, the Brawler is in semi-retirement, training the next generation of heroes. Though he rarely goes into the field these days, his power and fighting skills are still as potent as ever.


So... yeah.

You got scooped 3 days ago, NightErrant.

Honestly, when the keepers of the lore say "Oh, we don't actually put the right information in the game, we just do whatever's convenient" then I can't see anything to do but throw up your hands and say "Fine. Whatever." and cease worrying about it.

If the owners of the game don't value the backstory or find it to be an obstacle instead of an asset then there's no use in being a player and trying to keep it straight or appreciate it or build your own personal game around it.

Maybe the button mashers are right and we should just stop stressing about it and get back to grinding levels. :-/ Apparently that's where it's really at.

Is there any reason why Back Alley Bralwer could not have been made a member of the Phalanx sometime in the game timeline between launch and now? Alternatively, it could just be that the Freedom Phalanx is made of well-established, respected and powerful heroes, and given that the Brawler is a well-established, respected and powerful hero that frequently help the Freedom Phalanx, everybody, including our characters and the Phalanx, consider him to be an unofficial member, even if he doesn't have a card.

Patch note from today's VIP beta build:

Lame.