Shock and outrage has rippled through Paragon City following the announcement of a possible "City of Villains" that may be created by the end of 2005.

Details are sketchy at the moment, but sources reveal that a villain by the name of Lord Recluse may somehow be involved. Little is known about Lord Recluse other than his potential links to a World War II Axis group known as Archnos.

It is well known that the Rikti invasion resulted in the death or disappearance of many of the world's best loved heroes. What is unknown is how the invasion impacted on the villain population - given the more secret nature of lawbreaker activities, it is not known how many infamous villains were killed by the Rikti and how many are just lying low for the moment. Some academics believe that villain groups were even more devastated by the invasion than hero groups, since hero groups are used to co-operation and central co-ordination, while many villain groups would have had to fight the Rikti on their own or go into hiding.

If these theories are correct, then evildoers are currently in a state of disarray, with few prestige villains to control the teams of thugs who roam Paragon City's streets. The "bad guys" will be unable to reassert themselves until leaders fill the current void... which is where Lord Recluse may come in. It is possible he is attempting to recruit experienced villains who are currently in hiding to restart their respective campaigns of lawlessness. One way of doing this would be the creation of an anti-Paragon City - a Graveyard of Tomorrow, if you will - where villains can be trained and learn the arts of fighting (and defeating) heroes.

The Beholder will release more information as we uncover it.

While there are certainly enough heroes to be patrolling our streets 24/7, there are still crimes that go unnoticed. Or do they? In a recent study, scientist polled a vast number of citizens and heroes alike to ask how often crimes observed were halted by patrolling heroes. The findings are shocking.

In many instances, only half the crimes occuring on open streets are stopped by heroes. This includes many that are actually witnessed by passing heroes, but never taken action against. But why?

"Honestly, it just isn't worth my time," says charismatic swordsman The Handsome Devil. "I mean how much effort does it take to knock down a few weak Hellion thugs? They aren't even a challenge to me. Besides, i'ts not like I gain anything in return for this. It doesn't feed my security clearance, combat experience or relationship with my contacts."

Other heroes disagree. "When a contact or official asks me to clean up the streets, I always look for the easiest gangs." says fledgling crimefighter Cower. "No high risk fights for me. I only hunt what I know won't kill me."

But attitudes such as these may be the cause of the continued prevalence of crime in Paragon, despite a grand influx of new heroes.

Criminologist Rick Drayson has studied these polls, and come up with some distressing findings. "If heroes don't stop criminals early, they will continue to flourish. This will continue to bolster villain groups' ranks, bringing in the undeterred youth off the street as higher ranking members are captured."

If heroes continue to avoid crime that they feel doesn't concern them, our streets may have twice the gang numbers currently present.

For those heroes or citizens that are looking for the latest tunes or want up-to-the-minute information about what's going on in the City, Paragon Radio (http://www.paragonradio.com) is now on the air.

This station provides 24/7 coverage across all versions of Paragon City. A mixture of music types is played, with certain times being mixed by DJ's (please check Paragon Radio's schedule for how this fits with your local area times). Paragon Radio is also a running a Supergroup Summer Blastoff in the near future, with the winning supergroup getting a website, on-air publicity and more!

Paragon Radio - it's where superheroes rock!

Paragon City has required its heroes to obtain a Superhero License since 1957, but recently there has been a surge in applications and the Licensing board has had a hard time keeping up.

"We have seen a dramatic increase in applications this year. Over 140% increase from last year, and 170% increase over the last 5 year average. This is a unprecedented high!" says License Board employee Cindy Watson.

Large numbers of heroes have signed up following the Rikti invasion, with this having a big impact on Paragon City. The vast majority of new heroes are from outside of the city and as the population has risen many 'normal' people are finding it harder to compete.

Olga Denkins, aged 87, has a small apartment over her home which she has been renting for the past 20 years. "Why would I want to rent to a 'norm' when I can rent to a hero? When an armed criminal tries to break into my home, I know that the hero is just a shout away and that gives me peace of mind. Frankly, I'll never rent to another norm again!"

Other citizens have complained about heroes receiving preferential treatment at job interviews. "Its hard to get a job as a security guard when there is some pumped up super guy who can do the job of ten guys like me," said one man interviewed. " I don't got a chance, no matter how much I works out, or how big my gun is."

Even competition at the gas pump has gotten hectic. With the price of gas rising daily, many citizens are outraged when huge attack vehicles and super powered jets take most of the fuel, with little or nothing left for the family SUV's. These citizens will be further frustrated in the supermarket, where some large chains have made some of the lines "Super Speed" lanes - these lanes are reserved for "Quick" heroes only.

Many people wouldn't mind all these problems if in fact crime was reduced city wide, but as the amount of heroes have increased, the amount of criminal activity seems to have kept pace. "There is never a lack of crime," says Ms Watson. "While this keeps the heroes gainfully employed, it does mean that we have more fire fights on the streets and the number of citizens caught in the crossfire has also increased. Overall this is a tough situation for all concerned, hero and citizen alike."