Techwright

Looks like Void Hunters and Nictus Shadow Cyst in...Boomtown? Badges for street hunting those would be very interesting, though it's probably some mission or task force. Shadow Cysts are one of the few things in game that I feel genuinely threatened by, and I like that sort of challenge. The gold guy with the boulder, I don't recognize the curved blue-glass building behind him. Might that be the original hero Faultline? And one of the others is clearly the long-hoped for upgrade to the Warriors. Yassss... Not sure what the deal is with all the Gold Brickers and a portal(?)

AAAarrrrggh! How have I never known this? I never hear anyone talking about it. I actually went looking for it a year ago as I'd had multiple builds in other MMOs and thought surely CoH would have this. I searched for a while in fact. But either I never searched on the right term or in the right corners, I guess. This is a game changer! Now I can build solo and team builds, especially for my energy/energy blapper. Unleash the knockback! Thank you soooo much for linking that @Glacier Peak!

Fire/Ice blaster. Though I don't remember exactly how bad the end drain was to level 20 doing it the old-fashioned way. I just remember every character suffering massive end drain until the early 20s. F/I deals a lot of damage for low levels, and any ice powers help control the melee range. Now if you're soloing only, energy/energy blapper is a heap of a lot of fun, and you can cut loose and send guys flying, but if you're going to team, you'd have to reign in the knockback. I would have said ill/storm controller, they're a blast, but not for soloing until about level 22 or so when he gets all his pets. If you're teaming the old fashioned way, then yes.

I rather like that one. I may use a few pointers from it for one of my own characters.

While admittedly the Victorian Era is ultimately a phase that current story writing is going through, it does have some elements of its nature that appeal to works like this. It was an age of radical change, fantastical invention, significant engineering feats, and discovery. All this was preserved in its writings which gave us heroes like Sherlock Holmes and Alan Quartermain, and fantastical worlds through the Lost Worlds genre of Verne, Wells, Conan Doyle, Haggard, and others. This in turn gave rise to the modern parallel of steampunk (still around), but also a lasting interest in their time period, or at least interpreting it.

How do reboots fit within a massive continuity? They really don't. You have to wipe the whole continuity. That's why I was suggesting the multiverse concept gets around that. The only time I could see a reboot fitting into a massive continuity like the MCU would be if a result is so disliked that it threatens the franchise, and excising it is the salvation. I'd have though that would be the so-called Sequel Trilogy of Star Wars, relegating it to the "Legends" pile, but it's not happening there, in fact there are signs that they're trying to use other parts of the Star Wars continuity to make the Sequel Trilogy a somewhat better fit. Since this is ultimately coming from Disney, if something were to happen in Marvel like this, I think the outcome might be the same.

Might have to dig up my old ghost pirate Captain Stormalong for the occasion. Maybe start a hero SG for reformed pirates: The Pirates of Pen'ance 😉 🏴‍☠️

This is where the multi-verse may become vital to the franchise. You could have multiple Iron Men, each played by a different actor, each representing a different universe. Rumor is that the canonical What If...? series will have an event that pulls heroes and villains from several of these variant timelines into a single universe to fight a multiversal threat. If this proves true then it sets the precedent for other crossovers. You could have a Tony Stark (played by a different actor) whose universe was destroyed travel to the MCU universe, and become Tony Stark II there. Not necessarily marrying Pepper Potts and taking over the company, but bringing his battle armor, skills, and personality back into the main story line. While thinking of the future of the MCU, there is a thought on my mind: the next big movement from the MCU, beyond the multiverse, should be space exploration and colonization. Move beyond a reflection of the real world. Think about it: Earth is already aware they are not alone in space, and now, after Endgame, the universe is aware of Earth. Sure they might have known of it for years, did know, in fact, as Yondu and crew visited Earth in the 1980s. Until Endgame, though, Earth is seen as a backwater world. Now, the Ravagers, Captain Marvel, and the Guardians are all going to carry word of how the mighty armies of Thanos caused the snap/blip that devastated every sentient race in the universe, and how, 5-years later, everyone reappeared. They'll then tell how Thanos was obliterated by this same backwater planet's champions. If nothing else, alien tourists would show up wanting to see where this happened. More likely, races will begin to reach out to Earth, perhaps curiously, but perhaps with intentions to help this world advance, seeing a potential for a surprising ally (or just some resource they could exploit). This leads to a trade, possibly raw resources for technological info, and pretty soon we're in a position to colonize Mars and perform long distance trading across the galaxy, with adventuresome types signing up for deep space crews on alien ships. Even if none of that happened, the Asgardians of New Asgard alone could aid the world in reaching to the stars. About the only thing (besides a silly hand wave from the writers) to hold MCU Earth back at this point would be if a significant power in space declared Earth a protectorate, and gave orders to leave it alone to develop on its own. The best candidate for that which I can think of would be the Shia'ar empire, and they're not likely to appear until well into the next X-men story line. I suppose S.W.O.R.D. could achieve this as well, though in a much weaker stance. The events of the upcoming Secret Wars might give us a S.W.O.R.D. capable of that.

Just for clarification: did the Rikti actually hit the rest of the world? I mean more than the North American coast and probably the Rogue Islands. I was always of the belief that their dimensional portal technology was limited to one access point: Paragon City, which was why Omega Team was effective, as opposed to having to shut down dozens or hundreds of access points.

Is that still available to see online, and if so, where? (please)

Isn't the article writer describing sort of a Recluse's Victory scenario, though? There's no question it would be opposed. Recluse's Victory is opposed. What the writer would need is some scenario which allows Arachnos to retain this beachhead without being pushed back into the sea by a coalition of governments and heroes. Like a massive domed shield or something. Not saying I like what is proposed, just considering the possibility. Incidentally, and not to get political, we actually have real world, modern scenarios where a foreign population takes over a town of a 1st world country and creates such a threat that the country removes all its population, effectively ceding control. It's unpleasant to think it can happen, but it has. (This is assuming, of course, that the reports I read are accurate.) I do agree, however, that control of a turf by backdoor threats, manipulations, and acquisitions is far more likely until enough is acquired to step into the open. Actually, I'd find it far more interesting if the Rogue Islands took a page from the real world news and started building a series of man-made islands extending its sovereign territory closer and closer to Rhode Island, until it forced a confrontation in international courts over sovereign waters. If it gains a court ruling that the closest island to the mainland can stay, The Rogue Islands (and lets face it, that's just a political front for Arachnos) could use that island to base Arachnos. Still a big threat, still a thorn-in-the-side of Paragon City and the USA, but not a mainland grab.

During the shows run, Kari was well-known for being vegan, so I'm thinking something in the way of plant powers. Oh, and she paints...with gunpowder. There's got to be a power set in that somewhere. I always associated Scottie with a welders torch, and she was known as "Mistress of Metal" (awesome game name) so I'd probably have some sort of fire/metal (earth) power sets for her.

I had the same vibe. Not as dark and gritty, at least, not from the trailer. Others have suggested a blend of Die Hard and Lethal Weapon (buddy adventure) and I can see this. I'm guessing his time on The Bourne Legacy will be brought into comparison at some point. If you're willing to look at the imdb actor list and do a little cross-comparison with Marvel wikis, you'll see there's at least one new player from the comics being introduced, one that doesn't wield a bow. That character's backstory is so specific, that it is giving a lot of people cause to hope that the now-defunct Netflix series are about to tie in again into the MCU. I do believe this is the third time there will be some sort of crazy offbeat play-within-a-play in the MCU. The First Avenger had one, and Thor Ragnarok had one.

Only very briefly, like for a few seconds of confusion. No this is definitely a villain verses the heroes kind of episode. Good episode, in my opinion. Definitely took things in an unexpected direction. I do have a grievance with one element of the episode, though, although it is minor in light of the whole. Anyone else notice that each episode the Watcher seems to be brought more and more into the spotlight? A previous episode had him spotted by one in the story, this episode, I think, is the first time he's not been just a ghostly image in the background. Makes me wonder if they're building towards something.

The Disney+ Hawkeye trailer has dropped, and it is looking good. I took a look at the cast list on imdb.com, and, no surprise, the tag scene from Black Widow will be fulfilled in this series. I've also seen one classic Hawkeye villain named. My attention was really drawn to Brian d'Arcy James in the listings, though, as he does have a character name. I have learned this was deliberate. It makes me wonder who it is. If it is another villain, I have three guesses. If it is someone else, I have 1 guess. Thoughts?

Trying to see this on my little smartphone screen. I am guessing Blackwing represents the rooster, but that leaves Mr Goodfellow as the sheep? Perhaps my visuals are too small to pick up details.

Nemesis have their own way of utilizing fallen warriors. I'd not really considered Malta in the mix. I'll have to go see that. It's Crimson's arc, is it not? I've not done his stuff since being back in the game. 5th Column, Council, and Sky Raiders were all ones that I suspected were using hard drives with memory imprints of fallen soldiers. I'd not really considered the "brain in jars" view, though I suppose it would work. If the Council would force their soldiers into existing as other horrors, why not this?

I could have sworn I had that on a charcuterie board once.

No offense to the OP view, but I wouldn't call the addition of asymmetrical costume components nothing. That has fired the creativity of many, myself included. Likewise the ability for illusion players to have their pets mirror their looks (handled via the costume creator) is also fantastic. I could wish for a lot more, sure, and I've had a lot of thoughts towards that, but as @Greycat noted, it's a small, volunteer team. Of necessity, their day jobs and personal lives come first. My only real wish is that I could get my hands on training material for the software that costumes are made by. It may be simple compared to what the big league folk do, but I'd love to create more chest emblems for the game to help out. Sadly, it probably takes a degree in game technology.

I've got a lore question. I don't think the question will need spoilers. Though the answers might. When fighting various factions that use robots, notably Sky Raiders, Council, and Fifth Column, I occasionally see a robot in charge and/or referred to with a rank and name (Lt. Smith, etc.). I've seen this in both missions and radio missions. The question: Is there anything in revealed lore to explain why this is? Have these groups tapped into some freaky science that allows them to transfer the memories and skills of fallen leaders into the robots? Are they leaders virtually commanding through a command base connection to the robot? Other explanation? EDIT: And if there is a lore explanation, is it specific to one group? Meaning there might be possibly multiple explanations, each unique to a group.

What makes it so? Not critiquing your position, just trying to understand.

I was unaware this was a concern. If anything, the Vahz feel less dangerous than in the oldest days of CoH. I never noticed developer notes suggesting they'd toned down the Vahz, but I can remember teams getting obliterated by swift, paralyzing crossbow attacks, devastating exploding Vahz, and cleanup-positioned Eidolons. If anything, the first two tickle now with an occasional bloody nose. Are these players running missions at high or max settings?

One of the reasons not to choose Going Rogue at first is that, due to the storyline, you'll not be able to interact with blue and red sides for the first 20+ levels. (It's an interesting storyline, though.) Few players go through "gold" side so it is best for a solo player, or one with a team dedicated to doing content with them. CoV also has a low population, but is more likely to have players available to assist. I think Excelsior has the highest red-side population but don't quote me on that. Everlasting is the unofficial role playing server, so there may be a reasonable CoV population there. The "ingame npc inside pocket d" which can change your alignment is Null the Gull who perches on the truck parked over in the red-lighted side.

I didn't even consider that to be honest. I was focused on selecting goggles that worked but were not the aviator goggles, as I'd used those too often in my designs. Perhaps it works because I used a very dark purple on the lens?

Yeah, I hear ya! I think the pulp/radio/dieselpunk "era" is my favorite, and several of my characters reflect that. I've got a relatively new one that is also inspired by The Phantom: The Rainforest Revenant If others have great pulp-era heroes, keep 'em coming!