Hereos in the New Loading Screen

jaazaniah1 · February 2023

Anyone know who the heroes are (besides Defender) in the new loading screen?

Also, I've long wondered why Defender's armor has no protection for this chin/mouth/neck areas. Anyone know why he doesn't have armor to protect those vital areas?

bulgarex · February 2023

I'm having trouble with loading, can't see it. I guess I've been inactive too long.

As for Defender's armor, the real reason is almost certainly aesthetic. Cryptic just thought he looked better that way. Perhaps it was rationalized as Defender not wanting to look heavily concealed, to appear more accessible to the public. But that apparent armor deficiency was a subject for discussion on the Hero Games forums when the CO artwork was first released. Our consensus from the practical standpoint was that those areas are covered by a force field generated by the armor. There are comic-book precedents for that, e.g. Booster Gold from DC Comics, and Guardian of Alpha Flight from Marvel.

bulgarex · February 2023

So, I still haven't been able to log in to CO; but I'm wondering if this is the image you're referring to: https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/9880/header.jpg?t=1670453594

If it is, I don't recognize the images of any of the new heroes, and they don't match any of the Champions "reservists" described in Champions Universe. I might have taken a guess with the archer bottom right if the character was a woman, but he certainly looks like a man.

guardiannexus · February 2023

He might be referring to Defender training event image. Defender is in the middle flying with a green skinned hero on the left a flying heroine in the back and a guy on a car.

theravenforce · February 2023

jaazaniah1 wrote: »

Anyone know who the heroes are (besides Defender) in the new loading screen?

Also, I've long wondered why Defender's armor has no protection for this chin/mouth/neck areas. Anyone know why he doesn't have armor to protect those vital areas?

Defender has a retractable face plate armoring that he uses to cover his chin/mouth/neck area. He uses this in Aftershock. There's likely a few videos where he's using it too.

Here's the loading screen:

jaazaniah1 · February 2023

I was just about to post the loading screen

.

Hmm, I don't think I've ever noticed Defender with his face/neck armor activated. He always seems to like to lead with his unprotected chin.

bulgarex · February 2023

jaazaniah1 wrote: »

I was just about to post the loading screen .

Hmm, I don't think I've ever noticed Defender with his face/neck armor activated. He always seems to like to lead with his unprotected chin.

The Free for All trailer does show Defender deploying his facial armor, at the 25 second mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnTmaXpxTYk

Thank you very much for posting the loading screen, theravenforce. But again, there's nothing about the other figures that identifies them with any official characters. I think they're just generic character paintings meant to represent the new heroes Defender is supposedly training.

jaazaniah1 · February 2023

Wow. I haven't seen that video in years. Cool.

If the devs were clever, they'd have a contest to name those new heroes.

bulgarex · February 2023

Eh, they're not very original or distinctive. Except maybe the big green guy, whom I would name the Pantless Wonder.

flyingfinn · February 2023

That's Dolphin, The AquaWoman. Skrullhulk, The ManThing. Valkyria, The AsgardianAngel and Sparassidae, The HuntsMan.

Oh wait...wrong pic....
Doctor StrangeIron, Sorceror Surgeon. Spectral Vison, The Android and SpeedyShaft, TheBowstringBrawler.
I'd guess.

bulgarex · February 2023

Not much worse than some of the names/concepts Cryptic came up with TBH.

wingedkagouti · February 2023

bulgarex wrote: »

Eh, they're not very original or distinctive. Except maybe the big green guy, whom I would name the Pantless Wonder.

Are you talking about the Abomination/Super Skrull hybrid?

The flying girl in the top left might be bland, but she feels like the most original of the bunch.

bulgarex · February 2023

If you get "original" from that image, more power to you. I see a woman in a fairly generic super-suit who flies. She's smiling, so she's happy and/or has a positive attitude. That's it. Nothing about powers, origin, personality, motivation, nada. She could be a riff on Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Starfire, Jean Grey, Booster Gold... any could fit, but none are indicated one way or another.

theravenforce · February 2023

From right to left:

- Spectre Step (hi tech suit allows him to phase through solid objects and command a strange sort of dark energy)
- Valkyrie Victorious (Daughter of a real Valkyrie.)
- Defender (James Harmon)
- Goblin Titan (Bodybuilder exposed to mutagenic chemicals in a freak accident)
- Lady Unstoppable (Former archaeologist who found mystical bracers that make her invulnerable, super strong and grant flight when worn)

(This is all made up on the spot but I like to think its somewhat plausible xD)

bulgarex · February 2023

Sure, it's plausible. One can come up with almost anything to fit any character if one is imaginative. That still doesn't make the character illos any more unique or compelling.

Heck, I might as well take my shot. I'll try tying the characters to lore from the setting.

Right to left:

Grey Cat: Frank Merrit is a rookie cop in Los Angeles. One night he recognized a violent criminal from an APB, and pursued him into the drainage tunnels lining the LA River bed. He exchanged gun fire with the suspect and wounded him, but a stray bullet dislodged an odd-shaped canister wedged into the ceiling of the tunnel, causing it to shatter and douse both of them with a grey fluid. The fluid flowed over Merrit's skin, forming a coating which increases his strength, speed, and durability, and can instantly change color and pattern to perfectly match his surroundings. Merrit can absorb the material into his body to resume his normal appearance. Frank Merrit is idealistic about the spirit of the law, but secretly acts as Grey Cat against those who exploit the letter of the law. The fleeing felon gained similar powers, allowing him to escape; but the strange substance entered his bloodstream through his wounds and mutated him further, giving him a permanent appearance like a cross between insect and lizard. He now calls himself the Black Mantis and seeks revenge on Grey Cat. (The canister was a container of biotechnological nanites created by the alien Xenovores, which they use for a host of purposes from medicine to construction. It was lost during WW II when a band of Xenovores landed in California and was fought by the superheroic Justice Squadron.)

Victoria: Abigail Simmerson was touring some standing stones in the English countryside with her boyfriend Phillip, when they were ambushed by a gang of young punks. Phillip tried to fight them off but was badly beaten. Abigail fled but was pursued by the gang, when she seemed to hear a voice calling her to one of the stones. She saw a sword hilt sticking out of its side, and when she grasped it she was transformed into a bigger, archaically-garbed woman with extraordinary strength and durability. She quickly subdued the punks and was about to kill them, but Phillip begged her to turn them over to the law instead. As Victoria she's taken up the role of costumed superheroine, gradually learning the full power of her sword, with Phillip, now confined to a wheelchair after his beating, as her conscience. And from time to time she still hears the mysterious voice, guiding her to where she's needed... (The voice belongs to the serpent-god Nama, and Victoria's weapon is one of his legendary Swords. Nama helped her on a whim, seeking entertainment, as is his wont; but the god is a trickster with his own agenda.)

I think we can assume everyone here knows Defender.

Slammer: This brawny brick has been very reticent to reveal his past to the public, with good reason. Dorigon is an Empyrean, the superhuman kindred to humanity who secretly live in the hidden valley of Arcadia in Antarctica, as well as incognito among humans. Dorigon was born less than a hundred years ago, quite young for an Empyrean. His father is Counselor Brax, whose own mother was an Orc from the antediluvian Turakian Age. Despite his fearsome appearance Brax is at heart a scholar, a matchless student of the law, but his son longs for action and excitement and long chafed at being confined to Arcadia. Now that he sees the opportunity to be accepted by humans as just one more superhuman, his deciding to leave Arcadia caused a rift with his father. Slammer is as tall as Brax but even more massive, and one of the physically strongest of all Empyreans, but his features are closer to human than his father's. He's eager to make new friends and learn more about the wider world. Slammer relishes a good fight, and that eagerness may cost him when a few of his father's wise words might have avoided a conflict.

Lady Gold: Constance "Connie" Lemick is the younger sister of Tara Lemick, widely known as the "Robin Hood" super-thief Lady Blue. Connie has long had a complicated relationship with her sister: admiring her for her accomplishments, envious of her fame, embarrassed by her criminal (albeit arguably moral) actions, and resentful of being seen by everyone as eclipsed by Tara. One day she persuaded Tara to show her her hidden workshop where she builds and maintains her Lady Blue force-field battlesuit. Connie stole the plans and some of the components of the suit, and built her own version, to enable her to act as a true superhero. Lady Gold wears no mask because she wants everyone to know her, and know that she's a different kind of super from her infamous sister. Having powers and receiving attention have been exhilarating for Connie, and she's developed a cocky streak that may get her into trouble, although Tara tries to keep an eye out for her. Secretly both sisters fear that one day they'll come down on opposite sides of the law, and have to fight each other.

wingedkagouti · February 2023

bulgarex wrote: »

If you get "original" from that image, more power to you. I see a woman in a fairly generic super-suit who flies. She's smiling, so she's happy and/or has a positive attitude. That's it. Nothing about powers, origin, personality, motivation, nada. She could be a riff on Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Starfire, Jean Grey, Booster Gold... any could fit, but none are indicated one way or another.

I said "most original", you could substitute it with "least unoriginal" if you prefer.

bulgarex · February 2023

Sorry, wingedkagouti, no criticism of you intended. You may legitimately have inspiration I lack. Or perhaps I'm just becoming a cranky old fart.

jaazaniah1 · February 2023

Also going R-L:
Baron Trance
Sigrún
The Saurian
Lady Invincible

bulgarex · February 2023

Names are fairly easy to come up with. Characters, not so much.

theravenforce · February 2023

bulgarex wrote: »

Sure, it's plausible. One can come up with almost anything to fit any character if one is imaginative. That still doesn't make the character illos any more unique or compelling.

Heck, I might as well take my shot. I'll try tying the characters to lore from the setting.

Right to left:

Grey Cat: Frank Merrit is a cop in Los Angeles. One night he recognized a violent criminal from an APB, and pursued him into the drainage tunnels lining the LA River bed. He exchanged gun fire with the suspect and wounded him, but a stray bullet dislodged an odd-shaped canister wedged into the ceiling of the tunnel, causing it to shatter and douse both of them with a grey fluid. The fluid flowed over Merrit's skin, forming a coating which increases his strength and speed, makes him resistant to bullets and knives, and can instantly change color and pattern to perfectly match his surroundings, making him practically invisible while standing still. Merrit can absorb the material into his body to resume his human appearance. The fleeing felon gained similar powers, allowing him to escape; but the strange substance entered his bloodstream through his wounds and mutated him further, giving him a permanent appearance like a cross between insect and lizard. He now calls himself the Black Mantis and seeks revenge on Grey Cat. (The canister was a container of biotechnological nanites created by the alien Xenovores, which they use for a host of purposes from medicine to construction. It was lost during WW II when a band of Xenovores landed in California and was fought by the superheroic Justice Squadron.)

Victoria: Abigail Simmerson was touring some standing stones in the English countryside with her boyfriend Phillip, when they were ambushed by a gang of young punks. Phillip tried to fight them off but was badly beaten. Abigail fled but was pursued by the gang, when she seemed to hear a voice calling her to one of the stones. She saw a sword hilt sticking out of its side, and when she grasped it she was transformed into a bigger, archaically-garbed woman with extraordinary strength and durability. She quickly subdued the punks and was about to kill them, but Phillip begged her to turn them over to the law instead. As Victoria she's taken up the role of costumed superheroine, gradually learning the full power of her sword, with Phillip, now confined to a wheelchair after his beating, as her conscience. And from time to time she still hears the mysterious voice, guiding her to where she's needed... (The voice belongs to the serpent-god Nama, and Victoria's weapon is one of his legendary Swords. Nama helped her on a whim, seeking entertainment, as is his wont; but the god is a trickster with his own agenda.)

I think we can assume everyone here knows Defender.

Slammer: This brawny brick has been very reticent to reveal his past to the public, with good reason. Dorigon is an Empyrean, the superhuman kindred to humanity who secretly live in the hidden valley of Arcadia in Antarctica, as well as incognito among humans. Dorigon was born less than a hundred years ago, quite young for an Empyrean. His father is Counselor Brax, whose own mother was an Orc from the antediluvian Turakian Age. Despite his fearsome appearance Brax is at heart a scholar, a matchless student of the law, but his son longs for action and excitement and long chafed at being confined to Arcadia. Now that he sees the opportunity to be accepted by humans as just one more superhuman, his deciding to leave Arcadia caused a rift with his father. Slammer is as tall as Brax but even more massive, and one of the physically strongest of all Empyreans, but his features are closer to human than his father's. He's eager to make new friends and learn more about the wider world. Slammer relishes a good fight, and that eagerness may cost him when a few of his father's wise words might have avoided a conflict.

Lady Gold: Constance "Connie" Lemick is the younger sister of Tara Lemick, widely known as the "Robin Hood" super-thief Lady Blue. Connie has long had a complicated relationship with her sister: admiring her for her accomplishments, envious of her fame, embarrassed by her criminal (albeit arguably moral) actions, and resentful of being seen by everyone as eclipsed by Tara. One day she persuaded Tara to show her her hidden workshop where she builds and maintains her Lady Blue force-field battlesuit. Connie stole the plans and some of the components of the suit, and built her own version, to enable her to act as a true superhero. Lady Gold wears no mask because she wants everyone to know her, and know that she's a different kind of super from her infamous sister. Having powers and receiving attention have been exhilarating for Connie, and she's developed a cocky streak that may get her into trouble, although Tara tries to keep an eye out for her. Secretly both sisters fear that one day they'll come down on opposite sides of the law, and have to fight each other.

bulgarex · February 2023

BTW interested parties can read more about the Xenovores in Champions Beyond; Nama in VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent; the Empyreans in Hidden Lands; and Lady Blue in Champions Villains Volume Three: Solo Villains.

Hereos in the New Loading Screen

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