Statesman Deserves Better

[Maressa]

I've written an opinion piece that as the title suggests, says that Statesman deserves better. 

To specify, this is Statesman the character, not the developer. There seem to be a lot of people who can't separate the two but in my mind they're completely different. 

 

It's also in no way trying to start a fight or say that the devs aren't doing enough. It's just my opinion, as a Statesman fangirl that the city should do better by him.

 

I hope you enjoy it! I'd love any feedback you have on the piece. 

http://maressa.net/opinion/statesman-deserves-better/

[justicebeliever]

Nice quick read!  I liked it!

 

[Llewellyn Blackwell]

Your certainly entitled to your PoV. However I would strongly say that all traces of Statesman should be torn down, That the era of the Freedom Phalanx has passed and better left in the dust.

 

Statesman during the Rikti invasion ordered a group of heroes and civilians to be abandoned, including his own daughter. Stating they were beyond saving without the cost of many more lives. An elderly Galaxy Girl in a bathrobe and slippers proved him wrong and saved all of those trapped for the price of one retired old hero already knocking on the door to the other side.

 

Dr. Demetrios Vasilikos was the worlds leading expert on META genetics and was sure he could cure many of the worlds ills including that of his father who was slowly wasting away. Statesman used his near tyrannical control of the world to ban all legal research into using META DNA to develop cures. Dr. Vasilikos's father slowly wasted away, driving the brilliant mind mad with grief and gave us Doc Vahz.

 

Blue Steel beat a troubled out of control teen mutant nearly to death, and was given a pass by statesman for being his minion. That beaten child went on to become the Clockwork King. Blue Steel gets a pass because of Statesman, while other not so connected characters who have done good get thrown under the wheels.

 

Ultimately Statesman meets his end because he is arrogant, thoughtless, reckless, and frankly unworthy of the term hero.

 

I say tear down the statue of Statesman in Kallisti Wharf.

[Freedom Frank]

39 minutes ago, Bentley Berkeley said:

Your certainly entitled to your PoV. However I would strongly say that all traces of Statesman should be torn down, That the era of the Freedom Phalanx has passed and better left in the dust.

 

Statesman during the Rikti invasion ordered a group of heroes and civilians to be abandoned, including his own daughter. Stating they were beyond saving without the cost of many more lives. An elderly Galaxy Girl in a bathrobe and slippers proved him wrong and saved all of those trapped for the price of one retired old hero already knocking on the door to the other side.

 

Dr. Demetrios Vasilikos was the worlds leading expert on META genetics and was sure he could cure many of the worlds ills including that of his father who was slowly wasting away. Statesman used his near tyrannical control of the world to ban all legal research into using META DNA to develop cures. Dr. Vasilikos's father slowly wasted away, driving the brilliant mind mad with grief and gave us Doc Vahz.

 

Blue Steel beat a troubled out of control teen mutant nearly to death, and was given a pass by statesman for being his minion. That beaten child went on to become the Clockwork King. Blue Steel gets a pass because of Statesman, while other not so connected characters who have done good get thrown under the wheels.

 

Ultimately Statesman meets his end because he is arrogant, thoughtless, reckless, and frankly unworthy of the term hero.

 

I say tear down the statue of Statesman in Kallisti Wharf.

Interesting viewpoint!  I'd debate a couple of points, though. 

 

1.  The Rikti situation was a complicated one.  It may have been that only Galaxy Girl was in a position to help without just being instantly cut down.  As she had been in retirement up till this point, Statesman may not have known of her being in a position to help, or even that she was in the fight.  Recall that "chaotic" is a term frequently used to describe that first desperate battle.

 

Overall, the fact that Statesman was unwilling to (as he saw it from his position) throw away the lives of the heros he was leading in a personal bid to save his daughter actually compliments his character instead of tarnishing it.

 

2.  Delving into genetic manipulation is an extremely controversial subject even in the best of times, and when you're talking about the kinds of powers metas can have, it's not surprising that people are hesitant to open that can of worms. 

 

As for his "world control," Statesman is not Tyrant.  He doesn't rule anyone, and he doesn't levy consequences against people or organizations for merely disagreeing with him.  

 

Finally, none of that is an excuse for becoming what Vahzilok became.  He was already unstable, and the death of his father tipped him over the edge.

 

3.  Blue Steel is most closely associated with the PPD, not the Freedom Phalanx.  If anyone was giving him a pass, it was his buddies on the force.  Not surprising, given that the Clockwork had already killed some police officers at that point.  Doesn't make it right, but also not really fair to dump at Statesman's feet.

 

4.  Statesman WAS definately too confident in his abilities at the point when he died.  Surviving a tactical nuke to the face (and 70+ years of fighting crime, supervillains, and aliens) will do that to you.  However, trying to handle a threat alone doesn't make him not a hero.   If anything, it shows he was trying to protect others by not getting them involved.  Still not a great trait to have, but not uncommon among heroes, either.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Freedom Frank

[reconfigureyourface]

IDK... Statesman is like a very flawed and slightly less dutiful Captain America. I think I'd like to see him spend some time repenting the decisions he has made and maybe a few more missions with characters trying to "help turn the tide" because he "owes the people a debt" could be a nice little addition prior to the End Game content.

 

Then again IDK how complicated the code to do that would be... 

[justicebeliever]

4 hours ago, reconfigureyourface said:

IDK... Statesman is like a very flawed and slightly less dutiful Captain America. I think I'd like to see him spend some time repenting the decisions he has made and maybe a few more missions with characters trying to "help turn the tide" because he "owes the people a debt" could be a nice little addition prior to the End Game content.

 

Then again IDK how complicated the code to do that would be... 

Not so complicated from a code perspective, but he would have other complications:

 

Seriously - if you hate spoilers...don't click:

Spoiler

https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Who_Will_Die

 

[reconfigureyourface]

10 hours ago, justicebeliever said:

Not so complicated from a code perspective, but he would have other complications:

 

Seriously - if you hate spoilers...don't click:

  Hide contents

https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Who_Will_Die

 

I know that THAT is a complication, I guess I mean maybe give him some redemption in between some of those Who Will Die missions on the side?

[BlastLord]

I do enjoy the CoH Lore and story

[Zumberge]

"Nothing is truer than a eulogy.  It tells you precisely what the person should have been."

[ZeeHero]

Statesman was a good character, he was flawed, as good characters should be. he made some terrible mistakes, as most heroes do in their career if written well.

 

Jack Emmert should never have been allowed on a game development team of any kind.

[Murcielago]

I'm glad States is dead, I was getting tired of his holier-than-thou attitude like he was some kind of god or something. 

[Pbuckley818]

Hmm... Cool thought. BUT, would statesmen ask for a bigger statue? I mean I get giving it a better location, but as far as I am aware, Atlas and Talos have the biggest statues in game mostly because of how big they were to begin with. I'd suggest adding a another statue of statesman to the entry hall of city all, and leave it at that. 

[Piyerus]

Adding more or better Statesman statues sounds like a fine idea to me. But we should balance it out with some redside content, and let the villains blow the statues up.