The addictive BR shooter known asApex Legendshas jumped into its seventh season, bringing a number of refinements, tweaks, and exciting additions to the fold. Perhaps the most significant, along with theexpansive new map Olympus, is the addition of a new Legend, whose lore is largely tied to the area.
This offense-oriented shooter, known as Horizon, brings an amusing new twist to the experience with her nimble nature and abilities in gravity manipulation. The light, floaty nature of her movement makes her a draw for players ofarena shooterslikeHaloandUnreal Tournament.
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But Horizon’s intrigue extends beyond her skillset and mechanics. She also comes laced with some unique character traits — and a backstory that’s both endearing and somewhat somber. This list will highlight ten of the more obscure and interesting details about Horizon you probably didn’t know.
10Discovered A Brand New Element
There aren’t many who can brag about unearthing a brand new element. But indeed, this gravity-warping scientist has pulled it off, finding herself in rather exclusive company. Well, technically she was assisted by her apprentice Dr. Reid. Still, given Reid’s deceitful nature, one has doubts whether or not her partnerreallyaided in this discovery at all.
It was Horizon’s hope that this element, dubbed Branthium, would be the key to the limitless supply of energy she needed to power the Outlands — a place on the verge of a huge energy crisis.
9Her Emotional Story Of Betrayal And Time Warps
In a somewhat tragic,Interstellar-esquebackstory, Horizon found herself stuck in a time warp, thanks to the betrayal of her then-apprentice Dr. Reid.
Following the discovery of Branthium, she and her partner departed on a dangerous mission to learn more about the element, and prove it could be the answer to the energy crisis. But a nefarious plot by Reid left her stranded and drifting into the orbit of a black hole.
Tragically, this left her son waiting for her for over eight decades, where she resided in an altered version of time on the black hole outskirts. Spurred by this motivation to reunite with her son, she remains determined to find a way to go back in time and see him.
8Her Multi-Talented Voice Actor
The talents of Horizon extend beyond the character herself and to the actress providing her voice. Scottish-born Elle Newlands has voiced a variety of video game characters of late, from Darth Savik inStar Wars: The Old Republic, to Ingrid, Heimdall, and Alodia inAsgard’s Wrath.
Not only this, but she is also a singer and songwriter whose music and voice have been featured in radio, commercials, film, and TV across Europe and the US. Additionally, she’s scored and composed music for film. It would seem that Respawn has potential help at hand should they ever seek additional music forApex.
7Her Backstory Written By A New Recruit At Respawn
Horizon is, in part, the creation of works from multiple studio writers — as is often the case with game characters. Her character and dialogue were largely conceptualized by Respawn writer Sam Gill. Yet her backstory, centered around the short called “Promise,” was written by a fairly new writer from the studio, Amanda Doiron.
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As it happens, this moving short film was actually one of the first things she wrote when starting at the company.
6Inspired By A Significant Figure In History
Horizon’s real name, “Mary Somers,” may sound familiar to those knowledgeable in scientific studies and history. As it happens, she is named after one of the most significant women in science, mathematics, and literature, Mary Somerville.
Fittingly, Somerville was a Scottish science writer and polymath, nominated to be the first female member of the Royal Astronomical Society. Her studies in mathematics and astronomy helped break new scientific ground during the 19th century.
5A Wattson Easter Egg
Since the release ofApex, Respawn has periodically released details and backstories regarding the growing lineup of unique Legends. At times, there are hints of significant connections and overlap in the stories of these characters. Such would seem to be the case when it comes to Horizon andWattson, another scientifically-oriented figure.
Fans have speculated that these two may have a friendship and shared history that’s still largely unknown. One subtle easter egg that seems to give merit to this theory is a recenttweet from theApex LegendsTwitter account. It shows a drawing of Wattson snoozing at a cluttered desk filled with various writings and books.
A page from Horizon’s academic writing, called “Utilization of Hyperdense Matter Extracted from Black Hole Ergosphere,” can partly be seen.
4One Of Her Abilities Seems To Be A Titanfall 2 Callback
There are more than a few subtle cross-references betweenApex Legendsand the mech-ladenTitanfallshooters. This makes sense, given that they’re crafted by the same studio — which has stated that they share the same in-game universe.
SeasonedTitalfall 2players might notice something a bit familiar with Horizon’s Black Hole Ultimate, which partly resembles the throwable item “Gravity Star” from the game. It possesses a similar gravity-altering effect that disrupts objects in its vicinity.Zarya’s Graviton Surge fromOverwatchalso comes to mind…
3The Deceptively Destructive Nature Of Her Ultimate
While Horizon is renowned for her offensive prowess and maneuverability, many have regarded her Ult as more “meh” worthy thus far. And though Black Hole may not be that effectiveon its own, it can be impactful if properly exploited and used in tandem with other items or moves.
Combining this move with area-of-effect elements and explosives like grenades and Caustic’s Nox Gas can swiftly create a whirlwind of destruction for those in its wake.
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Not only this, but the force of the pull can be deceptively powerful, too — yanking enemies from behind walls and doors. It can even destroy Wraith’s Dimensional Rift if it’s in range.
2Her Character Was Teased At The End Of The Season 6 Trailer
Respawn has shown that they like to toss in a number ofsubtle teasersand easter eggs alluding to new, or largely unexplored characters. And it’s certainly no different when it comes to the lore and details of Horizon.
In fact,the season 6 gameplay trailermanages to drop the name of this new Legend, ending with the line “something big is on the horizon.” But there have been other teasers too, such as the seemingly casual line from Ash, who says “tried to be a ‘wee bit’ Scottish” in The Broken Ghost quest.
1Was Initially Conceived As An Evil Lex Luthor-Type Villain
Looking into the details and history of some of these Legends reveals that many have gone through changes dating as far back as conceptualization.
This shift is particularly interesting when it comes to Horizon, who was initiallymeant to be a Lex Luthor-like evil genius. Apparently, this mad scientist CEO-type was also something of a warlock, as she had various fire-based abilities. This is certainly a far cry from the benign, gravity-warping figure she became.
