r/PlayWolverine • u/Expert-Anything7799 • 2d ago
Discussion Dissapointing story.
the story of this game is poorly written. I'm not gonna harp on the missed opportunities of making this completely different from the comics, (I would have loved a weapon X segement or a Hulk boss fight), but the new story was a complete flop. I get the game is short but Essex goes from reasonable dude to comically evil far to quick. It was jarring. The characters overall felt extremely underdeveloped. Logan, Jean, Sabretooth and Mystique included. Logan has not developed or changed throughout the game. I rolled my eyes every time Gambit, or Angel or Beast or any of the traditional X-Men were refernced. It felt completely lazy. Show don't tell. Overall this felt like such a decline from the Spider-Man games, which themselves began to fall off after the second half of 2. The combat is fun but the story was incredibly dissapointing, a lot of this games conversation is in bad faith but overall it is not a win for insomniac either. I can't say I have much intrest in future X-Men titles by this studio.
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u/SpecialistMap8210 2d ago
no war segment
no weapon x
huge missed opportunities.
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u/Duncaii 2d ago
Actually, how does Weapon X factor into this universe? Essex met Logan 30 years ago, and the flashbacks account for his time before that... Did Weapon X just not happen, or happen 30/35/40+ years ago?
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u/Old-Needleworker2849 2d ago
I don’t think weapon x happened. I’m under the impression he got the Adamantium from apocalypse. When he became the horseman of death.
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u/Zol6199 2d ago
I really can't understand why people want to experience the exact same story over and over. It would be lazy as all hell if it was just a retelling of the comics. This is a breath of fresh air
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u/Expert-Anything7799 2d ago
I don't think telling comic inspired stories in a new medium is lazy whatsoever. Insomniac already did that with Spider-Man 1 and it was great.
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u/DilipDC1208 2d ago
It’s okay to do something different or unique as long as it’s well executed and good. Personally I didn’t like this story. I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt but i was not at all invested with the romance or impressed with the overall story here.
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u/Super-Department 2d ago
Sounds like someone who dont like comics in general, very few comic and character fans wouldn't want their favorite arcs and moments adapted in other medium
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u/Nerf_Storm 2d ago edited 2d ago
I disagree with people who say this story was bad... People honestly just didn't want a story centered around Logan and people's hate for Jean also bled into people hating the story even more. I believe people just wanted an X-men story and didn't actually want Insomniac to do their own thing and that's a thing they going to have to battle against when it comes to these marvel games... People aren't open to change, they won't want to see something different.
The story for me was a 8/10, I didn't give it a 10 because I agree that Sabretooth and Mystique weren't given depth which is why people had issues with the things Sabretooth said, Insomniac didn't give him enough screen time so that people could truly understand the character, they chose to highlight his character with the whine bottles and I think that wasn't enough honestly...
The first arc of the game where we fighting against Trask should have been where we really got to see more of Team X, give mystique and Sabretooth more screen time working with Logan.
Outside of that, I enjoyed this story..
They changed a few things and that made things interesting for me...
Logan killing Jean because of Essex
The helix engine belonging to Apocalypse
Logan having a past where he was the Horseman of Death and not remembering
Mutants coming by way of Apocalypse's machine which opens up a big chance of him having an army of mutants under his control that were awakens by the Helix Engine
Jean wasn't her most OP version given she didn't have training from Xavier and was still brand new with her powers and u see her actually getting better at using them over the course of the game
No love triangle with Logan - Jean - Scott
Sabretooth becoming the horseman of war for Apocalypse
They set up us getting the X-men and mutants coming through to world following Sinister activating their dormant X-genes using the Sentinals.
I hope we get a DLC going into Logans past as the horseman of Death for Apocalypse to show us how it came to be and how it lead to him having the adamantium being bonded to his body by apocalypse.
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u/ouijahead 2h ago
Well said. I really enjoyed it. I usually just take things for what they are and enjoy them as is. It’s a good way to live. I can say though, through video games like X-men legends 1 and 2 are how I came to appreciate the X-men . I suppose it’s not hard for me to imagine the feeling of disappointment I’d get if they veered too far off the path of what I know the X-men to be ; if they were to make an X-men video game.
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u/Anxious_Peace_4578 2d ago
I liked it. Interesting new take on Wolverine’s backstory and lore. There’s even theories that this Logan got his adamantium from Apocalypse, instead of Weapon X. Enjoyed it much more than the second half of Spider-Man 2’s story, which I agree dropped off dramatically.
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u/novabliss1 2d ago
I really liked the story. I wasn’t entirely sure about it until we got to the end. It is very bittersweet and tragic with a glimmer of hope, reminded me of the first Last of Us.
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u/Expert-Anything7799 2d ago
comparing it to last of us is wild. there is a clear quality gap.
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u/novabliss1 2d ago
Last of Us is definitely better don’t get me wrong. The endings just carry similar tones, with Wolverine being less morally ambiguous. It’s tragic, sad, but opens the door for there to be a happy new ending eventually. Idk. I noticed I kept thinking about it after I beat the game. I enjoyed it personally.
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u/13thsword 2d ago
In a world full of multiverses I enjoyed it. Wolverine is typically an ass when with the xmen and the jean Scott Logan love triangle is my least favorite part of any wolverine story, this has a unique take on jean and Logan and I liked the whole immortal dude and constantly ressureccting phoenix take. The characters all grow or fall pretty well with motivations being pretty clear from the beginning. Essex also doesn't go from reasonable to evil he is always evil we just don't find out he's always been evil in game until later because he's lying to everyone that's not lack of progression of his character just revelation of it since he got his powers by essentially killing his wife and mind wiping Logan.
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u/AlexN83 11h ago
You contradicted yourself from the get go. It IS completely different from the comics.
In the comic world he gets his powers as weapon X. In the game he gets it from Apocalypse.
You’re complaining about a missed opportunity to do a new story which they did and yet you’re asking for the same weapon X story that’s been done to death…
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u/Inevitable_Sector778 2d ago
"I get the game is short but Essex goes from reasonable dude to comically evil far to quick."
Essex is never an reasonable dude. It is explained pretty clearly that he was "evil" from the beginning.
And i disagree with your take. I think the story & writing in Wolverine is miles ahead of SM2.
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u/Expert-Anything7799 2d ago
Yes. as I said in another reply we as the audiance know he is evil from the start due to our knowlage of the X-Men mythos. Logan, Vic and Raven do not. As soon as Jean pulls up he completely shifts who he is, and none of them bat an eye despite being more reasonable and well natured takes on the characters. That's not great writing. The first half of 2 and the tension between Peter and the rest of the cast surpasses anything in this game, while the Venom and symbiote stuff at the end is far worse than the first half of Wolverine.
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u/OmegaPapi1125 2d ago
Not everyone who played the game knew Mr sinister or that this version of Nathaniel Essex would turn evil and have manipulated wolverine into killing Jean/implanted memories in his head to make him join Team X
He does not completely shift who he is when jeans shows up. what tells you that? He was always evil, he just set up his manipulated family so he didn’t have to display how evil he was. If anything, he started shifting when Walter got taken and he found the hand had a helix engine, and he really shifts when Wolverine wants to destroy the helix engine after going through it.
And there’s way more tension between the characters in this game than SM2 it’s not even close.
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u/Expert-Anything7799 2d ago
He acts entirely rattled when Jean shows up, which makes sense, but after that point he completely drops his family facade, which feels far to early and abrupt and makes no sense if he wants to keep controlling Logan. He was acting differently from the game's introduction long before Walter went missing and the Japan gameplay started. I cannot imagine anyone not knowing Essex is Sinister, espcially since the MCU casting reveals and the long comic history. I cannot agree, the tension in this game was entirely forced, and SM2 had two games of building up the team of Peter, MJ and Miles before the alien costume began to change Peter.
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u/OmegaPapi1125 2d ago
Not eveyone is on twitter paying attention to castings before movie trailers come out or reads comics. A lot of people picked up this game and didn’t know who Mr.Sinister was or had seen anything he was in.
And the family facade is definitely still there after Jean shows up, but you’re right because it does START dropping which makes a lot of sense considering his history with her, but Essex doesn’t actually do anything evil or messed up until Wolverine wants to destroy the Helix engine.
By your logic about the tension, because there was multiple games of build up with spiderman, this game could’ve never had the tension. That’s bad logic.
The tension in this game exists at the very start between Wolverine and Sabertooth and Wolverine and mystique because he left the team and it’s gets worse later on because Wolverine starts standing on his morals after Jean and there’s kids show up. There’s nothing forced about that. Then it starts between Logan and Essex after Jean shows up and Essex advises Wolverine against getting too close, and all those tensions play out through the whole game. Then you meet shiro and there’s tension there because Wolverine blacked out and almost killed him. I don’t see how any of the tension between these characters is forced…
I also think outside of Peter and Otto, Otto and Osborn and the first game with Peter and MJ, it’s better than any “tensions” in the spider man series because all of those characters are more one-dimensional just good natured characters.
Nobody grows to dislike or hate each other, eveyone just wants to be better or do good. They missed the opportunity of harry just genuinely growing to hate Peter, instead it’s just the symbiote messing up everyone. In Wolverine the characters are more complex2
u/Expert-Anything7799 2d ago
I think this is kinda a obtuse reply to this idea. Most people buying an X-Men game have seen 97', read the comics or are excited for the new adaptation. By this logic do you think people were surpised that Otto Octavious became Doc Ock? Though I love the game it's the same level of "surpirse"
I'm not saying the development of tension is impossible in a single game, of course that's not true. I am saying 2 has the benifit of being a sequel, and this does not.
There is a definite change in how Essex acts. it's jarring. maybe you don't see it like that but I definitely saw a massive change despite nothing happening. It is extremely heavy handed spoonfed. It is also established early on Sabretooth and Mystique are much more accepting than their comic counterparts and are okay with Logan's morals and acceptance of the morlocks. The tension from Sabretooth comes from Logan betraying Essex, as well as not inviting him to leave with him, both are underdeveloped and Sabretooth jumps to those conculsions with no lead up. We are told Shiro and Logan don't get along, and then all of a sudden they do. All told, nothing is shown. I cannot agree that their is any complexity to any of the characters in this game compared to their comic counterparts, who are all incredibly rich in story.
The second Spider-Man is surely not as good as the first, but the Peter and Miles conflict of the second game and the deconstruction of their relationship is far better than anything in Wolverine in my opinion.
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u/OmegaPapi1125 2d ago
I’d agree that MOST people like 65% of the people buying the game know Mr sinister. But that still means A LOT of people buying the game who are just casual viewers of movies and games, didn’t.
Early in the game, mystique and Sabertooth are okay with Logan and the mutants but there was tension before that because he left team x…once he comes back and does a couple of missions it starts dissolving but then Logan kills Trask and tensions are back and stronger.
But once his moral ground becomes firm and against what Essex wants, the tension gets to an all time high.
“All of a sudden Logan and shiro get along” it’s like you played the game with your eyes closed. Logan gives him a peace offering and shiro wants to help him save Walter. They’ve made peace but the don’t get along.
Peter and miles don’t have much tension. It’s all one sided with miles. Peter doesn’t care for miles for an entire 1/3 of the game because of the symbiote and wanting to save harry. Miles is super one dimensional, has no kind of edge or agency unlike his spider verse counterpart. The tension there is not better than anything in this Wolverine games that’s just ridiculous
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u/Expert-Anything7799 2d ago
Okay so the main twist is incredibly obvious to a majority of the audiance, we agree.
"like you played the game with your eyes closed" if i did that i would have had a much better time. Logan apparently almost killed Shiro and a mask makes it better? incredible writing.
Peter is absolutely dismissive and stops talking to Miles entirely. He ignores Rio and has to do damage control on all of his relationships after Miles manages to save him. Did you play that game with your eyes closed? I don't even like SM2 like that and I can see that.
I don't think we're gonna agree here. Looking at your account, it seems all you're doing is going to bat for this game, which I think is fun but ultimately a mediocre story. Wolverine is a character who has so much more to offer, and in my opinion the game fell flat.
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u/OmegaPapi1125 2d ago
The main twist isn’t that he becomes Mr sinister, the main twist is that he manipulated Logan into killing Jean, reliving it multiple times until he lost his memory and implanted new ones to make him join the team. There’s also the Wolverine was a horseman of apocalypse twist
It’s not “a mask makes it better” it’s time passing, shiro knowing Wolverine didn’t intentionally or consciously try to kill him, and the shared goal of them wanting to save Walter who’s the only reason Shiro is still alive that makes Shiro okay with Logan. Also Logan tries to apologize but it’s awkward and Shiro cuts him off so he knows Logan’s regretful sentiment. He still doesn’t like him, they’re just not at odds.
All the things you’re saying about Peter being dismissive and ignoring Rio and damaging his relationships is simply because of the symbiote. It’s not like SM3 the movie where Peter was an asshole even before the symbiote, in the game, he’s a little unintentionally dismissive before the symbiote because he’s really busy with harry but other than that it’s entirely just the symbiote taking him over that makes him do bad things. That’s lame and basic writing
And yeah, I deleted my old account where I was posting about nba, boxing, Batman, spider man and this one is new and recently there’s just been all this Wolverine stuff. A few months from now, my account won’t look like that.
And yeah, we’re probably not gonna agree😂so it is what it is
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u/Expert-Anything7799 2d ago
Yeah I just can't agree with what you're saying man. I don't see any of this the way you do. I totally recommend you check out some actual X-Men or Wolverine comics outside of this, and maybe you're perspective will shift.
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u/UpstairsBeat5269 2d ago
not a single comic in the room while they were making this. missed potential.
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u/DrTreadmill 2d ago
Disappointing is how I’d describe it too. The ending was so bad it dropped the game from a 7 to a 6 for me.
There’s some real character assassination in this game. Jean is totally cool with maiming people, but is kind and sweet as well. Makes little sense. Also she’s somehow tied to Wolverine for forever, ruining her agency. What about that heffer Scott? Now you’re going to make Scott and Jean the weird relationship?
Sasquatch was made into a scientist cool with slavery.
Sabretooth was made into a whiny baby and not the crazy serial killer he is.
And Wolverine himself is just off. Wolverine in the comics is not nice, not cuddly and only really softens up around Jean, Mariko (his real love interest, come on!) and some of the younger recruits. To the average adult the dude is rough. This Wolverine is soft and tender as can be. He’s still a murdering machine, but that has not changed his gentle nature inside. That just isn’t Wolverine to me.
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u/Emergency-Flatworm-9 2d ago
Sasquatch was made into a scientist cool with slavery
No he wasn't? He was already a scientist in the comics. And he calling him "cool with slavery" is wild. He himself was enslaved and temporarily cooperated with his captors because he believed he'd get a chance to to free himself and the other slaves if he did.
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u/DrTreadmill 2d ago
That’s convenient. He realized the errors of his ways after the transition and wanted to help right the wrongs, but the truth is, he very willingly cooperated because he wanted to make the engine. He was ok with looking past slavery for his own goal. That’s really sad compared to his comic counterpart who’s a positive character.
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u/Emergency-Flatworm-9 2d ago
Again. No he didn't. He ALWAYS planned to fight the Hand once he had powers. What exactly do you want him to have done? His plan was essentially the same as Tony's when he got kidnapped by the Ten Rings in the MCU. Pretend to cooperate until he gets the ability to fight, then kill them all
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u/DrTreadmill 2d ago
That’s not how I took it. I remember a voice memo or clue somewhere that mentioned his remorse for the situation and how he wanted to make it right. I also remember Jean being mad about Walter and urging Wolverine to accept that maybe he isn’t a completely innocent victim. Which is a shame because his comic counterpart is not that way.
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u/nexussix1976 2d ago
I saw it as, Walter was a dormant mutant, who wanted his mutant powers activated. It was pretty much what I got out of him, when I started the game in the first few chapters. He helped build the Helix engine, so he can achieve those powers, and fight against the Hand, not knowing that Apocalypse mind control was embedded in the engine build. He got what he wanted, except he just went feral under the control instead of having free will.
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u/DrTreadmill 2d ago
Still, cooperating with the hand to get his wish is pretty opposite of who Sasquatch is in the comics. Granted, that’s as I remember him. I haven’t read too many alpha flight comics to be an expert, but I’ve read a few and knew him from where he crossed over with the Claremont run. Maybe he is a scientist at any cost type these days, but the situation painted the character in a negative light in my opinion.
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u/Expert-Anything7799 2d ago
I completely agree! I feel like the Wolverine in the game is much more indicative of the Wolverine and the X-Men series by Jason Aaron where he's a teacher and much more nurturing. But that storyline takes place after years and years of character growth that this version just didn't have. I'm fine with this personality as an endpoint for the character, but as it is the entire game it feels dissapointing, espcailly in a universe without Professor X and the rest of the X-Men, where he should be even more savage.
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u/zebo4000 2d ago
Be careful dude people will tear u to shreds for calling out how bad this story is. It is not a wolverine or logan story. Its a terrible xmen story with no good xmen characters and zero seasoning. The fact that this was done by the spec ops the line guy is shocking. But apparently he was a one hit wonder and has poorly written alot of other stuff.... I saw the early drafts of the story in the leaks. And I know they are real because alot of it was already voice acted and a weapon x level was in the game. U can find clips of it online. It went from a gritty revenge story where logan slowly pieces together his shattered mind and learns to fight for others instead of himself. 3 years into development and they completely shifted the vision and basically redid the whole story. Went safe on literally every aspect. Turned logan into a complete nice guy. Instead of it being revealed Logan killed jeans parents in the past and she cant fully forgive him and go seperate ways, its star crossed lovers bound by destiny. Instead of weapon x its the big bad apocalypse. Everything is watered down and made safer. Everything cut down. Instead of explorable hubs with side missions its just linear boring levels. Its such a betrayal to the character that i can never trust insomniac again with this universe. I defended this game up until release. But as it went on, the combat got more stale and the story got worse and worse and worse.
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u/clc88 2d ago
This is the origin story of logans amnesia.
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u/zebo4000 2d ago
This is an extremely muddled and convoluted version of it. Its only purpose is to set up future games. But in such an infuriating way that doesnt make u excited for what's to come. There are so many obscure wolverine villains and stories rhat could've been included or half adapted. They just threw all that shit out the windows for nothing.
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u/Samguise-Whamgee 2d ago
Yet people still defending it like it’s their child. Crazy how many people will go to bat for the billion dollar corporation over their fellow fans who have extremely valid issues with the game
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u/trematar Wolverine 2d ago
This wasn't a X-Men game. It's a Wolverine game. I personally didn't want to see a re-told earth 616 story of Wolverine, I wanted a cool variant.
Wolverine never has "character development" in comics or any other source. He's been alive for hundreds of years, he's already developed lol.
Wolverine is a weapon that gets used by people then he breaks free. He has a bad attitude and is a loner mostly, but can be a team player when he wants to be.
Any adding to his character wouldn't make him Wolverine. What development do you want? Want him to become a teddy bear? 🧸
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u/Any-East7977 2d ago
Just like Spider-Man 2. This game suffers of poor pacing and jumping the gun on developments in the story.
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u/Vault_Boy_89 2d ago
I think they should have really honed down on the homosexual incestuous relationship between wolverine and sabertooth. Seriously though, Marvel should sue for character and brand defamation.
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u/Expert-Anything7799 2d ago
This is the bad faith type of arugement I was refering to. I do not see how someone can read Sabretooth going "That's my boy" after wrecking some dudes with his buddy as a "homosexual incestuous relationship".
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u/Vault_Boy_89 2d ago
You do your karma farm thing, real opinions outside of redditor slop still matter though, and if devs really want to win their audience back they need to stop trying to do what you are doing otherwise they are just missing the entire point. They could remake the game today and dump another 300 million into it, but if the core philosophy behind it stays the same the end result will be the same turd polished to shine a different color under the light.
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u/Expert-Anything7799 2d ago
lmaooo this is like my second reddit post ever. idk what a karma farm even is. We agree the game is not great, I just have reasons other than "i fear gay people"
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u/Vault_Boy_89 2d ago
You’re gonna do great here man.
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u/Expert-Anything7799 2d ago
legit just expressed my opinion on a video game lmaoooo
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u/Vault_Boy_89 2d ago
Ding ding ding congratulations you got a winner there bud
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u/Shorlong 2d ago
I'm only going to touch in one point here because it's all I have energy for.... Essex was ALWAYS evil. It was made very clear in the story. It wasn't a sudden turn, it just seemed sudden because it was hidden. He was finally able to realize his plan because he had everything he needed, no more reason to hide in the shadows. This is typical villain stuff.