It used to be that only street gangs and street entertainers had to be careful about colours they wore for fear of violent retribution. Wear gang colours in the wrong area and you might get hurt. Dress up like a mime and you might get killed. But a new type of rage has arisen in Paragon that may see you getting a swift beating depending on your clothes - costume rage.

With so many heroes in Paragon City, it was bound to happen eventually - someone starts to wear a costume a bit too much like yours, starts to get a bit of fame that maybe you deserve, you go to them and try to calmly explain your problem but before you know it -BAM!- you and your costume doppelganger are duking it out on main street. This was less a problem in the older days, when bright primary colour were the In Thing, but now-a-days... well, there are only so many shades of black, red and other bruise-related shades to go around. Especially when jumpsuits are the look de jour. People are bound to start looking the same.

It can be hard for the fledgling hero to pick a look that won't get him picked on by some fashion victim who hasn't changed his costume since the 70's. Magazines such as Super Stylings and UberLeet don't help since everyone reads them and they all look the same anyway. Take my advice: if you want to stand alone and above in the fashion stakes, use these basic hero fashion tips:

• Don't use pink. Even Superhero Barbie doesn't wear pink. Pink scares no-one.
• Think outside the box on colour - red, white and blue is just so overdone. Support another country (Germany or Brazil, for example) if you just HAVE to wear a flag.
• Black is very overused. Try using charcoal, ash and jet as substitutes.
• Subtle differences (eg a large belt buckle, different boots, etc) only work when you are up close. By this time it may be to late to avoid a violent misunderstanding with a similarly dressed person. Make your differences LARGE.
• Be different. There are some fashion leaders out there, but you will be noticed more if you beat your own path. Stand out from the crowd.
• Speedsters should stick to simple designs. No use having an intricate hand-sewn design on your costume as you run past them at 300 kph, is there?
• You can base your costume around your powers, but this isn't set in stone. Wear some flames if you shoot fire if you want, but you don't have to. It is a MAJOR faus paux, however, to go the opposite way - if you can shoot ice out of your hands, don't wear flames just to be contrary. That confuses everybody.
• As always, underwear should be worn on the INSIDE of the tights. Paragon City has some pretty definite public decency laws and they won't make an exception for you.
• Ladies, looking like a lingerie model will make you popular with the boys, but is lousy for fighting crime in. Lace tears easily, silk is not easy to clean and you will get cold. High-heels are hard to run in and (unless you have Super Agility) you will fall over in them when you least want to. Practicallity over vampishness is a rule you should obey at all times.
• Gentlemen, the size of the package DOES NOT determine the ability of the hero. Don't go stuffing things down there as you impress no-one and only emphasizes your short-comings.
• If you happen to see someone who is wearing a similar costume to you, calmly discuss with them a way of differentiating the two of you when you next update your wardrobe. Do not try to rip their costume off them and jam it down their throat.

Remember, the new season's fashions are going to be released in the next few months. Pay attention to them. Accessorize with the right gizmos, chill when you see someone ripping on your vibe and before you know it, you will be a fashion hero! Ciao!

Once again, all throughout the various news media, we see bad things happening. Stuff going down south. Things going wrong. With people seeing such bad things happening, they tend to need a place to quantify it. To file it away, labeled neatly with who is to blame. My level headed faithful, do you know who is currently getting revived as the scapegoat?

I'm guessing you do if you know me.

That's right, it's the magic users. The hardworking, dedicated men and women of the occult, and without a shred of real evidence. People see goofs like the Circle of Thorns and label a whole study evil.

• Every time a demon is released, who gets blamed? Mages.

• Every time a 'freaky maelstrom of chaotic fluxing energy' erupts over the park? The mages did it.

• Every time some lottery turns up with the winning numbers of six sixes on a five number draw? That's gotta be ol' Scitha the freaky.

• Every time a building is leveled by a stray burst of explosive fire coming over a Hazard wall? It's gotta be those mages. Nine Hells, I get brought up on it a lot, I don't know if you do.

My Fireballs are used with much more skill than by most spandex-wearing buffoons, but that falls on deaf ears to the magi-unfriendly society. One dark rite of forgotten, forsaken lore and you're marked for life.

My fellow arcane scientists, I'm fed up with it. The next time some scorched civilian comes up to you spouting their anti-mana views, you turn the other cheek. You rise up above it. You brush off the lesser minded plebs with your regal intelligence, and just keep moving, secure in the thought that somehow their car's rear view mirror will be eternally reflecting an angry state trooper car on their heels.

...hypothetically. Until the next time, fellows.

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Super-Hamlet Vows Critics

by Victoria Valance

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Adam Selene in action against the forces that threaten our liberties... and their parrots.

The Jumonji Ryu has made a name for themselves in Paragon City in a very short time. Key to that successful rise has been the leadership and visibility shown by their founder, Adam Selene.

Beholder: Mr Selene, could you please briefly tell me about the aims of the Jumonji Ryu in Paragon City?

AS: Well, as I told you before, The Jumonji Ryu does not seek publicity or fame, but I will answer a few questions if it helps the public to understand who we are. Jumonji Ryu is Japanese for the "tenth clan." We are following the ninja tradition of protecting our city from all those who would harm the innocent, including those who have corrupted their positions of power in the city and any others who would prey on the defensless. My grandfather, Lucas Selene, trained with the last true ninja in Japan, Takamatsu Soke, and was honored to be chartered to start our clan in Paragon City. So I am carrying out the tradition by training anyone who is willing to live by our honor code to protect our neighbors and citizens. The Ryu is all about honor and training. When you see a shadow warrior with the Ryu black belt, you can be sure that she is a master of all our deadly arts.

Beholder: The Rikti invasion of Paragon City has led to a number of teams disintergrating for differing reasons. What are you doing to keep the Jumonji Ryu from suffering a similar fate?

AS: Ryu warriors rarely quit. Although some do get tired of all the endless training I put them through or they may have some disagreements on fighting style, so they might strike out on their own. But as long as they have stuck with my training long enough to earn their black belt, then I wish them the best and give them their share of our resources to start their own clan. We are all in this together, after all. As long as they don't dishonor the Jumonji Ryu heritage when they strike out on their own, they are still shadow warriors in good standing.

To answer your question directly, I really don't do anything to try and make warriors stick around. Hell, I would never ask anyone to go through what I put them through if they weren't driven by their own personal demons to be here. All I do is try to give them enough skills to stay alive another day. And teach them a bit about honor and watching each other's back. That's about it. Anything else in the Ryu, well, they bring it with them.

Beholder: Is there a villainous group that Jumonji Ryu formally targets or do you let your members act freely when opposing unlawful aspects within Paragon City?

AS: We protect innocents. Those that attack us or our neighbors will be dealt with immediately. Other than that, we tend to focus on those who misuse the citizens trust, like Crey Industries. But we also fight other crime as needed. The one thing you will notice most about us is that we are very organized. When it is time to crack down on a particular foe, we attack from all sides with overwhelming force, often using several squads to take out an enemy at multiple locations during simultaneous missions.

Of course, our warriors are extremely well-trained. Once a warrior achieves officer rank, they are free to carry out their own vendetta with their own hand-picked squads. If something in their past calls requires it, these special squads may select particular groups to eliminate.

Beholder: Final question - there seems to be quite a bit of verbal sparring between Jumonji Ryu and some other groups, often about the alleged relationship that exists between ninjas and pirates. Some of it is in good fun, but other groups seem to take the competition much more seriously. How do you think this impacts on the way you operate?

AS: The JR is not in competition with any other hero groups, we are totally dedicated to stamping out the evil that has infested our city. Any other competition is just in the spirit of good fun, much like a good Army and Navy football game. A lot of trash-talk, but when the bullets start flying, we're all on the same side.