Freedom Phalanx
The Freedom Phalanx is the premiere in-game supergroup for the City of Heroes MMO.
Created in the 1930's, the Freedom Phalanx protected Paragon City from all enemies and served as the inspiration for the heroes that would follow.
Group History
Early Beginnings
The group was founded on July 4th, 1932 by a collection of superheroes who assembled to stop the self-professed "Prussian Prince of Automation", Nemesis. Seeing how much good they could do together, the heroes were led under Marcus Cole, otherwise known as Statesman, to become known as the Freedom Phalanx.
As America struggled to recover from the Great Depression and prepare for war in Europe, the Freedom Phalanx fought organized crime and corrupt government officials. They did more than just make the streets safe. They helped to ride in a wave of responsible and truly-ethical politicians; politicians which then crafted the Citizen Crime Fighting Act, giving heroes like Statesman the same power and responsibilities as police officers.
World War II
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Freedom Phalanx put themselves on the front lines to stop the attempted invasion of the East Coast by Germany. The sacrifice made by Atlas on the bridge of Independence Port is remembered even today.
The Freedom Phalanx joined forces with the Dawn Patrol and the Allied Forces in Europe on D-Day invasion of Normandy. It is believed that their assistance helped speed the end of the conflict in that continent, as well as hasten the demise of the German leadership.
Cold War
As the world bristled under the threat of the Soviet Union, the Freedom Phalanx found themselves becoming more of a global force than ever before. Even though they focused their efforts at battling super-powered villains, they could not help but be sucked into international politics. This was even more apparent with the passage of the federal Might for Right Act, which drafted all super-powered beings into government service. Even though the Act would later be declared unconstitutional, it still brought hero activities into global conflicts.
In 1963, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy ordered Statesman and the Freedom Phalanx to stay out of the naval blockade for fear that their participation would spark a nuclear exchange.
In 1976, Statesman averted such a deadly exchange over Norway when the Soviet Union fired a nuclear missile at him as he tried to rescue a US Air Force spyplane crew that were shot down. The crew were killed instantly, but Statesman survived.
The Rikti Invasion
The Freedom Phalanx again found themselves in the middle of war when the Rikti invaded in 2002. Although all major cities were badly devastated by the interdimensional invaders, Paragon City seemingly was hit the hardest.
Discovering magic as a weakness, the heroes mounted a final two-pronged attack against the Rikti. With Statesman mounting a massive attack against the Rikti, Hero 1 led a smaller team of mystical-based and normal heroes to destroy the main Rikti portal. Both groups suffered devastating losses, but they managed to stop the Rikti from replenishing their forces.
The surviving heroes realized that it wasn't enough to rebuild the city. They also needed to replenish their own forces and serve as the inspiration for other heroes. To that end, Statesman and the surviving members of the Alpha Team became the new Freedom Phalanx.
Post-Rikti
Following the Rikti Invasion, the Freedom Phalanx spends most of their time helping out younger heroes and organizing task force missions. On occasion they join in to fight serious battles such as the future-based Reculse's Victory, and the occasional incursions from Nemesis and the Praetorian Universe, but for the most part they have taken a more organizational role in Paragon City.
"Who Will Die" and Aftermath
Following the events in the in-game multi-part storyline entitled "Who Will Die", the Phalanx were rocked by the sudden deaths of Statesman and Sister Psyche.
Without their last founding member, the Phalanx has been under the direction of Positron.
Penelope Yin joined the Phalanx to replace Sister Psyche.
After watching his wife die, Manticore has retreated from the Phalanx to focus more on his other ventures.
There have been no attempts to recruit any more members to the Phalanx, which lead many to believe that the group itself is on the verse of disbanding.
Headquarters
The original Freedom Phalanx headquarters was located in Baumton, which also served as the headquarters of the Freedom Corps. In the early days of the First Rikti Invasion, this was ground zero of the massive bombardment by the Rikti. The destroyed building itself still remains and, until recent years, still housed the imprisoned Reichsman.
After the Rikti Invasion, the Freedom Phalanx used the new Freedom Corps building in Galaxy City as their base of operations. This lasted until Galaxy City was devastated by neo-Shivan meteors in 2011.
After the devastation of Galaxy City, the Freedom Phalanx set up base in Fort Trident.
There were some rumors that the Phalanx also had a secret meeting place underneath the stately mansion of Justin Sinclair, but Mister Sinclair's representatives say that this was just a rumor.
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Related Information
(Read the official entry of the Freedom Phalanx from Paragon Wiki)
- Even though they were often seen with the Phalanx, neither Ms. Liberty, Miss Liberty, or Back Alley Brawler were actual members. Miss Liberty was put in charge of the Freedom Corps. Her daughter (and Statesman's granddaughter), Ms. Liberty, serves as the leader of the Vindicators. Back Alley Brawler was one of the "Surviving Eight" heroes, but was never a member of the Phalanx; still believing he could resurrect the Regulators.
- The Freedom Phalanx was the central group in the "City of Heroes" comic series published by Top Cow Comics. The series ended with issue #20 with the engagement of Sister Psyche and Manticore.
- The Freedom Phalanx later appeared in the Valentine's Day Event for the wedding of Sister Psyche and Manticore.
- Various members of the Freedom Phalanx have appeared and were involved in other comics, including "The Justice-Knights" and "Guardians of the Dawn Spotlight"
- In a possible future detailed in Issue #18 of the "Guardians of the Dawn Spotlight" series, Galatea Powers becomes a member of the Freedom Phalanx after the dissolvent of the Guardians of the Dawn. It should be noted that this possible future was rendered moot by the events seen in the "Time and Changes" storyline.
