Happy Holidays

Angry Beet forms the Vile.

The Angry Beet (left) and Brocholi Mangod (right) at either side of Father Time, while various other heroes and villains look on.




Despite recent parleys between Hungerstrike's Brocholi Mangod and the Angry Beet, the one-time super-hero has went ahead and filled papers in Post Oakes City registry to form the villainous group now known as "the Vile." Along with his evil-doing friends Porkchops, Straight Sugar, Wee Man, and T. Porter, the group has promised to wreak havoc whenever they can in the year to follow.

Santa gets mugged and joins the Scrap Pile

Despite seeing the pictures, when Carrot Boy retold his winter-time adventures in Pocket D to Citrus Shocker, she suspected he was on drugs-- as it is well known that members of Hunger Strike are a little on the new-agey, hippy side of reality as is. He described giant bipedal reindeer and evil snow men hanging outside of a lair of nay-do-good elves called the Red caps. And not to mention some sort of connection with Father Time and Baby New Year. Figuring that perhaps the little guy had seen the Rudolph the Red Nose New Year's Special a few too many times, She asked her supergroup's up and coming star Starbryte to check out what was going on.

Starbryte went to Pocket D and confirmed that there was indeed a "winter zone" where yodeling and mountain horns sounding along the lengths of a continuous ski slope. And standing in a toga at one of the up-stairs' bar was an old guy calling himself Father Time. Starbryte was not too surprised to see an older version of Jean Claude Van Damme, with a white full beard, not wearing much else except his underwear walk in. He was accompanied by the slightly better-dressed heroine, Sparina, and identified himself as Santa Claus. He asked for Starbryte's help in obtaining his work uniform from whomever had mugged him the night before. And so Mugged Santa joined the ranks of the Scrap Pile.


















From the warehouse shot Mugged Santa (left), Starbryte (middle), and Sparina (right).

Wilder Cat helps out Little Old Lady

Oh yes. With the formation of the Justice Alliance and the Golden Age Society on the Liberty server, all your famous hero look-a-likes can now join a group that is right for them.

Pictured in this posting is: The Gamma Atom (seen above);
















Liberty Commando and the Green Huntress;

















The Green Volt and Screaming Songbird

















Samuel Shamus and the Green Huntress (once again).

"Little Old Lady" pleads for more Supes

The self-described "Little Old Lady," who is in reality a super-hero in Paragon City's up-scale Liberty Neighborhood, has been petitioning City Hall for a new super-group to help alleviate the ever-present muggings and purse-snatches throughout the metroplex.

Seen here (right), speaking with Back Alley Brawler (left), 'Lady suggested the name "Golden-Age Society."

To date no official response from any high-enough ranking superheroes has been received.

"I am not going to give up, or go away." Says the plucky senior citizen turned tanker super-hero, "There are plenty of heroes out there who have a decent heart and good home-training who will be willing to help me."

Unbeholden is doing "just fine."

Speaking on behalf of the group, Plague Dog announced yesterday that the group of super-villains named The Unbeholden is doing "just fine."

Speaking outside the Quicken Loan Sports Arena of Port Oakes, the canine-looking fiend held a 20 minute press conference. During the conference he sought to put to rest rumors of the dissolution of the Unbeholden. Still he did not deny that former group-leader and founder had left the group.

"Beasty Boy," Plague Dog said, "Has always been something of a loner to begin with. His departure could have been for any number of inexplicable reasons."

Plague Dog focused on reminding the assembled reporters that there were three new members from just three weeks ago. The Killing Clown, Erith, and Sarana all have come up on Mercy Island blotters as repeat offenders for various types of villainy and crimes. The spokesman also mentioned long-time members such as Exterminus, the French member of the Unbeholden, who have been active in training the newcomers to the group.

Beet Gone Bad

As if the recent shake-up in the Unbeholden wasn't enough, it seems that the Angry Beet has returned! Earlier this evening, a Longbow stealth flyer caught the image of a new flunky watching Arbiter Richard's back in Mercy City. After considerable color and lighting enhancement, the picture at right was produced. As anyone who has followed the career of Broccoli Mangod and Hunger Strike knows, this looks an awful lot like a slightly more mutated version of the team's errant member, the Angry Beet (shown below in a file photo taken shortly before his disappearance).

Although estranged from his former teammates, who knew him as "the Spunky Beet," the Angry Beet was believed to have remained a force for good in Paragon City, and even stood by his former mentor when an army of ice creatures threatened to turn the whole team into frozen food. "He was always a tool, though," says former teammate Carrot Boy.

Broccoli Mangod expressed regret at the loss of his first sidekick. "He was driven by feelings of inadequacy. I remember when he first joined, how excited he was to be throwing his little red mutagen blast, until he discovered that half the heroes in Atlas Park could do the same thing. He didn't actually start looking like a beet until he left the team. That was when he started to mutate. He never admitted it, but I think he did something to try and boost his power. It saddens me to learn that he's fallen so far. Beets are a great source of potassium and fiber."

Broccoli Mangod's lietenant, Madame Organa, added, "I don't know how he ended up in the Rogue Isles, but nobody's really surprised, because he was such a tool."

Citrus Shocker, speaking on behalf of Hunger Strike's splinter group, the Scrap Pile, was not surprised by the news, either. "Wasn't the Angry Beet already a villain? I don't know. I guess we shouldn't have ganged up on him that one time in King's Row and had him shipped off to the Zig. But he sure looked evil to me."

Hard Times for the Unbeholden

Has Beasty Boy quit the Unbeholden? Rumors were already flying that Mistress Terrorist had taken over when this photo appeared, depicting team leader Beasty Boy hanging out with local unfortunates in Cap au Diable. Could it be that there's been a coup? You'll know when we do!

Eochai in Galaxy City!

Citrus Shocker just got the Hallow Spirit badge! Woohoo!

More Halloween Fun

Last night, Citrus Shocker hooked up with the long-absent Capt. Scrappy (of The Scrap Pile) and their old pal Master Imhotep (of The Eye of Horus) in Atlas Park to discuss coalition and base-building issues. Scrappy and Shocker, always game for an adventure, helped Imhotep out on a sewer mission that helped remind all of them why they really hate the Clockwork, and then wandered around Perez Park getting into trouble for a bit before Imhotep had to go work on his new pyramid and Scrappy took off with a drinkin' buddy.

Shocker, still not tired, hooked up with a couple of Imhotep's proteges, Mister Mauve and new kid Arcuballista to go trick-or-treating in King's Row. Shocker had a great run of luck, collecting the four costume pieces everyone was looking for pretty quickly. After a harrowing run through some rough parts of Steel Canyon and a chat with a friendly witch in Croatoa, she collected her free costume token and headed to Pocket D for a nightcap. Slightly buzzed, she decided that it would be a good idea to go back out alone and try to level up, but a particularly ill-tempered werewolf with no sense of humor convinced her that it was time to go to bed.

The Enigmas Go Trick-or-Treating

Sunshrike and Red Daimyo wandered across Croatoa, Steel Canyon, and Boomtown in search of treats tonight. Boomtown turned out to have a great Halloween atmosphere but not many doors to knock on, just a lot of Nazis and trolls. The others were quite a trip though. We found lots of treats, lots of nasties to fight, and lots of other heroes out trick-or-treating. It's a great event they've got going here.

Trick or Treat!

So I log in with my spiffy new high tech super-hero, Zapirra, and it's dark. And it stays dark. Well past when the sun should have risen in Paragon City, it's still not there. I wandered up to an interesting-looking door and peeked in and got a treat. Cool. A few more doors, and suddenly a werewolf, a zombie, and some kind plant creature with a jack-o-lantern head pop out and attack me!

All part of the latest holiday event, Trick or Treat, which they're doing in City of Villains too. Apparently there are some new creatures just wandering around, and pumpkin patches scattered about, too, but I haven't been on long enough to see them. Just had to come back here and share, first. The one they did last Xmas with the ice creatures was a blast, so this one should be really something.

Robin's Black Tentacles

Finally! I finally got tentacles! Okay, I've been pining after the "tenebrous tentacles" power forever but I don't play all that much and it's hard to get to for the defender I was playing in City of Heroes because it's in her secondary power group. Villainous corruptors like Mistress Terrorist (of the Unbeholden) here, however, can get it pretty quickly. She's only 8th level and already miring diseased hobos in otherworldly shadow tentacles.

Yaaay!

Cleveland vs. Indianapolis: Rogue Isles vs. Paragon

"Go on get Tarzan,
Go on get Jane,
Go get Superman,
' get Lois Lane.
Hail Virgin Mary,
She's got a gun.
This thing goes on all the time,
She thinks it's fun..."
"Heroes and Villains" the Psychedelic Furs, President Gas.

About a year after Peryton moved to Cleveland, and we started traveling to Indianapolis around twice a year, her brother talked her into playing City of Heroes, CoH. This on-line game was a way to do some interaction between the siblings as well as just another way to waste colossal amounts of time. Of course it did not take me to long get into the hobby seeing her have so much fun.

Looking at Paragon City, we both commented on how much the city's overall design looked very similar to Indianapolis. At least in the buildings, and the map for the first year was rather "blockish," similar to the square "loop" that surrounds the "Circle City." Well the statues are a lot smaller in the Hosier capital than in Statesman's haunts. And then when City of Villains, CoV, came out the red brick buildings and disjointed geometry of a lot of the structures, as well as the litter throughout the place, really reminded us of our beloved hometown, Cleveland. Now maybe we read way too much into things, but needless to say, Peryton and I are hooked. While we aren't the most disciplined of on-line role-players, sometimes we don't play for a month or two, but when we do get there we really get into it.

I have entire backgrounds and sub-plots for most of my characters. Cthulhu Boy, Beasty Boy, Brocholi Mangod, Hanoi Jane, Plague Dog, and Captain Scrappy have seriously developed story-arcs as they have wandered through the environs of the MORRPH, err whatever it is abbreviated as. Peryton has joined into my delusional dramas, you have to do something when you're looking for that 100th Skull gangster to pummel for that special badge, by playing my partners or love-interest. As interest wanes in character or another, Peryton and make side comments about the personal lives of him, or sometimes her, that would be worthy of a Marvel Avengers story-line at the very least.

Well, here is our Super-Group blog spot where we hope to blab about all the weird sub-plots, and sub-text, that we come up with to keep us addicted to the game. You know dressing up in spandex and beating up masked, stereotypical thugs does get boring, except maybe for TV wrestling fans, so you do have to work at it sometimes. That said, welcome and feel free to contribute your own input as well as your characters' stories.

hi

formatting, links, etc. will be improved shortly. We'll also be adding pages for each super-team and maybe some "best of" sections for old photos or something like that.