Paragon Times

Overview

On July 19, 2004, The Paragon Times made its debut on the official City of Heroes website. A total of 42 articles from this fictional newspaper were posted to the website, each bringing additional depth to the game's history or informing players of new or upcoming features. The Times published its last article on September 27, 2007, and when the official website redesign was launched on October 27, 2008, all Paragon Times content was removed from the website.

Since Paragon Times content no longer appears on the official website, articles from the Times have been archived here. Efforts have been made to make the articles as complete as possible, retaining as much of the look and feel of the original articles as can be done in this format.

Article Index

September 27, 2007
President Marchand Celebrates 70th Year in Office!

September 20, 2007
Outbreak Plague Rampant for Four Years

August 13, 2007
Vanguard Reports Success

July 24, 2007
Invasion!

July 5, 2007
Senate Questions Vanguard

June 5, 2007
A City Remembers

April 30, 2007
Statesman's Call to Arms

October 18, 2006
A Season of Shadows

February 3, 2006
Advertisement: Pocket D

December 19, 2005
Festival of Terror

October 27, 2005
Statesman's Strike

September 28, 2005
The Legacy of Heroes

September 14, 2005
Siren's Call

August 24, 2005
Chasing Sally

August 10, 2005
The Burning of Steel Canyon

July 13, 2005
Against the Fall of Darkness

June 15, 2005
Beyond Contact: Azuria and MAGI

June 1, 2005
Beyond Contact: City Representative

April 27, 2005
Arenas

April 20, 2005
Dreams Before the Storm

April 13, 2005
Rudolph Augustus Seifert and the Memory of Heroes

April 6, 2005
Paragon Transit Authority

March 30, 2005
The View from Above

March 23, 2005
Queen of the Islands

March 16, 2005
77 Years of Movie Magic

March 9, 2005
Dazzling New Designs for Heroes

March 2, 2005
The Paragon Times Building: Rebirth of an Icon

February 9, 2005
Winter Lord Thawed

January 5, 2005
Intense Cold Approaching

December 8, 2004
Clockwork Threaten Kings Row

December 1, 2004
Ghost Ship Sightings Reported

November 24, 2004
"Giant Monster" in Independence Port?

November 3, 2004
The 5th Column in Turmoil

October 27, 2004
The Hammer of the World

October 25, 2004
Halloween Doom For Paragon City?

October 21, 2004
A New Type of Alien Visitor

October 13, 2004
Fifth Column Activity on the Rise

September 22, 2004
Of Heroes and Badges

September 17, 2004
Paragon City Attacked by Strange Beings from Another Dimension!

September 15, 2004
Paragon City's New Dance Party Club

July 28, 2004
Eastgate Under Siege

July 19, 2004
Capes Return to Paragon City

Article Significance

Each of the 42 articles brought additional depth to new or upcoming features of the "City of..." universe.

• Capes Return to Paragon City was used to announce the addition of the ability to wear capes and gave background information explaining why there had previously been no capes in Paragon City. The article also provided more backstory for Hero 1.

• Eastgate Under Siege provided a brief glimpse into the background behind the Hollows storyline.

• Paragon City's New Dance Party Club first introduced Pocket D (then simply an abandoned warehouse with thumping music and lighting effects more commonly referred to as Paragon Dance Party) and DJ Zero.

• Paragon City Attacked by Strange Beings from Another Dimension! announced the Rularuu Invasion Event 2004 that preceded the launch of Issue 2.

• Of Heroes and Badges discussed the recently introduced badge system, explaining what each type of badge represented.

• Fifth Column Activity on the Rise warned that the 5th Column was becoming increasingly active. There were hints in the article toward the 5th Column's overthrow by the Council that took place not long after.

• A New Type of Alien Visitor introduced Moonfire and announced the arrival of the Peacebringer and Warshade epic archetypes.

• Halloween Doom For Paragon City? informed citizens to prepare for a "massive thaumaturgical event" striking Paragon City, hinting at the coming of Halloween Event 2004.

• The Hammer of the World speculated on the possible presence of the Malleus Mundi in Paragon City and offered some background information regarding the Circle of Thorns and 5th Column. This article also marked the first time that Mayor Morales was directly quoted in the Paragon Times.

• The 5th Column in Turmoil provided more information concerning the Council overthrow of the 5th Column.

• "Giant Monster" in Independence Port? introduced Independence Port's new giant octopus, Lusca.

• Ghost Ship Sightings Reported provided the history of the cargo ship Moraine, introducing us to the new Ghost Ship zone event. This article also first introduced Skipper LeGrange who would later be added to the game as a contact in Croatoa.

• Clockwork Threaten Kings Row discussed unusual behavior of the Clockwork in Kings Row, introducing the new Paladin Construction zone event.

• Intense Cold Approaching hinted at the coming of the Winter Horde and the Winter Event 2004 while Winter Lord Thawed described the heroic efforts to turn back the Winter Horde at the end of the event.

• The Paragon Times Building: Rebirth of an Icon added to the historic background of the Paragon Times. The article also discussed the CRPC efforts to reverse the devastation left by the Rikti War and first introduced us to the name of Rudolph Augustus Seifert.

• Dazzling New Designs for Heroes announced additions being made to the costume creator that were launched with Issue 4.

• 77 Years of Movie Magic added more backstory to Paragon City by detailing the history of the Orion-Majestic Theatre in Galaxy City and the CRPC effort to restore the building to its former glory.

• In Queen of the Islands Erika Janssen told us about the history of Melody, the ferry that runs between Talos and Peregrine Islands.

• The View from Above introduced us to Captain James Finney and the airship Spirit of Freedom that glides gracefully through the skies of Atlas Park.

• Paragon Transit Authority gave us a view into the rich history of the three rail lines around Paragon City.

• Rudolph Augustus Seifert and the Memory of Heroes is a historic recounting of the career of Paragon City's most successful and famous architect.

• Dreams Before the Storm reported on the status of Sister Psyche as she lay in a coma in Bell Medical Center. This article also informed players that the Calvin Scott Task Force would be removed from the game with the introduction of Issue 4.

• Arenas gave players a preview of the arena combat system that would soon be introduced in Issue 4.

• Beyond Contact: City Representative introduced us to Brighid Moreira and gave us the history behind Paragon City's City Representative.

• Beyond Contact: Azuria and MAGI gave us a view of Azuria's life and responsibilities as well as the role MAGI plays in defending Paragon City from magical threats.

• Against the Fall of Darkness provided the Times' readers with a look into the strange activity around Salamanca, giving us an idea of what we should expect to find in Issue 5. The article brought us viewpoints from Gordon Bower, Skipper LeGrange, and Dr. Nathaniel Bierce, and introduced us to the Red Caps, Tuatha de Dannan, Fir Bolg, and Cabal. The article also tied the unusual activity in the region to the Banished Pantheon, the Malleus Mundi, and the Halloween Event 2004.

• The Burning of Steel Canyon warned heroes that arson was on the rise in Steel Canyon and called for help in fighting the fires. Fire Chief Hopkins was introduced to tell us that the cause of the fires was under investigation.

• Chasing Sally recounted a trip by Times reporter Jackson Turner to Croatoa where he accompanied Skipper LeGrange on a search for the Salamanca Lake Monster, Sally. (It is worth noting that there was a closely related City of Heroes forum thread in which players protested awarding a badge for defeating a creature that actually does no harm to anyone in the game.)

• Siren's Call informed players that lower radiation levels now meant it was safe to enter Siren's Call and a partial lift of the quarantine would be implemented. The news stirred up speculation about what had caused the original accident in the area ten months prior and led to an investigation of details behind Sunburst's alleged loss of control over his powers.

• The Legacy of Heroes continues the investigation begun in the Siren's Call article, implying that someone in the Rogue Isles was responsible for the accident and calling for the FBSA to re-examine its policies on hero training and management. This was the last article submitted to the Times by Senior Correspondent Jackson Turner who disappeared after going to meet with a confidential informant at the docks in Siren's Call.

• Statesman's Strike briefly recounted the events of Statesman's Strike on the Rogue Isles and called for heroes to band together to face the new threat posed by Arachnos.

• Festival of Terror called attention to warnings of mysterious presents being dropped at random through the city. In this article we were introduced to the Gamester, announcing the start of Winter Event 2005.

• Advertisement: Pocket D announced the grand re-opening of Pocket D and called for heroes and villains to meet in the neutral area in peace. The article appeared just prior to Valentine's Day Event 2006.

• A Season of Shadows introduced readers to the return of Halloween with Halloween Event 2006. In the article, Azuria and Annah both warned of a threat that would surround All Hallows' Eve and more information was relayed about the Malleus Mundi - including Scirocco's interest in the book.

• Statesman's Call to Arms gave us insight into the newly accessible Grandville zone and Statesman's Task Force, hinting that Grandville served a far more sinister purpose in Lord Recluse's schemes than was immediately apparent on the surface.

• A City Remembers commemorated the third anniversary of the end of the Rikti War. The article also looked ahead to the threats posed by Arachnos and hinted at recently detected activity of some form on the moon.

• Senate Questions Vanguard reported on an ongoing investigation into the present-day relevance of Vanguard, introducing players to the new group that would appear in Issue 10.

• Invasion! made a call to both heroes and villains to push back a new set of full-scale invasions by the Rikti all across the world. This article announced the addition of the new Rikti World Invasion event that arrived with Issue 10.

• Vanguard Reports Success was a series of articles recounting recent success in Vanguard's efforts to repel the renewed efforts by invading Rikti in the Rikti World Invasion events.

• "Outbreak Plague Rampant for Four Years" was a set of two articles from an alternate timeline. (The alternate timeline content was a hint at the coming addition of Ouroboros and the Flashback system in Issue 11.)
  • The first of these articles was about the Contaminated and the Outbreak virus encountered in the hero tutorial. In this time line Doctor Miller had been killed soon after discovering the disease and had been unable to find a cure. In addition, the virus had not been contained as it had been in our timeline. In this alternate timeline, the virus had spread so much that neighborhoods of Skyway City and Steel Canyon had been quarantined as had the whole of Talos Island.
  • In the second of these articles - "Ziggursky Guards Put Down Riot and Foil Breakout" - Arachnos completely failed to free anyone during the Breakout tutorial of City of Villains. Two prisoners - Hard Time and Angel Lopez - were killed during the riots of the failed jail break.
  • In additon, a sidebar listed many who had died over from the Outbreak plague in the previous year. Victims included Agent Davis, Arnold Decker, Captain Sherman (from The Dark Watcher's missions), Ernesto Hess, Everett Daniels, Genevieve Sanders, Josef Keller, Katie Hannon, Maxwell Christopher, Merisel Valenzuela, Mikey the Ear, and Sara Moore. (This sidebar is now included at the end of the first article.)

• President Marchand Celebrates 70th Year in Office! was another set of three articles from an alternate timeline. (The alternate timeline content was a hint at the coming addition of Ouroboros and the Flashback system in Issue 11.)
  • The first article reported on the celebration of the anniversary of Gerald T. Marchand's election to the office of President of the Rogue Isles in 1937.
  • The seond article - "Manticore and Recluse Continue Offensive in South America" - described an attack by Manticore and Lord Recluse on a camp full of Colombian rebels hidden high in the Andes Mountains.
  • The third article - "Behind the Mask: Manticore" - recounted Manticore's fall from grace and ascension within Arachnos. It included the following quote from the Statesman: “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.”

Paragon Times Journalists

Juliana Nehring

Juliana Nehring

In addition to running her independent internet news site, Juliana Nehring occasionally found time to contribute material to The Paragon Times as a Staff reporter. Both of the first two Times articles to appear on the internet are credited to her and she contributed in two later articles. It was to Nehring that Moonfire first revealed herself, seeking to warn of the coming Nictus threat.

Jackson Turner

Jackson Turner

Jackson Turner made his debut contribution to the Times with Paragon City's New Dance Party Club in September 2004. Turner would go on to write or contribute to thirteen of the Times' published articles. He began his writing career with the Times as a Staff reporter, was promoted to Senior Staff in March 2005, and was promoted again to Senior Editor in April 2005. In June 2005, Turner took a Senior Correspondent position - his last position with the Times. On September 21, 2005, Jackson Turner was reported missing while investigating the death of the superhero known as Sunburst and the disaster in Siren's Call.

Jim Bell

Jim Bell

After coming out of retirement, veteran journalist Jim Bell contributed one Paragon Times article that was published online. In his October 2004 article he reported on recent increases in 5th Column activity, interviewing several heroes about their recent encounters with the super powered fascists.

Andrea Hall

Andrea Hall teamed with Jackson Turner to report on sightings of an alleged "ghost ship" in Independence Port in December 2004.

Jennifer Baker

Jennifer Baker teamed with Jackson Turner to write an article about new fashions coming to Icon shops throughout Paragon City in the spring of 2005.

Ernie Lardner

Ernie "Doc" Lardner was a Sports Columnist for The Paragon Times. Lardner's article covering the newly constructed Arenas was published in April 2005.

Skipper LeGrange

Skipper LeGrange

No stranger to the paranormal, Skipper LeGrange was interviewed concerning the "ghost ship" sightings in Independence Port in December 2004. In July and August of 2005 he helped Jackson Turner investigate and report on strange occurrences in Lake Salamanca and the wooded areas near Salamanca.

James Stark

James Stark stepped in to fill the vacancy left by the mysterious disappearance of Jackson Turner. In his first article with the Times, Stark covered the October 2005 Longbow operation to bring order to the Rogue Isles. Stark would go on to write a total of eight articles published in the Times. It was never made clear whether Stark was actually a full-time reporter for the Times or a freelancer who made frequent contributions. Stark continued to write articles for the Times until the paper stopped publishing articles online.

UnSub

In two later Times Articles, writing credit was given to "UnSub". It was uncertain whether UnSub was actually the name of the writer or if the Times was simply using a common law enforcement abbreviation.

Matt Miller

Matt Miller contributed to reports on success in Vanguard's efforts to push back the Rikti in the Rikti War Zone in August 2007.

Jessica Derling

Jessica Derling contributed to reports on success in Vanguard's efforts to push back the Rikti in the Rikti War Zone in August 2007.