I dont believe so. There was talk of the community wanting the "Golem" keyword attached to her character card (much like Citizen Dawn has the 'Citizen' keyword), but that was shot down by >G. That probably has everything to do with gameplay and nothing to do with the conceptual idea of Golem Unity, but it is interesting to point out.
I don’t think that the incap side has any organic parts, but we often see an injured char on the back. That being said the injuries from front to back could have stripped the last of tje orhanic material (we know the skin and hair are missing). This is of course per speculation.
Just spitballing here, but when I first saw Golem Unity, the first thought that came to my mind was the Death and Return of Superman storyline where Cyber Superman believed itself to be the actual Superman and fought as Superman for a while when in reality it was an old nemesis of his. Could it be that this Golem is an old villain kind of like Bunker Engine of War that is a former enemy that has either become an ally or trying to get close to betray the group?
*Edit: Also, my thoughts on the incapacitated side is that of Terminator 4 as well with the realization that the main character was actually one of the first terminators and no longer human. In that case, he remained a hero, but as a machine, you could go either way based on your programming.
Here's my thoughts on the Incapacitated sides:
I think that every incapacitated side happens at some point. They are all canon. Some of them only happen in one version of history (since it has been established that their are two (3, including Final wasteland) versions, due to the Shattered timelines. And (importantly) I don't think that they are all "deaths". I think that they mark great moments of change for the characters- some of which they don't survive.
First up, the Freedom Five (with Tempest and Unity, since they become members in Shattered Timelines)
Legacy:
a. (Finest Legacy) The moment when his daughter is killed and he goes bad.
b. (Young Legacy) The moment when her father is killed and she takes up the mantle.
Bunker:
a. (Bunker, 1st edition) The armor is shattered and broken, with Lt. Vance crawling out...my guess is that this refers to when he was killed by Iron Legacy. We know Vance didn't survive in that timeline (which is why Fright train took over), and that he did directly challenge IL (he can be seen getting pounded on one of the cards)
b. (Bunker, Enhanced Edition) Close-up of the armor head, riddled with bullet holes. My guess is that this has to do with Bunker's as-yet unrevealed Nemesis. My working theory is that his Nemesis (not counting Fright Train of the the V5, as I suspect they will be a group nemesis like Iron Legacy) is going to be some sort of rogue military commander- someone as skilled tactically as him, as well armed, and with lots of minions.
c. (Bunker, Engine of War): An homage to Iron man, a moment of clarity. Perhaps this is the moment when Fright train decided to own up to his past and started wearing the armor? Perhaps this is the moment he decided he'd never outrun his past as a villain and quit?
Tachyon
a. (Regular Tach): being immobilized by ice, with what looks like multiple villains in the background. Best guess is that this is a reference to something that will happen in the Vengeance expansion.
b. (Team Leader Tach): A grim moment when she is brought down by Ambuscade. It looks like he survived the purges of Iron Legacy...or maybe IL uses him as a bounty hunter for rogue supers. We know that he's around for part of the time cataclysm (Marsquake in the Time cataclysm environment) and that TL Tach tries to save him in that environment. Who knows if this is how the Shattered Timelines version dies, or if someone rescues her?
Wraith
a. (regular wraith): because it says "here lies the Wraith", I'm guessing that this is one of those moments when she has been brought low by one of the many villains of Rook City and buried alive. Its obvious that we haven't met all of the important villains in her life, so maybe one of them decided to put her in the ground and call it a night. Either way, this is definitely a "down, but not out" moment.
b. (Rook city Wraith): the most ambiguous to me, because it shows the silhouettes of multiple unrevealed villains. We can ID Ermine and Spite among them, but who is the half-and-half guy? Or the beaky one? I'm seeing a rook city villain team up in the future...
c. (Price of Freedom): Spite throwing her...somewhere. Into a vat of toxic chemicals? Maybe he's throwing her into the pit that the front depicts her fighting in... Its the Shattered Timeline that the heroes are trying to avoid, so its difficult to say when/how this happens. I'm going with “Spite throws her into the arena”.
Absolute Zero
a. (first edition) : the faceplate broken, with fumes leaking. This seems to reflect the “imbued frailty” card of the Realm of discord... best guess is that it represents the first moment that his tech truly fails him and he realizes how dependent on it he is.
b. (Enhanced Edition): This appears to depict a moment when the lab is in a state of emergency, and his usually cold living quarters have been de-frosted. It appears to be a desperate attempt to get to the suit.
I'm thinking that the Eaken-Rubendall labs will be attacked in vengeance, or this is a reference to his as-yet unrevealed Nemesis
c. Elemental Wrath): Frozen in a glacier. Perhaps he loses control of his powers? The front of the card certainly suggests that he has gained some measure of ability to create ice... but how much control does he have? The front depicts a broken lab, so it can be guessed that he no longer has the easiest access to suit maintenance...
Unity:
a. (regular unity): alone in the cube :( So sad! My thinking is that there is an agency we haven't seen yet devoted to studying superheroes (and villains). Maybe the Block is a front for superhero experimentation? Maybe Filter can't be trusted? Either way, this happens at some point. Unity is captured and has nothing around to use for golems. Maybe this represents a moment she decides to start incorporating tech into herself (to use in an emergency)- I very much agree with some of the others that....
b. (Golem unity): represents Unity after she replaces herself bit-by-bit with tech. The flesh and blood Unity is indeed “Long dead”, but the mind and soul live on in the golem.
The hoisted up bones could represent the end for her...but it could also be the beginning. Perhaps Mr Fixer had a role in repairing her? Perhaps the bones are her reconstruction, rather than the final destination.
Tempest:
a. (regular tempest): injured and on the run: Being pursued by FILTER? the moment of the crash landing? Its unclear exactly what moment this depicts. ecause he is depicted with the injured arm, it might be how he loses it...but I'm not sold on that idea. the power on his promo card is called "sacrifice", which leads me to believe that he loses the arm of his own volition- he gives it up, chops it off, or has it taken to save someone or to free himself. I'm guessing that this is the moment of crash landing on Earth.
b. (Promo tempest)- Alone in the desert: not entirely sure about this one. I can't see any current cards that would lead to it. Best guess is that this is a moment that hasn't happened yet, and will be referred to in upcoming expansions...or this just represents his worst fear. Alone in a hostile world with no water, no relief, and no rescue in sight. Or this could be a low point where he gives up hope for a moment before getting back up and moving on. Like all the shattered timelines promos, its difficult to interpret!
Christopher has confirmed what Elemental Wrath's incapacitated side is. You can read it on the wiki, or earlier in this thread I think.
well, I wasn't that far off on that one.
In reference to the 'Price of Freedom' Wraith's incapassitated side, I actually think that's just before Spite breaks Wraith's back. Or at least attemps to.
I suggest this because in Batman comics(I couldn't tell you which one. I'm a terrible comic-book nerd. :'( ) Bane, a villian who gets super-strength from a special drug(sound familiar?), breaks Batman's back in the very same way. Picks him up and slams his spine on his knee.
Hmm. So this could be Unity's nemesis! Interesting…
I really like your guesstimates, Braithwhite. I have two comments:
1) Does anyone know if the first edition incapacitated art is available somewhere? I'm an EE adopter, so I've never seen that art but it sounds interesting.
2) I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one that thinks Fright Train and Proletariat aren't Bunker and Absolute Zero's true, respective nemeses. Storywise those are two of my favorite heroes, so I was hoping for nemeses with a little more oomph.
I posted this in a similar thread on BGG earlier, but heres why I think that Bunker and AZ will have their own, individual nemeses:
Vengeance is a team- it makes sense that each villain is "matched" to their counterpart on the Freedom Five, but my guess is that they will be a collective nemesis (like Iron Legacy) , and that we have yet to really see the Nemesis of Bunker and AZ.
Here is why i think that (for Bunker and AZ), we have to wait a bit longer in the storyline- please bear with me, because it requires some explanation.
Infernal Relics and Shattered timelines has seen the forwarding of (or at least the reveal) of a few key plot events- Legacy and his daughter , Visionary, The formation of a new team (Haka, Tempest, Adept, Fanatic, and the unknown hero in red and gold), as well as some major character development in terms of Fanatic and Ra, both of whom faced defeat and came back with new purpose.
Vengeance looks like it is shaping up to be a transition point in terms of the plotline. While Shattered timelines was a glimpse of what COULD happen...Vengeance may be what DOES happen.
Its going to be the first time a group of disparate villains joins together to face the heroes on equal terms. Its possible that the Freedom Five might not all make it. Or they might not all be able to continue afterwards.
The setup for Bunker and AZ to have Nemeses:
Thematically, Bunker and AZ have been supporting characters in the cast.
AZ is a prisoner of the technology that allows him to function in a normal environment. Its fairly clear that he is a reluctant hero at best- or that despite his heroic deeds he is nursing a core of regret and anger. Dude's got issues, is what I'm saying.
The incpacitated side of his cards hints at a dire event- some time when he can't get to the suit, or when he starts to lose control even with it.
Bunker has been the steady right hand of the team for awhile now. He's the workhorse, the backbone, the one who chugs away in the background getting things done. We don't know much about his ongoing story, just that he's got the potential to really step up and lead the team. We also know he's willing to give everything for the job- in the alternate timeline, he stood up to the injustice of Iron Legacy and paid the price.
So: In order for them to have nemeses, we need to push them to the spotlight.
My guess is that AZ's nemesis will be all about his struggle with control and technology. I suspect it will be tech-related. Someone who (plotwise) can push him to the brink. Perhaps a cyborg, or a brain in battle suit. Or an AI. something that can subvert what he relies on, or is a twisted reflection of his own conflict. AZ is one of my favorites, the first hero I used, and what got me hooked with the game- so I'm very hopeful that his nemesis will be equally awesome.
As for Bunker, before we can get a real nemesis for him, he needs to step up and really claim the spotlight. We need to see him take charge and be the brilliant leader that we KNOW that he can be. Bunker is thematically ripe for a nemesis when he is in a leadership role- after all, leading and figuring out how to survive (and get everyone else out)of a dire situation is KEY to his storyline. My guess is that we're going to see his nemesis once we see Young Legacy starting out, when Bunker has to take point as the leader while she adjusts.
Maybe it will be a rogue military commander, or a spy agency gone bad (I don't trust FILTER...). I don't think it will be Fright Train in the end- he's too thuggish. He's muscle, and what Bunker needs is someone who can challenge him on the mental level. Piloting the suit is an act of supreme multi-tasking- his nemesis has to be equally adept at moving pieces around. I'm guessing there will be lots of minions (to feed the supply drop), with a brilliant, aggressive leader behind them.
The reason why I think Bunker and AZ will have thier own nemesis is because it wouldn't make sense for them to be the only characters to not have one.
While I like your idea Braithwhite, I have to disagree with you as to believing Fright Train is not cut out to be Bunker's nemesis. If you look at FT, you mention that he is thuggish and all muscle. The truth is, Bunker is very much like his character's inspiration, Iron Man. If you take away the armor, FT very much is a threat to Tyler Vance. Tyler reminds me of the recent portrayl of Steve Rogers in Captain America. Before Roger's transformation with the supersyrum, he's just a scrawny kid with heart that no one takes too seriously. Tyler Vance also is not much to begin with, but given the suit, he fights hard for the Freedom Five. Heck, I think of the card that I believe is in Wagner Mars Base where you see Fright Train bursting through the wall to find a recharging Bunker. With the suit's limitations of needing power, anytime he is on mission and needing to power down (which doesn't happen game-wise, but could happen story wise), he is succeptable to attack from any number of things. He may have combat training, but he is human. The same could be said for the Wraith, but hers is an architype that not only uses martial arts, but is able to create weapons from her surroundings (hence my favorite card, Impromptu Weapon).
As for AZ, I am thinking that Polariat is probably his nemesis, but if they don't go that route, I would love to see something elemental like Ra or Tempest be his nemesis. We already have fire from Ra and wind/lightning from Tempest, so the only other elements left are earth which is really Akash'buta and (jokingly for 80s reference) heart, but I don't know how you would do that unless Ryan's wife survived the car crash and essentially becomes his nemesis.
Glibness aside, I agree with Ronway; you can't make them the nemesis of part of a villain team, just like we haven't assumed that Iron Legacy is Unity's only nemesis. It wouldn't really make much sense.
As for AZ's nemesis, I get the feeling it's going to have something to do with the guy who killed his wife...
This is the only point I really want to disagree with. Fright Train worked in the same unit as Vance, in fact they were equals and rivals until the battle where Vance was promoted and eventually became Bunker. Also Fright Train eventually becomes Bunker using an older suit. The guy doesn't look like a brainaic, and Vance might be smarter, but he does have the potential to challenge Vance on a strategic level.
PLus, the strategic element really doesn't play in very much to Bunker's deck IMO, he plays more thuggish than genius whenever I've heard or seen him played.
Here's a pseudo-riddle relating to the whole question of Unity. I'm on the boat of the idea that Unity started to augment herself with robotic parts every time she was injured, and eventually, her biological body stopped functioning and she was only being sustained by the robotic parts of her. Now, if she replaced her entire body over time with robotic parts until finally there was nothing left of her biological body...
Is that thing still Unity?
And I'm also on board with the idea of Con having Unity's conciousness. Con's origins haven't been revealed, or who Con's personality is based on, but who else in the Sentinels world talks like Con? Unity and Con have the same manner of speaking, so that just furthers my belief.
Looking at the Golem Unity incapacitated side, I can see why everyone assumes it is Unity proper just cybered out and I understand why Christopher in the Shattered Timelines kickstarter said it was a golem that thinks it is the long dead Unity. I guess it kind of comes down to symantics in a way. Looking at the incap side, you see the skeleton and no skin which means whatever was once human there is long since past. However, the lights are on all over the thing as it is connected to power sources. Being a technopath, Unity could have constructed more and more body parts by just thinking about them and voila, they are built in place of lost ones.
The way I see things, Unity died, but the robotic parts still were able to use her powers to sustain robotic life and wear maybe a synthetic skin ala terminator. If all that was needed was the knowlege of how to construct things with a mind, technically all that was needed was her brain. Her body may not function, but the brain is the hub of the power. This is just speculation on my part, but when it comes down to it, original Unity is gone, Golem Unity is just a golem, and as for Con...I think it is someone else that would be a version 4.0. Though I don't think Con is evil, but definitely ambiguous.
The discussion of Unity reminded me of this paradox I read about a couple of years ago:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus
I don't have anything meaningful to add other than I feel like if I read something about this paradox on one of the nerdy websites I frequent, it's probable the game's creators have too.
Also, Christopher has said that we've all met Con before...
Given how the art of Don't Dismiss Anything matched Expatriette's incapacitated side quite well, I'm guessing that Expatriette is going to come back stronger after her 'defeat'. So, we'll likely get an Expatriette Promo in the future. I'm interested to see how Team GtG is going to address the 'weak' Expatriette issue? Or will they ignore the noises and design the Promo in the best way that fits the canon (i.e. thematically)?
Emigrant's Song is credited as Ex-Pat's first appearance. The Ex-Pat we currently know is probably after whatever fight she was just in.