Even with a truly legendary creative team at the helm, Superman: Year One struggled to justify its own existence in its first issue. Superman’s origin has been told and retold countless times over the decades. Apart from a slightly greater emphasis on the Man of Steel’s superhuman brain, Year One #1 didn’t add a whole lot to the story of Clark Kent’s formative years in Smallville. Nor did that story tie back to the larger Dark Knight Returns universe in any tangible way. For whatever faults issue #2 may have, at least one thing can be said – we haven’t seen a Superman story like this before.
Issue #1 chronicled Clark’s childhood, ending with his high school graduation and decision to enlist in the Navy. There, finally, creators Frank Miller and John Romita, Jr. found an angle that hadn’t been done to death in previous origin re-tellings. Maybe Year One should have led with that swerve? In any case, this issue explores what happens when the world’s strongest man signs up with Uncle Sam and leaves Kansas for the first time. Also, there are mermaids and sea gods, because why not?
While Cyberpunk 2077 is a single-player game, CD Projekt Red does have a team “messing around with a multiplayer portion,” although its addition to the much anticipated title is not guaranteed.
Speaking to Tom Phillips at Eurogamer during Gamescom 2019, CD Projekt Red senior concept artist Marthe Jonkers discussed how there is a small team testing out different types of multiplayer in R&D, but “there was no pressure to force something which did not feel right.”
“We are doing R&D into multiplayer but we’re focusing on single-player experience, and that’s what you’ll get in 2020,” Jonkers said. “It doesn’t mean we’re saying no multiplayer, but it doesn’t mean we’re saying yes either. It’s still an R&D phase.”
Despite being the lengthy, final chapter of Tom King’s main Batman run, “City of Bane” hasn’t gotten off to a particularly strong start. The series has been struggling in two main fronts lately. It’s failed to continue the narrative momentum established in “The Fall and the Fallen,” dwelling far too long on the villains of Gotham City and not nearly enough on Batman or Bane. It’s also been marred by questionable characterization. But with issue #77 marking the end of the first act of “City of Bane,” the series finally seems to be regaining its footing.
This issue is novel in that it hinges on a character who’s barely factored into King’s run before now – Damian Wayne. With Bane issuing a clear ultimatum preventing the Justice League from entering Gotham’s borders, of course it would be Batman’s arrogant little snot of a son, Damian, to defy the law. King employs his familiar split narrative technique in this issue, with the main storyline following Damian as he infiltrates Gotham and the interludes focusing on Batman’s reunion with Catwoman.
Contrary to reports earlier this week, Warhorse Studios’ Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Compulsion Games’ We Happy Few do not appear to have been officially refused classification in Australia.
IGN has been in contact with the Australian Classification Board and is awaiting more background on the matter but, since yesterday, the automated International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) game classification tool generated RC ratings for Kingdom Come: Deliverance and We Happy Few have both been amended and now reflect the same R18+ ratings that were earlier applied by the Classification Board itself.
The recent RC rating for Kingdom Come: Deliverance has been changed to match the existing R18+ rating.
There’s a bit of a power vacuum in the MCU right now. The Avengers as we knew them are no more; either dead, retired, or somewhere in between. Though there’s no real shortage of superpowered individuals hanging around Earth, in one way or another (there’s a whole city of Asgardians out there, after all), there’s no real organization. That’s why poor, put-upon Peter Parker was summoned by Nick Fury and company to save the world in Spider-Man: Far From Home even though he really, really wanted to just hang out and be a teenager for once.
But the thing about vacuums is that nature abhors them, so it’s really only a matter of time before they’re filled in one way or another.
Thankfully, we’ve already been presented with some clues as to just how that particular conundrum may be solved in the future of the MCU–and it all comes down to one of Marvel’s most unlikely “superhero” teams: the Thunderbolts.
Wait, who?
The Thunderbolts are, realistically speaking, not exactly heroes. They got their start as a literal re-brand of the Masters Of Evil, a C-list super-villain team-up that occasionally caused trouble for individual Avengers but never really made much of a mark. They were able to casually make a new name for themselves because the Marvel Comics universe had the exact same problem the MCU does right now–there was no other team of heroes around to stop them.
It went down like this.
In the late ’90s when comics were at their most ridiculous, an X-Men villain named Onslaught managed to vacuum up not only a huge chunk of the X-roster, but the vast majority of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four into a sort of psionic vortex, functionally killing them in the public eye. It probably would have been sad if it weren’t so completely overwrought with ’90s cliches–but regardless, the end result was the same: the world in a state of panic as a bunch of villains ran around totally unchecked. The heroes that were left in Onslaught’s wake were too disorganized or had their bandwidths too taxed to really fill the void left by the big institutions which meant basically everything was in disarray.
Always the opportunist, Zemo–the villain from MCU’s Captain America: Civil War–saw the chaos as a chance to make an unexpected play. Rather than going for the full-frontal assault like so many other supervillains were doing in Onslaught’s aftermath, he realized there was more profit in trying to play into the public’s fear and anxiety rather than against it. If the world wanted a new superhero team, he’d give them one. The Masters of Evil went through a total re-skin: Zemo adopted the identity Citizen V, Screaming Mimi became Songbird, Goliath became Atlas, The Fixer became Techno, Moonstone became Meteorite, and Beetle became Mach-1.
The goal was to earn public trust and favor which would allow the Masters of Evil–er, the Thunderbolts–to insinuate themselves in the top-secret, high-security areas usually reserved for the big hero teams. After all, why bother trying to break into places like Avengers Mansion or the Baxter Building if you could have someone hand you the keys instead? And imagine all the evil that could be accomplished with unlimited and unsupervised access to the world’s mightiest heroes tech and databases.
Hilariously, the plan worked almost too well. The Thunderbolts debuted and were almost immediately accepted by an adoring public. It took them less than a week to tear the Fantastic Four logo off the Baxter Building and put their own on it instead. Absolutely no one questioned them. The government and local news loved them. For a few brief and wonderful moments, everything was coming up Zemo–but then something strange started happening.
The more good the Thunderbolts pretended to do to maintain the con, the less interested in real villainy some of the members became. Naturally, it all eventually fell apart when the team turned on itself–but a Thunderbolts legacy was established nonetheless. Those among them that actually did develop a taste for heroism joined forces with other more established Marvel heroes and did their best to bring about some form of redemption or another.
That’s the place the Thunderbolts have more or less existed in for the past few decades. Their roster has grown, shrank, and shifted, and their goals aren’t always the noblest, but the recurring themes of trying to reform and create a new life from the shadow of an old, less desirable one have become a foundational part of the Thunderbolts lifestyle. Even Zemo, one of the primary driving forces behind the major villain moments the Thunderbolts have experienced over the years, has time and time again found himself sort-of-kind-of on the side of the angels.
So where does this fit into the MCU?
With Daniel Bruhl’s confirmed return as Helmut Zemo for The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, the MCU has the perfect opportunity to start and wind a brand new narrative thread into the live-action universe. It’s not that Bruhl’s Zemo and the Zemo of the comics are all that similar–they’re not, though it seems that Bruhl will finally be donning a more comics-accurate costume for the Disney+ show, so that gap is closing–but he does share some of the same megalomaniacal delusions.
Let’s not forget that MCU Zemo’s entire plan during Captain America: Civil War revolved around an astonishingly convoluted scheme to frame a brainwashed super-soldier for murder and make two heroes fight each other to, hopefully, both ruin their lives and sully public opinion on them so much they could never bounce back. He may not be the most conventional bad guy the MCU has ever seen, but he’s certainly one of the most creative and tenacious, which falls perfectly in line with his comic book counterpart’s original Thunderbolts grift.
That said, the MCU’s current status quo mirrors Marvel Comics post-Onslaught reality almost too well–albeit without all the cringe-worthy ’90s tropes and dated artwork cluttering the place up. There’s a real need, as we’ve seen, for a team to emerge–and based on the current Phase 4 announcements, there are no new teams waiting in the wings.
Add to that the fact that the MCU is currently littered with disparate plot threads and half-dealt-with villains, all of whom could be primed and ready for a major comeback, and even potentially a redemption arc, and you’ve got yourself a very specific recipe.
In addition to Zemo, the MCU is littered with villains and anti-heroes who are waiting in the wings for a comeback. Ant-Man & The Wasp’s Ghost (and Bill “Goliath” Foster) both have more stories to tell, Dr. Strange’s Mordo was teased as a villain in a stinger that has yet to pay off, Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Vulture is unlikely to return, but his entire crew of blue-collar criminals was populated with plenty of characters who could be developed further. The same could be said for Far From Home’s Mysterio, who was surrounded by a team of disgruntled scientists who could easily become more than just supporting roles. Then there’s Bucky Barnes, who will (probably) need something to do after The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, considering he is not going to be wielding the shield and Yelena Belova, the new Black Widow being introduced in Natasha Romanov’s solo movie, both of whom have Thunderbolts ties over in the comics.
Sure, the relative star power and name recognition of that roster may not be on par with say, The Avengers, but Marvel Studios has made quite the name for itself in taking otherwise B and C-list characters and turning them into mega-stars–which, really, beyond the will-they-or-won’t-they redemption arcs, deception, and situational absurdity, is really what the Thunderbolts are all about.
The much-anticipated ability to move your Destiny 2 progress between multiple platforms is expected to launch today, August 21. Specifically, Destiny 2 cross-save was set to go live alongside the daily reset, which happens at 10 AM PT. However, that time has passed without the arrival of cross-save, and Bungie has now postponed maintenance related to the new feature.
[Update: Bungie has provided another update on the launch, saying it would arrive at 12:30 PM PT / 3:30 PM ET / 8:30 PM BST (5:30 AM AET on August 22). Based on our experience, the cross-save page is now functioning as intended, letting you connect your accounts, pick which set of Guardians will be your “active” one, and begin playing on other platforms. Some players have reported issues with the authentication process, including “500” errors, but once you get it working, Destiny 2 cross-save works really well.]
Today’s maintenance has been extended as we investigate an issue with account authentication on https://t.co/4ucwiEYycJ, resulting in “500” errors for some players. Stand by for updates.
In a post on Twitter, Bungie stated, “Today’s Bungie.net maintenance for Cross Save has been postponed.” It didn’t provide any further details than that, and given this maintenance is said to be tied to the Bungie.net website, it’s unclear if cross-save itself has been pushed back. If so, it’s similarly unclear how much longer the wait will be; there’s no time table provided for when plans will move ahead, with Bungie simply saying, “Please stand by for more information.”
Cross-save was announced earlier this year and will allow players to take their Guardians and acquired gear and progress freely between PC, PS4, and Xbox One. This is not, however, cross-play; you can’t play with a PS4 friend from your Xbox One, though one of you can jump on the other’s platform and pick up your progress.
However, doing so requires you to own the game on each platform where you want to play it. This is where things get slightly complex: A free-to-play version of Destiny 2 known as New Light is launching later this year. It was set for release in September, but it was then delayed until October 1 alongside the new Shadowkeep expansion. Using New Light, you’ll be able to move between any platform, but certain content–specifically, Shadowkeep and anything released since last year’s Forsaken expansion–will need to be purchased on each platform that you want to access that content on. And although Destiny 2’s PC version is transitioning to Steam, if you’re a console player who wants to jump into cross-save today, you’ll need to buy a bundled package on Blizzard Battle.net, and then move to Steam later.
It’s unclear at this point if cross-save will still go live today–the delay could be a matter of hours or days for all we know right now–but we’ll report back if and when it goes live. In the meantime, you can check out the new trailer for Destiny 2: Shadowkeep’s first season, which centers around the Vex.
Publisher All In Games, responsible for upcoming titles like Metamorphosis and Space Cows, has unveiled a new cyberpunk video game called Ghostrunner during Gamescom. The first-person slasher is the latest project developed by One More Level, creators of Deadlings and God’s Trigger.
All In published a reveal trailer on YouTube, calling Ghostrunner “an action [first-person perspective] video game.” You play as a cyber-warrior “capable of fighting both in the physical world and in cyberspace,” according to a press release. Ghostrunner is slated to launch on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. No release date has been announced, but the game’s Steam store page reports a planned 2020 release window.
All In laid out Ghostrunner’s narrative in a press release. In Ghostrunner, the scarcity of resources, coupled with a cataclysm that wipes out most of humanity and rips through the environment, has forced what remains of the population into a war-torn tower. It’s up to you as a cyber-warrior to ascend to the tower’s top to mend what has been broken.
We got our hands on Ghostrunner on the Gamescom show floor. Our 7-minute gameplay demo, above, runs through a brief, tutorial-like mission with us running, jumping, and cutting up enemies in a neon-drenched dystopian train station.
Classic Konami games like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Silent Hill 2 have some of the best soundtracks, which many fans believe are as important as the games themselves. Vinyl record producer Mondo Tees has printed many of these iconic OSTs to vinyl already, and now, the company has released the very first vinyl set of the original Metal Gear Solid soundtrack.
The Metal Gear Solid vinyl set costs $35 USD and comes on two 180 Gram records in either a green, smoky vinyl or classic black. They come packaged in album artwork by Randy Ortiz, and yes, Metal Gear Solid’s credits song, “The Best Is Yet To Come” by Rika Muranaka, is featured.
Mondo is known for putting video game soundtracks to vinyl. Some of its most recent work with Konami has included Silent Hill 2, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. Mondo’s stuff usually sells out pretty fast, so if you’re interested in the new Metal Gear Solid vinyl, I suggest grabbing it sooner than later.
At Gamescom 2019, the CEO of Spiders Jehanne Rousseau discussed more details of GreedFall, the upcoming action-RPG that will be released on September 10, 2019, on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
Speaking to IGN’s Brian Altano and Max Scoville, Rousseau talked about how a big part of GreedFall is about diplomacy, and revealed more about character customization, companions, factions, natives and the language created for them by Spiders, and so much more.
GreedFall is set in a world that is heavily inspired by 17th century Europe, but with a heavy influence of fantasy, magic and fantastical creatures. The Old World is plagued with a deadly, incurable disease called Malichor, but a remote and hidden island called Teer Fradee has been discovered that has been spared from it and may hold the key to curing the world of it.
