I’m starting a new topic to contain spoilers of Heroes Rise 2, so we can discuss them without worrying about anyone checking out the game reviews and being massively spoiled.
If you haven’t played the game yet don’t read this topic. It may ruin things for you.
SPOILERS BELOW!!!
“I don’t watch a lot of reality TV, so… it was really, really strange and arbitrary to me the way people got so deeply invested in alliances and things. (Really, Black Magic? You’re going to dump me because I don’t support two random bozos from New York?”
I have a theory here in regards to Black Magic. It’s a crazy insane theory, mind you and it’s based on a few things we know.
We know that Black Magic is hugely invested in the outcome of this show. They are invested to the extent that they give you an ultimatum, you vote with them, join the populars or get dumped.
Now this might be because Black Magic is a control freak who likes to be in charge of everything. Who’s got you dangling by a string and is making you dance to their tune constantly. I think that’s believable. There’s evidence from the first game, with the whole crazy fire booty call.
But I prefer my other theory more.
We know that Rexford has secrets about people. He makes that initial offer to you for you to work with him and be his puppet. What’s to say you’re the only one that he’s said that to? We know he is willing to resort to blackmail. We also know that someone in the Hero Project knows, and leaked, Black Magic’s secret to the press.
Rexford all but admits it when he says “You know how terribly ravenous they (the press) can be, look at poor Black Magic. Oh how quickly the mighty can fall.”
I strongly suspect that he was blackmailing Black Magic. That he forced Black Magic to join the Popular alliance. (Not that I think Black Magic wouldn’t have gone that way.) And that he was pressuring Black Magic in such a way that those ultimatums were issued. Black Magic’s used to working alone, used to dealing with that sort of thing alone, and likely figured they had it all in control.
At no point in time does Black Magic seem concerned about who may have leaked the secret. At no point does Black Magic accuse you of having leaked the secret, which is strange. So I think they know who did it. I also suspect that Rexford had something else over Black Magic that was held back. Perhaps related to that memory of Black Magic dancing for Madame Vice. Perhaps tied to something else.
Anyway I like to think that Black Magic’s being manipulated. That they’re just not as good at dealing with it as you are. That that’s one of the reasons the producers don’t want you sharing a room.
Of course there’s also the problems of Black Magic being horribly broken and absolutely terrible at relationships. So maybe it is just that. That they were only interested in you as a naive young superhero that they can control.
I think the entire show itself was basically one manipulation after another. So the idea of Black Magic being blackmailed seems pretty likely. After all, GG was trying to manipulate the player character as well.
I imagine (and hope) that a lot of the fallout from what was being done behind the scenes will be shown in Heroes Rise 3.
@Fairygodfeather to my continuation of my original question, is there a happy ending with Black Magic?
@Peeehh Not yet. But it’s part two of a trilogy, I think. Part two leaves you with a cliffhanger with your love interest (unless you’re with Jenny).
@Fairygodfeather, dare I ask what the cliffhanger is? Haha.
@Peeehh Shoo! Get off the spoiler thread and buy the game. 
Shoo!!!
Although if you do really want to be spoiled then ask again.
@Fairygodfeather haha, after many ifs and buts I have decided spoil it for me, haha, if you please, could pm me.
This is the spoiler thread. I’ll just post it here.
There are three possible love interests in the game. Jenny’s on a separate path. With Black Magic and Lucky they’re set up as members of two different, opposing cliques, and the game is framed pretty much as join Black Magic and the Popular crowd, or join Lucky and the Underdogs.
There’s a point in the game where you have to choose between voting for Black Magic to be eliminated, or voting for Lucky to be eliminated. The person you don’t vote for stays in the contest. At the end, either you, or one of the other characters, explodes and Lucky/Black Magic is standing next to you, takes the full force of the blast and ends up in a coma. The game ends with them in the coma.
For some reason I always pictured Jenny as being in her late twenties to early thirties, and still highly attractive. I’d have to go and double check the exact age you two were when you first met. My only issue with the Jenny romance is that it’s only available if you’re playing a gal.
I actually liked GG. I think he was under a lot of pressure manipulation and fear and that’s why he acted the way he did.
From what I recall, you don’t need to pick either Black Magic or Lucky, but if you don’t, Black Magic gets voted off due to the bad press she received when her secret was revealed, and she will blame you. The only way to save Black Magic is to vote against both Lucky and the other Underdog, in which case Lucky gets voted off instead.
Though, to be honest, Lucky gets lucky (ha ha pun) if she gets kicked off the show. So does Black Magic.
Also I’m wondering, if you don’t romance Black Magic in the first game/refuse to accept the fire booty call, you don’t know about BM’s secret. But in the second game when it is released, it’s stated clearly that you know BM’s secret, even before it is revealed. So is this a bug, or did I miss something.
Oh and Rebellion is one huge slugger. Seriously. I liked Rebellion in the first game, but what a jerk in the second game.
@FairyGodfeather I like your theory on Black Magic. It’s a distinct possibility.
@FairyGodFeather. Oh yeah. Same here. That is a very interesting theory. I honestly believe it could go either way… but yours is as likely as anything else.
@Madwolf023 I thought that got addressed during the beta. I was fairly sure that it did take into consideration whether you’d seen Black Magic’s secret or not. I think it’s only possible when loading from a save though. If you’re just creating a quick character you saw Black Magic’s secret, just as you let Sonja die, and you had Sparrow as a sidekick. Loading in a save has a few benefits.
I thought that got addressed in the beta as well. I recall reporting it.
@FairyGodfeather That’s the thing though. I went through a whole playthrough of Heroes Rise: Prodigdy just to see if I messed it up. I totally denied BM, choose every anti-BM option, and still in the second game (with the character from the first game) I was told that I had not only slept with her, but I knew her secret. Which wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t sleep with her in the first game.
@Madwolf023 I’d suggest starting up a Heroes Rise 2 Bugs thread and reporting it there. It should get fixed in the next patch. That’s odd.
@FairyGodfeather Definitely. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t just something I had completely missed out.
Or maybe it’s just me. That would sum up my experience with electronic games.