Canon Fodder

Overview

Sean Michael Fish

Taken from the Official thread on the City of Heroes Forums:
Greetings lore-hounds,

Manticore here to provide some definitive answers to your lore questions. The dev team receives PM’s about lore all the time. With Mission Architect coming online there are more and more lore questions popping up on the forums as well. Instead of trying to answer all these questions privately we’ve decided to start this thread. I’m going to be digging through my memory banks as well as picking the brains of Hero 1, Positron, and the rest of the devs for these answers and compiling them here.
Just to be clear, these answers aren’t set in stone. Feel free to point out discrepancies. CoH is a huge game and we’ve had many incredibly talented people contribute to the lore. We’re trying to get the record straight here on some of our trickiest plot and character twists. If I missed something…let me know. I’ll go back to the drawing board and clear it up. So let’s dig for answers, clarify confusion, eliminate contradictions, and have some fun!

~M

Question and Answers

05-29-2009

Question

Galaxy Girl's sidekick, Dauntless - Does he have a given name? Any history defined at all?

Answer:

The archvillain Protean had learned the secret identity of Galaxy Girl and took her captive at the charity kitchen where she volunteered. Galaxy Girl lay helpless as Protean prepared to murder the trapped civilians. Protean was planning to destroy everyone that Galaxy Girl's life touched. Dauntless, learned of the crisis and rushed headlong into battle. Although he was completely outclassed, he fought until his last breath. His sacrifice gave Galaxy Girl the time to recover and defeat Protean, ensuring so many more survived.

Robbie Prescott first met Kelly Graham while delivering sandwiches to the office where she worked. After accidentally discovering that she was Galaxy Girl, Robbie was inspired to become Dauntless. He helped Kelly in all aspects of her service to Paragon City, never expressing his love for her.

Question

Is there a story reason that the Malta Group chose to name their Titans after Greek Mythos (Hercules, Zeus, Kronos)? or were they named as such just because it sounded good at the time? If they were to unleash some new variation of these Titans, or other similar technology, would they again look towards the Greek Mythos for naming inspiration?

Answer:

A lot of us are mythology geeks, if that wasn’t already obvious, but it also felt fitting for a group like Malta to name their machines of destruction after towering figures of legend. It’s very likely that any other Malta Titans would in fact continue that naming scheme.

Question

Was the Family world ever given an in game Portal Corp dimensional designation? And if so, what was it?

Answer:

As far as I know, there was never a designator given for the Family.

Question

I've been questioned for legitimacy for inserting a Longbow ally into a mission for my story arc which takes place in November 2001, 6 months prior to the first Rikti War (#71601). My detractor claims that Longbow was created after the Rikti War, though my own research only says that the group was founded by Ms. Liberty to fight Arachnos (which has been around for a long long time, even before Recluse). I can find no reference to confirm either way. Is there a date or timeframe in continuity when Longbow was founded?

Answer:

Longbow is a division of Freedom Corps and was introduced in City of Villains. It was Ms. Liberty’s solution to her disagreement with Statesman’s policies regarding Freedom Corps. Longbow is much more martial and aggressive in its methods. I recommend changing either the time frame of your arc *or* calling the ally a Freedom Corps agent.

Question

So, I'm doing a bit of research for a Serafina origin arc (yes, spawned by the fact Posi wants to see it, but actually being implemented because I LOVE the character), and noticed an interesting discrepancy in Scirocco's information.

Here it is stated that Scirocco died early on in the Rikti War, making his last wish to Seraphina that she protect the heroes of Paragon City. Yet Scirocco's own information here states that he (basically) just turned evil and stole something from her.

Answer:

The Order of the Four Winds bestows mantles of power upon chosen champions. Scirocco is a title that comes with the package. The original Scirocco was one such champion. The current Scirocco stole the power and Serafina wants it back.

Question

Okay, I'm writing a mission chain called "Family Ties" centering around Ms. Liberty, Statesman, and Lord Recluse. According to the canon I have read, Ms. Liberty is related to both by blood; Statesman is her grandfather and Recluse her great-uncle. SO! Here is what I need confirmed...

1) Is Ms. Liberty's real name Megan Duncan, Jessica Cole, Jessica Duncan, or what!?

2) Is she aware of her relation to Recluse?

3) Is Recluse aware of their relation?

Answer:

There has been some confusion on this issue due to discrepancies between our website, a web article, the Freedom Phalanx novel, the in-game information, and probably some other places I’m not remembering. Here’s a definitive answer which has all the facts lined up, as well as some additional information.

1) Monica Richter was Maiden Justice and is sister to Lord Recluse (Stefan Richter). She married Statesman (Marcus Cole) and they had a daughter. Their daughter’s name is Alexis Cole and she became Miss Liberty. Alexis married a man by the name of Patrick Duncan and the two had a daughter, Jessica Megan Duncan. Jessie, as her mother liked to call her, was always a strong willed child. Jessica Megan Duncan became Ms. Liberty and took on the name Megan (her middle name) It was suggested by others that Megan take her mother’s maiden name of Cole, for legacy’s sake, but Megan specifically held onto her father’s last name, both for her love and respect of him and her desire to move out of her grandfather’s shadow, and forge her own path of heroism. Other examples of her independence are the formation of the Vindicators and her release of Dominatrix back to Praetoria.

2) She is aware of her relation to Stefan Richter and although she is fiercely dedicated to taking Arachnos down, she also believes that her great-uncle can be redeemed. This core belief in redemption is what drove her to form the Vindicators and coincidentally ties in thematically with our upcoming “Going Rogue” expansion.

3) Lord Recluse is well aware of all the nuances of his relationship with Statesman. He knows that Ms. Liberty is related to him and would happily exploit that relationship if given the chance. The core difference between Statesman and Lord Recluse is their feelings about family and friends. The two men received mind blowing power from the same source and were both in danger of becoming detached from their humanity. The catalyst for their radically differing paths was Monica Richter. Statesman felt loved by the woman who would become his wife and Recluse felt betrayed by his sister. It is safe to say that Ms. Liberty hopes to bring her great-uncle back into the light.

06-09-2009

Question:

Will any of the canon be taken from current story arcs that players have implemented, if no back story had been thought of previously? Or is all the canon just coming from 'in-house'?

Answer:

Here at Paragon, we’re always fond of saying that a good idea can come from anywhere. Having said that, we reserve the right to take or leave anything from the MA arcs as we see fit. If it doesn’t work its way back into our releases then it should not be taken as canon. Also, don’t be surprised to see a serendipitous event of two very similar stories coming out, one from MA and the other from the developers. So many stories have already been created in Architect, odds are pretty good that we’re going to develop similar ones here.

Question:

Did Statesman and Maiden Justice have more than just the one child?

Answer:

Statesman and Maiden Justice only had one child, Alexis Cole aka Miss Liberty.

Question:

Is there a given reason for the Rikti's vulnerability/aversion to magic?

Answer:

In their world the Rikti allowed their gods to die out and have always had an aversion to worshipping supernatural and/or mystical beings. Their lack of faith and interest in such things created a vulnerability over time. More recently, members of the Restructionist faction within the Rikti are reconsidering this position. In fact some of them even have magical powers from their Primal Earth Mu blood. The Rikti have also begun questioning their stance on this with the resurgence of the Midnight Squad. The recent attacks from a purely magical source have cut the Rikti more deeply than they’d like to admit.

Question:

Besides the information given in the offical game history on the website, is there any more information in regards to civilians and military forces living situations during the Rikti War?

Answer:

Everyone had a difficult time during the Rikti War. Super-powered individuals were on the front lines and even actively hunted by the Rikti. Military personnel were often asked to oppose far superior forces, trying to fight desperate holding actions until help could arrive. Civilians weren’t spared from the destruction either, often their homes and shelters were attacked or destroyed like so much collateral damage. No one lived without fear at that time, whether it was fear for their own life or the lives of their families and friends.

Question:

Rick Davies, the technology contact in Atlas Park, was once the hero called Horatio. His battlesuit was used to upgrade Citadel after the latter was injured during the first Rikti War.

Did Rick CREATE Citadel in the first place? If not, who did?

Answer:

Crey Industries did the original work on Citadel but Positron removed their security controls to allow the android hero access to his free will.

Question:

Most hospitals in the Rogue Isles is named Black Heart Memorial Hospital. Who or what is Black Heart?

Answer:

Black Heart is an homage to Sacred Heart Hospital. If there is a Black Heart in the Rogue Isles, he or she has yet to make a move.

Question:

Is the Dream Doctor really dead? If yes, how did he die? If not, where is he?

Answer:

Can you ever really kill a dream? The Dream Doctor will always be alive and well in the hearts and minds of the Midnight Squad. At last report however, he was still in dreamspace seeking ways to prevent the Circle of Thorns from ascending to ultimate power.

Question:

Oh and Gamester!! Was that just a one-shot plot device to explain the presents and such for the Holiday events or is there more to be known about that character?

I thought he/she/it was a neat idea.

Answer:

The Gamester is still capering somewhere behind the scenes and is always ready for a good old-fashioned game of Global Thermonuclear War…or maybe Chess…whichever. Anything that will pit people against each other in an interesting competition for his entertainment will flush him back out into the limelight.

Links

• Canon Fodder: Official CoH Lore Q&A Thread, City of Heroes Forums