Paragon City, RI, September 27, 2007      |      Vol. 11.2 No. 4      |      80 cents

President Marchand Celebrates 70th Year
in Office!

President Marchand enters his 70th year as the President of the Rogue Isles.
By James Stark

SPIDER CITY, Grandville, Rogue Isles, September 27th -- The Rogue Isles celebrated today in honor of President Marchand reaching his 70th year in office. Festivities to mark his seven decades in power began last night in Marchand’s home region of Grandville, and are expected to carry through the entire island chain for the next several weeks. Citizens of the Rogue Isles will be treated to concerts, arena competitions, and lavish feasts, all for free.

“I have a lot to be happy about,” Marchand said in an exclusive interview with the Paragon Times. “I’ve been elected into office nine times by the people of the Rogue Isles. It’s a good feeling.”

Gerald T. Marchand was elected in 1937, winning a close race

against Conrad Oakes. His first eight-year term carried him through the Second World War. Although he officially declared the Rogue Isles neutral during that time, he earned tremendous favor with the Allies by waging a brutal war on members of the 5th Column, champions of the Axis powers. However, it wasn’t until his fourth term that he cemented the loyalty of his people.

In 1963, the guerilla terrorist Lord Recluse attempted to overthrow President Marchand and take control of the Rogue Isles, backed by his Arachnos mercenary forces. Marchand, with the help of his Loyalists, and his own highly advanced powered-armor suit, managed to repulse Lord Recluse.

In the final, decisive battle, Recluse mortally wounded Marchand before being forced to flee. Marchand was saved by the aid of his science advisor, Dr. Aeon, who kept him alive through advanced technology. Now, living as a cyborg permanently embedded in his armor, Marchand rules the Rogue Isles with a literal iron fist.

Continued on page 2A

Manticore and Recluse Continue Offensive in
South America

By Jackson Turner

BOGOTA, Columbia -- Over one-hundred rebels were killed in a vicious predawn assault early Tuesday morning high in the Andes Mountains. The Colombian military confirmed the attack, sending out a heavily-armed surveillance patrol mid-morning. The military believe this attack was perpetrated by the FBSA’s most-wanted terrorists, Manticore and Lord Recluse, who have thought to be in this region
for weeks.

“They’re down here looking for something,” an anonymous Colombian official reported. “We are not so sure what they are searching for, but the military believes there are several hidden bases located deep within
the mountains.”

Mr. Fish, a CIA-liaison to the Columbian military, described the events, “Recluse has a whole paramilitary unit based down here. They led the attack with a tactical bombardment of the rebel camp, then troops swept in and mopped up whoever was left. A handful of rebels escaped, but Recluse’s Arachnos mercs are ruthless.”

“Who were the rebels?” Fish repeated this reporter’s question with a wry smile. “Why, simple drug-traffickers

and freedom fighters. What else would they be?” His shark-like smile and mirrored sunglasses belied his story.

Colombian soldiers interviewed were more frank. “These are not rebels. They are foreign terrorists who fled here when they were driven out of Los United States many years ago. It is a good thing they are dead, but not so good that it is at the hands of these super-villains-Americanos,” one sergeant said.

This reporter managed to track down one of the surviving rebels in the city’s outlying slum, Ciudad Bolivar. Codename Cisne was gravely injured by one of Manticore’s catling arrows. Cisne is a beautiful platinum blonde woman, bravely pushing through her pain. Her right leg is heavily bandaged, and if she does not receive medical treatment

Continued on page 2A

Behind the Mask: Manticore

Filed on behalf of Jackson Turner


Manticore

Only two and a half years ago Manticore was seen as one of the most promising heroes in Paragon City. He had fame, money, a beautiful girlfriend in Lena Elliot…yet somehow behind the mask, everything was falling apart.

Manticore was born Justin Sinclair, heir to the estate of Simon Sinclair, industrialist, adventurer, and the first Manticore, the golden archer. Given everything he could ever want, Justin Sinclair had the life every kid dreams of. Perhaps that was the root of the problem, for Justin was a wild youth, rebelling against his family and his father’s legacy as Manticore. He was expelled from numerous private schools for fighting, gambling, and substance abuse. Despite being given the world’s best tutors in all manner of mental and physical pursuits, he turned to a life of partying. In his late teens and early 20s he was constantly in the headlines for disastrous behavior, wasting his life with Hollywood’s pop tarts, even going into rehab for some trouble with methamphetamine. It was only after his own father’s death that he took control of his life.

Simon Sinclair, the original Manticore, and his wife were killed by an assassin called Protean. In the savage attack, Back Alley Brawler, friend of the family, was put into a coma. Justin was the
only witness.

It seemingly shocked him into a sense of duty. Justin took up his father’s mantle and became the new Manticore, the shining hero of Paragon City. He was even taken into the Freedom Phalanx despite rumors of excessive violence and unorthodox behavior. But despite how hard he apparently tried, Manticore’s record was consistently spotty. One incident followed another, from breaking the Phalanx’s sanction against killing to even temporarily killing his own teammate, Statesman, in order to deal with the god-like Prometheus, to assaulting the Guardians when they got in his way. His reckless behavior gave Statesman no choice, and he ejected Manticore from the Freedom Phalanx.

But perhaps Manticore had been lost to the shadows for much longer. During a daring assault on Paragon City two years ago, the terrorist Lord Recluse was captured by the Freedom Phalanx. Or he was until Manticore appeared from nowhere and freed Recluse from a Longbow transport. Back Alley Brawler, the Guardians member charged with escorting Recluse to prison, was killed in the skirmish. A witness captured the now-infamous amateur video where Manticore screamed his confession at the dying Brawler: how he had been recruited by Recluse a decade before, how he himself murdered his parents disguised as “Protean,” and how he and Recluse would one day stand in domination of the world.

From that fateful day, Manticore and Recluse have been on the run, the two most wanted men in the world. Statesman has only spoken out once concerning Manticore, “Manticore was one of the few men in the world I trusted with my life. Now he is one of the two men I would take it away from.”

© 2004-2007 NC Interactive, Inc. and Cryptic Studios, Inc. All rights reserved. Paragon City, Atlas Park, Freedom Phalanx, Statesman, Ms. Liberty, Longbow, Manticore, Back Ally Brawler, Arachnos, Lord Recluse, Rogue Isles and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cryptic Studios and NCsoft Corporation. NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. Cryptic Studios is a trademark of Cryptic Studios, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.