—PARAGON CITY, December 31, 2005

As the heroes and citizens of Paragon City settle into 2006, it is once again time to look back at some of the major news stories of the past year.

The Coming of the Kheldians

The year began with strange new aliens descending upon Paragon City. They identified themselves as Kheldians, and they have the ability to merge with humans to form very powerful hybrid entities. Many of these merges are peaceful symbiotic relationships. There are a few reported cases where the merges were forced.

Sunstorm, the representative of the Peacebringer Kheldian faction, told the Free Press shortly after the Kheldian’s arrival, “We are very sorry that our war with the [rival Kheldian faction] Nictus has made the Earth into one of our battlefields. But unlike the Nictus, we are committed to establishing a peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship with humans, and we will do everything possible to ensure that your way of life remains intact.”

Some citizens of Paragon City are not convinced. In April, the Our Earth Society issued a controversial press release stating, “Earth is for humans, and that is the way it should stay. While the Society is not opposed to having diplomatic relations with extraterrestrial intelligences, we believe that our planet—our home—should remain a safe haven from dangerous external influences such as the Rikti and the Kheldians.”

U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D)

This press release sparked numerous vocal protests on both sides of the issue and became a hot political debate. Congressman Patrick Kennedy said in a visit to Paragon City, “I understand the concerns facing the citizens of Paragon City today. I lost a good friend during the Rikti War and know firsthand how dangerous beings from other worlds can be. However, I think that it would be a big mistake to assume that all such beings are hostile based on our experience with only one group of such beings. The fact is that we are also citizens of the universe, and if we are to continue thriving as a people in the universe, we will have to seek out peaceful allies to help us against those who would do us harm.”

What exactly do the Kheldian visitors mean to the long term future of Paragon City and to Earth? After only one year, it is impossible to say, but one thing is certain: Things will never be the same.

The Winter Invasions

As Paragon City still reels from the pranks of a bizarre new villain called the Gamester, it is more than a little ironic that 2005 is ending in much the same way it began: with hordes of strange snow beasts plaguing the city. The Free Press has been covering the most recent invasion of these creatures, and we were there for the original invasion as well.

Arctic Star, a Paragon City hero with icy powers, told the Free Press recently that even she, with her incredible tolerance to cold, had trouble fighting these strange enemies. “I’m just glad that we heroes were better prepared for the invasion this time. During the last invasion, my powers were all but useless and, I hate to say, may have even helped some of the frost creatures. I can withstand the coldest of arctic temperatures, but fighting those massive winter lords, even I was chilled.”

Arctic Star and a snow creature battle in front of Rivera Medical Center

The winters that started and that are ending 2005 will definitely go down in Paragon City history as two of the most brutal the seasons the city has had to endure.

New Sports Megaplexes

This past year also saw the rise of a new popular sport in Paragon City, a sport that is quickly catching on in other parts of the country. It started in 2004 when a villain named Dominus forced the well-known hero duo of Cade and Hammersmith to fight each other. With the help of Clarity, another hero who happened to be in the area, Dominus was defeated and was sentenced to 20 years in the Zigursky Correctional Facility. Jack Barnes, a resident who lived in an apartment close to the battle, happened to catch the whole battle on videotape, and began selling DVDs of the battle over the Internet. Barnes quickly became a millionaire and created a new company called Arena Corporation that began staging more battles between heroes. Battles in the Arena are closely monitored to avoid risk of serious injury of the heroes that participate.

Arena Corporation’s growth was huge, and in April, it worked with the Paragon City Building Commission to rebuild Atlas Memorial Stadium as an enclosed coliseum where heroes could battle each other in safety while tens of thousands of spectators looked on. In May, the new coliseum filled with heroes and spectators, and two more coliseums were quickly built in Talos Island and Peregrine Island. Arena matches are now watched by millions on ESPN and NBC, and there have even been rumors of talks with ABC to carry some of the matches next fall as an hour-long program in the time slot that is currently occupied by Monday Night Football, now in its last season on that network. The heroes who fight in Arena matches are now superstars, with some being paid up to $100 thousand for a single match.

Blockbuster Movies

2005 was also a year of blockbuster movies. Auguably the most anticipated one, Rise of the Council, was released in April to much critical acclaim. The story of one man’s struggle and disillusionment with the Fifth Column and eventual sinking further into the depths of despair with the new Council organization is sure to be an Oscar favorite at the Academy Awards this coming March.

The movie was more than just another part for hero-turned-actor Fractured Dawn. “I felt it was a story that had to be told. I just don’t think that people understand the danger that the hatred spread by people like the Council causes. While everyone is patting themselves on the back for destroying the core of the Fifth Column, they have ignored what could be a much more dangerous enemy. People like the Council exist by flying under the radar, and I hope this movie helps to show them for who they really are.”

Some movies this year managed to stir controversy as well. In November, kids from all parts of Paragon City flocked to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and at some theaters, there were also almost as many protesters. In one incident at the Kings Row Regal 12, tensions rose dramatically when members of the Paragon City Christian Council and the Organization for the Support of Mystical Arts began to clash. Several heroes were involved in the incident, and the theater eventually had to close down for the night and offer ticketholders vouchers for another showtime. “It’s just shameful,” said Lieutenant Ben Saunders of the Paragon City Police Department. “The adults at the theater were acting less mature than the twelve-year-old kids who just wanted to see a good movie.” Several arrests were made, including the arrest of The Dark Defender, who later issued a statement apologizing for the incident to the citizens who were at the theater and who sponsored giving away 1,000 free tickets to children to see the movie at a later time.

In spite of the controversy, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire earned over $102 million nationally over its opening weekend.

The Rejoining of Salamanca

After becoming isolated from Paragon City in 2004 due to weakening of mystical dimensional barriers, the northern community of Salamanca once again became an integrated part of Paragon City. The Paragon Transit Authority began an ambitious project to extend a spur of the Green Line monorail into the community and, in early September, heroes and Salamancan citizens were once again allowed to travel between the city’s metropolitan areas and Salamanca.

The integration has not been without its problems. Creatures once thought to be mythical still plague the land that has slowly adopted the name of Croatoa, the mystical dimension that seems to be intersecting with the Salamancan community. Some heroes have told the Free Press that they have seen ghosts of Paragon City citizens in the area. One hero, who would only speak on condition of anonymity, even reported consorting with the spirit of War Witch, her former mentor who perished in a battle against the Council in 2005. Even to this day, some citizens in Paragon City report further outbreaks of mystical intrusions such as what happened in the fall of 2004, though such reports have been largely dismissed by city leaders.

Much progress has been made in taming the land of Croatoa. The mayor of Salamanca, Gordon Bower, reports that businesses have began opening up again, and that the Salamancan branch of Paragon City University is recruiting more students than he ever thought would be possible. “It truly lifts my spirits to see us as a thriving community once again,” said Bower. As time passes, the community continues to grow even stronger. Just last week, Kord Technologies announced that it is planning to invest in an agricultural science program that will work with the farmers of Salamanca to produce exciting new advances in harvesting more bountiful crops.

In spite of some early reservations about making Salamanca part of Paragon City again, it seems that this is one of the year’s greatest success stories.

The Darkening of the Southern Sky

In 2004, Siren’s Call was nearly completely destroyed in a massive explosion in which the hero Sunburst perished. This November, the troubled city zone east of Steel Canyon experienced yet another setback during its reconstruction. In what the mayor described as “an unprovoked attack of almost unprecedented brutality,” minions of a mysterious group called Arachnos began attempting to flood into Paragon City.

Statesman immediately issued a press release calling for heroes to go to Siren’s Call to fight the incursion. “This isn’t the first time that Arachnos has tried to take over Paragon City. We’ve successfully fought them off the shores of the United States before, and we will do so again. But if you are a hero, we once again need your help to thwart the diabolical plans of those who wish to destroy Paragon City.’

On September 11, during the annual commemoration of the terrorist attacks in New York City, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced federal funding of Longbow, an organization created by Ms. Liberty to combat superpowered threats to the United States. “We are absolutely committed to protecting our country from all threats,” Secretary Chertoff said in a press conference. “I can’t reveal too much information, but we believe that we know the geographic source of most of these attacks. I have absolute confidence in Statesman and Ms. Liberty to handle the situation, and our resources are always at their disposal.”

Several heroes have reported incidents of conflict with Arachnos agents even within the protected city walls. Some agents have even been audacious enough to steal personal effects. Doctor Quantum, in an interview with the Free Press from Cygnus Medical Center after a battle in which a statue of his grandfather was destroyed, said, “There were eight of them. I did my best to protect the memory of the Time Shifter, but they simply overwhelmed me. After I was down, I thought they were going to kill me, but the leader just walked over, took my cape, and told me to remember their faces because next time I saw them, they would be coming for the whole city.” Serge of Icon donated another cape to Doctor Quantum for him to continue his fights in style, and the Paragon City Building Commission has hired a team of sculptors to erect a new statue of the Time Shifter.

Meanwhile, Ms. Liberty reports that the battle against Arachnos is now being fought in their own back yard as well as Siren’s Call. Longbow agents are reportedly in an island chain in the Atlantic Ocean that serves as Arachnos’s base and are slowly making headway into curbing the threat.

An Optimistic Outlook

There were many more stories to be told for 2005. The Paragon City Free Press is honored to be a part of Paragon City's history, to bring you stories of the present, and to look forward with all of our readers to what the future will bring. Perhaps Charles Dickens said it best in A Tale of Two Cities:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness... in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

In Paragon City, for good or evil, it seems that this era is the era of superlatives, and we wish you nothing but the best of times for 2006.