Apex Legends Comic Reveals Popular Character Has Cancer
Respawn Entertainment is pulling at our heartstrings and has confirmed a popular Apex Legends character is suffering from cancer in the latest comic book storyline.
16th Jun 2021 14:34
Respawn Entertainment
Apex Legends Comic Reveals Popular Character Has Cancer
Respawn Entertainment is pulling at our heartstrings and has confirmed a popular Apex Legends character is suffering from cancer in the latest comic book storyline.
16th Jun 2021 14:34
Respawn Entertainment
It's just a video game - I'm not crying, you're not crying. Proving that Apex Legends is more than just a battle royale title where one-dimensional characters duke it out on alien worlds, the latest comic from Respawn Entertainment has us reaching for the tissues and sobbing into our controllers by revealing a popular Legend is suffering from cancer.
Warning: Apex Legends spoilers ahead
Since its release in 2019, Apex Legends has continued to climb the ranks of the competitive shooter scene and settle in alongside other juggernauts including Overwatch, Fortnite, and Call of Duty: Warzone. While the likes of Fortnite and Warzone rely on selling skins and throw together a loose overarching story, Apex has taken a leaf out of Blizzard's book with Overwatch and crafted a fully-explored canon for its characters.
Who has cancer in Apex Legends?
With players so invested in Apex Legends characters, they'll be heartbroken to learn Caustic has cancer. The misunderstood villain has one of the most complicated backstories, however, this was expanded in the Legacy Antigen comic that's landed alongside Season 9. Here, Part 7 is called "The Terrible Truth About Alexander Nox" and features a bromance between Crypto and Caustic.
A grouchy Crypto is seen lambasting Caustic for giving up on his family and questioned why the Toxic Trapper turned his back on his mother. In Apex canon, Mystik is Caustic's mother and Crypto's adoptive mother. She presumed Caustic dead when a charred body was found in his lab. Of course, he faked his own death.
During the Legacy Antigen, panels, Crypto explained how his adoptive mother often cried out for Caustic and repeatedly referred to Crypto as Alexander. An emotional Caustic then snapped back and said, "Because the cancer was supposed to kill me by now". Just like readers, Crypto seemed to be taken aback by the reveal.
Giving a more human side to the usual villain, Caustic said, "Whether I perish in a lab fire or a hospital, the hypothesis concludes the same: I'm already dead". Although Crypto seems adamant his new-found friend can be helped, Caustic is resigned to his fate.
How will Caustic's story end?
The comic ended with Crypto and Caustic being attacked by giant spiders and waking up in their den - cocooned and awaiting a grisly fate. If spiders don't finish Caustic, there's the implication that the cancer will. In the wide world of Apex, it's easy to imagine someone like the genius Horizon coming up with a miracle cure for Caustic's cancer, but then again, it would rob the game of a very human storyline, that unfortunately, often ends in tragedy in the real world.
Players have reminded us that Caustic's cancer is likely a side effect of his schemes. Instead of his signature mask filtering out all of the toxins, his abilities have led to his cancer. It's unclear whether Respawn would actually kill Caustic, but if the writers did, that would be one hell of a way to round off a Season. We don't know about you, but it sounds like a tragic and heart-wrenching way for Season 10 to celebrate its milestone.
As Apex Legends continues to roll out its ambitious storylines, we'll have to wait and see whether Caustic's days are numbered or the gas-spouting antihero will make it through his cancer diagnosis. Either way, we're hooked.
About The Author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
