Apex Legends Season 13: Saviors will launch on May 10, and as always, Respawn Entertainment is kicking things off with the latest installment in the Web Stories from the Outlands series. This season, it’s a family affair.
Titled ‘Hero’, the animated short gives players a glimpse into what Bangalore’s brother Jackson – known in-game as Newcastle – has been up to since he disappeared and faked his own death . It turns out that Jackson lives in a settlement called Harris Valley, which has obviously been sold to a gang known as the ‘Forgotten Families’ by the real Newcastle – that’s right, Jackson is a fake replacing someone else.
We see how it turned out in the trailer. Jackson is revealed to have a new family – a wife, a teenage son, and a young daughter. After his daughter loses her Newcastle plush toy, Jackson sets out to find it and comes across Newcastle being attacked by a trio of Forgotten Families members.
It’s here that we learn the reason why it took someone as skilled as Jackson so many tries to get into the Apex Games – the real Newcastle was the one trying first, and he wasn’t making a very good job (as evidenced by the fact that he immediately attributes his losing streak to “shitty teammates”). Those failed early qualifiers were contested by the real Newcastle, who have now come under attack from the Forgotten Families due to their inability to gain access to the Apex Games. It seems he owes the gang a large sum of money and was hoping to use his Apex earnings to pay it back and save Harris Valley.
Despite Jackson’s attempts to save the budding legend, Newcastle dies after being shot by the gang. As the gang threatens to burn down Harris Valley unless Newcastle’s debt is repaid, Jackson volunteers to take the fallen fighter’s place – and his identity – in the next qualifier, the member of the Forgotten Families gang demanding that Jackson pay off the debt. “with interest.” Although little is known about the Forgotten Families, it is possible that they have ties to the Big Sister gang that burned down the Rampart shop, or even the Black Rattlers of Salvo, the gang led by Lord Mad Maggie’s wartime rival, Sandringham Kelly. Kelly betrayed Maggie when he sold the entire planet of Salvo to the Syndicate for the power and financial gain it would grant him. “Hero” makes it clear that the Forgotten Families gang runs the show in Harris Valley. Jackson could have easily killed the last of the three gang members, but instead took the debt on his own shoulders. According to the eyes of messages on his mobileJackson doesn’t have much luck repaying his debt, even after joining the games.
Fans got a glimpse of the latest legend’s combat skills in this episode, but a more detailed look at his passive, tactical, and ultimate abilities were seen in the Apex Legends Season 13 launch trailer. News about Newcastle’s kit and the many changes coming to Apex in the new season will be revealed when the Saviors gameplay trailer debuts on May 2.
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