Canon Fodder/2009-10-07

What happens to Apex after War Witch’s death? The last image we get of him in the comics is him looking for a team.

Apex joined the legions of heroes trying to reclaim Paragon City from the dark forces that inhabit her streets. Like all characters from our canon, it’s possible he’ll return to the limelight someday.

How did War Witch manage to come back as a ghost? There is a big gap between her death and when she comes back to give Positron an item.

Remember that War Witch has ties to powerful mystical forces. Her supernatural connections helped bring her back to continue fighting the good fight. Besides, anyone who has met War Witch knows that a little thing like death couldn’t stop her from helping those around her.

In the first CoH Comics, the whole Freedom Phalanx team loses their powers but then Synapse manages to get his back to catch Manticore’s arrow. How did that happen?

Synapse states in the comic that his catch was made out of desperation not because his super-speed was back. Clearly his catch was a part luck and part adrenaline. There is a great deal of debate in the real world (see Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Nova, and Mythbusters) about whether arrow catching is possible by a normal human but clearly Synapse settled that question in the City of Heroes universe.

In the story lore, what happens after Honoree is defeated? Is there a public or private funeral for him? Does the public know that he was really Hero 1? And do the Rikti have any other "hostages" heroes like Honoree?

After the defeat of Omega Team, Hero 1’s memory was honored by Statesman when he asked all heroes in Paragon City to avoid using capes for a time. There has been no further ceremony since Hero 1’s final fate is undetermined. Many heroes are still holding out hope that Hero 1 can be restored. For that same reason it has not been officially announced that Honoree is Hero 1, although many of Paragon City’s defenders are aware of the truth.

The only scheduled public ceremony related to Hero 1 is the opening of the time capsule that was created by Omega Team. This event will occur November 27th 2009 and will be reported on by the Paragon Times.

Although there is no hard evidence, it is theoretically possible that the Rikti transformed other members of Omega Team as they did to Hero 1.

Where is Pocket D located?

Technically Pocket D is located everywhere and nowhere. Everywhere because DJ Zero can punch a dimensional door through to any location from Pocket D. Nowhere because Pocket D is a self-contained pocket dimension created from nothing by DJ Zero using his ability to manipulate the space-time continuum. Contrary to opinion, Pocket D is not part of the Shadow Shard.

Every franchise has its rules of canon and I'm assuming that City of Heroes is no exception. While I'm very interested in the lore of the City, I'd first like to know what sources are considered canon. The game itself is a given but are both volumes of the comic canon? The novel(s)? Heroclix info? Trading cards? Are any licensed products so far off the mark that they have to be ignored?

Also, if a player asks a question that has no real definitive answer but you decide to speculate, is that speculation canon? Will you be deciding certain details of the lore on the spot or are you limiting yourself solely to sourced material, even if it is unpublished developer's notes?

These types of questions come up a lot and although we’ve answered them in various incarnations it seems to bear repeating. The game itself is always the primary source of canon. Official posts on our website such as the timeline of the game are also canon. Our ancillary products (books, comics, games) can be considered canon but due to the fact that they are oft times created by people outside our studio and need to bend to accommodate their own needs they are a secondary source. We do our best to make certain everything meshes but if contradictions come up, this thread is the perfect place for you to point it out and get clarification.

Finally, it is important to note that if there is speculation in one of these answers it comes out of a discussion between many of the devs but is not necessarily instant canon. It’s safer to treat a comment like “no one is certain” or “it is theoretically possible” as a teaser rather than canon. We will definitely define and add to the canon in these answers, just not every time.