title: The Night Comes for Us

text: Bobby discovers Yohan's thugs infiltrating Fatih's building. He gets Shinta to safety before killing some thugs on an elevator and returns to help Wisnu and Fatih fight. They are initially successful despite being outnumbered and heavily injured, but Triad enforcers Elena and Alma arrive. They kill the last of Yohan's men and Wisnu. Bobby sacrifices his life in order to help Fatih and Reina escape by distracting Elena, who kills Bobby with a Kukri. Arian intervenes before Alma can kill a heavily injured Fatih, knocking her unconscious. Fatih deduces that Arian told Yohan and the Triad where he lived due to Arian being one of the only members to know where Fatih was located. He refuses further help from Arian and barely shoots at him, but is unable to bring himself to kill him. More Triad attempt to ambush Fatih and Reina in the garage. Fatih gets Reina to hide before sacrificing his life by distracting the triad members. The ambushers are all killed by a mysterious woman nicknamed The Operator.


title: The Night Comes for Us

text: Ito frees himself and returns to Fatih's, where he discovers his former colleagues dead. Reina finds him and after they relocate to Shinta's apartment, they bond. The Operator then arrives and attempts to kill Ito. When she wins, she is persuaded by Reina to talk to him instead of killing him. She states her intentions to eliminate the Six Seas members, Ito included, and tells him of Arian's reappearance in Jakarta. Ito explains that he feels remorse for killing innocent people, and tells her to kill him, but she disappears.


title: The Night Comes for Us

text: Chien Wu again meets with Arian. Initially angry at Arian for stopping Alma from killing Fatih, Chien Wu gives Arian one last chance to kill Ito, and offers him Ito's place in the Six Seas should he kill him. When Arian questions why Chien Wu wants to kill Ito, Chien Wu explains that his main goal is to cause chaos within Jakarta. In a flashback, it is revealed that Ito and Arian, working out of the warehouse the Triad is currently using, entered the Triad together in order to move up in the world.


title: The Night Comes for Us

text: The Operator returns to Ito's apartment in an attempt to get Reina to a safe location, while Ito travels to the warehouse and slaughters all the Triad henchmen there. As more henchmen arrive at Ito's apartment to kill him, The Operator kills them all in quick fashion. When Elena and Alma also arrive, The Operator engages in a brutal fight with them but manages to kill both Elena and Alma.


title: The Night Comes for Us

text: Arian takes out a sniper who was about to kill Ito. The two talk about their former lives, and Arian's intention to join the Six Seas. In a long and brutal fight, both are severely wounded. Ito finally gains the upper hand but instead of killing Arian, he leaves. Chien Wu arrives and insults Arian for his failure to kill Ito a second time. Arian tries to shoot him but finds that he is out of bullets. Chien Wu has Arian executed with the help of six hitmen led by Arian's assistant, presumably hinting that the assistant is the new Six Seas member in Ito's place.


title: The Night Comes for Us

text: The Operator safely guides Reina to Ito and leaves. Ito puts Reina on a departing ship but does not board himself. After they mutually wave goodbye for the last time, Ito, badly wounded, gets in his car before spotting Chien Wu and more Triad members henchmen in front of him. Ito, grinning savagely, drives his car toward them as they open fire. His fate and the Triads are left unknown.


title: The Night Comes for Us

text: In September 2014, pre-production on the film was halted and three months later Tjahjanto confirmed he was adapting the script into a graphic novel.


title: The Night Comes for Us

text: RADiUS-TWC has acquired North American distribution rights in 2014 prior to the beginning of production, but allegations against the label's owner Harvey Weinstein, and its parent company The Weinstein Company about to liquidate its entire assets to Lantern Entertainment, they sold the entire rights to Netflix.


title: The Night Comes for Us

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, , the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average of . The website's consensus reads, "A bloody thrill ride designed to test the limits of more squeamish viewers, "The Night Comes for Us" wields a stylishly violent, action-packed punch." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 69 out of 100 based on reviews from 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."


title: The Night Comes for Us

text: In a positive review, Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail wrote, "Unless you are on the programming committee for the most literally bloody-minded of film festivals, you have never experienced as ludicrously violent and gore-soaked a film as "The Night Comes for Us"." Richard Kuipers of Variety wrote: "This cartoonish cavalcade of carnage potently reunites "The Raid" stars Joe Taslim and Iko Uwais as former friends on a corpse-strewn collision course."


title: The Night Comes for Us

text: Dan Jackson of Thrillist was more critical of the film. He wrote: "Instead of feeling like the action organically emerges from the situational demands of the narrative, it often feels like the story was reverse engineered to center around the often stunning physical feats."


title: The Night Comes for Us

text: In October 2018, American comic book artist Robert Liefeld, who co-created the popular Marvel superhero character "Deadpool," praised Tjahjanto's work on the film via his Twitter account. In an enthusiastic reaction, Liefeld suggested that Tjahjanto should be given "all the money for Deadpool 3", referring to the upcoming installment of the Deadpool film series. He went on to acknowledge the influence of Indonesian cinema on the action genre while also suggesting Tjahjanto to direct a standalone Cable film, referring to another Marvel superhero character that was portrayed by Josh Brolin in the 2018 film "Deadpool 2".


title: The Night Comes for Us

text: A sequel, "Night of the Operator", featuring Julie Estelle reprising her role, was developed but ultimately abandoned by Netflix. Tjahjanto has publicly expressed his hope for the movie to be made.


title: No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!

text: , commonly referred to as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by two people under the pseudonym Nico Tanigawa. It began serialization on Square Enix's "Gangan Online" service from August 4, 2011 and is published by Yen Press in North America. A 4-panel spin-off manga was serialized in "Gangan Joker" between January 2013 and July 2015. An anime television adaptation by Silver Link aired in Japan between July and September 2013.


text: Fifteen-year-old Tomoko Kuroki believed that she would become popular upon entering high school because she has become well-versed in the world of otome games. In reality, she finds that she has become an unsociable loner, though she still forces herself to try out what she has learned about achieving popularity. As she progresses through high school, Tomoko attempts to improve her social status among her peers.


text: Written by two people under the pseudonym Nico Tanigawa, "WataMote" began serialization on Square Enix's "Gangan Online" service from August 4, 2011. The first tankōbon volume was released on January 21, 2012, with 22 volumes and an official fan book released as of September 21, 2013, . An anthology was released on June 22, 2013, . The second volume, released on May 22, 2012, ranked #10 in the Oricon charts in its opening week. As of July 2013, the series has printed over 1.5 million copies. The manga gained popularity overseas after fan translations of the series were posted on the English speaking imageboard 4chan, the Western equivalent of Japan's Futaba Channel. Yen Press has licensed the manga in North America and the UK and began releasing the series from October 29, 2013. A spin-off 4-panel manga series, , known as for short, ran in Square Enix's "Gangan Joker" magazine between January 22, 2013 and July 22, 2015, was released on August 22, 2015, . A novel anthology written by Nico Tanigawa, Masaki Tsuji, Yugo Aosaki, Sako Aizawa and Van Madoy was released on November 15, 2019, .


text: In the Yen Press English version, individual chapters are called "Fails" and are preceded with the title "I'm Not Popular, So".


text: An anime television adaptation of the manga was announced to have been greenlit in an advertising for the third manga volume on December 20, 2012. The television series was produced by Silver Link and aired in Japan between July 8 and September 23, 2013, while Crunchyroll simulcast the series for North America. The series is directed by Shin Oonuma and written by Takao Yoshioka, with character design by Hideki Furukawa. An original video animation episode was released with the seventh manga volume on October 22, 2014. Sentai Filmworks licensed the series in North America and released it on Blu-ray and DVD on August 26, 2014.


text: The opening theme is by Konomi Suzuki and Kiba of Akiba, which reached #43 on the Japan Hot 100. The main ending theme, featured in all but four episodes, is by Izumi Kitta. It charted at #79 in Japan. The ending themes for episodes two and five are and respectively, both performed by Velvet.Kodhy. The ending theme for episode six is by Utsu-P & Toka Minatsuki, featuring vocals by Hatsune Miku (a cover of the by ). The ending theme for episode eleven in by .


text: "WataMote" has been the subject of much discussion and debate, particularly in its depiction of social anxiety and the main character Tomoko. Many have debated if the series is a comedy or a study of neurosis with many varying opinions on whether the subject matter is supposed to be humorous or not. Still, the anime adaptation has been highly praised by most websites, particularly for its main character Tomoko, and Izumi Kitta's portrayal of her. Among the most praised aspects of the series, the opening title sequence has received unanimous praise for its opening song, visuals, and how well it represents Tomoko's loneliness, frustration, and intense social anxiety.


text: Kotaku contributor and anime critic Richard Eisenbeis gave the series an extremely negative review, describing the show as being the "most mean-spirited" anime that he had ever viewed as a critic and fan. He criticized the show's main source of humor, the protagonist's social anxiety disorder, as being low-brow and demeaning to the mentally ill.


text: On the other hand, Anime News Network's review compared the series to other well-known series dealing with subject of social misfits, such as "Welcome to the NHK" and "Genshiken". Furthermore, Tomoko is portrayed as a completely anti-moe character, since she is angry and vengeful, instead of a typical cheery moe girl who just happens to be socially clumsy. The review praises the series for being insightful and straightforward in its treatment of social maladjustment.


title: Melee weapon

text: A melee weapon, hand weapon or close combat weapon is any handheld weapon used in hand-to-hand combat, i.e. for use within the direct physical reach of the weapon itself, essentially functioning as an additional (and more impactful) extension of the user's limbs. By contrast, a ranged weapon is any other weapon capable of engaging targets at a distance beyond immediate physical contact.


title: Melee weapon

text: The term "melee" originates in the 1640s from the French word "", which refers to disorganized hand-to-hand combat, a close-quarters battle, a brawl, or a confused fight; especially involving many combatants.


title: Melee weapon

text: The 1812 tabletop war game "Kriegsspiel" referred to the hand-combat stage of the game as a "melee". Later war games would follow this pattern. From there, gamers would eventually begin to call the weapons used in that stage "melee weapons".


title: Melee weapon

text: Many weapons fit into multiple categories, or fit in between them; many polearms such as halberds, lucerne hammers, and add edged and blunt methods of attack to a spear base, and various hooked weapons such as billhooks, , falxes, and evade simple classification; while flexible weapons such as whips don't fall into any of these categories.


title: Janet Varney

text: Janet Varney (born February 16, 1976) is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for voicing Korra in the Nickelodeon animated television series "The Legend of Korra", co-starring as Sheriff Evie Barret in the television series "Stan Against Evil", her role as Becca Barbara in "You're the Worst", hosting the "JV Club" podcast and co-hosting the "Avatar: Braving the Elements" podcast.


title: Janet Varney

text: Varney was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. She graduated as salutatorian from Rincon High School in 1993 and is an alumna of San Francisco State University, where she majored in theater, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1997. She later pursued a career in interior design before eventually finding her way back into acting. Varney was raised Mormon, but left the church at 17 and began to identify as an agnostic. Varney is of English and Scottish descent.


title: Janet Varney

text: Varney was co-host of "The Hollywood Show" with Brian Unger, a recurring player on Norm Macdonald's sketch show "Back to Norm", and an ensemble player on Crossballs, all for Comedy Central. She also starred in the short-lived Fox comedy "Happy Hour". In 2007, Varney appeared in the short films "Random Acts of Kindness", "Die Hardly Working", "Eternal Waters", "Worldly Possession", "The Losers", "Keep Off Grass", and "Dress for Success" which were made during the reality show "On the Lot". She has appeared as recurring character Eve in the web series "Back on Topps" with Randy and Jason Sklar.


title: Janet Varney

text: Starting in 2008, she began starring in the HBO television series "Entourage", playing television producer Amy Miller who works alongside Eric and Charlie. Varney was also cast in a movie called "Best Player", starring opposite Jerry Trainor and Jennette McCurdy. Varney played opposite John C. McGinley on IFC's "Stan Against Evil" as Sheriff Evie Barret. The show was cancelled in 2019 after three seasons.


title: Janet Varney

text: In 2018 she also created, produced and starred in "Fortune Rookie", an 8 episode web series presented by IFC.


title: Janet Varney

text: Varney also acts as host on "ESCAPE!", a web series broadcast on Geek & Sundry where teams of celebrities work together to get out of an escape room.


title: Janet Varney

text: In 2005, Varney replaced Lisa Kushell as the host of the TBS cooking and entertainment show "Dinner and a Movie". She appeared with Paul Gilmartin and Claud Mann in each episode, introducing films and injecting humor during the preparation of a creative dinner for some themes. The series was cancelled in 2011.


title: Janet Varney

text: Varney has written and performed several comedic audio commentaries for films along with fellow SF Sketchfest co-founder Cole Stratton. These appear on the RiffTrax website under the "RiffTrax Presents" branding, as they are officially sanctioned by RiffTrax founder and "Mystery Science Theater 3000" alumnus Michael J. Nelson.


title: Janet Varney

text: Varney is the co-founder, creative director and producer of SF Sketchfest, the San Francisco Comedy Festival, and is also the co-founder of the San Francisco sketch group Totally False People. She is a core member of the Los Angeles based improv group "Theme Park Improv". She performed with the Los Angeles and San Francisco-based group Sequel 4000. In March 2012, she launched a podcast entitled "The JV Club", hosted on Nerdist.com from 2012 to 2018. In November 2018, it was announced that "The JV Club" would be moving to the Maximum Fun network.


title: Janet Varney

text: Varney has participated on a regular basis on the improv comedy podcast "Spontaneanation" with Paul F. Tompkins, where she is referred to as "Little Janet" Varney. She is also one of the core cast members of the improvised SciFi podcast "Voyage to the Stars", and the podcast "Thrilling Adventure Hour".


title: Janet Varney

text: Varney was married to comedian Chris Hardwick from 2004 to 2011. In 2018, she married fellow writer, Brandon Reynolds. In 2018, Varney came out as bisexual. In young adulthood, Varney was diagnosed with depersonalization disorder.


title: Continental Congress

text: The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. The term "Continental Congress" most specifically refers to the First and Second Congresses of 1774–1781 and, at the time, was also used to refer to the Congress of the Confederation of 1781–1789, which operated as the first national government of the United States until being replaced under the Constitution of the United States. Thus, the term covers the three congressional bodies of the Thirteen Colonies and the new United States that met between 1774 and 1789.


title: Continental Congress

text: The First Continental Congress was called in 1774 in response to growing tensions between the colonies culminating in the passage of the Intolerable Acts by the British Parliament. It met for about six weeks and sought to repair the fraying relationship between Britain and the colonies, while asserting the rights of colonists, proclaiming and passing the Continental Association (a unified trade embargo against Britain), and calling for a second congress. The Second Continental Congress convened in 1775 in the wake of the breakout of hostilities in Massachusetts. Soon after meeting, this second Congress sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III while also selecting George Washington as the head of the new Continental Army. After peace was not forthcoming, the same congress drafted and adopted the Independence resolution and the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, proclaiming that the former colonies were now independent sovereign states.


title: Continental Congress

text: The Second Continental Congress served as the provisional government of the U.S. for most of the War of Independence. In March 1781, the nation's first Frame of Government, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, came into force, at which time the body became what later was called the Congress of the Confederation. This unicameral governing body would convene in eight sessions before adjourning in 1789, when the 1st United States Congress under the new Constitution of the United States took over the role as the nation's legislative branch of government.


title: Continental Congress

text: Both the First and Second Continental Congresses convened in Philadelphia, though with the city's capture during the Revolutionary War, the Second Congress was forced to meet in other locations for a time. The Congress of Confederation was also established in Philadelphia and later moved to New York City which served as the U.S. capital from 1785 to 1790.


title: Continental Congress

text: Much of what is known today about the daily activities of these congresses comes from the journals kept by the secretary for all three congresses, Charles Thomson. Printed contemporaneously, the Journals of the Continental Congress contain the official congressional papers, letters, treaties, reports and records. The delegates to the Continental and Confederation congresses had extensive experience in deliberative bodies, with "a cumulative total of nearly 500 years of experience in their Colonial assemblies, and fully a dozen of them had served as speakers of the houses of their legislatures."


title: Continental Congress

text: The idea of a congress of British American Colonies was first broached in 1754 at the start of the French and Indian War, which started as the North American front of the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France. Known as the Albany Congress, it met in Albany, New York from June 18 to July 11, 1754, and representatives from seven colonies attended. Among the delegates was Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia, who proposed that the colonies join in a confederation. Though this idea was rejected, Franklin and others continued to argue that the colonies should act more cohesively. Though participants did not meet in person, the intermittent activation of committees of correspondence during times of crisis would further bring the colonies together.


title: Continental Congress

text: In 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act requiring that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp. The act provoked the ire of merchants in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, who responded by placing an embargo on British imports until the Stamp Act was repealed. To present a united front in their opposition, delegates from several provinces met in the Stamp Act Congress, which convened in New York City from October 7 through 25, 1765. It issued a Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which it sent to Parliament. Subsequently, under pressure from British companies hurt by the embargo, the government of Prime Minister Lord Rockingham and King George III relented, and the Stamp Act was repealed in March 1766.


title: Continental Congress

text: The colonists' resistance to the Stamp Act served as a catalyst for subsequent acts of resistance. The Townshend Acts (which imposed indirect taxes on various items not produced within the colonies, and created a more effective means of enforcing compliance with trade regulations), passed by Parliament passed in 1767 and 1768, sparked renewed animosity in the colonies, which eventually resulted in the Boston Massacre of 1770. Three years later, the Tea Act (which granted the British East India company the right to directly ship its tea to North America and the right to the duty-free export of tea from Great Britain) became law, exacerbating the colonists' resentment toward the British government, inciting the December 1773 Boston Tea Party, and inspiring the September 1774 Suffolk Resolves.


title: Continental Congress

text: The First Continental Congress met briefly in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from September 5 to October 26, 1774. Delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies that would ultimately join in the Revolutionary War participated. Only Georgia, where Loyalist feelings still outweighed Patriotic emotion, and which relied upon Great Britain for military supplies to defend settlers against possible Indian attacks, did not, nor did East and West Florida, which at the time were also British colonies. Altogether, 56 delegates attended, including George Washington, Patrick Henry, and John Adams. Other notable delegates included Samuel Adams from Massachusetts Bay, along with Joseph Galloway and John Dickinson from the Pennsylvania. Peyton Randolph of Virginia was its president.


title: Continental Congress

text: Benjamin Franklin had put forth the idea of such a meeting the year before, but he was unable to convince the colonies of its necessity until the British Navy instituted a blockade of Boston Harbor and Parliament passed the punitive Intolerable Acts in 1774 in response to the Boston Tea Party. During the congress, delegates organized an economic boycott of Great Britain in protest and petitioned the King for a redress of grievances. The colonies were united in their effort to demonstrate to the "mother country" their authority by virtue of their common causes and their unity; but their ultimate objectives were not consistent. Most delegates were not yet ready to break away from Great Britain, but they most definitely wanted the king and parliament to act in what they considered a fairer manner. Delegates from the provinces of Pennsylvania and New York were given firm instructions to pursue a resolution with Great Britain. While the other colonies all held the idea of colonial rights as paramount, they were split between those who sought legislative equality with Britain and those who instead favored independence and a break from the Crown and its excesses.


title: Continental Congress

text: In London, Parliament debated the merits of meeting the demands made by the colonies; however, it took no official notice of Congress's petitions and addresses. On November 30, 1774, King George III opened Parliament with a speech condemning Massachusetts and the Suffolk Resolves. At that point it became clear that the Continental Congress would have to convene once again.


title: Continental Congress

text: The Second Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775, at Pennsylvania's State House in Philadelphia shortly after the start of the Revolutionary War. Initially, it functioned as a "de facto" national government by raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treaties. The following year it adopted a resolution for independence on July 2, 1776, and two days later approved the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson drafted the declaration, and John Adams was a leader in the debates in favor of its adoption. Afterward, the Congress functioned as the provisional government of the United States of America through March 1, 1781.


title: Continental Congress

text: To govern the war effort and to foster unity among the states, Congress created various standing committees to handle war-related activities, such as the committee of secret correspondence, the treasury board, the board of war and ordnance, and the navy board. Much work was also done in small "ad hoc" committees. One such small group was tasked with developing a constitution to perpetuate the new Union. Such an agreement, the Articles of Confederation was approved by Congress on November 15, 1777, and sent to the states for ratification.


title: Continental Congress

text: The Articles of Confederation came into force on March 1, 1781, after being ratified by all 13 states, and the Second Continental Congress became the Congress of the Confederation (officially styled the "United States in Congress Assembled"), a unicameral body composed of delegates from the several states. A guiding principle of the Articles was to preserve the independence and sovereignty of the states. The weak central government established by the Articles received only those powers which the former colonies had recognized as belonging to king and parliament. Congress had the power to declare war, sign treaties, and settle disputes between the states. It could also borrow or print money, but did not have the power to tax. It helped guide the United States through the final stages of the Revolutionary War, but steeply declined in authority afterward.


title: Continental Congress

text: Under the Articles of Confederation, the Confederation Congress had little power to compel the individual states to comply with its decisions. More and more prospective delegates elected to the Confederation Congress declined to serve in it. The leading men in each State preferred to serve in the state governments, and thus the Continental Congress had frequent difficulties in establishing a quorum. When the Articles of Confederation were superseded by the Constitution of the United States, the Confederation Congress was superseded by the United States Congress.


title: Continental Congress

text: The Confederation Congress finally set up a suitable administrative structure for the Federal government. It put into operation a departmental system, with ministers of finance, of war, and of foreign affairs. Robert Morris was selected as the new Superintendent of Finance, and then Morris used some ingenuity and initiative—along with a loan from the French Government—to deal with his empty treasury and also runaway inflation, for a number of years, in the supply of paper money.


title: Continental Congress

text: As the ambassador to France, Benjamin Franklin not only secured the "bridge loan" for the national budget, but he also persuaded France to send an army of about 6,000 soldiers across the Atlantic Ocean to America—and also to dispatch a large squadron of French warships under Comte de Grasse to the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina. These French warships were decisive at the Battle of Yorktown along the coast of Virginia by preventing Lord Cornwallis's British troops from receiving supplies, reinforcements, or evacuation via the James River and Hampton Roads, Virginia.


title: Continental Congress

text: Robert Morris, the Minister of Finance, persuaded Congress to charter the Bank of North America on December 31, 1781. Although a private bank, the Federal Government acquired partial ownership with money lent by France. The Bank of North America played a major role in financing the war against Great Britain. The combined armies of George Washington and Nathanael Greene, with the help of the French Army and Navy, defeated the British in the Battle of Yorktown during October 1781. Lord Cornwallis was forced to sue for peace and to surrender his entire army to General Washington. During 1783, the Americans secured the official recognition of the independence of the United States from the United Kingdom via negotiations with British diplomats in Paris, France. These negotiations culminated with the signing of the Treaty of Paris of 1783, and this treaty was soon ratified by the British Parliament.


title: Continental Congress

text: Both the British Parliament and many of their own Colonial assemblies had powerful speakers of the house and standing committees with strong chairmen, with executive power held by the British Monarch or the colonial Governor. However, the organization of the Continental Congress was based less on the British Parliament or on local colonial assemblies than on the 1765 Stamp Act Congress. Nine delegates to that congress were in attendance at the First Congress in 1774, and their perspective on governance influenced the direction of both the Continental Congresses and the later Confederation Congress. Congress took on powers normally held by the British King-in-Council, such as foreign and military affairs. However, the right to tax and regulate trade was reserved for the states, not Congress. Congress had no formal way to enforce its ordinances on the state governments. Delegates were responsible to and reported directly to their home state assemblies; an organizational structure that Neil Olsen has described as "an extreme form of matrix management".


title: Continental Congress

text: Delegates chose a presiding president to monitor the debate, maintain order, and make sure journals were kept and documents and letters were published and delivered. After the colonies declared their independence in 1776 and united as a quasi-federation to fight for their freedom, the president functioned as head of state (not of the country, but of its central government); Otherwise, the office was "more honorable than powerful". Congress also elected a secretary, scribe, doorman, messenger, and Chaplain.


title: Continental Congress

text: The rules of Congress guaranteed the right to debate and open access to the floor for each delegate. Additionally, to ensure that each state would be on an equal footing with the others, voting on ordinances was done "en bloc", with each state having a single vote. Prior to casting its "yay" or "nay" vote, preliminary votes were taken within each state delegation. The majority vote determined vote here was considered the vote of the state on a motion; in cases of a tie the vote for the state was marked as "divided," and thus not counted.


title: Continental Congress

text: Turnover of delegates was high, with an average year-to-year turnover rate of 37% by one calculation, and 39% by session-to-session. Of the 343 serving delegates, only 55% (187 delegates) spent 12 or more months in attendance. Only 25 of the delegates served longer than 35 months. This high rate of turnover was not just a characteristic, it was due to a deliberate policy of term limits. In the Confederation phase of the Congress "no delegate was permitted to serve more than three years in any six". Attendance was variable: while in session, between 54 and 22 delegates were in attendance at any one time, with an average of only 35.5 members attending between 1774 and 1788.


title: Continental Congress

text: There is a long-running debate on how effective the Congress was as an organization. The first critic may have been General George Washington. In an address to his officers, at Newburgh, New York, on March 15, 1783, responding to complaints that Congress had not funded their pay and pensions, he stated that he believed that Congress would do the army "complete justice" and eventually pay the soldiers. "But, like all other large Bodies, where there is a variety of different Interests to reconcile, their deliberations are slow."


title: Continental Congress

text: In addition to their slowness, the lack of coercive power in the Continental Congress was harshly criticized by James Madison when arguing for the need of a Federal Constitution. His comment in "Vices of the Political System" of April 1787 set the conventional wisdom on the historical legacy of the institution for centuries to come:


title: Continental Congress

text: Many commentators take for granted that the leaderless, weak, slow, and small-committee driven, Continental Congress was a failure, largely because after the end of the war the Articles of Confederation no longer suited the needs of a peacetime nation, and the Congress itself, following Madison's recommendations, called for its revision and replacement. Some also suggest that the Congress was inhibited by the formation of contentious partisan alignments based on regional differences. Others claim that Congress was less ideological than event-driven. Others note that the Congress was successful in that the American people "came to accept Congress as their legitimate institution of Government", but the "rather poor governmental record" of the Congress forced the constitutional convention of 1787.


title: Continental Congress

text: Political scientists Calvin Jillson and Rick Wilson in the 1980s accepted the conventional interpretation on the weakness of the Congress due to the lack of coercive power. They explored the role of "leadership", or rather the lack of it, in the Continental Congress. Going beyond even Madison's harsh critique, they used the "analytical stance of what has come to be called the new institutionalism" to demonstrate that "the norms, rules, and institutional structures of the Continental Congress" were equally to blame "for the institution's eventual failure", and that the "institutional structure worked against, rather than with, the delegates in tackling the crucial issues of the day."


title: Continental Congress

text: The historian Richard P. McCormick rendered a more nuanced judgment. He suggested that Madison's "extreme judgment" on the Congress was "motivated no doubt by Madison's overriding desire to create a new central government that would be empowered veto the acts of state legislatures," but that it fails "to take any notice of the fact that while the authority of the Confederation Congress was ambiguous, it was not a nullity".


title: Continental Congress

text: Benjamin Irvin in his social and cultural history of the Continental Congress, praised "the invented traditions by which Congress endeavored to fortify the resistance movement and to make meaning of American independence." But he noted that after the war's end, "Rather than passively adopting the Congress's creations, the American people embraced, rejected, reworked, ridiculed, or simply ignored them as they saw fit."


title: Continental Congress

text: An organizational culture analysis of the Continental Congress by Neil Olsen, looking for the values, norms, and underlying assumptions that drive an organization's decisions, noted that "the leaderless Continental Congress outperformed not only the modern congress run by powerful partisan hierarchies, but modern government and corporate entities, for all their coercive power and vaunted skills as 'leaders'." Looking at their mission as defined by state resolutions and petitions entered into the "Congressional Journal" on its first day, it found that on the common issues of the relief of Boston, securing Colonial rights, eventually restoring harmonious relations with Great Britain, and repealing taxes, they overachieved their mission goals, defeated the largest army and navy in the world, and created two new types of republic. Olsen suggests that the Congress, if slow, when judged by its many achievements – not the least being recognizing its flaws, then replacing and terminating itself – was a success.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Danielle "Dani" Moonstar, originally codenamed Psyche and later Mirage, is a fictional Northern Cheyenne superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in the graphic novel "The New Mutants" (Sept. 1982), created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod. The character is usually depicted as associated with the New Mutants.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: A mutant, Moonstar originally possessed the psionic/psychic ability to telepathically create illusions of her opponents' fears or wishes. She later developed a wide range of psionic and energy manipulation powers. She also developed some magical abilities after a series of adventures in Asgard. She was a member of the X-Men's 1980s junior team the New Mutants and, after a long absence, its reincarnation X-Force. She was also a member of the X-Men, Young X-Men and Fearless Defenders. She was depowered after Decimation. She regained her powers after being infected with, then cured of Warlock's transmode virus by Dark Beast. She regained her Valkyrie powers after making a deal with Hela.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod, Mirage first appeared in "The New Mutants" (Sept. 1982), part of the line "Marvel Graphic Novel", and appeared as a feature character in "The New Mutants" (1983), "New Mutants" vol. 2 (2003), "Young X-Men" (2008) and "New Mutants" vol. 3 (2009). She appeared for a portion of the initial run of "X-Force" (1991), first as an infiltrator to the Mutant Liberation Front and later as a regular X-Force team member. She was also briefly a supporting character in "" (2007) and can be seen sporadically as a background character in "The Uncanny X-Men" and related X-Men titles. Moonstar appears as a regular team member in the all-female 2013 series "The Fearless Defenders". After several years as an infrequent supporting character, Mirage is again featured prominently in The Uncanny X-Men vol. 5 (2019), and "New Mutants" vol. 4 (2019).


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Danielle Moonstar is a teenage Native American (specifically, Cheyenne), and was born in Boulder, Colorado. As with most mutants, Dani's mutant powers manifested during puberty. One of her first manifestations is a vision of her parents' death, killed by a demonic bear. Shortly afterwards, her parents disappear and Dani is taken in by her grandfather, Black Eagle. The Hellfire Club attempt to capture her, and in the melee, her grandfather is killed. He had already contacted Professor X to take care of Dani. Xavier, who had been a close friend of Moonstar's father, offers to teach Dani control over her powers. She joins his group of students called the New Mutants, and shortly afterwards becomes the co-leader of the group, together with Cannonball. There, she develops a deep friendship with Wolfsbane.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: While with the New Mutants, Moonstar starts to have nightmares again about the Demon Bear, who until then had been kept from her due to Black Eagle's protective spells. Her fear over the entity causes her to contemplate suicide. One night, she attacks the entity and is taken to the hospital. The other New Mutants wait for her in the hospital and are tracked down by the Bear. Its magics affect the team, drawing them into another dimension. The New Mutant Magik pierces the Demon Bear with her magical sword, and it reverts to its original form: William and Peg Lonestar. Dani is reunited with her parents, but decides to stay at Xavier's school. They develop an intense rivalry with the Hellions, a super-powered team of young mutants led by the White Queen. This rivalry is later somewhat cooled when Danielle bonds with the Hellions's leader, Thunderbird.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: While stranded in the Asgardian realm, Danielle finds a winged horse trapped in mud and barbed wire. She frees the animal and names it Brightwind, not realizing the creature's nature. Selected by Brightwind as her rider, Danielle inadvertently becomes a Valkyrie. This allows Danielle to see premonitions of death.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: The Power Pack call the New Mutants to help against a group of demonic creatures. The Pack's mother is gravely ill and Danielle fights off Death outside her hospital window, gaining the mother a new lease on life. Later, on a trip back home to see her parents, she encounters an old childhood friend. This friend has become racist and mentally ill during the time she was gone. He was also a diabetic and when he fails to take his medicine, he crashes and dies.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: She and the other New Mutants attempt to save former teammate Magma from the High Evolutionary. During the fight, Moonstar is thrown into a machine intended to strip mutants of their powers. Instead, the machine (which had been reset by two other victims of the Evolutionary's plan) enhances her mutation; it gives her the ability to make the telepathic images manifest in reality. This ability is limited only in that Danielle can only sustain one wish or fear at a time. As a technique for dispelling previous manifestations, she takes up the habit of summoning a spear.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: For a time, the team is taken care of by X-Factor. The group is seemingly settled into Ship, a sentient flying headquarters. Danielle gets worse and worse headaches, which causes concern with the team but all this is interrupted by many things, including X-Factor being drawn away in battle.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Hela, the death goddess of Asgard, creates a plan to take over the realm and kill the Allfather Odin, who is in a healing sleep at the time. Hela's magics drive Danielle mad and she has to be restrained by her friends, allies, and the unseen help of Doctor Strange. The battle is soon moved to Asgard. The New Mutants, along with the wolf-prince Hrimhari and the Valkyrie Krista (aka Mist), who resist Hela, ultimately triumph. Danielle seemingly loses her winged horse Brightwind in the battle, which concludes in Odin's very bedroom.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: In the end, she chooses to stay behind in Asgard. This angers Hotamitanio, one of her Cheyenne deities, who comes to Asgard itself to bring her back. Danielle ultimately persuades him to leave her to her own devices by promising to eventually return to her tribe.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: When she does return, she joins S.H.I.E.L.D., unbeknownst to her former friends in X-Force, and infiltrates the Mutant Liberation Front. At this point, she refines her psychic ability so that she could cast "psychic arrows", which incapacitate their targets, and rides Darkwind, a dark version of her former steed Brightwind. Her assignment brings her into many conflicts with old allies, mostly X-Force (a continuation of her old team the New Mutants), but also Excalibur and Moira MacTaggert. Despite the Front's malicious motives, Dani secretly works against them, working with Cable to turn Feral over to law enforcement authorities for past crimes, sabotaging a mission in China, and harboring a resentment towards members of the Front, aside from Forearm, with whom she develops a genuine friendship. Her Asgardian white winged steed, Brightwind (who later became the black bat-winged Darkwind when Danielle was stripped of Valkyrie abilities), was killed by Reignfire.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Later, she seeks X-Force's help with a foray into Asgard to help stamp out a take-over attempt by the dark elf Malekith. When most of the MLF is apprehended during , Dani is able to extricate herself with X-Force's aid. She joins X-Force for an extensive road-trip. After an encounter with the mysterious Arcadia Deville, she gains the ability to manipulate quantum energy for a short time, but this power disappears shortly thereafter. She leaves X-Force when they contact Pete Wisdom and take on a more proactive direction.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: After a short time as a part-time member of the X-Men, Moonstar becomes the mentor of a new New Mutants squad at the Xavier Institute (and the legal guardian of Elixir), as well as the Institute's American History teacher. During this time she enjoys a reunion with Karma and then later, Wolfsbane. She helps Wolfsbane deal with the traumatic return of her lycanthropic powers, but an ill-thought romantic liaison between Wolfsbane and Elixir drives a deep wedge between the two women.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: During her appearances in "New Mutants" vol. 2 and "New X-Men" vol. 2 the bulk of Danielle's powers appear to have reverted to their original form. She still retains some of her Valkyrie abilities, namely the ability to sense the dead, but they are not as strong as they once were.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: In the wake of the House of M crossover, the Scarlet Witch causes many mutants to lose their powers. Moonstar is one of the many who lose their powers, and is fired by Emma Frost who feels that as a human, she is no longer safe nor has any right to remain at the school. She briefly reappears in "Generation M" #5, in which she revealed she has not dreamt since M-Day.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Following the events of the superhuman Civil War, Dani is recruited by the Initiative program to serve as an instructor to the next generation of superheroes, alongside her former colleague, Beast. She is the person brought in to train Trauma in the use of powers, which like hers, are fear based. He does transform into the shape of the 'Demon Bear' but Dani is not fazed and talks Trauma into a calmer state. However, due to her belief that Trauma could and should use his powers in a therapeutic nature, Henry Peter Gyrich, who intends to use Trauma as a weapon for the Initiative, is quick to dismiss her from Camp Hammond once she provides Trauma with enough training in his powers.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Danielle later becomes a member of the latest incarnation of the Hellfire Club brought together by Sunspot. Blindfold and Ink, deceived by Donald Pierce in the guise of Cyclops, are put in charge of capturing her. Ink betrays Blindfold and knocks her out and delivers both of them to Donald Pierce. After the Young X-Men defeat Pierce, Danielle moves to San Francisco along with the rest of the X-Men and is told by Cyclops that she and Sunspot will train the Young X-Men. She persuades an apprehensive Anole to join the Young X-Men and move to San Francisco.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: After receiving an anonymous tip in Colorado about a young mutant endangering a small town, Dani and Xi'an are sent to investigate and calm the locals. During their mission Magik—having teleported off into the future after the events of "X-Infernus"—reappears at the X-Men's base in San Francisco. Magik informs Sam and Roberto that Xi'an and Dani are going to die soon, prompting Sam to assemble a team consisting of himself, Sunspot, Magma and Magik to rescue the pair. Sam and Roberto come across a tied up and unconscious Xi'an in the back of a bar after a brief search, while Magik and Magma are tricked into freeing Legion from a box. The personalities in Legion's mind want to kill Dani because she can help Legion get those personalities under control. Legion uses mental projection to try to kill Dani, but she is saved at the last second. Dani punches Sam for his willingness to leave her behind because she lacks powers; she acquires guns in order to pursue Legion. Again, Sam tries to drive her away, saying guns won't help. Despite Dani defeating Legion, he maintains this attitude and she leaves.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Moonstar also assists Cyclops as he prepares his strategy against Norman Osborn's forces. Cyclops sends her to Las Vegas where she approaches the Norse death goddess Hela for a boon. Hela warns her that the price of the boon is a heavy one, but Dani accepts, requesting "a new ride home and a big ol' sword." Later she arrives for the final battle with her powers as a Valkyrie fully restored and she takes on Ares, defeating him after a brutal battle.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: In the aftermath of Utopia Dani is grooming the newly resurrected Brightwind when Cyclops approaches her, congratulates her on her battle with Ares, and asks her to resume her previous teaching position with the X-Men. Dani is more interested in joining Sam's team, but is informed by Cyclops that Sam submitted a request for a permanent roster and didn't include Dani. Dani challenges Sam to a duel in the Danger Room and the two come to an understanding during their battle; Sam then allows Dani to rejoin his team and vows to treat her as an equal. Dani became romantically involved with Sam, and after he resigned from the position of leader of the New Mutants, Dani took his place.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Hela summons Dani and calls in her favor: to gather the spirits of the Asgardians that fell in battle with Norman Osborn's forces. This time, due to the specific nature of her task, her sword cannot touch Asgardian living flesh, but instead proves deadly against the Disir, who have come to feast on the spirits while they are helpless.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: She and the other New Mutants squad were also captured by Project Purgatory and faced the Inferno Babies, aged and superpowered versions of the infants captured during the original Inferno event. During the ordeal, Dani was beaten and tortured but managed to extricate herself from captivity as the New Mutants turned the tables on their captors.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: During Legion's pocket reality, Age of X, Dani played a significant role as a tracker and leader of the Moonstar Cadre, a team of elite hunters and enforcers, including Cypher, Karma, Magma, Sunspot and Dust.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Due to the events in Limbo and Age of X, the New Mutants lost several members: Cannonball, Karma and Magik. Cyclops then tasked Dani and her team of tying up loose ends, including rescuing Nate Grey, who became her new love interest, subduing the Sugar Man, taming the alien chaos of the metal band, Diskhorde, encountering a virus on Ani-Mator's island, revisiting the Disir issue in Asgard and eliminating the threat of the Truefriend, a techno-organic infected future version of Cypher.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Dani would next join Brunnhilde's team of earth Valkyries called the Fearless Defenders to combat the machinations of Caroline Le Fay, after which she remained a supporting character for the X-Men. She would use her Valkyrie death sense to locate those suffering from the M-Pox, notably rescuing Lady Mastermind from succumbing to the disease.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Dani would continue her affiliation with her mutant pals for some time after the M-Pox crisis. Such as attending the (faux) funeral for her deceased friend and fellow New Mutant; Sunspot. Serving as a teacher and guide for Jubilee's class of sidelined Xavier students. Striving through the onslaught of a Hydra affiliated alt. Captain America's takeover of the world during his Secret Empire.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Continuing her mentorship duties at the institute while many of its senior staff were battling against the resurrected Omega Red. Moonstar and many of the students ended up contracted into the insane scheming of Mojo as he had turned all New York into a lethal televised simulacrum channel surf. She would feature at the aborted wedding of Kathrine Pryde and Piotr Rasputine as the bride left the groom at the altar. Danielle was also present at the recent resurrection of one of the founding O5 X-Men, Jean Grey as she was resurrected by her link to the Phoenix Force in her old home of Annandale on Hudson.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Mirage would succumb to a techno-organic virus infection by her late technarchy friend Warlock which would spread to and infect the rest of the New Mutants team gathered by the soul cleaved Shan Coy Mann, who had sent her to investigate his recent resurgence in Canterbury, Connecticut.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: It was later revealed that she was contracted by the latter to help find the soul of her brother after he'd split off from her, but ended up infected and becoming Moonlock; creating duplicates of their old friends using his powers to attack the originals with. Eventually Karma sold all of her T.O. infected teammates to the Office of National Emergency's corrupt mutant hating C.O. Robert Callahan before being infected by a lock infected Illyana. Where they've remained in captivity ever since. During her imprisonment, Dani and the other Lock infested New Mutants were pushed into the service of director Callahan as cyber-organic mutant hunter-killers. First sending them after Emma Frost after having remade them into techno-organic sentinels in his service.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: She along with all their old friends would later be freed from the office by remnants of the X-Men after their climactic battle with a recently repowered Nathaniel Grey, the mutant messiah known as X-Man resulting in the deaths of their entire team.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: After their rescue from O*N*E organization, Scott Summer's began running up a list of potential targets to be taken care of in the wake of the X-Men's demise and mutant xenophobia cranking up to genocidal degrees. Using this opportunity to settle up before retiring as X-Men, they would re-encounter Madrox within an underground experimentation facility while on the hunt for Dark Beast.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Next on the list, she and others of the New Mutants would hunt for members of the Marauders while others would investigate another mass mutant slaughter. Running into Pantu Hurageb A.K.A. Reaper while Jamie and his dupes shook him down for information as he tried to resist; Dani, Illyana and Rahne eventually incapacitating him when he'd managed to make a break for it. She and the rest of the X-Men would go in search for more leads running into Scrambler as he was fleeing Callisto after he and his crew had led another Morlock Massacre.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: While Scott and the others went out to deal with the Mutant Liberation Front, spearheaded by Hope Summers and Banshee, Dark Beast managed to cure the T.O infested within many of the New Mutants as an experiment by siphoning it into one of Madrox's clones.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Afterward, they would do battle with a new Brotherhood of Mutants led by Joseph who had been masquerading as Magneto while committing acts of anti-human terrorism. He would soon be unceremoniously killed by Kwannon in order to keep him from falling into the government's hands, in that instant however Danielle's psionic rapport with Wolfsbane kicked in; notifying the rest of the team that her partner and best friend had died.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: She and others who had attended Rahne's funeral gave a beautiful eulogy for their fallen sister, after the sermon Cain Marko voiced concerns as to why it was Cyclops never listed Emma Frost as a potential target.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Having finally found the Marauders the X-Men team immediately went into battle with them. Afterward, the evil mutants admit that they nothing to do with the murders in the Morlock Tunnels, after Jono summarily executes them in cold blood and in turn is cut down by Harpoon with his last breath. Illyana teleported the X team back to their home base only find it in flames. Once they make it outside they find Mister Sinister was responsible for their current predicament, setting their secret lounge ablaze in anger for the X-Men killing his Marauders. After a hard-fought conflict, Essex just nonchalantly gives up the fight; wherein the X-Men relocate to another safe haven in Manhattan. The construction of which being ordered by Karma's company as a means to apologize to the team before leaving.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Something Coy Mann spoke to her confidante about in private. Danielle was little more than distraught to hear such news but after her friends voiced her reasons, as well as her guilt for what she'd done. Next on the list were the Upstarts, a team of mutant killing thrill-seekers amongst whom many were long since dead. Having tracked them to the Cloisters in Washington Heights, the rial outfits would engage in furious combat. Even in defeat Shinobi Shaw would not go in the night quietly, committing suicide rather than be incarcerated by phasing then solidifying his hand into his face. Moonstar and the others soon reconvene within Dark Beasts lab, where he regales them on how he found a way to neutralize the new x-gene vaccine used to kill future generations of Homo Superior. But was horrified to find out that, with Sinister's help, his airborne antitoxin procedure had the added effect of triggering a tug-of-war between their latent mutation and the cure making their X-gene's activate.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Causing those who take the governments hate crime medicine to fall into a coma as a result. After such a revelation Magik all but lost her patience and warped the mad scientists into the ceiling of his lab, killing him instantly.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: After getting a psychic message from Ms. Frost requesting their assistance. They're notified of how she'd been manipulating them from behind the scenes in order to serve the whims of the anti-mutant O*N*E agenda, but in truth was playing everyone to her own accord for a personal as well as wholesome benefit for all mutants. While part of their remaining team were out retrieving their comrade Wolverine from the office, they lost more of their own but were successful in bringing back those they needed. Moonstar and the rest protected Warlox (the amalgamation of Warlock and a Madrox dupe), Nemesis and Fabian Cortez as they transported him to the Black King's mansion while dodging more O*N*E troops as they cracked down on the last few X-Men left alive.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Reconnoitering with Scott and his scout team, Dani was dismayed to hear that Cyclops lost more people while failing in their primary mission to rescue Elixir. Nonetheless, Emma was able to do what she'd set out to do when she made contact with the uncanny mutants. Erasing the very memory of mutation and those who possess powers because of it from the minds of every person on the planet.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: After the mass mind alteration, Danielle has a chat with Scott about the people they'ed lost and all friends and family they left behind. Scott was insulted to think that Dani believed their cohabitation for survival was really just carefully arranged steppingstones used to enable the more important members of the mutant nation to shelter their own survival. Emma's plan wasn't perfect, however, as Director Callahan had set up fail-safes in place as he knew the dangers of working with Emma Frost. Danielle was angry to find more Techno-Organic Sentinels attacking the Hellfire mansion but offers her aid nonetheless. Even with Warlox alternating their programming and Wolverine cutting down the duplicitous Callahan in brutal fashion, the T.O Sentinels still rampage long after his command apparatus dies with him. Despite the dire nature of the situation, however, previously thought dead X-Men come out of nowhere and dispatch the Sentinel Squad. The two sides exchange notes while Scott inquires to Dani about how and if she knew whether these X-Men were dead, while Moonstar herself admits she knew nothing of this. She knew they would all be reunited one day, like they hopefully will be with those whom they lost throughout recent hardships.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: The X-Men debate whether or not they should keep to the new status quo of mutants being invisible to the eyes of the world. Many of which, Dani included, are not happy about the idea of hiding who they are from a planet of ungrateful people that constantly make light of all the suffering and loss they have endured for so long. Despite knowing the obvious truth that by making themselves known again will mean humanity will continue to assail them at every turn, they all agree on it and destroy the Cerebro unit used to mindwipe their existence from the world, revealing themselves to all who fear and hate them once again.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: As the X-Men were fighting against Nanny and her Orphan Maker, Danielle suddenly received the call to arms when the Valkyries of Odin were called to stand against Malekith the Accursed's forces as he brought his war that torched the realms of the World Tree to Midgard. Without warning she had Illyana teleport her to where the fighting had begun while the others were preoccupied with the Nanny and her Orphan-Maker, while the X-Men follow behind as Magik teleports them to New York City after its fall in search of their teammates.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Dani makes a reappearance in her Valkyrie guise while dispatching some of Malekith's hordes. She explains how when the dark elf king declared war on the Earth, Danielle as an honorary shield maiden, was called to arms by their All-Father to intercept them. But the Valkryor were all killed in the attack, and now Dani is all that is left of the once mighty slain choosers of Asgard.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: For the next couple of months Danielle and the X-Men would remain in the ruined city of Flushing, Queens helping any survivors escape the horrors of the Nine Worlds. She was aided by Karma, Madrox, Banshee and Hope in dispatching frost giants while Havok and Cyclops dealt with larger hunting parties following close behind. After tending to what is left of a roving band of lingering humans, the X-Men move out to offer aid to the rest of the team they got separated from in the initial incursion. There they find Hope and the others now backed by Roberto Dacosta (Sunspot) whom they found in the underground sewer system, all present however are shocked to find they are missing members of their parties. While searching for their missing friends, Danielle is able to track their location by signifying Sabretooth's involvement. They are soon met by more of Malekith's forces who were warded off by the arrival of Hrimhari, bringing with him his family and their familial friend Illyana back to the mutant's care.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Not long after, Creed's invading forces beset the human haven of Syndergaard intent on getting Magik back and slaughtering everyone within the refuge. Bobby implores Illyana to warp everyone to safety but retorts she cannot due to Amora's hex.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: With the sacrifice of Sunspot by destroying a cursed relic inhibiting Illyana's powers, the X-Men were able to use her portals as effective misdirection against the enemy forces. Mirage and Karma combine abilities to throw up a convincing illusion to trick them all into Limbo using Madrox's duplicates and the clothes of weary survivors they are taking care of. Wolfsbane and Magik dispatch Victor with lethal haste but at the cost of sending her lover and young son back to Hel as they broke the deal made with the Enchantress to live again. Danielle decided to pay last rites to her fallen sisters and her brother as their spirits come to urge her to live on.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: As Malekith's war began dying down with the return of Mjolnir to Thor's hand, Mirage was there with Earth's Mightiest as the fallen god Loki used Heimdall's sword to cut his way out of Laufey's greedy gut, ending the frost giant king's life.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Mirage is a mutant with empathic psi abilities to communicate with animals and people, as well as create three-dimensional images of visual concepts from within the minds of herself and others. Her most developed ability allowed her to manifest people's fears or desires as realistic illusions. Because of the Scarlet Witch's powers and actions, Moonstar lost her mutant abilities. But has since regained them after being infected with, then cured of Warlock's transmode virus by Dark Beast.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Her ability began as manifesting people's worst nightmares, many times in an uncontrollable fashion, against the will of both involved. Soon she gained the ability to control this and to alternatively manifest a person's "deepest desire", mainly as something or someone the affected person respects. She can also project images of objects of fear or desire from the minds of vertebrate animals and certain insects, but only the animal from which she derives the image will be able to see it.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: She can even create illusions by channeling residual thought and emotional impressions in an area (such as showing Wolverine a battle scene between Mister Sinister and unknown assailants, simply by entering the area where the battle had recently taken place). At first, Mirage could not control her image projecting powers and would draw and project images without consciously willing to do so. She has since gained control through training and maturity.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Mirage has a quasi-telepathic talent that allows her to form a rapport with various fauna, including her winged horse, Brightwind, primates, canines, lupines, felines, and avians. She can sense their feelings, consciously perceive images in their minds, and even see through their eyes. This enables her to communicate with Wolfsbane in her transitional half-lupine form or transformed into her full wolf form. She has also been able to exist peacefully with wild animals.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: She had, for a time, the ability to make the telepathic images manifest as psionic energy, becoming tangible entities of solid psionic force. This ability was limited in that Mirage could only sustain one illusion at a time. She often carried around a "dream spear", in order to destroy previous illusions. Many times, her powers caused her to experience sharp, blinding headaches. She can temporarily regain the ability for tangible 3-D mirage casting in strengthened capacity while in the domain of Otherworld.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Mirage has displayed the ability to focus her psionic powers into energy arrows which could stun an opponent by disrupting their central nervous system, or force them to relive a traumatic memory. In later publishing Moonstar's psi arrows have a more physical aspect to them. Able to draw blood from those stuck with them, it is currently unknown if this is an effect of her latent materialization abilities or not.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Although not a traditional telepath, her mental abilities give her sufficient control to have used Cerebro at a time it was only usable by telepaths, and she has also exhibited a danger sense.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: When Mirage rescued Brightwind, she became a valkyrie, and became endowed with the Valkyrie power to perceive and sense the coming of Death. As such, Mirage could perceive a "deathglow" surrounding a person in serious danger of dying, a dark cloud or graphic visual image over people who were in mortal peril. She could also perceive Death incarnate and even do physical battle with Death itself to stave off mortality for a short time. She has created an illusory "Cheyenne ghost-staff" drawing upon an image in her own mind and has successfully wielded it as a weapon against Death and the Asgardian death-goddess Hela.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: She initially lost these powers due to the fall of Asgard but has since regained them after making a deal with the reborn Hela.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Moonstar appears to have gained a substantial degree of superhuman strength from Hela as she was able to knock Ares off his feet. Additionally, she wields a powerful supernatural sword able to discharge energy, bleed skyfather class divine, capable of slaying spiritual entities and cuts through curses/enchantments. Matt Fraction has confirmed that since Danielle's restored Valkyrie powers come directly from Hela herself, they are much greater than they were previously, referring to her as a "Valkyrie Plus". It has been mentioned that she was specifically designed to take down a god. New Mutants writer Zeb Wells has confirmed that her recent power boost was temporary and that she is depowered again. She still owes her services to Hela as a Valkyrie and as such, Brightwind remained with Danielle as a reminder of this pact. Danielle still possesses her Valkyrie powers, they used to only activate when Hela herself wills them to do so. But over time learned to call on it at will again without her consent.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Due to her training at Xavier's and her time as a Valkyrie in Asgard, and her natural athleticism growing up in the Rocky Mountains, Dani is physically fit and an excellent hand-to-hand combatant. In addition, she is experienced in the use of several simple weapons, especially the bow and arrow, spear, knife and sword, which she carried as a Valkyrie. She is a skilled equestrian and swimmer, a good marksman with a rifle, and an excellent archer.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: For a brief period of time Danielle Moonstar's powers were bolstered by Arcadia Deville in odd yet phenomenal ways. She could tap into the primal mainstream of the universe to channel quantum energy through her natural mutant power, as well as make use of them in other dis-separate ways. Such as emitting force blasts potent enough to cripple powerful demons, heal and mend with a glancing touch, resist the physiological and psychological invasion by the techno-organic mutant Paradigm, see into broader energy spectrum beyond light and energy at a quantum level and cause a transmogrification effect on the surrounding area at a subatomic level, sense disturbances in energy fields from miles out as well as alternate them to cancel out and sync with alternate energy forms such as Electromagnetic Waves, even possessing an undisclosed capacity to manipulate reality on a quantum level.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Bailey Jo Josie of "CBR.com" called Danielle Moonstar a "unique character," writing, "First known as Psyche, and then Mirage, Dani Moonstar came alive as one of the best characters of "The New Mutants" in the 1980s and a fine representation of a Native American - specifically Cheyenne Nation - superhero in Marvel comics."


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: In the Age of Apocalypse, Moonstar became one of Apocalypse's followers and a member of the "Pale Riders", one of the Dark Lord's team of assassins. She earned the position due to her sadism and ruthlessness. Due to her origins, she was capable of infiltrating John Proudstar's Ghost Dance, learning that Nightcrawler was seeking a way to reach Avalon.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Apocalypse sent the Pale Riders to follow Nightcrawler and destroy Avalon, however, during the journey, the sadistic Moonstar began to torture Dead Man Wade for fun, as his healing factor would regenerate any kind of wound. This angered Damask, the Pale Riders leader, who killed Moonstar after she refused to stop.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: In this timeline unlike the main reality, Danielle is revealed to have a sister named Dana Moonstar who also possessed the same powers as Danielle.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: During a fight with Warlock's father Magus, Magik accidentally ends up teleporting her whole team, split up, into two alternative future timelines. In one of them, where the Sentinels have destroyed most of Earth's mutants, that timeline's version of Cannonball, Mirage and Lila Cheney have established a guerrilla operation to take mutants to temporary safety in Cheney's Dyson sphere.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Dani is an instructor for S.H.I.E.L.D., training the next generation of soldiers. She finds herself at odds with Xi’an Coy Manh, headmistress of the New Mutant Leadership Institute. She works closely with her squad and has lost her left eye to anti-mutant terrorists. She helps her charges and the runaway mutants from the New Mutant Leadership Institute take down Project Genesis.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: In the Marvel Mangaverse, Mirage is a mutant sorceress and a member of the X-Men along with Wolverine, Storm, Jean Grey, Cyclops, and formerly Rogue. In this universe, she apparently has the ability to summon small monsters, and is from India instead of being Native American.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: In the alternate future depicted in "", Dani was imprisoned in Neverland, a concentration camp for mutants. Upon sensing Rahne's death, Dani chants a mixture of Norse and Cheyenne words and Mister Sinister decides to have her terminated, which is initially shown to successfully take place. Later it is shown that she transcended death. After killing her tormentor she says the powers of the ancient Cheyenne gods and the Asgardian gods live on in her. She leaves with the intention of rebuilding the rainbow bridge to see where it will take her.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: In "What If? the X-Men Had Stayed In Asgard?", Danielle is one of the X-Men and New Mutants who decides to remain in the Realm Eternal. In the course of events evoked by Loki's machinations, Danielle eventually replaces Hela, who is destroyed during the ensuing conflict, as the ruler of Hel, with her teammate Magik serving as a liaison between the underworld and Asgard afterwards.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Within the separate universe created by X-Man through use of a Celestial Life Seed, Dani Moonstar is a prisoner within a correctional facility for those who broke the laws of this world populated solely by mutants.


title: Danielle Moonstar

text: Blu Hunt was cast to portray Danielle "Dani" Moonstar / Mirage in "The New Mutants", written and directed by Josh Boone. Dani is the catalyst for the film's events. She enters a relationship with Rahne Sinclair. During the climax, it is revealed that the Demon Bear is a manifestation of her own greatest fear by her powers, and she defeats it by facing the bear, thus dispelling her fear.


title: Santo Versace

text: Santo Domenico Versace (; born 16 December 1944) is an Italian businessman and politician who is the president and co-chief executive officer of Gianni Versace SpA, based in Milan, Italy. Since 2008 he has been elected as Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic in the constituency of Calabria. He is a member of the Alliance for Italy political party, formerly being a member of The People of Freedom.


title: Santo Versace

text: He was born on 16 December 1944 in Reggio Calabria, where he grew up with his younger siblings Gianni and Donatella, along with their father, Antonio, and dressmaker mother, Francesca. An older sister, Tina, died at the age of twelve from an improperly treated tetanus infection. By age six, Versace joined his father and continued to work after school and summers with him until he attended university. When not in school, he helped care for his younger sister, Donatella.


title: Santo Versace

text: In 1981, Versace married Christiana Cavalli. The couple had two children, Francesca Christiana and Antonio Tina Santo. The marriage ended in divorce in 2004. Versace remarried in 2014 to lawyer Francesca de Stefano, with whom he had one daughter, Ramona Francesca.


title: Santo Versace

text: In 1968, Santo graduated from the University of Messina with a degree in economics. He began working first as a banker in Reggio Calabria for Credito Italiano and later as a high school teacher of economics and geography. In 1972, he completed his military service as an officer in the "Genova Cavalleria." Upon completion of his service, Santo opened his own accounting office in both Reggio Calabria and Milan.


title: Santo Versace

text: In 1976, he moved permanently to Milan where he began working full-time with his brother. "Gianni Versace SpA" was founded in 1977, with Santo Versace as CEO until 2004. Santo played a leading role in the success of the Versace brand by focusing on communication, organization, productivity, and quality. He oversaw all areas of the business—including sales, distribution, production and finance—and quickly became one of the industry's leading and most well-respected businesspeople.


title: Santo Versace

text: In 1998, Santo was appointed president of the Italian Fashion Chamber where he served from 1998 to 1999.


title: Santo Versace

text: Since 1998 he is a shareholder of Viola Reggio Calabria Basketball. From June 1998 to October 1999 was "President of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion." He is Chairman of Operation Smile Italy Onlus, an association of doctors and volunteers which deals with children with facial deformities in 70 countries around the world.


title: Santo Versace

text: Versace is portrayed by Italian actor Giovanni Cirfiera in the of the anthology series "American Crime Story", which premiered on 17 January 2018.


title: Empress Xiaoyichun

text: Empress Xiaoyichun (23 October 1727 – 28 February 1775), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Weigiya clan, was a consort of the Qianlong Emperor.


title: Empress Xiaoyichun

text: Empress Xiaoyichun's personal name was not recorded in history. She was a Han Chinese Booi Aha of the Borderd Yellow Banner by birth.


title: Empress Xiaoyichun

text: Lady Wei was born on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month in the fifth year of the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor, which translates to 23 October 1727 in the Gregorian calendar.


title: Empress Xiaoyichun

text: It is not known when Lady Wei entered the Forbidden City as a maid. She likely served Empress Dowager Chongqing, and when the Qianlong Emperor became attracted to her, she was sent to Empress Xiaoxianchun to learn the etiquette of the palace before marrying him as a concubine. This is based on a quote by the Qianlong Emperor:"In the past, Consort Ling served Empress Fuca. Now after she died, she still stayed with the Empress like before."She is likely to have become a Lady-In-Waiting at the age of thirteen (meaning she could have married the Emperor in 1740 or 1741), but this cannot be proven. In 1745, she was granted the title "Noble Lady". She was elevated on 9 December 1745 to "Concubine Ling", meaning "clever and pleasant". On 20 May 1749 she was promoted to the position of "Consort Ling", and although at this point she still had no children, the Qianlong Emperor adored her, describing her as gentle and beautiful. She gave birth on 10 August 1756 to the emperor's seventh daughter, Princess Hejing of the First Rank. She was twenty-nine years old at the birth. On 31 August 1757 to his 14th son, Yonglu, who would die prematurely on 3 May 1760, and on 17 August 1758 to his ninth daughter, Princess Heke of the Second Rank. After Consort Ling began having children, she was favored exclusively.


title: Empress Xiaoyichun

text: On 3 February 1760, Consort Ling was elevated to "Noble Consort Ling". She gave birth on 13 November 1760 to the emperor's 15th son, Yongyan, and on 13 January 1763 to his 16th son, who would die prematurely on 6 May 1765. In 1765, while on a tour to Hangzhou, Empress Nara fell out of favor and was send back to the Forbidden City to be confined. The official reason for the Empress's downfall was given by Qianlong ten years after the facts, when the matter was brought up by an official who was severely punished. The story of the Empress cutting off her hair to curse the Emperor and Empress Dowager is therefore unreliable. Whatever happened, when they returned to the Forbidden City the Emperor stripped the Empress of her titles and on 28 July he elevated Noble Consort Ling to "Imperial Noble Consort". On 17 June 1766, she gave birth to the emperor's 17th son, Yonglin.


title: Empress Xiaoyichun

text: Empress Nara died on 19 August 1766 and he did not designate any of his consorts as the new Empress. However, Imperial Noble Consort Ling, who held the highest rank among all of the Qianlong Emperor's consorts, was placed in charge of the imperial harem. Like her master, she was thrifty in managing the palace funds and guided the Confucian rituals. She also accompanied the Qianlong Emperor on his excursions to Mount Tai, Jehol and the areas south of the Yangtze River. In the thirty-eight year of the Qianlong Era, the Emperor decided to secretly select an heir. Seven of his sons were living at the time, but he decided to choose Yongyan as the Emperor. Yongyan was not outstanding, but he was hardworking and humble.


title: Empress Xiaoyichun

text: Later, Imperial Noble Consort Ling became ill. In February 1775 her daughter, Princess Hejing died, and this unfortunate news worsened her condition. On 28 February 1775, she succumbed to her illness at the age of 47. On 12 March 1775, she was posthumously granted the title "Imperial Noble Consort Lingyi", and on 19 November, she was interred in the Yu Mausoleum of the Eastern Qing tombs after a grand funeral far more regal than that of an Imperial Noble Consort. She was buried on the right side of the Emperor's burial place, while Empress Xiaoxianchun was buried on the left side. After the Yu Mausoleum grave robbery occurred in 1928, it was revealed that her remains were well-preserved during inspection.


title: Empress Xiaoyichun

text: When an Imperial Consort of the Qing Dynasty, their cause of death was typically recorded. Empress Xiaoyichun's cause of death, however, was not recorded. When her tomb was robbed in 1928, her body was found and her bones were not corroded after 153 years of being buried. This has caused many to say that she was poisoned by cinnabars or mercury, so that her remains could be well-preserved. There is a legend that the Qianlong Emperor poisoned her because as he was getting older and closer to death, he was afraid that if he died then the Imperial Noble Consort would become regent over Yongyan. This argument, however, has little evidence and is likely a mere rumor.


title: Empress Xiaoyichun

text: Another rumor is that Empress Xiaoyichun took cinnabars regularly to help her sleep better. The accumulated toxins would cause her death. The most likely cause of death was a normal illness, however, and none of the other theories have much evidence backing them up.


title: Empress Xiaoyichun

text: On 9 February 1796, the Qianlong Emperor abdicated and became a Retired Emperor. Yongyan was enthroned as the Jiaqing Emperor. At the same time, the Qianlong Emperor announced his successor, he posthumously elevated Imperial Noble Consort Lingyi to "Empress Xiaoyi". After the Qianlong Emperor died on 7 February 1799, the Jiaqing Emperor honoured his mother with the posthumous title "Empress Xiaoyichun".


title: Alliance of American Football

text: The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan areas with at least one major professional sports franchise.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: Founded by Charlie Ebersol and Bill Polian in 2018, the AAF began play on February 9, 2019. The league was scheduled to have a 10-week regular season and conclude with a championship game on April 27. After eight weeks of play, however, the league's football operations were suspended by controlling owner Thomas Dundon on April 2. Two days later, the AAF allowed players to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams. The AAF filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17, 2019, with the league's sole season left incomplete.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: Charlie Ebersol, son of former NBC executive and XFL co-founder Dick Ebersol, was inspired to create the AAF in late 2016 after producing the documentary "This Was the XFL" for ESPN Films' "30 for 30" series; upon researching and examining the history of the XFL, he came to the conclusion that the concept was viable but that the finished product was both poorly executed and, from an on-field standpoint, bad football. He began developing the AAF in February 2017, about the same time that word had come out about XFL co-founder Vince McMahon possibly reviving the old XFL brand (which McMahon would indeed do in 2020). Exhibits in a lawsuit filed by Robert Vanech, who claimed to have co-founded the AAF, state that Ebersol had originally approached McMahon about relaunching the XFL but was unable to come to an agreement, as Ebersol wanted control of the XFL brand and was willing to pay $50 million for the trademark, which McMahon was unwilling to sell. In December 2018, Charlie Ebersol asked Vince McMahon about merging the AAF (which was two months away from starting) with the XFL. McMahon turned him down.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: The league was formally organized on February 6, 2018 as an interlocked web of five Delaware limited liability companies: Legendary Field Exhibitions, AAF Players, AAF Properties, LFE 2, and We Are Realtime, LLC. Each in turn was controlled by Ebersol through his own entity as manager, Ebersol Sports Media Group, Inc., while minority investors held stakes in one or more of the LLC entities.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: The AAF was announced on March 20, 2018. Ebersol sought to focus on creating a solid football product in the hopes that it would attract fans. He hired a team of experienced football players, coaches and executives to prepare the league for launch. The AAF was overseen by former NFL general manager Bill Polian, former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, and executive J. K. McKay. Advisers also include former Steelers receiver Hines Ward, former New York Giants and Oakland Raiders defensive end Justin Tuck, retired referee and current Fox NFL rules analyst Mike Pereira, and Ebersol's father, Dick Ebersol.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: Ebersol attended the first XFL game in Las Vegas in 2001, and remembered how disappointed his father was by the poor quality of play. To ensure professional-level football at launch, the AAF set out to hire coaches with professional football coaching and championship experience. On April 7, 2018, the first team, Orlando, was announced with its coach Steve Spurrier. By June 2018, the league had announced its eight inaugural teams and their cities.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: On July 30, 2018, the Alliance announced the league had signed 100 players. In August 2018, the league held the Alliance Scouting Combine at three locations and four dates: August 4, 2018, in Los Angeles, California; August 18 in Houston, Texas; and August 25–26 in Atlanta, Georgia. By August 24, 2018, 205 players were signed. These dates provided an opportunity for players cut at the NFL roster deadline, and each player signed a non-guaranteed three-year contract worth a total of $250,000 ($70,000 in 2019; $80,000 in 2020; $100,000 in 2021), with performance-based and fan-interaction incentives allowing for players to earn more.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: In July 2018, Starter, through G-III Sports, which manufactured NFL jerseys and apparel in the 1980s and 1990s, was named the official on-field apparel and game-day uniform supplier for the AAF, marking a return for the brand to professional football after an almost 20-year absence. On September 20, the league announced four eastern inaugural franchises' names and logos. The four western teams' logos and names were revealed five days later.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: On October 16, 2018, the Alliance announced its schedule (indicating the day and location, but not the time, of each game) which had two games each on Saturday and on Sunday most weekends. Quarterback skills training camps were held at the Alamodome in San Antonio on November 12 through 14. On November 27, the league held a four-round "Protect or Pick" quarterback draft in the Esports Arena at Luxor Las Vegas and broadcast on CBS Sports Network.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: The AAF began its inaugural, 10-week season on February 9, 2019. The first points in AAF regular season history were scored by kicker Younghoe Koo of the Atlanta Legends, who made a 38-yard field goal against the Orlando Apollos. The first touchdown came in the same game with Orlando quarterback Garrett Gilbert connecting with Jalin Marshall for a 16-yard score. The first shutout was recorded by the Birmingham Iron when they defeated the Memphis Express, 26–0, in Week 1. The first onside conversion (see Rules section, below) was attempted during Week 3, with Atlanta successfully completing a 48-yard pass against Birmingham. The first safety was registered by Atlanta against the Arizona Hotshots in Week 4. The first overtime game occurred in Week 7, with Memphis defeating Birmingham.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: A four-team playoff was to be capped with the league's championship game, initially scheduled to be held at Sam Boyd Stadium near Las Vegas. After Dundon took over league operations, he moved the game to the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: On April 2, 2019, the AAF suspended all football operations, on orders from AAF chairman Tom Dundon. League co-founder Bill Polian stated:


title: Alliance of American Football

text: Players found out about the suspension through the Internet before their coaches confirmed the news. Players were evicted from the hotels where their teams were being housed—with some being personally charged for unpaid hotel bills—and required to pay their own way home; they also lost their health insurance and were forced to cover their own medical bills from injuries sustained during play. League employees were notified via an April 2 letter from the AAF board, which did not give a reason for ending the season, that their jobs were terminated as of April 3 with no severance. Ebersol and Dundon refused public comment; Ebersol would eventually speak out on April 17, stating that he had been advised not to speak by his attorneys. He insisted that the money he raised was there and had been vetted up until immediately before the season, claimed that reports of players being saddled with hotel and medical bills were either fake news or fraudulent charges, and could not ensure that all those owed money would be paid.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: On April 4, the AAF announced through their official Twitter account that players were eligible to leave their contracts to sign with NFL teams. The contracts that players had originally signed included a stipulation that they could leave to sign with NFL teams at the conclusion of an AAF season. The league did not issue any public statement until April 6, when the AAF.com website was updated with a statement, which read in part:


title: Alliance of American Football

text: At the time its football operations were suspended, the AAF had played eight weeks out of a scheduled ten-week regular season.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: On April 17, Ebersol Sports Media Group, Inc. and the five AAF operating entities filed for joint Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation) in Texas’ Eastern District. In the filing, the league claimed assets of $11.3 million, liabilities of $48.3 million, and approximately $536,000 in cash. The AAF counted its player contracts among its assets in the bankruptcy filing, blocking players from joining the Canadian Football League. This block was lifted a day after the bankruptcy filing.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: The league's uniforms and equipment were stored in a lot in San Antonio, Texas and eventually auctioned off in July 2019. Former Arena Football League commissioner Jerry Kurz made the winning bid at $455,000, beating out bids from (among others) the revived XFL. Subsequently, the perpetually postponed Major League Football claimed it had entered into an agreement to purchase the equipment for $400,000.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: Ebersol deliberately avoided making radical changes to the rules of the game so as to make it recognizable to the U.S. public. He stated that he used the average length of a feature film, slightly over two hours, as the basis for a typical fan's attention span.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: The Alliance operated as a single entity, with all teams owned and operated by the league, under the name Legendary Field Exhibitions LLC. Some of the investors in the AAF included Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, The Chernin Group (which owns Barstool Sports), Jared Allen, Slow Ventures, Adrian Fenty, Charles King's M Ventures, and Keith Rabois. Long-term plans were for the AAF to sell franchises to individual owners.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: MGM Resorts International made an investment in the AAF tech platform, and entered a three-year sponsorship agreement to become the league's official sports betting sponsor and exclusive gaming partner. The deal marked the first time any sports organization had sold exclusive in-game betting rights to a sportsbook. Scott Butera, MGM's director of interactive gaming (the division that signed an agreement with the AAF), was formerly the commissioner of the Arena Football League before his 2018 ouster. Under the terms of the agreement, MGM Resorts International owned all rights to the tech platform in the event the league ceases operations, preventing an investor from buying the league solely for access to the technology. Gambling functions were never implemented on the league's app, and many planned features for the app never materialized due to technical glitches and impracticality.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: The league also had player bonuses and scholarships, with player bonuses based on performance and fan interaction, players were to earn a year's scholarship in post-secondary education for each season of play. Players got three-year, non-guaranteed contracts worth $250,000 plus health insurance with an escape clause to go to the NFL. The three-year contract was believed to be purposely targeting the XFL to prevent second-tier professional players from signing with the XFL if they played in the AAF in 2019. XFL commissioner Oliver Luck stated that he did not believe that such a clause would hold up in court after the AAF collapsed, and that the XFL would be willing to sign AAF players. The league also has an incentive system that pays members of a team's offensive and defensive units for statistical achievements and also pays players to perform community service; the exact details of this incentive system were not yet finalized at the start of the 2019 season. Players are assigned to each team by way of a centralized process that is largely a trade secret. The league showed willingness to offer more money to marquee players; Landry Jones noted that Ebersol had personally promised a salary of over $1,000,000 to Jones if he played for the San Antonio Commanders; when Jones pressed Ebersol on when he would be paid, Ebersol became evasive, leading Jones to reject the offer. Matt McGloin likewise turned down the AAF, both because of his skepticism over the league and the birth of his child. For the fans, in addition to a fantasy league built into mobile broadcasts, there were low ticket prices (each team have a $35/game sideline seat option) and inexpensive food at games. When the league abruptly folded, the league left players to personally pay outstanding bills for their own hotels, as well as their transportation home and even their medical bills from injuries sustained during play.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: The AAF coaching salaries varied by title, with $500,000 for head coaches, $200–250,000 for coordinators, and $75–150,000 for position coaches. Each AAF team employed between 11 and 13 total coaches, putting the total coaching staff expenditures at around $2 million per staff and $16 million for the entire league.


title: Alliance of American Football

text: On February 18, 2019, the league announced that Tom Dundon, whose other holdings include the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL) and TopGolf, agreed to invest $250 million into the league. He was also named the new chairman of the AAF, and Dundon reportedly received a majority stake in the league in exchange for his investment. Dundon's investment was initially reported to be due to the league being in danger of not making payroll. It was later reported that the payroll issue was due to a glitch in the league's changing of payroll companies, and that Dundon's investment had already been planned. Dundon later backtracked on his previous claim of a $250 million investment, noting that he had not actually delivered a $250 million lump sum to the league. Dundon planned on incrementally investing in the league, using $250 million as a theoretical maximum based on if the league were to "aggressively expand," and reserved the right to pull out of the league at any time. At the time of the reported April 2 suspension, Dundon had invested an estimated $70 million into the AAF. He had drastically reduced unnecessary expenses and mostly abandoned the technology platform by the end of the league's operations in a desperate attempt to keep the league financially viable.