In the debut issue of “Galatea Powers”, our titular heroine gave a quick synopsis of her life, done in the narrative style that was best used by a certain group of live-action superhero shows that aired on the CW Network.
You know the ones. The ones that all started with “My name is…”
Well, it was time for Galatea’s “twin” to do the same. After all, if Galatea can do it, why not Leona?
And so we have the opening panels of “Galatea Powers” #2…
This is the first time we really get to see Leona, aka Dawnender, tell her story as she saw things. How her life turned out as seen through her eyes, how she saw her imprisonment, her “liberation”, and her eventual fall.
Of course, as this is a series about Galatea, we will also show what she’s been doing, as Galatea continues to balance her day job working for S.E.R.A.P.H. as well as be a superhero. This includes recruiting another member of the Guardians of the Dawn to Project Prometheus.
Who is this hero? Well you’ll have to wait another week to find out.
Today is Free Comic Book Day, the day when people check out new comics at their local comic book store.
A lot of big and not-so-big publishers, including Image and DC (Marvel said no this year), have special free issues to share, from new collaborations to returning characters from TV shows like “Supernatural” and “The Greatest American Hero”.
Well, we here at Battlerock Comics have nothing but free comics! Mostly because we’re not allowed to charge for the comics given the rights owned by the various source materials.
But today is a good opportunity for us to give an update about a comic series that was on the back burner for several years.
When Jason Knight and the other members of the Guardians of the Dawn started going after the corrupt officers of the Paragon City Police Force, they had no idea how far up the corruption went, nor did they know just what those corrupt officers would do for retaliation. By Issue #3, Jason Knight was presumed dead and framed for the brutal murder of one of those corrupt officers.
But Jason didn’t go without setting up contingencies. His sidekick, Cardinal Syn, would soon pick up where he left off, creating her own task force of various heroes, including new heroes like Artema, Ally Kazam, and Streetangel, and with established heroes like the Elite Ice Queen, KDave, and the hero formerly known as Street Justice.
The Task Force assembles! (“Task Force Twilight” #3)
The series paused after Issue #5, with Cardinal Syn being taken into police custody after being supposedly betrayed by one of their own.
So the question is… what happened after that? Did the Task Force prevail? How did the conflict with the corrupt cops end?
Unfortunately circumstances forced us to pause the story for a few years, and by the time we were able to get back into “The City”, we were unable to bring back all the material we had previously set up. A big reason had to do with the new official licensing of City of Heroes Homecoming with NC Soft, which meant a lot of characters and bases had to be shelved and everything restarted new.
So the decision was made to finish telling the story, but only in text.
Starting with Issue #6, “Task Force Twilight” will be continuing as text-only backstories to the new “Galatea Powers” series, starting with “Galatea Powers” Issue #2 and continuing until Issue #5. Each backstory issue will continue the story as they were meant to be shown in comic format, but with words instead of images.
There is actually a history behind this. If you’ve ever read the first issues of “Action Comics” back in 1938, you’d know that Superman was only the first story. Beyond that were other stories, including those of Marco Pollo, “Pep” Morgan, and Tex Thompson, along with several text-only short stories. “Action Comics” back then was more of an anthology series than just focusing on one hero. Eventually, though, that changed, and Superman soon became the sole star. But the concept of anthology comics continued for decades after that, with one of the most famous of them being “Heavy Metal Magazine”, and DC even dabbled with anthology comics a few times with “Action Comics”.
But here, we’re using the opportunity to finish telling the tale of the events in Paragon City from 2017 to 2018, showing what happened to the heroes of Paragon City during that time between “Task Force Twilight” #5 and “Galatea Powers” #1.
“Galatea Powers” #2 is still in production, but stay tuned for updates on its release. In the meantime, be sure to visit your local comic shop and pick up the free comics they have to offer.
So it’s been two weeks since the release of the first issue of “Galatea Powers” and the reviews have been largely positive.
Some people have expressed their pleasure at the return of a City of Heroes centered comic. As longtime readers of our comics know, we used to have a whole group of comic creators that banded together to create comics, with one of them actually having his custom character becoming part of the City’s lore. When NCSoft officially shut down the game, a lot of those creators moved on.
So some of the longtime players that have enjoyed the game and came back now that it’s operating on an officially-licensed server are happy to know that at least one of those comic creators is back and still creating stories in the City.
Sadly, not everyone liked the comic. The City of Heroes Reddit thread had one person that sabotaged the karma on this release.
To which, I take exception to. It’s not a “faux pas”. AI is a tool. Yes, some publishers like DC have said they will not use it for their art or stories, and I have no problem with that. I used it to create a cover that stands out for the first issue of a comic series. They have the luxury of being able to pay artists and writers and to get paid for their releases.
It’s no different than the foil covers that Marvel inundated readers with in the 90’s for all their “first issue” releases. No different than the “scandalous” and “provocative” cover pose from “Spider-Woman” #1 in 2014. No different than when independent publishers come up with “nude variant” covers. It’s a tool. Nothing more.
And, as I’ve said previously, I have no plans to use it to make future covers. There was an opportunity to come up with the image, and I took it. I’ve spent years creating covers for my comics using in-game content. That won’t change, as you will find out with the next issue.
Speaking of, it looks like the second issue will not be out until the start of 2026. There is too much going on in the real world for me to work on the next issue. A lot of it is related to the loss of my number one supporter, who passed away back in May, and whose estate I’m still helping to settle.
So keep checking in, keep checking the socials, and see when the next issue will be coming up.
Galatea Powers is back in the city where it all began for Battlerock Comics!
For years, Galatea Powers has worked as a proud member of the Guardians of the Dawn, working with friends and family, defending both the city and the world from threats abroad and from space.
But now she faces a new challenge from her dark past, and this time she must face it without the help of her fellow Guardians!
Here’s an exclusive peek at the debut issue of “Galatea Powers”.
According to writer/creator David 2, the first issue serves as a re-introduction to the character and also to the series.
“It’s been a few years since we’ve been to Paragon City. Some of the longtime readers could benefit from the catching up, and, for the new readers, this is a quick way to get to know the characters.”
“Galatea Powers” #1 has a few firsts. This is not only the first solo title series set in “The City”, but also being the first series to have an AI-generated cover.
“We’ve played with AI for backgrounds in ‘Future’s Guardian’,” said David 2, “but this was the first time we used AI to create a photo-realistic cover image of Galatea. It took a few tweaks but I was really glad with how it turned out. It really captured Galatea’s look for 2025.”
While David 2 enjoyed working with AI, he says he has no plans on using it regularly.
“It’s a good tool, but it’s not perfect, and it doesn’t give the same look as the in-game images that I’ve been using all this time.”
Other publishers, such as DC Comics, have officially said they would not use AI in either their images or their stories, continuing their reliance on writers, editors, and artists to tell their stories.
“Galatea Powers” #1 will be online on Saturday, November 1st.
Markman Gold and the corporate giant ARGENT have made their claim on Negative Galatea, and now Galatea Future and Major Cross must fight a different battle to uncover the secrets of the super-powered android and find out who or what killed its creator.
Plus, Agent Vipra makes her move with Negative Galatea’s “brother”, the homicidal KI113R, in Vipra’s new attempt to reclaim Negative Galatea for VIPER.
(Galatea Future in the Renaissance Center to celebrate 15 years of Champions)
On September 1st, 2009, the world of superhero MMORPGs expanded with the official debut of “Champions Online”. Based on the pen-and-paper game “Champions”, the online version lets players create a superhero to fight crime and save the day in Millennium City, getting help and missions from members of the iconic superhero group “The Champions”.
This month marks fifteen years of the MMORPG, which quickly went from subscription-only to free-to-play with purchasable items, and it still continues today.
Players will often get free items to celebrate anniversary of the MMO. In the past these include free freeform slots, pets, costume pieces and even vehicles. There are also rare challenges, and regular celebrations in the Renaissance Center featuring Champions hero and pop singer Sapphire singing her top hit “We are Champions”.
Galatea Future, the alternate-timeline version of Galatea Powers from the world of “City of Heroes”, joined the world of Champions Online in 2011 with “The Lost Adventures of Galatea Future” #1, and she has since called this universe her home. She has since made a name for herself, not just as a superhero, but also as a best-selling author.
Speaking of our resident Guardian…
(Preview of “Future’s Guardian” 28)
Work is progressing with Issue 28 of “Future’s Guardian”, which will be the climatic conclusion of the four-part “Negation” storyline. What will happen now that the terror cult VIPER have their hands on one of two androids capable of killing Galatea Future? And what will be the fate of the other android, Negative Galatea, aka Negatea? Can our hero keep Negatea away from the manipulative Markman Gold?
“Future’s Guardian” 28 has a tentative release date of September 27, but feel free to catch up on past issues of the series at the “Future’s Guardian” page.
It’s hard to believe that it has been twenty years that the gates opened up and the City of Heroes were open for heroes young and old.
The City of Heroes opened on April 27th, 2004. At the time it was the first superhero-themed MMORPG that allowed users to create their own hero and go on adventures to save the city from villains. Users were given an ever-expanding list of costume items to personalize their characters, eventually given the means to change outfits, and even make more customizations with aura effects and power shadings.
As the years progressed, “The City” evolved and expanded to include the “City of Villains”, giving players the means to create villains that would go on their own infamous adventures and build their notoriety. Then they went further and created “Going Rogue”, where an alternate universe was opened up and the heroes they once knew were evil versions and a middle ground was created that allowed players to swap between hero and villain sides, or to be something in between.
Where once it was solely a subscription game, eventually a unified City of Heroes became free-to-play with the means to pay for extra features, following a trend set by similar games such as Champions Online and DC Universe Online.
Sadly, despite a publicized plea to stay open, parent company NC Soft made the decision to cancel the City of Heroes, with the final shutdown happening in 2012.
But “The City” itself did not die. It carried on with private servers operating in secret, funded by the users themselves. Not only did they keep the game going, they even managed to expand on the game on the own, finishing details on zones such as Kalisti Wharf that were still in the development stages at the time of the official shutdown.
The City of Heroes will always hold a special place for Battlerock Comics and David 2, as it was here that the idea of not-for-profit comics could be made using characters and settings from the MMO. One of the first unique characters was Colonel John Battlerock, also known as Battlerock X. But long time comic readers of our site would probably recognize characters such as Galatea Powers, Ryder Lightning, MidKnight X, and Captain Paragonna, all of whom were heroes in Paragon City, and, thanks to fellow residents of “The City” and NC Soft, are still there today.
Galatea Powers on Talos Island
So congratulations to the City of Heroes for twenty years of capes and adventures, and here’s to hoping this city will go on being free forever.
For the past two issues, this strange woman claiming to be Galatea Future has been roaming the streets of Millennium City. But clearly she isn’t the Galatea we’ve known for over the past ten years.
Now the real Galatea is face-to-face with her “twin”. Who will prevail?
Plus ARGENT’s lawyer is looking for a certain android. Will she find what she’s looking for?
“Future’s Guardian” Issue 27 is scheduled to be online on May 17th.
Battlerock Comics 