After eagle-eyed Apex Legends fans spotted a high-speed dogfight unfolding in the skies over Stormpoint earlier this week, many sensed danger was on the horizon, and began raising questions about the Salvonian resistance logo prominently displayed on the downed aircraft’s hull. Today, Respawn answered those questions with “Judgement”, the latest episode of Stories from the Outlands. It’s official: the wanted fugitive and Salvonian freedom-fighter known as Mad Maggie is the next Apex Legend, and will be the 20th character to join the massive character lineup in Apex Legends Season 12: Defiance.
Fans may remember Maggie from the explosive role she played in Fuse’s episode of Stories from the Outlands. As children, Fuse and Maggie grew up on Salvo, one of the few “fringe worlds” that hadn’t yet succumbed to Syndicate rule. Unfortunately, that freedom didn’t last long, and Salvo officially joined Syndicate space when Fuse joined the Legend lineup in Season 8. Furious at what she saw as a betrayal of everything Salvo stood for, Maggie hit Fuse with a live frag grenade, forcibly separating his right arm and left eye from the rest of him.
But she didn’t stop there. At Fuse’s induction ceremony, Maggie rigged King’s Canyon with an intricate setup of explosives that destroyed a large portion of the map and sent Fuse’s ship crashing to the ground, where it narrowly avoided crushing the innocent spectators below – many of them children.
Though it was ostensibly a suicide-bombing, many players assumed Maggie was about as dead as Crypto’s sister Mila (that is to say, not dead at all). It appears they were right. Maggie’s back, and she’s madder than ever.
Now firmly in the Syndicate’s clutches, ‘Judgment’ depicts Maggie’s criminal trial proceedings. Despite being in enemy territory and facing a near-certain execution, Maggie remains as remorseless as ever, defiantly talking back to the judge presiding over her case. He orders her execution, making it clear he doesn’t care to hear her motives.
Completely unphased by her impending death, a physically-restrained Maggie proceeds to smash her face against the metal podium to which she has been handcuffed, breaking loose a tooth that she manages spit directly into the eye of the judge, injuring and enraging him only a few moments after headbutting an armed guard and knocking him to the floor.
But the most interesting moment in the new animated short is the appearance of a mysterious man in a khaki trench coat, who blocks Maggie’s execution mere seconds before the trigger is pulled. Seemingly impressed with her fearless, cutthroat attitude, the man has deemed her a good fit for the Apex Games, enraging the judge who ordered her death.
This isn’t too shocking, given the fact that the Syndicate allowed Revenant to join the games after he murdered another Legend on live TV (which was excellent for ratings, by the Syndicate’s own admission). The shadowy organization running the Apex Games has given other Legends a pass for bad behavior as well, namely Caustic (whose crimes and true identity they are fully aware of), and Valkyrie, who nearly shot the Commissioner of the Apex Games in her own episode of Stories from the Outlands.
The real surprise is the identity of Maggie’s savior: Duardo Silva, CEO of Silva Pharmaceuticals and father of none other than Octavio ‘Octane’ Silva, the Stim-addicted speed demon known for running into danger simply for the adrenaline rush.
While this is his first on-screen appearance, Duardo Silva has already appeared in the comics Respawn regularly posts to their Twitter account. The last time fans caught a glimpse of the Big Pharma billionaire, Duardo was physically abusing his son, slicing Octane’s face open with the glass from a broken beer bottle even after Octane had done his bidding and filed the serial numbers off of the Icarus. It’s certainly easy to see how a pharmaceutical company might stand to benefit from unleashing a virus on unsuspecting citizens, but until today, fans weren’t aware was pulling the Mercenary Syndicate’s strings behind the scenes of the Apex Games.
It’s unclear what Duardo hopes to gain from backing Mad Maggie, but it’s probably safe to say that another boost to the ratings of televised Apex matches is likely just the tip of the iceberg. More details on Duardo’s undoubtedly-nefarious plans may come to light on January 27th, when the Season 12 launch trailer will be released.
In the meantime, there’s never been a better time to hit the firing range for some practice – if she’s this dangerous while restrained, Maggie will surely be a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. With her on the dropship, Fuse had better be sleeping with his good eye open. Here’s hoping he doesn’t end up taking a freshly-dislodged molar to the cornea like the unfortunate Syndicate judge.
Apex Legends is free to play on PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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