title: Bernie Kosar

text: Bernard Joseph Kosar Jr. (born November 25, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played collegiately at the University of Miami where he led the team to a national championship in 1983. He subsequently played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns from 1985 to 1993 and the Dallas Cowboys (1993) and Miami Dolphins (1994 to 1996). He was the backup quarterback on the 1993 Cowboys team that won Super Bowl XXVIII.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar was born in Youngstown, Ohio and raised in suburban Boardman Township. He is of Hungarian descent.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: He attended Boardman High School, where he earned "Parade" magazine All-American honors in 1981 as a senior and was Ohio's Division I "Player of the Year." He also gained recognition as a baseball player, especially for his pitching skills.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar was recruited by University of Miami head football coach Howard Schnellenberger, and Kosar committed to the University of Miami, which ran a passing-oriented offense and was beginning to emerge as one of the top football programs in the nation. Kosar proved instrumental in establishing the University of Miami nickname "Quarterback U" in reference to the number of top quarterbacks the program produced.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: After being redshirted in 1982, Kosar started all 12 games as a freshman in 1983. In the 1983 season, he completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 2,328 yards and 15 touchdowns, leading the Hurricanes to an 11–1 regular season and a berth in the Orange Bowl against top-ranked Nebraska, which had won 22 consecutive games. In the game, Kosar passed for 300 yards and two touchdowns, and the Hurricanes topped the Cornhuskers 31–30 for Miami's first national championship. Kosar earned Orange Bowl MVP honors for his performance.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: In 1984, he set Hurricane season records with 3,642 yards and 25 touchdowns, was a second-team All-American and finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting. Kosar's career completion percentage of 62.3 percent is still a Hurricanes record.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar threw for 447 yards and two touchdowns, completing 25 of 38 attempts, in the Hurricanes' November 23, 1984 47–45 loss to Boston College when Flutie threw his famous "Hail Flutie" pass. Earlier in the same year, Kosar watched as replacement quarterback Frank Reich of the University of Maryland launched what was then the biggest comeback in college football history. Reich led the Maryland Terrapins back from a first-half deficit of 31–0 and won a 42–40 victory. The game and pass have been described as among the most memorable moments in sports history.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: His final collegiate game was the 1985 Fiesta Bowl against UCLA, which the Hurricanes lost 39–37. In that game, Kosar completed 31 of 44 passes for 294 yards, two touchdown passes and one interception.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar graduated from the University of Miami School of Business with a double major in finance and economics. He took 18 credit hours during the spring of 1985 and an additional six during the summer to graduate early.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar was interviewed about his time at the University of Miami for the documentary "The U", which premiered December 12, 2009, on ESPN.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: In 1985, Kosar was a highly sought NFL prospect, described as having "an elite football IQ" and "being able to decipher a defense quicker than his coaches." But his route from the University of Miami to the National Football League would prove to be filled with widespread controversy and the use of highly unconventional transactional and draft NFL tactics.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: In a March 14, 1985 press conference in Miami, Kosar announced that he was foregoing his final two years of collegiate eligibility at the University of Miami to enter the National Football League. Kosar grew up a Cleveland Browns fan, and also announced in the press conference that he would like to play for the Browns in his native Ohio.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: NFL rules at the time only permitted college seniors and college graduates to enter the 1985 NFL Draft, and Kosar was still a University of Miami underclassman in March 1985. To establish eligibility, Kosar announced he had arranged an expedited academic plan with 18 credits in spring 1985 and an additional six credits in the summer that would permit him to graduate from the University of Miami in time to meet the draft's eligibility requirements. In June 1985, the University of Miami notified the NFL that Kosar had met the course requirements to graduate.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Seeking to obtain Kosar in the NFL draft, the Minnesota Vikings on April 9, 1985 traded with the Houston Oilers to obtain a top draft selection and announced their intent to draft Kosar. Meanwhile, also seeking to draft Kosar, the Browns quietly traded their first round NFL draft selections for 1985 and 1986, their third round selection in 1985 and sixth selection in 1986 with the Buffalo Bills for the Bills' first pick in the 1985 supplemental draft, which paved the way for the Browns to select Kosar in the 1985 supplemental draft if Kosar entered it.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: The NFL deadline for the submission of formal eligibility documents for the 1985 draft was April 15, 1985, and the Vikings learned that Kosar had not met the deadline. "I'm as confused as you are," Vikings coach Bud Grant said at the time about Kosar. "We put our bid on the line. It's up to the commissioner whether you need a verbal or a written commitment from the man. He dropped out of football, hired an agent and declared he was going in the draft. The only thing he didn't do was sign a letter."


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Teams soon learned of the Browns' highly unorthodox trade with the Bills to obtain Kosar in the supplemental draft. Several teams asked then NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle to prevent the unusual trade between the Browns and Bills. Rozelle, in turn, announced that he was giving Kosar until April 23 to submit eligibility documents for either the traditional or supplemental draft. On April 25, Kosar held a press conference, announcing his intention to skip the traditional draft and enter the supplemental draft, where he expected to be selected with the Browns' first selection.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: The Houston Oilers, also seeking to draft Kosar in the traditional draft, threatened to sue to stop the entire draft unless Kosar was in it. Houston also appealed to the Vikings to join the suit. Kosar's agent, in turn, threatened to sue the NFL if Kosar was obligated to enter the traditional draft.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: But when the Vikings refused to join the suit, the Oilers dropped it. Kosar submitted documentation announcing his eligibility and participation in the 1985 supplemental draft.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Only July 3, 1985, the Browns used their first selection in the 1985 supplemental draft to select Kosar, offering him a five-year contract.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: The Browns intended for Kosar to serve as Gary Danielson's backup in Kosar's rookie season, but Danielson injured his shoulder in the fifth week. Kosar completed half of his passes in the team's run-oriented offense that year, and the team squeaked into the playoffs with an 8–8 record, losing to the Miami Dolphins in the divisional playoffs.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Danielson was injured again in the 1986 preseason. By the time Danielson healed and returned, however, Kosar had established himself as the Browns' permanent starter. In a new, passing-focused offense, Kosar threw for 3,854 yards and finished second in the league with 310 completions. The Browns took the top seed in the American Football Conference (AFC) with a 12–4 record. In the divisional playoffs against the New York Jets, Kosar threw for a then-playoff-record 489 yards (a record since eclipsed by Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII) in leading the Browns to a 23–20 comeback victory in double overtime. But the following week, John Elway's 98-yard drive in the kept the Browns out of the Super Bowl.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar's most productive year statistically was 1987. In the strike-shortened season, he completed 62 percent of his passes for 3,033 yards and 22 touchdowns and led the AFC in quarterback rating. In an against Elway's Denver Broncos, Kosar threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns in a 38–33 loss.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar spent most of the 1988 season sidelined with injuries but came back to throw for 3,533 yards in 1989. That year, the Browns advanced to the AFC championship for the third time in four years, in Denver.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar set a record for consecutive playoff games with at least three touchdown passes (3 games) having thrown three scores against both Indianapolis and Denver in 1987, and three against Buffalo in 1989.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar's later years in Cleveland were dampened by injuries and dwindling support around him. In 1990, Kosar threw a career-high 15 interceptions as the Browns went 3–13. He also started the 1990 season by setting an NFL record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception with 286. The following year, 1991, Kosar came back to throw for 3,487 yards and 18 touchdowns to only 9 interceptions. In 1990 and 1991, Kosar set league records by throwing 308 consecutive passes without an interception, which stood as an AFC League record for almost two decades.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: In 1991, the Browns hired Bill Belichick as head coach. Following a 1992 season that saw Kosar miss nine games with a broken ankle and go 2–5 in the games that he started, Belichick signed quarterback Vinny Testaverde, also a former University of Miami quarterback, prior to the 1993 season. After falling from 3–0 to 3–2 in the 1993 season, Belichick benched Kosar in favor of Testaverde. An injury to Testaverde returned Kosar to the field. After a 29–14 loss to Denver in Week 10, the Browns released Kosar.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar is today considered the "most beloved" Browns player in the franchise's history, according to polling of Browns' fans.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: After the Browns released Kosar, the Dallas Cowboys signed Kosar to a one-year, $1 million contract to fill in for injured Troy Aikman. Kosar played in four games for the Cowboys and earned his only Super Bowl championship as a backup in Super Bowl XXVIII. Kosar entered the game in the final play and knelt down to close the victory. A week prior to the Super Bowl, Kosar relieved an injured Aikman in the second half of the against the San Francisco 49ers, completing five of nine pass attempts for 83 yards and one touchdown.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar spent the final two years of his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins as backup to Dan Marino. Kosar brought to the Dolphins a trick play that helped the Dolphins top the New York Jets in a crucial 1994 game. With the clock winding down and the Dolphins trailing by three, Marino pretended to spike the ball to stop the clock. He then threw the winning touchdown pass to Mark Ingram.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar finished his 12-season career with 1,994 completions in 3,365 attempts for 23,301 yards and 124 touchdowns, 87 interceptions, and five rushing touchdowns. In November 1991, Kosar also set the NFL record for most consecutive completed passes without an interception, a record that stood until broken by Tom Brady on December 26, 2010.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Since his NFL retirement in 1996, Kosar has been involved in several sports and business-related ventures. He hosted the Nestlé/Bernie Kosar Charity Classic at Tanglewood National Golf Club in Bainbridge Township, Ohio throughout the 1990s.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: In 2001, Kosar purchased the Florida Panthers, a National Hockey League team, along with pharmaceutical businessman Alan Cohen.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: In 2007, there was some speculation that Kosar might take the head coaching job at the University of Miami, his alma mater and where he holds a seat on the university's board of regents. Kosar acknowledged that he had considered taking the job before it was ultimately offered to Randy Shannon.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar also purchased a minority share in the Arena Football League's Las Vegas Gladiators in 2007 and announced that the team would move to Cleveland and play under the name Cleveland Gladiators. On October 16, 2007, Kosar was named team president and CEO of the franchise. The Gladiators finished the 2008 regular season 9–7, earning them a playoff berth.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: In September 2022, Kosar launched "The Bernie Kosar Show" with local sports media company BIGPLAY. A sports podcast with Cleveland Browns cornerback Hanford Dixon interviewing athletes and discussing the Cleveland Browns past present, and future.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Following the 2008–2009 recession, Kosar and his businesses declared bankruptcy on June 19, 2009, later revealing $9.2 million in assets and $18.9 million in debt. Kosar's initial bankruptcy filing was a Chapter 11 restructuring, but the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Ft. Lauderdale on January 6, 2010 ordered the proceeding be changed to a Chapter 7 liquidation. Under the restructuring, Kosar's filings proposed protecting his NFL pension, though it was unclear if this will be permitted under a Chapter 7 proceeding.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: In July 2010, it was reported that Kosar was on the verge of losing property in Geauga County, Ohio for unpaid back taxes totaling $173,557.90. In September 2010, the trustees of Auburn Township indicated it was considering purchasing the land in foreclosure.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar has lent his name to Kosar's Wood-Fired Grill at the Hard Rock Rock Casino Northfield Park in Northfield, Ohio, which opened in December 2013.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar has teamed with Ohio grocery chain Heinen's for a motivational and wellness seminar series based on Kosar's autobiography, "Learning to Scramble", which he published in 2017.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: On June 22, 1990, Kosar married Babette Ferre who he first met as a University of Miami student. They have four now-adult children. Ferre filed for divorce in 2005, alleging that Kosar had engaged in reckless spending, bad investments, and drug use. The divorce was finalized in 2007. Kosar dated Tami Longaberger of The Longaberger Company from 2009 to 2013.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar was prominently featured in "Broke", a 2012 ESPN "30 For 30" documentary about the financial problems common among high-earning athletes. According to one review of "Broke", "[Kosar's] story proved to be the true heart of the film" with Kosar's upfront discussion of family problems and bad business decisions.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar continues to deal with lingering health issues related to several concussions he sustained during his playing career and is currently in a treatment program to alleviate his symptoms. Kosar says the experimental treatment has been helpful and has promoted it to other players who may have developed symptoms related to chronic traumatic encephalopathy. For over a decade, Kosar's symptoms have included insomnia, slurred speech, and a ringing in his head.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: On September 29, 2013, Kosar was pulled over by law enforcement in Solon, Ohio for speeding and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. He later pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of reckless operation and received a $750 fine and suspended jail sentence.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: Kosar's political views are undetermined, but was invited to the 2016 Republican National Convention, and spoke positively of host state Ohio and host city Cleveland in the context of the Convention being held there. In 2022, he appeared in an advertisement for Tim Ryan, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Ohio.


title: Bernie Kosar

text: In the 2010 novel "I Am Number Four" by Pittacus Lore, protagonist John Smith finds an abandoned beagle named "Bernie Kosar" who becomes Smith's pet. In the 2011 film adaptation, a poster of Kosar is shown in Smith's new bedroom.


title: King Krule

text: Archy Ivan Marshall (born 24 August 1994), also known by his stage name King Krule, among other names, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, rapper and record producer.


title: King Krule

text: He began recording music in 2010 under the moniker Zoo Kid. The following year he adopted his present name. He has released several EPs and his debut full-length album, "6 Feet Beneath the Moon", was released in 2013 to positive critical reception. His third album, "The Ooz", was released on 13 October 2017 and his fourth album, "Man Alive!", was released on 21 February 2020 both to further critical acclaim.


title: King Krule

text: Archy Marshall was born to Rachel Howard and Adam Marshall in Southwark, London. He has family in the Czech Republic. During an interview with "The Guardian"s Rob Fitzpatrick, Marshall said that from a young age, he experienced discipline issues and refused to go to school. Throughout his childhood, he spent much of his time between his father's house in Peckham and his mother's house in East Dulwich; his mother was much less strict than his father, who had many rules. Marshall recalls that his father had to physically carry him to school, otherwise he would skip and hide in his room. Once he turned 13 years old, he was given a private house tutor. He was later accepted into the Brit School to study art, where he struggled with discipline initially, but soon found his place.


title: King Krule

text: Marshall has said that he was tested for several mental health conditions at London's Maudsley Hospital. He claims that the tests took a toll on him; that the doctors, counsellors and psychiatrists were wrong most of the time; that he hated everybody; and that he would hide in his room for hours on end. He refers to his mental health issues, such as depression and insomnia, in some of his lyrics.


title: King Krule

text: During an interview with NPR, Marshall recalled that he often created art in many different media, as his parents encouraged creativity throughout his childhood. He noted that visual art in particular is important to him, and he mentioned that he carefully crafts his music videos and album art such that they reflect his particular aesthetic sensibility.


title: King Krule

text: During Marshall's years at Forest Hill School and then at the Brit School alongside long-time collaborator Jamie Isaac between 2008 and 2011, he released two singles as "Zoo Kid". He created a genre of music called "Bluewave" and its form was realised in the mixtape entitled "U.F.O.W.A.V.E". In July 2011, Marshall began playing under a new moniker, King Krule, at a festival in Hyères, France. Later that year he released his eponymous debut EP. Contrary to some reports, his stage name is not inspired by the character of King K. Rool from the "Donkey Kong" "Country" video game series, but rather by the Elvis Presley film "King Creole".


title: King Krule

text: King Krule released his debut album "6 Feet Beneath the Moon" on 24 August 2013, his 19th birthday. More than half of the tracks had already been released on his EPs. This brought him to prominence, especially in the US, with performances on "Conan" and the "Late Show with David Letterman".


title: King Krule

text: On 8 January 2014, he released a video for "A Lizard State" which gained over 800,000 views on YouTube. In February 2014, King Krule appeared on the cover of "The Fader" in its 90th issue.


title: King Krule

text: In December 2015, under the name Archy Marshall, he released an album titled "A New Place 2 Drown", which includes 12 songs, a 208-page book of visual art and text and a ten-minute documentary. He partnered with his brother, Jack Marshall, on this project. In an interview with NPR, Marshall said that he wanted the album to have a physical component, as well as something for the eyes and the ears. He released the album under the name Archy Marshall rather than King Krule to differentiate between the two different genres of music, as he claims that he thought of "A New Place 2 Drown" as a hip hop album rather than the dark alternative/jazz sound of "6 Feet Beneath the Moon."


title: King Krule

text: Marshall took to NTS Radio, hosted by Mount Kimbie, and released two songs under the name Edgar the Beatmaker. The first song is untitled, and the second is titled "When and Why". In August 2017, Marshall released a new song entitled "Czech One". This was a King Krule release, the first since the release of his debut album in 2013. In September 2017, Marshall released a new song entitled "Dum Surfer", released under the name King Krule. On 13 October, Marshall released his second full album "The Ooz" under King Krule. It included the singles released in the previous two months as well as 17 new songs. The album received positive reviews, and was ranked the #83 most discussed album of 2017 and the 75th most shared album of 2017 according to Metacritic. The album ranked 23 out of 100 on Official Chart Ranking and was ranked 8.7 out of 10 based on 56 ratings. "Pitchfork" named the album the best rock album of 2017 and the third best album overall of 2017. It was nominated for IMPALA's European Album of the Year Award.


title: King Krule

text: On 8 March 2018 a live performance of songs from "The Ooz" was uploaded to the Molten Jets youtube channel, titled "King Krule - Live from the moon". This performance consisted of 8 different songs and was directed by Ja Humby.


title: King Krule

text: On 14 January 2020, Marshall announced his third King Krule album titled "Man Alive!" and released the single "(Don't Let the Dragon) Draag On" , as well as the single "Alone, Omen 3" on 5 February. Days before the album release, he released the single "Cellular" along with an animated music video, directed by Jamie Wolfe. The album was released on 21 February. On 10 September 2021, King Krule released the live album "You Heat Me Up, You Cool Me Down".


title: King Krule

text: Many reviewers and journalists have noted King Krule's unusual transcendence and appropriation of disparate genres. His music has been described mainly with jazz derivatives such as punk jazz and jazz fusion, but also as darkwave, post-punk and hip hop. Writers have also noted elements of trip hop, jazz rap and dub in some of his songs. Jason Lymangrover of Allmusic states that his songs are mainly in the form of ballads with major seventh chords, but by contrast there is also a "grittiness" to Archy's voice and persona, portraying him as "the type of kid who would be quick to throw a punch without asking questions."


title: King Krule

text: His music has been likened to Morrissey and Edwyn Collins. He is inspired by disparate influences such as Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Josef K, Chet Baker, Fela Kuti, J Dilla, Billy Bragg, Aztec Camera (his godfather is the band's former drummer, Dave Ruffy) and The Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Marshall said in an interview with The Guardian that he began his musical career with the influence of Pixies and The Libertines.


title: King Krule

text: Marshall's lyrics, according to a "Flaunt" magazine interview, generally consist of romance, sex, aggression, conflict, and depression. These themes link to his literary influences, in which Marshall further elaborated: "Literature, poems, songs are all very similar[.] I used to read lots of poetry and sit there for ages trying to decipher the meaning, or work out the narration behind it all, then I found my own form of that. [...] you can see how their metaphors develop and understand their uses. So really, I learnt to do that for myself."


title: King Krule

text: Marshall is in a relationship with English photographer Charlotte Patmore. Patmore has been a collaborator with him on photography and videography projects for several years, and has been involved with several of his music videos, including the video for the song "Cadet Limbo", which Patmore directed. In 2019 Patmore directed Hey World!, a video preceding the release of Marshall's album Man Alive!. They have one child, a daughter born in 2019.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: Oliver Queen, also known by his alter-ego the Green Arrow, is a fictional character in The CW's Arrowverse franchise, first introduced in the 2012 pilot episode of the television series "Arrow". The character is based on the DC Comics character of the same name, created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, and was adapted for television in 2012 by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg. Oliver Queen has been continually portrayed by Stephen Amell, with Jacob Hoppenbrouwer portraying a young Oliver.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In the series, Oliver, a billionaire playboy, who claimed to have spent five years shipwrecked on Lian Yu, a mysterious island in the North China Sea, returns home to Starling City (later renamed "Star City") to fight crime and corruption as a secret vigilante whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrow. During the first season, Oliver focuses on a list of targets, written by his father, that are taking advantage of the city's citizens. Subsequent seasons have him venturing into all criminal activity, and he shifts from being willing to kill to having a rule against all killing as a means of stopping assailants. In "Arrow", Oliver is known during the first season as "The Hood or The Vigilante", but drops those personas once he vows to stop killing and starts using a new name: "The Arrow". He does not take up the "Green Arrow" mantle until season four, after Roy Harper publicly confesses to being "The Arrow" to protect Oliver. He is a friend and frequent ally of the Central City-based superhero The Flash, White Canary, who leads the superhero team the Legends, and the Kryptonian superheroine Supergirl.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: Amell has appeared as Oliver Queen and his vigilante persona in crossovers on the television series "The Flash", "Legends of Tomorrow", "Supergirl", and the animated web series "Vixen", all which are set in the Arrowverse. The character has also appeared in several tie-in comics and novels, as well as appearing in three video games. Amell has received praise from critics for his portrayal of Oliver Queen, and he has been nominated for various awards for his performance, including a People's Choice and Leo Award.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: Oliver Queen first appears in the pilot episode of "Arrow". He is discovered on the deserted island of Lian Yu by fishermen, having been shipwrecked there five years earlier following the destruction of his family yacht the "Queen's Gambit", which he was on with his father Robert Queen (Jamey Sheridan) and Sara Lance (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), who did not survive. Oliver returns to Starling City and is greeted by his mother Moira (Susanna Thompson), his sister Thea (Willa Holland), his best friend Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell), and ex-girlfriend Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy). Unknown to his friends and family, Oliver has returned to Starling City to carry out a plan of redemption for his father, who Oliver believes failed to do everything he could to help the citizens of Starling City. Season one focuses on Oliver readjusting to life during the day and spending his nights dressed as a hooded vigilante. As his vigilante persona, Oliver carries a bow and various types of specialty arrows, and acts as judge, jury, and if necessary executioner to the wealthy that have used their money and power to take advantage and hurt the citizens of Starling City, and in the process embroiled into conflicts with some of the city's criminals including the Triad leader China White (Kelly Hu) and drug lord The Count (Seth Gabel).


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In the episodes "Lone Gunmen" and "The Odyssey", Oliver is forced to reveal his identity to his bodyguard John Diggle (David Ramsey) and Queen Consolidated IT specialist Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards). Afterward, each joins Oliver in his quest to save Starling City from a mysterious group who is determined to destroy the Glades, an area of Starling City filled with crime and the underprivileged. Ultimately, Oliver discovers that the group's leader is Tommy's father Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman), who is also responsible for Oliver's family's yacht's sabotage and thus his own father's death, which leads Oliver and the elder Merlyn to become enemies. Season one also features flashbacks to Oliver's time on Lian Yu and the inhabitants that he encounters while there. In season one, Oliver meets Yao Fei (Byron Mann) and Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett), who teach Oliver how to survive on the island, training him to fight and use a bow, while plotting to stop Edward Fyers (Sebastian Dunn) from taking out a Chinese commercial airliner.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In season two, Oliver is initially found back on the island, having returned as penance for what he views a personal responsibility for the successful destruction of the Glades and the loss of his best friend. He eventually returns to save his family's company, and decides that he needs to honor his friend by stopping crime in the city without killing. Oliver spends season two being harassed by Slade Wilson, who survived Lian Yu and arrives in Starling City determined to make Oliver suffer the way he did on the island. By the end of the season, Oliver has lost his company to Slade, and must contend with an army of soldiers with superhuman strength that are determined to destroy Starling City on Slade's orders. Oliver and his friends—which now includes trained assassin Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), an aspiring vigilante named Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), and members of the League of Assassins—are able to stop the army and Slade. Season two flashbacks focused on the deteriorating relationship between Oliver and Slade, the discovery of a formula that can create super strength and near invulnerability called the Mirakuru, and a group of prisoners being experimented upon just off the coast of the island.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In season three, Oliver is brought into a confrontation with Ra's al Ghul (Matthew Nable) after Sara's death. In order to protect his sister, who had been drugged and coerced into killing Sara by Malcolm, Oliver claims responsibility for the murder and engages Ra's in a trial by combat. After surviving the sword of Ra's al Ghul, he is pursued by Ra's to become the new leader of the League. After Ra's mortally wounds Thea, Oliver accepts his offer so that he can use the Lazarus Pit to save Thea. In "Al Sah-him", Oliver appears in Starling City to kill Nyssa al Ghul (Katrina Law), who also claims the title of "Heir to the Demon", where it is revealed that he has been brainwashed by Ra's into renouncing all things "Oliver Queen". In "This Is Your Sword", it is shown that Oliver is actually lying to Ra's, and planning to destroy the League from the inside. The season three finale features Oliver killing Ra's, and subsequently giving up being a hero for Starling City and leaving to have a new life with Felicity. Over the course of the season, Laurel and Thea take over Sara and Roy's roles on the team. Season three flashbacks focused on Oliver living in Hong Kong and training under Amanda Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and her subordinates.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In season four, after retiring from vigilantism, Oliver has live a happy life with Felicity Smoak at Ivy Town, until Thea and Laurel approach him, telling that they need him back at the newly rechristened Star City, which has been taken over by "Ghosts". He eventually discovers that the mastermind is H.I.V.E.'s leader Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough), and become enemies with Darhk as both himself and his vigilante alter-ego. As the "Arrow" persona has been tarnished, Oliver now goes by the code name "The Green Arrow" as he becomes a vigilante once again, but as a symbol of hope for the city, gradually regaining Diggle's trust. Oliver also decides to run for mayor of Star City. During this time, Oliver discovers that he is the biological father to a nine-year child named William (Jack Moore), with Samantha Clayton (Anna Hopkins), a college classmate whom Oliver had a one-night stand during his relationship with Laurel. This discovery complicates his relationship with Felicity and his duty as Green Arrow, as well as threatens to jeopardize his mayoral campaign. After subsequent attacks from Darhk leaving Felicity permanently paraplegic, his son being kidnapped and Laurel is killed, leading Oliver to take his opportunity to kill Darhk when it arises, while his team helps avert Darhk's plans for a nuclear holocaust. Season four flashbacks focus on Oliver returning to Lian Yu on Amanda Waller's orders to infiltrate the mysterious Shadowspire organization.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In season five, Oliver recruits a team of vigilantes to help balance his double life as Green Arrow and Star City's mayor. He is also stalked by a mysterious archer, Prometheus (Josh Segarra), who has some troublesome link to his past as the Arrow. Later Oliver figures out that Prometheus is someone close to him. Oliver is also facing with the possibility that his life might have been inadvertently affected by his friend and ally Barry Allen's (Grant Gustin) time-travelling actions. The season's flashbacks explore Oliver's time in Russia, where he joins the Bratva as part of an assassination ploy against Konstantin Kovar (Dolph Lundgren) and exploring the criminal fraternity in the process. There, he meets and is trained by one of Ra's al Ghul's daughters, Talia al Ghul (Lexa Doig), as a hooded archer, before eventually returning to Lian Yu and subsequently Starling City.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In season six, after a series of battles with Prometheus led to Samantha's death, Oliver struggles to raise William himself and tries to have a relationship with his son. After he and Felicity rekindled their romance, they eventually married at Central City with Barry Allen and Iris West (Candice Patton) marrying alongside them. Oliver also develops a feud with hacktivist Cayden James (Michael Emerson) and his cabal, and also discovers Ricardo Diaz (Kirk Acevedo) is manipulating them to against each other before battling Oliver himself after killing James. By the end of the season, Oliver is forced to turn himself in to the FBI in exchange of their aids against Diaz, reveals to the world that he is Green Arrow in the process.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In season seven, Oliver tries to get his sentence reduced for good behaviors in hopes to return to his family, but is complicated by some of his old enemies who are imprisoned with him and in addition some inmates who work for Diaz. He learns that there is another vigilante archer in Star City, whom the media dubs as the new Green Arrow. Through the news reports, Oliver discovers that the vigilante's skills and tactics eerily matched his. Unbeknownst to Oliver, the vigilante is actually his unknown paternal half-sister Emiko (Sea Shimooka), who was conceived from his father's extramarital affair with a woman named Kazumi Adachi. When Ricardo Diaz is captured, Oliver is released from prison and deputized as part of the Star City Police Department and resumes fighting crime as the Green Arrow, now fighting without the mask and hood. Eventually Emiko is revealed as the leader of a criminal organization named the Ninth Circle, who seeks to destroy Oliver's legacy. In the season finale, Team Arrow thwart the Ninth Circle's plan and Oliver makes amends with Emiko before her death. Oliver and Felicity leave Star City to hide from the Ninth Circle. After Felicity gives birth to a girl named Mia (Katherine McNamara), she and Oliver are confronted by the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett), who previously made a deal with Oliver to save Barry and Kara Danvers's (Melissa Benoist) lives in exchange for his help in the impending crisis that threatens the multiverse. Oliver leaves with the Monitor despite knowing that he will not return from the calamity. The season's flash-forwards focus on the children of some of the ex members of Team Arrow, like William (Ben Lewis) and Mia (Katherine McNamara), Oliver and Felicity's children, Diggle's adoptive son Connor Hawke, and Rene Ramirez's daughter Zoe, in adulthood as they battle a company called Galaxy One.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In the final season, Oliver works with Mar Novu to prevent an impending crisis following a deal he made with Oliver to save the lives of Barry Allen and Kara Danvers. For his first mission, Novu takes Oliver to Earth-2 to retrieve dwarf star particles from Tommy Merlyn, who is the Dark Archer of that Earth, with the help of Laurel and Earth 2's Green Arrow Adrian Chase. Oliver succeeds in his mission, only to witness Earth-2's destruction with Laurel its only survivor.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: After Diggle and Tatsu help him place a scientist named Dr. Robert Wong in A.R.G.U.S. custody, Oliver reunites with Thea and Talia when he travels to Nanda Parbat where he learns Novu might be causing the crisis rather than preventing it. He is then taken back to the bunker where he meets the future versions of his children Mia and William as well as Connor Hawke, John's future adopted son. Oliver decides to bond with future Mia and William as he expects that would he not live past the Crisis, shocked from learning his and his friends' children are at war with each other in the future, and Rene's daughter Zoe is killed by Diggle's son J.J. during the conflict. Oliver and his team are able to gather the resources to try and oppose the Monitor's predicted destruction, but Oliver is eventually killed in the opening hour of the Crisis when he sacrifices himself to help the residents of Earth-38 evacuate by protecting a tower that is holding back the anti-matter destruction. Mia and Sara attempt to revive him with a Lazarus Pit, but are only able to restore his body without retrieving his soul. John Constantine takes John Diggle and Mia to Earth-666 to collect on a favor with Lucifer to try and retrieve Oliver's soul from Purgatory, but before he can be brought back to his body, Oliver is 'recruited' by Jim Corrigan to become the host of the powerful entity known as the Spectre. Having contacted the surviving seven Paragons of the multiverse (Barry, Sara, Kara, J'onn J'onzz, Kate Kane/Batwoman, Ryan Choi, and Lex Luthor), Oliver is able to lead them into a position where they can confront the Anti-Monitor's forces while he faces the villain himself and triggers the reconstruction of the universe at the cost of his own life. The final episode of "Crisis" sees the heroes assemble a Crisis team to respond to future threats in a more pre-emptive manner, preceded by a news broadcast where the President asks the world to honour Oliver for his sacrifice. The final episode of "Arrow" depicts Oliver's funeral, attended by Barry, Kara, and all of Oliver's key friends and family, including the resurrected Tommy Merlyn, Moira Queen, and Quentin Lance (Thea and Moira speculate that Oliver didn't restore his father to life as Robert living would have affected Oliver's ability to become a hero). At the conclusion of the episode, set in 2040, the Monitor brings Felicity to a pocket dimension where she can be with Oliver forever in a version of the afterlife.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: Amell has appeared as Oliver Queen in six Arrowverse shows, "Arrow", "Batwoman","The Flash", "Legends of Tomorrow", "Vixen" and "Supergirl", having appeared in all seasons of "Arrow" (8 seasons), "The Flash" (6 seasons) and "Vixen" (2 seasons). He also appeared in 3 seasons of "Legends of Tomorrow", 3 seasons of "Supergirl" and the first season of "Batwoman". In the 2014–15 television season he made his first crossover appearance as Oliver's vigilante persona in the pilot episode of "The Flash", giving Barry Allen some advice on becoming a hero. Following that, he appeared in "The Flash"s eighth episode, titled "Flash vs. Arrow", where he learns about metahumans and is forced to fight Barry after the latter is chemically brainwashed into becoming volatile and physically aggressive. Oliver also appeared in the 22nd episode of "The Flash", "Rogue Air", helping Barry and Firestorm, Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell) and Martin Stein (Victor Garber), defeat the Reverse-Flash (Tom Cavanagh).


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In the 2015–16 television season he voiced the character in the first season of the web series "Vixen", in which he and Barry track down Mari McCabe (Megalyn Echikunwoke), the wielder of the Tantu totem who becomes the mystical vigilante Vixen, and become her allies. Oliver later appeared in a two-part crossover spanning the "Flash" season two episode "Legends of Today" and the "Arrow" season four episode "Legends of Yesterday", with his and Barry's respective teams working together to stop Vandal Savage (Casper Crump). He briefly appears in the pilot episode of "Legends of Tomorrow", advising Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) on joining Rip Hunter's (Arthur Darvill) time-travelling mission. Oliver appears once again in "Legends of Tomorrow", in its sixth episode "Star City 2046", as a possible 2046 version of the character. This version has a goatee and is missing his left arm with a cybernetic prosthesis, a nod to the portrayal of the character in "The Dark Knight Returns" and "The Dark Knight Strikes Again".


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In May 2015, Amell revealed he had discussions with DC Entertainment to portray the character on "Constantine", a show that was initially not depicted as existing in the shared universe created by The CW series, saying, "The reason that I was going to guest star on "Constantine", at least the idea that we were throwing around was <nowiki>[</nowiki>Constantine's] an expert when it comes to the Lazarus Pit, which is now something that is a part of and will continue to be a part of "Arrow"." Amell stated that, even though "Constantine" was not renewed for a second season on NBC, a crossover "was and is still on the table". In August 2015, it was confirmed that Matt Ryan, who portrayed Constantine, would appear on "Arrow" in the fourth-season episode "Haunted", per a "one-time-only" deal. This set the stage for Constantine to become part of the "Legends of Tomorrow" cast in the show's fourth season.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In the 2016–17 television season, he appeared in all 3 episodes of the "Arrow", "The Flash" and "Legends of Tomorrow" "Invasion!" storyline, where the Dominators attack Earth and the various heroes must band together to fight them off, forcing Oliver to face his role as the indirect catalyst of the modern age of heroes as he helps Barry Allen coordinate Earth's metahuman defenses. He also voiced the character for the second season of "Vixen". Oliver also appears in the season 2 premiere of "Legends of Tomorrow", in which he assists Nate Heywood (Nick Zano) in tracking down the "Waverider", where they discover Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell) in stasis after a showdown with Damien Dahrk in the year 1942, which resulted in Rip Hunter and the Legends being separated, with the exception of Rory, who fills in Oliver and Nate on what happened.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In the 2017–18 television season, he appeared in all 4 episodes of "Arrow", "The Flash", "Legends of Tomorrow" and "Supergirl" "Crisis on Earth-X" storyline, where Oliver and Sara lead the heroes of their world, Earth-38, and Earth-X to battle against invaders from the Nazi-ruled Earth-X. Oliver faces his fascistic parallel universe doppelgänger Dark Arrow (also portrayed by Amell when unmasked), whom Oliver is determined to kill, after discovering his counterpart's villainy and status as the Reich's leader. In the 2018–19 television season, he appeared in all 3 episodes of "Arrow", "The Flash" and "Supergirl" in the "Elseworlds" storyline, in which Oliver and Barry temporarily swap identities and powers due to the manipulation of psychiatrist John Deegan, who received the Book of Destiny from the powerful Monitor as part of a test.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In the 2019–20 television season, in the crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths", Oliver sacrifices himself trying to save Earth-38's people. In the afterlife, his spirit chooses to become the Spectre over being resurrected in order to gain the power necessary to defeat the Anti-Monitor. During the ensuing battle, Oliver uses his powers to recreate the multiverse, resulting Earth-1, Earth-38, and the Earth where television series "Black Lightning" is set being merged into Earth-Prime. Though Oliver died a second time as a result, his friends and allies continue to defend Earth-Prime in his memory.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In the season 2 episode of "The Flash", "Enter Zoom", it is revealed through video footage from Earth-2 that the Oliver Queen of that Earth died when the "Queen's Gambit" sunk, and that his father, Robert Queen, survived and went on to become a vigilante known as 'The Hood'. In the first episode of the final season of "Arrow", Adrian Chase became Earth-2's version of the Arrow. In the season 1 episode of "Legends of Tomorrow", "Star City 2046", the Legends arrive in a future version of Star City in the year 2046, which is later revealed to be on Earth-16. They meet an older Oliver Queen who fought Grant Wilson, Slade's son, who took the mantle of Deathstroke. Wilson defeated Oliver and severed his left arm, and eventually devastated the whole city. Oliver replaced his arm with a cybernetic arm and out of grief, vanished from the public and hid himself in his bunker. During the Crisis on Earth-X crossover event, set on Earth-53, one of the main antagonists is revealed to be that Earth's Oliver Queen. Known as , the character is Adolf Hitler's successor as "Führer", in a world where the Nazis won World War II, and have achieved world domination. He is married to Overgirl (Melissa Benoist), the Earth-X version of Kara Zor-El. Another archer from Earth-X named Black Arrow, voiced by Matthew Mercer, appears in the animated web series "".


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: The "Arrow" version of Oliver Queen first appeared in the 2012 prequel comic "Arrow #1: Special Edition". The comic was released before the series aired and it ties in with the TV series' first season. The comic was later developed into an ongoing digital comic series titled "Arrow", that lasted 36 chapters between 2012–13 and featured various storylines. The next year, the character appeared in "", a bi-weekly comic series which bridged the gap between the end of season two and the start of season three.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In 2015, Oliver appeared in tie-in novel, "", written by Oscar Balderrama and Lauren Certo. In 2016 he appeared in the crossover novel "" written by Susan and Clay Griffith, and in 2017 in the conclusion of the crossover, "", by the same authors. In 2018 Oliver appeared in the tie-in novel "", co-authored by Marc Guggenheim and James R. Tuck, published in January 2018, which bridged the gap between the season five finale and the season six premiere.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In the canon comic miniseries "Earth-Prime", Oliver has returned from the dead in 2040 and is once again operating as Spectre.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: Amell was cast as Queen in January 2012, and was the first actor to audition for the role, with Kreisberg saying that Amell "hit the target from the outset" and "everyone else just paled in comparison". Producer Marc Guggenheim expressed that the creative team wanted to "chart [their] own course, [their] own destiny", and avoid any direct connections to "Smallville", which featured its own Oliver Queen / Green Arrow (Justin Hartley), opting to cast a new actor in the role. It was also the first script that Amell auditioned for during pilot season, having received multiple scripts at the start of the year. For Amell, the appeal of portraying Queen was that he saw multiple roles tied to the same character: "There’s Queen the casual playboy; Queen the wounded hero; Queen the brooding Hamlet; Queen the lover; Queen the man of action, and so on." The actor, who was already in shape from "Rent-a-Goalie", did physical fitness training at Tempest Freerunning Academy out of Reseda, Los Angeles, California. Amell received archery training as well, which included watching a video on how archery has been displayed inaccurately or poorly in television and film before learning the basics of shooting a bow. Amell describes the up-keep on his fitness as the biggest physical challenge of the series. Amell stated that he has to "steal time at the gym", and spends time on set being active.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In season one, Oliver is not afraid to kill criminals when he deems it necessary. Pilot episode director David Nutter believes that, following the time on the island, Oliver returns to Starling City with Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and this contributes to his willingness to kill. Amell stated, "Killing people is gonna start to weigh on Oliver. He can't [complete his mission] by himself. He's gonna have to lean on somebody." Amell describes Oliver as having to battle himself in season one. Similarly identifying Oliver as having PTSD, Amell sees the character as a "damaged individual" who is a "ticking time bomb"; Oliver is not only doing good things, but falling along the way. For Amell, the character's damaged nature will weigh on him throughout season one, because he must hide his new self from his family, and masquerade as the "entitled jerk" that he once was.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: Originally framed as a 'billionaire playboy', the character was involved in multiple romantic pairings over the course of the series first two seasons. However, from season three onwards his principal romantic relationship is with the character Felicity Smoak, who was originally slated to appear in one episode of season one, but went on to become a main character. The dynamic was developed between the pair in season two, with Stephen Amell stating "she’s the woman at the moment who knows me better than anybody". Speaking to TV Line before the season three premiere, when asked whether or not "there is a place on "Arrow" for a great love", Amell stated "I think that both Laurel and Sara, for Oliver, were loves that were principally from the past, from before the boat. And any other sort of brief relationship that he’s had has been flawed. Felicity has clearly, over the course of two-plus seasons, grown into that love for him." Talking about the development of the relationship in 2018, he stated that "in our show, it was Oliver and Felicity, and it was going to be them no matter what". Actress Emily Bett Rickards, who portrays Felicity, believes she and Oliver and are soul mates, a sentiment echoed by Amell. Showrunner and executive producer Wendy Mericle described the emotional journey Oliver goes through during the 2017 Arrowverse crossover, in which he and Felicity marry, as one where he "explores the question of true love". Talking about the relationship in the latter half of season seven, showrunner Beth Schwartz commented "They're definitely on track. They're back to, in a sense, being normal between each other. There's no friction between the relationship. They have a lot of obstacles in their way, but they'll be a team. It won't separate them. ... They'll be a force to reckon with."


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: Oliver also has connections with the other characters on the show. Amell sees the relationship between Oliver and his mother, upon his return from the island, as almost adversarial. To him, the Queen family has many skeletons in their closets, which helped them to amass their wealth, and his return is a threat to that way of life. Oliver's relationship with his younger sister Thea changes once he returns from the island as well. Amell notes that Thea looks up to Oliver before he went missing, but it was an Oliver that was immature and a jerk. When he returns, Thea has taken over that role and Oliver has to recognize that his behaviors before impeded his ability to get through to Thea in season one.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: The realistic approach to the series included the costume design for Oliver's vigilante persona, created by Colleen Atwood. According to Amell, it was important for the suit to be functional, and the best way that he knew for that was if he could put the costume on by himself: "If I can put it on by myself, I think that people will buy it. And that was our idea. That’s our world."


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In the second half of season two, Oliver replaces his "painted" mask with a domino mask gifted to him by Barry, similar to one worn by the character in the comics. The change is addressed on-screen, with Kreisberg saying, "He doesn't just put on a mask. It's actually a big plot point in an episode, and there really is a story behind, not only the need for the mask but also who provides him with it." On adding the mask now, Kreisberg stated that, "Conceptually, it was something we wanted to do because Oliver himself is evolving as the Arrow—from vigilante to hero, sort of from Arrow to Green Arrow—and we wanted to see that progression in his costume as well. As Oliver is embracing being a hero, being a hero means stepping out of the dark and being more of a symbol, so he has to take steps to conceal his identity more." He added that it will "allow the Arrow to interact with people who don't know his identity in a much more organic way than having him constantly keep his head down." Costume designer Maya Mani put together roughly 50 mask options for the producers. Various designs reminded the creative team of something Joel Schumacher would create. Kreisberg said, "What's so wonderful about the design that Maya came up with is that it really is very simple, and it feels as if it’s been part of his costume since the beginning...once we finally had this mask and put it on Stephen [Amell], even Stephen was like, 'This is the right one.


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: In season four, Oliver acquires a new costume. Designed by Mani at the end of season three, the costume originally had full sleeves. After input from producer Greg Berlanti and Amell, Mani redesigned the costume to show off the character's biceps, and be more reflective of the comic book counterpart. According to Mani, "I wanted it to be tactical, so the shoulders are a little tougher [...] I also wanted him to be able to remove a layer or be in the layer and still be the Arrow, but not have the full fig on."


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: Andy Greenwald of "Grantland" wrote that Amell deserves a "great deal of the credit" for "Arrow"s success, as he brings a subtle humor hidden beneath his "Hollister veneer". Greenwald goes on to state that Amell's performance as Oliver Queen makes that persona a more interesting character than the Arrow. "Entertainment Weekly"s Ken Tucker acknowledged Amell's range as an actor for the series premiere: "Amell is no mere muscle-head as an actor — he let confusion, dismay, disappointment, and resolve play across his face at the right moments, even when the dialogue became stilted or clunky." Neil Genzlinger wrote in "The New York Times" that Amell was "just inscrutable enough to pull off the transition from the playboy he was before the shipwreck to the avenging, bow-wielding Green Arrow he becomes on his return to civilization". The "San Francisco Chronicle"s David Wiegand came to a similar conclusion, stating Amell has the "acting skill that enables him to be convincing both as rescued rich kid Oliver Queen and as his green-hooded alter ego, Arrow". In contrast, "The Guardian"s Stephen Kelly found Amell more "uncomfortable and awkward" in the role, which made it difficult to like his character as a "traumatised badass".


title: Oliver Queen (Arrowverse)

text: A representation of Amell's character has appeared in two video game products. The 2013 game "" contains downloadable content that features an optional costume for Green Arrow based on Queen's appearance in the first season. Amell provides his voice and likeness to the costume. 2014's "" features an "Arrow" downloadable content pack that includes Oliver Queen in his Arrow persona, as well as a bonus level set on Lian Yu in which Oliver trains with Slade and raids Fyers' camp to destroy a weapons stockpile. Amell also voiced the traditional Green Arrow in the game. The Arrow would once again appear as a downloadable character in "Lego DC Super-Villains" as Green Arrow's TV Heroes variant instead of a separate character this time.


title: History of Lego

text: The history of Lego began in 1932, when Ole Kirk Christiansen founded the company in a Danish carpentry workshop, and continues into the 21st century as a popular and very profitable line of construction toys and related products and services (including Lego board games, retail stores, Lego video games, Lego films, Legoland theme parks, and Lego Serious Play consultant services), with a significant impact on various areas of popular culture. Despite its expansion, the company remains privately held.


title: History of Lego

text: The Lego Group began in the carpentry workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen in Billund, Denmark. In 1916, Christiansen purchased a woodworking shop in Billund, which had been in business since 1895. The shop mostly helped construct houses and furniture and had a small staff of apprentices. The workshop burned down in 1924 when a fire ignited some wood shavings. Christiansen constructed a larger workshop and worked towards expanding his business even further. When the Great Depression hit, he had fewer customers and had to focus on smaller projects. He began producing miniature versions of his products as design aids. It was these miniature models of stepladders and ironing boards that inspired him to begin producing toys.


title: History of Lego

text: On 10 August 1932, Christiansen's shop started making wooden toys such as piggy banks, pull toys, cars and trucks, and houses, but because of the state of the economy, the business was not profitable. Farmers in the area sometimes traded food in exchange for his toys; Christiansen continued producing practical furniture in addition to toys to stay in business. In the mid-1930s, the yo-yo toy fad gave him a brief period of increased activity until it suddenly collapsed. To reduce waste, he used the leftover yo-yo parts as wheels for toy trucks. His son Godtfred began working for him, taking an active role in the company.


title: History of Lego

text: In 1934, Christiansen held a contest among his staff to name the company, offering a bottle of homemade wine as a prize. Christiansen was considering two names himself, "Legio" (with the implication of a "Legion of toys") and "Lego," a self-made contraction from the Danish phrase "leg godt", meaning "play well." Later the Lego Group discovered that "Lego" could be loosely interpreted as "I put together" or "I assemble" in Latin. Christiansen selected "Lego", and the company began using it on its products.


title: History of Lego

text: Following World War II, plastics became available in Denmark, and Lego purchased a plastic injection molding machine in 1947. One of the first modular toys to be produced was a truck that could be taken apart and re-assembled. In 1947, Ole Kirk and Godtfred obtained samples of interlocking plastic bricks produced by the company Kiddicraft. Hilary Fisher Page designed these "Kiddicraft Self-Locking Building Bricks." In 1939, Page had applied for a patent on hollow plastic cubes with four studs on top (British Patent Nº.529,580) that allowed their positioning atop one another without lateral movement. In 1944, Page applied an "Improvement to Toy Building Blocks" as an addition to the previous patent, in which he describes a building system based on rectangular hollow blocks with 2X4 studs on top enabling the construction of walls with staggered rows and window openings. The addition was granted in 1947 as British Patent Nº 587,206. In 1949, the Lego Group began producing similar bricks, calling them "Automatic Binding Bricks." Lego bricks, then manufactured from cellulose acetate, were developed in the spirit of traditional wooden blocks that could be stacked upon one another but could be "locked" together. They had several round "studs" on top, and a hollow rectangular bottom. They would stick together, but not so tightly that they could not be pulled apart. In 1953, the bricks were given a new name: "Lego Mursten", or "Lego Bricks."


title: History of Lego

text: Plastic products initially were not well received by customers, who preferred wooden or metal toys. Many of Lego's shipments were returned, following poor sales. In 1954, Godtfred Christiansen had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group. His conversation with an overseas buyer struck the idea of a toy "system," with many toys in a line of related products. He evaluated their available products, and saw the plastic bricks as the best candidate for such a system. In 1955, Lego released the "Town Plan" as such a system, using the building bricks.


title: History of Lego

text: The building bricks were moderately received but had some problems from a technical standpoint: their "locking" ability was limited, and they were not versatile. In 1958 the bricks were improved with hollow tubes in the underside of the brick. This change added support in the base, enabling much better locking ability and enhanced versatility. The company patented the new design, as well as several similar designs to avoid competition. Ole Kirk Christiansen died that same year, and Godtfred inherited the leadership of the company.


title: History of Lego

text: Another warehouse fire struck the Lego Group in 1960, consuming most of the company's inventory of wooden toys. Godtfred decided that the plastic line was strong enough to abandon the production of wooden toys. As a result, Godtfred's brothers Gerhardt (then head of wooden toys) and Karl Georg left the Lego company and began a separate company called "Bilofix." By the end of the year, the Lego Group was employing more than 450 people.


title: History of Lego

text: In 1961, Lego wished to expand sales to North America but did not have the logistical capabilities to do so. Lego made an arrangement allowing Samsonite to begin producing and selling Lego products in the United States and Canada.


title: History of Lego

text: 1961 and 1962 saw the introduction of the first Lego wheels, an addition that expanded the potential for building cars, trucks, buses, and other vehicles from Lego bricks. Also, during this time, the Lego Group introduced toys targeted explicitly towards the pre-school market.


title: History of Lego

text: In 1964, cellulose acetate, the material used to create Lego bricks, was replaced by the more stable acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS plastic), which is still in use today. ABS is non-toxic, less prone to discoloration and warping, and is more resistant to heat, acids, salt, and other chemicals. Samsonite manufacturing in North America did not switch at the same time, and still used some degree of cellulose acetate in its Lego products. 1964 was the first year that saw the inclusion of instruction manuals in Lego sets.


title: History of Lego

text: A notable Lego Group series, the Lego train system, was released in 1966. The original train sets included a 4.5-volt (which was changed to a 12-volt version two years later) motor, battery box, and rails.


title: History of Lego

text: On 7 June 1968, the first Legoland Park was opened in Billund. This theme park featured elaborate models of miniature towns built entirely from Lego bricks. The three-acre (12,000 m²) park attracted 625,000 visitors in its first year alone. During the next 20 years, the theme park grew to more than eight times its original size and eventually averaged close to a million paying visitors per year. Sales of Lego sets reached more than eighteen million units in 1968.


title: History of Lego

text: In 1969, the Duplo system went on sale. Duplo bricks are much larger than Lego bricks, making them safer for young children, but the two systems are compatible: Lego bricks can be fitted neatly onto Duplo bricks, allowing a seamless transition to the Lego system as children outgrow their Duplo bricks. The name Duplo comes from the Latin word "duplus", which translates literally as double, meaning that a Duplo brick is exactly twice the dimension of a Lego building brick (2× height by 2× width by 2× depth = 8× the volume of a brick).


title: History of Lego

text: During the last three decades of the 20th century, Lego expanded into new areas of toy making and marketing. In 1971, Lego began to target girls by introducing furniture pieces and dollhouses. In 1972, Lego added boat and ship sets, with floating hull pieces and Godtfred Kirk Christiansen's son, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, joined the managerial staff, after earning business degrees in Switzerland and Denmark. One of Kjeld's first achievements with the company was the foundation of manufacturing facilities, as well as a research and development department that would be responsible for keeping the company's manufacturing methods up to date. Human figures with posable arms made an appearance in 1974 in "Lego family" sets, which went on to become the biggest sellers at the time; the next year, an early version of the "minifigure" miniature Lego person was introduced, but it was not posable and had no face printed on its head. The company opened its first North American Lego production facility in Enfield, Connecticut, in the United States that same year.


title: History of Lego

text: In 1975, "Expert Series" sets were introduced, geared towards older, more experienced Lego builders followed by the "Expert Builder" sets in 1977. The technical sets featured moving parts such as gears, differentials, cogs, levers, axles, and universal joints and permitted the construction of realistic models such as automobiles, with functional rack and pinion steering and lifelike engine movements. In 1978 the Lego "minifigure" was added. The small Lego people had posable arms and legs, and initially a single head with a smiling face. The figure was used in many varieties of Lego sets, allowing construction of towns populated with the smiling minifigure Lego citizens. Lego also expanded into space with the creation of Lego Space sets with astronaut minifigures, rockets, lunar rovers, and spaceships, and into the medieval territory with the Castle theme.


title: History of Lego

text: In 1979, Lego introduced the Scala series, featuring jewelry elements marketed towards young girls. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen also became the president of Lego that year.


title: History of Lego

text: Since the 1960s, educators had seen Lego bricks' productive potential as being an invaluable asset in helping children to develop creativity and problem-solving abilities. Teachers had been using Lego bricks in the classroom for a variety of reasons. In 1980, the Lego Group established the Educational Products Department (eventually renamed Lego Dacta, in 1989), to expand the educational possibilities of their toys. A packing and assembly factory opened in Switzerland, followed by another in Jutland, Denmark, that manufactured Lego tyres.


title: History of Lego

text: Between the 1960s and '90s, Lego worked with Royal Dutch Shell in allowing Shell branding on certain items.


title: History of Lego

text: In 1981, the second generation of Lego trains appeared. As before, these were available in either 4.5 V (battery-powered) or 12 V (mains powered), but with a much wider variety of accessories, including working lights, remote-controlled points and signals, and decouplers.


title: History of Lego

text: The "Expert Builder" series matured in 1982, becoming the "Technic" series. 13th August of that year marked the Lego Group's 50th anniversary; the book "50 Years of Play" was published to commemorate the occasion. In the following year, the Duplo system was expanded to include sets for even younger audiences, particularly infants; new sets included baby rattles and figures with movable limbs. The year after, Lego minifigure citizens gained a realm of knights and horses, with a redesign of the Castle theme. Light & Sound sets made their appearance in 1985; these sets included a battery pack with electrical lights, buzzers, and other accessories to add another dimension of realism to Lego creations. Also, that year, the Lego Group's educational division produced the Technic Computer Control, which was an educational system whereby Technic robots, trucks, and other motorized models could be controlled with a computer. Manaus, Brazil gained a Lego factory in this year, as well.


title: History of Lego

text: In August 1988, 38 children from 17 countries took part in the first Lego World Cup building contest, held in Billund. That same year, Lego Canada was established. The Lego line grew again in 1989 with the release of the Lego Pirates theme, which featured a variety of pirate ships, deserted islands, and treasure. The Lego Group's Educational Products Department was renamed Lego Dakta in this year; the name comes from the Greek word "didactic," which roughly means "the study of the learning process." MIT's Dr. Seymour Papert, from the Laboratory of Computer Learning, was named "Lego Professor of Learning Research," after his ongoing work in linking the Logo programming language with Lego products.


title: History of Lego

text: Until 1989, Lego minifigures only came in yellow-skin color with a standard smiling face, though early prototypes had a variety of skin colours and facial expressions. That year the Lego Group expanded the array of facial expressions (adding them around the standard face of two eyes and smile), with beards and eye patches, sunglasses, lipstick, and eyelashes, mostly for the minifigures in the newly launched Lego Pirates theme, and occasionally Lego Castle, Lego City, and Lego Space. Some older collectors resented the new facial expressions, saying they looked too "cartoon-ish" or "kiddy," and preferred the simplistic nature of the two eyes and smile. Particularly for Lego Pirates, these more complicated faces, in combination with the torso, headgear (either a helmet or hair), and accessories, allowed for the creation of specific characters and an accompanying backstory.


title: History of Lego

text: In 1990, Lego released a new series designed for advanced builders. Three Model Team sets, including a race car and an off-road vehicle, featured a level of detail and realism not previously seen in any Lego series. Where Technic was mechanically accurate, Model Team was visually and stylistically accurate. The Lego Group became one of the top 10 toy companies that year; it was the only toy company in Europe to be among the top 10. Also, that year, Legoland Billund reached more than one million visitors for the first time in its history. The first-ever "Lego Professor of Business Dynamics," Xavier Gilbert, was appointed to an endowed chair at the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland. Lego Malaysia was also established in 1990. In 1991, the Lego Group standardized its electrical components and systems; the Trains and Technic motors were made 9V to bring the systems into line with the rest of the Lego range.


title: History of Lego

text: In 1992, two "Guinness" records were set using Lego products: A castle made from 400,000 Lego bricks, and measuring 4.45 meters by 5.22 meters, was built on Swedish television, and a 545 meters long Lego railway line with three locomotives was constructed. Duplo was augmented with the addition of the Toolo line featuring a screwdriver, wrench, nuts, and bolts; the Paradisa line, targeted towards girls, brought a variety of new pastel colours into the Lego system and focused on leisure resorts, horses and beach life. In 1993 a Duplo train and a parrot-shaped "brickvac" that could scoop Lego pieces up off the floor were released.


title: History of Lego

text: In the late 1990s, the Lego Group brought out a series of new and specialized ranges aimed at particular demographics. The Slizers/Throwbots line preceded the Bionicle range and uses Technic pieces and specialist moldings to create a set of action figures for boys, while Belville is a more conventional line aimed at girls and featuring large posable figures like those in the "Technic" range. A "Lego 4 Juniors" group features tall medium-sized figures ("medi-figure") without jointed arms, and longer legs than the classic Lego minifigure. In 2003, the Lego Group introduced a completely new system, Clikits, aimed at girls and consisting of customizable plastic jewellery and accessories. In 2004, Lego added the QUATRO brick, for ages 1–3. Much like Duplo, a Quatro brick is four times the dimension of a regular Lego brick and is compatible with the Duplo brick. Also, that year, they created the second line of Knights Kingdom themed product.


title: History of Lego

text: Lego's profits had declined since 1992. Around 1995 or 1996, according to designer Mark Stafford, the Lego Group retired many LEGO Designers who had created the sets from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, replacing them with 30 'innovators' who graduated from the European design colleges around Europe who knew "little specifically about toy design and less about LEGO building". At the time, sets could take over a year to progress from the design stage to store shelves. By 1997, there was a resultant change in the design direction of products, as set details were sacrificed for decreased building times (with fewer pieces) and increased playability features, but this shift drew mixed reception from hardcore Lego fans used to the meticulous construction required of "classic era" sets of the 1980s to mid-1990s. Lego Pirates, which had a strong run since its launch in 1989, was promptly killed off, with 1997 being its last year of production.


title: History of Lego

text: This change in design teams only served to accelerate the company's decline. In 1998, Lego posted its first-ever loss, at £23 million. In the same year, the company laid off 1,000 employees.


title: History of Lego

text: In 1999, the first Lego products featuring licensed intellectual property, i.e., not designed in-house, were Lego Star Wars and Winnie the Pooh Duplo, followed in 2000 by Lego Harry Potter characters to figures from Steven Spielberg movies. Soren Holm, the head of Lego Concept Lab, said toy weapons had always been heavily debated, but that since the Lego Star Wars release, Lego has grown "more comfortable with conflict." Mr. Laursen, executive North American operations suggested to make "violence not explicit, but humoristic." Licensed properties did provide a short-term boost to profits during the release of blockbuster movies; however, sales would taper off after public excitement died down. Furthermore, the added cost of the license resulted in such sets being more expensive which alienated long-time fans, who also bemoaned the declining quality and reduced availability of comparable sets not based on licensing.


title: History of Lego

text: After 1999, many in-house characters were strongly characterised with media utilisation and non-Lego System merchandising, most notably Bionicle from 2001–2010 and then again in 2016. In 2002, Duplo was merged with Lego Baby into the new label Lego Explore.


title: History of Lego

text: In 2003, following the inclusion of Lando Calrissian in a Star Wars set, as well as the Basketball theme featuring the likenesses of actual players, it was decided that minifigs based on real persons and live-action franchises would have natural skin-tones.


title: History of Lego

text: In 2004, Lego posted a loss of £174 million, with the executive vice-president of marketing Mads Nipper later describing the company as having been "almost bankrupt" at this point.


title: History of Lego

text: He analysed in retrospect that "we continued to invest as if the company were growing strongly. We failed to realise that we were on a slippery path… Children were getting less and less time to play. Some of the western markets had fewer and fewer children. So play trends changed, and we failed to change. We were not making toys that were sufficiently interesting to children. We failed to innovate enough. And we had nowhere cut deep enough to right-size the company".


title: History of Lego

text: In 2004, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen resigned as CEO and appointed Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, the first non-family CEO. The company sold the four Legoland parks to theme-park operators Merlin Entertainments, and manufacturing, 80% of which had been outsourced, was returned to Lego's control.


title: History of Lego

text: The company focused on its core products and reintroduced the Duplo label in late 2004. Since 2004, manufacturing had been moved to Mexico and distribution relocated from Billund to the Czech Republic. By 2007 a global workforce of 9,100 in 1998 was reduced to 4,200 due to outsourcing. In the US alone, Lego sales increased 32 percent because of Star Wars and Indiana Jones-themed games, while globally 2008 sales increased 18.7 percent. Mr. Laursen, Lego executive of North American operations, said in 2009 that licenses played a more prominent role in the American market than overseas. About 60 percent of Lego's American sales were estimated to be linked to licenses, twice that of 2004. Laursen stated in 2009 that Lego was "definitely more commercially oriented". In 2009, both Lego Games (board games) and Lego Power Miners were introduced, along with the concept for Lego Ninjago. Despite the Great Recession, profits for 2009 were £99.5 million, with Mads Nipper, Lego executive vice-president of marketing, stating to be "delivering twice the return on sales of any competitor."


title: History of Lego

text: In 2011, Lego launched a new theme called Lego Ninjago, which became a popular theme worldwide, and resumed a long-term contract with Royal Dutch Shell, after using its logo on products from the 1960s through to the 1990s. Greenpeace criticized this co-branding in 2014. After the Greenpeace campaign, Lego decided not to renew the contract, with the Shell logo only appearing in co-licensed sets with Ferrari or BMW.


title: History of Lego

text: In 2012, an animated short film titled "The Lego Story" made by Danish studio Lani Pixels for the 80th anniversary of Lego, depicted the struggles of Ole Kirk Christiansen and his son Godtfred Kirk Christiansen from 1932–1968, as they worked to make the company successful.


title: History of Lego

text: In 2014, Warner Bros and The Lego Group released "The Lego Movie", a computer-animated adventure comedy film telling the story of an ordinary Lego Minifigure construction worker named Emmet Brickowski prophesied to save the world. It received one of the highest recorded openings for an original animated movie, and the Los Angeles Times noted "nearly unanimous positive reviews" for the film.


title: History of Lego

text: In 2015, the Lego firm sparked controversy when it refused a bulk order to Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who is openly critical of the Chinese Communist government. Ai had previously used Lego bricks to build portraits of world political activists. Lego said it would not sell directly to users with "political intentions." An opinion piece in the Communist Party mouthpiece "Global Times" praised Lego for its "good business sense" while the decision drew condemnation online. Lego fans offered to donate Lego bricks to Ai Weiwei instead.


title: History of Lego

text: In 2017, Warner Bros, DC Entertainment, and The Lego Group released "The Lego Batman Movie" as a spinoff based on one of the lead characters of Lego's first animated movie. Lego has since released another animated film based on one of its toy lines, Ninjago, entitled "The Lego Ninjago Movie" in 2017.


title: History of Lego

text: In the first half of 2017, Lego saw its first revenue decline in 13 years, announcing plans in September 2017 to cut 1,400 jobs.


title: History of Lego

text: In February 2019, a sequel to "The Lego Movie" was produced by Warner Animation Group and released by Warner Bros., titled "". Many of the voice actors from the first film reprised their characters for the sequel, but it underperformed in ticket sales compared to its predecessors.


title: History of Lego

text: On 25 November 2019, The Lego Group announced the acquisition of Bricklink, the world's largest Lego fan community, from Nexon for an unknown price, which is expected to finish before the end of 2019.


title: History of Lego

text: In November 2020, Lego announced its largest set to date: a replica of the Colosseum in Rome containing 9,036 pieces. The set overtakes the previous record holder, the Millennium Falcon from the Star Wars franchise. In 2021 this record was topped by the Titanic model at 9,090 pieces. In 2022 the second set to reach 10,000 bricks will be released, a replica of the Eiffel Tower. the first was the Lego world map.


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: The Suffering is a first and third-person shooter horror video game, developed by Surreal Software for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. The game was published by Midway Games for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The PC version was published by Encore in North America and by Zoo Digital Publishing in Europe. In North America, the game was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in March 2004, and for PC in June of the same year. In Europe, it was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in May, and for PC in July. A port was also planned for the GameCube, but was cancelled. In 2017, the game was released on GOG.com by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, the current owner of the IP after acquiring publisher Midway Games' assets following the latter company's bankruptcy in 2009.


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: "The Suffering" centers on the story of Torque, a prisoner on death row for murdering his ex-wife and two children, a crime that he possesses no memory of committing. Shortly after he arrives in Abbot State Penitentiary on Carnate Island, off the coast of Maryland, an earthquake hits the island, resulting in the prison being attacked by supernatural threats from the island's past. After being freed, Torque attempts to fight his way to freedom while confronting his own personal demons, all while attempting to remember what really happened to his family. The game features three endings which depend on the players' gameplay choices throughout, each of which reveals a different version of the murder of Torque's family.


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: "The Suffering" received primarily positive reviews. Some critics felt the blend of action with horror didn't work, and that the game was not sufficiently scary, although game designer Richard Rouse III has stated several times that the game is "action horror" as opposed to "survival horror" like "Resident Evil", "Silent Hill" and "Fatal Frame". Many also lauded the creature design, the tone, and the game's morality system, which determines both the ending, and how certain characters interact with Torque during the game. "The Suffering" was a commercial success, selling over 1.5 million units worldwide across all platforms. In 2005, a sequel was released, "".


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: "The Suffering" is an action game in which the player controls Torque, the player character, from either a first-person or third-person perspective, depending on their preference. The game is fully playable in both first and third-person views, with all actions available in both modes. Torque can run, shoot, jump, interact with the environment, interact with NPCs, and use items, such as flashlights, flares, flash grenades, TNT, shrapnel grenades, and molotov cocktails. Weaponry includes a shiv, an axe, a .357 revolver, a tommy gun, dual revolvers, a shotgun, an improvised flamethrower, and M2 Brownings. Other items which can be found during the game are Xombium tablets (which restores the player's health), paperwork with story content, maps, ammo, and flashlight batteries.


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: Most of the enemies in the game are representative of different types of execution methods that have taken place on Carnate Island. Slayers represent decapitation, Marksmen represent death by firing squad, Mainliners represent lethal injection, Noosemen represent hanging, and Burrowers represent being buried alive. Other creatures represent events from Carnate's history. Festers are the reincarnation of slave traders who ran their slave ship aground on Carnate, and left their slaves tied up in the hold to be eaten by rats, rather than freeing them. Infernas are the trapped spirits of three children who accused eleven innocent people of being witches during the time of a Puritan settlement on the island. The eleven people were burnt alive. Interestingly these monsters, when not killing humans, are frequently seen fighting and killing each other.


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: As Torque kills enemies during the game, an on-screen meter called his "Insanity meter" begins to fill. Once it is full, it begins to flash, and at this point, Torque can transform into a monster. In this form, Torque can tear enemies apart and can perform several powerful attacks. The more enemies Torque kills whilst in this form, the more powerful the monster becomes and the more combo moves become available. However, when in this form, Torque's health automatically depletes, and if he doesn't change back to his human form prior to his health meter fully depleting, he will die.


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: A major part of the gameplay in "The Suffering" concerns Torque's morality. At numerous points during the game, the player will encounter situations where they have several choices as to how to proceed. These situations involve NPCs, and the choices are usually to help the person (good morality), kill them (bad morality), or ignore them (neutral morality). In many situations, when Torque first encounters an NPC, the player will hear the voice of Torque's dead wife urging him to help them, and almost immediately afterwards will hear the voice of a demon urging him to kill them. How Torque's actions affect his morality is usually indicated by the reaction of his wife, who will praise him if he commits a good act and chastise him if he does something evil. Often, when Torque saves an NPC, they fight alongside him for a time. However, not every choice presents the player with all three possibilities. For example, when Torque finds the controls to the electric chair, he can turn the chair on to torture an inmate strapped to it (bad morality), or simply ignore the controls (neutral morality). There is no good morality choice available here. Another example is when Torque finds a guard who has had his limbs removed and is slowly dying. He can kill the man to relieve him of his misery (good morality), or ignore him (neutral morality). Here, there is no bad morality choice. Over the course of the game, the decisions made concerning Torque's morality cumulate, and the player will get one of three endings based on Torque's final morality level. The player can get a rough idea of Torque's morality level by both Torque's own physical appearance (good acts make him appear healthier, evil acts make him appear less human) and by looking at a family photograph which he carries with him at all times; the cleaner the photo, the purer his morality. If the photo is dirty, crumpled and covered in blood, his morality is moving towards evil.


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: The game begins as silent protagonist Torque is being escorted by CO Ernesto Alvarez (voiced by Mark Dias) onto death row in Abbott State Penitentiary on Carnate Island, off the coast of Maryland, an island with a long and troubled history. Torque has been sentenced to death for murdering his ex-wife and their two children, although he claims to have blacked out during the incident, and can remember nothing. Shortly after entering his cell, an earthquake rocks the prison, and moments later, all of the inmates on death row except Torque are killed by Malefactors, a grotesque race of supernatural creatures manifested from various forms of deaths that took place on Carnate Island and are bent on purging any life they run into. One of the creatures opens Torque's cell, and he sets out to escape. After seeing several guards killed by the creatures, Torque uses security monitors to find the entire prison is under attack. He then gets a phone call from his dead wife, Carmen (Rafeedah Keys), telling him the island is more than a prison, that it brings out evil in everyone, and advising him to escape as soon as he can.


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: Descending to the basement, he soon encounters the spirits of three of Abbot's most famous occupants. Dr. Killjoy (voiced by John Armstrong) was a psychiatrist/surgeon who ran an insane asylum on the island in the 1920s. Obsessed with discovering what is wrong with Torque, Killjoy appears as an image projected from 16 mm film projectors. Hermes T. Haight (John Patrick Lowrie) was the executioner in Abbot for twenty-seven years, before he committed suicide in the gas chamber. He appears as a green vapor formed into the shape of a human. Hermes is determined to drive Torque into unleashing the evil inside him. Horace P. Gauge (John Armstrong) was an inmate who was executed in the electric chair for murdering his wife during a conjugal visit. Full of guilt for his actions, he claims Carnate drove him to it, and wants to help Torque realize his decency. He appears in the form of electricity. They teach Torque how to unleash the anger inside himself and transform into a powerful monster, although the transformation is only in Torque's mind.


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: Torque then encounters a fellow inmate, Dallas (Mark Berry), who he knows from his previous prison, Eastern Correctional Institution. They head through the eastern cellblock, where Torque has a vision of Carmen, who explains why she left him; when he was incarcerated for the second time, she knew she needed to make a change to her life. Torque and Dallas make it to the loading bay, and Torque heads to the control room, opening the doors, and allowing Dallas to escape. However, a fire starts, preventing Torque from following. He then hears a call from Consuela Alvarez (Meg Savlov), Ernesto's wife, asking Ernesto to call her. She tells him that she and the girls are fine, but there is a fire in the nearby forest getting closer to their house.


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: Torque heads to the western cellblock, where he has another vision of Carmen, telling him she is pregnant but is filing for divorce. Torque heads to the radio room, finding the radio is working, but something from the asylum is preventing communication with the mainland. Torque heads to the asylum, and encounters Killjoy, who is determined to "cure" him using his "Rebirth Machine". Torque fights through a series of tests set by Killjoy before destroying all his projectors. Killjoy then tells Torque to return to the prison, where he will give him his diagnosis.


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: Torque heads back to Abbot by way of the beach, where he encounters Clem (Ross Douglas), an elderly inmate who was in the middle of an escape when the earthquake struck. Clem has a small one-person boat ready to sail, but needs Torque's help fighting creatures emerging from a wrecked slave ship before he can leave. Torque sets fire to the wreck, enabling Clem to escape. He enters Abbot's sewer system where he encounters Horace, who tells him Abbot wants his soul. He then heads to the electric chair, destroying it and releasing Horace's spirit. Returning to death row, he finds Killjoy's diagnosis, and then returns to the radio room. Successfully sending a signal, he learns a Coast Guard vessel is on the way. However, Carnate's lighthouse is not working, and must be reactivated before the vessel can approach the island. Torque heads to the lighthouse, passing through the old military barracks, Fort Maleson. In the fort, he encounters Hermes, who forces him to fight. Torque defeats him by using pressurized gas to push Hermes into a furnace. He continues to the lighthouse, outside of which he meets Ernesto, who is trying to find his family. They restore power, and reactivate the lighthouse, arranging to meet the ship at the dock.


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: They then head to the nearby village to look for Ernesto's family. The gate to town is locked, but in return for freeing his soul, Horace opens it. They then encounter a broken bridge, but, impressed with Torque's efforts to kill him, Hermes helps them cross. As they near the village, however, they are separated by a fire, and Ernesto goes on alone, telling Torque to get to the docks. As he arrives, he encounters Killjoy, who tells him to cure himself he must face what awaits him, and only by using the Rebirth Machine can he defeat it. Torque heads to the docks where he encounters a massive creature with a miniature version of himself protruding from its stomach. Torque fights and defeats the creature while remembering the truth about his wife and children's deaths, leading to one of three endings, depending on the player's actions through the game:


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: The origins of "The Suffering" date back to early 2002 when the game was originally called ""Unspeakable"." Surreal Software game designer Richard Rouse III wrote a two-page pitch, which described the game as "a stylized horror shooter; with the frenetic gameplay of "Devil May Cry" meets the horror setting of "Resident Evil" and the immersive game-world of "Half-Life"." The basic design for the game originated from Rouse's negative experiences working on a western role-playing game called "Gunslinger", which was eventually cancelled. Rouse felt "Gunslinger" had been too ambitious for its own good, especially a "morality system" which saw entire towns full of people react differently to the player character depending on what actions the player had taken earlier in the game. Finding this system impossible to implement effectively, Rouse envisioned "The Suffering" as having a "drastically stripped down morality system" with a much simpler AI system for tracking it.


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: In looking for early inspiration for the game, the developers turned to horror films, with the team universally agreeing that their favorite such film was Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining". According to Rouse,


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: The influence of "The Shining", and other horror films, also influenced how the developers handled the basic storyline, especially Torque's backstory;


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: An early decision on Rouse's part was that "The Suffering" be more of an action game than a traditional survival horror. This had implications for much of the design work on the game, as "it meant we were going to focus more on combat and avoid the long cutscenes, frail central characters, clumsy controls, fixed camera angles, and sparse ammo of many console horror games." Another early decision was to keep the central character as much of a mystery as possible, implying only his strength and little else. Artist Mike Nichols says, "We didn't really want a character that looked of any particular nationality or race. He really is almost Neanderthal in appearance. He's very primal. We wanted that strength to come through."


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: Creature design was also an important element in the development process, with the team determined to create a unique array of enemies. According to Rouse,


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: After the team had done their initial creature design for the game, they sent their work to Stan Winston Studios, where Terry Wolfinger took the preexisting designs and finessed them, changed colors, added details etc. to make them more unsettling, referred to as "Stan Winstonizing them." However, it was also important that the creatures, and the game as a whole, have a real world basis, so as to enhance the horror. Rouse explains,


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: important element in the design process was what Rouse refers to as "player-empowerment;" allowing players a great deal of freedom within the game world. A key concept in this was that the player's actions would work to determine the guilt or innocence of Torque;


title: The Suffering (video game)

text: A great deal of time was also spent working out the control scheme. The game originally had a target-lock system, based on the controls in "Syphon Filter" and "Devil May Cry". However, the developers were unhappy with this system as they felt the gameplay was based more on "PC-style shooters" such as "Half Life", which uses a mouse and keyboard control scheme to facilitate easier free aiming, rather than a target lock system. As such, "with our controls for a console-style shooter but our gameplay from a PC-style shooter, about a year into development we realized we had a dangerous disconnect in our design that made our game tedious instead of fun." However, with the release of successful console third-person shooters such as "Max Payne", "", "", and "SOCOM", all of which "eschewed target-lock in favor of double-stick control schemes that simulated the mouse/keyboard experience from the PC", the team decided to scrap their target-lock system and go with a free aim system; "looking at the sales for these titles, we concluded the installed base of players who were familiar with these controls was now large enough that we could take the risk of turning off a few newbies. The change was a huge success for the game: it fixed the disconnect in our gameplay and added depth that had been completely missing."